REVIEW: Whatever works

The latest comedy from movie making machine Woody Allen has been quite well anticipated. Those of you familiar with the early Allen masterpieces will have mixed feelings about Whatever Works and needless to say, expectations are equally as uneasy. Set in New York, none other than Allen’s favourite filmic city, this typically dark and off-beat comedy centres on misanthrope Boris Yellnikoff. It is difficult to see how Allen’s claims that he no longer casts himself in his films are true, because in Boris there are all the elements of characters that Allen has previously played.

BY LAURA SHEARER

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REVIEW: Lebanon

‘Lebanon’ is the feature film debut of Samuel Maoz, who served in the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Based on his own experiences of the first day of the conflict, it took its director 25 years to bring himself to finally complete the script. Watching the film, it becomes exceedingly clear why it took its writer-director so long to complete.

BY MATTHEW MCKERNAN

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ARTS: The Godfather returns to the QFT

Family, honour, betrayal, corruption, love and loss.

These are just a few of the many challenging themes running through Francis Ford Coppola’s outstanding adaption of Mario Puzo’s classic novel. The Godfather has been proclaimed by critics and movie goers alike to be the greatest film ever made. And now 37 years after its initial release, this popularity shows no sign of waning.

BY JASON GAMBLE

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REVIEW: (500) Days of Summer

What did you think of the last line? Have your say!

Deemed to be original and true to life, I found this film a massive cliché, bar a few scenes in the middle which kept me tuned in. There is nothing sadder than unrequited love, and yeah, it happens in real life and not so much in the cinema. However, I found so many aspects of the film extremely try-hard and there was such an effort to be “cool” being made the whole way through. Funny how they were both big Smiths fans, and not Britney fans (for want of a better example).

BY CATHERINE WYLIE

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ARTS: Try the QFT

Fancy a trip to the cinema uninterrupted by the slurping of drinks and munching of popcorn? Want to challenge your mind beyond what the latest generic rom-com instalment at the average multiplex can offer? For a cinematic experience unparalleled in the rest of Belfast, QFT is a haven from the moment of entry. Surrounded by framed black and white images of scenes from classic movies, it’s clear that QFT is a movie lovers’ cinema, for appreciators of the pure exhilaration and joy brought by a good film.

Emma Creen

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