Featuring: Barry Ward, Simone Kirby, Jim Norton, Andrew Scott, Brian F. O’Byrne
Director: Ken Loach
Screenwriter: Paul Laverty
Movie Website: www.facebook.com/JimmysHallFilm

2014-15 Lotterywest Perth Film Festival season dates:
Somerville: 19-25 Jan, 8pm
Joondalup Pines: 27 Jan-1 Feb, 8pm

Reviewer: rolanstein
Verdict: Enjoyable, beautifully shot and well performed, but undermined by a propagandist element that detracts from the humanism of the piece.

Review:
The focus of director Ken Loach throughout his long filmmaking career has been the fight of the battler to rise above the indignity and misery of exploitation and economic disempowerment through spirit, humour and the support of a working class community bound by shared values. This tale of Jimmy Gralton, the only Irishman to have been deported from Ireland, is typical Loach fare. Continue reading Jimmy’s Hall movie review →

Featuring: Paul Brannigan, John Henshaw, Siobhan Reilly, Gary Maitland, Jasmin Riggins, William Ruane, Roger Allam
Director: Ken Loach
Writer: Paul Laverty
Website:
Australian release date: 3-9 December (Somerville, Perth)
Reviewer: rolanstein (one-word verdict: engaging)

Story:
Robbie (Paul Brannigan), a Glaswegian petty crim with a history of violence, is introduced to the finer points of whisky by his kind-hearted community service officer, Harry (John Henshaw), and discovers he has an extraordinary palate. Teaming up with a motley crew of fellow offenders, Robbie masterminds an audacious heist, the object being the contents of the only existing barrel of one of the world’s most prized and valuable single malts.

Review:
Last week I caught Ken Loach’s The Angel’s Share at Joondalup’s excellent open-air venue for the Perth 2012-13 Lotterywest Festival Films program. Joondalup’s site is smaller and more intimate than the Somerville. Don’t hesitate to check it out if you’re in the mood for outdoor cinema – and with last week’s unseasonably squally weather a fading memory, why wouldn’t you be?

The movie switches to Somerville this week, running from 3–9 December, commencing 8pm. Gotta dash this review down in haste, then, if it’s to be up in time to persuade you teeming hordes of Boomtown Rap faithfuls to make the effort to see this one before it finishes. Which you should! This will come as a surprise to regular readers of my reviews who might recall that Loach is not one of my favourite directors – I have to report that this is a little charmer of a flick. Continue reading The Angel’s Share Movie Review →