Brooklyn (12A) ****
The Story: A young Irish woman is torn between her old and new lives in 1950s Wexford and Brooklyn.
WHERE IS HOME? That’s the thinking behind this sweet Irish drama about a young woman trying to find her place in life.
Saoirse Ronan is already generating serious awards-season heat for her role here. And her restrained, mature performance helps keep this period film on the right side of melodrama.
But Brooklyn has other great victories to recommend it. Julie Walters in support provides wonderful light relief and steals every scene she’s in.
And it is Nick Hornby’s wonderful screenplay that anchors the film, and really brings home the painful dilemmas facing the central characters.
Ronan plays Eilis Lacey, a bright spark in small-town Enniscorthy who - like many of her generation - faces few prospects at home.
Egged on by her sister, and to the dismay of her mother, Eilis decides to take the emigrant boat to New York, where the prospect of employment and a new life await.
Naive but resolute, she makes the harrowing journey by sea across the Atlantic to meet Father Flood (Jim Broadbent) a kindly priest with a job and an offer of lodgings.
All has changed utterly, but some things are uncannily the same. The boarding house in which she is to stay, run by the steely and witty Mrs Kehoe (Walters, brilliant) is full of Irish girls, many of whom know her background and family.
Eilis may be in strange and unfamiliar territory, but the gossip and backbiting of small town Ireland is never far away.
Things look up when she finds romance with a handsome young Italian/American, who clearly adores her.
But when a family tragedy forces Eilis to make the lengthy journey home, she finds changed circumstances and friendship (and maybe more) in the form of a kind and well-connected young man (Gleeson).
It’s a heart wrenching decision for the young woman - does she remain with the people she knows best in the place where she grew up, or return to this strange new world and the man who is waiting for her?
It’s a familiar story that veers close to mawkishness at times - though it’s undeniably moving - but Brooklyn’s great victory is in the sheer strength of its storytelling.
Aided by Hornby’s charming script, Eilis is a woman in serious turmoil and anyone who has ever waved goodbye to a loved one at an airport will truly feel touched.
But Cohen, as her potential future, does a great job of muddying her dilemma, while some small supporting roles serve to add a real drama to the finale.
A poignant, lovely film, and one that Oscar voters will lap up.
THE VERDICT: A mature and moving heartstring puller.
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Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (15A) **
The Stars: Tye Sheridan, David Keochner.
The Story: Three scout friends bid to save the world and themselves when zombies attack.
THE WACKY title and a humourous opening scene suggests that Scouts Guide will be a fun zombie movie in the spirit of recent greats like Shawn of the Dead or Zombieland.
But if you pardon the pun, it all falls apart in the execution. The problem is a lack of strong scripting or any sort of consistency in director/co-screenwriter Christoper B. Landon's movie. It's fitfully funny in places - and properly gorey throughout. But there are two many pointless interludes that make this monster flick feel flabby, even given its short running time.
Tye Sheridan, Logan Miller and Joey Morgan play childhood friends Ben, Carter and Augie, dedicated scouts who are planning their latest field trip.
If truth be known, two of the boys are only there for Augie's sake - they feel their scout uniforms and not helping them on the love action front, and are wondering how to tell their friend they want to quit.
But that all becomes irrelevant when an accident in a nearby laboratory leads to a zombie breakout and it's not long before all three boys, along with their scout master (Keochner) are on the run and looking for a safe haven.
Fortunately, they're joined in their efforts by a savvy and streetwise stripper who's good with a shotgun.
Despite its inventive title, Scouts Guide falls well short of becoming a classic of the horror comedy genre. Fans of playful gore won't be disappointed, but there simply aren't enough laughs to pull in audiences.
The movie's not helped by the fact that the scouting element isn't really utilized - we get a few inventive knots and that's about it. And the dynamic between the three leads feels strained.
The Verdict: Strong on gore but short on humour.
