Eanna Mac Liam Movies
Deliverance and Tailor of Panama director John Boorman returns to the director's chair for this tale of a hawkish businessman who slowly finds his life being taken over by the twin brother he never knew he had. Liam O'Leary (Brendan Gleeson) is a no-nonsense real-estate developer who isn't above greasing the politician's wheels a bit to get the permits he needs. His 20-year marriage to Jane (Kim Cattrall) has been stale for over a decade, and his adolescent son, Connor (Brian Gleeson), has most recently taken to communism as a means of showcasing his rebellious streak. Though Liam still dotes on his aging mother (Moira Deady), it's plain to see that his sister, Oona (Sinéad Cusack), is the favored child in the family. One day, stuck in traffic on the way home from work and frustrated at his inability to obtain planning permission for a multi-million pound stadium, Liam is shocked to see his spitting image approach his car and begin cleaning the windshield while begging for change. Now, after discovering that he was not only adopted but has an identical twin as well, Liam finds his life rapidly being taken over by a cunning doppelganger who has had enough of life on the streets, and has finally found a means of turning his luck around by simply stepping into the shoes of his more successful counterpart. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brendan Gleeson, Kim Cattrall, (more)
- 2005
Locked into a steady losing streak thanks to their hapless coach, their flimsy defense, and their dispirited team captain, Emmett Rovers Football Club receives a much-needed blast of motivation in the form of a new coach that promises to lead them all the way to the championships. Now, as the unruly pub team pushes past the pain, they quickly learn that a little self-discipline can ultimately result in both redemption, and a newfound sense of self-respect. Brendan Gleeson, Shaun Elebert, and David Herlihy star in an underdog sports comedy from writer/director Paul Mercier. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Brendan Gleeson
- 2001
A luckless gambler finally finds the secret to picking winners at the track -- a head in a jar -- in this comedy. Brendan (Robbie Coltrane) is a janitor at a university who has a fondness for gambling, especially betting on horse races. However, he doesn't have much skill at it, and poorly considered bets have drained the bank account he'd set aside for his daughter's education. Brendan's wife (Brenda Blethyn) has made Brendan promise to give up gambling, but when their daughter announces she's just been accepted to Trinity College in Ireland, Brendan has to come up with the tuition money, and fast. While doing his sweeping at work, Brendan makes a remarkable discovery -- the preserved head of an aboriginal tribesman who, under proper conditions, can pick the winners in horse races. Despite his promise to his wife, Brendan takes his new discovery and puts it to work forecasting upcoming races, and while the head's predictions are as good as gold, Brendan soon finds not everyone is happy about his new run of good luck. His wife is angry that he's gambling again, mobsters want to know what his secret is, a scholar from Australia insists that the head be returned to the people of his tribe, and a dean at the college (Dan Aykroyd) has some questions for Brendan about his discovery. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robbie Coltrane, Brenda Blethyn, (more)
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir by Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes is an alternately funny and heartbreaking look at growing up in Ireland. Born in Brooklyn, NY, young Frank (Joe Breen) moves at an early age to Limerick, Ireland, with his parents Angela (Emily Watson) and Malachy (Robert Carlyle), who have been unable to support their family in America and are hoping for better prospects in their home country. But things hardly improve once they settle in Limerick; as McCourt puts it, "Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood. Worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood." Illness and death are commonplace in Limerick, and Malachy's drinking and inability to hold a job make matters worse. Angela's Ashes was directed by Alan Parker, who previously looked at Irish life in The Commitments (1991); Laura Jones wrote the screenplay. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Emily Watson, Robert Carlyle, (more)
The Snapper is Stephen Frears's adaptation of the second book in Roddy Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy. The Curley family is a poor but eccentric and loving Irish family. Oldest daughter Sharon (Tina Kellegher) announces she is pregnant, but refuses to reveal the identity of the father to anyone. Her father, Dessie (Colm Meaney), is supportive, but begins to chafe at the derisive gossip aimed at his family and his daughter. This leads to a confrontation between the two that is, like the rest of the movie, simultaneously funny and sad. The family waits in the hospital as Sharon gives birth to the snapper (Irish slang for an infant). The other books in the Barrytown Trilogy were also adapted into films featuring Colm Meaney as the father: The Commitments, directed by Alan Parker, and The Van, directed by Stephen Frears. Doyle had a hand in the screenplay for all three. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Colm Meaney, Tina Kellegher, (more)
"The Irish are the blacks of Europe, Dubliners are the blacks of Ireland, and the North Siders are the blacks of Dublin ... so say it loud -- I'm black and I'm proud!" Or so Jimmy Rabbitte (Robert Arkins) tells his slightly puzzled friends as he tries to assemble a rhythm & blues show band in a working class community in Dublin in Alan Parker's film The Commitments. Jimmy is a would-be music business wheeler and dealer, and he's decided what Dublin needs is a top-shelf soul band. However, top-shelf soul musicians are hard to find in Dublin, so he has to make do with what he can find. However, after a long round of auditions, Jimmy makes two inspired discoveries: Deco (Andrew Strong), an abrasive and alcoholic streetcar conductor who nevertheless has a voice like the risen ghost of Otis Redding, and Joey "The Lips" Fagan (Johnny Murphy), a horn player who knows soul music backwards and forwards and claims to have played with everyone from Wilson Pickett to Elvis Presley. Before long, the band -- called the Commitments -- is packing them in at local clubs. But do they have what it takes to make the big time? Based on the novel by Roddy Doyle, who also co-wrote the screenplay, The Commitments is sparked by fine performances by its young cast and enthusiastic performances of a number of '60s soul classics; the cast, who play their own instruments, reassembled the band for a concert tour after the film became a hit. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Robert Arkins, Michael Aherne, (more)
An alternative to the general run of "triumph over the odds" biopics, My Left Foot is the true story of Irish cerebral palsy victim Christy Brown. Paralyzed from birth, Brown (played by Hugh O'Conor as child and Daniel Day-Lewis as an adult) is written off as retarded and helpless. But Christy's indomitable mother (Brenda Fricker) never gives up on the boy. Using his left foot, the only part of his body not afflicted, Brown learns to write. He grows up to become a well-known author, painter, and fundraiser, and along the way falls in love with nurse Mary Carr (Ruth McCabe). There's no sugarcoating in My Left Foot: Brown, a heavy drinker, was by no means lovable. Day-Lewis and Fricker both won Academy Awards for their performances, and the film was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Also notable are the late Ray McAnally in his next-to-last film role as Christy's father, and venerable Cyril Cusack as Lord Castlewelland. Director Jim Sheridan co-scripted with Shane Connaughton from Christy Brown's autobiography. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Daniel Day-Lewis, Ray McAnally, (more)
Rating Systems
Blockbuster
BLOCKBUSTER name, design and related marks are trademarks of Blockbuster L.L.C.
2013 Blockbuster L.L.C. All rights reserved.
Portions of Content Provided by Rovi Corporation. 2013 Rovi Corporation.