After cinemas in Bray and Greystones closed, the area was left with only one place to watch films. The Mermaid Arts Centre regularly exhibits arthouse films however they mainly programme contemporary films and tend to show larger releases.

Kinoteka Bray was started up in January 2010 as a way for interested people to get together and watch older and classic arthouse films. The club focuses on subtitled films and some of the films they shown so far include Bande à Part (France, 1964), Teorema (Italy, 1968), Tampopo (Japan, 1985) and Nosferatu (Germany, 1922). Kinoteka Bray aims to create a friendly environment where films can be screened and discussed informally. With beer.

Screenings are free and usually take place on the second Tuesday of each month though you should check the Kinoteka Bray website or follow them on their Facebook page to keep up to date with events.

Their next screening will be on Tuesday 14th Feb at 8.30pm and they’ll be showing Kontroll – Nimród Antal’s 2003 cult black comedy about a gang of ticket inspectors in the Budapest underground. It’s a film I’ve never seen but keep meaning to pick up some time.

I’ll leave you with a couple of the posters from their screenings last year that you might have seen around Bray. Beautiful work from the group!

If you run a film club and you’d like me to highlight it, give me a shout at nicola@averagefilmreviews.com and I’ll be happy to see what I can do!

Or rather, they want you to serenade your loved ones… yes. That’s more accurate. I’m sure they’d sing to you if you asked them to though. Well, maybe.

Anyway, obviously this is a little different from my usual posts. It’s a sponsored post but then I wouldn’t write about it if I thought it was crap.

In my life outside the site, I’m very interested in how companies are trying to do different things with social media and brand messaging. With this Serenade Your Date campaign, Heineken are doing just that.

For Valentine’s Day, Heineken have created a Facebook app that will allow you to send a personalised “serenade” to your hopefully-soon-to-be-more-than friend. You just pick Who, Why, What and Why Me and off it goes. Than you just have to hope they say yes.

They’ve also organised an 8 hour live global event called Serenade Live on 9th February which will be streamed on Heineken’s YouTube Channel. So yes, this is a pretty big deal. It sounds to me like one of the biggest social media campaigns going.

If you want to get involved, and you are over 18 (or whatever the legal drinking age in your country is) pop along to the Facebook Serenade Your Date app and give it a go. Don’t forget to also have a look at the live event on 9th Feb 2012 – things are kicking off at 6pm UK/IRL time.

sponsored post

Anyway, you can read more about the film over on that post because what I wanted to highlight here was the YouTube competition that was organised around its release.

The concept was simple but it was pretty cool. They wanted to find the UK’s spookiest ghost story. They invited people from all over the UK to sumbit videos of their original ghost stories to The Woman in Black YouTube channel. Stories had to be under 2 minutes but the videos could be as simple as someone just making a recording from their phone’s camera. It was open to all ages but as far as I can see there was a rather youthful bent to the entrants.

Just before the Christmas the 10 finalists were announced, chosen on the basis of their story’s creativity, originality and writing style. Those 10 went to a public vote… The prize? The winner of the competition would get a trip to the world premiere in London but better yet their story would be read out by Daniel Radcliffe himself for inclusion on the DVD release of the film. Not bad hey?

Well, the competition was quite the success and it was great example of a company doing something a bit more original with social media to promote a film. I don’t know how many entries they got in total but there are 175 on their playlist on the official YouTube channel – youtube.com/thewomaninblackmovie. You can see all the competition entries over there but I’ve got the top 10 here for your viewing pleasure.

The winner in the end was Nicola Torch, a 16 year old from Lancashire, with her story entitled “Fear of Hue”, which you can see below. Congrats Nicola, hope you enjoyed the premiere and looking forward to seeing your ghost story on the DVD!

RELEASE DETAILS

release date: 10 Feb 2012
director: James Watkins
writers: Susan Hill (novel), Jane Goldman (screenplay)
cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Ciarán Hinds, Janet McTeer
genre: thriller, ghost story
running time: 113 minutes

Official website: www.thewomaninblack-movie.co.uk
Official facebook page: facebook.com/TheWomanInBlackUK
Official Twitter feed: @WomanInBlackUK

The Woman in Black YouTube ghost story competition finalists

Candy Bones by Paul Bristow
The Woman of the Graveyard by Lukas DiSparrow
The Treehouse by Holly Knowles
The Fall by littlemonkeygun
HACK by mothergoose8619
Cassie’s Ghost by Cinzialix
The Calming Mist by Alice
A Ghost Story by Natiekins
The Dead House by Jasmine Thorburn
Fear of Hue by Nicola Torch (winning entry)

See the rest of the competition entries over here.

Candy Bones by Paul Bristow

New operators, Element Pictures, say they plan to screen the best of international art house and Irish cinema, as well as re-runs of classics and special events. They are, hopefully, starting as they mean to go on, with the programme for this (re)opening weekend includes The Artist and Shame. Other films include Madonna’s W.E. and Clint Eastwood’s latest, J. Edgar.

Their (likely) re-vamped website is not up and running just yet, but you can contact them on twitter @LightHouseD7 or on their Facebook page. They have been up and answering queries, so if you have a question get over there and start following them! If you’re wondering if they’re going to have a loyalty scheme, from their responses this morning it looks like one might possibly be on the cards…

The Light House Cinema has had a slightly chequered history. This particular Light House Cinema first opened in Smithfield in May 2008 under the ownership of Neil Connelly and Maretta Dillion. Dillion and Connelly had run the original Light House Cinema on Middle Abbey Street. That cinema enjoyed a run of 8 years in it’s Abbey Street premises, the art-deco style facade of which can still be made out, till it’s lease ran out in 1996.

The site in Smithfield was then custom-built with 614 seats across 4 screens and areas which could be used for events and exhibitions. The arthouse cinema was heralded as a centre to invigorate the cultural cinema landscape and deliver a greater choice and diversity of films in Dublin. Indeed, the site was designated as a cultural space under the planning permission given for Smithfield Market and some €1.75 million was granted by the state for its development.

Unfortunately the cinema, and Smithfield in general, became a victim of the property crash and in April 2011, The Light House had to close it’s doors again in the wake of a rental dispute with the landlord, Mr. John Flynn of Fusano Properties. Fusano’s properties had been taken over by the National Assets Management Agency (NAMA).

Under NAMA and Fusano Properties a new tenant was sought for the site and happily one has been found in Element Pictures.

Element Pictures is a Irish film and television production company, founded in 2001 by Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe. They have produced such successful Irish films as The Wind That Shakes The Barley and last year’s massive hit, The Guard, starring Brendan Gleeson. The company also operates Element Pictures Distribution, who are responsible for the distribution of StudioCanal (formerly Optimum Releasing) films in Ireland.

From the press release for the official launch today, 17th January 2012:

Welcoming the reopening of the Light House, Minister for The Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan said “The Programme for the Government committed us to seek to capture some public good from NAMA buildings for arts and culture facilities. The reopening of the Light House is a tangible expression of that commitment. I believe that this outcome is hugely positive for the arthouse cinema sector, for the Smithfield area and for employment and economic regeneration locally“.

Directors of Element Pictures Andrew Lowe and Ed Guiney are “delighted that the Light House Cinema will be screening films again. We are opening the cinema at the earliest possible opportunity and have lots of ideas, which we will implement over the coming months . We really appreciate the warm support and goodwill we have received following the news and look forward to ensuring that a visit to the Light House is a unique and wonderful experience. We would also like to extend our thanks to the Minister Jimmy Deenihan, the Arts Council and Bord Scannán na hÉireann / Irish Film Board for their support in getting the Light House up and running again”.

Commenting on the news, James Hickey, Chief Executive, Bord Scannán na hÉireann / Irish Film Board said “The reopening of the Light House brings an important renewal of the Irish exhibition landscape. It will once again provide Dublin audiences with reinvigorated access to the wide range of independently produced films than are currently available. It is our ambition that the Light House will contribute to the growing appetite for independent cinema amongst Irish audiences, in a cinematic environment with the availability of the latest digital equipment.“

Orlaith McBride, Director of the Arts Council, said, “The Arts Council wishes Element Pictures every success in the operation of the Light House cinema. Element Pictures will build on the programming foundations laid by the Light House since its opening and will continue to bring a diverse range of cinema to audiences in Dublin to this fine cinema setting“.

Co-directors Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe at the re-launch of the Light House Cinema in Smithfield today, 17th Jan 2012.

As big a horror fan I am, last year was actually the first time I went along to it. Pretty poor showing from me considering this is its 14th year. For the 2010 festival I did a little post on what I was looking forward and it seemed to go down well so I thought I’d do it again.

Whoops, first I should say, if you haven’t heard of Horrorthon before, it’s a 4.5 day festival in the Irish Film Institute. It starts on this Thursday, 27th October, with the Irish premiere of the much anticipated ghost story The Awakening and closes on Monday 31st with a special screening of a 70mm print of James Cameron’s classic, Aliens, with star Michael Biehn in attendance for a Q+A.

The full programme is up on the IFI website now and it is now open for booking. Pricewise, it’s not particularly cheap to see just the one film – tickets for most individual films are €9. That said, they do a great deal on the festival passes which cover 1, 2, 3, 4 or the full 5 days for a very reasonable price considering what you’re getting. Check out the home page for details. I think you might have to call to book them though, rather than booking through the site.

Anyway, if you’re not sure what you might like to see, here are my picks for each day of the festival.



The Awakening (2011)

When I started looking up this film I found something interesting on IMDb… “The Awakening” is an incredibly popular name for a movie. It’s ridiculous. Last year alone there were 6 films called “The Awakening” that made it on to IMDb. Jaysus people, come up with a more original name.

Ok, interesting might have been stretching it there… In any case, at the moment this particular “Awakening” has a 7.8 on IMDb. Now of course, IMDb rating are all over the place, but generally if a horror film has more than a 6, it’s probably reasonably decent. 7 is almost unheard of. That alone, in my book, is a reason to want to see this film.

Beyond that, it looks like it’s a standard issue ghost story. Which is very hard to sell really. I mean, you’ll know if you like ghost stories or not…

This particular one is set in England after the First World War. Rebecca Hall (who’s apparently the step-sister in law of someone called Issy) stars as a hoax exposer who is visiting a boarding house to disprove a haunting by a child ghost and it also features Dominic West (used to be a cattle herder) and Imelda Staunton (who will no doubt be great).

The Awakening opens the festival on Thursday 27th October at 7pm.
You can book tickets for The Awakening here.



The Exterminator (1980) / Maniac Cop (1988) – double bill

Couple of ’80s exploitation classic for ya. You like that kind of thing right?

First up is The Exterminator.

Robert Ginty stars as John Eastland, a Vietnam veteran who, after an attack on his best friend by a group of thugs, turns into a violent vigilante seeking justice (don’t they all?). Armed with a flame-thrower, hungry rats and a meat grinder, Eastland is out to clean up the streets of New York…

… Or make them extremely messy. I’m not sure which. I haven’t seen it, but I like the sound of it.

As if that wasn’t enough though, it’s followed by Maniac Cop!

You Have The Right To Remain Silent… Forever.

What a tag line! How could you not want to see a film with a line like that?

In Maniac Cop, a dangerous serial killer (is there any other kind?) is loose on the streets of (you guessed it) New York, dressed as a police officer. As the bodies stack up, Jack Forrest, a young cop (and more importantly, Bruce Campbell) somehow becomes the chief suspect. Now it’s up to him (and his girlfriend apparently) to catch the real killer and clear his name.

The Exterminator and Maniac Cop double bill starts at 11.10pm on Friday night, 28th October.
You can book tickets for this double bill here.



Troll 2 (1990)

This might just be the Best Worst Movie you ever see.

I hear there aren’t actually any trolls in this. Instantly, I love it – a “sequel” to Troll, called Troll 2, with no trolls. Genius. In fact, what it has is murderous vegetarian goblins. What?! I know!

If the idea of murderous vegetarian goblins wasn’t enough, I can also tell you that the script was written in English by the director and his wife. Who apparently didn’t actually speak English at the time. It was also filmed in Utah, with American actors, by an all Italian crew. Who didn’t speak English either. Sounds like the recipe for success to me.

I have to admit, I love the idea of watching really bad movies. Particularly films that appear on the IMDb Bottom 100. Troll 2 is on there at #74, just below Mitchell, which I can assure you is an extremely bad film. Someday, I will work my way through that list. Even if I only manage to see the bottom 10, it’s going to happen.

The fact is, if there’s ever an appropriate environment to watch films of this calibre, then late night at the IFI Horrorthon is it. I saw Birdemic: Shock and Terror in the same slot last year and it was pretty much the most hilarious movie experience I’ve ever had.

Troll 2 is on Saturday night, 29th October at 11.30pm.
You can book tickets for Troll 2 here.



The Dark Crystal (1982)

There’s only one film I care about on the Sunday. The absolute childhood classic The Dark Crystal.

I love this movie. It was one of two films* we used to watch over and over again when I was a young girl growing up in Singapore, partly because our neighbour had it on VHS, but mainly because it was brilliant. I can’t wait to see it on the big screen and I hope to see you all there at 11am on Sunday. I don’t care if you have some fancy dress party or whatever the night before. That’s no excuse. You gotta wake up and come and see The Dark Crystal.

If you’ve never seen it, The Dark Crystal is a mystical, magical fantasy adventure. With puppets. It was directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz and at the time the animatronics were considered ground-breaking. I know I was stunned when I first saw them and I hope, if this is the first time you get to see it, you will be too. Considering it was made in the early ’80s of course.

The Dark Crystal is screening on Sunday morning, 30th October at 11am.
You can book tickets for The Dark Crystal here.



Saint (2010)

I could recommend that on Monday, you go see the 70mm print of Aliens at 8.30pm. It’s the closing film, it’ll have Michael Biehn doing a Q+A at it and it is probably, objectively, the best film at the festival.

But… it’s already sold out.

So instead, just to get you into the Christmas spirit. I’m recommending Saint.

Not that I’ve seen it or anything, so don’t blame me if it’s crap. I just like the ol’ Christmas horror flicks, you know, like Silent Night, Deadly Night… everyone knows the whole, “He sees you when you’re sleeping” thing, Christmas and horror, they just go together.

This particular Christmas horror is a Dutch film from last year and is set on Sinterklaas, or St. Nicholas’s Eve – that’s 5th December to me and you. Guess what though, this jolly ol’ St. Nick ain’t that interested in whether you’ve been naughty or nice. He’s a crazy bishop and he’s into kidnapping and murder.

Ho, ho, ho.

Saint is showing on Monday evening, 31st October at 6.45pm.
You can book tickets for Saint here.


So those are my picks for IFI Horrorthon 2011. Hope there’s one there that might tickle your fancy and maybe I’ll see you there!

Anyway, with Planet 51, Race to Witch Mountain and The Game Plan all under his belt, I was getting a bit worried that our friend was starting to get typecast into family movies. What if he never properly kicked ass again! Imagine my delight when I saw his next film is a proper action flick.

In Faster, Dwayne Johnson plays an ex-con out for revenge for the murder of his brother. Nothing will stand in his way, though a veteran cop (Billy Bob Thornton) and a hitman (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) are going to try.

In this exclusive clip you see the killer getting hired. As you’ll notice, he’s well stocked for his mission. You’ll also see Maggie Grace. I like that. I like seeing what the folks from Lost are up to.

You can also have a look at the full trailer below.

I’ve seen all his movies bar one – Legends the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, it has to be said, that’s one ridiculous title – and I really enjoyed them. I think my favourite of them was Watchmen (review) but 300 was good fun and Dawn of the Dead was one of those rare horror remakes that actually held it’s own with the original. Some even say it’s better.

Interesting, I’ve just suddenly realised that the opening scenes of both Watchmen and Dawn of the Dead were fantastic (can’t remember 300′s)… I wonder what we’re in store for with Sucker Punch.

Oh yeah, Sucker Punch. That’s what I’m meant to be talking about.

When I saw the first Sucker Punch trailer back in July 2010 I thought “Holy crap, looks like that film’s got everything but the kitchen sink in it” (I really did, you can check the facebook page). Subsequent trailers and posters have not changed that view. This film look mental. Fitting given that our lead character is apparently in a mental institution.

I’m not entirely sure what the film is about because, as per usual with films I’m looking forward to, I have been avoiding reading too much about it. I gather that we’re (possibly) in this girl Babydoll’s imagination? And she and her friends have to go on a quest for her to escape this institution they’ve been locked up in? Something along those lines? I don’t know.

It doesn’t matter anyway. It looks crazy and here at Average Film Reviews we’re big fans of crazy. So have a look at the trailers below and let me know what you think. Looks exciting right? It’s promising a lot so let’s hope Mr. Snyder can deliver.

So when it came to Battle: Los Angeles, a film I knew practically nothing about except that it had changed titles a few times, I didn’t pay loads of attention straight off. Word trickled in that it was good though so I kept it in mind to come back. Also I heard there were aliens in it. I am a sci-fi / fantasy girl at heart. Alien invasion? I’m in.

Time went by and I never got around to it. Then I was sitting in the cinema waiting for, coincidentally, the subject of my last review, The Mechanic, and I heard this weirdly haunting song. I looked up and I was entranced. It was the Battle: Los Angeles trailer.

Like most of us though, I’ve been burned by trailers with good music before. For every The Social Network trailer there’s a Daybreakers trailer just sitting there pointing and laughing at you.

So. I refuse to get overly enthusiastic about this film. I don’t know the director, I’ve never heard of the writer and there’s only one actor I like in it.

But.

I really like him. I really really don’t want to believe he would pick a bad script. Also, I think I mentioned… I love alien films… and if there’s a hint of apocalypse in there then even better. Maybe I can be a bit enthusiastic about it.

Have a look at the trailer below to see what I’m talking about and let me know what you think. Do you think it looks as cool as I think it does, or I am deluding myself with hope again?

Every year the JDIFF divides itself into strands and this years strands are

Reel to Reel – Documentaries from around the world
Discovery – Putting the spotlight on films they consider excellent that may not get a general release here in Ireland.
First Look – Irish premieres, a chance to see great films from from across the globe before they come out here.
Out of the Past – JDIFF has raided to archives to bring classic films, restored and back on the big screen where they belong.
Irish Cinema – the best new feature length and short films from Ireland.
Red Carpet Screening – No film festival would be complete without some red carpet action…

Each year they also choose to throw the spotlight onto the films from certain countries. This year they are showcasing French, Latin American and Romanian cinema.

All in all they have over 130 films screening between 17th and 27th Feb so there’s plenty there for everyone. If you want to know what I’ve got my eye on, keep reading.


Outrage (Autoreiji)
Saturday 19th Feb, 11am, Cineworld – Japan – Discovery

I’m a big fan of Far East Asian cinema. I don’t talk about it as much any more, partly because very few actually get a cinema release here and partly because I’m not in Ranelagh as much as I used to be, so never get to browse Laser’s shelves any more. Anyway, generally when one does come to the cinema I try to make the effort to get along to it.

Especially if it stars the legend Beat Takeshi. In fact, Outrage doesn’t just star Takeshi Kitano, he also wrote and directed it. As he is wont to do. This one it about the Yakuza. I’m sure it will be great.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Friday 18th Feb, 6.30pm, Cineworld – USA – Reel to Reel

This film is already sold out but I wanted to mention it anyway in case it gets a general release later in the year…

Werner Herzog is back (not that he went anyway) and he’s decided to make another documentary. About caves. In 3D. It sounds cool to me. I have no idea what he has to say about these caves but damn it Herzog, I’m up for it. Except that I don’t have a ticket, so I too will be waiting for that general release.

Circus Fantasticus
Sunday 20th Feb, 6.30pm, Cineworld – Ireland – Discovery

Truth is, unless you have a lot of time and money on your hands, it can be difficult to decide what you want to see when there are so many films on offer. Sometimes you just have to go with the title. This is a good title. And, bonus, it turns out it -is- about a circus. Well, a circus and war.

Circus Fantasticus is about a man widowed by war and left to bring up his two children. All seems bleak until a circus rolls up, bringing with it hope, light, and happiness, sweeping the family up and away with it. This film won a heap of awards at the 13th Festival of Slovenian Cinema and it sounds like an interesting one to pop along to if you think you can buy into it.

Incendies
Saturday 26th Feb, 11am, Cineworld – Canada / France – Discovery

This year’s entry from Canada for the 2011 Oscars. It’s nominated in Best Foreign Language Film but you’ll have to wait till the 28th before you find out if it won.

Incendies is the story of twins, whose mother’s dying wish is that they travel to the Middle East to find their roots. Through their travels, as they pull together the strings of their tangled past, they find themselves learning more about their mother than they knew was to be known.

Snap
Sunday 20th Feb, 8.30pm, Cineworld – Ireland – Irish cinema

Psychological tension and mystery surround the story of Sandra (Aisling O’Sullivan) and her son Stephen (Stephen Moran). As Sandra tells her side of the story to a documentary crew, we see flashbacks of a day unfolding, the day that her 15 year old son is alleged to have kidnap a toddler.

Writer/Director Carmel Winters, a successful playwright uses a combination of techniques, documentary video, Super 8 and mobile phone footage to create the atmosphere for her feature film debut.

Carmel Winters will be in attendance for this screening

The Big Uneasy
Tuesday 22nd Feb, 6.30pm, IFI – USA – Reel to Reel

Almost 5 years since Hurricane Katrina, Harry Shearer – comedian, actor and New Orleans resident – explores the response to the storm and the flaws in the preparations for a disaster of this scale. He speaks to investigators, residents and a whistle-blower in an effort to unravel what really went on and why people are still willing to live in the city.

Personally I’m fascinated by Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath. Like so many big stories, you rarely get to really hear much behind the headlines… and then the next thing you know, that story’s gone, the media is done and on to the next one. This is one I’m definitely going to try to get to.

Harry Shearer will be in attendance for this screening

The Adjustment Bureau
Friday 25th Feb, 8pm, Savoy – USA – Red Carpet Screenings

It’d be totally against the ethos of the site if I didn’t highlight at least one big film… The Adjustment Bureau is loosely based on a short story called Adjustment Team by Philip K. Dick. I’m a big fan of his so I’ll go to any film associated with him… and my my there really have been a few. Unfortunately, a lot of them are crap. I have to wondering if it’s even possible to film a Philip K. Dick story… … Doesn’t stop people trying of course. And I’ll keep going along to see the attempts.

This one looks like one of the better ones, it’s directed by George Nolfi, who wrote the screenplay for The Bourne Ultimatum and< Ocean’s Twelve. I’d be interested to see his take on a Philip K. Dick story.

That’s it for now folks otherwise I’ll be way too late posting thing. If any of these films interest you I would urge you to follow the links and book!

The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival runs from Feb 17th to Feb 27th 2011.