Movie of the Week – To Live and Die in L.A.
William Friedkin’s 1985 cop thriller To Live and Die in L.A. gets a 35mm screening in the Lighthouse Friday night. Soaked in neon with a pulsing new wave synth score, the movie is as ’80s as it gets, and an under-rated gem that was unfairly compared to Friedkin’s earlier ’70s police classic The French Connection. This one stands on its own right and features one of cinema’s great car chases.
Indian Jones and the Last Crusade
Sticking with the ’80s, the Lighthouse is also screening Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade on Saturday. While it doesn’t reach the heights of Raiders of the Lost Ark, it’s a ripping yarn nonetheless, and the interplay between screen legends Harrison Ford and Sean Connery is a delight to watch.
Do the Right Thing
A different kind of ’80s movie plays at the Irish Film Institute on Tuesday when Spike Lee’s urban unrest drama Do the Right Thing screens. The film takes place over the hottest day of the summer in a New York neighbourhood where racial tensions have reached boiling point, and it established Lee as a filmmaker to watch, though he arguably never lived up to the promise of this movie.
Punishment Park
More social unrest can be found at the IFI on Sunday with Punishment Park, a ’70s mockumentary in which those opposed to Nixon’s government are sent into the desert and hunted down by cops.
Gemma Bovery
Not much in the way of new releases but Gemma Bovery is a pleasant if forgettable watch. Gemma Arterton makes her French language debut in this tale of a literary buff who becomes obsessed with Arterton because her character’s name reminds him of the heroine of Flaubert’s novel.
Sinister 2
Sinister 2 is a soulless horror sequel that, despite lashings of gore and nastiness, isn’t remotely scary or atmospheric.
By Eric Hillis
