Movie of the week – The Wicker Man
The Manson murders added a sinister punctuation mark to the end of the hippy era, and subsequently an interest in the darker side of paganism became predominant in the 1970s. This gave rise to the folk-horror sub-genre, and this week the Irish Film Institute begins a season looking at this curious movement, echoes of which can be seen in recent movies like A Field in England and The Witch. On Saturday you can catch both the masterpiece of the genre The Wicker Man, whose director, Robin Hardy, sadly passed away recently, and the Vincent Price period chiller Witchfinder General. Sunday presents the Hammer sequel Quatermass and the Pit, while on Wednesday, Czech production Valerie and her Week of Wonders shows this wasn’t a solely British movement. Unmissable stuff.
Ghostbusters
The above season is well-timed, as it’s a weak time for new releases. The best on offer this week is the mediocre Ghostbusters remake, which boasts a charismatic female cast and pound for pound offers arguably more laughs than the over-rated original, but is as instantly forgettable as you might expect.
Men & Chicken
Men & Chicken is an all-star Danish comedy that wastes a cast of faces that will be familiar to fans of Scandinavian cinema. Northern Europe has given us some really smart comedies in recent years, but this is juvenile stuff, like a Nordic Dumb & Dumber.
Summertime
As a fan of world cinema, I’m constantly annoyed at how many mediocre French movies find their way into Irish cinemas when far superior movies from the rest of Europe, South America, Africa and particularly Asia are ignored. This week we get Summertime, a ’70s set lesbian drama that exists merely to prove lesbian relationships can be every bit as dull as straight ones.
By Eric Hillis of themoviewaffler.com
