The Banshees Of Inisherin, the latest film from In Bruges and Three Billboards writer/director Martin McDonagh, is a beautifully shot, wonderfully acted, very quirky, if slightly uneven tragi-comedy that sits somewhere between folk tale, shaggy dog story and revenge fable. The leads from In Bruges, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, play two locals, Padraic and Colm, living on the fictional
Read moreSofia Coppola’s films are rarely plot driven, instead they focus on relationships, manners, gestures and as in The Bling Ring and The Virgin Suicides, female sub-cultures. Coppola’s remake of the 1970 Clint Eastwood film The Beguiled exemplifies these themes. Set in the deep south during the American Civil War as the confederate campaign began to collapse, the film sees wounded
Read moreAdapted from Mark Helprin’s expansive 1983 novel and in no way connected to the similarly-named Shakespeare play, A Winter’s Tale offers a slightly more mature take on the teen lit obsessions of forbidden romantic passions and conflict between supernatural beings. Unfortunately, what could have been a thrilling fantasy adventure and moving story of romantic longing is neutered by a jumbled
Read moreEpic, the latest big-budget animated adventure from Blue Sky studios which gave us the Ice Age films among others, is based on William Joyce’s book The Leaf Men and the Brave Good Bugs. In a storyline that may prove confusing for littlies, Mary Katherine or MK (Amanda Seyfried) returns to her family home to visit her ultra-nerdy scientist dad (Jason
Read moreSeven Psychopaths is the latest film from In Bruges writer/ director Martin McDonagh. While In Bruges was a wonderfully melancholic crime drama with a sly sense of humour, Seven Psychopaths is a more bizarre beast as it both indulges and parodies the clichés of violent gangster and serial killer movies. In this film Colin Farrell plays Marty a struggling alcoholic
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