The Dubliner Magazine

6 Things We're Looking Forward to at the JDIFF

Tickets went on sale for the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival (February 18th-28th) at midnight on Thursday. We will be at the top of the queue for...

1. The Secret Film
The purists may scoff, but we love this one. The Surprise Film was the late Michael Dwyer's baby – he often wouldn't tell his team what the movie was until the day before. And even the projectionist doesn't know! Suffice to say, it's always something a broad range of viewers will enjoy (previous ones include 300, The Escapist and Starsky and Hutch), you get to see it way before its general release, there's a prize if you guess right and it sells out really quickly.
Cineworld, 28th February, 5pm. €10

2. The Michael Dwyer Tribute

Some of the festival founder's favourite films will be screened, including the brilliant My Beautiful Laundrette (Screen 1, Thursday 25th February, 2pm); The Best of Youth, an epic (aka 358 minutes) film by Marco Tullio Giordana that follows the Carati family through years of turbulent change in Italy (Screen 1, Tuesday 23rd February, 1pm); and Salvador, Oliver Stone's 1986 classic starring James Woods and Jim Belushi (Screen 1, Friday 19th February, 2pm). Good taste.

Game Not Over Man, Game Not Over

Quaid out, Paxton in

Ok, bad news first. You won't be bumping into Dennis Quaid in Supermacs or The Long Hall - he's just pulled out of Steven Soderbergh's Knockout, which starts filming in Dublin any minute now.

But the good news is the owner of one of the best lines in movie history - Bill Paxton - is in talks to take his place.

And yes, Fassbender is still in it.

The Dubliner’s Dublin: Inchicore

Not To Be Confused With
Boston-based tradsters Inchicore, who did in fact borrow the name of the Dublin district from which lead singer Derrick Keane hails. Our Inchicore is a well-established suburb with an edgy reputation, lying south of the Liffey in Dublin 8.

Distant Origins
Like many Dublin suburbs, this one traces its origins to a tiny hamlet that, in this case, once bordered the Camac River marsh at Inse Chaoire (Sheep Island). This ovine nomenclature was apt as Inchicore was traditionally the district where sheep were herded and watered prior to entering Dublin city on their way to market. Eschewing its rural origins, Inchicore later became a predominantly industrial and residential suburb. In the late-19th Century, a major engineering works and the West City Tramway Terminus were located there.

Getting There
The rather evocatively named Luas stop, Black Horse, lies in Inchicore. The Black Horse Inn was built in 1764 in anticipation of the opening of the Grand Canal, as a refreshment stop for the barges. The canal attracted considerable traffic in response to the great boom of the 18th Century, but it is mainly a recreational waterway now. Inchicore is served by a range of Dublin Bus routes including the 51, 51B, 68, 69 and 78a.

Breaking Balls

A game of two (other) halves

This just in - you can now get married at Croke Park. This is from the press release:

"Croke Park is offering sports mad brides and grooms a unique opportunity to host their special day in the hallowed ground of legends...There are a number of different wedding packages on offer, ranging from more large traditional receptions, to small intimate celebrations with a pitch side view."

"Fans will also be impressed that packages include access pitch side for photography, ensuring that extra special wedding day photograph.  All that’s missing is the 80,000+ audience in the stands."

Good luck to the first bloke who suggests this to his wife-to-be.

Clampdown

The rarely seen double clamp

When the car on the inside of you gets clamped on a busy city centre street as well, it's probably time to start parking a bit better.

Breaking The Hobbit

From Middle Of The Road to Middle Earth

Ronan Keating revealed today he has auditioned for a role in the forthcoming The Hobbit film.

That is all.

That's the Ticket

Inside the belly of the beast

Who knew the inside of those DART ticket machines resembled Johnny 5?

Maybe that's why it always takes so long to actually get a ticket... it's too  busy thinking about butterflies.

 

Wine, Oh!

The Liam Team

The next issue of The Dubliner sees our wine expert Liam Campbell start to answer your wine dilemmas. Can't figure out whether to decant? Don't know what temperature to store your sparkling wines at? Concerned that your dinner party guests won't appreciate that Blue Nun isn't that bad?

Il Papa

The Road is long.... very long

Went to the cinema this afternoon. It was the usual early crowd: OAPs, student fart sniffers and a skeleton crew of bored teenagers.

I said to the cashier, “One for The Road please.”

She said, “Sorry, we don't serve alcohol here.”

That's the kind of risible pun you need to keep your spirits up when you go see a film like The Road.

(Although my early mood was buoyant when in the trailers a withered Mel Gibson shouted "I'm a guy with nothin' to lose" down the barrel of a Colt .45.)

In a post-Apocalyptic America that looks a bit like Longford on a wet weekend, a father and son trundle their meagre possessions through earthquakes, chaos and cannibals in search of somewhere safe to finally rest.

It's an awful harrowing tale.

But all I could keep thinking was “Why does he keep calling his father Papa? Who is he, Pepe?"

 

Kitted Out

Dublin switch networks

So Dublin's GAA teams will no longer be sponsored by Arnotts, but rather by multinational corporate giant Vodafone.

Is it just us or are scenes like the above less likely when you're not defending the honour of your city's finest department store?