Week 33 Escobar: Paradise Lost

Director: Andrea Di Stefano

Writer:  Andrea Di Stefano

Seen:  21^st of August 2015

Venue: IMC Galway

Snacks: M&Ms

Mood: Confusion

This is one of the strangest films I have seen all year, my mind was well and truly boggled after it. I didn’t hear much about Escobar: Paradise Lost before I went to see it and I am now realising why.

The script was awful, the direction was misguided and loose, although to be fair it is Andrea Di Stefano’s first feature. Nevertheless, I could not invest any time or energy into any of the characters with the exemption of Pablo Escobar exceptionally played by Benicio Del Toro. I wanted to see more of Del Toro as “El Patron” on the screen, he commanded every scene he was in, exerting the presence that surely Escobar had in real life.

Escobar, who was equally a hero and villain to most Colombians, he is also one of the most infamous characters of the 20^th century, and while Benicio Del Toro did that character justice, the film did not!

If the director concentrated on the story of Escobar, and utilised the great actor he had playing him, rather than focusing on Nick played by Josh Hutcherson then it would have been a much better film.

So if it comes to a cinema near you DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY.

Week 32: 52 Tuesdays

Director: Sophie Hyde

Writer:    Matthew Cormac

Seen:     16th August

Snacks:  Berries

Mood:     Moved

52 Tuesdays is a very modern tale and also one which is very much in the media eye at the moment. The story follows a year in the life of Billie played with dollops of maturity by Tilda Cobham-Hervey. Billie starts a video diary of sorts to track the year her mum Jane (Del Herbert-Jane) decides to gender transition, at the same time Jane also begins a video diary to track his own story. They decide to meet every Tuesday to spend time together whilst Jane becomes James.

Del Herbert Jane was originally the advisor on the film on gender transition and became the obvious choice to play James, a great choice in my opinion as her acting is never over stated and as the film progress’ you begin to really feel her struggle.

52 Tuesdays is a film about identity not just sexual identity but all the identity we all create for ourselves and whether that identity is ‘authentic’ or not.

Billie begins to struggle with her own sense of self and burgeoning sexual awareness and creates a space which is just hers to undergo her own transformation which mirrors James’ own transformation.

The road is a rocky one for Billie whose experiments on film verge on the orgiastic whilst James’ own path is also fraught with troubles. The audience watches both videos made every Tuesday and this ‘film within a film’ scenario is very engaging.

Director Sophie Hyde is definitely one to watch going forward as 52 Tuesdays is very well made, poignant and deals with the subject matter in a respectful and delicate way, team this with some superb performances and you are on to a winner.

If its on in a cinema near you I highly recommend.

Week 31: Southpaw

Director: Antoine Fuqua

Writer:    Kurt Sutter

Seen:     Sunday 9th August

Snacks:  Fizzy water :O

Mood:     No guts no glory!

Ok, here’s the thing, I LOVE boxing films. I own all the Rocky films (yes even Rocky Balboa), I loved The Wrestler and The Fighter but my boxing film hero definitely lies with the dulcet tones of Sylvester! Therefore, I was pretty excited about seeing this film, add the bonus of having Jake Gyllenhaal (who I think is a great actor - see Nightcrawler) as the erstwhile Billy Hope and I’M IN (as people say).

I have to say I was a bit disappointed. The trailer gave away way too much about the film, what could have been a nice twist with his wife played by Rachel McAdams was laid out bare in the trailer leaving Southpaw to just follow the ‘formula’ for all boxing films, an inevitable slump before a triumphant return. I guess what I am trying to say is that it didn’t offer anything original or that hadn’t been done before.

The role of Billy Hope was originally offered to Eminem who turned it down and I am afraid I couldn’t shake the feeling that Gyllenhaal was just trying to act like Eminem, there was a bit too much mumbling and tough guy-ness that I don't think really worked for him. I in no way think this is Gyllenhaal's fault, he did the best with what he was given and the physical transformation he went through is very impressive…..but I don’t think this role was really for him. Rachel McAdams is also slightly miscast as a street kid done good. The stand out performance would go to Oona Laurence as Billy’s daughter Leila (great name spelt the wrong way though :) ) who is a very believable and competent young actress.

Southpaw then is in no way a masterpiece, its pretty predictable and a bit schmaltzy BUT

on the plus side the music is very good with Eminem contributing a few songs instead of starring and the actual boxing scenes are very realistic and gritty. Even though I know this film isn’t the best boxing film there is (ROCKY!!!) I still watched the end fight and felt a surge of energy to go join a grimy gym and throw a few jabs at a frozen carcass or pull a sledge in russia through the snow……….oh wait that’s Rocky again :).

Week 30: Trainwreck

Director: Judd Apatow

Writer:  Amy Schumer

Seen:  Sunday 2nd August 2015

Venue: IMC Galway

Snacks: Milka chocolate

Mood: Lots of laughs!

This week we were lucky to get into a special preview of ‘Trainwreck’ which is due for general release on 14th August - all proceeds were to go to the Marie Keating foundation and it was obvious a few people may not have seen the warnings re ‘graphic sexual content’ as we witnessed a few grandparents fleeing with their grandchildren in tow within the first 15 minutes…..so OBVIOUSLY this film is worthy of its 16 age cert so bare that in mind parents and grandparents. If you are a fully grown adult who likes a few laughs you should go see this film and enjoy.

Amy Schumer wrote and stars in the film as Amy a commitment phobe young woman who is living life to the full in every sense believing that romance is something that only happens in the movies until she has to write an article for her shrill boss (played brilliantly by an almost unrecognisable Tilda Swanton) on sports doctor Aaron Connors (Bill Hader).

I read a few reviews on this film and it was a very mixed bag with a lot of people commenting on the predictability of the plot which, yes is predictable but I would argue that a lot of boy meets girl films are but as I have said in the past this film is not trying to go down in the history books it is just trying to get people to laugh….well I laughed, Daithi laughed and the rest of the full cinema seemed to enjoy it also!

The performances are good and I think Amy Schumer is definitely one to watch as an upcoming writer and comic. There are a few cameos to watch out for also including wrestler turned actor John Cena and Daniel Radcliffe.

Week 29: Minions

Director: Kyle Balda, Pierre Coffin

Writer: Brian Lynch

Seen: Sunday 26th July

Venue: IMC Galway

Snacks: Sandwiches

Mood: Silly

Minions is of course the spin off from the Despicable Me films, which in my opinion are better and more entertaining films. Oh fuck this who am I kidding? Minions is a kids film that is funny and charming and I’m damned if I am going to critique it, if you have young sons, daughters, nieces or nephews or, if you are like us and you just want to relax and look at some ridiculous animated fun for 80 minutes then go and watch Minions. Or as my Minions friends would say “nodish  haf  ouaoiuf lakho  njah of aoojw ohua”.  

Week 28: Ted 2

Writer/Director: Seth McFarlane

Seen: Saturday 18th July

Venue: Eclipse Cinema, Bundoran

Snacks: Sandwiches

Mood: Giggly

For the FIRST time ever for either of us we went to see a film and were the only people in the cinema. I like to think we can say that we got our own private screening of Ted 2.

Ted 2 follows on from the original Ted (2012) and in this instalment (there will inevitably be a Ted 3 which will be really stretching the laughs) we see Ted  married to Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth) they are having a few marital difficulties and decide to adopt a child (the best way to fix a marriage - RIGHT?)  however they run into difficulties when Ted is not considered a human being and therefore cannot adopt. Ted is outraged and hires Samantha (Amanda Seyfried) to be his lawyer to fight for his right to be considered a person in the eyes of the law.

Ted 2 is not going to blow you away but then you weren’t expecting to be. We went to see it with a touch of a hangover which definitely added to the giggle factor. The film is pretty funny definitely not as good as the first film but I have to take my hat off to Mark Wahlberg who delivers a couple of very funny deadpan one liners

There are various celebrity cameo’s - one with Liam Neeson which I struggled to understand, maybe I missed something there?

All in all Ted 2 is a decent enough comedy for a rainy Saturday afternoon :) ESPECIALLY if you are the only two in the cinema.

Week 27: Everyone's Going to Die

Director: Jones

Writer: Jones

Seen: Wednesday 8^th July

Venue: Silver Screen Cinema Folkestone, Kent England

Snacks: Revels

Mood: Enthused

Ok so we started this blog because of a challenge we set ourselves to go the cinema once a week for a year no matter what! Now there are a few obstacles, or to put another way, head wrecking elements to this challenge. The two main ones being cost and the lack of good films we often have to choose from. These two head wrecks are also interconnected because of the fact of paying to see films we did not particularly want to see e.g Week 12 – 50 Shades of Grey and Week 25 – San Andreas.  Nevertheless, overall the experience so far has been enjoyable but this week has been especially gratifying. What was even more encouraging was, if it were not for this challenge we would unlikely have visited an old school vintage cinema like we did.

Even though we were in England for a bit, due to our commitment to the challenge we were still going to go to the cinema. While in London last week it was pretty easy to find a cinema, but when we moved on to Folkestone we had to do a little digging to find out where it was, times etc (and when I say digging I really mean go on the internet for all of 5 minutes - oh the woes of this tech age) and what we found was a little gem.

The Silver Screen Cinema is a two screen independent cinema that gave me the feeling that I was stepping back in time, from the old style sweet counter to the red curtain that draped over the smallish screen. To the black and white pictures hanging in the actual screening room from classic films like The General (1926) and also of some of cinema’s pioneers like Charlie Chaplin, Humphrey Bogart and Greta Garbo.

It was refreshing to visit a cinema of vintage style instead of the replicated Cineplex’s that are ubiquitous, the Odeon in Putney (where we saw Amy the previous week) is no different to the IMC Galway or Cineworld on Parnell Street Dublin. The Silver Screen in Folkestone is the opposite of those, it has character and that extensively adds to the cinema going experience.

It was a buzz to feel what it must have felt like for cinema goers in the early days when there was no sound, no colour, no Netflix or torrents when going to cinema was a big event. Ok maybe I am going too far, but for some of you who read this you will know what I mean. The cinema of which I put some pictures up below is able to survive due to local community support and long may it last.

Now to add flavour to the treat of going to this cinema, the film we watched was made in the very place where we were sitting because Everyone's Going to Die was shot entirely in Folkestone. It is the story of two people who randomly meet, connect and help each other realise that they have to make changes to their lives, both realising that they have been unhappy for some time. Written and directed by Jones, which as far as I can find out is a collective of filmmakers that are anonymous.

The title at first led us to think that it was some sort of apocalyptic horror or comedy horror but it was nowhere near any of these, indeed it is very hard to actually describe what this film is. At times it is laugh loud funny, it’s also romantic and very dark, but for all the elements it has I think it was relatively well kept together structural and narratively. Everyone’s Going to Die is a pretty decent film and it will get you talking after it, but I am afraid this week the film was definitely upstaged by the cinema we watched in. So if you ever find yourself in Folkestone go to the Silver Screen Cinema.