jdiff | the m0vie blog

Non-Review Review: The Book Thief

Posted on February 15, 2014 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2014.

Any film set in Germany between 1938 and 1945 narrated by death itself is going to feel a little… surreal. As wonderful as Roger Allam’s tones might be, there’s something decidedly unwholesome about the narration of the story told from the perspective of the Grim Reaper, particularly as he recounts a story from his “best of” collection.

The implication is that the life of the eponymous booklifter has touched the Death itself, which feels rather uncomfortable in the context of Nazi Germany. One would imagine that there would be quite a lot of moving and affecting stories to hold our narrator’s attention, without a need to single out one particular story as especially moving.

This is, in essence, the heart of the problem with The Book Thief, an efficient and well-produced – if condescending and tone-deaf – family film exploring the story of one family living in the shadow of Hitler’s Germany. It spends far too long telling us why these protagonists are unique, when the crux of the story seems to be that they are not.

She has no shelf-control…

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: death, germany, jameson dublin international film festival, jdiff, literacy, national socialism, nazis, non-review review, reading, review, the book thief | 2 Comments »

Jameson Cult Film Club Screening of Jaws! With Richard Dreyfuss in Attendance! Tuesday 18th February!

Posted on February 6, 2014 by Darren

The James Cult Film Club have sent on the following press release about the upcoming screening of Jaws as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival that is kicking off next Thursday, the 13th February. The screening will take place on Tuesday the 18th, and will feature a question-and-answers session with actor Richard Dreyfuss, who collaborated with Spielberg on Jaws, but also on Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

The Jameson Cult Film Club has a special historical attachment to the festival. The first Irish screening was The Usual Suspects with Kevin Spacey in attendance four years ago. The Cult Film Club do screenings all through the year, bringing classic movies to live in a whole new way for audiences. They really are a highlight of the schedule, and tickets are always given away free via their website. You can sign up now, although I’m not sure if the ticket application is open yet.

It’s an experience that I wholeheartedly recommend, as they are always well put together evenings celebrating classic cinema. If you are looking for recommendations for the film festival, check out our own picks of the festival here. Otherwise, I’ve included the press release below.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: cult cinema, cult film, dublin, jameson cult film club, jameson cult film festival, jaws, jdiff, Richard Dreyfuss, spielberg | 1 Comment »

Top Picks from the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, 2014

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Darren

All right, it’s that time of the year again, when your humble host looks at the tea leaves and points to some of the highlights of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival, when the movies take over Dublin city for ten days between the 13th and 23rd of February. The schedule was unveiled today, and although I’ve yet to actually see any of these, I have picked out some of the more interesting and intriguing selections for the festival.

Tickets go on sale at 10am tomorrow morning, so consider this an attempt to point those Irish cinephiles in the right direction.

Calvary

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: calvary, dublin, films, jameson, jameson dublin international film festival, jameson dublin international film festival 2014, jaws, jdiff, Movies, Richard Dreyfuss, terry gilliam, the zero theorem, under the skin, zero theorem | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: A Somewhat Gentle Man

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Darren

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

A Somewhat Gentle Man was a very pleasant little surprise to catch on the last day of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. It’s a delightfully dark Norwegian comedy about a man recently released from prison, trying to make his way in the world.

He's got snowhere to go...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: A Somewhat Gentle Man, film, jameson dublin international film festival, jdiff, Movie, non-review review, norway, Organized crime, prison, review, Scandinavia, Stellan Skarsgård | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Outrage (Autoreiji)

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Darren

We’re currently blogging as part of the “For the Love of Film Noir” blogathon (hosted by Ferdy on Films and The Self-Styled Siren) to raise money to help restore the 1950’s film noir The Sound of Fury (aka Try and Get Me). It’s a good cause which’ll help preserve our rich cinematic heritage for the ages, and you can donate by clicking here. Over the course of the event, running from 14th through 21st February, I’m taking a look at the more modern films that have been inspired or shaped by noir. Today’s theme is “foreign noir” – a look at some of the neo-noir films from outside America.

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

Outrage (also known as Autoreiji) is the latest film from actor/director/writer Kitano “Beat” Takeshi. He’s known to Western film fans perhaps best for his role in Battle Royale, but that significantly undersells his talent and his prolific career. He’s probably better known to wider audiences for his role as “Count Takeshi” on the gameshow Takeshi’s Castle (which became all the rage over here a few years ago). Outrage is essentially a Japanese crime thriller, and it follows the typical structure that one might expect from a conventional crime film – all the classic themes are there, from pride to arrogance to honour to betrayal – but what makes the film especially interesting is the way that it deals with the inherent paradox of the Japanese Yakuza.

Somebody's going to be dying their hair...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, autoreiji, battle royale, beat takeshi, Blogathon, Critical Essays, film, Film noir, jameson dublin international film festival, jdiff, Movies, Organized crime, outrage, Sound of Fury, takeshi kitano, Takeshi's Castle, United States | 4 Comments »

Adventures in Wonderland…

Posted on February 27, 2010 by Darren

I just won tickets to a preview screening of Alice in Wonderland as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival. I’ll have my review up on Monday morning, but in the meantime, here’s how I won. It’s a reworked version of The Walrus and the Carpenter. Apologies in advance to Lewis Carroll, his estate, fans of the poem and people with taste.