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One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest – Having learned that I had never seen this classic, my boyfriend made it his mission to sit me down and educate me. I resisted at first, but god, it’s a bloody great film. Jack Nicholson is dangerously charismatic and Danny DeVito is hilarious in his first major movie role.
Anatomy of a Fall – Winner of Best Original Screenplay at last year’s Academy Awards, Anatomy of a Fall will leave you with niggling doubts you can’t quite shake, but that’s half the fun. Sandra Hüller stars as a woman suspected of murdering her husband; their half-blind son faces a moral dilemma as the main witness.
Perfect Days – This is a film about a single man who cleans toilets in Tokyo for a living. It doesn’t sound like much, but there’s a message in the mundanity and Hirayama’s quiet contentment with life is something we should all aspire to. Give this one your full attention to really appreciate it.
The Holdovers – Set at Christmastime, you might write this off as just another festive flick but it’s holding strong as one of my favourite new releases of 2023. Everything from the 70s-style aesthetic to the casting and soundtrack is pitch-perfect. I wish I could rewatch this one for the first time.
I recently saw The Holdovers and I thought it was going to be your typical feel-good film, where a teacher helps a troubled kid find the right path – but to my surprise, it was so much more than that. Part of this is its star-studded cast featuring Cinderella Man‘s Paul Giamatti, Tony Award nominee Da’Vine Joy Randolph and newcomer Dominic Sessa, who really do work their magic on screen not just pulling your heartstrings but prickling annoyance, anger and frustration as well. They’ve all experienced trauma first-hand so watching them come together is charmingly awkward – I was rooting for each of them. I would definitely recommend it and it’s now a favourite film for the Christmas rotation.
If we’re talking about my go-to feel-good films, my favourites are always The Princess Bride (I quote this movie on a daily basis; it’s iconic!) – and my childhood favourites: She’s The Man and The Princess Diaries always make me laugh, even on my worst day.
Joyride on Netflix it is a TOTAL feel good, TOTAL tonic of a film, I laughed and cried at the unexpected and spectacular storyline. Starring Olivia Colman, Charlie Reid, and Lochlann O’Mearáin, the Irish comedy-drama follows a young man as he steals a car to flee from his corrupt father, finding a single mother and newborn baby inside. They hit the road with a shared goal: escape.
The first time I saw The Magdalene Sisters, I was a much-too-young primary school student off sick and channel surfing, and I hadn’t quite been able to bring myself to watch it again until earlier this week, and I couldn’t recommend rewatching it enough. Set in 1964, the film follows three young Irish women who have been sent to the laundries. It tracks the suffering they endure, and is a very harrowing yet powerful watch.
Another recommendation that was recently made available on the RTÉ iPlayer is Stolen, a documentary on the mother and baby homes that chronicles eyewitness accounts of the evil enacted within and by these places, and details how the State has failed and betrayed innocent people again and again. It’s heartbreaking and hard to watch at times, but it’s important and essential viewing.
On a lighter note, recent cinema excursions included Inside Out 2 and Longlegs, which are two recommendations that are entirely at odds with one another. The former is a wholesome family (read: children’s) film that will have you welling up at this animated little girl experiencing the new emotions that come with puberty for the first time, while the latter will leave you feeling more than a little unsettled. It’s like a less iconic Silence of the Lambs, but it’s definitely worth a watch.
I absolutely loved Anatomy of a Fall which I watched on a plane recently. I was totally swept up in the ‘whodunnit ‘storyline of a husband who is discovered dead after a suspicious fall from a window and his wife who later stands trial for his murder but insists it was a suicide. Their warts and all relationship is at the heart of the story and the acting really is sensational. Brutally human and with plenty of twists and turns, this is a great watch.
There are two films I always go back to no matter what mood I’m in. One is a classic and the other is a newbie! In my eyes Clueless is a classic ‘90s chick flick and one that never gets old! I dream about Cher’s virtual wardrobe on a daily basis.
The newbie on the scene is Anyone But You starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell. I would be embarrassed to tell you how many times I have watched it in the last few months! If you’re looking for an enemies to lovers storyline, this one’s for you. This movie, a glass of wine and some nibbles is perfection!
I am a self-proclaimed movie lover! There’s genuinely nothing I love more than sitting down and watching a good movie, whether it’s brand new or I’ve seen it 100 times. My go-to favourite comfort movie has to be Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel. His quirky direction style, use of stunning visuals, and a stacked cast of captivating actors never fails to put a smile on my face. It’s a timeless classic that I would recommend to anyone.
If I’m in the mood to watch a series of movies I will without fail binge watch The Lord of the Rings. It’s such a brilliant story that is adapted so well from the books, with amazing cinematography and CGI that stands to this day. Finally, my all time favourite girl power movie is The Devil Wears Prada. I mean, Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, and amazing fashion? What’s not to love!
Whenever I’m sick, I always go back to The Lord of the Rings! I’ll lie on the couch and watch them back to back—they never get old. One of my all-time favourite comedy/romance movies is Love, Rosie; it takes me through every emotion. I love movies based on true stories, and I really enjoyed these relatively recent releases: The Boys in the Boat, Nyad, and Arthur the King. For a classic thriller, Seven with Brad Pitt is brilliant.