Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival 2021

JP Liz V1

Supernova and Ammonite (both Oscar buzzed) look to be the big ones, Dinner in America and Deadly Cuts sound good

Decuc500

Jumbo.

A film about a woman who falls in love with an amusement park ride. I hoped it would be quirkier but it took its theme of 'acceptance' a bit too seriously for my liking.

The slim storyline didn't need 90 minutes so it dragged a bit. Still though, a diverting and unusual watch.

Decuc500

Minari

There's a lot of hype surrounding this film about a Korean family settling in Reagan era America, thankfully justified.

A warm and funny crowd pleasing drama with fantastically drawn characters. Really wonderful film.

johnny_ultimate

My schedule this year has been fairly front-loaded - through well over half of my dozen or so films so far, so a more relaxed second week. Enjoying the online fest, honestly - it’s great having a bigger window to watch, so you can set your own schedule to a large degree. I miss the cinema obviously, but casting onto a decent TV (the stream quality seems perfect on it, but not sure if that’s some extra upscaling processing as I’ve heard one or two stream quality complaints elsewhere) and this ain’t a bad second best!

So far:

Ammonite - restrained to the point of narcoleptic. Stick with Portrait of a Lady on Fire.

Minari - the definite highlight so far. A case study in how a new perspective can beautifully enliven a familiar tale. A work fascinated by its characters, and always does right by them without glossing over their flaws. Bright, soothing and compassionate - simply lovely.

Another Round - the ‘folk getting drunk’ film is having a bit of a moment (see also: Broken Nose, Empty Pockets). Liked this a lot: Vinterberg and Mikkelsen are a dynamic duo for sure. A film consumed with the euphoric highs and miserable lows of getting pissed. It’s probably getting an extra star on a lot of ratings as it wraps up with a total barnstormer of a final scene, but I’m not complaining

To The Moon - a great film essay from Ireland’s Tadhg O’Sullivan. Digs seriously deep into the world cinema archives and creates an ode to everyone’s favourite satellite. A reminder of the different sorts of moods filmmakers can conjure by having the moonlight in their images.

Beasts Clawing At Straws - a lightweight but extremely entertaining K-thriller / black comedy. If you want to see bad things happen to terrible people, you can’t go wrong with this!

Limbo - a film about a couple of refugees stuck on a remote Scottish island as they wait for their applications to be processed. A quietly damning critique of the dehumanising systems, but one that’s very focused on the experiences of the characters above all else. A nice wry comedic streak runs through it all, and there’s no shortage of unusual, stark and witty visual choices dotted throughout.

Boys from County Hell - takes its time getting going, and ultimately there’s nothing majorly new here. But as Irish horror films go this looks the part, has some very neat SFX, and rises above the norm with a very Irish sense of humour and fresh perspective on vampire mythology. A decent watch, although definitely of all the films so far it’s the one that’d play better in a full screening.

BalboBiggins

Lads what are the most highly rated films this year?

Decuc500

BalboBiggins wrote: »

Lads what are the most highly rated films this year?

I don't really know anything about the rest of the films I have tickets for but so far Minari and Another Round have been excellent.

Minari is a film that should reach a big audience and I'm sure would have been a big hit for the Lighthouse/IFI in normal times.

homerun_homer

So far I've watched Minari, Kubrick by Kubrick and Beasts Clawing at Straws. The Kubrick doc was interesting, but nothing amazing. Definitely one for fans all the same.

Beasts Clawing at Straws was entertaining, but my stream kept stalling (probably my internet more than Eventive service), and at one point I tried restarting it only to find it doesn't save your position. I was watching on a Fire Stick and had to fast forward at 10 second increments which ended up taking as long as it would have been re-watching it again. It sorta ruined the momentum for me and took away some enjoyment so my 3/5 rating may or may not be accurate. I hoped it would be on par to kinds of films I love from Korean cinema but it is more in line with Guy Richie than Tarantino for what it was.

Minari was a great film, I've probably not much more to add than what others would say about the film but it's a good family drama. I really like seeing Steven Yeun cast off the shackles of The Walking Dead with films like this and Burning. The actor who plays their son is a joy to watch too and brings out the funniest moments.

Karlos77

Shorta film


Absolute class ...

I like watching these films distraction from covid reality and this one was so good...

I actually feel like I'm on the run like the cops in the film
.......
Beasts clawing at straws

Great film addictive
........
Acasa my home film

Such a sad grim film really makes you think how lucky we are living the good life when these people have nothing
....
Boys from county hell

Surprised how hood this film is .very scary and great story

Decuc500

Dreams On Fire

Very colourful and vibrant dive into Japan's dance culture following a young dancer from the countryside who tries to find success in Tokyo.

Dinner in America

This was an off beat and very funny black comedy. An American indie film about an obnoxious punk and his biggest fan. I loved the humour and energy in this. Sure to be a cult hit.

homerun_homer

The only vDIFF thing I ever went to before was to see Charlie Kaufman in conversation last year. The films selected never usually grab me. I bought the 5 ticket pass this year but having completed the selection now I thought they were all bang average and nothing to rave about. The last two films I watched at the weekend were Apples and Wild Swords. There was some great visuals and imagery in Wild Swords but it's overly convoluted plot to what is essentially a simple story doesn't serve it well, and the low budget really shows in some of the action scenes, where at one point they just run away from the action just as I thought the film was about to kick some ass.

Decuc500 wrote: »

Dinner in America

This was an off beat and very funny black comedy. An American indie film about an obnoxious punk and his biggest fan. I loved the humour and energy in this. Sure to be a cult hit.

I bought my 5 ticket pass in order to add this to the mix and found out it was sold out. That was frustrating.

Decuc500

homerun_homer wrote: »

The only vDIFF thing I ever went to before was to see Charlie Kaufman in conversation last year. The films selected never usually grab me. I bought the 5 ticket pass this year but having completed the selection now I thought they were all bang average and nothing to rave about. The last two films I watched at the weekend were Apples and Wild Swords. There was some great visuals and imagery in Wild Swords but it's overly convoluted plot to what is essentially a simple story doesn't serve it well, and the low budget really shows in some of the action scenes, where at one point they just run away from the action just as I thought the film was about to kick some ass.



I bought my 5 ticket pass in order to add this to the mix and found out it was sold out. That was frustrating.

I agree about Wild Swords. It ran out of steam half way through and was hard to follow.

Hopefully Dinner In America will get a decent release. It was kind of refreshing to see a film with such an irreverent sense of humour.

homerun_homer

Decuc500 wrote: »

I agree about Wild Swords. It ran out of steam half way through and was hard to follow.

Did you see the few seconds of mid-credits scene? Not so much in a marvel mid-credits scene, but a bit of footage shown for a few seconds over the music and just confused me as to what I was supposed to get out of it.

Decuc500

homerun_homer wrote: »

Did you see the few seconds of mid-credits scene? Not so much in a marvel mid-credits scene, but a bit of footage shown for a few seconds over the music and just confused me as to what I was supposed to get out of it.

I can't actually remember that scene! The end of the film made sense to me at the time but I'm struggling to remember it a few days later.

homerun_homer

Decuc500 wrote: »

I can't actually remember that scene! The end of the film made sense to me at the time but I'm struggling to remember it a few days later.

The extra scene was just showing the 'younger versions' of the characters run up steps in the nameless sect and smiling, I wasn't sure if it was to stir some emotion in the viewer that wasn't there.

JP Liz V1

Decuc500 wrote: »

Minari

There's a lot of hype surrounding this film about a Korean family settling in Reagan era America, thankfully justified.

A warm and funny crowd pleasing drama with fantastically drawn characters. Really wonderful film.

The winner of the 2021 Virgin Media Audience Award is Minari

Decuc500

JP Liz V1 wrote: »

The winner of the 2021 Virgin Media Audience Award is Minari

Yes, nice to see it win the audience award.