Festivals like the Cork International Film Festival, which kicks off this week, are a fantastic avenue for unique storytelling from passionate filmmakers. One of Ireland’s own, Paul Duane is a filmmaker who has always been drawn to unique stories, including following KLF in What Time Is Death?, and the artistic efforts of Bill Drummond in…
Leo Varadkar is known for many things, but media literacy is not one of them, especially where the medium of film is concerned. Previous mentions of the movies by the Taoiseach during his illustrious career in human misery politics have included calling A Christmas Carol his least favourite Yuletide film because “Tiny Tim should get…
Stingy studios stiffing strikers, films written off for tax breaks, ‘cameos’ by actors that have been dead for decades, Mel Gibson still being cast in things – we’re living in a Golden Age of Bankruptcy not seen since the Recession. And why should ‘moral’ have all the fun, when ‘creative’ can get involved too? For…
The improper management at RTÉ remains the hottest ticket at the box-office this week, with executives of the national broadcaster continuing to be grilled at the Oireachtas today. Public interest and upset remains high ever since the revelation that RTÉ failed to disclose €345,000 worth of payments made to former presenter Ryan Tubridy since 2017. The…
People are not one genre. When a community is properly able to tell its story, we see how obviously just one story doesn’t cover it, that ‘representation’ alone doesn’t allow for the full range of expression, insight and entertainment that comes from providing underrepresented artists the freedom to create. It’s important for people to share…
Adam Driver, Pete Davidson, Benedict Cumberbatch, Gonzo the Muppet – Hollywood is filled with leading men whose good looks and charisma are paired with a certain striking strangeness. It’s what the French might call that ‘je ne sais quois’, or what we might call ‘Odd Hot’. Irish actor Éanna Hardwicke is one rising star who’s…
The sight of Michael Keaton back in the batsuit in the trailers for The Flash is an instant ticket seller for, I guess, millions of people. It would be unserious to describe it as bleak, there are many things much worse in our world than an elderly actor taking an easy paycheque, an act as…
BY HOW WEIRD IRELAND WOULD BE ABOUT THEM VISITING Folks, we love a US President visiting don’t we? From Ryan Tubridy’s unsettling JFK fixation to the unwaking fever dream of Barack Obama Plaza, Ireland has a long and proud history of not being normal when it comes to previous POTUSes. President of the United States…
The Irish Green Party’s Catherine Martin has a busy brief, having served as the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media since the formation of the current coalition of government in 2020. In could be difficult to deliver successfully on such a broad remit in principle, but luckily the Greens have never been…
In Irish cinemas now, Pearl was a long-time coming to local screens. Horror guru Ti West originally released throwback slasher X and prequel Pearl back-to-back in 2022, with sequel MaXXXine already ready to go to. The film arrived at last as a midnight movie selection at the 2023 Dublin International Film Festival, releasing wide across…
