Natalie Portman Captivates As Jackie

Director: Pablo Larraín Starring: Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard, Greta Gerwig, Billy Crudup, John Hurt Running Time: 99 minutes It would perhaps be a stretch to call Pablo Larraín’s Jackie a surreal film. In terms of narrative structure and subject matter, it still functions as a straight enough biopic about Jackie Kennedy. But we all know what happened to Jackie Kennedy,…

Talking Terminal With Natasha Waugh

Dublin-based director Natasha Waugh has been steadily creating a collection of short films over the last few years that tackle important topics. Her latest, a self-funded short titled Terminal, is about two women of different ages holding a conversation at the airport, both awaiting their plane to the UK for abortions. Last year, We Face This Land showed…

The Power of Storytelling in A Monster Calls

Director: J.A. Bayona  Starring: Lewis MacDougall, Sigourney Weaver, Felicity Jones, Liam Neeson Running time: 108 minutes A Monster Calls is part of the growing trend towards children’s films that don’t talk down to children, a lá Inside Out. The animated water colour storytelling sequences are inventive and truly beautiful. 2017 may have just begun, but it looks set to…

La La Land Brings Old School Hollywood Into Beautiful New Light

Director: Damien Chazelle Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone Running Time: 128 minutes   Having been subjected to months of hype and subsequently inevitable backlash, it has been almost impossible to go into La La Land without expectations being shaped one way or another. Is it truly the greatest thing since sliced bread, is it a musical for people who don’t…

Live By Night Is Lifeless, Ludicrous

Director: Ben Affleck Starring: Ben Affleck, Sienna Miller, Chris Messina, Brendan Gleeson, Zoe Saldana, Chris Cooper, Elle Fanning Running Time: 129 minutes They say that time camps all classics. Nobody actually says that, but perhaps they should of films like Live by Night, a gangster film written by, directed by and starring Ben Affleck that may gather a few chuckles…

LEGO Batman Latest Building Block In ADIFF Schedule For Fantastic Flix

As the schedule for the 2017 Audi Dublin International Film Festival continues to be put together, a first look of what is quite possibly one of the most anticipated movies of the year was announced yesterday for the festival’s Fantastic Flix strand for 4-16 year olds. Fans of Lego, Batman and combinations thereof are sure…

Casablanca In Dublin With Film Fatale

Since their inception in 2011, Film Fatale have been bringing classic Hollywood glamour to life. In screening old favourites and hosting parties filled with folks dressed to the nines, dancing to the old standards after a cocktail or two, they’ve allowed audiences a window back into the Golden Age of Hollywood. To celebrate their sixth…

New Year, New Batch With Hollywood Babylon

Following on from their screening of an alternative Christmas classic in December with Batman Returns, Hollywood Babylon are returning this January to kick off 2017. On January 14th at the Light House Cinema, they’ll be showing another well-remembered sequel and paying their tribute to the great Joe Dante in the process, bringing the cult classic Gremlins…