Wake Wood (2009)

2009 | Ireland | David Keating | ★

David Keating's poorly crafted Wake Wood is an ineffective Irish horror film, featuring an ill-fitting score, poor editing, unconvincing dialogue, and strangely lacklustre performances from a surprisingly well assembled cast, which includes Aidan Gillen, Eva Birthistle, and Timothy Spall.

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"Still grieving the death of their only child, Alice, a young couple relocate to the remote town of Wake Wood where they stumble on a group of villagers practising Pagan rituals. They soon learn that this ritual has the power to bring back the dead, and would allow them three days with their beloved daughter. They agree terms with the village leader (Timothy Spall) but then far bigger questions loom... what will they do when it's time for Alice to go back? Will she go back peacefully? Or are there more sinister forces at work?" Momentum Pictures

Bridget & Eamon (2016-)

2016 | Ireland | Butler, Zamparelli, & O’Shea | ★★★★★

Jason Butler, Jennifer Zamparelli, & Bernard O’Shea's trouser-soilingly funny Bridget & Eamon is an unashamedly silly yet wildly inventive '80s-set Irish sitcom, featuring hilarious period detail, wonderfully absurd comic situations, instantly quotable dialogue, and inspired performances.

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"Bridget & Eamon are your typical unhappily married 80s Irish couple. They live somewhere in the Irish Midlands with their indeterminate number of children. Chain-smoking Bridget has notions. She wants the lifestyle from the pages of Woman’s Way but wouldn’t want to think about how much it would cost to heat South Fork. The show set in the 1980s stars Jennifer Zamparelli as Bridget and Bernard O’Shea as Eamon in roles already massively popular in sketches on Republic of Telly and online with millions of views." RTÉ

See also:

Stotty's 2010s Favourites

Dara & Ed's Road to Mandalay (2017)

2017 | UK / Ireland | Dara Ó Briain & Ed Byrne | ★★★★

Dara Ó Briain & Ed Byrne's effortlessly entertaining yet gently informative Road to Mandalay is a comedian-led travelogue, packed with charismatic presenting, lots of weird and wonderful cultural gems, and a raft of wonderfully diverse Asian people and peoples.

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"Comedians Ed Byrne and Dara O Briain embark on an expedition of a lifetime, crossing 3,500 miles from the bright lights of modern day Malaysia to the jungles of Myanmar." BBC

Paula (2017)

2017 | UK / Ireland | Conor McPherson | ★★★★

Irish playwright Conor McPherson's alluringly abstruse and nonsensical Paula is a joltingly original three-part thriller, packed with discomfortingly ridiculous turns of plot, impenetrably enigmatic characters, and memorably dexterous performances.

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"Paula and James are worlds apart. They might both live in Dublin but Paula is a respected teacher, whereas James scratches out a living doing maintenance jobs and stealing from his mother. When Paula hears strange scuttling noises in her basement, she hires James to exterminate the rats and silence her fears. The two share a frenzied and fateful one-night stand. Paula is quickly pulled into a vicious game of cat and mouse. James seems to lurk on every street corner and behind every shadow – along with looming ghosts and silenced children, buried shame and harrowing secrets. As James’ grip strengthens, Paula’s ‘normal’ life shatters. She is forced to dig deep, and access the darkest depths of her soul, in a battle to survive." 2entertain

Song of the Sea (2014)

2014 | Ireland | Tomm Moore | ★★★★★

Award-winning Irish film-maker Tomm Moore's gently affecting, decidedly lovely Song of the Sea is a beautifully drawn, exquisitely painted animated children's fantasy, packed with the fairies, giants, witches, and selkies of Celtic folklore.

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"The enchanting Irish animation Song of the Sea tells the story of Ben and his little sister Saoirse – the last Seal-child – who embark on a fantastic journey across a fading world of ancient legend and magic in an attempt to return to their home by the sea. Nominated for Academy Award 'Best Animated Feature', the film takes inspiration from the mythological Selkies of Irish folklore, who live as seals in the sea but become humans on land." Studiocanal

See also:

Stotty's 2010s Favourites

Love & Friendship (2016)

2016 | Ireland | Whit Stillman | ★★★★

Based on Jane Austen's 1794 novel Lady Susan, Whit Stillman's sharply written Love & Friendship is a thoroughly entertaining period comedy-drama, filled with aristocratic double dealing, withering put-downs, and decidedly excellent performances.

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"Witty adaptation of Jane Austen's novella from film-maker Whit Stillman. Kate Beckinsale stars as Lady Susan, a high-class widow whose waning finances threaten her status and lifestyle. Accompanied by her American confidante Mrs. Alicia Johnson (Chloë Sevigny), who is waiting for her elderly husband (Stephen Fry) to pass on, the sharp-tongued Lady Susan sets her sights on charming Reginald de Courcy (Xavier Samuel) in the hope of a marriage and financial security. Her plans are disrupted with the arrival of her daughter Frederica (Morfydd Clark), upon whom Lady Susan thrusts the dull, but extremely wealthy, Sir James Martin (Tom Bennett)." Lionsgate