Madame Web review: Lip-smackin’, face-slappin’, brain-eatin’, dumb-makin’, money-wastin’Dakota Johnson’s charm saves this Spider-Man spin-off from utter gimcrack incoherence. But its product placement defies satireWed Feb 14 2024 - 16:44
Bob Marley: One Love – Cringe, cliche and drippy flashbacksKingsley Ben-Adir almost wrestles his role into respectability, but the whiff of authorisation is overpoweringWed Feb 14 2024 - 06:00
Michael Winterbottom: ‘The film is about political violence. That theme is acutely relevant with what’s going on in Gaza’The director’s films have often stirred discontent. With his latest political thriller, Shoshana, set in 1930s Tel Aviv, he knows he must be ready for pushbackTue Feb 13 2024 - 09:15
The frenzy around Tracy Chapman’s song Fast Car tells us much about the state of modern discourseDonald Clarke: She could have been someone before Luke Combs took all the plaudits, according to some people on the internetSun Feb 11 2024 - 05:00
Four new films to see this weekOccupied City, The Settlers, The Iron Claw, Double BlindSun Feb 11 2024 - 05:00
The President review: Olwen Fouéré and Hugo Weaving give heroic performances in the Gate’s classy production The Dublin theatre teams up with Sydney Theatre Company to celebrate the underperformed Austrian great Thomas BernhardFri Feb 09 2024 - 08:46
The Movie Quiz: Lizzo, Ariana Grande, Sam Smith, Billie Eilish...who was not on the Barbie soundtrack? Plus: When (and what) was the last official VHS release of a studio feature?Fri Feb 09 2024 - 08:00
Double Blind review: This Irish horror will keep you wide awake. Which is just as wellYoung cast slap into one another with great energy in Ian Hunt-Duffy’s claustrophobic horrorFri Feb 09 2024 - 05:00
Occupied City review: After 10 minutes or so, you might grasp the daunting truth about Steve McQueen’s documentaryMade with his wife, Bianca Stigter, McQueen’s film catalogues horrors of Amsterdam during Nazi occupationThu Feb 08 2024 - 05:00
Two fingers to the lot of ye. And that includes Michael FassbenderDonald Clarke: As with other Americanisms, the single-digit salute has taken over from the good old V – even in west Belfast. Is nothing sacred?Sun Feb 04 2024 - 11:00
Four new films to see in cinemas this weekFive stars for astonishing drama The Zone of Interest. Plus multi-Oscar-nominated American Fiction, Japanese anime Blue Giant, and silly but fun comedy-thriller ArgylleSun Feb 04 2024 - 05:00
The Movie Quiz: What was the first Chaplin film with actual audible dialogue? Plus: ‘From the brother of the director of Ghost’ is the tagline to which 1990s film?Fri Feb 02 2024 - 05:30
Argylle review: Matthew Vaughn’s film is all flash, all brass and all McGuffinBryce Dallas Howard is so irrepressibly charming that Argylle proves hard to wholly resistWed Jan 31 2024 - 17:00
The Zone of Interest review: We will be discussing Jonathan Glazer’s Auschwitz film for decadesJonathan Glazer’s formally breathtaking film is unlikely to be bettered this yearWed Jan 31 2024 - 05:00
Four new films to see this weekAll of Us Strangers, The Color Purple, Samsara, Padre PioSun Jan 28 2024 - 05:00
Donald Trump’s been playing The Smiths at his rallies. What a loserDonald Clarke: Johnny Marr’s disgusted at the misuse of his music. It's just the latest example of politicians latching on to inappropriate tunesSun Jan 28 2024 - 05:00
The Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott show: ‘I think people are excited by the sex scenes’The best Irish double act since Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell on All of Us Strangers, dissolving sexual boundaries and their approaches to fameSat Jan 27 2024 - 05:30
‘It’s like Big Brother in a Nazi house’: Christian Friedel on making The Zone of InterestIn Jonathan Glazer’s Oscar-nominated film, Christian Friedel plays the commandant of Auschwitz. His performance became a search for the truthSat Jan 27 2024 - 05:15
Sundance: Kneecap film wins audience award at US festivalFictionalised autobiography of eponymous Belfast rap outfit, directed by Rich Peppiatt, is first Irish fiction feature win at festival since Once in 2007Fri Jan 26 2024 - 18:11
The Movie Quiz: Who is the youngest official James Bond?Plus: What’s missing: Beneath, Escape Conquest, Battle, Rise, War, Kingdom?Fri Jan 26 2024 - 08:00
Samsara review: A truly extraordinary film (even if it drives you mad)Not many films ask the audience to close their eyes for 20 minutes of its run timeThu Jan 25 2024 - 05:00
Oscars 2024: Was Greta Gerwig snubbed for a best director nomination and nine other questionsWere Barry Keoghan and Andrew Scott ever in the race?Wed Jan 24 2024 - 07:00
All of Us Strangers review: An emotional, intelligent and – yes – hot experienceAndrew Scott and Paul Mescal complement each other perfectly in a film about loss, love and the creative processWed Jan 24 2024 - 05:00
Oscars 2024: Cillian Murphy’s best actor nomination leads a strong showing for Irish film Yorgos Lanthimos’s Poor Things scores a huge 11 nominations, a record for an Irish-produced filmTue Jan 23 2024 - 16:55
Dublin International Film Festival 2024: Marian Quinn’s TWIG to open; Isabelle Huppert and Steve McQueen to be honouredDonald Clarke: Enticing domestic releases include new works by Pat Collins, Dermot Malone and Danny McCaffertyMon Jan 22 2024 - 14:57
Oscars 2024: Will Barry Keoghan make the cut? Donald Clarke predicts this year’s nomineesBafta nomination system has rendered connections between the US and British academies less robust than was the caseSun Jan 21 2024 - 19:00
Stop lying about musicals. We can see your foot tappingDonald Clarke: Hollywood musicals have been trying to obscure their true natures before opening. There can be only one explanationSun Jan 21 2024 - 05:00
Four new films to see this week: Mean Girls, The Holdovers, The End We Start From, The KitchenFrom big-screen translation of the stage musical based on the 2004 high-school classic to a terrifying vision of neoliberal blighted London in the 2040sSun Jan 21 2024 - 05:00
Paul Mescal and Andrew Scott brave icy weather for Dublin gala screening of All of Us StrangersIrish double act brings something ‘pretty special’ to film already conquering audiences across the United StatesFri Jan 19 2024 - 20:24
The Movie Quiz: What does ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ mean?Plus: Where does Kevin Hart have a drink in the Netflix thriller Lift?Fri Jan 19 2024 - 08:00
First Look: Kneecap the movie – Sundance has never seen anything like this immersion in acidic Northern humourMajor coup for Belfast punk-rap trio’s film with Michael Fassbender as Sony Pictures buys distribution rightsFri Jan 19 2024 - 06:30
Baftas 2024: Donald Clarke on the snubs and surprises on a good day for Irish nominationsDid Barry Keoghan edge out Andrew Scott? And might Paul Mescal’s chances at the Oscars be revived?Thu Jan 18 2024 - 16:51
Bafta nominations 2024: Irish actors Cillian Murphy, Barry Keoghan and Paul Mescal shortlistedAndrew Scott and Lily Gladstone, who were both hotly tipped for nominations, miss out in major upsetThu Jan 18 2024 - 12:27
Krapp’s Last Tape review: Stephen Rea invites us to applaud the tape recorder – but the triumph is his The actor had the forethought to record Krapp’s early tapes 12 years ago. What a pleasure to see, and hear, the result in the intimacy of Project Arts CentreThu Jan 18 2024 - 08:53
The Holdovers review: Paul Giamatti emerges as Cillian Murphy’s Oscars rival in a comedy set to become a Christmas classic Arriving in Ireland three months after its US release, Alexander Payne’s film is still a seasonal delightThu Jan 18 2024 - 05:45
Mean Girls review: Musical remake adds so-so songs but little else to the 20-year-old high-school classicStill, there is enough of the original beast remaining to pass the time pleasantly enoughWed Jan 17 2024 - 05:00
Rocky Horror Show review: I heard one person behind me complaining about the hecklingTheatre: Actors wisely choose not to reinvent too much, though one gag suggests show can still offendTue Jan 16 2024 - 14:11
How Saltburn became the most chattered about film of the season despite a cool critical receptionOver in the puritanical United States, there has been much bloviating about how ‘unnecessary’ some scenes in Emerald Fennell's film areSun Jan 14 2024 - 06:00
Paul Giamatti: ‘I like interesting supporting parts. I have no strict rule I need to play the lead’The Holdovers star, whose performance has just won him a Golden Globe, always liked the idea of the ‘character actor’, even though he’s not exactly sure what it meansSun Jan 14 2024 - 05:15
Four new films to see this week: Poor Things, The Beekeeper, Freaks vs the Reich, LiftPoor Things, The Beekeeper, Freaks vs the Reich, LiftSun Jan 14 2024 - 05:00
Ayo Edebiri, we’re proud to call you Irish. It makes a nice change from BritwashingDonald Clarke: Didn’t realise the Bear and Bottoms star is from the Emerald Isle? Sure she’s from InisherinSun Jan 14 2024 - 05:00
The Movie Quiz: What is the most successful Bond film adjusted for inflation?Plus: The source of what film first arrived with Apt Pupil, The Body and The Breathing Method?Fri Jan 12 2024 - 08:00
Lift review: ’Bout ye! Belfast’s Crown bar has a cameo in this undemanding biff-bang-wallopThis undemanding heist film is not exactly good but you could imagine it securing a place in the Netflix top 10Fri Jan 12 2024 - 03:00
Screen Actors Guild Awards: Cillian Murphy nominated as best male lead actorMixed news for Irish talent at the guild awards that have fast become one of the more significant pointers to Oscar successWed Jan 10 2024 - 17:22
Poor Things review: Emma Stone is properly unsettling in this provocative feminist fable drenched in Victorian horrorThis deranged comedy with shades of Pygmalion is a feast of cinematic excess loaded with intellectual traction and psychological gritWed Jan 10 2024 - 05:00
Golden Globes 2024: full list of winners All the winners from the 81st annual ceremony in Beverly Hills, CaliforniaMon Jan 08 2024 - 06:00
Golden Globes 2024: Cillian Murphy wins best actor as Oppenheimer takes home five awardsCillian Murphy triumphed over Barry Keoghan, nominated for Emerald Fennell’s SaltburnMon Jan 08 2024 - 05:38
Star Trek’s prediction of Irish unification in 2024 is upon us, but the full scene muddies the waterDonald Clarke: Reunification will come, but Romulan annexation may come firstSun Jan 07 2024 - 05:00
Four new films to see this weekEmpathetic take on well-known Andean crash survivors story Society of the Snow, plus Anthony Hopkins in fine historical drama One Life, fun documentary Scala!!!, and uneven comedy-drama Good GriefSun Jan 07 2024 - 05:00
‘Emma Stone came up with a lot of the sex stuff that we did’: Poor Things director Yorgos LanthimosThe master of cerebral weird has made a string of angular comedies with Element Pictures. Their latest, Golden Lion-winning collaboration is their wildest ride yetSat Jan 06 2024 - 05:15
