Cinema Roundup April 8th

Movie of the week - 2001: A Space Odyssey

Movie of the week – 2001: A Space Odyssey

The Irish Film Institute’s sci-fi season continues in grand style with a 70mm print of 2001: A Space Odyssey playing all week. One of the classics of the genre, Stanley Kubrick’s movie revolutionised special effects and changed sci-fi cinema forever. It’s a movie that begs to be seen on a big screen, and a rare chance to experience it in the 70mm format shouldn’t be ignored.

Silent Running

The man behind 2001’s dazzling effects was Douglas Trumbull, who went on to direct his own sci-fi movie in 1972’s Silent Running, an environmentally aware tale of an outer space botanist’s attempts to save the earth’s flora from extinction. You can catch it at the IFI on Wednesday.

Calamity Jane

If musicals are your thing, you won’t want to miss a special ‘singalong’ screening of the Doris Day classic Calamity Jane at the Lighthouse on Sunday afternoon. Day turned 92 this week, so what better way to celebrate her birthday?

Midnight Special

There’s more sci-fi in the week’s best new release, Midnight Special, a loving homage to ’80s genre pics like ET and Starman, in which a father absconds with his mysteriously gifted son, with the FBI and a religious cult on their tails. While it’s highly derivative, there’s enough heart and film-making skill on display to make it a recommend.

The Man Who Knew Infinity

The Man Who Knew Infinity is the true story of Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, who left a modest life in 1914 India to join Cambridge mathematician GH Hardy in his work at the prestigious college. Jeremy Irons is great as Hardy, but the film never really conveys the importance of the two men’s work.

Dheepan

Last year’s Cannes Film Festival winner, Dheepan arrives on screens this week, and it’s a disappointment I’m afraid. The story of a Tamil fighter attempting to build a new life in a tough Parisian suburb, the movie devolves into a run of the mill vigilante thriller.

The Huntsman: Winter’s War

The worst of the week’s new offerings is The Huntsman: Winter’s War, an uncalled for prequel to the Kristen Stewart vehicle Snow White and the Huntsman. Despite boasting Emily Blunt, Charlize Theron and Jessica Chastain in its cast, the film is a crushing bore, and ridiculously difficult to follow. Chastain’s Irish/Scottish accent has to be heard to be believed.

By Eric Hillis of themoviewaffler.com