Agnes O’Casey as Dolly, Kathy Bates as Eileen Dunne and Maggie Smith as Lily Fox sign up for the ‘All Stars Talent Show’ in The Miracle Club. Photo credit: Jonathan Hession. © themiracleclubcopyright 2023. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Maggie Smith and Kathy Bates play longtime friends in ’60s Ballygar, Ireland hoping to win a church talent contest for a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, in Irish director Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s dramedy The Miracle Club. Actually there are three friends, with the third being a young neighbor, played by Agnes O’Casey. The women have differing reason for wanting to make the pilgrimage – two hope for a miracle and one wants a trip of lifetime. There is a fourth woman is on the trip, Chrissie (Laura Linney), the long-absent daughter of a recently deceased friend, who has returned after four decades in America for the funeral of her estranged mother.
The Miracle Club...
Maggie Smith and Kathy Bates play longtime friends in ’60s Ballygar, Ireland hoping to win a church talent contest for a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, in Irish director Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s dramedy The Miracle Club. Actually there are three friends, with the third being a young neighbor, played by Agnes O’Casey. The women have differing reason for wanting to make the pilgrimage – two hope for a miracle and one wants a trip of lifetime. There is a fourth woman is on the trip, Chrissie (Laura Linney), the long-absent daughter of a recently deceased friend, who has returned after four decades in America for the funeral of her estranged mother.
The Miracle Club...
- 7/14/2023
- by Cate Marquis
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Dramatizing the tough road toward reconciliation that four Irish women embark on during a pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, The Miracle Club seeks nothing more than to be easily digestible. Between the vibrantly colored costume pieces and the sweeping aerial shots of the Irish and French countrysides, the film tries quite hard to keep its story in the placid realm of the feel-good. Yet those elements belie an extremely dark and tragic center, which the filmmakers are far too keen to wash their hands of almost as soon as it’s revealed.
Set in 1967, Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s film begins in Ballygar, a working-class seaside neighborhood in the outskirts of Dublin that’s reliant on the guidance of Father Dermot Byrne (Mark O’Halloran), whose church is something of a community center. Chrissie (Laura Linney) is returning to the area for her mother’s funeral, some 40 years after leaving Ballygar for Boston, and...
Set in 1967, Thaddeus O’Sullivan’s film begins in Ballygar, a working-class seaside neighborhood in the outskirts of Dublin that’s reliant on the guidance of Father Dermot Byrne (Mark O’Halloran), whose church is something of a community center. Chrissie (Laura Linney) is returning to the area for her mother’s funeral, some 40 years after leaving Ballygar for Boston, and...
- 7/7/2023
- by Greg Nussen
- Slant Magazine
Lionsgate UK has launched the trailer for the life-affirming movie ‘The Miracle Club.’
Set in 1967, the film follows the story of three generations of close friends, Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates), and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey) of Ballygar, a hard-knocks community in Dublin, who have one tantalizing dream: to win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, that place of miracles that draws millions of visitors each year.
When the chance to win presents itself, the women seize it. However, just before their trip, their old friend Chrissie (Laura Linney) arrives in Ballygar for her Mother’s funeral, dampening their good mood and well-laid plans. The women secure tickets and set out on the journey that they hope will change their lives, with Chrissie joining in place of her mother.
The glamour and sophistication of Chrissie, who has just returned from a nearly 40-year exile in the United States,...
Set in 1967, the film follows the story of three generations of close friends, Lily (Maggie Smith), Eileen (Kathy Bates), and Dolly (Agnes O’Casey) of Ballygar, a hard-knocks community in Dublin, who have one tantalizing dream: to win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, that place of miracles that draws millions of visitors each year.
When the chance to win presents itself, the women seize it. However, just before their trip, their old friend Chrissie (Laura Linney) arrives in Ballygar for her Mother’s funeral, dampening their good mood and well-laid plans. The women secure tickets and set out on the journey that they hope will change their lives, with Chrissie joining in place of her mother.
The glamour and sophistication of Chrissie, who has just returned from a nearly 40-year exile in the United States,...
- 6/27/2023
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Actor Sean Connery, the star of writer/director John Boorman's bizarre 1974 fantasy feature "Zardoz", depicting a post apocalyptic world where barbarians are granted an eternal life, has died in Barbados at the age of 90:
"...in 2293, the human population is divided into the immortal 'Eternals' and mortal 'Brutals." The Brutals live in a wasteland, growing food for the Eternals, who live apart in the 'Vortex', leading a luxurious but aimless existence on the grounds of a country estate.
"The connection between the two groups is through 'Brutal Exterminators', who kill and terrorize other Brutals at the orders of a huge flying stone head called 'Zardoz', which supplies them with weapons in exchange for the food they collect.
"'Zed' (Connery), a Brutal Exterminator, hides aboard Zardoz during one trip, temporarily killing its Eternal operator-creator 'Arthur Frayn' (Niall Buggy).
"Arriving in the Vortex, Zed meets two Eternals – 'Consuella' (Charlotte Rampling...
"...in 2293, the human population is divided into the immortal 'Eternals' and mortal 'Brutals." The Brutals live in a wasteland, growing food for the Eternals, who live apart in the 'Vortex', leading a luxurious but aimless existence on the grounds of a country estate.
"The connection between the two groups is through 'Brutal Exterminators', who kill and terrorize other Brutals at the orders of a huge flying stone head called 'Zardoz', which supplies them with weapons in exchange for the food they collect.
"'Zed' (Connery), a Brutal Exterminator, hides aboard Zardoz during one trip, temporarily killing its Eternal operator-creator 'Arthur Frayn' (Niall Buggy).
"Arriving in the Vortex, Zed meets two Eternals – 'Consuella' (Charlotte Rampling...
- 10/31/2020
- by Unknown
- SneakPeek
Stars: Sean Connery, Charlotte Rampling, Sara Kestelman, John Alderton, Sally Anne Newton, Niall Buggy, Bosco Hogan, Jessica Swift, Bairbre Dowling, Christopher Casson, Reginald Jarman | Written and Directed by John Boorman
To many, Zardoz simply reminds them of Sean Connery in a red bikini but in truth the film is much more than that. With Arrow Video’s new Blu-ray we have a chance to revisit a unique science fiction film that really deserves to be watched and not be mocked in the [out of context way] it always seems to be.
In the year 2293 society has broken down into three distinct classes. The Brutals work the land and are forbidden from reproducing. The Executioners are brutal overseers who rule by the gun, and the Eternals, protected in a force field enclosed Eden of immortality. When a Brutal, Zed (Sean Connery) find his way into the Eternals protected little world he threatens the status quo...
To many, Zardoz simply reminds them of Sean Connery in a red bikini but in truth the film is much more than that. With Arrow Video’s new Blu-ray we have a chance to revisit a unique science fiction film that really deserves to be watched and not be mocked in the [out of context way] it always seems to be.
In the year 2293 society has broken down into three distinct classes. The Brutals work the land and are forbidden from reproducing. The Executioners are brutal overseers who rule by the gun, and the Eternals, protected in a force field enclosed Eden of immortality. When a Brutal, Zed (Sean Connery) find his way into the Eternals protected little world he threatens the status quo...
- 9/14/2015
- by Paul Metcalf
- Nerdly
The distinctive and beguiling Irish actor David Kelly, who has died aged 82, was as familiar a face in British television sitcoms as he was on the stage in Dublin, where he was particularly associated with the Gate theatre. But he was perhaps best known in recent years for playing Grandpa Joe in Tim Burton's movie adaptation of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), an engaging performance that was honoured with a lifetime achievement award from the Irish Film and Television Academy; Johnny Depp, who played Willy Wonka, paid a touching tribute on a video link from Hollywood to Dublin.
Kelly was a tall and flamboyant figure who was often cast as a comic, eccentric Irishman, notably as Albert Riddle, an incompetent, one-armed dish-washer in the late 1970s British sitcom Robin's Nest; he...
Kelly was a tall and flamboyant figure who was often cast as a comic, eccentric Irishman, notably as Albert Riddle, an incompetent, one-armed dish-washer in the late 1970s British sitcom Robin's Nest; he...
- 2/14/2012
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
Chicago – I suspect there is a segment of the moviegoing population that will take one look at the title, “Anton Chekhov’s The Duel,” and flee in the other direction, most likely into “The Hangover Part II.” Chekhov is the sort of literary genius whose work is quoted by writers aiming to prove their own level of intellectualism. Yet his work is too good to be merely confined in art houses.
Israeli director Dover Koshashvili has created what is easily the most accessible cinematic adaptation of Chekhov to date. It’s perched delicately on the razor’s edge between wrenching drama and deadpan comedy, allowing several sequences to simultaneously succeed as both. There isn’t a stilted or inauthentic moment in the picture, evoking memories of the best Merchant Ivory productions, particularly 1985’s “A Room with a View.”
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
Like Koshashvili’s acclaimed 2001 drama, “Late Marriage,” Chekhov’s 1891 short story,...
Israeli director Dover Koshashvili has created what is easily the most accessible cinematic adaptation of Chekhov to date. It’s perched delicately on the razor’s edge between wrenching drama and deadpan comedy, allowing several sequences to simultaneously succeed as both. There isn’t a stilted or inauthentic moment in the picture, evoking memories of the best Merchant Ivory productions, particularly 1985’s “A Room with a View.”
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.0/5.0
Like Koshashvili’s acclaimed 2001 drama, “Late Marriage,” Chekhov’s 1891 short story,...
- 5/27/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Versatile Irish stage actor who became a familiar face across British drama
Before he became a familiar face on television and cinema screens, the outstanding Irish actor Tp McKenna, who has died after a long illness aged 81, bridged the gap between the old and the new Abbey theatres in Dublin. He appeared with the company for eight years during the interim period at the Queen's theatre; the old Abbey burned down in 1951, the new one opened by the Liffey in 1966.
During that time he made his reputation as a leading actor of great charm, vocal resource – with a fine singing voice – and versatility. He was equally adept at comedy and tragedy, a great exponent of the best Irish playwriting from Jm Synge and Séan O'Casey to Hugh Leonard and Brian Friel. The elder son in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night was a favourite, much acclaimed role.
It was Stephen D,...
Before he became a familiar face on television and cinema screens, the outstanding Irish actor Tp McKenna, who has died after a long illness aged 81, bridged the gap between the old and the new Abbey theatres in Dublin. He appeared with the company for eight years during the interim period at the Queen's theatre; the old Abbey burned down in 1951, the new one opened by the Liffey in 1966.
During that time he made his reputation as a leading actor of great charm, vocal resource – with a fine singing voice – and versatility. He was equally adept at comedy and tragedy, a great exponent of the best Irish playwriting from Jm Synge and Séan O'Casey to Hugh Leonard and Brian Friel. The elder son in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night was a favourite, much acclaimed role.
It was Stephen D,...
- 2/17/2011
- by Michael Coveney
- The Guardian - Film News
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