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Donald Clarke

Whingeing about cinema and real life since 2009

Monthly Archives: May 2012

Whinging about Guinness mid-strength

Good grief. Marketing men are irritating. Are they not? I’m sure I’m not the only person to get all angry about the release of Guinness’s new “mid-strength” line. I have no enormous objections to the concept itself. We all must …

The DFCC in Cannes

A small contingent from the Dublin Film Critics’ Circle was in and about the hurly burly of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. As it winds down — anticipating the jury’s decisions later today — your current correspondent and Tara Brady, …

Cannes review of Mud

MUD **** Directed by Jeff Nichols Starring Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Michael Shannon, Sam Shepard, Sarah Paulson 135 min, playing in competition Fans of Jeff Nichols’s first two pictures — Shotgun Stories and Take Shelter — …

Tara Brady investigates the Directors’ Fortnight

Tara Brady writes: Seasoned Cannes punters couldn’t help noticing that many of the films in this year’s Directors’ Fortnight selection were – whisper it – superior to most of the titles in the higher ranked Un Certain Regard. These are …

The final stretch

Things are beginning to quieten down a little here. The trade magazines are now the size of parish gazettes. The market echoes whenever you laugh at the poster for Batman’s Bolivian non-union equivalent. It’s an odd feeling. It’s rather as …

A day of Resnais, Hong Sang-soo and Chris O’Dowd.

Honestly. Some of the people here. If I may paraphrase John Gielgud in Arthur, one usually has to go to a bowling alley to encounter people of this calibre. I should hurriedly explain that I’m not talking about the distinguished …

It’s all about Haneke

As the grey skies closed in and genuinely torential rain hammered the pavement, the main competition kicked properly into gear with the screening of Michael Haneke’s Amour. The Austrian director is now big favourite for the Palme d’Or with a …

Cannes review of Amour by Michael Haneke

AMOUR/LOVE ***** Directed by Michael Haneke Starring Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert, Jean-Louis Trintignant, William Shimell, Rita Blanco, Laurent Capelluto 127 min, playing in competition You didn’t need a degree in semiotics to deduce that the title of Ulrich Seidl’s creepy Paradise: Love, which played here on …

Lawless press conference and other Saturday matters

To the media room. It’s the press conference for John Hillcoat’s Lawless. I was looking forward to the film very much, but, as you can read below, I ended up finding it a bit flat. No matter. It was nice …

Cannes Review of Lawless by John Hillcoat

LAWLESS *** Directed by John Hillcoat Starring  Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Jessica Chastain, Mia Wasikowska, Guy Pearce 115 min, playing in competition In 2005, John Hillcoat turned a script by Nick Cave into one of the best films of the decade: The Proposition. That …

Cannes Review of Beasts of the Southern Wild

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD ***** Directed by Benh Zeitlin Starring Quvenzhane Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly, Lowell Landes, Pamela Harper,  Gina Montana 91 min, playing in Un Certain Regard There are many surprising things in this stunning film from up-and-coming American wunderkind Benh Zeitlin. But, if …

That sexism row bubbles on.

Not that you care, it was actually bleeding raining this morning. The sun has, however, now grudgingly come out to turn all pale-faced northern journalists an unpleasant shade of lobster pink. Today, we are looking forward to Sundance hit Beasts …

James Bond on the beach

Through the wonders of modern technology, I am able to relay this near-live image of Dr No screening on the beach at the lovely Cannes Film Festival. By now you will have read my review of Ulrich Seidl’s Paradise: Love, …

Cannes review of Paradise: Love by Ulrich Seidl

PARADISE: LOVE *** Directed by Ulrich Seidl Starring Margarethe Tiesel, Peter Kazungu, Inge Maux, Carlos Mkutano 120 min, playing in competition When Ulrich Seidl, a director who makes other Austrians seem jolly, announced that his latest project was to be the …

Slipping into Cannes with Wes Anderson

Is Marilyn celebrating Cannes’s 65th birthday by blowing out a birthday cake? It’s not really that significant an anniversary. Is it? At any rate, the star is everywhere in this Mediterranean resort. There she is above the Palais des Festivals. I …

To Cannes with Travis Bickle

The time is here again. Tomorrow morning, Terminal Two of Dublin Airport will, for some of us, take on the quality of the train station in The Great Escape. You remember. All the escaped prisoners are lurking around behind pillars …

How easy was it to guess the biggest films of 2011?

I know I am a bit late on this, but I recently remembered that, back in December 2010, I made an attempt to predict the most successful films of the looming year. I could have done better. But it is …

Hats off to Mike Sheridan and the Brave Trailer

The movie community reels in awe at the achievements of Mike Sheridan. The film johnny for Entertainment.ie joined Brian Maher of Spin 1038  to run 126 miles — the equivalent of five marathons — in order to raise money for Special …

Fanboy fascism, the Avengers and Sam Jackson

Last week, I pondered the hysterical responses to the smattering of negative reviews of Marvel Avengers Dissemble on Rotten Tomatoes. At this point, the film had not even opened — indeed, it wouldn’t open for another 10 days in the …

Was 1939 the greatest year ever for movies?

Well, I don’t know. I suppose it might be. Oh, hang on. I asked the question. Didn’t I? Of all the frigging pointless games that buffs play one of the most neglected is Best Ever Year Bingo. In the same …