●●○○○ The title of Louise White’s production at the Project Arts Centre connotes a grim narrative that may deter a lot of people from paying to see it. However, This is the Funeral of Your Life begins on an uplifting, … Continue reading “This Is The Funeral Of Your Life” – review Death is a jumbled mess that few of us truly understand, much like this play.
●●●●○ It has been 22 years since Philip Pullman set pen to paper and created the first novel in his seminal trilogy His Dark Materials. In that space of time, we have had a movie adaptation with Daniel Craig and … Continue reading Dust, Daemons and Dark Materials: Philip Pullman’s “The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage” Pullman’s long awaited return to the universe of “His Dark Materials” makes a worthy addition to this reader’s bookshelf.
●●●●● It’s the year 2049. Earth is in its final stage of decay as fumes and debris have blocked out the sun entirely and human waste smothers whole cities. The world is divided between humans and replicants (bioengineered humans), with … Continue reading Blade Runner 2049 – Review In a posthuman world, where do we draw the line between human and machine?
Films often become iconic through a seemingly simple phrase that sticks in the audience’s mind. For me, one of the earliest examples of such a film is Holes (2003), a feature that remains a firm favourite since I was a … Continue reading The Power of the Catchphrase – I Can Fix That The memorable line from Holes explored
●●●●● Thursday 11th May The 3 Arena, Dublin Bob Dylan, having been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature last year, has entered a new stage of his long career. Starting out in cabaret bars and cafés in Greenwich Village in … Continue reading “Impossible to Imitate” – Bob Dylan At The 3Arena
“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?” Stand By Me (1986) opens with a man hunched over a typewriter, writing a novel about his childhood adventures. The … Continue reading Defining the Decade – 1980’s: Stand By Me
●●○○○ Jim Sheridan’s latest feature film, The Secret Scripture, had a lot going for it. Between a star-studded cast (the elegant Rooney Mara and homegrown talent Jack Reynor in the leading roles) and a screenplay adapted from the critically acclaimed … Continue reading The Secret Scripture – review
“Replicants are like any other machine, they’re either a benefit or a hazard. If they’re a benefit, it’s not my problem.” These famous words spoken by Harrison Ford in Ridley Scott’s atmospheric masterpiece, Blade Runner (1982), tell us a lot … Continue reading Are we Human or are we Android? Human-Robot Relationships in Film
●●●●○ Beyond the rusting metal fences and the abandoned bicycles of suburban Miami, is the infinitesimal expanse of Atlantic Ocean. A man stands in the water, teaching a boy, a younger version of himself perhaps, how to float. The camera … Continue reading Moonlight – review
Love is in the air! Film Editors Oisin McElhinney and Lee Jones investigate some alternative movies to watch this Valentine’s Day. Whether you plan to spend the night cosying up next to your other half, or with a … Continue reading Live, Laugh, Cry: Films for Valentine’s
●●○○○ Jackie reenacts JFK’s assassination in Dallas, 1963 through the eyes of the President’s youthful wife and the United States First Lady, Jackie Kennedy (Natalie Portman). The film focuses on the immediate aftermath of this catastrophic incident in America’s history … Continue reading Jackie – review
●●●●● The opening scene of Damien Chazelle’s newest film features, without a doubt, one of the most impressive musical numbers I have ever seen. It begins on a highway leading into perennially sunny L.A. Lines of unmoving cars stretch along … Continue reading La La Land – review