The end / the beginning

This is the last time I'll be posting to this particular blog. I am, from now on, concentrating solely on my interests in Irish and Scottish film. Apart from anything else, they're far less represented in the blogosphere than the other things I cover, so it's not like there's a shortage of sources if you want to read coverage of horror, cult movies, documentaries, current releases etc.

For a couple of reasons, I'll be leaving this blog online for a few weeks but then it'll be deleted for good. Rather than leave it floating out there forever, I'd rather get rid of something that will not be getting maintained.

So if you only came here because of, well, any reason other than the Irish/Scottish stuff really, then I guess you don't need to bother coming back, but I thank you for reading. If you are, on the other hand, interested in either Scottish or Irish film (or both!) then be sure to pop back and visit me over at www.gaelmovies.com whenever you can.

Quick Scottish/Irish update (10 March)

Further to my last big Irish and Scottish updates, here's a couple of little bits of extra information.

If you missed BBC NI's entertaining and touching documentary OVER HERE, fret not. If you're quick enough, you should still be able to see it on the BBC iPlayer.

Various Irish film sites are reporting that the film WC is getting a limited release from March 13th. Check your local arthouse for details. Not seen this one so can't give you any steer as to the quality.

If you're in or around Glasgow on March 28th, there's a special screening of HELEN at the CCA, by the Irish directing duo Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor (aka Desperate Optimists) who will both be in attendance for an interview. You may remember I saw this one at EIFF last year and didn't like it that much. Too cold and distant for me and just didn't ring true, but it was probably the most beautifully shot film of the 50-odd movies I saw at the festival. I'm not going to enthuse wildly about the film, but the Q&A should be interesting, particularly for low budget or aspiring filmmakers. Ticketed event, but free.

Scottish animated short HERZOG AND THE MONSTERS is now available on the BBC Film Network.

Irish film update (5 March)

Big Irish film update today. Let's crack on...

At the IFI in Dublin, this month's Ireland on Sunday screening (on Sunday 8th, i.e. this weekend) is the documentary WHAT AM I DOING HERE? by Trish McAdam which I am not familiar with at all (this is the world premiere after all) so head over to the Irish Film Institute to find out more.

Also at the IFI, this month's archive screening is the vintage DARBY O'GILL AND THE LITTLE PEOPLE (which I've just heard is going to be introduced by Jim Sheridan). At the risk of destroying my credibility... I've never seen this.

Declared by me to be the joint best film of 2008, Declan Recks's EDEN has just been released on DVD in the USA so for those of you who are either in America (ooh, a wee Irish film pun there) or have multi-region DVD players, buy a copy. Still no sign of it appearing in the UK despite picking up a distributor. Admittedly it's the same distributor who picked up KINGS and I'm still waiting for that to get any kind of a UK release.

While we're talking about DVDs, Lance Daly's excellent KISSES is released to buy on DVD tomorrow, but only in Ireland. I've heard nothing about it getting a UK distributor yet and certainly nothing's been submitted to the BBFC as I write this, so this might be your best bet to see it if you haven't already done so.

Two Irish films are on release in Ireland at the moment. The Liam Neeson/James Nesbitt drama dealing with the legacy of the troubles, FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN, is playing at all of four cinemas (as far as I know). I've been too lazy to look up any reviews but it won a couple of awards at Sundance. Looks interesting, so if any of you are in Dublin, Dundrum, Cork or Galway why not go and see it. I'd hope that Neeson and Nesbitt coupled with the fact that it's directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel should be enough of interest to get it some kind of UK release, but I've heard nothing so far and the fact that its release in Ireland is so limited doesn't seem like a great sign - unless it's testing the water before a major release. If anyone know anything about a UK release let me know.

Slightly less likely to get a UK release I fear (although I hope I'm wrong) is the Irish animated romp THE SECRET OF KELLS, which played well at JDIFF last month. It's had some cracking reviews so if you've seen it let me know.

I suppose I could just organise a day trip at the weekend - fly over to Ireland first thing in the morning, see THE SECRET OF KELLS and FIVE MINUTES OF HEAVEN, pop into the shops to buy a copy of KISSES and then fly home again but even my love of Irish cinema doesn't stretch to such lengths. Actually that's a lie, my love of Irish cinema does... but my bank balance doesn't.

Belfast Film Festival recently announced its programme. There's a lot of Irish feature films playing, including John T Davis's documentary TAILWIND which I've missed at a couple of festivals. I mention this one specifically because it was on BBC NI a few days ago and I forgot to mention it here. I think that was an edited down version though, so if you get the chance go and see the full length version of this documentary about the Northern Irish contribution to World War II.

Their programme of Irish shorts features a whole heap of short films and no less than 14 of them have been covered here on this blog, most of them favourably, so why not go along and see some of them. I'm not going myself. I was tempted, particularly since I have never been there (and I believe my ancestors came from there so I could do the whole stereotypical tourist thing) but I'm reserving my holidays for the various other film festivals that I've still got planned for the year, including many more Irish ones. If there had been some really cheap flights I might still have been tempted with a last minute thing, mind you.

If you go to over to Youtube, the festival has posted a whole bunch of trailers showing at the festival, split into features and documentaries.

Going back to the subject of BBC NI, and to make up for not mentioning TAILWIND, a similar subject (this time American soldiers in Northern Ireland) is covered in OVER HERE which airs on BBC NI next week (9th March, 9pm). If, like me, you live elsewhere in the UK, you can get the regional variations of BBC on Sky Digital and such services.

Just to prove I'm not totally limited to this part of the world, I'll mention that there are a few Irish film festivals in American this month. San Francisco started today and is on tomorrow as well; Seattle is shortly after that; most significant is the Chicago Irish Film Festival. This runs from the 6th to the 11th of this month - features include classics and new films, such as THE INFORMER and KISSES. They'll also be showing a bunch of shorts, including Conor Ferguson's ATLANTIC which you'll recall I declared the fourth best film of 2008. So if you happen to be reading this in Chicago - first of all, hello from Scotland, and secondly, go and see some Irish films. Especially ATLANTIC.

Finally, Irish films are represented at this year's London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Neasa Ni Chianain's FAIRYTALE OF KATHMANDU, covered in this blog back during the Edinburgh film fest, is playing on 6th and 7th of April (paired with SPOTLIGHT: GAY PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, a short film about gays in Ulster). Short films at the festival also include the Irish films MAN HUGS by Aoife Sullivan (26th March) and JAMES by Connor Clements (6th April), the latter also having been covered in this blog.

GFF09: I SELL THE DEAD

It's directed by Dubliner Glenn McQuaid and it seems to be maybe, possibly set in Ireland (Ron Perlman even sports an Irish accent) so I feel justified in attaching the Irish film label to this one, even though it's really an American one. The time the film is set in is equally vague, but it looks kind of Middle Ages like.

Dominic Monaghan and Larry Fessenden play a couple of grave robbers who spot a way to make a bit more money but, as you'll have guessed by the fact that this was part of Glasgow Film Festival's day-long Frightfest event, things go horribly awry.

The old favourite of having a man on death row (Monaghan) telling his incredible story to a priest (Perlman) has been done before but there's something grim about it that always lends a bit of weight to a horror film. Sadly a bit more weight is what this film could have done with.

There are some good gags in the script and the leading duo have some chemistry, but by and large the film doesn't sustain the gag ratio successfully enough for what is essentially a comedy film with horror trappings.

The budgetary restrictions also leak through in many parts of the film. Clearly made for little money, the film feels too claustrophobic in places. I don't mean that in a good way either, I just mean that all too often it feels far too much like the film has been made on a tiny soundstage - even when it's on location.

Credit to McQuaid though, he does do a grand job of getting a lot of the moody lighting and smoke-draped countryside just right, creating a perfect homage to the old Hammer films and sundry other British imitators of the '70s. It's a shame then that the US location work eventually overwhelms the mood of the piece, with a beach-set showdown involving some zombie-like creatures destroying the atmosphere that McQuaid worked so hard to generate. For most of the running time it's an effective Hammer tribute but the beach scenes just make it feel like another American made-for-DVD cheapo.

That may well be the case too, since I don't see it troubling a cinema any time soon. If you're getting friends round for a late night film romp, you could certainly do a lot worse than this likeable little movie but in the end it's a film that never quite overcomes its humble resources.

GFF09: DOROTHY

DOROTHY, or rather DOROTHY MILLS if you want to give it the name it seems to have been released under in other territories is an Irish/French co-production. I mention this not just because of my enthusiasm for Irish cinema but because it perhaps sums up what a mixed bag this film is.

In the lead, we have Carice van Houten. Now I thought she was terrific in Paul Verhoeven's BLACK BOOK - not only did she did she manage the impressive feat of still looking sexy while covered in excrement, she turned in a terrific lead performance which carried the whole film. Having not watched anything she's done since, I was glad of the opportunity to catch her in some rather different material.

So, a Dutch lead actress, playing an Irish woman. Okay, interesting. In the supporting cast we have the wonderful Scottish actor Gary Lewis, again playing Irish. Van Houten ends up sounding like a curious Irish/American kind of thing while Lewis sports a kind of Ulster/Scottish hybrid accent. Both good performances, mind you, just a little odd.

That's in keeping with the film though. The story isn't terribly new (woman turns up in small town, weird things happen, hostile locals, dark secret from the past, etc.) but it's an enjoyable mash-up of horror staples. Again it contributes to the mixed up feel of the film - at times it wants to be Hollywood teen horror, at other times it's more in keeping with the traditional WICKER MAN style of story. You know the one, outsider stumbles across weird rural community who do things differently.

Good use is made of the sparse Irish landscape, the cast is solid enough and director Agnes Merlet manages to get some good tense scares out the material. As much as the film is a passable way to spend the time however, the real reason for watching it is Dorothy herself.

I must confess that when young Jenn Murray was nominated at the IFTAs for her performance it passed me by. I'd never heard of her, never heard of the film and my attention was focussed on some of the more well known material. Shame on me. As the teen girl haunted/possessed/whatever by the spirits of, well, loads of people, Murray packs as much emotion and versatility into the role as it can possibly allow. It's thanks to her incredible efforts that an otherwise fairly average horror film becomes extremely engaging indeed.

The downside is that the film suffers whenever she's not around, although van Houten and friends manage a reasonable job of keeping things ticking over. But the star of DOROTHY is Dorothy.

JDIFF09: Irish Film Board Shorts

My final post about the stuff I saw in Dublin concerns the IFB Shorts. To tell the truth I'd already seen most of them in Cork, but I enjoyed them so much I thought I'd come and see them again.

For my verdict on THE ROOSTER, THE CROCODILE AND THE NIGHT SKY (Padraig Fagan), GRANNY O'GRIMM'S SLEEPING BEAUTY (Nicky Phelan), OF BEST INTENTIONS (Brian Durnin) and THE DOOR (Juanita Wilson), see one of my previous posts from Cork by clicking here. I'd like to change my mind about THE DOOR though and bump it up to 9/10 as well. I'll admit it, I was actually half asleep when I saw it in Cork and only gave it a 7. But it's brilliant, as are the other shorts I've just mentioned.

For my opinion on SPACEMEN THREE (Hugh O'Connor), click here for another post from last year's Cork fest, while my opinion on AN RANGER (PJ Dillon) can be found here. Regarding the latter, I actually like it even more this time round and I could swear it looked a lot better than I remember it looking at Cork. Maybe it was a projection thing; maybe it's because I was sitting much further forward in the cinema? Whatever the reason, it's still a great little film.

So that leaves the shorts which I saw at Dublin but hadn't seen before...

SHAPES (Alan Brennan) is a cracking little horror film which manages to cram more suspense, fright and memorable boogiemen into its five minutes than the majority of Hollywood blockbusting remakes manage in their ninety painful minutes. (8/10)

HOOR (John Kennedy) is an amusing look at three young boys who have saved their pennies for a trip to the local prostitute. Today they will become men. Nicely done with a pleasing punchline. (7/10)

COLOUR CONTAMINATION (Louise Bagnall) is an animated short which sees a man's cosy black and white world turned upside down by an invasion of colour. Sure, it's a bit weird, but it's amusing, stylish and an enjoyable three minutes of craziness. (7/10)

JDIFF09: YELLOW BITTERN

YELLOW BITTERN: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF LIAM CLANCY, to give it its full name, is a documentary which does exactly what it says. To fans of the man and his music (along with his brothers and Tommy Makem) the documentary is undoubtedly indispensable viewing. What is interesting to me however is that this was one of the most enjoyable films of the festival for me - and I'd never heard of the guy.

Having recently watched BBC4's FOLK AMERICA series, I'm rather surprised, since there seems to be a bit of a crossover there, but this tale of the Irish folk musician who went to America and influenced the likes of Bob Dylan on the folk scene was all new.

It's beautifully shot, without a doubt, but the real strength of the film (not to take away anything from the skill with which Alan Gilsenan has put it together) is that Clancy is a man who has lived a full and varied life but is also a very down to earth and likable fellow. He's not just a singer, he's an entertainer and gifted raconteur and I'm glad that, in the guise of this excellent film, I got to spend a couple of hours in his company getting to know the man and his touching life story.

JDIFF09: MISE EIRE

Undoubtedly the highlight of the festival for me was to see this 50th anniversary screening of what is probably Ireland's most important film, and certainly my favourite Irish film. Of course I've seen it on DVD but to see it on the big screen is special, particularly when it was accompanied by George Morrison receiving JDIFF's lifetime achievement award.

Long-time readers of this blog need no introduction but for the benefit of others, Mise Eire is a documentary from 1959 which details the rise of nationalism in Ireland from 1895 to just after the Easter Rising of 1916. Told entirely using archive material (Morrison is a tremendously important archivist as well as a gifted filmmaker), the film is slickly pieced together and wrapped up in a truly memorable score by Sean O'Riada. Alternating between a melancholy, haunting elegy for Ireland's dead heroes and a rousing, patriotic theme, the score's importance cannot be overstated.

A fitting tribute to a great filmmaker and a great film.

Scottish & Irish film update (23 Feb)

Yes, I know, I still have Dublin and Glasgow film festival coverage outstanding, but there's a whole bunch of Scottish and Irish stuff I want to mention first.

The Cameo cinema in Edinburgh will be showing the Oscar-nominated shorts next month. The live action ones, including Ireland's NEW BOY, will be shown on Monday 23 March.

Filmhouse in Edinburgh has a few of interest coming up. A monthly "Made in Edinburgh" season kicks off in March with a screening of RESTLESS NATIVES on Thursday 12 March. The season continues until August and if they don't use it as an excuse to show the Bill Douglas trilogy I may have to go on a killing spree.

Stanley Kubrick's restored Irish-themed BARRY LYNDON will be showing from the 20th to the 26th of March, again at the Filmhouse. The same cinema will also be showing more screenings of the multiple-IFTA-winning HUNGER (9th and 10th March) and the brilliant footy documentary ZIDANE: A 21ST CENTURY PORTRAIT (10th March), co-directed by Douglas Gordon.

Talking of IFTAs, I just watched the highlights of the ceremony (courtesy of BBC NI) and while it was a bit crap, it was brilliant to see George Morrison get a lifetime achievement award and have the documentary feature award named after him. Wonderful.

GFT in Glasgow are showing a couple of films based on great Scottish books. If you missed them in Edinburgh, check out the GFT programme for March to see screenings of the classic versions of JEKYLL & HYDE and THE LOST WORLD. GFT will also be showing INFINITE SPACE, directed by Scottish documentary filmmaker Murray Grigor, and MORVERN CALLAR by Lynne Ramsay. The latter's nowhere near as good as her RATCATCHER but she's not exactly churned out lots of films so make the most of it.

South of the border, there are some screenings of interest at the BFI. On 23rd April they'll be showing the new version of MAN OF ARAN, the classic documentary given a new score by British Sea Power. They will also be showing a preview of the screen adaptation of FIFTY DEAD MEN WALKING on 9th April.

Talking of BFI, they now have a Youtube channel (www.youtube.com/BFIfilms) which features some really great archive footage including a load of Scottish stuff.

JDIFF09: EAMON

It was a packed house for the world premiere of this new Irish feature film from acclaimed short filmmaker Margaret Corkery, which tells the story of a hyperactive young boy, his selfish mother and her current boyfriend.

The lead peformances are all terrific and the film is a visual delight but it doesn't really feel like a finished product to me. The Q&A mentioned afterwards that it was the result of the Catalyst Project and that the script began with a workshop and was banged out in 20 days. Unfortunately it could probably have done with significantly more time being polished.

It feels like an easy criticism to make of a feature film from a predominantly shorts-based director, but the film really does look like a short film expanded to feature length. There's a lot of time spent emphasising the problems of each character and not enough getting the story moving. In short, we end up with a film that spends too much time getting to its destination and not enough time when it gets there.

Like HELEN, which I saw in Edinburgh and is playing in Dublin this week, the film leaves me in no doubt that the director is a major talent when directing but really needs a better script. The film feels, in both story and visual terms, like EDEN and RATCATCHER but never quite strikes the same balance of arty direction and solid script.

It's a very promising first feature but not without its flaws.

Best of 2008 - Top Two!

The final part of the countdown then, and you may be wondering why I left the last two films to a separate post.

It's because I'm going to declare it a tie. I couldn't pick between the two so for the first time I'm declaring the film of the year to actually be two films.

They couldn't be further apart either.

On the one hand we have a two-and-a-half-hour, big budget, box-office smashing Hollywood blockbuster comic adaptation, which dominated the box office in 2008. In the other corner it's a low-budget, 80-minute, emotional drama based on a stage play which has yet to even find a cinema release in the UK.

In case you've not already guessed, the best two films of 2008 according to my humble viewing are Christopher Nolan's THE DARK KNIGHT and Declan Recks' EDEN.

So there.

Best of 2008 (5-3)

Almost at the top - here's the next few films in my countdown of the best fifty films of last year...

5 JESUS CHRIST SAVIOUR
Documentary made up of archive footage of Klaus Kinski, arguably the maddest actor ever to chew up the screen, on an evangelical tour of Germany. It's just him on stage for most of it, but it's testament to his crazy appeal that it's still brilliant.

4 ATLANTIC
A short film by Conor Ferguson which I saw twice at last year's Cork festival and described previously as "three minutes of cinematic perfection".

3 JANEY MARY
From one heartbreaking Irish short to another. You probably remember I raved about this one at length.


And the Freakpit's choice of best two films of 2008? Find out tomorrow...

Best of 2008 (10-6)

Ooooh, we're in the top ten now. Are you getting excited yet?

10 WALL-E
See, every so often I do like a nice little family film, even if it is one set in a barren post-apocalyptic wasteland.

9 HUNGER
Breathtakingly arty take on the Irish hunger strikes, centred around Michael Fassbender's towering performance as Bobby Sands.

8 THE KING OF KONG
David versus Goliath tale of a quiet, unassuming family man on a quixotic quest to overthrow the villainous leader who rules over all. Despite the fact that it's a documentary about people playing arcade games.

7 TIME CRIMES
Mind-bending Spanish sci-fi horror in which a man witnesses a crime being committed... by himself. Then it gets really weird.

6 MAN ON WIRE
James Marsh's critically acclaimed documentary/heist movie about the artistic crime of the century (a high wire walk between the twin towers of the WTC) is simply stunning. It should win the Oscar this year too.

Best of 2008 (15-11)

15 THERE WILL BE BLOOD
Daniel Day Lewis deserved his Oscar for a terrific performance, although it perhaps overshadowed what was an overall triumph of filmmaking.

14 CLOVERFIELD
Or, GODZILLA with a handycam. There are certain lapses of logic but most only become obvious when you stop to think about it - which, during this rollercoaster ride, you're not likely to do too often.

13 NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD
Brilliant documentary about the world of Australian cult cinema.

12 A BLOODY CANVAS
Fascinating documentary about an incredible boxing match that took place on St Patrick's Day in Dublin during the Irish civil war.

11 PASSAGE
The accepted history of the discovery of the North West Passage gets a good kicking in this inventive and sadly under-seen documentary which I saw at Hot Docs but which also got aired on BBC Scotland.

Best of 2008 (20-16)

20 WAITING FOR THE LIGHT
Ciarin Scott gives George Morrison the biography treatment - it's about time someone did. Talking of which, MISE EIRE is getting an anniversary screening at the Dublin Film Festival next month - buy a ticket now!

19 THE JOHN AKII BUA STORY: AN AFRICAN TRAGEDY
This documentary is a sad tale of what might have been, detailing the rise and fall of the legendary Ugandan athlete who conquered the world but fell foul of Idi Amin's regime.

18 A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH
This year's Wallace and Gromit special from the BBC's Christmas schedule was as impressive and funny as we've come to expect.

17 THE GIRL BY THE LAKE
Laid-back but suspenseful Italian murder mystery with beautiful location work.

16 THE ORPHANAGE
One of the best horror films in recent years, a Spanish take on THE INNOCENTS with great performances, plenty of chills and an ending that satisfies while leaving you wondering.

Best of 2008 (30-26)

30 IN BRUGES
Glad to see this one has been nominated at various awards as it's a terrific black comedy, in which hitmen Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson hide out in Belgium after a hit goes wrong. Marketed very badly, this should surely find a wider audience on DVD.

29 PRESTO
It's the short film that preceded WALL-E in cinemas. I loved it. Now Oscar-nominated.

28 STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE
One of the better Iraq documentaries, although you'd expect as much from the veteran Errol Morris.

27 TRULY, MADLY, CHEAPLY: BRITISH B MOVIES
Excellent BBC4 documentary in which Matthew Sweet explores the cheap and largely unknown British exploitation cinema. If you've not read his book SHEPPERTON BABYLON, you should buy it right now.

26 RED
Low-budget Jack Ketchum adaptation boasting a powerhouse performance by Scotland's greatest actor, Brian Cox.

Best of 2008 (35-31)

35 ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
Werner Herzog's latest documentary is as odd as ever but also charming and beautiful. Got him his first Oscar nomination too. Won't win, due to another film which I'll be getting to in due course, but deserved all the same.

34 STRANDED: I'VE COME FROM A PLANE THAT CRASHED IN THE MOUNTAINS
I suspect this will be the longest title on this list. Great documentary examination of the rugby team who crashed in the Andes and had to endure all manner of horrific ordeals to survive.

33 AT THE DEATH HOUSE DOOR
You can't fail to be moved by this story of a death row pastor who has his beliefs turned upside down by the fate of a prisoner he believes is innocent.


32 THE INHERITANCE
This low budget Scottish movie did well on the festival circuit and was a hit with me too. It's not without its flaws, although it's a rare example of a film that may actually benefit from TV over cinema. Watching the DVD on a modest-sized TV the limitations of the equipment were not so obvious as they were on the big screen and the film actually looks a lot better as a result.

31 KISSES
Two kids go on the run in Dublin and take the film's colour scheme with them. Visually inventive little gem of a film.

Best of 2008 (40-36)

40 32A
Charming coming-of-age tale set in 1970s Dublin. Clearly a film for young girls, but what the hell, I liked it. Nominated for an IFTA Best Film award too, though I don't see it winning.

39 JUST ANOTHER LOVE STORY
Certainly not "just" another anything. I don't suppose that modern Danish film noir is a gigantic genre, but I bet this is still one of the best entries all the same. Terrific thriller.

38 CHANGELING
For all my complaints about Jolie's overacting, Eastwood's study of the dark side of LA's modern history is still a great film.

37 WALTZ WITH BASHIR
Bold, daring and timely animated movie from Israel that should get an Oscar nomination, even though Pixar own the actual awards. It has made the foreign language shortlist though, so watch out there. [UPDATE: I wrote this a few days ago, and the nominations have since come out - no animated nomination, which is a shock, but it is nominated for in the foreign language category]

36 DIARY OF THE DEAD
Like the previous entry, some people thought George Romero's latest zombie movie was an anticlimax and hated it. I thought it had its flaws but was still immensely enjoyable and felt that the back-to-basics approach really paid off.

Best of 2008 (45-41)

45 GONE BABY GONE
This terrific thriller should have been in the 2007 list but its UK release was delayed until the new year because of certain events in the news.

44 NOTE BY NOTE: THE MAKING OF STEINWAY L1037
I missed this when it played at Stranger Than Fiction, but at least caught it when it appeared at the inaugural Illuminations documentary film festival at Filmhouse. Come to think of it, I saw half a dozen films at that festival and forgot to write about any of them. Oh well, it's not the last one from that festival to appear in my top fifty. The film's about how Steinway make a piano, by the way.

43 THE MORSE COLLECTORS
Haunting Northern Irish short film which I saw at a couple of festivals in 2008.

42 THE THIRD PINT
South America, a man with a dodgy beard, some holiday footage on 8mm and some weirdly hypnotic synth music. This oddball entry might never be seen anywhere again and even if you do see it you might very well hate it. I was entranced.

41 LARS AND THE REAL GIRL
Ryan Gosling gives another terrific performance as the emotionally unhinged loner who falls in love with an inflatable doll... who promptly wins over the local community.

Irish film update (17 Jan)

Another brief round-up on the Irish movie front.

Are you familiar with the film THE LAST CONFESSION OF ALEXANDER PEARCE?

Nope, nor am I, since currently it's only popped up on RTE in Ireland. The film tells the true story of the Irishman who was transported to one of the most infamous prisons and ended up in the wilds of Australia indulging in cannibalism. The film is to be shown on BBC in the UK (no idea when - let me know if you find out) but in the meantime a documentary is being shown on the subject, on the History channel (UK). It's on Sunday 25th January at 9pm. And while you're on the History channel, watch out for a repeat of the two-part documentary FLEEING THE FAMINE, which has just been shown. Terrific, if somewhat depressing.

IFTN reports that Decklan Recks' EDEN has finally found a UK-based distributor. No word yet on when or if it will appear in UK cinemas, but wherever it appears, you should see it. It'll be appearing very high up my "Best of 2008" list, whenever I get round to writing it.

Talking of distribution, I also see from IFTN that someone has picked up the controversial and brilliant documentary FAIRYTALE OF KATHMANDU for US distribution. Quite right too.

IFTN also reports the nominations for the IFTA short film award. Particularly pleasing is that they're all films I've seen - can't say that ever happens at the Oscars. The films are AN RANGER (PJ Dillon), THE DOOR (Juanita Wilson), MARTIN (Sean Branigan) and OF BEST INTENTIONS (Brian Durnin). If I had to pick one, it'd probably prefer AN RANGER to win but to be honest they're all very good and I'm happy for all of them, whoever wins. I think THE DOOR will probably scoop it.

On the subject of short films, WALK ON BY (Tim Hannan) which I saw and very much enjoyed at Galway last year is now available on YouTube.

Well done also to Connor Clements who, I've just read in the press, has had his short film JAMES (another one I've mentioned here in the past) selected to screen at Sundance. Apparently it'll be available on iTunes during the festival as well, so watch out for that.

And finally, well done to Colin Farrell for winning an acting award at the Golden Globes for the terrific IN BRUGES. Normally I wouldn't even mention this, but he's the only thing that meant I made a profit when gambling on the awards (didn't think SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE would win quite as many as it did). Result.