The Showreel | 27 [Feat. Goosebumps and The Finest Hours]
Our weekly round-up of film news and trailer reviews features some red carpet stars, some totally not cold induced goosebumps, and some movies to enjoy this week… It’s The Showreel!
Film News
Amy Schumer and Bill Hader to Attend Dublin Screening of Trainwreck
Amy Schumer has been riding a wave of social media excellence over the past few months and now she is due to visit Dublin and attend a special screening of her latest film Trainwreck which she also wrote. The film is produced and directed by the renowned Judd Apatow who previously brought us the likes of Bridesmaids, Knocked Up and This Is 40, and stars Bill Hader (Saturday Night Live, Superbad, Forgetting Sarah Marshall), Seth Rogen, Chris O’Dowd and Brie Larson. It also features Tilda Swinton and Method Man, which is a sentence I thought I’d never write. The comedy stars Schumer as Amy – “a magazine writer, who lives by that credo—enjoying what she feels is an uninhibited life free from stifling, boring romantic commitment—but in actuality, she’s kind of in a rut. When she finds herself starting to fall for the subject of the new article she’s writing, a charming and successful sports doctor named Aaron Conners (Bill Hader), Amy starts to wonder if other grown-ups, including this guy who really seems to like her, might be on to something.” Check out the trailer.
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Hader, Schumer and Apatow will all be attending the special screening at the Savoy Cinema in Dublin on August 14th and tickets are on sale now for the general public. Yes, you! The film is being presented by the Dublin International Film Festival and you can book your tickets through their website by clicking here.
The Dublin International Film Festival runs from February 18th- 28th 2016. Check out the website at www.diff.ie
A Doctor’s Sword to Get Irish Release after Galway Film Fleadh
Celebrated Irish documentary A Doctor’s Sword is to get a wide release after its festival run ended at the Galway International Film Fleadh last Thursday. The film tells the incredible story of Aidan MacCarthy, a young doctor from West Cork who survived some of the most harrowing episodes of World War II (including the atomic bombing of Nagasaki) and his family’s search to uncover the origin of a Japanese Samurai sword, which was given to him by a officer after the bombing, which now resides in MacCarthy’s Bar in Castletownbere.
The film premiered at the Cork Film Festival last year to a raptourous reception and will get a wider release from Wildcard from the 7th August. Have a look at the trailer below.
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Trailer Review
Goosebumps
Directed by Rob Letterman. Starring Jack Black, Amy Ryan, Odeya Rush.
A young kid teams up with the niece of young adult horror author R.L. Stine after the writer’s imaginary demons are set free on the town of Greendale, Maryland.
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In the week that saw the release of Go Set A Watchman, only the second novel ever by Harper Lee, why not reminisce on more literary gold – Goosebumps. OK, they are not classic. In fact if Atticus Finch was around he’d probably try Goosebumps for being atrocious and then end his closing speech with a horribly racist anecdote. Either way Goosebumps is set for the big screen and the first trailer has landed with Jack Black playing the role of Goosebumps author R.L. Stein.
It is obviously aimed at children and considering HeadStuff’s “child aged 10-15” demographic is poor to non-existent, I do question why I want to share this run-of-the-mill trailer with you. I guess it’s tapping into the same vein of nostalgia which sees the likes of Terminator, Mad Max, Star Wars and Jurassic Park back in the cinemas. The film looks fun though. I will watch it and it will probably be good as, in fairness, it cannot be worse than the source material.
The Finest Hours
Directed by Craig Gillespie. Starring Chris Pine, Ben Foster, Eric Bana.
The Coast Guard makes a daring rescue attempt off the coast of Cape Cod after a pair of oil tankers are destroyed during a blizzard in 1952.
[youtube[youtube id=”8I0ifMz5PbQ” align=”center” autoplay=”no” maxwidth=”750"]Captain Kirk, Lance Armstrong and The Hulk battle some seriously angry weather in this maritime drama which reminds one of The Perfect Storm, probably because of the forced accents in abundance. I do love these types of true stories though, man versus nature and all that shit. I guess it’s down to me having no beef with nature at all. I am happy to just swan around, oblivious to how mental nature can be, without putting my fine behind in harms way. However being in the Coast Guard probably means it’s your job so kudos to these men.
Coming from the director of Lars and the Real Girl and Fright Night, The Finest Hours is due for release in January 2016 which is the time that all the “Oscary” movies are released so one can assume the studio thinks they are onto a winner with this. I recently watched a strangely good film called Stretch which had Chris Pine doing something other than being a hero and looking sexy and he was brilliant in it. Ben Foster is quickly becoming the character actor of our generation, and Eric Bana has proven himself over and over (Munich, Chopper) and considering the cast also includes Casey Affleck, it may well feature in the honours in 2016.
5 Movies on TV This Week
The Bourne Legacy (2012) – Film 4 – Wednesday 15th 9.00pm
An expansion of the universe from Robert Ludlum’s novels, centered on a new hero whose stakes have been triggered by the events of the previous three films.
Not as good, or quite as clever, as the final chapters of the Matt Damon series, this 2012 continuation of the Bourne Universe is certainly an entertaining and fast paced espionage thriller starring Jeremy Renner and Rachel Weisz.
Drillbit Taylor (2008) – RTE 2 – Thursday 16th 9.00pm
Three kids hire a low-budget bodyguard to protect them from the playground bully.
Owen Wilson is in good form in this mindless comedy from the director of Mr. Deeds and Little Nicky. OK, not great pedigree there but it will remind you of Owen Wilson when he was that super charming and brilliantly funny comic actor.
Rio Bravo (1959) – TG4 – Friday 17th 9.00pm
A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a cripple, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
This classic western from director Howard Hawks was made as a rebuttal to Gary Cooper’s 1952 film High Noon in the face of growing discontent amongst Hollywood film makers in the face of Communist witch hunts across America. Back story aside, it is a classic and stars John Wayne along with Dean Martin and Ricky Nelson.
I Love You, Man (2009) – RTE2 – Saturday 18th 10.10pm
Friendless Peter Klaven goes on a series of man-dates to find a Best Man for his wedding. But, when his insta-bond with his new B.F.F. puts a strain on his relationship with his fiancée, can the trio learn to live happily ever after?
Paul Rudd and Jason Segel are great in this bromantic comedy from director John Hamburg, the writer of Zoolander and Meet The Parents. It also has J.K. Simmons and he is just great. Not a bad way to spend a Saturday night.
The Negotiator (1998) – Film 4 – Sunday 19th 10.50pm
In a desperate attempt to prove his innocence, a skilled police negotiator accused of corruption and murder takes hostages in a government office to gain the time he needs to find the truth.
Kevin Spacey and Samuel L. Jackson star in this silly but enjoyable hostage action thriller. It is in no way as good as Dog Day Afternoon but it is certainly better than John Q. That’s the scale on which all hostage films are ranked. David Morse is in it too, and he’s way cool.
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