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Reviews
Blackshore (2024)
Irish Noir that is gripping from beginning to end
If you like Shetland or Scandi Noirs- This is the perfect follow up; Gripping from beginning to end, bingeworthy with plenty of cliffhangers and : A brilliant lead! Rough around the egdes with a past as any proper Detective or DI and then some, they couldn't have found a better actress for this character: Lisa Dwan lives and breathes female Garda Fi" who seems tough as nails, too tough for Dublin even, razor sharp wit and plenty of dark ghosts from the past- but as the story evolves we gte to learn teh reasons for this and a more vulnerable side- Love and trust, for her family, for those around her, that got blown by a shitgun twenty years ago and now unravle to eveal further plots nobody would have thought of.. she portrays such a vast range of emotions with so much rawness and passion and authenticity, that it's hard to believe she is somebody else outside of this. Brilliant actress! The chemistry and development between the lead Guarda (DI) and her rural sidekick are fascinating too. The suitably haunting sensitive gothic folk ditty for the intro: "We the Drowned " by Lisa Hannigan sets the mood for a murder chase that spans 20 years and generations in an Ireland far from American Leprechaun phantasies: Beautiful landscape and the lake as another protagonist under heavy grey skies, cover up the intrinsic network of a too- small community, where everybody is tied to everybody and an unspoken law of "Omerta" to rival the Sicilians- complete with Whiskey Lord who pulls the strings invisibly in a network of debt and guilt.. I hope we will see more of this !
The Noel Diary (2022)
If you're looking for a nice feel good Christmas Rom Com- You got it!
This is the classic Christmas Rom Com- nothing more nothing less- and as far as ths genre goes it's got everything you would want and well dished up! I hate Hallmark movies and can't eve stand 3 seconds of them but this one here is wonderfully watchable, acting and settings music much better than the usual mass produced stuff and warm fuzzy like a mulled wine. Justin Hartely is.. well, 100% playing his character from This Is Us , at the same time a joyful reuinion but alos a little bit dissapointed tht it's really the same character to a T (including the wealth, fame and tasteful house and dress) , his female counterpart, Barrett Doss was a pleasant surprise (for me at least) since I had never seen her before- Really liked her natural, warm, down to earth acting, which is unusal for this genre and she has an amazing singing voice. Bonnie Bedelia and James Remar complete this.pretty high calibre cast as very likeable and credible characters. Only pity is that they did't use more of the vintage music they spoke about (I suppose too exprensive?) that would have been the icing on the cake and turned the level even up a notch. Whoever is moaning about it following a pattern etc: Well of course it does, it's classic Rom Com with a meet cute, snags to overcome and so on and the holiday variety with added cream at that- Either this is what you felt like watching or it's not for you, it never pretends to be anything else, so ticks all the points in its genre.
Mystère (2021)
Heartrending movie about a true story!
This film made me smile and cry, beautiful in its unpretentious simplicity with authentic feel about the actors, especially the llittle girl- This is not a Disney story nor a scientific documentary about wolves but a real story about a little girl , Victoria , who gew up together with a wolf pup (the reay Victoria was even only 3!) and formed a strong, wonderful, inseparable bond. Recently oprhaned Victoria grows from bereaved, lost and helpless feelign girl to a mature person who nurtures and loves another culnerablle creature- which gives her back her speech and in the end ,makes the hardest decision for herself, putting the welfare and survival of the friend she loves above her own needs, small and young as she is. It alos highlights the real life problems between wolf and man and any rewilding projects in an objective way. As I said beffore : This is not a Disney production but a soft spoken, realistic but also very emotional telling of a true story- Either you love that or you leave it and look for artifice . I promise you smiles and tears i you do give it a chance.