
You could fill a book with doubleplusungood uses of ‘Orwellian’
- Culture
- January 16, 2021, 05:00
George Orwell is common shorthand for ‘mean people are being mean to me because they’re mean’

Dear Comrades! Heart-rending drama with electrifying central performance
- Film
- January 15, 2021, 06:01
Film review: 1962’s Novocherkassk massacre was the ultimate betrayal of the Russian revolution

The Movie Quiz: ‘Fifty million people watched, but no one saw a thing’ – name the film from the tagline
- Film
- January 15, 2021, 06:00
Plus: James Stewart and Hitchcock, a missing Saturday Night Fever song and Schitt’s Creek casting

One Night in Miami: Claustrophobic but engaging chamber piece
- Film
- January 15, 2021, 05:30
Review: This sophisticated imagined conversation between Malcolm X, Cassius Clay, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke works hard to shake off (...)

Four new films to stream this weekend
- Film
- January 15, 2021, 05:30
Dear Comrades!, MLK/FBI, One Night in Miami, Stardust

Netflix: 25 films to watch out for in 2021
- Film
- January 13, 2021, 09:05
Big names, Oscar contenders and everything from westerns to romcoms will hit the small screen this year

Chinese epic nabs highest-grossing film of 2020, leaving US cinema in its wake
- Culture
- January 9, 2021, 05:00
The year just gone may have been an aberration, but the Chinese film industry’s box-office challenge to Hollywood has been evident(...)

Four new films to see this weekend
- Film
- January 8, 2021, 06:00
Dramas Pieces of a Woman and Two Ways Home, docs Robin’s Wish and Mother

The Movie Quiz: What was Marlon Brando’s directorial debut?
- Film
- January 8, 2021, 06:00
Plus: tying the title, novels by actors, a first time song, the three wives of who?

Robin’s Wish: What Robin Williams really died of
- Film
- January 8, 2021, 06:00
Film review: This documentary sets the record straight on the actor’s last days

Two Ways Home: A drama about bipolar disorder that might do some good
- Film
- January 8, 2021, 05:00
Review: Tanna Frederick is terrific in a film about mental illness that avoids preachiness

From Saoirse Ronan’s Ammonite to Spielberg’s West Side Story, 50 films to watch in 2021 (we hope)
- Film
- January 2, 2021, 06:00
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a traffic jam of anticipated films for this year

The greatest year for music was the year you came of age
- Culture
- January 2, 2021, 05:00
Donald Clarke: You can’t beat 1981. Others will argue for 1967, 1989, 1995 or 2020. Nobody is right. Nobody is wrong

We Can be Heroes: A defiantly unthreatening movie from the oldest kid on the block
- Film
- December 31, 2020, 05:00
Review: Just try and stay out of the room for the excruciatingly sunny David Bowie cover

Sing Me a Song: What happens when a monk meets a woman online?
- Film
- December 31, 2020, 05:00
Review: This remarkable tale of innocence corrupted with a helping hand of technology

The Quality Street test: Could you ever love someone who loved the Toffee Penny?
- Culture
- December 26, 2020, 05:00
Donald Clarke: Either way, the seasonal sweets remain my nausea-inducer of choice

Christmas TV guide: 20 of the best films to watch
- Film
- December 24, 2020, 06:00
Movie highlights from Paddington 2 and Soul to Dunkirk and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom

The Midnight Sky: George Clooney’s Netflix film drags like an unremarkable century
- Film
- December 23, 2020, 05:00
Review: The star’s own performance is the main reason to give this movie a chance

Phil Lynott: Songs for While I’m Away review – The word ‘heroin’ is never mentioned
- Film
- December 22, 2020, 05:00
Stirring documentary will retain a permanent place on Thin Lizzy fans’ playlists

The 25 best films of 2020 – in order
- Film
- December 19, 2020, 06:15
Parasite, Uncut Gems, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, The Invisible Man and many more

A Christmas Story never took off here, but its time will come
- Culture
- December 19, 2020, 05:00
Some US films fail to travel – Bob Clark’s 1983 comedy, however, is worth your attention

Dublin film critics reveal their best film of 2020
- Film
- December 18, 2020, 10:04
The Dublin Film Critics Circle has announced the results of its annual poll

American Utopia: David Byrne makes a lot of sense – maybe too much sense
- Film
- December 18, 2020, 06:00
Review: If you like Talking Heads, watch this. If you don’t, don’t

The Movie Quiz: What did the graduate really say to Mrs Robinson?
- Film
- December 18, 2020, 06:00
Plus: Cartoon Saloon’s features and a ‘John Hughes film’ directed by John Hughes

Four new films to see this weekend
- Film
- December 18, 2020, 06:00
Wonder Woman, Let Him Go on release, Ma Rainey, American Utopia on demand

Wonder Woman 1984 review: The best superhero film to see cinemas in 2020
- Film
- December 16, 2020, 06:00
It has good villains, especially Kristen Wiig, ignored frump turned malevolent feline

Angela’s Christmas Wish: Netflix brings Limerick’s charms to millions of viewers
- Film
- December 16, 2020, 05:00
Brown Bag's second instalment of McCourt-inspired tale surges with impressive recreations of Limerick

Did newsreaders always report on Santa’s journey?
- Culture
- December 12, 2020, 05:00
Donald Clarke: I can’t imagine Walter Cronkite or Don Cockburn doing such a thing

Viola Davis: ‘My father was just one generation removed from slavery’
- Film
- December 12, 2020, 05:00
The Oscar-winner on playing Ma Rainey, working with Chadwick Boseman and race in Hollywood

Netflix and Spotify gift cards are the way forward this Christmas
- Film
- December 12, 2020, 00:00
Vouchers are not the most imaginative presents but you can be certain they will be used

Four new films to see this weekend
- Film
- December 11, 2020, 06:00
Bee Gees and The Mole Agent streaming, The Racer on general release, The Prom on Netflix and limited release

The Movie Quiz: What Star Trek comes after The Wrath of Khan?
- Film
- December 11, 2020, 06:00
Plus: 2020’s biggest earner, Brian De Palma’s non-movie, King Kong and the MCU

Wild Mountain Thyme reviews are in: ‘Accents are the least of this movie’s problems’
- Film
- December 11, 2020, 05:00
Review of reviews for the stage-Irish film whose trailer was eviscerated last month

The Racer: The gruesome politics of professional cycling
- Film
- December 11, 2020, 05:00
Review: Non-accusatory but gruelling treatment of compromised glamour

The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart – You can’t look the other way
- Film
- December 10, 2020, 05:00
Review: ‘I’d rather have my brothers back and no hits at all.’ Barry Gibb makes us cry

The word of the year is defined as ‘watching Normal People in your pyjamas’. What is it?
- Culture
- December 5, 2020, 05:00
The 2020 selection is taken up with terms relating to a certain familiar menace

Spoonful of Sugar: How Mary Poppins contributed to the Covid vaccine story
- Film
- December 4, 2020, 13:30
Julie Andrews’s song was inspired by a polio immunisation, according to its writer’s son

Four new films to see this weekend
- Film
- December 4, 2020, 06:00
Wolfwalkers, Girl from Mogadishu on release, Mank on demand, Crock of Gold on both

The Movie Quiz: Identify the Grammy-nominated movie star
- Film
- December 4, 2020, 06:00
Plus: Peter Parker’s alter-ego, best picture biopics, Harry Potter titles, Pixar’s species

A Girl from Mogadishu: Ifrah Ahmed is very impressive. This film about her life is not
- Film
- December 4, 2020, 05:00
Review: Ahmed is a credit to her nation. It’s a shame Mary McGuckian’s biopic is so pallid

Wolfwalkers: Cartoon Saloon has made its best film yet
- Film
- December 3, 2020, 05:00
Review: A family entertainment set among the Cromwellian atrocities? Sounds risky

Is the book always better than the film? Spoiler: it’s not
- Culture
- November 28, 2020, 05:00
The French Connection won best picture but the non-fiction novel is largely forgotten

Viggo Mortensen: It ‘felt awkward’ replacing Stuart Townsend in Lord of the Rings
- Film
- November 28, 2020, 05:00
But the film made a star of the Danish American actor. Now he’s a director too

The Movie Quiz: How much does John Travolta and Uma Thurman’s Pulp Fiction milkshake cost?
- Film
- November 27, 2020, 06:10
Plus: Withnail’s finest wine, Jack Nicholson’s iconic order, The Godfather's spaghetti recipe

Four new films to stream this weekend
- Film
- November 27, 2020, 06:00
Finding Jack Charlton, Possessor, Black Beauty, Train to Busan 2: Peninsula

Black Beauty: True-blue fans should approach with caution
- Film
- November 27, 2020, 05:00
Review: Kate Winslet voices the horse in Disney+ adaptation

Saoirse Ronan and Daniel Day-Lewis on ‘greatest 21st-century actors’ list
- Film
- November 26, 2020, 14:30
But hang on: what’s Keanu Reeves doing here? And really hang on: where’s Meryl Streep?

Breakfast in Ballsbridge: When Audrey Hepburn met her dad in Dublin
- Film
- November 26, 2020, 05:00
He was a fascist who walked out on the family. No wonder the star had father issues

Modern Ireland is unimaginable without Jack Charlton
- Film
- November 23, 2020, 06:30
Finding Jack Charlton lays bare his remarkable connection with the Irish psyche

Why are all these useless films now being declared classics?
- Culture
- November 21, 2020, 05:00
I cannot pretend that Hocus Pocus is any more deserving of affection now than it was in 1993

The Movie Quiz: Wild Mountain Thyme is based on what Irish play?
- Film
- November 20, 2020, 06:00
Plus: Colin Farrell credits, soundtracking The Graduate, Who Killed Bambi’s band

Four new films to stream this weekend
- Film
- November 20, 2020, 06:00
Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square, Hillbilly Elegy, Patrick, Collective

Patrick: Excellent absurdist comedy set in a nudist colony
- Film
- November 20, 2020, 05:30
Review: This is an absolute original that should launch a starry career

Hillbilly Elegy: The Black and White Minstrel Show was subtler in its stereotyping
- Film
- November 19, 2020, 05:00
Review: One’s brain aches pondering why anyone thought this would be a good idea

Cork Film Festival: Castro’s Spies and Border drama among the virtual highlights
- Film
- November 16, 2020, 06:00
The 65th outing had Pixar’s Soul, great Irish premieres and a film about cycling cheats

Gabriel Byrne: ‘Dublin prepared me for Hollywood. I was ready for the bulls**t’
- Books
- November 14, 2020, 05:00
The actor on his struggle with fame, the sexual abuse he endured, and the new Ireland

The Crown, season 4: Gillian Anderson takes up the Margaret Thatcher challenge
- Culture
- November 14, 2020, 05:00
She is the latest of many actors to wrestle with the blue suit and tortured vowels

The Movie Quiz: Which Irish landmark appears in The Princess Bride?
- Film
- November 13, 2020, 06:00
Plus: Which monster links Jack Nicholson, Lon Chaney Jr and Benicio Del Toro?

Four new films to stream this weekend
- Film
- November 13, 2020, 06:00
The Life Ahead, Martin Eden, Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey, Two of Us

The Life Ahead: It’s time to give Sofia Loren that Oscar nomination
- Film
- November 13, 2020, 05:00
The indomitable star’s stoic performance is the main reason to watch this Italian drama

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey – Chaotic, exhausting and merry
- Film
- November 13, 2020, 05:00
Review: A combination of high Disney gloop with Hamilton hip-hop

Wild Mountain Thyme trailer: What in the name of holy bejaysus is this cowpat?
- Film
- November 11, 2020, 06:00
Film with Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, Christopher Walken is laden with patronising Paddywhackery

Sean Connery often said it was okay to hit a woman. The obits barely mentioned it
- Culture
- November 7, 2020, 05:00
We are never too far from a story about a celebrity with a history of domestic violence

The Movie Quiz: How many official Bond films starred Sean Connery?
- Film
- November 6, 2020, 06:00
Plus: What film won most Oscars this year, who give the Golden Globes, name a Cohen Bros sequel

Jonathan Coe: ‘All my influences were pushing me towards film and television’
- Books
- November 5, 2020, 06:00
The novelist on his new book, being an unromantic outsider and Billy Wilder

Sean Connery the man has died. Sean Connery the indestructible legend lives on
- Film
- October 31, 2020, 15:17
He was always a little out of his time, combining charm, menace and old-fashioned masculinity

US pop culture has struggled to come to terms with Trumpism
- Culture
- October 31, 2020, 05:00
The angry pop culture of the Nixon years is better than that of the Trump era

The Movie Quiz: Maureen O’Hara was raised in which leafy Dublin suburb?
- Film
- October 30, 2020, 06:00
Plus: playing Cleopatra, a Hitchcock no-show, Meryl and her many nominations

There are plenty of sombre films about. Should we be surprised?
- Culture
- October 24, 2020, 05:00
Hollywood regularly confounded that myth that grim times generate merry, escapist art

Four new films to stream this weekend
- Film
- October 23, 2020, 06:00
On the Rocks, Rebecca, Summer of 85, The Secret Garden

The Movie Quiz: Who never got to direct an episode of Columbo?
- Film
- October 23, 2020, 06:00
Plus: singing Oscarless, editing Martin Scorsese, a co-director goes uncredited

On the Rocks: Bill Murray and Rashida Jones are perfect in Sofia Coppola’s latest film
- Film
- October 22, 2020, 05:00
Exasperated, bewildered Jones is at least the equal of her older costar in this exquisite film

Netflix’s Rebecca: The new Mrs de Winter isn’t a patch on the first one
- Film
- October 21, 2020, 05:00
Review: The film is so lathered in superficial gloss the subtexts struggle to breathe

Iftas 2020: ‘My daughter’s hitting the keys, sorry.’ Tom Vaughan-Lawlor accepts best actor award
- Film
- October 18, 2020, 23:46
Charming domestic moments made up for the lack of red-carpet pizzazz at the virtual event

Walking sort of like an Egyptian may not be enough any more
- Culture
- October 17, 2020, 05:00
The news had barely landed before social media blew its collective top

Iftas 2020: Martin Scorsese, Daisy Ridley, Michael D Higgins to appear at virtual ceremony
- Film
- October 16, 2020, 06:00
The Irish Film and Television Academy’s awards will be broadcast on Sunday night

Four new films to stream this weekend
- Film
- October 16, 2020, 06:00
Unsettling Wicklow-shot The Other Lamb, Sundance winner Time, harrowing Body of Water, saccharine Disney biopic Clouds

The Movie Quiz: Who was the first filmmaker to win three Oscars for a film?
- Film
- October 16, 2020, 06:00
Plus: In what year is the new Wonder Woman film mostly set?

The Other Lamb: This is not a film designed to shake off late-Covid unease
- Film
- October 16, 2020, 05:00
Review: Film is at the more austere end of the cult-movie spectrum

Body of Water: Powerful study of an eating disorder
- Film
- October 15, 2020, 05:00
Review: Stark and unyielding throughout for those adventurous enough to dive in

Embargo review: Deirdre Kinahan’s new play is unashamedly humanistic
- Stage
- October 13, 2020, 05:00
Dublin Theatre Festival: Unquestionably a celebration of the protest but with layers of nuance

Netflix: The best 50 films to watch right now
- Film
- October 10, 2020, 06:00
There’s been another major turnover but catch the classics while you can

John Wayne: Mattie McGrath references an emblematic, problematic American
- Culture
- October 10, 2020, 05:00
A limited actor and probable racist, he is still the go-to icon for frontier bravado

The Party to End All Parties: There is a lot going on in one-and-a-half smallish packages
- Stage
- October 9, 2020, 13:00
Dublin Theatre Festival review: Summoning the despair of an urban space in the time of Covid

Four new films to see this weekend
- Film
- October 9, 2020, 06:00
Kajillionaire in cinemas, David Attenborough, 40-Year-Old Version, My Zoe at home

The Movie Quiz: What is Sean Connery’s last feature role?
- Film
- October 9, 2020, 06:00
Plus: SNL spin-offs, Marvel alter egos, the American Pie crew, Carry On casting

Kajillionaire: Miranda July’s best film to date
- Film
- October 8, 2020, 05:00
Review: The film is more aware of its own oddness than the director’s first two features

David Attenborough: ‘To continue, humans require more than intelligence. We require wisdom’
- Film
- October 8, 2020, 05:00
Review: This ‘witness statement’ for Netflix is filled with truths worth hammering home

Miranda July: Some people will always react to something new with derision
- Film
- October 7, 2020, 05:00
The director of US high-quirk indie cinema returns with her best yet, Kajillionaire

The Savoy may soon be the last big cinema in the heart of Dublin
- Film
- October 5, 2020, 13:30
Cineworld shut down ... Bond postponed again ... The cinema sector is on life support

Donald Clarke: Is Stallone’s Sico knockout just a publicity stunt?
- Culture
- October 3, 2020, 05:00
The disappearance of Rocky’s robotic butler has the conspiracy censors twitching

Dara Ó Briain: ‘I get abuse from Brexiteers and Corbynistas in satisfyingly similar amounts’
- Books
- October 3, 2020, 05:00
His new book, Is There Anybody Out There?, skilfully weaves thumping gags with raw physics

To be a Machine review: Experimental format well-suited to play’s core theme
- Stage
- October 2, 2020, 09:38
Self-conscious experiments complement the exploration of transhumanism

The Movie Quiz: Which of the Magnificent Seven lived the longest?
- Film
- October 2, 2020, 06:00
Plus: a year without Marvel, the home of Cartoon Saloon, nothing for the ladies

Four new films to see this weekend
- Film
- October 2, 2020, 06:00
Rialto, The Boys in the Band, Eternal Beauty, The Trial of the Chicago 7