The Grand Seduction
Harbour lights.
Idyllic coastal towns are usually fighting to keep the petrochemical industry out of their locality but in The Grand Seduction it’s quite the opposite. Tickle Cove, a once proud fishing town has…
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A life in
the pictures.
Films that stay with you.
Writing that looks a little closer.
Explore the collected reviews of Linda O’Brien.
397 REVIEWS · ONE CRITIC’S PERSPECTIVE
The Hallow
If you go down to the woods today...
Anyone who has attended their fair share of horror film festivals has learned to be cautious in the face of low-budget scary movies. Sure there are the occasional breakout masterpieces but for…
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The Hangover Part II
Hair of the dog.
I like to think I have a high tolerance level for the scuzziest of films. I’ve watched some truly nasty horrors without batting an eyelid. So while I wasn’t expecting to be…
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The Help
Help wanted.
Rather than being a popcorn movie, The Help is more a tea and biscuits kind of experience. It is well-made and cosily enjoyable but hardly memorable. Adapted from the bestselling novel, The…
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The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
A shire delight.
When The Return of the King won the Oscar for Best Picture in 2004, I have to admit my reaction was a little churlish. Sure, the trilogy deserved recognition but Best Picture?…
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The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
Exit the Dragon.
There is a scene in Kevin Smith’s slacker comedy Clerks II in which staff at a fast food joint debate the relative merits of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy versus the…
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The Hole 3D
A hole lotta fun.
After years of exposing myself to every horror film I can get my hands on I have become pretty hard to scare. However, there are a few old chestnuts that never fail…
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The House
Not worth the gamble.
Watching American comedies over the last few years has felt a little like being strapped to a roulette wheel, going round and round in circles, while becoming increasingly nauseous. Screenwriters seem to…
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The Imitation Game
A beautiful mind.
The Imitation Game is a lot like a bowl of porridge; wholesome and enjoyable to consume but you know, it’s still just porridge. The film tells the story of genius mathematician Alan…
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The Imposter
Secrets and lies.
We begin on a rainy night in Spain. A tourist couple happen upon a teenage boy slumped in a telephone box. Seemingly lost and terrified and without I.D., the boy is a…
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The Iron Lady
The lady vanishes.
There is undoubtedly a great film to be made about Margaret Thatcher but The Iron Lady is not it. That’s not to say it’s a bad piece of work. On the contrary;…
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The Lady in the Van
Vantastic.
The potted description of The Lady in the Van sounds hopelessly twee; an adaptation of an Alan Bennett play directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Maggie Smith as the eponymous eccentric. It's…
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The Last Exorcism
Devilishly good fun.
As the modern horror film continues its plummet to new lows (or highs depending on your gag reflex) of violence, profanity and general boldness, there is one corner of the genre that…
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The Last Song
Not so bright Sparks.
The novels of Nicholas Sparks may be staggeringly formulaic but on screen his stories usually make for rather effective tear-jerkers. Both The Notebook and A Walk to Remember have achieved cult status…
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The Legend of Tarzan
Gorilla warfare.
The Legend of Tarzan is now over a century old and after much rebooting, yodelling and loinclothing, has become a mainstay of popular culture. This latest iteration, directed by David Slade, makes…
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The Light Between Oceans
The lighthouse family.
I really wish I had read M.L. Stedman's novel The Light Between Oceans before watching the movie adaptation – I would have been able to unceremoniously throw the book out of the…
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The Magnificent Seven
The Mild West.
It may be a bit unfair to call a remake derivative but The Magnificent Seven doesn't have much to go on in terms of story. For those who have seen the original…
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The Man with the Iron Fists
Rumble in the jungle.
In a startling moment of "write the theme tune, sing the theme tune" hubris, RZA, erstwhile Wu-Tang clanner and Kill Bill soundtrack composer, has chosen to give the title role of his…
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