Side Door Cinema

2015 has a movie agenda bigger than any in recent memory. It is a year of the biggest tent-pole releases imaginable. Pages upon pages will be dedicated to Avengers 2, Spectre, Mad Max: Fury Road, Mockingjay Part 2, a little something called Star Wars… to name but a few. Enough will be written about each of these. There are many other releases scheduled that may slip under the radar but might just prove to be the real triumphs. I am going to tentatively suggest six that may be worth keeping…read more

Some films won’t let go easily. They pierce and resonate; asking questions, stirring emotions and sometimes even provoking responses long after the credits roll. Two films released last year that fall into this category for me are Calvary and Short Term 12. Both are low budget, independent films that punch hard and above their weight. Calvary is a profound Irish commentary from writer and director John Michael McDonagh (The Guard). It’s a dark comedy drama that offers a troubling moral and theological investigation. Brendan Gleeson, who gives a fierce central…read more