Killing Them Softly is disquieting and quietly brilliant, writes Kellie Morrissey.      To describe Killing Them Softly in terms of its component parts is to ruin it, really – hitmen? Brad Pitt? Knocked-over card games? Tarantino comparisons? It sounds cheesy, it sounds bombastic, it sounds positively mob-like – with Ray Liotta and James Gandolfini in…

There’s some charm left in the ‘manic pixie dream girl’ stereotype, writes Susan O’Sullivan.      This feature presentation has been brought to us by the directors of the stunning Little Miss Sunshine, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. While Ruby Sparks is not quite as invigorating as their 2006 classic, it is anchored by the same…

I thought I walked Cathal Dennehy finds Lawless ultimately disappointing.      Australian director John Hillcoat returns with Lawless, the story of the Bondurant brothers who ran a successful bootlegging racket in 1930s Virginia. Coming on the wave of considerable hype (including calls for Tom Hardy to be given an Oscar for this performance on the…

Film and TV Editor Kellie Morrissey welcomes back the newest incarnation of the Judge.      Comparisons to the 1995 Sly Stallone version are trite and irrelevant – Dredd impresses and does so without the need for a two-and-a-half hour long plot whose third act consists of crashing skyscrapers and big explosions. It does so without…

While the start of term isn’t the best time to hit the couch with a DVD boxset, Emmet Curtin explores the best options available – without having to revert to Home & Away.      Frasier: Psychiatrist Dr. Frasier Crane leaves Boston after his divorce from his wife Lilith, and returns to his hometown of Seattle….