Donald Clarke: James Bond and ‘Playboy’ turn over a new leafTwin relics of an age of bogus sophistication have finally started to move with the timesSat Oct 17 2015 - 01:00
Beasts of No Nation review: Netflix makes a visceral start in the movie businessIdris Elba wafts malign charisma, but for all the murky brilliance on display, Cary Fukunaga’s story of African child soldiers ultimately suffers from a lack of contextFri Oct 16 2015 - 13:55
We meet again Mr Bond: On the set of Spectre with Daniel CraigBuoyed by the smash success of ‘Skyfall’, the makers of ‘Spectre’ are promising the biggest 007 thrill ride yet. Donald Clarke joins cast and crew on set during the Mexico leg of the Bond shootFri Oct 16 2015 - 06:00
Talking to my Father review: an efficient consideration of Irish modernismSimon Walker, now a successful architect in his own right, as he delves into the story of his distinguished father Robin WalkerThu Oct 15 2015 - 21:00
Pan review: this joyless fantasy is sprinkled with something, and it sure isn’t pixie dustCome back, Steven Spielberg’s Hook! All is forgivenThu Oct 15 2015 - 18:00
The Lobster review: a spookily beautiful corkscrew comedyDeadpan comedy on the pressure society places on people to pair offThu Oct 15 2015 - 17:00
The Hit Producer review: words don’t come easy in this eye-bogglingly strange Irish comedy thrillerMichelle Doherty brings some charisma, but can do little about the uncertainty of tone and unsayable scriptThu Oct 15 2015 - 16:20
Donald Clarke: Time for vampires to come out of the twilight againIt’s 10 years since the first ‘Twilight’ book was published and vampires are having a momentSat Oct 10 2015 - 01:00
Pan director Joe Wright's going back to Neverland, and this time it’s personalJoe Wright, director of ‘Pride and Prejudice’, ‘Atonement’, and ‘Hanna’, returns with his ‘sideways take’ on JM Barrie’s classic tale of Peter PanFri Oct 09 2015 - 06:00
Sicario review: a thrilling blend of action, intelligence and moral ambiguityAmerica’s endless War on Drugs is given a provocatively cynical spin in this intelligent, riveting thriller starring Emily BluntFri Oct 09 2015 - 00:13
Tana Bana review: looming technologyIndia’s traditional silk weavers face change in this stunning Irish documentaryThu Oct 08 2015 - 19:00
Suffragette review: unimpeachable, well-dressed, a bit too glossyin Sarah Gavron worthwhile drama, the hard, brave campaign for women’s rights is given the soft-centred treatmentThu Oct 08 2015 - 15:23
“I’d rather be a rebel than a slave”: Meryl Streep’s Suffragette slogan stirs racist outcryMeryl Streep and Carey Mulligan pose in T-shirts to promote new movie. In the US, many interpret the T-shirts as sympathetic to the losing side in the US Civil WarThu Oct 08 2015 - 14:30
Donald Clarke: Why is marriage still so popular?Far from being obsolete, weddings are louder, gaudier and more expensive than everSat Oct 03 2015 - 04:00
Macbeth review: There will be royal bloodPropelled by impressive central performances from Fassbender and Cotillard, this is one of the strongest film versions of the Scottish Play yetFri Oct 02 2015 - 11:17
The Martian review: the vacuum-packed potatoes save the dayMatt Damon grows spuds on Mars in Ridley Scott’s best film in a decade. That must have been some decade...Fri Oct 02 2015 - 11:16
By Our Selves review: a delightfully barmy meditation from Andrew KöttingIain Sinclair, Alan Moore, Toby Jones and a Straw Bear retrace a walk poet John Clare once took. What more could you want?Fri Oct 02 2015 - 11:15
The Suffragettes and the keeper of the Pankhurst flameAs a descendant of the movement’s first family, Helen Pankhurst had an extra reason to encourage – and play a small role in – Sarah Gavron’s film about the suffragettesFri Oct 02 2015 - 05:30
99 Homes review: homes upon the scrapheapA malevolent housing repo man takes on a partner in this odd but effective – and very timely – morality taleThu Oct 01 2015 - 21:00
Donald Clarke: The words ‘gone viral’ don’t begin to cover Cameron’s #piggateWho cares if dubious reports of youthful debauchery don’t constitute serious news?Sat Sept 26 2015 - 01:00
Life review: a very professional piece of work, but it’s terribly hard to loveAnton Corbijn’s latest is gorgeous, cool and infuriatingly insubstantialFri Sept 25 2015 - 07:00
John Turturro: always an actor of characterThis most gounded of movie stars plays an egomaniacal American star tormenting his Italian director in Nanni Moretti’s latest. Just don’t ask Turturro to say who he based his ugly American onFri Sept 25 2015 - 06:00
Miss You Already review: Sickly sweet at times, but still a brave effortIt’s an odd mixture of genres, but Catherine Hardwicke’s story of friendship and illness has some good momentsThu Sept 24 2015 - 17:30
Older than Ireland review: the secrets of our centenariansIreland’s oldest residents fill the screen with warmth and wisdom in Alex Fegan’s thoughtful new documentaryThu Sept 24 2015 - 16:00
Room wins People’s Choice Award at Toronto Film FestivalLenny Abrahamson’s adaptation wins prize that usually predicts Oscars successSun Sept 20 2015 - 20:14
Donald Clarke: Corbyn is right, God Save the Queen is awfulNational anthems present a considerable challenge to even the most committed patriotSat Sept 19 2015 - 01:00
A Walk in the Woods review: Comedy is not fit for purposeRobert Redford’s latest project will stretch the credibility of viewersFri Sept 18 2015 - 08:52
Older Than Ireland: The secrets of centenariansPeople who were alive in 1916 opened up to film-maker Alex Fegan, but their own life stories were the most fascinatingFri Sept 18 2015 - 06:00
Pursuit review: firing up the Fenian CyclePaul Mercier’s Irish gangster thriller is so well made that it doesn’t need to dish on the pointlessly slavish mythologyThu Sept 17 2015 - 22:00
Everest review: Why see it? Because it’s thereA true disaster on the world’s most dangerous mountain is given a spectacular if slightly rote treatmentThu Sept 17 2015 - 17:00
The D Train review: Jack Black stumbles with style from triumph to embarrassing disasterSolid performances and a few risky twists and turns raise this comedy over the barThu Sept 17 2015 - 12:12
The cause too bonkers for even Donald Trump to supportKim Davis generated headlines by refusing to issue marriage licences to same-sex couplesSat Sept 12 2015 - 01:00
Pasolini review: A celebration of high-brow hipster chicSoaked in sepulchral shades by Stefano Falivene, this film allows Dafoe to simmer intelligently in smart carsFri Sept 11 2015 - 00:00
Irrational Man review: Irrational working practicesWoody Allen is back and asking a game Emma Stone to fall for an older manFri Sept 11 2015 - 00:00
The Visit review: M Night Shyamalan gets back on ghost trainSixth Sense’ director returns to form with American Gothic horror that packs trademark twistFri Sept 11 2015 - 00:00
Emily Browning: Legend star on her new roleActress Emily Browning on her role in new film ‘Legend’, about the Kray TwinsFri Sept 11 2015 - 00:00
The Callback Queen Review: a witless cacophony filled with bum notesMany of the gags in this ”romantic comedy” would likely be offensive if they weren’t so plain weirdThu Sept 10 2015 - 17:22
Owen Wilson: He’s charming. He’s relaxed. And he talks . . . real . . . slowThe ‘No Escape’ star can come across as a stereotypical Texan. But with a career that spans both indie favourites and Hollywood blockbusters, this actor has always had more than one string to his bowSat Sept 05 2015 - 07:00
Donald Clarke: Pity the rich and their wealth of first-world problems‘I’m betting people like me are immune to this class of wealth-generated depression’Sat Sept 05 2015 - 01:00
No Escape review: the least likely action cast of all timeWilson! Bell! Brosnan! Some unlikely action heroes handle the politically incorrect absurdities of this suspenseful thriller rather wellThu Sept 03 2015 - 23:00
The Transporter Refuelled review: a criminally appalling rebootA hard sell in every way, including the vodka in every second sceneThu Sept 03 2015 - 22:00
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl review: a teenagers’ guide to deathThis seductive, wholly original drama may overplay its characters’ quirks, but its emotional honesty is as refreshing as it is uncommonThu Sept 03 2015 - 18:00
Closed Curtain review: a forbidding narrative exercise from the pioneer of Iranian new waveThe film intersperses moment of great humour and power with indulgent follies that will strain the patience of all but the most resilient viewersThu Sept 03 2015 - 17:00
Donald Clarke: One man and his cat – the purrfect coupleOne individual actually titled her blog: ‘I Don’t Like Men Who Own Cats’Fri Aug 28 2015 - 22:06
Ed Skrein: Hoodlum, swimming coach, rapper, artist and movie starEd Skrein, who takes over from hardman Jason Statham in the Transporter franchise, explains his unusual career pathFri Aug 28 2015 - 05:00
Hitman Agent 47 review: fires and missesA film is dealing in faint praise when its location manager is singled for commendationThu Aug 27 2015 - 21:00
An Klondike review: Improbable film of the month – in a good wayComparisons with the late lamented ‘Deadwood’ are unavoidable in Dathaí Keane’s new featureThu Aug 27 2015 - 19:00
We Are Your Friends review: Boogie Nights with big beatsWe Are Your Friends resembles nothing so much as one of Hollywood’s efforts to address surf culture 40 years agoThu Aug 27 2015 - 18:00
Straight Outta Compton review: a pulsating if somewhat airbrushed biopicIce Cube has produced a celebratory account of his influential 1980s rap group NWA. The result is pulsating if somewhat airbrushed biopicThu Aug 27 2015 - 16:00
The Wolfpack review: a militantly odd hymn to the resilience of the human spiritThis documentary shows how the seven Angulo siblings, contained for years in a New York apartment, developed their own strange microcultureSat Aug 22 2015 - 11:58
