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I was lucky enough to get tickets to see Cillian Murphy, in Conversation with Corcadorca in my home city of Cork last night, where Cillian shared some insights into how he made a transition into acting, his work in theatre and of course his roles in several well-known films, such as “The Wind that Shakes the Barley” and “28 Days Later.”
After a 30 minute interview, Cillian was also more than happy to answer questions from the audience at the sold-out event. My favourite has to be from a young boy who will begin his secondary school life in Cillian’s old school, “any tips for the future?” Brilliant.
(As the interview was filmed by Corcadorca, it will presumably be available on YouTube in the next few days, which I’ll link to.)
So, over the past few weeks Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo have been inviting listeners to help them compile a code of conduct for watching films in the cinema.
Wynter Tyson of Cinema Scream also kindly set up a meme thingy/blog event so that as many bloggers as possible could post the poster below on their blog & then be so good as to provide their own 11th rule for watching films in the cinema.
So here goes mine, short and sweet, but oh so necessary.
NO LASERS!
DO NOT under any circumstances use a laser pointer and think it’s hilarious to point the beam at the screen. It might have been cute when you were five years old, but not now!
Many thanks to Niamh Griffin who kindly put together this fantastic post on her Top 5 Sports Movies, which all feature women in sport, good stuff!
Niamh Griffin blogs about women in sport over at Women with Balls It’s not that she’s sexist but every now and then, it’s fun to remember that sport isn’t spelled “male”.
Sports movies aren’t usually known for being thought-provoking or deep. But every now and then, someone gets it really right.
I love these five films – mainly because they show women actually doing sport, not just cheering their guys on. I’ve left out “Million Dollar Baby” because it’s so obvious – that final hospital scene is a heart-breaker.
Do you know any other girl-friendly sports films?
1. Girlfight
This was one of the first boxing films to take a female character and let rip. Starring Michelle Rodriguez, it’s the classic rescued-by-boxing story but with a girl. Directed by Karyn Kusama, the ending is a little Hollywood for my taste but so worth watching.
2. Bend it like Beckham
If you’re in a bad mood and need to be cheered up, this is the film to do it. Kiera Knightly and Parminder Nagra were just class as they work out how to live their own lives. Plus of course a little Jonathan Rhys Myers never goes astray. I always thought Gurinder Chadha might make a sequel but no luck so far…
3. Blue Crush
Another Michelle Rodriguez movie, Kate Bosworth also stars. When I’m floating around in the surf, this is who I’m imagining. Best line? “You’re not a quitter, you’re just scared.” A great motto and some fabulous sea-shots!
4. Whip It
This is the perfect chick-flick. You’ve got self-discovery, best friends, love, family trauma and, best of all, strong women. What more could you ask for? Directed by Drew Barrymore, you’ll recognise the actresses from your favourite indie movies. Ellen Page, Juliette Lewis and Macia Gay Harden all get their skates on.
5. A League of Their Own
This one is a bit more self-conscious than the others but still fun. Geena Davis is great – pity Tom Hank’s role is so prominent but maybe back in ’92 you couldn’t have a woman headlining? I still don’t understand baseball though!
The Public Theatre’s production of The Merchant of Venice is now showing on Broadway, starring Al Pacino as Shylock and Lily Rabe as Portia.
The prospect of seeing Pacino in the flesh so to speak was a little overwhelming. Indeed, it appears that most of the audience were Pacino fans, as one visitor remarked while we were standing in line, so what is “The Merchant of Venice all about?” (!)
At first, it was a little difficult to adapt to certain changes to Shakespeare’s original play. First, the show departed from the play’s original Renaissance setting. Having watched Pacino in the 2004 film production of The Merchant of Venice, I assumed that it would once again take place in this era. However, the Edwardian setting, complete with beautiful costumes and a wrought iron set didn’t detract from the play and indeed only served to compliment it.
While the costumes were stunning, one matter which still confuses me, is that while the cast wore Edwardian costume throughout, Portia wore Renaissance costume for the most part. It was difficult to decipher whether this was an oversight or a deliberate attempt to set her character apart; I would love to know.
Having watched Pacino on stage, it’s easy to see why he is considered to be one of America’s greatest living actors, perhaps matched only by Robert De Niro.
Pacino’s portrayal of Shylock, a Jewish moneylender is mesmerising. Shakespeare’s Shylock isn’t exactly a likeable character, but his portrayal of the character evokes empathy and paints a tragic picture of a man embittered by the attitude and treatment of the Venetian people and their anti-Semitic views.
We learn of his long suffering and his performance is heart-breaking, particularly in the courtroom scene, when he eventually loses everything. Indeed, we see that Shylock’s fate will haunt those in time to come; not least his daughter Jessica, (brilliantly played by Heather Lind) who is burdened by regret, as a result of her treatment of Shylock.
Although Pacino does steal the show, Lily Rabe, who plays the wealthy Portia holds her own. It’s no easy feat to command a presence on stage when you share it with Pacino, but Rabe provides a witty and clever performance. It’s a pity that some will not see her performance, as she will be missing over the coming weeks.
Jesse L. Martin is also impressive and offers comic relief as Antonio’s gregarious friend Gratiano, which is a major departure from his time on Law and Order.
Other performances were less than average. Byron Jennings who plays Antonio the merchant, is one-dimensional. Unfortunately, I couldn’t muster up any empathy for his supposed vulnerable state in the courtroom, nor any hatred for his treatment of Shylock; which is in stark contrast to Jeremy Irons’ brilliant depiction of the character in the film version.
Bassanio, played by David Harbour was by far the least impressive of all performances. Compared to Shakespeare’s strong character, his performance was weak. He struggled with the entire role and indeed, the play could have been enhanced, had a stronger actor played Bassanio.
As Shakespeare originally intended The Merchant of Venice to be a romantic comedy, director Daniel Sullivan stays true to this. There are many comedic moments throughout the play, not just from Jesse L. Martin, but indeed from many of the cast.
However, while comic relief is necessary to balance out the darker side of the play, some elements were dumbed down as a result. Certain comedic and almost buffoonish moments detracted from it and some of the language was overly colloquial.
Still, overall The Merchant of Venice is a real treat, largely due to Pacino’s star-power and his truly memorable performance. It is for this reason why audiences are arriving in their droves and will no doubt continue to do so until its closing date on January 9th. On a side note, I traveled from Ireland to see the play, so if you are living in the United States, you have no excuse not to go see it!
Hey folks, I’m taking a mini-break from blogging as I’m heading away on a much-needed holiday. I love Ireland, but God do I need to take a break from it.
I’ll be back in early November to report on Mr. Pacino’s Broadway performance in “The Merchant of Venice.” And if the 2004 film version is anything to go by, we’re in for a treat!
My trip to NYC is less than two weeks away now and I have to say the highlight will probably be going to see Al Pacino in “The Merchant of Venice.” I cannot wait. Unfortunately, the likelihood of spotting Pacino’s pal and another acting great Robert De Niro is fairly slim. I’ll just have to sit outside his restaurant in Tribeca, hehe. (No, seriously)
I’ve been re-checking out some of Mr. De Niro’s greatest movies as of late and I thought I would put together a little list of his Top 5. It was a pretty hard task; some noteables that didn’t make the list were Heat, Casino, The Untouchables and Once Upon A Time In America. Here goes:)
1. Taxi Driver
2. Raging Bull
3. The Godfather (Part 2)
4. The Deer Hunter
5. Goodfellas
It’s been a few weeks of romantic comedies for me and “Going the Distance” was one of them.
When Garrett (Justin Long) meets Erin (Drew Barrymore) one summer in New York, they fall in love. All is well until Erin has to return to her hometown of San Francisco, once her summer internship at a city newspaper is over.
The two try to keep their relationship alive, as they fly back and forth between the two cities to see one another.
All in all, “Going the Distance” is tolerable. Garrett and Erin are a credible couple, mainly due to the fact that Long and Barrymore are a couple/were a couple/will be a couple. (It’s hard to say, because of their on-again, off-again relationship.)
But, there were a few things that grated on me. First, the role that Barrymore plays/ is usually assigned, i.e quirky, twenty-something year old can get a bit annoying. Surely, there is something else that she can do? And it was difficult to identify or have any empathy for the self-centred character of Garrett.
Secondly, I love how rom-coms are cliche. That’s why I watch them. But, there is cliche and then there is downright predictable, “I saw this coming from the first minute of the movie” and so on. Unfortunately, this movie falls into the latter category. The script was lazy and formulaic and it was up to one or two characters, such as Charlie Day who plays Garrett’s crazy flatmate, to bring some humour and life to the story.
It’s just one of those movies that in a year or so, you’ll think, “did I see that?”
Rating: 5/10
Invasion Cork hit our city and fans of the force were in for a treat.
Between taking photos with Darth Vader and meeting Kenny Baker (R2-D2), Saturday was a pretty good day.
Jeremy Bulloch (Boba Fett), Ken Colley (Admiral Piett), Chris Muncke (Captain Khurgee) and Matthew Wood, who has worked with Lucasfilm for 20 years were also there.
I hadn’t heard a lot about Jennifer Aniston’s latest offering, The Switch. But as it was a romantic-comedy and I wasn’t exactly in the frame of mind to watch The Last Exorcist, I thought I would give it a go.
The Switch has a simple enough premise; broody Kassie, played by Aniston goes to a sperm donor. However, her friend Wally, played by Jason Bateman secretly replaces it with his own sperm sample and due to his extreme drunken state conveniently forgets all about his terrible deed! When Kassie returns to New York City after seven years, she re-unites with best friend Wally. Cue, much hilarity.
Okay, hilarity is probably a little strong. But this rom-com is a little more entertaining than most. It’s basically down to the great cast. Between Miss Aniston, Mr. Bateman and the quirky character of Jeff Goldblum, you can’t go too wrong. Yes, the script could be a lot stronger, but at least it isn’t too mushy and over-the-top and “isn’t life just perfect?” etc. etc like so many other movies in this genre.
All in all, it pleasantly passed 110 minutes on a Wednesday evening and unlike other romantic comedies, I didn’t feel like asking for my money back.
Rating: 6/10
