Exodus: Gods and Kings (12A)

This is definitely not the Charlton Heston and Cecil B. De Mille version of the Moses story.  Instead this version of the story of the Hebrew man who became Egyptian royalty and went back again, is told in a matter of fact way, without as much fanfare as the earlier version had.
However ‘Exodus’ did have its moments of plagues and horrors that no movie before it has ever shown.  Compelling it is and graphic.
Producer, Ridley Scott returns to a format he is familiar with, but sadly this movie is no ‘Gladiator’.
Christian Bale as Moses gives it his all, but seems unhappy along the way without a more believable script, which also needed more believable characters.
The story of Moses about courage and faith and taking on the mighty Egyptian empire is a David and Goliath story – which of course was another biblical story.  We all know who won those battles.
Obviously the movie had great visuals of hundreds of thousands of slaves, battle scenes, rodents crossing the city streets, among many others.  It’s difficult nowadays to tell if they are real, or computer generated.  Sadly the latter seems to be the case, for financial and other reasons.
There is a burning bush, as in the biblical tale, but surprisingly it’s not as interesting a visual as the 1956 version.  The image of God is not that of an invisible force with a bellowing hollow voice, but that of a young child scolding Moses.   It works for this version of the story but it seems too easy a way to present the story.
The 3D visuals in the movie is not really necessary, but overall the story is well told, and not the worst movie around.
David Flynn

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (12A)

It’s incredible that Peter Jackson managed to make three blockbuster movies out of a not very ample sized novel.  However he has done so, and with nearly as major a series as he did with the ‘The Lord of the Rings’ trilogy.
In this third and final movie, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) continues his journey with the Dwarves, and they are forced to engage in a war, to keep safe the Lonely Mountain.
Dragons, looking and acting dangerous, and magnificent old towns built especially in New Zealand for the The Hobbit set, all show off a beautiful adventure.  Along the way, Gandalf is rescued from prison and gets in on the act. 
Oh wouldn’t it be brilliant to be 10 years old again, and to really appreciate these visuals.
The love affair between dwarf, Killi (Aidan Turner) and the elf, Tauriel played by Evangeline Lily, which doesn’t feature in J.R.R. Tolkein's novel, is featured strongly in the movie. 
Ian McKellan returns as Gandalf, in this his sixth movie playing the same role, as does Orlando Bloom as Legolas.  Oscar winner, Cate Blanchett returns as Galadriel.  Other familiar faces include Sylvester McCoy (a former Dr. Who), Hugo Weaving, and Ian Holm as the older Bilbo.
The movie goes on and on, but with your 3D glasses, it’s worth the two and a half hour effort.

David Flynn

Paddington (Gen)

Getting a big screen outing is the real story of the little bear with the blue hat.   We all have at least a vague idea of the little bear who existed in the oh so London world of another era. 
I was a kid of the 70s and 80s, without BBC tv, so didn’t see the Paddington Bear series, which was phenomenally popular among children.  The books were rarely left on library shelves and the merchandise that followed; of the cuddly Paddington Bear, probably sold in numerous figures.
This big budget movie, ‘Paddington’ is a great opportunity for children to get to know who their parents and grandparents grew up loving.  It also gives those older folk the chance to relive their childhood.
The 95 minute movie is a live-action tale, which begins in black and white to tell the story of the little bear’s humble beginning in the Peruvian rainforest.  He grew up to be British because of the influence of an explorer who visited his forest when he was a baby.  An earthquake makes Paddington homeless and adrift, so he heads across the world to seek a home in Britain.
He lands in Paddington Station, and finds it to be a much different jungle than what he had left in Peru.  Then he meets a family called the Browns, and his life in London gets more exciting and adventurous.
‘Paddington’ is a nice charming tale, with a dollop of terror involved, when a taxidermist comes looking for the little bear.  Nicole Kidman, who is the probably the biggest name in the movie, gives it her best as the chilling taxidermist.  Downton Abbey’s Hugh Bonneville plays the strait laced Mr. Brown, who stretches his ability to manage a new bear in the family.  Julie Walters (Educating Rita) makes a rare movie appearance as the family’s housekeeper.  Peter Capaldi (Doctor Who) appears as a pathetic and contrary next door neighbour.  A face from tv’s past, Geoffrey Palmer (Butterflies and As Time Goes By) appears in a cameo role.
A time with Paddington in an almost animated middle class London is a nice way to spend 95 minutes.
David Flynn

‘Mrs. Brown’s Boys D’Movie (15A)

Now Showing at Athlone IMC

The first movie of Irish mother Agnes Brown portrays her working on her Moore Street stall, which is in jeopardy from demolition, in a fiasco, which is aided by a corrupt politician and the Russian Mafia.  However this is the movies and it’s a Mrs. Brown story, so the odds are bound to move in the direction of Ireland’s favourite Mammy.

For three years now, the tv series, ‘Mrs. Brown’s Boys’ has topped the Irish and British tv ratings, and as was the course with tv comedies in the 70s, the hit series has now become a movie.  Seemingly the fourth season will run next year on television.

Dublin born stand-up comedian, Brendan O’Carroll has played Agnes Brown on stage and screen over the years, and he’s helped out by his wife, Jennifer Gibney, who plays his daughter, Cathy.   The scenario is similar to an act in Britain from sixty or seventy years ago, when there was a real life married couple, Arthur Shields and Kitty McShane who played the comic duo, Old Mother Reilly and daughter, Kitty.  However the O’Carroll and Gibney act is much more successful and they have a troupe of a dozen or so actors who are friends or relations and who appear in each of the Mrs. Brown incarnations on stage, television and now in a movie.

The storyline is similar enough to the plots of the tv series, ie about Mrs. Brown facing obstacles, and resulting in her attempting to triumph over adversity.

The day is saved, and the adventures along the way, are edge of the seat stuff.  The lead character is compelling to watch, as are the troupe of actors.

The cinematography of Dublin city is shown in all its positive glory, and the tourist board will probably gain dividends when the movie is shown out of Ireland.

David Flynn

‘X-Men – Days of Future Past’ (12A)

Four esteemed character actors found themselves playing young or old versions of the same character in the latest ‘X-Men’ movie.  Stewart, McKellan, Fassbender, and McAvoy played the pivotal roles, along with Oscar winner Hugh Jackman, who also played no small role in one of the most exciting sci-fi movies of recent years.
The adventure is made up of two stories, one set in the near past and the other in the near future, featuring the challenged Superheroes which moviegoers have come to know since the first X-Men movie in 2000.
In ‘X-Men – Days of Future Past’ – the seventh in the series - Wolverine, played by Hugh Jackman is sent back in time to change a happening of war from 1973.  This is done through a mind meld of sorts, and brings us into Star Trek territory.  Interesting, considering Patrick Stewart’s seven years and four movies playing Capt. Picard of Star Trek: The Next Generation’.  Stewart had to do some mind melding in his time on his hit tv series.
The Shakespearean actors, Stewart and Ian McKellan, return to their roles of the older Charles Xavier and Magneto
The younger Magneto is played by Michael Fassbender, and the younger Xavier by James McAvoy, as they did in the previous movie, ‘X-Men: First Class’.  It’s interesting to watch McKellan/Fassbender and Stewart/McAvoy portraying the same characters at different periods of their lives.
An amazing story of travels, adventure, danger, and special effects ensue with Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) playing a central part.  An epic battle to save the future in the past takes place, and the intensity of the storyline and production, makes the movie seem much longer.  But that is not a criticism.
The story goes along at a fast pace, with no boredom.  If there is any criticism, it is that there is too much going on, and you need a fast paced brain to work it all out.  However it’s worth the viewing, once or even twice over. 
The sets are massive, especially a scene featuring US President Richard Nixon. 
The latest X-Men story is an experience to savour.  It’s the best of the series to date, and a rare treat, a special effects sci-fi movie, with an engrossing storyline.
David Flynn

Philomena (12A)

This is a strange movie of a true story about a serious topic, yet having great comedy, that no comic script-writer would really be able to create, unless it was based on fact.

However Steve Coogan’s hand was in the script, which makes sense.  He also produced, and is the male lead in a role, which while is not Oscar material, certainly brings him far away from his Alan Partridge creation.  He put up a good show as the former political journalist down on his luck, who by chance happens upon the story of Philomena, an Irish woman searching for the son who was long ago taken from her by nuns.

Philomena, played by Judi Dench had her son taken away from her in the mid-1950s, after she got pregnant outside wedlock, and went to live and work around a convent laundry.  Philomena, like Coogan’s character, Martin Sixsmith is quite a quirky character, and almost a literary creation.  However this movie is about real people, with real and tragic stories to tell.  

The movie begins in Philomena’s old age in the UK, and she and Sixsmith take the quest for Philomena’s son, from the convent in Roscrea, Ireland to Washington DC.

It is an enjoyable journey to follow the duo on, despite the sadness and pain they encounter along the way. 

Interestingly a photo of 1940’s Hollywood star, Jane Russell is shown on the wall of the convent office.  Eventually it is revealed why this is so, which only adds to the scenario that was going on in the convent in the 1950s.

The production of ‘Philomena’ is superb, with real-life footage of home movies from the real people involved.  It’s a cliché to say Judi Dench is one of the best actresses around, and they were lucky that she accepted the script.  It is her first movie since she was last featured in the James Bond franchise almost a year ago.

There are not many supporting actors, and Dench and Coogan run the show throughout, and never disappoint.  However a powerful later scene with actress, Barbara Jefford is one worth waiting for.  It is also obvious that Dench will take the BAFTA for ‘Philomena’, and a few more awards with it.

The true story of Philomena is a horrendous indictment of the abuse the poor women suffered in the convents.  The movie is more powerful than 2002’s ‘Magdelen Laundries’ because of all the information that has since come to light, and this is also a real woman’s story, and not a tale about an imaginary person. 

Let’s hope those seeking family connections and answers find their searches come to a positive end soon.

David Flynn

Gravity 3D (12A)

A unique movie, even by today’s standards, where you have a sci-fi action two-hander, done with two of the biggest names in the movie industry. 

The unusual movie has to be viewed in 3D, because it is the very best of its 3D kind.   The movie manages to moonwalk the audience up around the various space stations, and keep them there. 

George Clooney and Sandra Bullock were much bigger stars ten years ago than now, but they were excellent choices for the roles, particularly Bullock, who rarely disappoints.

Bullock plays Dr. Ryan Stone, a medical engineer on a shuttle mission in deep space, along with astronaut, Matt Kowalski, played by George Clooney.  Clooney’s character is a retiring, but upbeat astronaut, while Ryan has some personal demons, and uses her job to struggle through them.  Their space mission seems normal, until debris starts flying, and they lose control of their positioning.  The duo are forced to help each other, when they end up alone floating in space, with few resources and with no contact with Earth.

It would seem at first that this is Clooney’s movie, because of his authoritive characteristics, but a turn of events occur, and Ryan is left attempting to preserve life. 

 

The movie is a work of genius by director, Alfonso Cuaron, who also wrote the original screenplay.  It couldn’t have been easy to direct actors at zero gravity, while they float on a black background.  However the movie appears totally realistic, obviously helped by its great 3D effects.

The storyline is interesting, particularly where it deals with Ryan’s back story, and resigned view of life.  The movie is also not without its messages.

David Flynn