What movies to watch this weekend?

In the Cinema:

Widows
Steve McQueens' multi-faceted heist thriller combining an all star cast with smart writing and a talented director results in a compelling thriller that will please audiences everywhere. Keep an eye out for my full review on www.traleetoday.ie




Streaming: 

State of Play (Netflix)
Directed by Kevin McDonald, this tense and taut political thriller wowed critics and audiences alike on it's cinematic release and makes it's debut this week on Netflix. A cast that includes Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck and Rachel McAdams deliver an old fashioned journalism feature worthy of your attention.



On Telly

Good Will Hunting (W Saturday 10th November 21:00)
Hard to believe that this movie is 21 years old but another opportunity to revel in the marvellous screenplay of a young Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, under the directorship of Gus Van Sant and bound together by the brilliance of the late great Robin Williams in an Oscar winning role

5 great films to catch at the 63rd Cork Film Festival

This Friday sees the beginning of the highly anticipated 63rd Cork Film Festival which will show over 250 films in a 10 day period. Simply a must for all lovers of film with high quality international and Irish feature and short films on show as well as a Illuminate, the Festival’s unique series of film and discussion events exploring mental health and wellbeing, the ever popular Doc Day and lots more besides, Cork is the premier spot to catch all that is wonderful from the world of film (regardless of age or taste!)
Whilst all fans of film should experience as much of this high quality programme and world renowned Cork hospitality as possible there are some simply unmissable films on show and for your convenience I have put together a list of 5 such films. Do yourself a favour though, head to Cork over any of these ten days and and be part of a fantastic film festival!

Check out http://corkfilmfest.org/ for further details.

5.Float Like a Butterfly - Friday 9th Nov 19:30 The Everyman Theatre
Cork Film Festival's opening night gala is the second feature from award wining filmmaker Carmel Winters. Shot in Skibbereen and Goleen, Float Like a Butterfly is a life-affirming delight that fiercely challenges patriarchy and stereotypes.
Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize at Toronto International Film Festival this year this feature gets the 63rd festival off to the best possible start

4.The Favourite - Saturday 10th Nov 21:00 The Everyman Theatre
Boasting incredible performances from it's cast, Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest collaboration with the Irish production company Element is a dazzling, majestic film: a riotous period piece with a feisty, feminist spark which saw it scoop the Grand Special Jury Prize at this year's Venice Film Festival as well as Best Actress for Olivia Colman

3. The Old Man & the Gun - Sunday 11th Nov 8:30pm The Everyman Theatre
David Lowery writes and directs Robert Redford's last big screen performance surrounded by an all star cast including Sissy Spacek and Casey Affleck  in this captivating film based on the true story of career criminal Forrest Tucker. A must see!

2. White Boy Rick - Thursday 15th Nov 6:15pm The Everyman Theatre
Based on the life of Richard Wershe Jr, a teenager recruited by US government agencies to infiltrate the drug scene in depressed Detroit, this Yann Demange directed feature evocatively depicts the 1980s underworld and features a break-out performance from Richie Merritt in the titular role as well as a terrific Matthew McConaughey as Rick Snr in a thrilling, muscular crime film that further affirms him as a filmmaker of extreme talent.

1. Sorry to Bother You - Saturday 17th Nov The Everyman Theatre
Boots Riley’s debut feature is already the making noises as one of the most talked about films of the year provoking much debate as a commentary on race, class and capitalism. An Official selection at this years Sundance Film Festival it is yet another top class addition to an already quality packed programme at the Cork Film Festival.

Tralee Omniplex Tuesday Treat - What movie deserves your €6 this week?

There are four new releases on show this week at Tralee Omniplex. A thumping musical biopic, an electric heist thriller, an early yuletide entry and a comic horror feature which reunites a famous comedy duo! With 8 screens and plenty of quality still available why not catch a movie at Tralee Omniplex with the added bonus of all shows today just €6 as part of Omniplex Cinema's Tuesday Treat!

Bohemian Rhapsody
The highly entertaining Freddie Mercury biopic is at Tralee Omniplex. A must for all fans of the singer and an enjoyable watch for all. Worth it for a 20 minutes re-enactment of Live Aid alone! Read  my full review here.

Widows
Steve McQueen highly anticipated heist thriller has had the critics raving and with an all star ensemble cast and a director of such high quality at the helm this may well be the pick of this week's bunch!

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
Early entry into the yuletide genre for this year, this Disney adaptation has left critics and audiences cold as it fails to ignite the holiday spark needed. Nice to look at but with very little else attached this is one that may fade from memory at a rapid rate!

Slaughterhouse Rulez
Written and directed by Crispin Mills and starring Simon Pegg , Nick Frost and Michael Sheen ,this comic horror fails to hit the mark on regular occasions and is a huge disappointment considering the talent on show!

This weeks Top movies on the Telly

Heaven and Earth - (TG4 Monday 5th November 21:00)
This fact-based drama chronicling the life of a Vietnamese woman who grows up in a peasant village that is caught up in the mayhem as war breaks out stars Tommy Lee Jones in top form is one of Oliver Stone's most underrated and heart wrenching features. Worth a watch!

Hunger - (Film Four Tuesday 6th November 23:45)
The movie that announced both director Steve McQueen and actor Michael Fassbender in some fashion,in this harrowing and uncompromising film. It is undoubtedly a sometimes be a difficult but ultimately rewarding watch. Famous for a 24 minute epic scene halfway through a film that is simply too good to be missed.

Man on Fire - (RTE 2 Friday 9th November 21:45)
Tony Scott directed feature with Denzel Washington in top form in a revenge thriller that is not lacking in violence or action and includes a strong supporting cast in the shape of Christopher Walken and Dakota Fanning. Recommended!

Review - Bohemian Rhapsody - Music biopic to please Queen fans and more besides

Just a short few weeks after the excellent A Star is Born, Tralee Omniplex plays host to another musical feature with Bryan Singer's, Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody enjoying pride of place at numerous MAXX screenings this week.
Bohemian Rhapsody traces the meteoric rise of Queen through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound, ups and downs as Mercury's hectic lifestyle spirals out of control, and their triumphant reunion on the eve of Live Aid, where the band deliver one of the greatest performances in the history of rock music.
As a fan of the band, Bohemian Rhapsody was a film that I was very much looking forward to and thankfully did not disappoint with director Singer perfectly capturing the aura and energy of the band and in particular their charismatic lead singer throughout what seemed like a short 135 minutes running time.
Special mention has to go to Rami Malek who is simply outstanding as the larger than life Freddie Mercury, perfectly capturing his mannerisms and personality in a truly magnificent performance.
It may be formulaic in structure and brush over certain elements of Mercury's flamboyant life but ultimately it is the energy, authenticity and electrifying soundtrack that results in a satisfying celebration of one of rock music's greatest bands.
The twenty minute reenacting of the bands famous Live Aid set is worth the price of your cinema ticket alone as the viewer is immersed in that famous day in 1985 with Malek mimicking every Mercury movement and sweeping the audience along joyfully in the process.
Overall, Bohemian Rhapsody is an extremely enjoyable film that whilst may not be an instant classic has enough admirable qualities to please it's audience with foot stomping rock classics recreated impeccably thanks to a talented director and a colossal lead performance from Rami Malek.
✸✸✸✸

Another high calibre 63rd Cork Film Festival just 8 days away....

9th November 2018 sees the start of Ireland's largest and longest running film festival with the banks of the lovely Lee playing host to over 250 films with themes centred on LGBT, mental health, child poverty, gender equality, and human rights over a ten day period with an incredible 90% being Irish premieres.

Float like a Butterfly - opening feature of the Cork Film Festival

With Float like a Butterfly selected as the Opening Gala Cork Film Festival has again shown it's commitment to celebrating Irish film, and CFF has also secured some of the most celebrated films of the year. These include the Irish premiere of Yorgos Lanthimos’ feminist comedy The Favourite on 10 November, produced by Element Pictures and starring Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz; and The Dig, directed by Ryan and Andrew Tohill, starring Moe Dunford, which was awarded Best Irish Feature at Galway Film Fleadh earlier this year.

The Closing Night Gala will also feature the work of an outstanding female director, with the Irish premiere of Nadine Labaki’s multi-award-winning Capernaum (18 November). This urgent and important film is on child poverty and the denial of an individual’s human rights. Other Irish premieres of international features include The Old Man and the Gun, starring Robert Redford as a septuagenarian bank robber; Peter Strickland’s sumptuous and spooky tale, In Fabric; and Wash Westmoreland’s period biopic, Colette, starring Keira Knightley

The Old man and the Gun premiering at the Cork Film Festival

This year's  programme also features 40 documentaries, with highlights to include veteran auteur Frederick Wiseman’s Monrovia, Indiana, and Werner Herzog’s Meeting Gorbachev, cementing Cork Film Festival as the ultimate destination festival for documentary in Ireland.

Illuminate, the Festival’s unique series of film and discussion events exploring mental health and wellbeing, is presented in association with Arts+Minds, the HSE Cork Mental Health Service and Irish Rail Iarnród Éireann. Screenings include Trauma is a Time Machine, For the Birds, and Ordinary People.

One for all the family - The Grinch screening at this years festival

The fun-packed family strand will be screened throughout the Festival at The Gate Cinema. The programme includes the highly-anticipated family friendly animations, The Grinch (10 November) and The Overcoat (17 November), which features the voice of Cork actor Cillian Murphy.

In total, 117 world-class shorts will be presented across the 10 days and will be considered for either the Grand Prix Irish Short or the Grand Prix International Short Awards. The winners of both, announced at the Awards Ceremony on 18 November at the Triskel, will be automatically longlisted for the Oscars.

What is quite clear to any fan of film (young or old) is that not only does the Cork Film Festival boast an all inclusive and highly insightful programme of film but indeed one for all ages and tastes that should be experienced over 10 quality packed days!
For further details visit http://corkfilmfest.org/

5 great movies coming to Netflix this November

Ah November! A great month for Netflix lovers with the nights drawing in quicker, winter in full flow and a world of entertainment at our finger tips! The good news is that Netflix has some real quality additions to it's catalogue on the way this month. For your viewing pleasure I have decided to once again sift through the vast array of quality movies on show and recommend five classics so you don't have to spend half the night flicking through Netflix's choices before deciding that you are now too tired to watch a film anyway and vow to return at a later date just to do the very same thing.
Here are my movie picks for your enjoyment for this month:

5. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Peter Jackson fans are in for a treat this month with all three Lord of the Rings movies hitting Netflix. Of course all are well worthy of repeated viewing but I've chosen the most decorated and final episode of the series as this highly entertaining franchise comes to it's spectacular conclusion!

4. Arrival
Denis Villeneuve's superb and often under rated sci-fi feature is an exceptional piece of film making and other shining example of the brilliance of this director and includes some excellent performances from a very talented cast. Read my full review here and do yourself a favour and make this film a must see this month on Netflix.

3. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
A more than capable addition to the Star Wars franchise this movie story breaks new ground whilst also remaining loyal to the series origins. Gareth Edwards take on this classic sci-fi movie was, unsurprisingly a big hit in the box office and now audiences have another chance to catch it in the comfort of their own homes

2. Children of Men
This multi faceted feature from director Alfonso Cuaran works on numerous levels - as a high octane chase thriller, a sci-fi masterpiece and a humane drama. Highly original and featuring some incredible performances this is one not to be missed when it drops at the start of November on Netflix.

1. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
A Netflix Original from the great Coen Brothers, this highly anticipated western anthology comes highly recommended by the critics and contains an all star cast epitomising the Coens trademark dark drama and black humour. One to watch out for!