Unknown

Liam Neeson stars in this film about agents and secrecy and memory loss and plot twists and exotic European locations and... wait, sounds like a Jason Bourne wannabe movie to me.

Yes, this film kept my attention but I can't say that I'd recommend it to anyone...

Los Angeles

- view from our hotel in Playa del Rey

-Los Angeles in all its vastness

My wife and I have an occasion to return to Los Angeles for the first time (for me at least) in 2 1/2 years for a long weekend visit. L.A. is one of the world's most unique cities and people either love it or hate it...

Inside Job

Charles Ferguson's intimate look into the myriad of causes of the 2008 global financial crisis. Anybody and everybody associated with the credit derivative house of cards gets indicted or at least mentioned here...

Political, financial, regulatory, academic, societal, you name it. It's all here.

There are a couple of economics professors (who held positions with the Federal Reserve and the White House) who make complete and utter fools of themselves when trying to defend their research...

Another Year

A Mike Leigh film that is ultimately about happiness. Why do some people seem to have an abundance of it and why are some just so utterly miserable?

Jim Broadbent and Ruth Sheen serve as a married couple that is the centerpiece of stability and happiness for their collection of friends, most of whom are quite discontent.

This is a gentle and poignant tale of a modern society (even though this is set in Britain it could very well be any westernized culture) and how individual and family behaviors, choices, insecurities, disappointments, jealousies, pleasures, and destroyed dreams all combine to form our daily existence.

This is a mature film meaning that adults who have experienced any bit disappointment (and who among us has not?) will relate to this material.

Lesley Manville is especially excellent in the role of Mary.

The Adjustment Bureau

Based on a Philip K. Dick story (whose work also was the genesis for Blade Runner, Minority Report and Total Recall), Matt Damon stars as an up-and-coming New Yorker running for the Senate who shall we say, runs up against fate.

This is a modern dramatization of the age-old question: Do we choose our own fate in life or is it already chosen for us?

There's an unseen Chairman who is in charge of agents (otherwise known as angels) who help to steer Damon's character back on course after he gets off his own fate track to pursue his love for a woman (Emily Blunt) that has unintended consequences down the road.

Love wins out in the end but it turns out that... well, I'll let you see this film and see if the ending is as unsatisfying to you as it was to me.

I enjoyed this film and it definitely makes you think of important theological and philosophical concepts such as a "higher power" and how our day-to-day choices (such as getting on a particular bus at a particular time) that we believe are mundane at the time can become so important when we reflect on them much later.

This is ultimately a love story and worthy of seeing...

Biutiful

Javier Bardem stars in this film directed by Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel).

I'm a fan of Iñárritu since I first saw Amores Perros. His best work (Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Babel) was when working with screenwriter Guillermo Arriago. However this creative partnership disintegrated after Babel was made...

Shot in a beautifully seedy Barcelona, Bardem's character works on the wrong side of the law to care for his two children. He contracts for illegal unskilled Chinese immigrants to work in construction and helps Nigerian illegals sell their wares in the streets of the city. Part criminal, part savior, his journey is a sorrowful one and his path does not ultimately end in redemption...

Bloomsday

- A public dramatization from a scene in "Ulysses"

- James Joyce fans dressed in period attire celebrate Bloomsday

- Musicians perform as part of the festivities at The Butler's Pantry in Sandycove

- A public reading from James Joyce's "Ulysses"

- My wife and her friend in front of the James Joyce Tower in Sandycove

On June 16th of each year Dublin celebrates Bloomsday. In reality it's a commemoration of James Joyce and especially his novel "Ulysses," the events of which took place in Dublin on one day -- June 16, 1904.

It's a treat to see all of the celebrants dressed in period costume, the public readings of the novel, the public performances of scenes from the book, and in general the celebration of one of the great Irish writers.

ICCL Human Rights Film Awards 2011

A change of venue was in store for this year's Irish Council for Civil Liberties Human Rights Film Awards. This is the third annual event that had traditionally been hosted at The Lighthouse cinema. However, with the closing of the Lighthouse earlier this year the award screening was moved to the Irish Film Institute.

This is a competitive event to allow filmmakers an opportunity to address specific human rights issues in Ireland by creating short films. The jury consisted of Stephen Rea, Kristen Sheridan, Ken Wardrop, Victoria Smurfit, Rebecca Miller, and many others.

This year's winner was Listen to Me, directed by Spanish filmmaker Mabel Lozano, a film which explored the exploitation of trafficked women.

A good turnout for a worthy cause...

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

- view from our seats of the stage at the Gate

This and Streetcar are probably my two favorite Tennessee Williams plays. As a playwright he truly captured a particular part of Americana and he should always be remembered and honored for his contributions to the American art landscape.

I've seen this play a few times before and loved the film version, especially the basement scene that takes place between Burl Ives and Paul Newman.

This play has introduced many to the word "mendacity" and that's a good thing. We'd all be better off in a world with less of it.

It's a bit strange watching a play set in the sultry American south performed by Irish (or English) actors that just don't seem to move the way those in the south do. Nothing wrong whatsoever with their accents but it was their movement that made me sense that something just wasn't quite right.

Maggie is a cat and cat's move a certain way. Elizabeth Taylor was a natural in the movie version and though Fiona O'Shaughnessy did an admirable job here as Maggie, she just didn't move the way Maggie from the south does... and because of this it felt a bit false.

I enjoyed the play nonetheless.

Barney's Version

Someone recommended this movie recently.

I was very disappointed...

Paul Giamatti is perfect for this part but there is nothing at all interesting or redeeming about the title character that he plays. Nothing...

Based on a book which I'm sure was once again much better than the filmed version.

Tetro

I have mixed feelings about this Francis Ford Coppola project. Set in Buenos Aires, it follows the reunification of two brothers and the overcoming of numerous boundaries that had been in place between them.

Vincent Gallo stars as Angelo Tetrocini and newcomer Alden Ehrenreich as his younger brother. Shot mostly in black and white and slowly paced, the film hearkens back to something that Coppola might have made 30 years ago. I'm not sure that black and white was the best choice but I'm not sure it hurt the film either. Vincent Gallo can be an annoying actor but his energy was somehow right for this part.

The sum of the parts is greater than the whole here as it is a very flawed film that stays with you after you've seen it.

A big twisting reveal occurs at the end of the film but this wasn't as much of a shocking surprise as it should have been.

I imagine that this film gathered more attention outside of the U.S. than within...

Liffey River

I was in city center last night and had an opportunity to stroll home along the River Liffey. The weather was California-esque, which is quite unusual for Dublin.

I took these photos just before 10 p.m. at night and you can see it's still quite light out...

ShortSpace

- left to right (Nick Ryan, Brian Durnin, Andrew Legge)

Filmbase (Arts Council of Ireland) sponsors a night of Irish-made short films on the first Thursday of each month. This month's theme focused specifically on visual effects.

The three films (The German, Of Best Intentions, The Chronoscope) were shown and the directors of each film later took questions and spoke about the making of their films and some of the difficulties they encountered with creating particular visual effects.

Quite an enjoyable evening.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane

This was Martin McDonagh's first play back in the mid-90's. I saw it in London in 1996 and remember it for it's harsh cruelties between a mother and daughter. It was refreshing to see it again and better understand some of the Irish nuances that might not have registered with me before. An excellent play as were the performances by the two lead actresses (Rosaleen Linehan and Derbhie Crotty).

McDonagh later wrote The Lieutenant of Inishmore, The Cripple of Inishmaan, and The Pillowman among others.

He won an Oscar for his first short film Six Shooter and also wrote and directed the popular dark comedy In Bruges.

Though raised in the U.K., he is Irish born and it certainly reveals itself in his art. Verbose, specific, funny, and darkly entertaining.

His next film, tentatively titled Seven Psychopaths, should be released next year.

AWCD 2010-2011

My wife was the Philanthropic Chair for the American Women's Club of Dublin this past year. Here's a brief summary of her tireless work...

Enjoy.