Archive for January, 2008

They Never Froze Walt Disney:Evening Echo Review

Wednesday, January 9th, 2008 by Eoin

THAWING OUT WALT DISNEY GIVES A GREAT PERFORMANCE
Review: They Never Froze Walt Disney, Granary Theatre

A play that premiered during the Midsummer Festival is back on stage in Cork this week, at a time when the temperature is more in keeping with the title.

Jody O’Neill has written a one-hour play starring herself and John McCarthy, and it is difficult not to have a smile fixed to your face for the duration.

Paudie and Marie come on like two archetypal hangovers from an almost forgotten Ireland. They meet in a funeral home, which could be located anywhere between Shandon Street and Craggy Island.

Jody O’Neill’s character is a home-knit psychosis that steadily unravels as the threads of the story are tugged. It is not long before we find out that she is responsible for the death of the man laid out for removal.

Her childhood sweetheart - still friendly after all the years - is played with comic skill by John McCarthy, who is in equal measures daft and deferential. When Marie confides that she finds it cold, Paudie tells her helpfully, “That’ll be the guilt”.

Director Jack Healy puts a nice squeeze on the script, getting the play to pop with a sense of sexual repression. The flickering of scenes between youth and older age is done very credibly and with the minimum of fuss.

It is tantalising to think what might have been if the script ratcheted up the comedy instead of moving wholeheartedly into loneliness and madness at the end.

But this is a very enjoyable, zany little love story kept naggingly on simmer for years. And Jody O’Neill leaves the stage with her cooky charms intact - like she is popping out to catch the last Mass.

Liam Heylin, Evening Echo, 09/01/2008.

Posted in Theatre | 2 Comments »

They Never Froze Walt Disney

Wednesday, January 9th, 2008 by Eoin

The fourth, and final teaser trailer for the show that opened in the Granary tonight.

It is with a tinge of sadness that I put up the final teaser trailer. I’ve enjoyed working on them. Some of bits aren’t quite as I had planned and others bits were pleasant surprises. They currently stand at 316 viewings for “Cold”, 106 viewings for “Eulogy”, and 60 viewings for “Tea & Smoothie” in just 3 days. I’m quite pleased with that and with the way our attempts on Facebook have spread the word of the play but it is a pity that the houses haven’t been full.

Those of you who have yet to see this play should go! It is a little gem and they don’t come along very often (even less often in Cork). It’s only an hour long too so it won’t interfere with your plans of an evening. I do not think this play will return for a third run in it’s current guise so catch it before it’s gone.

They Never Froze Walt Disney
The Granary Theatre, Cork
8th-12th January at 8pm (preview January 7th)
Bookings & Info: 021 490 4275

Posted in Theatre | 4 Comments »

Gone Baby Gone - review

Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 by Frank

Imperfect but engaging, heavy handedly thought provoking, still - worth watching.

Review of Gone Baby Gone
Rated as 3/5 on Jan 8 2008 by Frank

3/5

Some films are better seen when you know nothing about them. I think this is one of them. Therefore, although I will not give away too much in this short review, I still recommend you don’t read it.

Gone Baby Gone starts out impressively, the acting is solid, the direction is interesting and the beginnings of the plot shows promise even if it’s not the most inspired.

The film is based on a Denis Lehane (author of Mystic River) novel and Casey Affleck plays a private detective who is hired to help out in the case of a missing child, because he knows some people on the periphery of the local underworld and may be able to obtain information the cops couldn’t.

Casey Affleck gives a good solid performance in this film, but displays nothing of the range or subtlety he had in The Assasination of Jesse James. Similarly solid but uninspired performances from Ed Harris and Morgan Freeman, and pretty much everyone in this film.

Michelle Monaghan (playing Affleck’s partner in both senses of the word) gets no chance to shine as she is rather strangely non present in a film where she should be a key character.

The one stand out performance was from Amy Madigan in her small part as the aunt of the missing child - she is convincingly distraught and relentless in her determination to do everything possible to find her niece.

This is Ben Affleck’s debut feature film in the role of director, and personally I already prefer his directorial skills to his acting skills. However, with such a good cast he should have been able to elicit better performances, and the film begins to lag stylistically as it progresses.

The confidant style the film opens with gives way to hollywooditis somewhat as the film rolls on, and the message becomes very heavy handed. With a pinch of subtlety this film could have been a real gem, and genuinely thought provoking. However the mallet approach turns one off somewhat and also misses the opportunity to dive into the real cultural issues at play in the plot.

Similarly it is hard to swallow the moral dilemma the film should provoke as it racks up the body count with only one ham fisted attempt to address the cost and implications of the human loss. However, even as the initally somewhat credible plotline begins to descend into the incredible, Gone Baby Gone somehow holds on to your attention - although you may begin to feel that this level of drama may have been more suited to the small screen.

A small cameo from Michael K. Williams, who plays Omar in the Wire only serves to remind that the small screen is doing a much better job of what this film sets out to achieve.

However, all that said, I’m known for being fairly critical and this was an enjoyable evening at the cinema, so go see it and let me know what you thought!