The good, the bad, and the overrated – cinema in 2008

Tue, Dec 23, 2008

Well, you win some and you lose some. That is the way life goes. Unfortunately it is no different in the world of cinematic glory, you have to take the good with the bad, and as cinema reviewer for the Galway Advertiser I have seen it all. So here is my list for the best, the worst, and the most overrated and underappreciated films of 2008.

The Best

First 2009, then onwards to Alpha Centauri

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

SINCE TIME immemorial, humans have asked ‘Are we alone?’ and have looked to the heavens and beyond in search of an answer. Out there in the cosmos, other, very different, forms of life may live on yet undiscovered planets.

Lots of comedy crackers at The Comedy Club in Cuba*

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

THE AMERICAN newspaper columnist and author Bill Vaughan once wrote about the Christmas and New Year period: “The optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.”

The Datsuns to play Róisín Dubh

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

NEW ZEALAND is famous for its rugby team - the All-Blacks inspiring fear and respect in opponents the world over. Yet the country is no slouch either when it comes to producing good music.

Panto season rolls into Galway for Christmas

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

CHRISTMAS TIME in Galway means it’s pantomime time and no Galway Christmas is complete without the Renmore Pantomime and a show from the Performing Arts School Galway.

Michael Flatley to ‘lord’ it in Castlebar

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

MICHAEL FLATLEY will bring his Lord Of The Dance show to The Royal Castlebar on Saturday January 3 to Thursday 8.

Flatley was taught his first Irish dancing steps at the age of four by his maternal grandmother who was a champion Irish dancer. At 17 he became the first American to win the title of World Irish Dancing Champion.

Dance review: Youth Ballet West, Town Hall Theatre

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

YOUTH BALLET West imparted a warm Christmassy glow to the Town Hall on Sunday last with their delightful production of Nutcracker Suite and Divertissements, which marked the culmination of the company’s first year in existence.

Two chances to see Sharon Shannon

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

SHARON SHANNON must be the hardest working woman in Irish music and she is set to continue that over Christmas with two major shows in the west of Ireland.

Indian music concert

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

INDIAN FUSION group Bahh will perform a solstice celebration concert in the Spirit Centre, Nuns Island, this Sunday.

A ceremony to honour the solstice will start shortly after 4pm, followed by music from Bahh, Christmas tales, and refreshments. The event is by donation only.

Niall Connolly to launch new album in The Crane

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

THE CORK singer-songwriter Niall Connolly will launch his new album Be There If I Have To Swim in The Crane Bar, Sea Road, tomorrow at 9pm.

Spend Christmas with Disconnect 4

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

THE EXCELLENT Galway synth-rock band Disconnect 4 will be playing a number of gigs in Galway city throughout the Christmas period.

Fundraising gig for Simon Community @ Cuba*

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

GALWAY BANDS Mugger Dave, Voodoo Fire in Haiti, and Hombre will play a charity gig to raise funds for the Galway Simon Community on Monday in Cuba*Live.

Rockers Mugger Dave are busy putting the finishing touches to their debut album, the follow-up to last year’s EP Girly No 1. Expect to hear new material from the upcoming album.

Christmas weekender with Donal Dineen and Fish Go Deep

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

CORK’S FINEST - Donal Dineen and Fish Go Deep - are heading to Galway to play the Christmas Weekender in the Cellar Underground tomorrow and Saturday.

Blues Connection return

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

BLUES CONNECTION are back and will play a free gig at The Warwick Hotel, Salthill, on Monday.

GPO Christmas party tonight

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

THE GPO will hold its Christmas party tonight and will be giving away 500 free copies of a 1990s Mix CD from DJ Ferg for the first 500 through the door.

Saw Doctors winners

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

The five winners of The Saw Doctors’ Live At The Melody Tent album and Clare Island To Cape Cod DVD were: Peter Lyons, Ballybane; Fiona Cannon, Athenry; John Byrne, Ballinasloe; Helen Jennings, Athenry; Mary McGarry, Loughrea.

Remembering the Gibraltar killings

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

AN EPIC poem, which fiercely and fearlessly attacked the system that cloaked the murder of three IRA members by British security forces in Gibraltar in March 1988, is to be republished.

Exhibitions review: Impressions and Norman Ackroyd

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

THE GALWAY Arts Centre’s visual arts programme is ending the year on a double-high with presentations of the annual group print show Impressions - at 47 Dominick Street - and a superb solo show, Irish Etchings, by renowned English artist Norman Ackroyd at the Galway City Museum.

Alien invasion remake fails to make its impact

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

Although I have never actually seen the original of The Day The Earth Stood Still, word has it that the remake, which is in theatres now, could have been worse, but that it also could have been a lot better. Robert Wise's 1951 original, based on the Harry Bates short story Farewell to the Master, saw a lone spaceship landed in President’s Park in Washington, DC on “a mission of goodwill”. It was ground-breaking in its day and in that era of curiosity, became an instant classic. In the remake, a massive futuristic globe (kudos go out to the computer-generated techies who worked on this version of the film) descends upon New York's Central Park and out pops a representative of an alien race named Klaatu (Keanu Reeves) and his trusty sidekick robot, an Oscar-esque titanium figure who is eventually given the acronym name GORT (Genetically Organised Robotic Technology). Immediately we know we’re about to embark on a film that, having long surpassed its sell-out date in the believability department, can only be described as cheesy.

Der Baader-Meinhof Complex at The Eye

Thu, Dec 18, 2008

DER BAADER-Meinhof Complex, the Golden Globe nominated German film, will be screened in The Eye Cinema in Wellpark from tomorrow.

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