irish times movie review

Barbie review: Margot Robbie is explosive in Greta Gerwig’s lurid assault on senses

The screenplay is positively philosophical at times, as a self-conscious plot spins ever deeper into creative absurdity.

Ryan Gosling as Ken and Margot Robbie as Barbie. Photograph: Warner Bros Pictures

In The Sting, a distinction is made between an everyday piddling backstreet hustle and the fabled “big con”. This is an operation that costs a great deal of money, involves much expertise and employs many talented actors. George Roy Hill’s 1973 film doesn’t endorse the big con, but it admires the invention and ingenuity involved.

There is nothing piddling or backstreet about Greta Gerwig ’s rambunctiously lurid assault on senses you didn’t know you possessed. And there is certainly more to Barbie than an act of deceit. The film is much concerned with a sincere effort to interrogate the continuing frustrations of growing up female amid a still-unapologetic patriarchy.

Margot Robbie , explosive throughout as the “stereotypical” Barbie, gets to act out some of those concerns as a self-conscious plot spins ever deeper into creative absurdity. But it is America Ferrera, playing a citizen of the real(ish) world, who connects most explicitly with the film’s key concerns.

Deep into the confused last act, she delivers a speech that, in remarkably clear-eyed fashion, addresses all the hypocritical paradoxes that pester girls as they pass towards womanhood. You can never do enough, but everything is your fault. You are expected not to get old, but you’re not allowed to complain when you do. Arriving in a film so drenched in irony – positively drowning in the stuff – the monologue seems all the more bracing. This Barbie is definitely about something.

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And yet. There remains a nagging awareness that the screenplay, by the director and Noah Baumbach , is wrapping this discourse around an advertisement for a multinational toy empire that makes billions flogging girls unattainable models of femininity.

Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie in Barbie. Photograph: Warner Bros Pictures

Does the film address this? Naturally. Gerwig and Baumbach are among the smartest American film-makers working today. In the opening scenes we hear that “thanks to Barbie” all problems have been solved. You can be Dr Barbie. You can be President Barbie. It’s all a bitter gag, of course. When we meet the fictional board of Mattel, the company that has manufactured the doll since 1959, we find each member a flat-faced bloke. “I’m a man with no power. Does that make me a woman?” one says.

So it’s as much an attack on Barbie as it is a celebration. Right? Well, not really. The product has been on everyone’s lips for the past year. Every promotion for the film is also a promotion for the toy. That comparison with the big con is not entirely fanciful. It’s also not entirely a criticism. Like the fanciest of scams, Barbie is carried off with a conviction that deserves sustained applause and occasional loud hoots.

The film begins in a plastic world apparently fashioned from giant versions of Mattel’s products. The swimming pool is painted over. The cars move without a noise. Just about every woman is a Barbie. Just about every man is a Ken (the most stereotypical of whom is played with bodacious idiocy by Ryan Gosling ).

[  Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling on Barbie: ‘I remember thinking, I’m never going to live this down’  ]

[  Barbie girls - and boys - think pink at film’s Irish premiere in Dublin  ]

The too-perfect world shudders when – this is not really a kids’ film – our main Barbie contemplates death and finds her body taking on hitherto unfamiliar human traits. She travels to fleshy Los Angeles and is shocked to find no replica of the idyllic gynocracy from which she has just emerged.

The screenplay is positively philosophical at times, drawing distinctions between Barbie as individual and Barbie (or maybe “Barbie”) as genus. But there are also deranged car chases, game comedy routines and musical numbers that gesture to Bob Fosse. And there are moments of raw emotion – not least those involving Rhea Perlman as a reincarnation of the doll’s creator. So, yes, this strange, strange film is a big con, but it’s one you can’t help tipping a pink cowboy hat towards.

Who would have thought it would contain more existential musings on death than we find in Oppenheimer ?

[  Oppenheimer: Cillian Murphy gives a commanding turn. But why is Florence Pugh reduced to Crazy Naked Chick?  ]

Donald Clarke

Donald Clarke, a contributor to The Irish Times, is Chief Film Correspondent and a regular columnist

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The Quiet Girl review – deeply moving tale of rural Ireland already feels like a classic

A silent child is sent away to live with foster parents on a farm in this gem of a film from first-time feature director Colm Bairéad

T his beautiful and compassionate film from first-time feature director Colm Bairéad, based on the novella Foster by Claire Keegan , is a child’s-eye look at our fallen world; already it feels to me like a classic. There’s a lovely scene in which the “quiet girl” of the title, 10-year-old Cáit (played by newcomer Catherine Clinch), is reading Heidi before bedtime, and this movie, for all its darkness and suppressed pain, has the solidity, clarity and storytelling gusto of that old-fashioned Alpine children’s tale – about the little girl sent away to live in a beautiful place with her grandfather.

The setting is the early 80s, in a part of County Waterford where Irish is mostly spoken (subtitled in English). Cáit is a withdrawn little kid, one of many siblings, always wandering off on her own over the farmland: the opening shot of her is a deception of sorts, hinting at a chilling destiny. Cáit is often wide-eyed, silent and watchful, to the irritation of her exhausted and now once-again heavily pregnant mother (Kate Nic Chonaonaigh) and her thuggish, abusive and hungover dad (Michael Patric). Naturally without telling Cáit or being mindful of her feelings in any way, her parents decide they need a break from looking after her and pack the girl off for the summer to her mother’s cousin Eibhlín (Carrie Crowley) and her taciturn farmer husband Seán (Andrew Bennett), whose vastly more prosperous and better-run smallholding infuriates Cáit’s sullen dad when he drives up in his car to drop her off. He can hardly summon the good manners to make conversation before getting back in his car to drive back home and in his boorish haste, he has a lapse of memory which is to have serious consequences for Cáit’s new life.

Crowley and Bennett give heart-wrenchingly excellent performances as the unhappy, childless couple who have taken Cáit in: particularly Crowley as Eibhlín, a well-bred, intelligent, elegant woman who is brightly engaged with the child as no one has ever been in her life. But Cáit is quick to understand that they have a “secret”, which her sneering father already seems to know about.

As this long, hot summer progresses with the endlessness of childhood, Kate McCullough’s superb cinematography and Emma Lowney’s production design create a magically beautiful new world for Cáit to feel at once threatened and exalted by: almost every shot is a vividly composed, painterly gem. Above all, there is a mysterious artificial rainwater pond in surrounding woodland which Eibhlín says has supernatural powers. A vinegary tang of black comedy and cynicism is provided by neighbour Úna (a terrific performance from Joan Sheehy) who looks after Cáit one afternoon and brutally tells the girl all about what her foster parents aren’t telling her – and Bairéad cleverly allows you to suspect that Eibhlín wanted Úna to shoulder the awful burden of revealing this. Cáit’s quietness is perhaps the quietness of an abuse victim, or perhaps the quietness of a clever person who knows that not talking is the way to survive. As Seán tells her: “Many’s the person missed the opportunity to say nothing.” And when Cáit returns home, it is her failure to obey this golden rule, and blurting out the phrase “nothing happened”, which is to cause a new stab of pain.

In another kind of movie, a lazier kind, all this stillness and rural beauty, seen by an enigmatically silent child who is accustomed to vanishing invisibly into the landscape, would be the ominous foretaste of something horrible or violent to come just before the final credits. But The Quiet Girl is doing something gentler than this, as well as realer and truer. It is a jewel.

The Quiet Girl is released on 13 May in cinemas and on Curzon Home Cinema.

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Review: In buddy breakup drama ‘The Banshees of Inisherin,’ all’s Farrell in love and war

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It’s hardly an original insight to note that “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Martin McDonagh’s caustic and mournful new movie, is also his latest work to give its location top billing. Longtime admirers of this British-Irish writer-director’s stage work know his fondness for regionally specific titles like “The Cripple of Inishmaan” and “The Lieutenant of Inishmore,” two plays that — together with this film — form a loosely connected trilogy, tied together not by common characters but by common ground. If character is destiny in McDonagh’s work, then both are also inextricably tied to location and landscape. Here, as before, he draws us into an insular Irish enclave, where the air is thick with salty insults and bitter laughs, and cruelty seems to well up from the soil like highly acidic groundwater.

Which is not to suggest that Ireland — either the country of McDonagh’s firsthand experience or the one of his fictional imagination — has a monopoly on cruelty. That much is clear from his farther-flung plays, like “A Behanding in Spokane,” and also from his movies such as “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and “In Bruges.” That 2008 comedy’s co-leads, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, are superbly reunited in “The Banshees of Inisherin,” only this time, rather than playing two hit men on a less-than-idyllic Belgian holiday, they’re playing longtime best friends who have never known any home beyond Inisherin. And from our first glimpse of this small, fictional island, with its lush greenery and not-infrequent rainbows (beautifully filmed by Ben Davis), that might not seem like such a bad state of affairs.

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By movie’s end, we know better. The year is 1923, and in the distance the Irish civil war is raging, providing some blunt yet hazy thematic scaffolding for this more intimate tale of men in conflict. The beauty of Inisherin will soon turn sour and corrosive, much like the once-harmonious friendship between Pádraic Súilleabháin (Farrell), a sweet-souled dairy farmer, and Colm Doherty (Gleeson), a gruff, gimlet-eyed fiddle player. In the opening scene, Pádraic sets out to meet Colm for their usual afternoon pint, only to find the man sitting at home, his back to the window, quietly ignoring Pádraic’s knocks and entreaties. Can a man scowl not just with his face but with his entire hulking frame? Somehow, Gleeson manages.

Bewildered by this silent treatment, Pádraic remains unperturbed — surely it must be some sort of joke or misunderstanding — and refuses to accept that the friendship is over, even after Colm later spells it out for him down at the pub: “I just don’t like ya no more.” After a pause that lasts a small eternity, Pádraic responds, with a mix of confusion, disbelief and heartache that Farrell plays to perfection: “Ya do like me!” And the funny thing is, he’s right. Colm’s abrupt decision stems not from a lack of affection but a lack of time: Gripped by despair and newly aware of his encroaching mortality, he wants to live out his days playing and composing music, the only thing that provides him with any semblance of comfort or meaning. He also wants to consume his last pints in peace, away from Pádraic’s incessant yammering.

Incessant yammering, of course, is one unflattering if essentially correct way to describe McDonagh’s own flavorsome dialogue, which uses staccato rhythms and purposeful word repetitions to generate a sustained back-and-forth almost as musical as Carter Burwell’s lovely score. Apart from “feck,” the favored expletive of this early 20th century Irish milieu, the script’s most frequently deployed four-letter words are “dull” and “nice,” two words that are often hurled in Pádraic’s direction. Agreeable and simple-minded, Pádraic gets along with just about everyone, from his sharp-as-a-tack sister, Siobhan (a flat-out wonderful Kerry Condon), to the animals placed in his reliable care. (None of the latter is more beloved than his miniature donkey, Jenny, the most important member of the movie’s splendid four-legged ensemble.)

Colm’s rejection of Pádraic is also, in its way, a rejection of the tyranny of niceness, and an assertion that greatness — whether in the form of a Mozart symphony or, God willing, the humbler violin piece he’s trying to compose — is of far greater value. All of which opens up a rich, thorny dialogue concerning McDonagh himself, who likes to blur the lines between humanism and nihilism, and who in “The Banshees of Inisherin” comes perhaps as close to greatness as he’s ever gotten. One measure of the movie’s skill, and its generosity, is that it embraces the wisdom of both its protagonists. You’ll share Colm’s exasperation and defend his right to pursue an unimpeded life of music and the mind, but you’ll also concede Pádraic’s point that kindness and camaraderie leave behind their own indelible if often invisible legacies.

Muddying the waters still further: Colm, despite his strict enforcement of boundaries (including a not-so-idle threat to harm himself if Pádraic doesn’t leave him alone), nonetheless finds ways to treat his hapless former friend with decency and compassion. Meanwhile, Pádraic, for all his talk of niceness, is the one whose escalating harassment of Colm takes on menacing overtones, lubricated by whiskey, desperation and anger. To watch these two characters rage against each other is to acquire an entirely new understanding of what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. And no one ultimately understands that dynamic better than Siobhan, who — as both Pádraic’s loyal, loving sister and the one person on Inisherin who can keep intellectual pace with Colm — could hardly be more divided in her sympathies.

Siobhan’s presence — and her own fiercely individual decisionmaking — opens up another dialectic. Although centered on the conflict between two equally unyielding men, the movie is no less about the tension between a small, isolated community and the vast world that lies beyond its overcast horizon. Mocked by the provincial townfolk for being single and bookish, Siobhan is eyeing her own possible escape. And who can blame her? “The Banshees of Inisherin,” like much of McDonagh’s earlier work, uses its physically remote setting to map out an entire human cosmos of greed, spite and self-delusion, populated by characters including a gossipy shopkeeper (Bríd Ní Neachtain), a physically abusive policeman (Gary Lydon), a witchy prophesier of doom (Sheila Flitton) and, on the more likable side, a village idiot named Dominic (Barry Keoghan).

Colin Farrell doesn’t have many ‘true friends.’ But Brendan Gleeson is one

From ‘In Bruges’ to ‘Saturday Night Live,’ the ‘Banshees of Inisherin’ co-stars have never had a problem picking up where they left off.

Oct. 19, 2022

With the exception of Dominic, a perpetual troublemaker whom Keoghan invests with wit, mischief and unexpected pathos, none of these peripheral characters reveals more than one or two dimensions. If “The Banshees of Inisherin” marks a significant improvement on the wildly uneven “Three Billboards,” it still doesn’t entirely shake off some of the reflexively glib, cynical aspects of McDonagh’s writing, namely his tendency to reduce some of his characters to one-note personalities, or to make them the butt of cruel comic (and sometimes cosmic) punchlines. They are the playthings of a God who dispenses punishments with a whimsical, even arbitrary hand, and whom few of these habitual churchgoers — maybe not even the meddlesome priest (David Pearse) who’s enlisted to mediate the central conflict — ultimately really trusts or believes in.

And so Colm is only right to be consumed with despair. Which doesn’t make Pádraic wrong to assume that there are salves for life’s woes, and that he might, in fact, be one of them. Farrell’s performance, one of the finest he’s ever given, is a balm in itself, a thing of rough-hewn simplicity and exquisite delicacy, nailing comic beats and striking emotional chords with the same deft touch. Without ever turning leaden or oppressive, he shows us a man who isn’t the same by movie’s end, who’s experienced more loss, fury and grief than he’d ever thought possible. All he can count on anymore, really, is the ground beneath his feet — and in that respect at least, McDonagh suggests, he may be far less alone than he realizes.

‘The Banshees of Inisherin’

Rated: R, for language throughout, some violent content and brief graphic nudity Running time: 1 hour, 54 minutes Playing: Starts Oct. 21 at AMC the Grove, Los Angeles; AMC Century City

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Justin Chang was a film critic for the Los Angeles Times from 2016 to 2024. He is the author of the book “FilmCraft: Editing” and serves as chair of the National Society of Film Critics and secretary of the Los Angeles Film Critics Assn.

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33 Of The Best Irish Films Of All Time

By Author Keith O'Hara

Posted on Last updated: March 11, 2024

Take any and every guide to the best Irish films with a pinch of salt (yep, including this one).

What one person regards as a great flick another might think is shi… you get the picture.

In this guide, we’re showing you what  we  think are the best Irish movies of all time along with the Rotten Tomatoes score for each one!

Table of Contents

The best Irish movies of all time

Below, you’ll find everything from funny Irish movies and old Irish films to dramas, love stories and more.

There’s everything from ‘Man About Dog’ and ‘The Van’ to ‘A Bad Day For The Cut’ and some of the best Irish movies that have been on the go for decades.

1. Waking Ned (Rotten Tomatoes Score 84%)

Out of the many Irish films in this guide, Waking Ned is my absolute favourite.

This is fast-packed comedy directed by Kirk Jones that tackles the popular theme of what happens when someone in the village wins the lottery.

Best pals Jackie O’Shea (Ian Bannen) and Michael O’Sullivan (David Kelly) decide to pay their nouveau-riche neighbour a visit. Alas, they find Ned Devine dead from the shock.

The village puts their heads together to find a way to make the claim on Devine’s behalf with humorous results.

2. The Field (Rotten Tomatoes Score 43%)

You’ll see the Field top many guides to the best Irish movies, and for good reason.

Directed by Jim Sheridan, The Field follows the story of “Bull” McCabe (Richard Harris) who finds out that the land he has tended for 30 years is to be auctioned off.

McCabe is outbid by a rich American (Tom Berenger) who plans to build a factory on the site.

However, that’s just the start of the story as McCabe joins forces with son Tadgh McCabe (Sean Bean) in a bid to hold onto the land that means so much to him.

3. The Van (Rotten Tomatoes Score 38%)

This drama/ comedy starring Donal O’Kelly as “Bimbo” Reeves gives a lighthearted insight into the world of food trucks.

Directed by Stephen Frears, the plot follows Bimbo who is sacked from the bakery where he works and decides to run his own food truck.

His long-suffering friend Larry (played by Colm Meaney) finds Bimbo a trying boss but when some questionable practices mean they are closed down by the health inspector, their friendship comes apart too.

This is another one of those Irish films that’s easy to watch and that delivers a clatter of belly laughs throughout.

4. The Wind That Shakes The Barley (Rotten Tomatoes Score 90%)

Topping high in the popularity score, The Wind That Shakes the Barley is a war drama set in the early 1920s against the backdrop of the Irish War of Independence.

Damien (Cillian Murphy) is about to leave Ireland to study as a doctor in London but an attack by brutal Black and Tans (British Forces) leads him to fight alongside his brother Teddy (Padraic Delaney) in the IRA.

However, once the peace treaty is signed, Damien finds that he and his brother are estranged. Liam Cunningham plays a supporting role as Dan.

This is one of the best Irish films when it comes to review scores.

5. Intermission (Rotten Tomatoes Score 74%)

Ahh, Intermission . This is an absolute peach of a flick that often fails to make it onto many lists of the best Irish films.

Intermission is a lively crime comedy when Dubliner John (Cillian Murphy from Peaky Blinders) suggests a trial breakup with his girlfriend (Kelly MacDonald).

She moves on to date a banker and John teams up with small-time crook Lehiff (Colin Farrell) to rob the bank in revenge.

Not all goes to plan as police unravel the plot. Ably directed by John Crowley with a strong cast and storyline.

6. The Commitments (Rotten Tomatoes Score 89%)

Based on the novel by Roddy Doyle, the Commitments is one of the more iconic Irish comedy films. It follows music promoter Jimmy Rabbitte (Robert Arkins) starts his own R&B group in Dublin.

He brings together an all-white band who, despite an inherent lack of experience with R&B, manage to get themselves noticed.

That is, until the perils of fame and fortune create fractures right before their big break.

irected by Alan Parker and starring Johnny Murphy as Joey “the Lips” Fagan on trumpet and Angeline Ball as singer Imelda Quirke.

Related read:  Check out our guide to the best Irish movies on Netflix and our guide to the best movies on Netflix Ireland

7. The Young Offenders Movie (No Rotten Tomatoes Score)

The Young Offenders is an Irish comedy written directed and co-produced by Peter Foott. It started its life as a series and quickly became one of the most popular Irish TV shows to hit our screens.

Set in Cork, friends Conor MacSweeney (Alex Murphy) and Jock Murphy (Chris Walley) could almost be twins.

They steal bikes and head off on a road trip in search of a missing bale of heroin worth €7 million. After many twists, misunderstandings and adventures, the loveable layabouts end up with a predictable arrest.

Filmed in Cork and along the Wild Atlantic Way, it’s loosely based on a true story! If you like to go off Rotten Tomatoe scores, this is one of the best Irish films ever made.

8. A Bad Day For The Cut (Rotten Tomatoes Score 92%)

This 2017 Mystery Thriller directed and co-written by Chris Baugh is a tale of revenge with an interesting twist.

Middle-aged Irish farmer Donal (Nigel O’Neill) sets out to see justice done when his elderly mother Florence (Stella McCusker) is murdered during a home invasion.

It leads Donal into an unfamiliar criminal underworld as the truth about his mother is uncovered.

I watched this a few years back after seeing it ranked as one of the best Irish films on Rotten Tomatoes – I’ve watched it several times since and it never fails to disappoint.

9. Veronica Guerin (Rotten Tomatoes Score 53%)

Veronica Guerin is one of the most famous Irish movies for good reason. It tells the horrific story of what happened to Guerin, an investigative journalist, while she was investigating Dublin’s underworld.

Cate Blanchett gives a notable performance as Irish journalist Veronica Guerin in this 2003 biographical crime drama.

This moving biographical tale was directed by Joel Schumacher and co-stars Gerald McSorley, Ciaran Hinds and Brenda Fricker.

10. The Secret of Kells (Rotten Tomatoes Score 90%)

Set in the days of the Vikings in a remote Irish woodland, The Secret of Kells is an animated fantasy film about the making of the famous 9th century illustrated manuscript known as the Book of Kells .

Abbot Cellach (Brendan Gleeson) prepares defences against the Vikings while his nephew Brendan (Evan McGuire) seems oblivious to impending doom as he works on manuscripts at the local monastery.

Illuminator Aidan (Mick Lally) gives Brendan a series of magical tasks. This first part of a folklore trilogy is directed by Tomm Moore and Nora Twomey.

While this is regarded as one of the best Irish movies for kids, it’s also a great watch for adults!

11. The Guard (Rotten Tomatoes Score 94%)

This side-splitting all-Irish comedy thriller stars the rough but roguish Irish Sergeant Gerry Boyle (Brendan Gleeson) in cahoots with FBI agent Wendell Everett (Don Cheadle).

They team up in a bid to uncover police corruption while investigating a drug-trafficking ring. Violence inevitably ensues. Directed and written by John Michael McDonagh (The Guard and Calvary).

If you’re looking for funny Irish films that are easy to follow, this is a great option.

12. Angela’s Ashes (Rotten Tomatoes Score 52%)

Winner of Best Director for Alan Parker (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival Awards), Angela’s Ashes is a 1999 drama based on the true memoir originally penned as a biography by Frank McCourt.

Frank’s mother Angela McCourt (Emily Watson) gives birth to Margaret who dies shortly afterwards and Angela slips into depression. Frank and his brother begin their fight for survival before facing eviction.

Co-stars Joe Breen, Ciaran Owens, and Michael Legge play the part of Frank McCourt in various stages of his life. The story sees him emigrate to America and begin a new life.

13. Once (Rotten Tomatoes Score 97%)

This musical drama is a charming story of love set in Dublin with a modern musical score.

Vacuum repairman by day and and street musician by night, Guy (Glen Hansard) meets Czech immigrant (Marketa Irgova). Together they embark on writing songs that reflect their blossoming romance.

Directed by John Carney, it’s one of the more romantic Irish films and a couple of the tune from it feature in our guide to the best Irish songs .

14. My Left Foot (Rotten Tomatoes Score 98%)

Expectations are low for Christy Brown (Daniel Day-Lewis) when he is born with cerebral palsy. He is paralysed until the age of five when a miracle occurs.

He then finds himself able to write with chalk using his left foot. Tirelessly supported by his mother (Brenda Fricker) Christy becomes a painter, poet and author.

Directed by Jim Sheridan, the film netted the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.

15. The General (No Rotten Tomatoes Score)

Another of the fact-based biographical movies set in Ireland, The General starts with the murder of the violent criminal Martin Cahill (Brendan Gleeson).

Pursued for his crimes by Ned Kenny (Jon Voight), as Cahill lies dying he recalls his life as a child on the streets of Dublin.

Flashbacks take him from life as a petty thief to crime boss, masterminding armed robberies. Released in 1999 and directed by John Boorman.

16. Michael Collins (No Rotten Tomatoes Score)

Directed by Neil Jordan, Michael Collins is a biographical period drama based on the life story of Irish revolutionary and politician Michael Collins (Liam Neeson).

He led the struggle for Irish independence in the early 20th century and was eventually shot in an ambush after the 1916 Easter Rising .

Informative historical biography which won the Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival. Co-starring Aidan Quinn, Stephen Rea, and Julia Roberts as Collins’ lover Kitty Kiernan.

If you’ve in the mood for good Irish films that’ll give you a sense of Ireland’s past, I can’t recommend this one enough.

17. The Snapper (Rotten Tomatoes Score 97%)

Bursting with likeable characters, The Snapper is a comedy drama surrounding 20-something Sharon Curley (Tina Kellegher) who lives at home with her mum Sharon (Ruth McCabe), dad Dessie (Colm Meaney) and a clutch of brothers and sisters.

Unexpectedly finding herself pregnant, the hunt is on to name the father with embarrassment all round in the devoutly Catholic household. Directed with great humour by Stephen Frears.

18. Darby O’Gill And The Little People (Rotten Tomatoes Score 100%)

One of the most popular Irish themed movies to be released in the last 20 or so years is this fantasy movie directed by Robert Stevenson was produced by Disney in 2004.

Darby O’Gill (Albert Sharpe) is fired from his job and replaced by handsome Michael McBride (Sean Connery).

Returning home, O’Gill meets Brian, the leprechaun king (Jimmy O’Dea) and is granted the traditional three wishes. However, they do not bring the results he hoped for.

19. Bloody Sunday (Rotten Tomatoes Score 92%)

Based on the events of Bloody Sunday , this powerful drama recreates the events that took place in Derry on January 30 1972 ( watch the trailer ).

Activist Ivan Cooper (James Nesbitt) leads a peaceful protest that ends in slaughter when British soldiers open fire on the crowd leaving 13 dead and 14 wounded.

Shot in the style of a documentary, this historical drama was directed by Paul Greengrass with Nicholas Farrell as Brigadier Maclellan and Tim Pigott-Smith as Major General Ford.

This is one of the most impactful movies about Ireland and, regardless of how many times you watch it, the horrors of what took place never fail to hit home.

20. Some Mother’s Son (Rotten Tomatoes Score 69%)

Written and directed by Irish filmmaker Terry George, Some Mother’s Son is based on the true story of the 1981 hunger strike at the Maze Prison.

Bobby Sands (John Lynch) leads the protest claiming that IRA prisoners should be treated as prisoners of war, not criminals.

The mothers of two of the hunger strikers, Kathleen Quigley and Annie Higgins, (played movingly by Helen Mirren and Fionnula Flanaghan) fight to save their sons’ lives in this historic account during The Troubles .

21. Philomena (Rotten Tomatoes Score 91%)

If you’re looking for Irish themed movies, this next one packs a punch. Meet Philomena (Judi Dench), now late in life and still searching for the son she was forced to give up for adoption 50 years before.

BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith (Steve Coogan) takes up her cause and travels with her to America in search of Anthony, becoming close in the shared process.

Sensitively directed by Stephen Frears, it’s a moving drama and deserving BAFTA award-winner (Best Adapted Screenplay).

22. Man About Dog (No Rotten Tomatoes Score)

This fast-packed comedy caper directed by Paddy Breathnach tells a tale of three losers Mo Chara (Allen Leech), Scud Murphy (Ciaran Nolan) and “Cerebral Paulsy” (Tom Murphy) in West Belfast.

Forced to leave their home town after racking up 50 grand in debts to a bookie, they hit the road.

It’s hard to describe this one without giving too much away, but the trailer above will give you a sense of what to expect.

23. Brooklyn (Rotten Tomatoes Score 97%)

OK, this one doesn’t fall into the ‘Movies About Ireland’ category, but Brooklyn follows a journey that countless Irish men and women took and continue to take.

This rich period drama has more than a touch of romance. Directed by John Crowley, it follows young Irish immigrant Eilis Lace (Saoirse Ronan) as she carves out a new life in Brooklyn in the 1950s.

Homesickness fades with new love but eventually she has to choose between the two countries and the life each has to offer. Outstanding performances by Ronan and Emory Cohen.

24. I Went Down (Rotten Tomatoes Score 84%)

Starring Peter McDonald as the newly released jailbird Git Hynes, this fresh drama comedy is directed by Paddy Breathnach. Dropping in to visit his best friend Anto (David Wilmot), Git has to defend his friend as he is attacked by debt enforcers.

After injuring the nephew of the Dublin gangster, Git is forced to return to a life of crime, working for the syndicate on an assignment with Bunny Kelly (Brendan Gleeson) in which everything goes awry.

This is one of the best Irish films in the last few decades, in my opinion, but you don’t hear it talked about that often.

25. Calvary (Rotten Tomatoes Score 38%)

The tense storyline of Calvary is led by the soft-hearted priest James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson) who delivers an outstanding performance as he wrestles with unexpected controversy from his parishioners, culminating in a death threat.

Directed by John Michael McDonagh, this comedy drama also stars Chris O’Dowd as Jack Brennan and the lovely Kelly Reilly as Fiona.

26. Sing Street (Rotten Tomatoes Score 95%)

More a musical than a comedy, Sing Street is directed with heart by John Carney as the talented cast fly through the script.

Dublin teenager Cosmo (Ferdie Walsh-Peelo) tries to carve out a new life for himself in Dublin in the 1980s. He forms a rock and roll band to impress aspiring model Raphina (Lucy Boynton).

They engage on a heart-warming journey of love, accompanied by a score of nostalgic 80s hits.

27. The Quiet Man (Rotten Tomatoes Score 91%)

Next up is one of the most famous Irish movies of all time – The Quiet Man . Departing his classical Western genre, John Wayne stars as Sean Thornton in this romantic boxing drama .

After killing his opponent in the ring, Thornton returns to Ireland from the USA seeking a quiet life.

When he runs into Will Danaher (Victor McLaglen) and his sister Mary Kate (Maureen O’Hara) life is anything but simple.

28. In The Name Of The Father (Rotten Tomatoes Score 94%)

Based loosely on the story of The Guildford Four, In the Name of the Father is a biographical drama about the life of unemployed petty criminal Gerry Conlon (Daniel Day-Lewis).

He flees to England only to find himself and friend Paul Hill (John Lynch) are suspects when a nearby pub is blown up by the IRA.

He spends the next 15 years trying to clear his name. Nominated for Academy Award for Best Actor, among many other nominations.

29. Into the West (Rotten Tomatoes Score 77%)

Living in poverty in Dublin, Ossie and Tito (Ciaran Fitzgerald and Ruaidhri Conry respectively) live with their alcoholic father (Gabriel Byrne).

Life takes a turn for the better when their grandfather (David Kelly) arrives with the gift of a magical horse Tir na nOg.

Splendidly directed by Mike Newell, Into The West family-friendly adventure story for all ages.

30. Hear My Song (Rotten Tomatoes Score 90%)

Fast-talking charmer Mickey O’Neill (Adrian Dunbar) is a shady nightclub owner struggling to save his business.

He books Irish tenor Josef Locke (William Hootkins) for a money-making gig only to find the singer turns out to be an impersonator.

When the real singer turns up out of exile (Ned Beatty), O’Neill finally begins to see the light at the end of the tunnel. This comedy-come-romance is directed by Peter Chelsom.

31. The Banshees of Inisherin (Rotten Tomatoes Score 97%)

The Banshees of Inisherin is one of the newest Irish films and it has just taken home three Golden Globe Awards.

Set on a fictional island off the coast of Ireland, the story follows two friends, Colm Doherty (Gleeson) and Pádraic Súilleabháin (Farrell), entering a… ‘new chapter’ of their relationship.

This is a dark comedy/drama and it showcases Ireland’s scenery in a way that few movies have achieved (see our guide to where was The Banshees of Inisherin filmed in Ireland ).

32. The Crying Game (Rotten Tomatoes Score 94%)

Director Neil Jordan manages to deliver a shocking twist in this mystery thriller starring Stephen Rea as IRA member Fergus.

He bonds with a kidnapped British soldier Jody (Forest Whitaker) who in return promises Fergus he will visit his girlfriend Dil (Jaye Davidson) when he returns to London.

He becomes romantically involved with her adding to the secrecy and suspense. Miranda Richardson and Adrian Dunbar star as IRA members.

This is one of a handful of top Irish movies I watched for the first time this year and very much enjoyed.

33. The Magdalene Sisters (Rotten Tomatoes Score 91%)

Directed by Peter Mullan and based on true events, The Magdalene Sisters is a drama about three teenage girls sent to an asylum in 1964.

Their “crimes” include Rose (Dorothy Duffy) being pregnant and unmarried and Bernadette (Nora-Jane Noone) who was caught flirting.

They dream of escaping from their tough life under Sister Bridget (Geraldine McEwan).

What good Irish movies have we missed?

I’ve no doubt that we’ve unintentionally left out some good Irish films from the guide above.

If you have a place that you’d like to recommend, let me know in the comments below and I’ll check it out!

FAQs about the best Irish films

We’ve had a lot of questions over the years asking about everything from ‘What are some funny Irish movies for kids?’ to ‘What old Irish movies are worth a look?’.

In the section below, we’ve popped in the most FAQs that we’ve received. If you have a question that we haven’t tackled, ask away in the comments section below.

What are the best Irish movies to watch?

This will be completely subjective, but some good Irish films to consider are The Field, The Van and the brilliant Waking Ned Devine.

What are some great funny Irish films?

Some of the best funny Irish movies, in my opinion, are The Young Offenders, The Guard, The Commitments and Intermission.

What should I watch on St Patrick’s Day?

This will depend on what kind of Irish movies you’re into, but The Wind That Shakes The Barley is a great watch if you want to get a sense of Ireland’s past.

Keith O’Hara has lived in Ireland for 34 years and has spent most of the last 10 years creating what is now The Irish Road Trip guide. Over the years, the website has published thousands of meticulously researched Ireland travel guides, welcoming 30 million+ visitors along the way. In 2022, the Irish Road Trip team published the world’s largest collection of Irish Road Trip itineraries. Keith lives in Dublin with his dog Toby and finds writing in the 3rd person minus craic altogether.

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Monday 11th of March 2024

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Reviews of Lindsay Lohan's Netflix movie 'Irish Wish' are pretty scathing, but say it has a saving grace

• Netflix's latest rom-com, "Irish Wish," is set in Ireland and stars Lindsay Lohan.
• Critics have praised Lohan's chemistry with her costar Ed Speleers.
• However, they say the movie doesn't have many Irish actors and is filled with stereotypes.

Critics have mostly blasted Netflix's "Irish Wish," the new Lindsay Lohan movie on Netflix, saying it is hokey and not very Irish.

The movie follows Maddie (Lohan), an American editor, who visits Ireland to attend the wedding of her crush, Paul Kennedy (Alexander Vlahos), and her best friend, Emma (Elizabeth Tan).

Maddie makes a wish and finds herself in an alternate universe where she is engaged to Paul, and Emma is the bridesmaid. Ed Speleers plays another handsome suitor Maddie meets on her magical journey.

After "Falling for Christmas," "Irish Wish" is the second holiday-themed Netflix movie starring Lohan and has the same director, Janeen Damian. "Irish Wish" and an upcoming movie, "Our Little Secret," were part of a two-movie deal between Lohan and Netflix.

The current Rotten Tomato critic score for "Irish Wish" is 34%, and the audience score is 44%, but that doesn't mean the movie is unwatchable.

Some viewers said the chemistry between Lindsay Lohan and Speleers is a saving grace for the movie.

Here's what critics have said about "Irish Wish."

For a movie about Ireland, "Irish Wish" is not very Irish, according to critics.

"Irish Wish" is set in Ireland , features an Irish saint, and was released on St Patrick's Day. But if you want to learn something new about Irish culture, you should probably look elsewhere.

From Empire review editor John Nugent:

"As with its Irish-romcom forebears, it is chock-full of hoary clichés: establishing shots of rolling fields, fiddle-heavy folk music, a leprechaun-esque fantasy character, some live-laugh-love-esque fetishisation of Guinness, and an array of head-scratching accents (the main Irish character here is in fact played by a Welshman)."

Nugent and other critics also pointed out that very few Irish actors are in the movie.

Vlahos, who plays Paul, is Welsh, although Irish actors play Paul's brother and father.

Some critics also pointed out that the "Irish Wish" version of Saint Brigid doesn't match her personality from folklore.

"Brigid, the matron saint of Ireland, is known in legends for feeding the hungry and healing the sick," Johnny Oleksinski wrote for the New York Post . "Here, she's the genie from "Aladdin" and is costumed for a summer stock production of 'Brigadoon.'"

Critics agreed that the movie was formulaic, although not all critics thought it was a bad thing.

Many critics were critical of the movie's use of rom-com clichés, such as the love triangle or the lovers-trapped-in-a-storm trope.

Vulture features writer Rachel Handler went so far as to describe the movie as an "AI-generated harbinger of a doomed future where machines make facsimiles of art while humans do their terrible bidding."

Some critics were nicer, including Collider news editor Maggie Lovitt, who argued that rom-coms are meant to be formulaic.

"It's a fun romantic romp, filled to the brim with gorgeous scenery, gorgeous clothing, and beautiful people," Lovitt wrote. "Revel in the simplicity of the formulaic simplicity of yet another magically contrived rom-com, and rejoice that 'Leap Year' has been dethroned (during a leap year, no less) as the best rom-com set in Ireland."

Other critics, such as Nugent and Digital Spy Deputy Movie Editor Mireia Mullor, called it a comfort watch.

"Netflix rom-com can be a little 'seen one, seen them all,' which is both frustrating (is this the best we could do with the genre? Really?) and, paradoxically, blissfully comfortable," Mullor wrote.

Critics were conflicted on whether the views of the Irish countryside were gorgeous or cartoonish.

"Irish Wish" may not use the bulk of Ireland's acting talent, but it does take advantage of its scenery, from Lough Tay to the Cliffs of Moher. Some critics loved this part of the movie.

Indiewire 's Samantha Bergeson wrote: "The gorgeous imagery and lush scenery will likely make audiences forget all about other CGI-heavy features that skimp on using real places to make sudsy stories feel even remotely grounded in the real world."

However, some critics thought the vibrant colors made the movie seem cartoonish.

Oleksinski, the New York Post critic, wrote: "Whenever the characters venture outdoors, the sky is made to look so strenuously blue and the grass such a plutonium green, we expect Tinky Winky and the Teletubbies to enter any moment."

Critics said the chemistry between Lindsay Lohan and Ed Speleers was the best part.

While Lohan and Speleers' performance doesn't save "Irish Wish," it has been praised by many critics.

"Lohan and Speleers have sweet chemistry , and that alone would be enough to prove Maddie and James are the true love story," ScreenRant critic Rachel Labonte wrote.

Variety's chief film critic Owen Gleiberman also wrote: "The movie is as frothy as the foam on a pint of Guinness, as formulaic as the last disposable Netflix rom-com. Yet these two make you believe that they belong together, and not every romantic comedy does that."

Of the two stars, Speleers got the most fanfare from critics, with Gleibermann writing that he was the "most charismatic British actor I've seen in quite a while."

Bergeson from Indiewire also praised Speleers for his "A-lister-in-the-making charisma."

If you're wondering how Irish critics feel about "Irish Wish," Liam Fay, a critic for The Sunday Times Ireland, was not a fan.

The Sunday Times Ireland critic Liam Fay's main criticism is that the movie feels like "a bland fairy-tale set in a theme-park Ireland."

He said the acting was "cardboard stiff," the slapstick humor in the movie was overdone, and the film was not a true reflection of Ireland.

"Scenery is extensively deployed as filler, diversion and atmosphere-provider as there is precious little story and zero drama," Fay wrote at one point.

One of the few positive notes in Fay's review is that the movie captures Ireland's scenery well.

"'Irish Wish' is an excellent advertisement for a variety of Irish touchstones," he wrote before adding. "But, as a film, it's as dumb as a box of rocks."

Overall, "Irish Wish" is fun.

Screen Rant's Labonte said people looking for a cheesy rom-com would enjoy it.

Lovitt from Collider said the movie felt like a "grown-up Disney Channel Original Movie complete with outlandish magical elements, cookie-cutter perfection, and an utterly tame romance."

Indiewire's Bergeson wrote that "Irish Wish" isn't as great as Lohan's previous Netflix movie " Falling for Christmas " and feels more like a Hallmark Channel movie.

Overall, it seems "Irish Wish" has major flaws, but you may enjoy the movie if you come in with the right perspective.

Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.

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Movie Reviews

This tender irish drama proves the quietest films can have the most to say.

Justin Chang

Catherine Clinch plays Cáit in The Quiet Girl. Super Lt hide caption

Catherine Clinch plays Cáit in The Quiet Girl.

The late film critic Roger Ebert once wrote, "What moves me emotionally is more often goodness than sadness." It's a sentiment I've always shared, and I thought about it again while watching the beautifully crafted Irish drama The Quiet Girl .

There's plenty of sadness in this tender story about a withdrawn 9-year-old who spends a fateful summer with two distant relatives. But the movie, adapted from a Claire Keegan story called Foster , doesn't rub your nose in the character's unhappiness. What brought me to tears more than once was the movie's unfashionable optimism — its insistence that goodness exists, and that simple acts of decency really can be life-changing.

Book Reviews

With 'foster,' claire keegan asks that readers look outward.

The story is set in 1981, although given the remoteness of its rural Irish setting, it could easily be taking place decades earlier. The dialogue is subtitled, because the characters speak mostly Irish, a language we rarely hear in movies. The quiet girl of the title is named Cáit, and she's played with aching sensitivity by a gifted first-time actor named Catherine Clinch.

Cáit is the shyest and most neglected kid in her poor farming family. Her short-tempered mother has her hands full taking care of Cáit's siblings, and her father is a gambler, a philanderer and an all-around lout. At home and at school, Cáit does her best to stay under the radar. It's no wonder that the first time we see her, the camera has to pan down to find her hiding beneath tall blades of grass.

Author Interviews

Quiet, please: unleashing 'the power of introverts'.

With too many mouths to feed and another baby on the way, it's decided that Cáit will spend the summer with relatives. Her mother's older cousin, Eibhlín, and her husband, Seán, live a three-hour drive away; they're played, wonderfully, by Carrie Crowley and Andrew Bennett. From the moment Eibhlín welcomes Cáit into their house, she lavishes the girl with kindness and attention. She engages her in conversation, involves her in household chores and responds in the most loving way when Caít wets the bed on her first night.

Seán is gruffer with Cáit at first, but he warms to her soon enough. There's a lovely little moment when, after angrily scolding her for wandering off by herself, Seán silently leaves a cookie on the table for her — an apology extended entirely without words. In their way, Eibhlín and Seán are as reserved as Cáit is, especially compared with some of their cruel, gossipy neighbors.

One of the most refreshing things about The Quiet Girl is that it doesn't treat silence as some problem that needs to be solved. When someone criticizes Cáit early on for being so quiet, Seán gently defends her, saying she "says as much as she has to say." And yet we see how Cáit gradually flourishes under her guardians' loving attention. Clinch's luminous performance shows us what it's like for a child to experience real, carefree happiness for the first time, whether it's Eibhlín offering Cáit a drink of crystalline water from the well near their house or Seán pressing a little pocket money into the girl's hands.

How Parents And Teachers Can Nurture The 'Quiet Power' Of Introverts

Seán and Eibhlín are clearly delighted by this temporary addition to their household, in part because it chases away some of the sorrow they've experienced in their own lives. The source of that sorrow isn't made clear right away, though you'll likely figure it out if you're paying close attention. When the truth does come out, it's treated with a gentle matter-of-factness that — much like the unfussy natural beauty of Kate McCullough's cinematography — deepens our sense of immersion in these characters' lives.

The Quiet Girl was written and directed by Colm Bairéad, an Irish filmmaker whose background is in documentaries. That may account in part for how exquisitely observed his first narrative feature is. Bairéad trusts the power of understatement, and that's a rare thing, given how prone so many films are to noise and over-explanation. Not many movies would focus on a character as unassuming as Cáit, but there's nothing small or insignificant about her story. Sometimes, it's the quietest movies that turn out to have the most to say.

Correction Feb. 24, 2023

An earlier version of this story misspelled the main character's name Cáit as Caít.

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Film Review: Barber is thoughtful and nuanced, with real heart

Barber, starring Aidan Gillen.

Down those mean streets of Dublin a man must go, and that man’s name is Barber (15A) — Valentine Barber (Aidan Gillen), a private investigator commissioned by Lily Dunne (Deirdre Donnelly) to find her missing granddaughter Sara (Isabelle Connolly).

It’s a classic private eye set-up — Barber is a loner with a healthy disrespect for wealth who clashes with the police in the form of Inspector Quinn (Liam Carney), and a dogged pursuer of justice even if his investigation takes him into the highest echelons of power. And there’s no doubt that the writers, Fiona Bergin and Fintan Connolly, have the noirs of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett in mind (there’s even a brief nod to The Big Sleep , and the Bogie-Bacall repartee about racehorses). Barber isn’t the same league as The Big Sleep (few films are), but it is certainly more than mere pastiche.

The story unfolds in Covid-era Dublin against a #metoo backdrop, and Val Barber himself is a complex creation whose solitary nature is imposed on him by the culture in which he was nurtured. Aidan Gillen gives his world-weary, ex-cop gumshoe a terrific reading, investing the stereotypically cynical persona with a sophisticated emotional palette, while Barber’s relationship with his daughter, Kate (Aisling Kearns), provides a counterpoint to the story’s backdrop of brutalised young women.

The tone is nowhere as bleak as the blackest of noirs tend to be, but Fintan Connolly, who also directs, has crafted a thoughtful, nuanced film that goes beyond the genre’s conventions to deliver a noir with real heart.

(cinema release)

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Two years ago Lindsay Lohan had her first starring role in almost a decade in the Netflix Holiday film “ Falling for Christmas ”, which she elevated with her innumerable charms. Re-teaming with director Janeen Damian , Lohan has returned to that same kind of screwball romantic comedy formula for "Irish Wish," this time with a bit of fantasy and the luck of the Irish added to the mix. 

Lohan plays Maddie Kelly, a book editor who harbors a big secret: she's in love with her author, bestselling romance author Paul Kennedy ( Alexander Vlahos ), whose Irish charm masks his insipid personality. She's only told her mother, Rosemary ( Jane Seymour ), a high school principal in Des Moines, Iowa. Maddie is set to tell him – and her best friends – how she feels on the night of the book's big splashy premiere when her best friend Emma ( Elizabeth Tan ) and Paul meet-cute over a stray eyelash. Their chemistry is instant, and before we know it three months have passed by and the whole crew have been whisked to Ireland for a lavish wedding at Paul's country estate. 

At the airport Maddie has her own meet-cute when she mistakes the suitcase belonging to a roguish English photographer named James ( Ed Speleers ) for her own. After clearing up the confusion, the two share a bus ride from the airport into the country, where they share some more barbs, leaving thoroughly disliking each other. While on a walk after settling into the estate, Maddie finds herself on a stone wishing chair where an impish Saint Brigid ( Dawn Bradfield ) goads her into making a wish. "I wish I were marrying Paul Kennedy" she says with gusto, just as a gust of wind swirls fairytale pink blossoms around her and sucks her into the whirlwind of fate. 

Getting what you wished for is often more of a curse than a blessing, and although she wakes up a bride, it's clear very early on that she and Paul are ill-suited for each other. The more time they spend together, the more his boorishness reveals itself. As doubts creep in, Maddie spends time with the passionate and intellectual James, who has been roped into becoming the wedding photographer for her impending nuptials. It's only after Maddie realizes her wish has made everyone's life worse – and that she may be in love with James – that a priest informs her that Saint Brigid, taking a bit of a cue from Saint Mick and Saint Keith, doesn't always give you what you want, but might just give you what you need. 

While the structure and plotting doesn't innovate on the genre much at all, Lohan's mere presence makes the film work. She is an undeniable star and has always succeeded as a screwball comedienne, even when the material isn't the greatest (I'm looking at you, " Just My Luck ”). Damian often films her in medium close-ups bathed in a golden light that brings out her beauty naturally without calling too much attention to it. Her chemistry with Speleers is palpable, allowing their patter to sizzle and infuses their romantic moments, like a secretive dart game in a faraway pub, with some actual heat. In terms of the physical comedy, her pratfalls are funny and well-timed, though occasionally the editing between the star and her stunt person isn't as seamless as it could be. 

And, of course, the Irish countryside is gorgeous. From the sparkling waters of Lough Tay to the awe-inspiring Cliffs of Moher, viewers are transported to a verdant, mystical land where mischievous fairies may well still exist and the power of true love can still prevail. The Irish-ness of it all is augmented by a sometimes cheesy, but mostly charming score by Nathan Lanier that riffs on variations of prototypical Celtic music. 

Where the film falters is in its supporting cast. Vlahos is fantastic as the vapid Paul; his inflection often reminded me of "Liberty Biberty" car insurance commercials, and I mean that in the best sense. However, Seymour is mostly wasted in the mother character. Not only does she never once share a scene with Lohan that isn't over FaceTime, her humor is just too broad and doesn't mesh well with the tone of the film. Jacinta Mulcahy doesn’t fare much better as Paul’s mother Olivia, who may as well be a walking stereotype of privilege. 

Tan as Emma is given a few moments that genuinely moved me in the alternate universe where the man she loves is marrying someone else, but their romance in either universe is not as fleshed out as it should be given the emotional stakes. A third friend, Heather, is played by celebrity chef Ayesha Curry , who hasn't yet mastered the art of saying a line and acting at the same time as well as she has the art of cooking. 

Despite its minor flaws, "Irish Wish" is as pleasantly diverting as the kind of paperback romance novel Maddie edits for Paul, and just as forgettable. I would love to see Lohan’s star shine in a bigger budget rom-com, a la " Anyone But You ," but after all the unfair media scrutiny she received for all those years, if she’s finally found some creative freedom and safety working with Damian, and we get one of these small budget Netflix romps once every few years, that's a win in my book.

Marya E. Gates

Marya E. Gates is a freelance film and culture writer based in Los Angeles and Chicago. She studied Comparative Literature at U.C. Berkeley, and also has an overpriced and underused MFA in Film Production. Other bylines include Moviefone, The Playlist, Crooked Marquee, Nerdist, and Vulture. 

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Film credits.

Irish Wish (2024)

Lindsay Lohan as Maddie Kelly

Ed Speleers as James Thomas

Alexander Vlahos as Paul Kennedy

Ayesha Curry as Heather

Elizabeth Tan as Emma Taylor

Jacinta Mulcahy as Olivia Kennedy

Jane Seymour as Rosemary Kelly

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• Documentary
• Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe

A documentary on the “Star Trek” actor unboldly goes where other profile movies have gone before.

By Ben Kenigsberg

• Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
• Directed by Ivan Sen

Long on atmosphere and short on plot, this stylish Australian noir pulls through thanks to a haunted performance by Simon Baker.

By Elisabeth Vincentelli

Riddle of Fire

• Action, Adventure, Comedy
• Directed by Weston Razooli

Three children embark on a mystical journey in this charming but shapeless first feature.

By Jeannette Catsoulis

• Directed by Sam H. Freeman, Ng Choon Ping

In this white-knuckle thriller set in London, a drag performer seduces his attacker, an intensely closeted hustler played by George MacKay.

By Beatrice Loayza

• Directed by Ryan Martin Brown

Colin Burgess carries this comedy by Ryan Martin Brown about a 20-something who quits his job and finds that life without work isn’t all that thrilling.

By Glenn Kenny

• Biography, Drama, History
• Directed by John Ridley

This staid biopic of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to the U.S. Congress, is less interested in what she did than what she represented.

By Devika Girish

Late Night With the Devil

• Directed by Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes

An occult-obsessed nation is nimbly captured in this found-footage horror film about a late night show gone horribly wrong.

By Alissa Wilkinson

• Directed by Michael Mohan

The actress stars as a fresh-faced nun who, by the end of this erotic thriller-horror mash-up, runs amok in her convent.

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

• Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
• Directed by Gil Kenan

This overstuffed entry in the franchise is an eclectic, enjoyable barrage of nonsense.

By Amy Nicholson

• Directed by Sarah Gibson

A new documentary on Stormy Daniels traces how fame, frenzy and legal battles involving a former president upended her life.

By Natalia Winkelman

The American Society of Magical Negroes

• Comedy, Fantasy
• Directed by Kobi Libii

Kobi Libii’s satirical comedy, starring Justice Smith, tries to explore the trope but leans too hard on the conventions of superhero tales and rom-coms.

By Nicolas Rapold

• Comedy, Fantasy, Romance
• Directed by Janeen Damian

Lindsay Lohan plays a book editor whose romantic dream comes true in this Netflix rom-com. But then Ed Speleers shows up in a red sports car.

The Tuba Thieves

• Documentary, Drama
• Directed by Alison O'Daniel

In this film, the artist Alison O’Daniel uses the theft of tubas from Southern California high schools as a central hub in a wheel with many spokes.

Knox Goes Away

• Directed by Michael Keaton

Michael Keaton is quietly compelling as a beleaguered hit man in this downbeat thriller.

Snack Shack

• Directed by Adam Rehmeier

Performances from the two main characters elevate this boisterous teen comedy to the level of raunchy art.

By Calum Marsh

French Girl

• Directed by James A. Woods, Nicolas Wright

In this romantic comedy featuring Zach Braff and Vanessa Hudgens, a New York man heads to Quebec City with his French Canadian girlfriend. Shenanigans ensue.

Arthur the King

• Directed by Simon Cellan Jones

Wahlberg stars in this drama directed by Simon Cellan Jones, based on the true story of a Swedish adventure racer and his beloved adopted dog.

The Shadowless Tower

• Directed by Lu Zhang

Zhang Lu’s quiet film follows a man touched by nostalgia and loss, lending a melancholic air to this modern city of steel and glass.

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus

• Documentary, Music
• Directed by Neo Sora

The final concert of the Japanese virtuoso is captured in an aching meditation on mortality and legacy.

• Directed by James Hawes

A British stockbroker quietly saved hundreds of lives by arranging for children in Prague to escape the Nazis by leaving for foster homes in England.

The Animal Kingdom

• Adventure, Drama, Horror, Mystery, Sci-Fi
• Directed by Thomas Cailley

This French sci-fi tale plunges us into a world where a mysterious sickness turns humans into strange, sometimes terrifying part-animal creatures.

• Horror, Mystery, Thriller
• Directed by Jeff Wadlow

An imaginary friend causes real trouble in this creepy haunted-house picture.

• Action, Adventure, Fantasy
• Directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Millie Bobby Brown is a daring princess in a fairy tale that unspools its surprises far too soon.

Glitter & Doom

• Musical, Romance
• Directed by Tom Gustafson

Songs by the Indigo Girls soundtrack a musical romance.

By Wesley Morris

Kung Fu Panda 4

• Animation, Action, Adventure, Comedy, Family, Fantasy
• Directed by Mike Mitchell, Stephanie Stine

Jack Black’s Po faces a new adversary, a chameleon voiced by Viola Davis, in the latest installment of this popular animated franchise.

By Claire Shaffer

Space: The Longest Goodbye

• Directed by Ido Mizrahy

This documentary by Ido Mizrahy examines the psychological challenges of space exploration for astronauts and their loved ones as scientists consider whether humans could reach Mars.

• Directed by Alejandro Monteverde

From the team behind “Sound of Freedom,” this biopic of an Italian nun in 19th-century New York City is stuffed with sanctimonious speeches.

Love Lies Bleeding

• Action, Adventure, Crime, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
• Directed by Rose Glass

In this neo-noir, the ever reliable, always watchable actress plays a small-town loner who’s struck by the unexpected arrival of a mysterious drifter.

High & Low - John Galliano

• Directed by Kevin Macdonald

This documentary tracks what happened after the British designer was caught on camera voicing racist and antisemitic hate speech.

Hard Times (2009)

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