tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86634422914811319792024-02-02T06:10:46.762+00:00Shoot the CabbageA realist's guide to Irish cinema - WARNING: snowflakes will be offendedTiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.comBlogger1419125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-88431474715425845832020-06-20T16:11:00.000+01:002020-06-20T16:11:02.026+01:00Master of the world<br />
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Dated movie from the 1960s with Vincent Price trying to stop wars around the world. He uses an airship to attack from the sky. A group of people (including Charles Bronson) get held hostage on the ship. In one scene they visit Ireland to reload water and one guy remarks he sold guns to the British so he's not popular there. Rather flat and doesn't fulfil its potential. Some scenes are similar to a Wes Anderson film.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">New/old: Old</span></div>
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<br />Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-44710404215436786992019-12-09T17:43:00.001+00:002019-12-09T17:51:01.978+00:00JIM SHERIDAN CRITICISES CRITICISM OF SINGING FOR THE HOMELESS!One of Ireland's many forgotten film directors has slated some politician for daring so say what the rest of us already know. These celebrities getting their mugs in the papers as they sing their dirges to support Dublin's homeless are wasting their time. They're only trying to highlight the issue he says. There must be about three people left in Ireland who don't know about our homeless issue! Like his movies Sheridan can only see this issue from one angle. They should look after their own people he says. Does our most overrated director realise this problem is really a refusing to move outside Dublin issue. How many of these homeless have had their house repossessed by a bank. I would guess a big fat zero. How many of these homeless have mental health or addiction issues? I would guess just under 100%. Even better, how come none of the 'talent' Sheridan has inspired will bother to make a film about our 'homeless crisis'?Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-65791464275449229322019-12-08T12:12:00.004+00:002019-12-08T12:35:55.262+00:00Last right<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The kind of dull crap our Film Board now funds thanks to their new gender quota policy. An American returns to Cork after meeting an old man on the plane who dies. Because they have same surname people think they're related and he agrees to escort the coffin to Northern Ireland. Probably sounded good on paper but it's tedious, unfunny, boring and unoriginal. Comic scenes that aren't funny, sex scenes that aren't romantic, drama scenes that aren't dramatic; uneven scenes that veer in tone. Set at Christmas but there's nothing festive about it. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Like their car this movie remains in first gear.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The only time I was surprised was when Haircut 100 appeared on the soundtrack. Let's face it, Ireland is too small in area for a good road movie. What's talented Brian Cox doing in this contrived rubbish? </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Title: The </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">last right</span></span><br />
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Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-73189413693314097302019-11-11T17:02:00.001+00:002019-11-11T17:03:42.515+00:00Irishman<span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;">Based on real events this is a three-hour movie set across several decades after WW2. Well-cast with lots of the extras looking like they belong in earlier decades. A truck driver for the Teamsters union gets hired by an Italian mob as a gunman. The plot jumps around from different years but it's very watchable. The violent scenes are brief and it cuts in TV clips from past years. I liked the Don Rickles reference. PIcture shows the male-dominated era where women took a back role. Low-key music, superb script and very well edited. Not as flashy as expected but involving and the main characters have depth. Reminds me of gritty Hollywood from the 1940s like <i>Thieves highway </i>and the French crime films from the 1960s. Memorable film that you won't forget.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Title: The </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Irishman</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Genre: Gangster</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">New/old: New</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Cinema/DVD: Cinema</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-89770260424154576142019-10-30T18:45:00.000+00:002019-10-30T18:45:02.323+00:00Dark lies the island<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Routine and lifeless movie set in Ireland's North West; has the look and feel of a stage play. A middle-aged man remarries a younger woman while his sons crack up living in a small town. None of these characters are remotely likeable and the story is boring. Everyone argues and drawls their lines. Comedian Tommy Tiernan is in it but doesn't do much. Lots of tension and acting but it goes nowhere. Pretentious title, sinister music on the soundtrack, based on a story by an award-winning writer, well-known cast - ticks all the boxes our Film Board requires for 'quality' cinema. You won't care what happens and the stylish establishing shots get tedious. With a bit of luck that crap town will be housing a hundred asylum seekers soon!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Title: Dark lies the island</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Genre: Drama</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">New/old: New</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Cinema/DVD: Cinema</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, tahoma, helvetica, freesans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-64716484114493297382019-10-13T13:36:00.000+01:002019-11-30T11:12:30.141+00:00Bump along the way<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Set in Derry, a middle-aged woman gets pregnant while her teenage daughter gets bullied in school. Not exactly a comedy but not social realism either. There's little reference to Northern Ireland other than establishing shots and the accents; could be set anywhere. Some parts are funny, others sad but it's routine and predictable. Unusually for these type of films there are no pop/rock songs on the soundtrack. The father was right to demand a paternity test. Picture is feminist, most of the male characters are jerks. The daughter's scenes are more interesting than the mother's; some of her school scenes are funny but sad. Watchable but should have been better.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Title: A b</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">ump along the way</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Genre: Drama</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">New/old: New</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Cinema/DVD: Cinema</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-76371461752326248432019-09-22T13:42:00.002+01:002019-09-22T13:47:08.321+01:00Kitchen<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Feminist mob movie set in the 1970s, all the men are jerks. It's about New York's Irish community and three men get sent to prison. Their wives take over the racket. Lots of killings and double-crossings but it's too fast paced with too much plot. Like they cut 30 minutes out; would have worked better as animation. People in phones boxes get shot in the head, too accurate to be realistic. People get killed and the other characters are upset though we've only seen them briefly in an earlier scene. The movie looks great and the rock and funk soundtrack is good though no disco or punk which is unusual. Best role was the older woman who took no nonsense. Refreshing hearing characters speak their minds and refusing to act nice in this PC era. Watchable and above average though it's no classic.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Title: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The kitchen</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Genre: Gangster</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">New/old: New</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Cinema/DVD: Cinema</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-86712273412925604482019-09-15T13:20:00.002+01:002019-09-15T13:21:54.601+01:00Extra ordinary<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Impressive horror comedy about a driving instructor with powers to deal with ghosts. Set in small-town Ireland it boasts a superb script, good cast playing for laughs but taking the story seriously, decent music, fast pacing and some funny moments. A failed international musician wants to sacrifice a local virgin to the devil. Her father hires the driving instructor to deal with his dead wife who haunts the family home. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">It's like a routine genre film done too many times already here but finally they got it right. Usually with these movies some parts are good but get runied from casting Deirde O'Kane or Amy Huberman or is badly directed. The two-worded title is deliberate. One of the few recent Irish films I would recommend but don't expect this silly effort to win awards.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Title: </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Extra ordinary</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Genre: Horror</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">New/old: New</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Cinema/DVD: Cinema</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-16192792347463788792019-09-08T13:24:00.000+01:002019-09-08T13:24:35.531+01:00Thank you come again<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Overlong comedy set in a sex shop off Dublin's Grafton Street. It's not that good or funny but is watchable. Most of the cast are the same age and look like they are from the same class out of drama school. There's a silly story involving diamonds, a priest with second thoughts and an unemployed older man. There's little reference to Ireland apart from in a newspaper. Uneven acting and the bickering between staff gets tiresome. Lots of bad cutaways of actors talking directly to the camera. Best scene was the speed dating. At the end one of the characters says 'dead priest in a porn shop' which would have made a better title.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Good to see some Irish filmmakers not caring about winning an IFTA!</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Title: </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">Thank you come again</span></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Genre: Comedy</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">New/old: New</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Cinema/DVD: Cinema</span><br />
<br />Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-83493975941341938692019-08-31T21:11:00.001+01:002019-08-31T21:16:01.454+01:00Never grow oldDrab western about an Irish immigrant in the early days of white America. Mostly set at night or indoors lit with candles it's about an undertaker who buries the victims of a nasty bar owner (Cusack). Set in a hamlet in the mountains it's routine enough. Like most Irish movies it's the story that matters rather than character or setting. Cut, cut,cut without any scene standing out or going on too long. Best scene was the hanging of the young woman but that wasn't effective. The best Westerns get made by directors working mostly in that genre but that doesn't happen anymore. Anyone who watches these films already knows a rural, wooden cabin on screen every few minutes will eventually get burned down.<br />
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Title: Never grow old<br />
Genre: Western<br />
New/old: New<br />
Cinema/DVD: Cinema<br />
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Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-65755380928826272202019-08-21T17:35:00.001+01:002019-08-21T17:36:16.502+01:00KIRSTEN SHERIDAN ARTICLE IN TODAY'S INDORather sad article in today's Irish Independent newspaper about Ireland's most overrated female film director. She's been abroad for six years trying to make a career not in movies now but in television. Still looking for something to say in her work too she says. Too much competition and lack of support from RTE are to blame. Never mind the dozen or so more talented Irish female film directors that have appeared since <b>Dollhouse</b>. How many of those knobs on Filmmakers' Network who got me banned still rate her as a director? This blog would never exist only for I correctly stated she was standing on the shoulders of giants.<br />
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Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-16762638771970631212019-08-11T13:34:00.002+01:002019-08-11T13:34:20.327+01:00AnimalsImpressive movie about two women of around 30. It's like a hipster remake of the Irish film <b>Snakes and ladders</b>. They go to pubs, clubs, poetry readings, and gigs. Trying their best to put off adulthood they get involved with various men including a pianist and a poet. One of the girls has writer's block while her more stable sister has a baby. The other girl is just strange. Set in Dublin though there are few direct references apart from some dialogue. Most of it is set at night. Some good scenes include the wedding dress and the taxi journey at the end. It's lively, funny, uneven and unpredictable. How many Irish films fit that description?<br />
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Title: Animals<br />
Genre: Clubbing<br />
New/old: New <br />
Cinema/DVD: Cinema<br />
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Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-11911683035455907972019-08-10T13:37:00.000+01:002019-08-10T13:38:00.748+01:00CATALYST A DECADE ONBack in 2009 three films got made under our Film Board's low-budget Catalyst scheme to help fund new directors. The resulting films were promising: <b>100 mornings</b> was a Corman-cabin-in-the-woods-futuristic effort, <b>Eamon</b> was a naughty-kid-on-holiday movie and <b>Rewind</b> was an ex-boyfriend-stalker thriller. The scheme was set up to help promising filmmakers. Sadly, a decade on not one of these title's directors has made another feature. So what was the point of this scheme? <br />
Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-54867071082373295322019-07-15T17:50:00.000+01:002019-07-15T17:50:08.326+01:00Metal heartLame movie about twin girls who don't get along: one is a blonde while the other a goth. There's a strange neighbour which both get involved with. The goth girl tries to form a band while her sister hurts her own neck. The parents have gone away for six weeks so they organise a party. Not exactly original and even less good. It's very bland and the characters are boring. The only good one was the blonde girl's Love Island boyfriend. I could easily list the Irish movies this effort has copied: summer of the Leaving Cert (<b>Last of the high kings</b>), goth who stands out in South Dublin (<b>This must be the place</b>), local teens starting a band (<b>Sing Street</b>), the house party (<b>Stitches</b>) and the dropout kid forced to go to college by his stern father (practically every Hollywood teen movie from the 1980s). What also annoyed me is that the neighbour said he had an old Moog music keyboard yet they didn't show it. Why? Because the filmmakers didn't have one as it's too expensive. Even better, everyone in the movie says the name wrong: it's pronounced moag not muug.<br />
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Title: Metal heart<br />
Genre: Teenage<br />
New/old: New <br />
Cinema/DVD: Cinema<br />
Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-5735421746749981882018-10-22T18:23:00.001+01:002018-10-22T18:23:24.149+01:00$44,000That's how much Irish 'blockbuster' <b>Black 47</b> has made at the USA box office! As expected our illiterate media describes it as Ireland's first famine movie but anyone who reads this blog will have heard of <b>Under the hawthorn tree</b>. The problem with Irish film is it will always be considered art house abroad; there's a tiny market for this. Roll on the IFTAS!<br />
Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-42811061387614527342018-07-16T17:24:00.000+01:002018-07-16T17:24:12.578+01:00Lost and foundSet at Portarlington train station this is a multi-storied film about various characters there. A man proposes at an airport; a woman visits a funeral; a man begs for money; a pub tries out different themes; a woman decides to marry on a date; and a man digs a hole abroad. Watchable and enjoyable with a good cast. It's filmed over several years so some actors have aged! Unlike most Irish films it's not trying to win awards, promote tourism, or criticise the Church! Well-paced, well written, and middle-class! Best scene was the Australian sing-song at the pub. The main actor (<b>WC</b>, <b>Book that wrote itself</b>) also directs. Worth a look.<br />
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Title: Lost and found<br />
Genre: Anthology<br />
New/old: New <br />
Cinema/DVD: Cinema<br />
Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-69620423652270266572018-05-06T13:29:00.000+01:002018-05-06T13:29:56.410+01:00Michael insideYet another prison movie from the Film Board this one is about a young guy who gets sucked into the system. He fails to hide a bag of drugs and gets sentenced. The dealers come after his granddad who has to pay them money. The prisoner gets attacked and has to learn to stand up for himself. Then he gets out and has to face up to the dealer. Shot like a documentary it's slow in pace which only works in the prison scenes. The usual weak music on the soundtrack that you'll hear in every second Irish movie. The ending didn't make much sense; surely the dealers would have gone after him rather than get the police involved? The best thing about this movie is it's well cast. Other that that it's routine and no match on similar films like <i>Scum</i> and <i>Penitentiary</i>. The violent scenes are too brief and not effective. This picture is too restrained and has nothing to say. The young man is too passive and seems to be responsible for his own misfortunes. <br />
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Title: Michael inside<br />
Genre: Crime<br />
New/old: New <br />
Cinema/DVD: Cinema<br />
Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-62765303100034256452018-04-22T13:54:00.000+01:002019-12-18T18:51:51.459+00:00CuredAnother Irish horror movie this one is about the survivors of a virus that turns people into zombies. A few are still infected and they get locked up. Fast-paced and confusing it's based on older Romero movies like <i>Day of the Dead</i> and <i>The crazies</i>. This plague seems to have wiped out our non-nationals because the only survivors are indigenous Irish mostly in their 30s! They're all based around Croke Park in Dublin! Lots of brief scares and tension with loud effects but you won't care what happens as the characters are not likable. Completely unoriginal yet well made; that's Irish cinema in a nutshell. Compared with <b>Dead meat</b> and <b>Boy eats girl</b> this is a minor masterpiece!<br />
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Title: The cured<br />
Genre: Horror<br />
New/old: New <br />
Cinema/DVD: CinemaTiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-1667966531784809422018-03-26T12:23:00.001+01:002018-03-26T12:23:09.265+01:00NEW FILM STUDIO?With our media ridiculing the proposed Dublin Metrolink no-one wants to discuss this new film studio for Meath. Work spaces, offices, make-up rooms, CGI facilities, and dining areas are proposed. Have we learned nothing over the last 20 years? The kind of movies that require studios don't work here. They don't get good reviews, make money, or create a sustainable industry. Top American director Soderbergh makes his new movie with a camera phone but here in lil' old Ireland we still need to think big. Because film making isn't about talent, passion, ideas, or saying anything new. Instead, it's about awards, training courses, jobs, and producing small-screen movies for the multiplexes. To paraphrase Truffaut: put good writers, directors, designers, actors, editors, and composers together and you get TV dramas set in the 1950s.<br />
Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-748962123723320042018-03-20T13:02:00.001+00:002018-03-20T13:02:30.726+00:00Damo and Ivor the movieEnjoyable and funny road movie about three brothers, two trying to locate the third. Based on a TV show it's better than expected though has lots of holes in the story e.g. Ivor's marriage troubles. The romance between the Granny and the Garda gets tedious but the movie is fast-paced so you won't get bored. Some of it is hilarious e.g. the dog not allowed into the hospital and the traveller brother offering thousands of Euro for it. Tina Kellegher looks older than the Granny! Instantly forgettable but worth a look and you won't need to have seen the TV show to follow it.<br />
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Title: Damo and Ivor the movie<br />
Genre: Comedy<br />
New/old: New <br />
Cinema/DVD: Cinema<br />
Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-64907674208564721882018-03-13T16:28:00.001+00:002018-03-13T16:28:52.494+00:00LodgersAnother movie set in the 1920s in a Big House. This one adds horror elements but it's not up to much. Most of the cast are the same age and it's difficult to tell who's who. There's a lake nearby that goes under the house and dead people are living there. The ending is good though no-one could hold their breath that long. Add in the usual bad acting, dire piano music, confusing story, brief scenes, clean costumes, and a general sense of seen it all before so another average effort. One good scene shows petty locals mistreating a WW1 veteran who's lost part of his leg. Good to Deirdre O'Kane here arguing with her Anglo-Irish neighbours but in last year's <b>Halal Daddy</b> she got on great with our new Muslim arrivals! Another movie where a character carries a suitcase that is obviously empty as it swings about too much! <br />
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Title: The lodgers<br />
Genre: Big house<br />
New/old: New <br />
Cinema/DVD: Cinema<br />
Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-79104462766732330132018-03-05T12:54:00.002+00:002018-03-05T12:58:18.705+00:00WHAT'S REALLY MISSING FROM IRISH CINEMA?With current Irish films about as popular as a Lisdoonvarna asylum seekers' centre, STC outlines what's absent from our cinema.<br />
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1. <b>Ignore the awards</b><br />
The best films don't win awards and talented filmmakers don't make films to win silly IFTAs. STC won't even watch that rubbish anymore.<br />
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2. <b>No more horror films</b><br />
Irish horror movies are like Irish indie bands: bland, unoriginal, dull, forgettable, and not that good. <br />
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3. <b>Films with low budgets</b><br />
Not cheaply-made stuff trying to look expensive but films that don't need a lot of money to produce e.g. contemporary dialogue movies.<br />
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4. <b>Classical music</b><br />
Not just orchestral stuff but proper classical music. Plenty of older Irish composers with good music: Stanford, Field, Balfe. Why don't Irish movies use their music? This would raise the film up a notch.<br />
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5. <b>Life</b><br />
Irish films area mostly dull to watch, carefully composed scenes drawing attention to themselves with bad lighting. Lifeless and over-directed. Good films contain energy and movement.<br />
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6. <b>Quantity</b><br />
With some of our most overrated directors averaging about one feature per decade it's daft that the technology is there but there's still such little output. The easier it is to make movies the less get produced here?<br />
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7. <b>Realism</b><br />
Not gritty gangster movies but films that tackle every-day life with real people and their problems.<br />
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8. <b>Saying something new</b><br />
Films that have an interesting perspective to convey; not some character trying to overcome a disability or reach their wedding on time.<br />
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9. <b>Taking the piss</b><br />
What do films by Fellini, Leigh, Greenaway, Russell, Altman, Jarmusch, Antonioni, and Chabrol all have in common? They make fun of the characters and settings. <br />
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10. <b>Originality</b><br />
Has there ever been an Irish film that's not based on another from abroad? Something different that you've never seen before? Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-62368796126166218512017-10-31T12:50:00.000+00:002017-10-31T12:51:55.577+00:00Property of the stateStrange this movie has received little publicity. Set up to the 1990s it's about a young man who has mental health issues. Even worse, he lives in the rural country surrounded by locals who get involved and make him worse. Sent in and out of hospital and institutions he get pumped with valium and ends up killing a priest and a women and her kid in the woods. This could have been a really good movie. Sadly, it's the usual TV-drama style with lots of fast cuts and emphasis on the story. With uneven acting and direction you won't care what happens. A lot of it gets told in reverse sequence so gets confusing. The image is too slick and polished for this kind of movie. A lot of it is unintentionally funny: the overreaction of his family, the way he keeps getting help but ends up worse, the bad news TV clips, and the local Garda. You get the impression that if O'Donnell lived in Dublin he would avoid so much trouble. There are other similar Irish stories waiting to get made into movies (e.g. Abbeylara shooting) but I hope they avoid this bad style of film making. <br />
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Title: Property of the state<br />
Genre: Bio<br />
New/old: New <br />
Cinema/DVD: Cinema<br />
Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-82396707921469635902017-09-23T14:28:00.000+01:002017-09-23T14:29:58.020+01:00MazeHow many IRA prison movies has our Film Board now funded? This latest one is set in 1983 and details a true escape. The film is well paced and builds up to the break out. The rest is the usual dull lighting (well it is a prison!) and quick edits. It's certainly watchable and better than expected. The prison officers aren't as strict as usual and there's a lot of information given to prisoners without any suspicions. The clothing and haircuts accurately show what the 1980s was like. Enjoyable movie but like most Irish titles it offers nothing new.<br />
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Title: Maze<br />
Genre: IRA<br />
New/old: New <br />
Cinema/DVD: Cinema<br />
Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8663442291481131979.post-80035739164076062372017-09-09T14:03:00.000+01:002017-09-09T14:04:52.016+01:00Drummer and the keeperAnother mismatched two-hander this one is set in the music scene and involves mental health issues. The drummer is supposed to be bipolar yet is always miserable throughout the movie. The (goal)keeper has Aspergers yet this syndrome gets disproved in the movie. The rest of the film is dull and has lots of <i>Fat lady sings</i>-piano music. Nothing original and references various similar Irish movies: goths at the table; doctor's meeting, band falling out. Nothing new and runs along at a drab pace. Aimed at undemanding teenagers this is underwhelming and unoriginal. The opening scene sets the tone: a couch gets set on fire on a beach. That's supposed to be the hook that grabs you into this movie but doesn't. Another example in Irish cinema of mediocre, lame, lifeless, bland, derivative, predictable filmmaking. There's no story, it's more character-based but these people are too boring to make you care.<br />
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Title: The drummer and the keeper<br />
Genre: Drama<br />
New/old: New <br />
Cinema/DVD: Cinema<br />
Tiernan Sheridanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12936423046079738647noreply@blogger.com0