dublin | the m0vie blog

Haywire Geography: Soderbergh’s Dublin…

Posted on January 23, 2012 by Darren

It’s rare to see Ireland in a big American film. Of course, I mean the real Ireland, as opposed the “begosh and begorrah” nonsense that we’re treated to in crap like Leap Year, where we’re all a bunch of hicks with silly accents and farmer’s caps. While Ireland has made itself an attractive filming location for films like Braveheart or television shows like The Tudors, I am more referring to movies sit in and around our country in the present day. So not only was it a joy to see Steven Soderbergh set his espionage thriller Haywire in the city where I live and work, it was even better to see it so perfectly released and efficiently captured.

Going back the Hueston...

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: dublin, Haywire, Ireland, los angeles, Mallory, Russborough House, Shelbourne Hotel, Soderbergh, Steven Soderbergh, SWAT | 8 Comments »

Jameson Cult Film Club: Alien

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Darren

I had the privilege of attending the Jameson Cult Film Club screening of Alien on Tuesday night, which was a great way of celebrating the release of a whole bunch of images from Ridley Scott’s quasi-Alien-related new film Prometheus. Not that you need an excuse to celebrate Ridley Scott’s Alien, one of the towering accomplishments in the horror and science-fiction genres. I had never seen it on a big screen, and it was an absolute hoot to be invited along. For those Irish readers who aren’t already members of the Jameson Cult Film Club, you can join on their site. I don’t normally do these sorts of endorsements, but they really are the highlight of Ireland’s movie calendar, crafted with remarkable love and enthusiasm for the films that they show.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: alien, cult film, dublin, films, jameson, jameson cult film, jameson cult film club, Movies, nostromo, ridley scott | 6 Comments »

Peer Gynt by Rough Magic (Review)

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Darren

Peer Gynt can be a daunting play to put on. Running at five hours, it’s a show that tests your audience’s bladder control at least as much as their patience. Still, it’s one of those absolutely wonderful fantasy stories that demands retelling and reimagining, with a wonderfully raw quality to it as it is passed down and filtered through countless interpretations. Rough Magic have produced a rather wonderful version of the story as part of the Ulster Bank Dublin Theatre Festival, playing at Belvedere College. It an impressive and engaging take on a classic story, working off a new version by writer Arthur Riordan.

Peerless?

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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: arts, Belvedere College, dublin, fiction, Henrik Ibsen, humour, Peer Gynt, Theatre, Ulster Bank | Leave a comment »

Man of Valour at the Absolut Dublin Fringe (Review)

Posted on September 17, 2011 by Darren

If you see one show at the Dublin Fringe, see Man of Valour. If you see two shows, see Man of Valour twice. If you see three shows… well, maybe you should see something else the third time, for variety’s sake. Man of Valour is easily one of the most energetic and exciting pieces of theatre I’ve seen all year, with superb direction and a fantastically impressive leading man, it really feels like the lovechild of a one-man show with a big-budget action movie.

A man-ic performance...

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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: absolut dublin fringe, absolut fringe, arts, dublin, Paul Reid, Performing Arts, samuel beckett theatre, the corn exhange, Theatre | Leave a comment »

Blood Brothers at the Gaiety (Review)

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Darren

Blood Brothers, as written by Willy Russell, is one of the most enduring musicals in the world. An institution on the West End since 1988 (where it is still playing to this day), the relatively simple but poignant story of two brothers separate at birth but drawn together by fate clearly has a powerful popular appeal. It’s easy to see why with the run currently playing at Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre, featuring Rebecca Storm returning to the role that made her a star, giving a powerhouse performance in a top-notch production.

Blood money...

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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: arts, Blood Brothers, dublin, Gaiety Theatre, Performing Arts, Rebecca Storm, the gaiety theatre, Theatre, West End theatre, Willy Russell | Leave a comment »

Pygmalion at the Abbey Theatre (Review)

Posted on June 13, 2011 by Darren

I think it’s safe to say that George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion has had quite the impact on popular culture. Even those unfamiliar with the original 1912 play written by the great Irish playwright will know the basic structure of the story, filtered down through countless reruns of My Fair Lady and She’s All That. It’s hard to argue that anything in Shaw’s impressive back catalogue is quite as crowd-pleasing, but never at the expense of being sharp and provocative. The fact that it’s turning out to be next-to-impossible to get a seat at the Abbey’s run of the play indicates that the work has lost none of its appeal.

Doolittle doctored?

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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: abbey, abbey theatre, Basil Fawlty, charlie murphy, dublin, eliza doolittle, george bernard shaw, Henry Sweet, John Cleese, monty python, professor higgins, pygmalion, review, Risteárd Cooper, the abbey theatre, theatre review | Leave a comment »

The Passing at the Abbey Theatre (Review)

Posted on April 11, 2011 by Darren

The Passing is one of the new plays from Paul Mercier playing at the Abbey, alternating with Mercier’s other new work, East Pier. The Passing is essentially a story about how disconnected we’ve grown as a nation, out of touch with one another, and our roots. It’s the type of reflection that one sees frequently these days, so it seems reasonable to expect any material covering the theme to try to approach it in a novel or an interesting way. Instead, The Passing is just about passable as an exploration of social isolation in 21st century Ireland.

Pass on this one?

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Filed under: Theatre | Tagged: abbey, abbey theatre, arts, disconnected, dublin, passing, Paul Mercier, Performing Arts, society, the abbey, the abbey theatre, the passing, Theatre | Leave a comment »

Podge & Rodge for the Irish Cancer Society…

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Darren

I am big Podge & Rodge fan. I grew up on them, to be honest, with their own unique brand of toilet humour. So when I found out the pair were teaming up with the Irish Cancer Society to raise awareness of bowel cancer, I thought I’d post the video here. I think everyone respects and appreciates the work that the Irish Cancer Society do, and I remember – in college – that the production company behind Podge & Rodge were always eager to supply spot prizes for any fundraising table quiz we might put on. So, when they sent this on, I thought I’d share it.

A word of warning for any Americans stumbling across this video, Podge & Rodge are a… very Irish institution, and a very peculiar sense of humour. It’s the kinda thing that foreigners rarely get to see, so consider yourselves both warned and honoured. The clip is very not safe for work (only language, though).

Yes, they are a national treasure. In fact, there’s a whole bunch of iconic Irish puppets. Take, for example, the 2008 Irish entry to the Eurovision Song Contest:

Apparently those wacky Europeans didn’t react well to us making an even bigger mockery of their singing competition than normal. And in case any Americans reading this need an introduction to the Eurovision, this is fairly accurate parody of what a typical Irish entry to the Eurovision song contest looks like:

So ends our brief introduction to Irish Pop Culture 101.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: bowel cancer, Celtic, dublin, ethnicity, Eurovision Song Contest, Ireland, Irish American, Irish Cancer Society, podge & rodge, podge and rodge, United States | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: The Adjustment Bureau

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

One of the joys of a film festival like the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival is that you get to see films that take you by surprise. Sometimes they are small foreign dramas which will never get a major release here, and thus haven’t been discussed to death on-line or in-print, but occasionally it’s a movie premiere of a big upcoming release which will impress. The Adjustment Bureau is hitting screens around the world next Friday, but film fanatics in Dublin were treated to a sneak peek (the movie’s second public screening and the first in Europe). As a movie that I honestly wasn’t expecting too much of, based on the trailers in front of every major release since last August that seemingly couldn’t decide on the genre of the film, what did I make of it?

A bathroom break...

I loved it.

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Adjustment Bureau, blade runner, David Norris, dublin, Emily Blunt, films, George Nolfi, jameson dublin international film festival, matt damon, Movies, non-review review, Philip K. Dick, premieres, review, Terence Stamp, total recall | 17 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Wake Wood

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

Even though I never lived through their “golden age” of schlock horror films, I still feel a sympathetic affinity for Hammer’s House of Horror. Watching movies late into the night with my gran and grandfather was one of those treats my younger self enjoyed on returning from abroad for Summer or Christmas holidays. As such, it’s nice to see Hammer producing movies again. Let Me In was a fairly major success for the company, remarking the already-classic vampire film Let the Right One In, but it didn’t feel as deeply rooted in Hammer’s horror traditions as the Irish horror the Wake Wood does. For better or worse, the Wake Wood is pure Hammer Horror.