December 20, 2021

Best 10 of the year

2021 was a bad year for cinemas but a fine year for films. Here's my top 10 that were released in Ireland in 2021. Please don't well actually me about the release dates. I really don't care :D

Riders Of Justice

My favourite film of the year so far. An exceedingly dark Danish family/comedy/gangster thriller about the aftermath of a disaster that's filled with moments that would appall you while making you snort laughing. Mads Mikkelsen is perfect in it.

Arracht

Hunger and frustration end in tragedy and a man has to go on the run in the west of Ireland during an Gorta Mór. Eventually he finds something to live for. A powerful and moody Irish drama that doesn't go for easy targets.

Hunter Hunter

A vicious and well crafted survival horror with a final shot that would haunt your dreams for days after. Those dreams we've all had of leaving everything behind and going to live off the grid. Yeah... they'll dissipate fast after this.

Quo Vadis, Aida

A look at the 1995 Srebrenica massacre from the POV of a UN translator trying to save her family. A haunting, brilliantly acted look at a horrifying time, that thankfully leaves all the brutality to your imagination. Which somehow makes it even worse. Jasna Đuričić's performance is a stunner.

The Kid Detective

Abe Applebaum. Kid Detective. A hero as a child. A disaster as an adult. A darkly funny mystery about the failures that haunt us and keep us in a state of arrested development. A genuine surprise. Adam Brody will blow you away.

Old Henry

Henry and his son help a wounded man they find on their farm. A wounded man being chased by men who underestimate Old Henry. A slowburn western that will leave fans of the genre absolutely buzzing. Tim Blake Nelson is amazing in the eponymous role.

Censor

A woman working for the British Board Of Censorship during the Video nasty moral panic finds her life bleeding into her job and vice-versa. Niamh Algar is great in a psychological horror that's obviously a labour of love for director Prano Bailey-Bond.

Blue Bayou

Antoine is a Korean American who's naturalisation paperwork was never fixed and now he faced deportation from the land he calls home. A brutally upsetting indictment of the so called American dream. Justin Chon and Alicia Vikander are aces here.

The Boys From County Hell

Bags of cans. Bulls. Impalement. Immigration. Bleeding eyeballs. That one head the ball we all grew up with. Oh and vampires. An Irish comedy horror that's both hilarious and absolutely terrifying. One I'd have loved to have seen in a packed cinema. 

Passing

The story of two light skinned Black women in the 1920's who can pass for white and the heartache they face when their lies are found out. A beautiful looking but heartwrenching look at the absolute pointlessness of bigotry. Ruth Negga and Tessa Thompson are stunning here.

Almost

Shiva Baby

A Jewish family gathering turns into the most stressful 78 minutes of the year. Oh man. OH MAN. Do not watch if tight spaces bother you.

Night In Paradise

A Korean hitman broken by collateral damage teams up with a woman who's given up on life. Things get wildly violent. But you'll really want to go to Korea after it too. The oddest love letter to a place you'll see.

The Empty Man

Mountaineers uncover something eerie in the Himalayas. Years later that something starts causing others to go kinda crazy. An unsettling and very successful horror that totally failed to find an audience.

Fried Barry

An oddball gets kidnapped by aliens and dumped back on the streets of Jo'Burg. Odd, weird, baffling, disgusting, exhilarating.

The worst

Be Good Or Be Gone

I can't. It's just awful. Trust me.


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