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Reviews
All the Way (2016)
LBJ Complex
This film is a fantastic warts-and-all portrait of LBJ during his first year in office, showing his foul-mouthed, drink-driving, ornery (even boorish) side as well as his consummate deal-making capabilities and determination to get legislation passed.
The casting is great (and the make-up amazing!!) Although the film ends after the major triumphs of his early days with the passing of the human-rights bill and his election on his own ticket, it also shows the seeds of his subsequent decent (the escalation of US involvement in Vietnam and the insecure feeling that gnawed inside him that he was never really popular).
With the divisive politics of today, the portrayal of a US President who crosses the aisles to make deals seems astounding!
Lamb (2022)
Funny Games in a Short
I saw Lamb at an independent Film Festival last September. A menacing, stomach-wrenching foreboding grips from the very first minute.
Fantastic performances by Aoife Duffin and Éanna Hardwicke (and the twin sisters who play the baby.)
It is wonderfully shot, with acts as simple as buttering toast conveying the tension of the situation.
It brought back feelings I last experienced watching Michael Hanke's Lustige Spiele/Funny Games.
It is amazing how quickly this film transports you to the same place.
If you are looking for the clichéd whimsy of many Irish films, look elsewhere. Lamb is dark. It is disturbing. It is brilliant.
Babylon (2022)
Go see "Day of the Locust"
This film is trite rubbish.
A great cast, a huge budget, a formulaic soundtrack, a terrible script, no attempt at authenticity. What a waste of money!
Apparently the above review doesn't use enough characters so I have to waste some more on this appalling excuse for cinematic entertainment.
It is bad. It is purile. It is superficial. It is self satisfied. It is a sham.
The best thing about the production is the design, Yet it's completely inconsistent.
Costume and hair is a mess.. It's as if any decent actress in the film refused to have 1920s hair. Many of the men as well just look like they wandered in from a 2020s production.