Movie Review: Once (2006)

When Irish eyes are smiling

An Irish musician makes a living by busking in his free time and working in a vacuum repair shop.  One day he meets a girl who is also a musician.  When they begin to make music together, it is truly magical.  Everything about this film is great - the music (one of the songs, Falling Slowly won an Oscar in 2008), the characters, the narrative, the way it is shot - everything.  It is the definition of a good film.  This is the type of film against which others should be judged.  I can't say enough good things about this film.

Once gets 5 out of 5 stars!

Director: John Carney
Writer: John Carney
Starring: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová, Hugh Walsh
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Metacritic: 88%

Isolation (2005)

Eat more chicken
Dan owns a dairy farm.  When one of his cows is giving birth, the vet is bit by something in the birth canal.  Things go from bad to worse in this as Dan discovers that the whole thing is a genetic experiment gone wrong.  A cross between Alien and a nature show, this mildly creepy Irish mini-monster movie is better than it sounds.  There were a couple of good thrills and some creepy little creatures.

Isolation is thrilled me for a respectable 3 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: Billy O'Brien
Writer: Billy O'Brien
Starring: John Lynch, Ruth Negga, Sean Harris and Marcel Iures
Rotten Tomatoes: 67%
Metacritic: not reviewed

The Guard (2011)

Call in the FBI
A rural Irish policeman finds himself in the middle of an international drug smuggling case.  An American FBI agent is working to catch the smugglers.  They are forced to work together.  Don Cheadle and Brendan Gleeson star as a sort of odd couple in this police drama comedy.  Gleeson shines as the smart mouth Irish cop while Cheadle manages to not do much of anything. 

The Guard gets 3 out of 5 Poblanos!

Director: John Michael McDonagh
Writer: John Michael McDonagh
Starring: Brendan Gleeson (Harry Potter, 28 Days Later), Don Cheadle and Mark Strong
Rotten Tomatoes: 95%
Metacritic: 78 out of 100