Cinema Roundup February 26th

Douglas Sirk was a filmmaker known for a unique brand of socially conscious melodrama shot in stunning primary colours, and one of his best works, 1955’s All That Heaven Allows, plays Sunday afternoon at the Irish Film Institute. The film explores class snobbery through a relationship between Jane Wyman’s wealthy widow and Rock Hudson’s earthy, working class gardener, while at the same time making for one of cinema’s greatest romances.

The week’s best new release is American indie drama King Jack, a Mark Twain-esque story of a teenage boy who spends the summer in his rustbelt hometown attempting to snog a classmate while escaping the attentions of an older bully. It’s an impressive debut from writer-director Felix Thompson, who coaxes some great performances from his young cast.

Secret in Their Eyes is a Hollywood remake of a great Argentinian thriller that won the Best Foreign Language Feature a few years back. This version saps all the life out of the story and can’t match the visual brilliance of the original. Despite good work from Chiwetel Ejiofor as a determined cop, this is a bland and uninspired remake.

Set in a real life Japanese forest known as the country’s prime location for suicides, The Forest is a horror movie made in the worst taste. Natalie Dormer plays a young woman who heads to the forest in an attempt to reach her twin sister before she takes her life. The usual unimaginative horror clichés follow.

This Sunday Hollywood pats itself on the back once again for the 88th Academy Awards. As usual, the films nominated in no way represent the year’s best, but here are my predictions for the main categories:

Best Picture – Spotlight

Best Director – Alejandro Inarritu (The Revenant)

Best Actor – Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant)

Best Actress – Brie Larson (Room)

Best Supporting Actor – Sylvester Stallone (Creed)

Best Supporting Actress – Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs)

Best Original Screenplay – Tom McCarthy and Josh Singer (Spotlight)

Best Adapted Screenplay – Adam McKay and Charles Randolph (The Big Short)

Best Animated Feature Film – Inside Out

Best Foreign Language Film – Son of Saul

Best Documentary – The Look of Silence

By Eric Hillis of themoviewaffler.com