Join us in Iontas Theatre at 7PM on Wednesday, 6th October for a screening of 'The Suicide Squad'

Looking forward to meeting everyone!

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 28th April for a screening of 'Scott Pilgrim' via Teleparty & Discord! ?

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 21st April for a screening of 'The Platform' via Teleparty & Discord! ?

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 14th April for a screening of 'Shaun of the Dead' via Teleparty & Discord! ????

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 24th March for a screening of 'Midnight in Paris' via Teleparty & Discord! ?

This week is a collab with the MU Creative Writing society! ??

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 10th March for a screening of 'Seven' via Teleparty & Discord! 7??    

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 3rd March for a screening of 'Ready Player One' via Teleparty & Discord! ??

This week is a collab with Visual Media Society :) ?

Join us at 8PM on Wednesday, 24th February for a screening of 'All Together Now' via Teleparty & Discord! ?

This week is a collab with MU SVP and the Mental Health Society!

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 17th February for a screening of 'The Social Network' via Teleparty & Discord! ?

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 10th February for a screening of 'The Truman Show' via Teleparty & Discord! ?

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 16th December for a screening of 'Klaus' via Netflix Party & Discord! ?

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 9th December for a screening of 'Arthur Christmas' via Netflix Party & Discord ?? This week, we're collaborating with MU SVP! ?

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 2nd December for a screening of 'La La Land' via Netflix Party & Discord! ??

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 25th November for a screening of 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' via Netflix Party & Discord. This week, we're collaborating with MU Mental Health Society!

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 18th November for a screening of 'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse' via Netflix Party & Discord!

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 11th November for a screening of 'The Big Lebowski' via Netflix Party & Discord ?

Netflix Party link will be sent via Discord, here's the link if you've yet to join: https://discord.gg/GcfeteGf94

Join us at 7PM on Wednesday, 4th November for a screening of 'Hereditary' via Netflix Party & Discord ?

Netflix Party link will be sent via Discord, here's the link if you've yet to join: https://discord.gg/GcfeteGf94

Join us for our AGM this Thursday, 22nd October at 7PM!

We will be hosting it on MS Teams :) Committee positions open to all!

Looking forward to seeing you there.

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MDFmMDMyYjUtM2JmNC00NmQwLWI2M2YtNTE0NGE4OGY4ZWYw%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%221454f5cc-bb35-4685-bbd9-8621fd8055c9%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%22514aef21-cb30-40ff-acea-615d828ede45%22%7d

We have set up a Discord which you can join by using the following link :)

https://discord.gg/Vbmy9Nc

Hi everyone,

It's been a while. We hope you've been staying safe & keeping well.

As you're aware, NPHET have recommended the country move to level 5. In light of this information, it is highly unlikely that MU Film Soc will be running any in-person events for 1st semester 2020/21. Events will return with social distancing as soon as it is safe to do so (pending future guidance).

Virtual Fairs Day will run this Wednesday, 7th October, from 10am to 5pm. Make sure to check out our virtual stand :)

If you haven't already signed up on mulife.ie/society/film, make sure to do so, you will need to re-apply even if you were signed up last year.

We plan on holding an AGM video call in the following weeks. We're also looking into keeping the society active in some form online (Netflix party etc.)

Your patience & understanding is appreciated, stay safe folks.

Join us at 7PM in John Hume, Lecture Hall 2 on Wednesday, 4th March for a screening of 'Groundhog Day' For this event, we will be collaborating with Comedy Soc!

Join us at 7PM in John Hume, Lecture Hall 2 on Wednesday, 26th February for a screening of 'Call Me By Your Name' For this event, we will be collaborating with the Maynooth Pride Society

Join us at 7PM in John Hume, Lecture Hall 2 on Wednesday, 19th February for a screening of 'Psycho'  

'Joker' - Reviewed by Daniel Sheridan

In Todd Philips's controversial film Joker, we learn the past of the most infamous characters in comic book history. With an amazing performance at the centre of the film, Joker has a lot of amazing qualities going for it, yet it is too bad that these are held down by its many flaws.

I have always been a Joaquin Phoenix apologist from his strange performance art documentary I’m Still Here and his beautiful performance in The Master. Phoenix has proven to be one of the worlds most versatile actors and no more does it shine than in his performance of Arthur Fleck. His portrayal of a man broken down by society in this film is nothing short of mesmerizing. We follow his transformation from a man who only wanted to make people laugh to the sadistic character we all know from previous iterations. While I love Phoenix’s performance in this film I think he gave a far more realistic and nuanced performance of a man forgotten by society in Lynn Ramsey’s 2018 film You Were Never Really Here. Sometimes Fleck felt a bit uneven on his motives throughout the film, yet I do not put that down to Phoenix’s performance rather down to Todd Phillips and Scott Silvers script.

Two other aspects of the film I really enjoyed were the score and the cinematography. The way Lawerence Sher framed Gotham made it feel like a lived-in world. The gritty colour grading and close-ups made us more engrossed in Fleck’s struggles, while it moves out too well choreographed wide shots at moments of his triumph. Similarly, Hildur Guðnadóttir’s score added to both the claustrophobic nature of Gotham city and the dreamlike perception Fleck has on reality. It is so hard to find composers who use their music to drive forward the story through their music alone, yet that is how I felt every time Guðnadóttir’s haunting violins creep into your ears.

Where I feel the film falls flat is within its script and its direction. It is hard to separate Joker from the intertextual references that inspired its narrative as it is so ingrained in its DNA. When I watch Joker I never feel like I am watching something new, interesting or innovative because I have seen the same form of narrative done better in two Scorsese flicks. I am not saying it is wrong to have intertextual references and influences within works of art, for example, most of Hozier’s songs reference different Jazz standard artists that influenced his work and Yargos Lanthamos uses techniques similar to Stanley Kubrick to tell a story on the screen. Yet the difference between the likes of Hozier/Lanthimos and Phillips Is that they take their intertextual knowledge in order to create something new, which Joker never feels. Philips had nothing new to say so he called on films like Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy to say something for him.

While I think you should see Joker I feel like it's not the masterpiece you have come to believe it to be. There is talent working on this film, yet they are squandered on a director that bit off more than he could chew.

'Sicario' - Reviewed by Daniel Sheridan

Suspense is a tool used in the film to make the audience fear, not just for the safety of the characters on screen but also for themselves. This tool is most commonly associated with horror, the creaking door and the slow walks through the hallway of an abandoned house. Yet it was in 2015’s Sicario, where suspense feels real.

Directed by Denis Villeneuve and written by Tyler Sheridan Sicario is a gritty tale of gang violence, American Colonialism and an FBI agent thrown into the middle of it all. Villeneuve’s direction of the film is nothing short of masterful, creating tension out of mundane moments in the film, with simple shots and cuts, making the viewer feel on edge at every moment of the film. This is only heightened by the excellent cinematography of Roger Deaken who turns this tale of gangs vs the CIA into a wide scoped western. The collaboration between these two men creates one of the most engaging tales in recent cinema history. Through visual cues, the two manage to create mystery about their characters through visuals alone, rather than through what they say.

Sheridan’s script also must be praised. Proving to be one of the most prolific thriller writers in recent history, Sheridan seems to have a fantastic understanding of the role mystery plays in a story. He never truly lets us understand the characters. With Benicio Del Toro’s Alejandro, remaining an enigma throughout the entire run of the film, regardless of the fact that we learn quite a bit about him. Where I think Sheridan’s script falls flat is in his treatment of Emily Blunt’s Kate Macy. He introduces her as a hard-hitting professional character, yet once Josh Brolin and Del Toro are introduced into the script Blunt’s character loses all agency becoming essentially an extra in her own story. I think this is due to the fact that Sheridan has an issue with writing female characters, with his later film Wind River doing the exact same to Elizabeth Olsen’s character and High Waters having little to no female characters at all. It adds this uncomfortable air of misogyny over the film that does not sit well with me.

If you are looking for a film that will make you tense through every single frame of the film, Sicario is definitely a must. It’s a well-crafted mystery and beautiful cinematography and direction are enough to make this one of the more interesting thrillers of the previous decade, despite its flaws in the script.

'Reservoir Dogs' - Reviewed by Adam McGuire

 The feature length directorial debut of Quentin Tarantino is often hailed as a cult classic by many fans. The movie shows us the story of 6 petty criminals in Los Angeles who attempt a diamond heist and must deal with the consequences of the heist going wrong, while unaware that there is an undercover cop amongst them. The rough around the edges, gritty style of this movie and the excellent work by the young up and coming actors as well as the support from the seasoned acting veterans really helps to elevate this movie to another level.

 The movie itself starts off near the end and is told in flashbacks from each characters’ perspective, which leads to the story being slowly unravelled in an interesting and dynamic fashion as the audience slowly solves the mystery of who is the undercover police officer as the story progresses. The gory nature of the movie leaves the audience with a sense of unease throughout the movie which serves to hold the audience’s attention and shows us the start of Tarantino’s signature gory, over the top violent directorial style.

 The transition between background music and silence in some of the scenes gives a great idea of depth and perspective and really accentuates some of the actions done by the various characters. While the film itself is very low budget, it shows the masterful directing and writing from Tarantino that allows the movie holds up to the test of time over 25 years later. This gritty, realistic crime movie truly is a must watch for both the casual movie watcher and the diehard fanatic. 

Join other Nerd Societies in a Christmas party of the ages. There will be a table quiz round for each different society! Free Pizza and the SU Bar on site! Come along and have a great time!

We raised €210 for Ataxia Foundation Ireland at the Inter-Soc charity quiz last night! A massive thank you to every society involved and everyone who donated

Congratulations to the winning team, 'Phil Soc', and the raffle winners who won a polaroid camera and a Chromecast

Thanks again everyone!

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> Normal 0 false false false EN-GB X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;} </style> <![endif]-->Join us at 7PM in Iontas Theatre on Wednesday, 11th December for a screening of Tarantino's ‘Reservoir Dogs’

Inter-Soc Charity Quiz in aid of Ataxia Ireland! We'll be starting at 7:30pm in the Venue on Monday, 9th!
€2 entry fee per person
4 people per team

'Arrival' - Reviewed by Daniel Sheridan

"Is our lack of communication creating this divide between us on a personal and political level". That is the question posited by Denis Villeneuve's thoughtful sci-fi film Arrival. 

This has been in the list of many (including myself) as one of the best films of the 2010's. With most sci-fi films becoming loud and boisterous these days, the quiet approach of Arrival was a breath of fresh air. Not interested in the spectacle of explosions and harsh sound effects, Arrival was more interested in presenting its central thesis and making you reflect on that rather than the otherworldly elements of the film.

One thing that draws you in from the outset in Arrival is the music, from Max Richter's On the Nature of Daylight which serves as the theme of the film, to Jóhann Jóhannsson's original score. Both works add this melancholy element to the film which adds to the narrative, particularly Jóhannsson's score which sounds otherworldly much like his other albums. 

We cannot talk about Arrival without talking about Villeneuve's spectacular direction and Eric Heisserer's script which work perfectly in tandem with one another. The project started off as a passion of Heisserer's, wanting to adapt Ted Chiang's short story 'The Story of Your Life', which gave way to Villeneuve's involvement in the film. Many changes added by Villeneuve elevated the narrative of the film, specifically the opening of the film which allowed the narrative to look alot like the language of the Heptipods in the film. It is collaborations like this that take a film from being good to fantastic. 

When it comes to the cinematography of the film Bradford Young did a great job of grounding the film in a sense reality while also evoking the otherworldly presence. The way the alien craft hangs in the background of almost every shot shows this great sense of world building through the visual medium. 

We also must look at Amy Adams' immaculate performance. Giving a career best, Adams takes over every scene she is in, encapsulating this notion of a person feeling out of their depth. Her descent into this new world she has been thrust is one of the best performances of the past ten years. 

Please, if you have the chance, go see Arrival. If not for the fantastic cinematic experience then for the clever ways in which it connects to our real world.

'Monty Python's Life of Brian' - Reviewed by James Crotty

'Monty Python's Life of Brian' is one of the inaugural comedies of the last generation, paving the way to what we now know as modern comedy. In the 1970s, religion was a very taboo subject to broach especially amongst American and Irish audiences. Monty Python, however, proved that movies were just as capable of criticising practices in society as any other form of comedy.
The plot satirizes the formation of religion and how mob mentality lead to years of conflict; people unable to think for themselves with a seeming need to be told of how they should lead their lives. The movie's handling of topics such as martyrdom is profound and undoubtedly funny, as most of the jokes are, albeit some of them are a product of their time and have not aged well.
Overall, the performances were quite good and the repeating of actors for various characters was very well done. Graham Chapman turned in an admirable performance as Brian and following the character's ridiculous story was also a joy.

The Exorcist - Reviewed by James Crotty

A product of its time, 'The Exorcist' suffers in attempting to bring that same feeling of horror back to a more desensitized audience often seeming more comedic than terrifying. Nevertheless, it remains a pioneer of the horror genre and a must-watch for fans of horror movies.

The movie focuses around the characters of Regan, the young girl who is possessed by a demon, her mother Chris who is terrorized by both the entity and her daughter's suffering and Father Damien Karras, the priest attempting to help both Regan and her mother. While possession may be a frequently explored trope nowadays, it was popularised by this movie and I have yet to see a movie use this trope to the same effect. Following the family’s journey through the possession and leaving the entity a mystery only deepens the story.