July | 2010 | average film reviews : Ireland | movie reviews, clips and trailers…

releasing this week: The A-Team

July 30, 2010 // 1 Comment

To be perfectly honest, if you haven’t seen Inception or Toy Story 3 then you should probably go and see one of those first. If you have seen them though then there’s a couple of options this week. For me, the major one this week is The A-Team. But, for the first time in a while, there’s another real option… For the younger ones, The Karate Kid is also out this week.

There’s some new kids in town. Well… may be they’re old kids. Hmm…

I’m sure you all know by now that The A-Team was a very popular TV show back in the ‘80s. It was about a good-hearted bunch of ex-Special Forces soldiers who found themselves on the wrong side of the law. Given that they were out on their collective ear with a very specialised skill set, they had limited options. So, they decided to become an underground crack team of mercenaries. Makes sense.

Fast forward to 2010 and remake fever has set in, the ‘80s are back in vogue and everyone likes a big summer action flick right?

The thing is, while I was alive for the whole of the ‘80s, just about, I was very young. So, while I appreciate The A-Team in general, I don’t really remember anything specific about it except that every week the 4 boyos got themselves into some kind of malarky involving… well… why don’t I let the fans over at Wikipedia tell you? Where else can you find a clear and concise explanation of what happens in every A-Team episode?

I have to imagine that something similar happens in the new version of A-Team. Except with a little more violence, more ridiculous escapes and bigger explosions. Sounds good to me.

I’m sure there’s many asking, why plunder a beloved ‘80s TV classic to make a new film? To be honest, I can’t answer that (of course) but I will say that I’m glad I don’t really remember it. I think that if it were my cherished memories they were marching through I’d be a bit less enthusiastic about the idea. Fortunately, they’re not, so bring on the flying tank. It sounds class.

Other films releasing this week…

The Karate Kid – Another ‘80s remake, but of a movie this time. Personally I have no interest in this, I never saw the original, I didn’t know there were like, 4 films along the same theme, I have no idea what happens in them and to be honest I’m not overly interested in finding out. Ok, I’m mildly curious about what the hell “Wax on, Wax off” means but that’s about it. For those who are thinking of going along, I gather that there is a lack of Karate, though perhaps not in the way you imagined it.

Gainsbourg – biopic of Serge Gainsbourg, French singer, songwriter, actor, director, poet, drinker and legend. Apparently. The film is based on the graphic novel of Gainsbourg’s life by Joann Sfar, who also directs this version. Sounds like an interesting one. As you can imagine though, it is on limited release. You can catch it in the IFI, The Screen on D’Olier Street, Cineworld and Light House Cinema in Smithfield.

Guess there aren’t that many films out this week… but A-Team and Karate Kid are both available all over the country and there’s always Inception and Toy Story 3

My pick? Toy Story 3. Go on. It’s wonderful. If you’ve already seen it, then go again, why not? You’ll love it.

The A-Team, Karate Kid and Gainsbourg are all in cinemas today – 30th July 2010.

releasing this week: Toy Story 3

July 22, 2010 // 2 Comments

Finally, at long last and over a month after it’s US release, Toy Story 3 has made it to these fair Irish shores. I have to see this movie.

There are also a few other films coming out this week including a medium sized romantic comedy, a Sicilian comedy drama, a film about bees and a sci-fi horror. Guess which one of those I’m most likely to see.

Firstly though, the big one. Toy Story 3.

I really love the Toy Story films… oddly it’s taken till now for me to realise that I don’t have a list of my favourite films on this site*. Well… I’ll have to get around to doing that later but if it was here you’d know that both the Toy Story films are on it. I’ve seen a lot of movies in my time but the Toy Story films get 2 berths in the top 10.

So… when I first heard they were making a Toy Story 3 I was, naturally, extremely worried. I didn’t understand why they were doing it. Actually I still don’t know why they did it, Pixar is a hugely successful and much lauded film company, they have no need to try and cash in on former glory. In a way that was mildly comforting though… maybe they were only doing it because they had a good idea… maybe? Could it be?

Fast forward a few years or so I guess, I’m not sure when I first heard, and it appears that I had nothing to worry about. Reports from everyone I know are glowing. It has a score of 92/100 on Metacritic. IMDb users have seen fit to catapult it into their top 10 with a score of 9.0/10. 99% of critics on Rotten Tomatoes can’t be wrong, can they?

Naturally, this worries me. Anyone who reads this blog will know that if there’s one thing I try to avoid its high expectations. I really don’t like being disappointed, it makes me sad and more practically, it makes it difficult for me to justify the money I spend on going to the cinema. Usually I’m very successful at keeping my expectations low… you’ve seen my reviews, I’ll find something to like about most films. This time though I can’t help it. I really love the Toy Story films…

…I don’t know what I’m going to make of Toy Story 3 but I know that if I don’t like it, it’s gonna hurt.

Other films releasing this week…

Colony – In that first paragraph I was implying that the sci-fi horror was the other film I would see from this week. That’s mainly because I’ve already seen this one.

I’ve been going on about this on twitter a bit and I also highlighted it when I talked about the programme for JDIFF 2010. This is a film about bees and beekeepers. Specifically about how they seem to be dying out. If you’ve never heard of Colony Collapse Disorder then go see this movie.

If you have heard of CCD then well… truth be told it’s not the best documentary I’ve seen on the subject. It’s still a very good documentary. It just that it goes more for the human element, whereas I’ve heard of CCD and I’m already worried about the bees so I’m more interested in the science.That’s just me though and I can’t deny that them beekeepers are an interesting bunch! Go on everyone, give it a look. You might just learn something.

This is on for a limited week long run in the IFI and this Friday night’s 18:10 screening will have a Q+A with the co-director Ross McDonnell and Trevor Sargent TD. I don’t know if it will be releasing in cinemas around the country after that so best to catch it in the IFI while you can.

Splice – This one looks pretty interesting. Nothing new, crazy scientists create a new species and guess what… it’s dangerous(!), but I like the look of the poster and it has that dude I like from Stargate: Atlantis in it. He always seemed like a funny guy. Also it’s directed by the guy who made Cube and Cypher, Vincenzo Natali. What a great name.

I liked Cube, and Cypher was pretty entertaining too, but fact is, I’m always up for the ol’ sci-fi horror. The first trailer didn’t look great but the second one seemed ok so that’s enough for me

Oh, it’s a pretty limited release though… so if you want to see it be prepared to have to seek it out and don’t be surprised if it’s gone in the next week or two. At the moment it’s scheduled to be in Dundrum, Swords, Cineworld and Vue in Liffey Valley in Dublin. I’m not sure if it’s showing outside of Dublin at all.

The Rebound – You shouldn’t have too much of a problem finding a cinema showing this one. Romantic comedy about a cougar. Starring, ironically enough, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Justin Bartha. To be fair I don’t think Zeta-Jones’s character is particularly setting out to be a cougar… I probably won’t see it but I’ve heard it’s surprisingly decent so possibly worth a look if you’re in that kind of mood.

Baaria – Scilian drama (I gather there’s a comedy element too) by Giuseppe Tornatore. It follows the story of three generations of a Scilian family and their relationship with their small town, and the people in it, in the years around WWII. To be honest, I’m very unfamilar with European cinema (aside from UK films) and all I know about this director is that he did Cinema Paradiso. Haven’t seen it but I hear it’s a classic. So, again, I’m very unlikely to see this but it was nominated for a Golden Globe so it could be pretty decent.

Toy Story 3 has been on previews since Monday so you can go see it now. Colony, Splice, The Rebound and Baaria are all in cinemas from this Friday 23rd June 2010.

* = It is on my IMDb profile page though… you can see it here.

releasing this week: Inception

July 18, 2010 // No Comment

Ok late again but I have a good excuse this week, I was out of the continent… but without further ado my (late) round up of the films that went on general release in Ireland on Friday 16th July 2010.

As I mentioned last week, we’re currently going through a quiet patch of movies. There’s actually only 1 film releasing this week that is opening on more than 2 screens; unless you count the previews of Toy Story 3 but I’m going to save that for next week…

I’m sure you won’t be surprised but the film I’m highlighting this week is… Inception. Some of you have probably seen it by now, since it’s been in cinemas since Thursday, but for what it’s worth here’s my two cents on it.

I have no idea what Inception is about.

I’ve been working very hard at not finding out what Inception is about.

Granted, I’ve already written two articles about it but nonetheless, I still don’t know sfa about it. Except that it pretty much had the coolest teaser trailer I’d seen in a long time.

Since then I’ve spent a fair amount of time in cinemas staring at my feet during the trailers and I actually only really glanced at the photos that I wrote about in the second article. I guess you can say that this week’s preview article is really poorly researched. Heehee, sorry about that.

Ok, ok, just in case you really, genuinely, haven’t heard about it, Inception is Christopher Nolan’s new film. Nolan is probably best known for directing The Dark Knight. I sometimes think I’m one of the few that didn’t think that The Dark Knight was a cinematic masterpiece (please, don’t flame me, I’ve this argument enough) but I did really love his earlier film Memento so his name carries a fair bit of weight for me.

Throw in Leonardo DiCaprio – for me, one of the better actors of this generation – and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, an actor who always seems to pick interesting scripts (I said interesting, the end results vary), and you’ve got a film with potential. The clincher for me was the fact that the trailer reminded me of Dark City, I loved that film. Really. If you haven’t seen it you should. I’m confident though that Nolan has created an original film * here…

The only thing that really worries me about Inception now is the overwhelmingly positive critical response. I never like to expect too much but unfortunately, what with being on holiday and all, I wasn’t able to see this on the first night. The hype is sky high on this one, I saw The Matrix under a haze of similar hype and I think I just never entirely warmed to it because of that… I’ll just have to try and put it out of my head when I finally get to see Inception.

Anyway I’ll leave it at that. You can have a look at my earlier articles here and here if you want to know a bit more. Really I said pretty much the same things in those articles, but you can see the film stills and the teaser trailer so I guess that’s adding something. Still… I’m probably really just adding about one cents worth here…

Those of you who have seen it. What did you think?

Other films out this week…

The Concert – French / Russian comedy drama about a conductor of the Bolshoi Orchestra who was fired for hiring Jewish musicians, 30 years later he gets the chance to try and put on a concert in Paris and decides to try and get his old musicians together. Starring Mélanie Laurent of Inglourious Basterds fame. Showing in The IFI and Light House Cinema, Smithfield.

Good Hair – Comedy documentary about African-American hair by Chris Rock. Funny guy. I’ve always liked him. Showing in the Light House Cinema and Screen Cinema in Dublin.

Tetro – Acclaimed director, Francis Ford Coppola’s latest film. Vincent Gallo stars as Tetro, a tortured poet, long estranged from his family. When his brother comes looking for him 10 years after he disappeared from the family, he finds Tetro is very different from how he expected… soon the two of them find themselves having to deal with their long obscured past.

Inception, Good Hair, The Concert and Tetro are all in Irish cinemas now.

* = I’m only stirring with that link really ;-P. The Matrix is obviously different enough from Dark City… the similarities are striking though no?

film review: His & Hers (2010)

July 10, 2010 // No Comment

I had to think about this one.

Well, I think about all my reviews – words don’t appear on the screen by themselves* – but usually it’s less about what I’m going to say and more about how I’m going to say it. This film had me thinking about… stuff.

Ah ok, there’s no point in shying away from it. It had me thinking about how circumstances shape lives… and, to a certain degree, how different my life could have been. Doesn’t really have anything to do with the specific subject matter of the film… but I felt that, through the way the film told it’s story, it invited you to have a look at your own story. Err… perhaps more so if you happen to be a woman…

… but I do think that there’s something there that everyone can relate to. It struck a chord with me and I believe that it really does almost force you to look at your own life. Whether you’re happy with what you see or not is really up to you.

Or maybe I’m just getting carried away, after all I don’t know if it’s by accident or design. And besides, what do I know? Perhaps it’s one of those things I should have asked the director – I was lucky enough to catch this at a Q+A session organised by Element Pictures, the distributors of the film.

Let’s talk about the film.

His & Hers is a documentary from Irish writer and director Ken Wardrop. Up until now it seems he has been a very successful short film director. I know extremely little about the short film landscape in Ireland but if it’s producing directors like this then I’m thinking I should probably go have a look. I do at least know where to start. If you mosey on over to the Irish Film Board website you’ll find their Short Film Channel. I have no idea how up to date that part of the site is but there certainly are plenty of short films to have a look at.

Umm… back to the film. Yes. It doesn’t require a whole lot more introduction other than what you have probably already read about it. His & Hers is a feature length documentary – a woman’s story of the man in her life, told through the voices of 70 Irish women in the midlands. That really is all you need to know about it, to tell you more would be to tell you the story and I think it’s best that you hear that story in the women’s own words.

To be honest when I heard what it was about I just didn’t really see how it would be done. Not that I thought it wouldn’t be possible, more that I just couldn’t imagine it. I ain’t that imaginative you see. Fortunately Wardrop is. He has used his experience in short film to create a cohesive, if somewhat loose, narrative from what was undoubtedly hours of footage. Together with his excellent cinematographers, Michael Lavelle and Kate McCullough, Wardrop has created a little window into the Irish woman’s life.

I do want to make a quick comment about the cinematography. I’m a little obsessed with that. The work in His & Hers is really outstanding and I’m happy to say that it was recognised at the Sundance festival this year.

I know I’m raving a bit here so you’re probably wonder why I’m only giving this 8/10. The fact is that, when the credits rolled, I had more that a few questions over the choices that Wardrop made in the sequences he chose to include. I found it a bit strange that, for the most part, all the experiences included were very positive. I thought it was odd that there were so few women of my age (30). Also I don’t know why there was no talk of the women’s relationships with their brothers… Dads and partners, but not brothers.

Fortunately Mr. Wardrop was on hand to answer some of those questions.

In his own words, His & Hers is an attempt to tell a happy story, one based on his mother’s life and her relationship with his father and, presumably with himself. This is not a disparate story by any means. He had one personal vision for the story he wanted to tell. To me that explains why there are no villains and few younger women – I assume he best knows the story of his mother from when he met her, so to speak… Course if could have been that younger women were less candid. He wasn’t specific but, I suspect that wasn’t particularly the case. He did say that he found the older women’s stories more interesting. Interesting to him I guess, this is an entirely personal film, not an attempt at an anthropological study.

Still I’m giving this 8/10 because, while I really found this to be a fascinating and (to my surprise) thought provoking documentary – when you watch it, it really isn’t obvious what he set out to do. It was great to hear him explain it but I’m certainly not the only reviewer who wondered about those particular points and more.

I do however recommend everyone go see this film. It’s a wonderful story, genuine, honest and beautifully shot to boot.

8/10

To find a cinema showing it have a look at their official website

And if you want to know more about Ken Wardrop I recommend Donald Clarke’s interview with him in the Irish Times

* actually, words do sometimes appear on the screen by themselves – damn automatic typing fingers.

releasing this week: Predators

July 8, 2010 // 1 Comment

So… I’m gonna keep this relatively short because I’m currently overseas on holiday. Lucky for me my two weeks holidays fall across weekends that don’t have many new films coming out. I guess most studios were expecting Shrek Forever After and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse to suck up most of the audience. They’re probably right.

Since there are only three films out this week I thought I’d just pick one to highlight… besides how much more do you really need to read about Twilight?

I’m sure none of ye are surprised to find out that the film I’m highlighting this week is Predators.

Now I have a confession to make. I’ve never seen any of the original Predator films. In fact the only Predator film I’ve ever seen was 2004′s AVP: Alien vs. Predator… While I wouldn’t say that was an awful, terrible film, I definitely would not say that it was any good at all. The best I can say about it was that it was pretty funny, very funny really… and it made me to shout at the screen alot. So… at least it ellicted a reaction.

Course, this might lead one to wonder why I’d highlight this new reboot / sequel / remake / re-imagining (what are they calling it these days?). Fact is that, it doesn’t really matter to me whether every incarnation of the Predator on film was as crap as AVP – I will always highlight a wide release with green glowing blood in it. How can I not?

The story behind this new film seems pretty simple, to quote the IMDb plot summary – “A group of elite warriors are hunted by members of a merciless alien race known as Predators.” – handy enough. Sometimes a simple plot can go a long way…

However, the real reason I want to highlight this film is the cast. Director Nimród Antal has had ample talent to work with. Oscar winner Adrien Brody and Oscar nominee Laurence Fishburne are the top names however I’m particularly to see Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, who featured in one of my favourite mini-series of recent years The 4400. Also good to see Alice Braga from City of God, one of my top 3 films of the decade Looks a hell of a lot better than the calibre of cast you’d usually see in your average reboot / sequel / re-imagining / remake… who knows, this might even be a good film.

Also… for what it’s worth, I’ve heard the original Predator is very good. A classic, even. That said, I somehow I suspect I will not need to watch that one before I see this.

Other films releasing this week…

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse – in case you hadn’t heard, there’s a new Twilight film out this week. This is the film that covers the third book in the series, the one in which… no, sorry, I have no idea what happens in Twilight. All I know is there’s vampires, werewolves and a pale looking emo type girl.

Which is not to say that I’ll never watch the films, I just don’t want to part with any cash for something I might hate. So I’m waiting to borrow it from some people. You know who you are! I expect to see at least the first film on my desk when I’m back from holidays!

Leaving (Partir) – French drama starring Kristen Scott Thomas.

Sometimes I think I should watch more European mainland cinema (for want of a better phrase). I’ve seen precious few French / Italian / Spanish / German &c. films and the ones I have seen are mainly horror films, with one or two documentaries thrown in.

I had a look at the synopsis and a few reviews of this film and it looks pretty interesting; briefly put, it’s about a woman who has an affair what consequences her actions bring upon her and those around her. Opinions seem to be split but I’ll fall on the side of positive since the criticisms I’ve read seem a little forced.

If you want to see this then (surprise! surprise!) the cinemas you can catch it in in Ireland are quite limited. This week they will be showing in Dublin only in The IFI, Temple Bar and Light House Cinema, Smithfield.

Predators and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse are currently playing in Irish cinemas as previews. Both these films and Leaving will be on general release in cinemas from Friday 9th July 2010.