New To View At A Screen Near You: December 13th 2013

Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is the big opener this week, with almost all studios avoiding releasing anything lest it be crushed by the Hobbit juggernaut. But if you are to venture out for a new release this week what can you expect?

Movie of the Week:The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

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The second part of Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug picks up immediately after the events of An Unexpected Journey, as Bilbo Baggins, the wizard Gandalf, and 12 dwarves make their way to the Misty Mountain to reclaim their kingdom from a mighty dragon. Consensus amongst Irish film critics is that this is a superior film to An Unexpected Journey, with our own Paul giving the film 5 stars while calling it a big, strong, spectacular blockbuster. Alan Corr at RTÉ Ten concurs with Paul’s 5, while Brogen Hayes, Gavin Burke at Entertainment.ie, and Donald Clarke at The Irish Times plump for 3.

The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug is screening at cinemas nationwide.

Worthy of Attention: Cinema Paradiso

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Giuseppe Tornatore’s classic ode to cinema gets a cinematic re-release to celebrate its 25th Anniversary. Regarded as the greatest European film of the last 25 years, the film centres on a filmmaker who  recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village’s theatre and formed a deep friendship with the theatre’s projectionist. The film has not be rereviewed for its release but Roger Ebert put it best when he said “Anyone who loves movies is likely to love Cinema Paradiso.”

Cinema Paradiso is showing at the Light House Cinema, Dublin.

Worthy of Attention: Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story

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Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story is a documentary that depicts one man’s wild, lifelong adventure of testing societal boundaries through his use of subversive art. The film won best documentary at 2013’s Jameson Dublin International Film Festival and Brogen Hayes gave it 5 stars as a wonderful examination of love, fear, paranoia and glee. State agrees calling the film “a magical jaunt through the 20th century” and Entertainment.ie bestows 3.5 stars, deeming the film “never short of entertaining”.

Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story is screening at the IFI, Dublin.