Ever since I began writing film articles for my high school mag in 2020, I had this tradition of blitz-reviewing all the Best Picture nominated films for each year and predicting the winner. It is now irrelevant whether my previous … Continue reading Reviewing and ranking 2024 Oscar Best Picture nominations (and predicting a winner)
Originally published in print in February 2024. Our best filmmakers – Scorcese, Tarantino, Spielberg – are heading into their twilight years, so the question arises: who are going to be the big filmmakers of our generation? If you were … Continue reading Emerald Fennell: Fresh Auteur or Flawed Filmmaker? TW: mention of rape / sexual assault / suicide
Have you got animosity towards your neighbour? Do you think the enmity could not possibly get any worse? And, more importantly, do you believe the English are framing you for crimes you haven’t committed? Boy, do I have a film … Continue reading Wicked Little Letters On Neighbourly animosity, culture shocks and Anglo-Irish relations
The Holdovers, directed by Alexander Payne and written by David Hemingson, is an endearing study on nostalgia and the past as a thing that we both yearn for and run from. Set against the backdrop of a 1970s New England … Continue reading The Holdovers A fresh classic
Dublin’s International Film Festival (DIFF) happens annually from the end of February to the beginning of March. It is hosted by The Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield with an extensive programme of features and shorts, and is open to the public … Continue reading Films at DIFF 2024 to Look Out For
All of Us Strangers is Andrew Haigh’s newest film starring the mercurial Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal, alongside Claire Foy and Jamie Bell. Until the movie’s acclaimed premiere at the Telluride Film Festival last summer, I hadn’t heard of Andrew … Continue reading All of Us Strangers Review All of us hope, love, hurt
It’s that time of year again. The trees have turned the burnt orange of Bella Swan’s pickup truck, the evenings seem to be tinted blue and everything I do seems to be scored to the first “oah oah oah oah … Continue reading In Defence of Twilight Lara Monahan explores why our favourite vampire fantasy shouldn’t just be a guilty pleasure
When fourteen year old Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley, her life changes forever. Her parents worry when she moves to America to be with him that she will become enmeshed in the drug-frenzied world of Rock n’ Roll, but something … Continue reading Sofia Coppola Outdoes Herself Once Again with ‘Priscilla’ While not painting either Priscilla nor Elvis as villain or hero, Coppola sensitively portrays the infamous relationship that began when Priscilla was just fourteen and lasted ten years.
“Much like Fennell’s debut, Saltburn left the general opinion in disagreement – is it genius or is it just lazy provocation?” Saltburn is Emerald Fennell’s second feature film, a psychological thriller telling Oliver Quick’s grotesque and disturbing summer at Felix … Continue reading SALTBURN REVIEW This review contains spoilers.
Hayao Miyazaki, the backbone of Studio Ghibli, has been attempting retirement for several decades now, and each time he has failed. However with Miyazaki breaching his 80’s, and equally as addicted to cigarettes as to work, The Boy and the … Continue reading The Boy and the Heron A Review of Hayao Miyazaki’s Most Ambitious Work Yet
During production of the latest instalment in the Indiana Jones franchise, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, the film’s legendary composer John Williams announced his retirement from composing. Movie and music lovers across the globe turned to each other … Continue reading Portrait of the Artist as an Old Man John Williams’ Music in Film
October may be coming to a close soon, but that doesn’t mean that Spooky Season has to end. In fact, Halloween is just the peak of the best season to watch horror movies. Over the years I’ve accumulated a wealth … Continue reading Five horror movies to watch on Halloween.