Mother and Child - Movie Poster

Mother and Child

3.5 Anne Murphy

A drama centred around three women: A 50-year-old woman, the daughter she gave up for adoption 35 years ago and a woman looking to adopt a child of her own.

The relationship between mother and daughter is a rich emotional territory that "Mother and Child" wades right into. The brittle, flawed women wading through their lives and dreams will touch your heart, and then wring it out, as strands of the different characters' stories entwine. The actors give great performances in vulnerable and dysfunctional roles that variously thaw and freeze. Take your Mummy and remember your tissues.


Lourdes - Movie Poster

Lourdes

3.5 Anne Murphy

Wheelchair-bound Christine makes a life changing journey to Lourdes, the iconic site of pilgrimage.

"Lourdes" is a subversive, almost tongue in cheek, exploration of theology, belief and miracles. A contemplative movie that, thanks to an underdeveloped narrative, leaves the audience to imagine what each sideways glance and eyebrow movement on the screen means. This story will appeal to believers and non believers as it captures both the devotion of a pilgrimage to Lourdes and the modern day commercialism of the same. Miracles are now commodities. It's hard to say what St. Bernadette would make of the contemporary Lourdes.


Marriage and other Disasters - Movie Poster

Marriage and other Disasters

3.5 Anne Murphy

Disillusioned with romance, an unmarried woman finds herself organising her sister's wedding.

"Marriage and other Disasters" has all the elements of a romantic comedy, and then some. There is the likeable cast playing mismatched couples, then there are the requisite independent and romantically available parties, the ubiquitous hopeful parents, the comical disaster-dates, the looming wedding and a certain depth that's often lacking in the genre. This movie is also intelligent, with a sassy savvy woman in the lead, it's delightfully laced with irony and served with breathtaking Italian scenery. Look elsewhere for disasters.


King Lear (National Live Theatre) - Movie Poster

King Lear (National Live Theatre)

3.5 Anne Murphy

An aging King invites disaster when he abdicates to his corrupt daughters and rejects his honest one.

The UK National Theatre brings a quality stage production to the cinema screen. The extraordinary passion that underscores this much loved story is evident in the performances of the experienced cast. It's those performances, not to mention the playwright's words, which hold attention. It's an extraordinary play, although the minimalist backdrops provide a simpler visual experience than cinema goers are likely expect. The experience of watching a play on the big screen is unusual and Lear, "...still every inch a King".


Le Havre - Movie Poster

Le Havre

3.5 Anne Murphy

When an African boy is discovered hiding in a shipping container in the port city of Le Havre, an aging shoe shiner takes pity on the child and welcomes him into his home.

The simplicity of this movie is material to why it will be enjoyed. It is warm hearted and unpretentious. Layers of difficult socio-political issues are pared back to create a story that humanises the plight of immigrants without visas. The kindness shown to one struggling boy and the solidarity of the town’s characters in resisting the law enforcers are natural choices. Compassion and humour perfectly blended.


The Concert - Movie Poster

The Concert

3.5 Anne Murphy

Thirty years ago, Andrei Simoniovich Filipov, the renowned conductor of the Bolshoi orchestra, was fired for hiring Jewish musicians.

"The Concert" is a wonderful, formulaic, crowd-pleaser. Of course, formulaic can be wonderful if you can forgive the sense of knowing what's going to happen before it unfolds. As the story builds, the many farcical sequences notwithstanding, there's a sense that something other than the music is being orchestrated. By the time the final concerto is played there is not a dry eye in the house. The magnificent crescendo plays shamelessly to our sentimentality yet it's still uplifting. Bravo.


A Good Man - Movie Poster

A Good Man

3.5 Anne Murphy

A law school professor witnesses his colleague, friend and mentor murder his own wife.

"A Good Man" is a murder mystery with a twist, and makes for gripping viewing as the tension and angst builds. Although we know what happened and 'who done it', the audience are kept on the edge of their seats as the plot unfolds and develops. The dark and moody production evokes the film noire era in this contemporary setting. The pace is slow - being almost real time - which eases the tension almost as it is built; even so, this is a good film.


Moon - Movie Poster

Moon

3.5 Anthony Macali

Astronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he works alongside his computer, GERTY.

"Moon" is no pioneer, but is still a quietly quaint and enjoyable movie. Lacking the grandeur of most space odysseys, this film is all about Sam, and we become immersed in his isolation and apprehension. The atmosphere is boosted by an accomplished score, creating tension in tandem with the computer GERTY, whose indifferent disposition is as discomforting as his voice. It certainly won't rock science fiction, but will definately re-energise the genre.


I'm Still Here - Movie Poster

I'm Still Here

3.5 Anne Murphy

A documentary on Joaquin Phoenix's transition from the acting world to a career as an aspiring rapper.

A documentary that gives the both the subject and the director writing credits, is perhaps not a documentary. "I'm Still Here" is as audacious as it is reckless, or perhaps a better description for the film and its star is wrecked. We see an actor seemingly discard his script and don his vulnerability, wearing it on the outside, unkempt and tormented. The Hollywood industry laughs and so does the public, at a stumbling mumbling freak. The point, no doubt, is to see who has the last laugh.


World's Greatest Dad - Movie Poster

World's Greatest Dad

3.5 Anne Murphy

A comedy about a man who learns that the things you want most may not be the things that make you happy, and that being lonely is not necessarily the same as being alone.

"World's Greatest Dad" is uncomfortable viewing centered on an unlikable teenage misfit and his apologetic, underachieving Dad. This movie is so dark it's pitch black, not to mention creepy - a parent's nightmare. Low key but high impact viewing that will stay with you. The messages about popularity and hollow celebrity will skulk at the back of your mind even if you are the world's greatest someone.


The Wackness - Movie Poster

The Wackness

3.5 Andrew O'Dea

A lonely teenager spends his last summer before university selling marijuana throughout New York City, trading it with his unorthodox psychotherapist for treatment.

"The Wackness" follows the empathetic character of social outcast and drug dealer Luke Shapiro, centering on the unlikely friendship he develops with his eccentric therapist, Dr. Squires. In each other they find a solace of sorts, sharing their parallel frustrations with life. This movie is entertaining in its strangeness, as it paints an almost sardonic humour through the juxtaposition of adolescent anxiety and middle-aged depression.


Cold Souls - Movie Poster

Cold Souls

3.5 Anne Murphy

Paul is an actor who feels bogged down by his participation in a production of Chekov's play, Vanya.

"Cold Souls" has a delightfully original storyline told with a sombre, almost deadpan tone. The movie provides an intelligent and inquisitive voyage into existential angst, a surreal and introspective journey of both the familiar and the unknown. It could have been heavy going but for the well-crafted production, and the result is an entrancing and stylishly minimalistic film where the attention to detail is apparent. More 'funny peculiar' than 'funny ha ha' in style, this comedy is refreshingly soulful to boot.


Rare Exports - Movie Poster

Rare Exports

3.5 Andrew O'Dea

In the depths of the Korvatunturi Mountains in Finland, 486 metres deep, lies the closest ever guarded secret of Christmas.

"Rare Exports" is a clever horror comedy that presents a very dark take on the tradition of Santa Claus. The unique and intelligent premise is what drives the film, and although some may find it slow in parts, the unusual story is strangely entertaining. It has a distinct visual style set against the white and cold of remote Finland, and considering its minimal budget, the perfectly apt CGI puts most big-budget Hollywood fare to shame. Perfectly fine stocking-filler.


The Interrupters - Movie Poster

The Interrupters

3.5 Anne Murphy

The moving and surprising stories of three Violence Interrupters who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once participated in.

This fly-on-wall style documentary was filmed over the course of a year. The camera lens is firmly fixed on the problem of street shootings and the community building interventions of the dedicated outreach group CeaseFire and their Violence Interrupters who confront the problem by talking directly with the kids in the war zone. Speaking of talking, it's helpful that some of the dialogue is subtitled, and there's no doubt about the authenticity of the content. Interrupting an epidemic.


Wake Up Sid - Movie Poster

Wake Up Sid

3.5 Amit Jain

A romantic comedy involving a lazy, rich, and unmotivated slacker called Sid and a career-oriented aspiring writer.

"Wake Up Sid" is a fresh new age romance set in the urban jungle of Mumbai. A well directed feel-good movie, it has a wonderful all-star cast with a beautifully subtle soundtrack (not the typical Bollywood dance numbers). A relaxed, cool film that accurately portrays modern Indian youth while exploring events that most of us would have lived through.