Front Row Dress Circle

Our usual Sunday drives around the countryside have had to be put on hold for the time being due to the really cold weather we are getting at the moment; even in this kind of weather the rural side of Northern Ireland is just as beautiful but it’s kind of lost on me when there is a gale force wind tearing at your face…

So we decided on a trip to the cinema which is something that everyone always can agree on. We love the Disney-Pixar films in our family and we have been waiting for the release of the latest pic Planet 51 after we saw a preview of it when we went to see Up a few weeks ago. The kids have been asking about it constantly so when we read that there were advance screenings on yesterday we decided to go for it. Any parent will know that taking the family to the movies these days almost requires the budget of a small third world country but I am one of those people who think that the popcorn, the drink and the maltesers are part and parcel of the experience. In Australia you can buy ‘choc tops’ - a cone with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream dipped in chocolate which sets so that you have to bite through the chocolate topping. You dont get those here but they are an institution where I come from.

So after parting with a good portion of a weeks wages we settled into our seats and I had to note how long the flick was - 98 minutes - which is important when you have two kids aged 5 and 7 armed with a 2 gallon container of fanta. This is a good length of film especially for young John as his bladder just about holds out without us needing to take a trip to the loo’s. When we took him to see War of the Worlds it was pretty hard going…and just as it was ending he was about to fall asleep. By the way - Planet 5 was brilliant, we highly recommend it!

Popularity: 37% [?]

Today was cinema day for our family so we took the kids to see the new flick ‘Monsters Vs Aliens’ - it was a real treat and not only did the kids love it we enjoyed it too.

It’s a great film - 92 mins - so it’s long enough to give you value for your money and short enough to keep the kids attention. I always think that anything over 100 mins for kids under 6 is asking for trouble boredom-threshold speaking. But our two loved it and to tell you the truth I would even sit through it again - something I would rarely do with kids films…not including some of the old Disney classics of course.

Highly recommend it!

Popularity: 37% [?]

I recently bought a stash of DVD’s from Amazon - very addictive I have to say. And one of them was one of my fave films; Waking Ned Devine.

This is a charming, heart warming film made back in 1998 starring the late, great Ian Bannen along with David Kelly, Fionnula Flanagan and James Nesbitt.

The film centres around a small village (supposedly in Ireland but the movie was actually filmed on location on the Isle of Man) and what happens after one of the villagers, Ned Devine, dies from shock after winning first prize on the Lottery. His friends discover that ’someone’ in their village has won the big money…but who?

Jackie & Micheal (Ian Bannen and David Kelly) decide to find out only to discover Ned in his cottage by the sea…dead in front of the TV with the winning ticket in his hand. After a dream, which features Ned and himself, Jackie claims Ned wants his friends to claim the money and share it among themselves. Micheal is drawn into impersonating Ned when the Lottery official arrives…and so the fun, both funny and sad, begins.

This is a wonderful film with characters you will warm to…and NOT warm to - the local ‘witch’ Lizzie threatens to blow the lid on their scheme when she is not promised a bigger share of the money than everyone else…what eventually happens to her is not only shocking but the climax to the story…you will be cheering in your chair.

Everything ends well in this film…and you find out something about Ned towards the end that provides a nice little twist in the tale…I’m not telling

Trivia:

* Ian Bannen, the highly respected and brilliant British actor, died one year after completing this film. He died in a road accident in Scotland when the car, driven by his wife Maggie, overturned. He was on a break during work on the film ‘Simply Sinatra’.

* The film was actually shot on location on the Isle of Man. The village in the film, ‘Tullymore’ was actually called ‘Cregneash’. The local people from the village were the extra’s in the village scenes.

* The Jackie’s House interiors for the ‘chicken dinner’ scene and bedroom and bathroom scenes, were sets built in the old mill in Laxey, the Glen Road.

* Neds House: Ned’s house exterior was a cottage at Niarbyl. The ‘nude swim’ scene was at Niarbyl down below Cregganmooar on White Beach.

* The ‘Fatal Phone Box’ was on the Marine Drive outside of Douglas.

* The final memorable scene was shot on top of Cronk ny Irree Lhaa.

Popularity: 60% [?]