Latest news with #15A
Irish Examiner
18 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Examiner
Film reviews: Liam Neeson and Pamela Anderson head up the newest Naked Gun romp
From the (updated) files of Police Squad comes The Naked Gun (15A), arguably the most unnecessary but definitely the funniest of this summer's long litany of remakes and reboots. Liam Neeson stars as Detective Frank Drebin, the son of the original one-man-disaster Frank Drebin (who was played by Leslie Nielsen), and the apple hasn't fallen far from the tree: when Frank Jnr breaks up a bank robbery with rather too much enthusiasm, he finds himself busted down to traffic cop and held responsible for the likely dissolution of Police Squad. But when Beth Davenport (Pamela Anderson) beseeches Frank to investigate what she believes to be the murder of her brother Simon, Frank quickly discovers a link between Beth's tragedy, the bank robbery, and tech genius Richard Cane (Danny Huston), the CEO of Eden Tech who is plotting a diabolical scheme to reduce the human race to rage-fuelled animals with a Primordial Law of Toughness (i.e., P.L.O.T.) device. Pamela Anderson and Liam Neeson arriving for the UK premiere of The Naked Gun at Cineworld Leicester Square, central London. Picture date: Tuesday July 22, 2025. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Ian West/PA Wire If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and writer-director Akiva Schaffer doesn't try to meddle with the formula: The Naked Gun isn't so much a movie as it is a series of brief comedy sketches featuring slapstick, visual gags, overly literal wordplay and pratfalls, with the occasional nod to the original movies to keep the trainspotters happy. The craggy-featured Liam Neeson is perfectly cast as the deadpan Frank, Danny Huston oozes villainy through every pore, and the Pamela Anderson renaissance continues apace with her delicately winsome take on the damsel in distress. The story delights in spoofing the conventions of hardboiled noir, and particularly when it comes to Neeson's gravelly voiceover, but if there's a complaint (there's always a complaint), it's that the script doesn't quite match the quality of the comic performances, delivering giggles and chuckles rather than laugh-out-loud moments. That said, it's a rare blast of uncomplicated fun, with Neeson having a whale of a time parodying his tough guy persona. Floria (Leonie Benesch) a dedicated nurse, tirelessly serves in an understaffed hospital ward in Late Shift. Late Shift ★★★★☆ Cinematic release Set in a Swiss hospital, Late Shift (12A) opens with nurse Floria Lind (Leonie Benesch) arriving at work to discover that her ward is short-staffed and that she, Bea (Sonja Riesen) and student nurse Amelie (Selma Jamal Aldin) are expected to manage an almost full ward. So begins a stress-inducing paean to the virtually impossible task of modern nursing: we follow Floria on her rounds as she caters to patients in varying states of health – some simply waiting for test results, others waiting to die – in a masterclass in multi-tasking. Effortlessly competent, always upbeat and smiling (no matter the personal cost), Floria juggles a host of roles, which include dispensing a dizzying variety of drugs, with a robotic-like efficiency that masks a bedrock of kindness. It's an utterly absorbing emotional rollercoaster, with potential disaster lurking around every corner, awaiting a single mistake from Floria – given a beautifully understated reading by Leonie Benesch – and her overworked colleagues. Heidi: Rescue of the Lynx Heidi: Rescue of the Lynx ★★★☆☆ Cinematic release Heidi: The Rescue of the Lynx (G) opens in an idyllic world of snowy peaks, flower-dotted meadows, St. Bernards and alpenhorns, where the mischievous, fun-loving Heidi (voiced by Lilly Graffam) lives with her gruff but kindly Grandfather (Tom Zahner). The arrival of Mr Schnaittinger (Michael McCown), a captain of industry who has plans to drag their village into the modern age with a new sawmill, coincides with Heidi rescuing a lynx kitten that has become separated from its mother. Can the two events be connected? An animation aimed at the very young, this is a colourful, sprightly affair set against a gorgeous backdrop. The message is an admirable plea for conservation – the despoliation caused by Schnaittinger's other sawmill on the far side of the mountain has driven the mother lynx to prey on the village's livestock – and younger viewers will likely thrill to Heidi's irreverent sense of fun and her heartfelt love of the natural world.
Irish Times
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Modigliani: Three Days on the Wing of Madness review – Is Johnny Depp's film a dud or a masterpiece? Prepare for disappointing news
Modigliani: Three Days on the Wing of Madness Director : Johnny Depp Cert : 15A Starring : Riccardo Scamarcio, Antonia Desplat, Bruno Gouery, Ryan McParland, Al Pacino, Stephen Graham, Luisa Ranieri Running Time : 1 hr 48 mins Large portions of the online population are, no doubt, greatly invested in Johnny Depp 's study of Amedeo Modigliani turning out to be a rampaging dud. Just as many – the section that tweeted swooning support during that court case – will have already decided it's the greatest masterpiece this side of Battleship Potemkin. I have disappointing news for both factions: the film will just about do. Three Days on the Wing of Madness (the title alone had me fanning a sweaty brow before the titles rolled) certainly has its moment of adolescent indulgence. Yes, there is a scene in which the artist takes loads of drugs – booze laced with hash and mushrooms – in a graveyard while fireworks clatter overhead. But brief research confirms that Modì, as he was to pals, did indeed indulge in what the Garda calls cannabis resin. True, Depp does manage to insinuate The Black Angel's Death Song, by The Velvet Underground, on to the soundtrack. But everyone does that sort of thing these days. It's 20 years since Sofia Coppola had Marie Antoinette promenade to New Order. So Three Days is no great shakes, but it is rarely embarrassing either. Adapted from a play by Dennis McIntyre – one that the movie's costar Al Pacino has been seeking to film for 50 years – the feature goes among Modigliani and his pals in an idealised Paris at the height of the first World War. READ MORE Riccardo Scamarcio , a big star in Italy, is well cast as a charmer whose self-belief is as much a professional handicap as it is an artistic accelerant. When Pacino's grand art dealer scorns Modì's paintings but offers a small fortune for a sculptured head, the dissolute genius turns him down flat. Not for sale. [ 'As Johnny Depp says, if Pacino comes to you and says do something it's better you do it' Opens in new window ] Ryan McParland is gaunt as Modì's friend and rival Chaïm Soutine. (The two painted well-known portraits of each other.) Stephen Graham has gruff fun with the influential dealer Léopold Zborowski. Antonia Desplat just about makes Beatrice Hastings, the English-born writer, poet and lover to Modì, come alive, despite underwritten dialogue. The more it goes on the clearer it becomes that, though Depp no doubt admires Modigliani's work, his real passion here is for the eternally intoxicating fantasy of Parisian bohemia. Scamarcio could be any of the thousand geniuses whose absinthe consumption condemned them to early death in the tenements of Montmartre. But that myth remains attractive for a reason. The romance still has purchase even in an entertainment as slight as this. In cinemas from Friday, July 11th
