The team at Momentary Cinema (JJ McDermott, Alan Matthews and Robin Stevens) have decided to form our review of the year in film through a discussion format. Now, this format did not have us sit down and have someone record our nerd-ish ramblings. That would be difficult considering that there is a non-conforming, geographical issue … Continue reading Momentary Cinema’s Review of the Year 2017 in Film – Part 1
Murder on the Orient Express (Director, Kenneth Branagh. Featuring Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Willem Dafoe, Daisy Ridley, Penelope Cruz, Lesley Odom, Derek Jacobi and Sergei Polunin) Everyone is on the same train i.e. The Orient Express. There is a murder most hideous and everyone is a suspect. I enjoyed this movie … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Murder on the Orient Express and Loving Vincent
This is the second in a series of posts on the filmmaking of Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980): one of the greatest directors of all time. These posts are authored by Robin Stevens, JJ McDermott and Alan Matthews, and the idea is for each part to take a selection of Hitchcock’s films and analyze them in detail. … Continue reading Exploring Hitchcock Part 2: The Early Masterpieces and his (not so) Grand Finale
The Emerald Isle has offered a lot to the world (submarines, Samuel Beckett, decent stout, Clonakilty black pudding etc.) but if you were to look at Hollywood films over the years, it would seem that all we have been good for are things like potatoes, leprechauns, excessive drinking and terrorists. Begorrah and bejaysus, a soft … Continue reading Hollywood Fieldtrips to Ireland: The Good, the Bad and the Uafásach*
This is the first in a series of posts on the filmmaking of Alfred Hitchcock (1899-1980), one of the greatest directors of all time. These posts will be authored by Robin Stevens, JJ McDermott and Alan Matthews, and the idea is for each part to take a selection of Hitchcock’s films and analyze them in … Continue reading Exploring Hitchcock Part 1: A Deeper Look at Rebecca, Rear Window and The Birds
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, come and see! And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him John 6. 7-8 (New Testament) Recent events in the US have put the … Continue reading Nazism and the impact of World War II as depicted on Film
Maudie (2016) Directed by Aisling Walsh, starring Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke Maudie is a small-budget Irish/Canadian film based on the life of Nova Scotia painter Maud Lewis (played by Sally Hawkins), and her long but volatile relationship with the illiterate, ill-at-ease and often belligerent Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke). The film begins with Maud as … Continue reading The Two Reviews: Maudie and It
Below you will find two reviews: one of The Beguiled from 2017, directed by Sofia Coppola, and another of The Beguiled from 1971, directed by Don Siegel. Both are contrasting adaptations of the 1966 novel of the same name by Thomas P. Cullinan (it was originally released under the title ‘A Painted Devil’). The Beguiled (2017, … Continue reading Adaptations Part 3: A Painted Devil Twice Imagined as The Beguiled
Unlike a previous post, which also dealt with great cinematic scores, here disagreements are not welcomed. The following selection may not be your favourite movie scores but they sure as hell should be in your top ten. These are a selection of soundtracks which were integral to the telling of the story, which lifted the … Continue reading The Score is Not Settled: 7 More Great Cinematic Musical Compositions
A Ghost Story (Directed by David Lowery, starring Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck) This is a slow-paced but absorbing film about grief and loss. It is not a horror story in any sense, but let’s call it a romance / drama – it concerns a ghost occupying his home following his sudden death and watching … Continue reading A Few New Reviews: A Ghost Story, American Made, Atomic Blonde and Logan Lucky
Momentary Cinema 