Events: Irish Film and Television Awards

The rather fancy Irish Film and Television Academy Awards hit Dublin this weekend, showcasing a year’s worth of talent from both home and abroad and giving a well-deserved pat on the back to a frankly brilliant year for Irish TV and Film. However, we know times are hard out there so if you plan to make a trip to the bookies in order to bet on your favorites, here is my guide to whose name you will hear the most on the night. Michael Fassbender 2011 could of been renamed ‘The Year of The Fass’ (screenwriters, you’re welcome to pen that, by the way) as the German / Killarney boy seemed to become the coolest man on the planet. He could be seen popping up as everything from romantic Bronte leading man to future baddie Magneto in X-Men. However it was with his performance in Shame that he really got … There’s more

Gig Review: Lisa Hannigan & James Vincent McMorrow @ The Button Factory for Meteor Choice

Bosses don’t generally come much kinder than my editor in Culch Towers so when she was double booked, I was dispatched to the Button Factory to cover the latest Meteor Choice gig. In the orange corner was the delicious Lisa Hannigan, while in the white corner was James Vincent McMorrow (better known as JVM to 16-year-old girls on Facebook). Refereed by the always-enthusiastic Stuart Clark from Hot Press, it was part of a series of shows best described as prequels to the Meteor Choice Music Prize before nominees for the IMRO/IRMA sponsored cash prize are announced in January. The night offered fans a chance to catch acts in more relaxed and intimate surrounds than the typical commercial bread-and-butter type show. An obvious exercise in promotion by Meteor, the move must still be welcomed for rowing in behind great Irish music. The gig kicked off with Ms. Hannigan slinking on stage … There’s more

Movie Review - The Galway Film Fleadh Premiere - The Guard

Director: John Michael McDonagh Cast: Brendan Gleeson, Liam Cunningham, Mark Strong, David Wilmot, Pat Shortt. Winner of the Best Debut Film at the Berlin International Film Festival and nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, The Guard has been bringing down the house at international screenings. Receiving its Irish Premiere, fittingly, at the Galway Film Fleadh, McDonagh’s story of the “small town cop” Detective Sergeant Gerry Boyle, continues on its mission to become one of the most successful Irish films and to prove that the Irish are not only good at comedy, they excel at it.   Detective Sergeant Gerry Boyle is, as he describes himself, the “last of the independents.” Living a secluded and routine driven lifestyle in Connemara, Boyle has largely been forgotten by the big boys in Galway and basically, pleases himself. Having had no one to answer to for a considerable period … There’s more

Green Zone - Review

Matt Damon + Paul Greengrass + Action = Great films + Box office gold. Matt Damon + Paul Greengrass + Action + Iraq? Well that could be a little more tricky. By and large Iraq war movies have failed miserably at the box office, this despite the fact that most have been really rather good. Take The Hurt Locker for example, it won 6 Oscars, including Best Picture, yet barely recouped its $11 million budget in the States. With Green Zone Universal is banking on the Damon/Greengrass connection pulling in the punters and has deliberately toned down the Iraq references in it’s advertising campaign. So it’ll be interesting to see how it fares. So what’s it like when Bourne goes to Baghdad?

Dr. Horrible Hijacks the 61st Emmys

Irish actor Brendan Gleeson was amongst the winners at last nights Primetime Emmy awards ceremony in Los Angeles. The star picked up the award for best lead actor in a miniseries for his role as Winston Churchill in Into The Storm. Gleeson gave a heart-felt thanks to the producers of the series who allowed his mother to see a first cut of his performance before her recent death. Elsewhere in a night of few surprises the BBC emerged big winners with their adaptation of Charles Dicken’s lesser known work Little Dorrit nabbing 7 Emmy awards, more than any other show. Little Dorrit won for best mini-series as well as getting awards in outstanding writing, art direction, costumes and cinematography. In addition, Little Dorrit picked up an award for best direction with the Emmy going to Irish actress Dearblha Walsh. The BBC also won for its Iraq war drama House of … There’s more