Deadpool & Wolverine ★☆☆☆☆
Directed by Shawn Levy. Starring Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin, Matthew Macfadyen, Morena Baccarin, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni. 16 cert, gen release, 128 min
The foul-mouthed mercenary and the spike-knuckled X-Men come together for the first R-rated film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Despite that supposed confirmation of mature content, this is the most relentlessly juvenile entry to a sequence that has rarely been confused with Ingmar Bergman’s Faith Trilogy. The creators of Deadpool will argue that, by admitting the puerile nature of the humour, they inure themselves to criticism in that area, but no such excuses are offered for the onanistic self-regard. One is left longing for the genuinely upending humour of the Batman TV series from 60 years ago. Full review DC
I Saw the TV Glow ★★★★★
Directed by Jane Schoenbrun. Starring Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Helena Howard, Lindsey Jordan. 15A cert, gen release, 101 min
In the mid-’90s, lonely Owen meets cooler, older teen Maddy when he spots her reading an episode guide for the serial The Pink Opaque. Owen’s mother becomes terminally ill at a moment when Maddy is ostracised for lesbianism and a related schoolyard tall tale. Maddy disappears and the mysterious show is finally cancelled after six seasons. The material proves a rich seam, a tale of roads not taken, a story that will speak to anyone who experienced an awkward pubescence or the jouissance of pop culture enthusiasms. This belated Irish release for Schoenbrun’s cult sensation is essential viewing. Full review TB
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About Dry Grasses ★★★★★
Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan. Starring Deni̇z Celi̇loğlu, Merve Di̇zdar, Ece Bağci. 15A cert, lim release, 198 min
Another huge, subtle epic from the Palme-d’Or winning Turkish director of Winter Sleep. In far-flung Anatolia, reluctant blow-in Samet (Celiloğlu) takes beautiful pictures of locals against wintry tableaux and counts the days when he can return to city life. Some four years into his posting on the Eeastern Anatolian steppe, the art teacher’s aesthetic sensibilities are at odds with his thrillingly awful personality. The vigorous, masterful script, written by the director and his frequent collaborator wife, Erbu Ceylan, counterpoints the extended runtime. The director says he could have made the film longer; remarkably, most viewers will agree. Full review TB
Notes from Sheepland ★★★★☆
Directed by Cara Holmes. Featuring Orla Barry. 12A cert, limited release, 71 min
It has taken a while, but Holmes’ delightful study of Orla Barry, artist and shepherd, now receives a welcome cinema release following its premiere at the 2023 Dublin International Film Festival. To say the film combines multimedia expression with meditations on the morality of agriculture would be to mislead as to the sheer fun to be had. Notes from Sheepland has real intellectual muscle. It engages with the debilitating pressures of life on the land. But it is also infused with good spirits. The director’s ability to maintain a unified sweep should not be underestimated. A tidy treasure. Full review DC
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