Mystery Road is a gripping Australian thriller set in the dusty rugged outback. When an aboriginal detective investigates the murder of a young girl, he finds his work hindered by small town prejudice. The movie features one of the most realistic shootouts ever rendered on screen and the setting is photographed with an eerie beauty.
A trio of eco-terrorists plot to destroy a dam in Night Moves. This one strips the thriller genre down to its bare bones and as a result lacks the level of suspense you might expect form its premise. With cracking performances from Jesse Eisenberg, Dakota Fanning and Peter Sarsgaard, however, it’s an intriguing character drama, albeit one that will test many viewers’ patience.
The latest found footage horror comes in the shape of As Above, So Below. Set in the catacombs below Paris, home to six million corpses, the film makes good use of its eerie location but the longer it runs, the more it falls back on the cliches of the genre.
Million Dollar Arm is based on the true story of a sports agent who attempted to transform a pair of amateur Indian cricketers into professional baseball players. It’s a bit of a schmaltz fest but the film has its charms and leading man Jon Hamm shows he may have a career post Mad Men.
The Grand Seduction features a great performance from our own Brendan Gleeson as a Newfoundlander attempting to convince a factory to relocate to his deprived small fishing community. You can read my full review in the current issue of NewsFour.
If you like your humour of the toilet variety then Obvious Child is tailor made for you. The rest of us will avoid this imbecilic tale of a young woman who becomes pregnant after a one night stand.
Fans of cheesy 80s action can indulge themselves with a double bill of Stallone and Schwarzenegger movies Cobra and The Running Man, playing Friday night in The Lighthouse, while the silent horror classic The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari plays all week at the Irish Film Institute.
By Eric Hillis
Image: Movie of the week, Mystery Road
