Calvary

[RAZORBACK]

Really enjoyed John Michael McDonagh's 'The Guard' (which also starred Brendan Gleeson) so I'm looking forward to catching this next weekend ...

[Beate]

How boring was that? I had a good sleep. 5/10

[RAZORBACK]

How boring was that? I had a good sleep. 5/10

Out of interest, have you seen 'The Guard' and if so did you like it?

[Beate]

Yes and I did (gave it a 7.5/10) though I can't remember much about it three years later.

[The Sparrow]

Powerful, gripping and disturbing film. Terrific cast.

[RevKeith39]

At what point does the scandal of the paedophile Roman Catholic priests descend into cliche? Answer? By the end of this film! And that's a tough choice to call, as most other Irish stereotypes are present here; there's the assistant priest who, like Dougal in Father Ted, will never make it, there's the village idiot who can't find a girl [not difficult as there aren't any in the village!] so decides to sign up in the Army, there's the millionaire drinking himself to stupor, and at the centre of it all the formerly-married-so has-daughter-who-self-harms-and-has-drink-problem priest. There are admittedly several new Irish characters; a nymphomaniac coke-snorter, a Ugandan car mechanic, a joint-smoking and baseball bat-wielding publican, a creepy atheist medic, a gay police chief, and a pseudo-American rent boy. If that sounds like a recipe for a barrel of laughs, you'd be wrong. The film is dour and overlong. The scenery is gorgeous, if you like barren & windswept, and the acting is excellent throughout. But the message seems to be, Ireland is a mess because of the Church and the Banks. There's a stab at 'forgiveness' at the end, but too little too late.

6.5/10

[ladybye]

Great movie, great cast. I really enjoyed it. The sets were amazing too.

[Ms Thrifty]

Impressive, but dark and very sobering. I had some idea what to expect in terms of tone, but even so, I think MM is getting ever more sombre and despondent. 8/10 from me but I could really have done with something uplifting or escapist just now, and this certainly wasn't it!

[stuartboy]

Voucher-worthy?

Edinburgh Picturehouse - Cameo elected to show this in the afternoon as a pa*d performance. Typical Edinburgh - we needed something after the fiasco that was Noah's Ark last night.

Is this worth spending a voucher on?

[Ms Thrifty]

Voucher-worthy?

Edinburgh Picturehouse - Cameo elected to show this in the afternoon as a pa*d performance. Typical Edinburgh - we needed something after the fiasco that was Noah's Ark last night.

Is this worth spending a voucher on?

For one thing, I wouldn't rush to see this before it opened simply because it's still nearly 2 weeks until the release so there might yet be more previews.

For another, though I'm glad to have seen it, so far as recommending it goes, it depends on your personal taste and what sort of mood you're in or film you fancy - if you know and like the writer's earlier work, sure, give it a go, but if not, and/or you are looking for something cheerful or wholly humorous, maybe pick a different film.