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Non-Review Review: The Raid (Redemption)

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012.

I am not a fan of absolutes. They generally scare me, because they leave so little room for error. With that in mind, I have two things to say about Gareth Evans’ The Raid, the first film to pick up both the Dublin Film Critics’ Circle award for best film and the Jameson International Film Festival’s Audience Award. Put simply, The Raid is the best action movie I have seen in years. The second is that watching it in a cinema with hundreds of film fans feeling the exact same thing might be one of the best movie-going experiences of my life.

That’s a pretty big deal.

Everybody was kung-fu fighting...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Audience Award, dublin, Evans, film, Film festival, Gareth Evans, jameson dublin international film festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012, jdiff 2012, Linkin Park, Movie, non-review review, Raid, review, swan lake, the raid (film), the raid (movie), the raid: redemption, United States | 10 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Hard Labour (Trabalhar Cansa)

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012.

The problem with Hard Labour is that it doesn’t seem to know what it is? Is it a tough economic drama about a family struggling to survive in a harsh economic climate? Is it a horror story about the legacies of slavery and the beastly side of human nature? The problem isn’t just that the film can’t decide – the problem is that the film appears to have no interest in deciding. Or even on following through on either idea.

It left me cold...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: art, arts, drama, fiction, film, horror, Horror fiction, Horror film, jameson dublin international film festival, Juliana Rojas, los angeles, Marco Dutra, Movie, Movies, Online Writing, Poltergeist, review, Ryan Murphy, São Paulo, South America, United States | 2 Comments »

American Pie: The Reunion Trailer

Posted on February 27, 2012 by Darren

Universal have sent over their latest trailer of their American Pie: The Reunion film, that will be released shortly. I’m going to be entirely honest here, and concede that I think the franchise fell apart after the first instalment – much like the Saw series. Still, that said, the original American Pie was a randy teenage sex comedy for an entire generation, and bringing most of the original ensemble back is probably a smart move. After all, there are any number of iconic gross-out moments to be found in that first film. I’m not a huge fan, but I recall that original film with a wry and amused grin. I’ll let you make up your own mind, but here’s the trailer.

Filed under: Movies | Tagged: american pie, American Pie (film), American Reunion, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Reunion, Seann William Scott, Thomas Ian Nicholas, trailer, United States, universal | 2 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Death of a Superhero

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012. This was the closing gala.

Cancer is a tough topic to address in film, if only because mortality offers a thin line to walk between sincere reflection and blatant emotional manipulation. It is an even greater problem when you’re dealing with a younger protagonist, one who has barely had a chance at life before the disease conspires to rip them away from the world and their loved ones. Death of a Superhero is far to schmaltzy for its own good, often pandering to its audience while trying to distract away from its cloying manipulations with predictable doses of humour and a wry cynicism that the hero must vanquish before his untimely passing.

Holding out for a hero...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Aisling Loftus, andy serkis, art, California, Death of a superhero, dublin, film, Film festival, Filmmaking, jameson dublin international film festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012, Michael McElhatton, Movie, non-review review, review, superhero, United States | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Hunky Dory

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012.

There’s very little in Hunky Dory that we haven’t seen before. It’s a story set in the past about a young and idealistic teacher attempting to give her students a more rounded and useful education before they enter the big bad world. It’s set in Wales in 1976, giving the movie a bit of character and contextualising this period as the calm before the storm. Margaret Thatcher, that most divisive and controversial of British Prime Ministers, can be heard faintly on the television in the background; tough economic times lie ahead; skinheads roam the streets; and the Falklands War is just around the corner. As Vivienne, our young drama teacher, attempts to offer some guidance to students who might otherwise slip through the cracks, the sinister forces of the establishment seem to conspire against her.

Joyeux de Viv!

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: art, Bel Ami, david bowie, dublin, Falklands War, Film festival, Hunky Dory, jameson dublin international film festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012, Man Who Sold the World, Marc Evans, margaret thatcher, Minnie Driver, Movie, United States | Leave a comment »

Jameson Cult Film Club: Reservoir Dogs & A Talk With Michael Madsen (JDIFF 2012)

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Darren

This event was held as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012.

Last year’s Jameson Dublin International Film Festival served as the launch of the Jameson Cult Film Club, with a screening of The Usual Suspects with Kevin Spacey in attendance. To celebrate the first anniversary of that launch, the guys organised a special treat for movie fans in the capital – a screening of Reservoir Dogs, with Michael Madsen in attendance. It goes almost without saying that the Jameson folks threw one hell of a shindig, converting Dublin’s CHQ into the warehouse from Tarantino’s iconic debut – a film that had hosted its Irish premiere as part of the festival twenty years ago, a screening that host Rick O’Shea remembered fondly. It was a great evening, organised with the same impeccable style as ever.

Note: This is just an article about the wonderful screening held by the Jameson Cult Film Club, including an interview with the man himself, Michael Madsen. I’ll be running a review of Tarantino’s masterpiece sometime next week, when I’ve had a bit more sleep.

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Filed under: Movies | Tagged: art, cult film, dublin, film, Film festival, jameson dublin international film festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012, kevin spacey, Michael Madsen, Movie, quentin tarantino, Reservoir Dogs, Rick O'Shea, ridley scott, tarantino, United States | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Chicken With Plums

Posted on February 25, 2012 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012.

As the follow-up to Persepolis, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to suggest that there’s a lot of expectations around Marjane Satrapi’s follow-up, Chicken With Plums. The second in her trilogy of graphic novels, Chicken With Plums might fall a bit short of the heights that its predecessor reached, but there’s no denying that Satrapi and her co-director, Vincent Paronnaud, have composed a truly beautiful film. In fact, I would go so far as to say that Chicken With Plums might be the most beautiful film that you will see this year – a bold statement for late February. There are some very fundamental problems with the movie, most stemming from the fact that it can never decide if it’s a story or a collection of anecdotes, but it’s held together by superb artistic direction and a charming central performance from Mathieu Amalric.

A man at peace, but with inner violin...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: art, Azrael, Chicken With Plums, dublin, film, Film festival, jameson dublin international film festival, Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012, Marjane Satrapi, Mathieu Amalric, Movie, non-review review, Persepolis, reivew, United States, Vincent Paronnaud | Leave a comment »

Non-Review Review: Stella Days

Posted on February 24, 2012 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012.

Stella Days is held together by a sterling performance from Martin Sheen and a boldly challenging look at the Irish cultural mentality. Indeed, it’s easy to read this tale of a small-town parish priest trying to build a cinema as a metaphor for Irish cultural philosophy. In particular, with its distinctly American star, Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s movie seems like a bold challenge to what might be deemed Irish cultural xenophobia, the notion that our culture must be distinctly and completely independent of the world around us. Instead, Stella Days rather boldly and romantically suggests that Irish culture is not defined by independence or autonomy, but by its willingness to engage and accept the world around us. While the movie might occasionally indulge in a bit too much sentiment, it’s hard not to like that sort of uplifting and engaging idea.

I must confess, this was quite good...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: Celtic, Culture of Ireland, ethnicity, film, Ireland, irish, Irish American, Irish passport, martin sheen, Movie, non-review review, Priest, review, Stella, Stella McCartney, Thaddeus O'Sullivan, United States | 4 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Silent House

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012.

I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest that Chris Kentis and Laura Lau are both big fans of Edgar Allan Poe. In translating the cult Uruguayan horror for American audiences, the two directors seem to evoke Poe at every opportunity, from the dreary New England setting, with its early sunset and dreary overgrowth, through to symbolism lifted almost directly from Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher. However, they juxtapose this classic American horror film vibe with a self-consciously modern filming technique. “Real terror in real time,” the poster boasts. While the decision to film the movie so it would seem like one continuous take is generally technically impressive, but also undermines a lot of the stronger elements of the tale. There is, after all, a reason that directors tend to favour long takes for very particular types of films.

In the silent house, nobody can hear you scream...

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Filed under: Non-Review Reviews | Tagged: arts, Chris Kentis, Edgar Allan, Edgar Allan Poe, Elizabeth Olsen, Fall of the House of Usher, film, Horror film, House of Usher, jameson dublin international film festival, Laura Lau, Movie, New England, non-review review, Poe, review, Silent House, the silent house, United States, Uruguay | 6 Comments »

Non-Review Review: Fort McCoy

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Darren

This film was seen as part of the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival 2012.

Fort McCoy is a mess of a film that manages to botch a fairly interesting and compelling premise. Though Eric Stoltz does manage to escape the film with much of his dignity intact, many of his co-stars are not nearly as lucky. Written and directed by, and co-starring, Kate Connor, the movie struggles to find any measure of tonal consistency, as the movie takes basic concepts like cultural identity and coming-of-age drama, only to mangle them by playing to extreme melodrama. Indeed, most of the movie’s problems find expression in a single awkward moment: following the death of one of their own, the German P.O.W.’s at the eponymous camp arrange a funeral profession, which Connor opts to film in slow-motion, treating us to the unintentionally hilarious image of a bunch of mourning slow-motion goose-stepping Nazis. It’s a scene that beautifully evokes all the sorts of complex emotions that Connor was undoubtedly aiming for, but also demonstrates that the film has absolutely no idea how to get them to work together.