It's all movie madness from now until March 4 as the Audi Dublin International Film Festival takes over the city. While a lot of screenings are sold out, here are some suggestions if you want to join in the fun - or feel like buying more tickets!
Dawson City: Frozen Time
Saturday February 24, Light House Cinema, 11:00am
So, is a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes reason enough to get up earlier on a Saturday? In 1978, Canadian construction workers discovered 533 silent movie reels - fact and fiction - that had been buried in a former goldrush town's permafrost since the late Twenties. Director Bill Morrison resurrected the footage with a soundtrack from Sigur Rós collaborator Alex Somers, and anyone who's experienced their trip back in time has been sharing the magic with everyone else they know.
Tueurs/Above the Law
Saturday February 24, Light House Cinema, 8:30pm
Lovers of Michael Mann's Heat should find that this crime-thriller has the genuine genre grit they're after - co-director Francois Troukens is a former armed robber. On screen, Olivier Gourmet plays Frank Valken, the hold-up man whose criminal code is tested as events spiral out of control. It's under 90 minutes, too, so you'll still have your Saturday night.
Marlina The Murderer in Four Acts
Sunday February 25, Cineworld, 6:00pm
A favourite at festivals all around the world, this Indonesian revenge western is one of the most visually striking films to grace Dublin this year. Star Marsha Timothy is superb as the titular hero in a story that manages to give the chills and make you sweat - sometimes in the same scene. With Irish horror The Cured sold out on the festival's first Sunday, take your place in this queue instead.
Lean on Pete
Wednesday February 28, Cineworld, 6:15pm
Author Willy Vlautin reckons that 45 Years director Andrew Haigh has done a fine job of bringing his classic coming-of-age novel to the big screen, and if that's good enough for him it's good enough for us. All the Money in the World's Charley Plummer plays the rudderless youngster who finds a sense of belonging through his summer job as a stablehand, and a friend in faded glory racehorse Lean on Pete. Trees Lounge fans take note: Steve Buscemi and Chloë Sevigny also star.
So Help Me God
Saturday March 3, Light House Cinema, 1:15pm
As always, there are plenty of must-see documentaries from at home and abroad in this year's ADIFF programme, and here's another one that will be among the most talked about. We join Belgian judge Anne Gruwez on two cold-case murder investigations, while also looking over her shoulder at the new files that have landed on the desk. Gruwez is, to put it mildly, a character - but gallows humour is a way to keep her humanity - and ours - intact.
Sicilian Ghost Story
Saturday March 3, Cineworld, 6:10pm
If Guillermo del Toro's The Shape of Water has been the best thing about February, then maybe this genre-melding movie will make your March. Fairytale elements combine with a real-life Italian kidnapping as a young girl refuses to give up the search for her abducted classmate. The trailer had us swooning.
Racer and the Jailbird
Sunday March 4, Cineworld, 1:30pm
Miss out on tickets for the Surprise Film and want to get some Sunday movie thrills in before the Oscars in the wee small hours? Then try Belgium's official entry for this year's Oscars. Bullhead and The Drop director Michaël Roskam reunites with star Matthias Schoenaerts for a fast love story that speeds between the racetrack and the Brussels underworld. Check them seatbelts.
The Audi Dublin International Film Festival runs until March 4. For tickets and more, visit: diff.ie.
