Film Reviews | The Irish Times

Film Reviews

Film • Culture

Marlowe — Liam Neeson and a game cast mostly make something juicy of hard-boiled private-eye staples

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By Donald Clarke

Meet Me in the Bathroom: Pleasing, rough-hewn chronicle of New York music scene of early 2000s

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My Sailor, My Love: Sharp writing, subtle acting and a winning Irish setting

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By Donald Clarke

Luther: The Fallen Sun – The best James Bond we never had just about holds your attention

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Champions: Not even a hug from Woody Harrelson could make this film feel any warmer-hearted

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By Donald Clarke

Fashion Reimagined: A game attempt to uncloak dark secrets of a destructive industry

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By Donald Clarke

Close: Five stars for Lukas Dhont’s powerful coming-of-age film

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I’m Fine (Thanks for Asking): A film as scrappy as its rollerskating, job-juggling heroine

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Creed III: One to watch on the biggest screen with the largest portions of the unhealthiest snacks

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By Donald Clarke

Joyland: Extraordinary, unmissable tale of unexpected attraction

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Broker: A sweet-natured drama about babies for sale

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What’s Love Got to Do With It?: Lily James explaining arranged marriage to Muslims – that’s a bit white-lensy

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By Donald Clarke

Cocaine Bear: I’ve had it with the motherf**king cocaine in this bear, as Samuel L Jackson might put it

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By Donald Clarke

The Son: Hugh Jackman shines in devastating drama that probes depression, guilt, and duty

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Atomic Hope: Swimming against the tide in nuclear power debate

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Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania – Welcome relief from Marvel at its most pompous

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By Donald Clarke

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On review: This movie sounds unbearable. Actually, it deserves an Oscar

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By Donald Clarke

Magic Mike’s Last Dance: If you want Channing Tatum to grind his crotch in your face, best look elsewhere

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By Donald Clarke

Epic Tails: Cheers for Greek mythology references; jeers for everything else

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Blue Jean: An elegantly structured film composed of clever, delicate movements

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Women Talking: Four stars for Jessie Buckley’s intense, disturbing Oscar-nominated film

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By Donald Clarke

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish - This film is the absolute cat’s whiskers

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EO: This donkey road movie is a unique mix of the absurd and the profound

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By Donald Clarke

Saint Omer: An electrifying dramatisation of a mother’s trial for leaving her baby to drown

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The Whale: It stars Brendan Fraser in an Oscar-nominated performance. But this film’s a shocker

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By Donald Clarke

January: An impressively spooky film to take us out of deep winter

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By Donald Clarke

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed: Holding philanthropists to account

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Plane: The set-up is so silly you wonder why they didn’t parachute in a dinosaur

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The Fabelmans: An immaculately performed portrait of Steven Spielberg as a young man

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By Donald Clarke

Holy Spider: A cracking, effective thriller powered by uneasiness

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Dreaming Walls: A missed opportunity to portray the legendary Chelsea Hotel

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Let the Wrong One In: Brides of Dracula reinvented as a Dublin hen party? It’s close to irresistible

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By Donald Clarke

Babylon: It’s got Margot Robbie, it’s got Brad Pitt, and it’s intriguing, infuriating, entertaining and preposterous

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By Donald Clarke

Enys Men: Spellbound in Cornwall

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M3GAN: An AI doll - what could possibly go wrong?

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By Donald Clarke

Tár: Cate Blanchett in full symphonic mode in role tailored to her strengths

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By Donald Clarke

Empire of Light: Sam Mendes’s beautifully made new film doesn’t quite hang together

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Till: Grief rings from every corner in Oscar favourite

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Alcarràs: Small farmers take on environmentally themed capitalist greed

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The Enforcer: sometimes too sleazy, but often not sleazy enough

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By Donald Clarke

A Man Called Otto: Works well enough as a middle-brow hankie dampener

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By Donald Clarke

The Kingdom: Exodus – Lars Von Trier at his dementedly mischievous best

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By Donald Clarke

She chronicles boat migrants from the safety of a yacht. Mostly, she’s in it for the selfies

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Whitney Houston: Can this Rocketman-style biopic do justice to a flawed, fascinating woman?

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By Donald Clarke

Corsage: Vicky Krieps is getting laced into rigid leather corsets. It’s not what you think

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Wildcat: A helpless creature, a traumatised young man, and too many unanswered questions

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By Donald Clarke

The Pale Blue Eye: Christian Bale leads a starry cast in a beautifully shot, absurdly plotted movie

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The Queen of Spades: Martin Scorsese calls this stunning film a true classic. We agree

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By Donald Clarke

Peter von Kant: Magnificent glass-throwing, door-slamming romantic agony

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The Bishop’s Wife: The third best Christmas film ever

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By Donald Clarke

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