Film Reviews This Weeks Releases Not the sum of its metro Arts & Entertainment life Culture Night In Town This Weekend For one night only, Dublins museums, galleries, art studios, cultural centres, parks and theatres open late some until midnight with a smorgasbord of workshops, behind-the- scenes tours, talks and performances Tonight, citywide, until midnight, free. Tel: (01) 888 3610. www.culturenight.ie The Dylan Project Singers Liam Maonla (pictured) and Caoimhn Mac Giolla Cathin perform Irish-language translations of Bob Dylan songs as part of IMRAMs Irish Language Literature Festival. Guitarist- producer Steve Cooney will also appear, leading a merry band of musicians Sun, CrawDaddy, The Pod, Harcourt Street D2, 8pm, 10. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.crawdaddy.ie Kinky Friedman & Friends Hailed the Frank Zappa of country for his satirical songs, this Texan institution has been making music since the 1970s, has authored more than 30 books from travel logs to whodunnits and is considering a second crack at candidacy for Texas governor next year Tomorrow, Whelans, 25 Wexford Street D2, 8pm, 30. Tel: (01) 478 0766. www.kinkyfriedman.com Book Now Mark Knopfler Sweatband head-wear at the ready the Dire Straits frontman is coming to town. Having found fame during the 1980s, Knopfler is now on his sixth solo album, Get Lucky, inspired by the characters encountered by the 15-year- old rocker-to-be during seasonal jobs in farms, factories and building sites. But the construction industrys loss was musics gain, the Glasgow-born guitarist and singer moving on to bigger and better things, namely writing mega hits including Money For Nothing and The Walk Of Life, plus producing for Bob Dylan, Tina Turner and Randy Newman May 19, 2010, The O2, East Link Bridge, North Wall Quay D1, 6.30pm, 54.80 to 59.80. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.markknopfler.com Fame (PG) Running time: 107min The Crimson Wing (PG) Running time: 78min Creation (PG) Running time: 108min The Soloist (12A) Running time: 117min T his true-story drama comes with quite a pedigree. Oscar-winner Jamie Foxx is directed by Joe Wright, who helmed the Oscar-winning Atonement. Co-starring is the marvellous Robert Downey Jr, who might have won an Oscar last year were it not for Heath Ledger. Foxx plays Nathaniel Ayers, a classically trained musician who ends up on the streets after suffering from mental illness. While busking, he meets journalist Steve Lopez (Downey Jr), who writes about Nathaniel in his newspaper column. Soon letters are flooding in from kind-hearted readers keen to help Nathaniel. A woman donates her cello; orchestras invite him to watch them. But will Nathaniel perform anywhere other than on his beloved street? Its a thought-provoking portrayal of homelessness and an interesting tale of one man struggling to help another. Both roles are perfectly cast: Downey Jr is on comfortable territory as the fast-talking, recently divorced journalist who finds a new project in Nathaniel; Foxx, meanwhile, is all nervous tics, stammers and eye-avoidance but his mannerisms never look anything less than credible. Its a shame, then, that the relationship between the two men isnt particularly engaging. We see almost everything from Steves perspective and fail to fully understand Nathaniel. Not surprising, as this is based on Lopezs book, but it does undermine the films potential to move and involve. There is one very effective scene. Nathaniel is listening to an orchestra play beautifully. The screen becomes a montage of colours and lights, ebbing and flowing to the music a representation of the joy and escapism he finds through the notes. Anyone musical will be right there with him. Were the rest of the film on this level, Wright should be clearing several spaces on his mantelpiece. As it is, The Soloist is good but not exceptional. Anna Smith This year marks both the bicentenary of Charles Darwins birth and 150 years since he presented his ground-breaking theory of evolution in On The Origin Of Species. But the Darwin portrayed here by Paul Bettany is no loud-mouthed academic: hes a sickly, grieving father, struggling to scribble down his thoughts in his home study. Thomas Huxley (Toby Jones) is urging him to publish his radical theories and challenge conventional perceptions of creation but not everyones so keen. Darwins loving wife Emma (Jennifer Connelly, Bettanys real-life spouse) has devout religious convictions that clash with her husbands theories, as does Jeremy Northams naysaying local vicar. But Darwin is most troubled by the memory of his dearly departed daughter, Annie (played in ghostly flashback by Martha West). Performances are excellent, Bettany and Connelly sharing their usual chemistry. Meanwhile West (daughter of actor Dominic) has a 14 metrolife Friday, September 25, 2009 Lame! would be a better title for this utterly forgettable remake of Alan Parkers edgier, darker, remarkably fresh 1980 multi-Oscar-winner. That inspired a long-running TV series; this inspires only yawns. The same story, with added rap, sees a clutch of young, leg warmer-chewingly bland, fame-chasing wannabes through the blood, sweat and tears of four years at a New York stage school. Will they make it? Who cares? Given that todays Generation X Factor know you only have to fall over on YouTube to be famous, theres nothing at stake. Previously best known for directing Britney Spears pop videos, 24-year-old Kevin Tancharoen quickly blows his load on the classic cafeteria dance number, leaving the rest of his feature debut limping towards anticlimax. Shame: theres real talent among his young cast, notably Naturi Naughton (Lil Kim in Notorious) and Kay Panabaker (pictured), but this boasts less tension than a low-grade Fame Academy episode. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh Did you know that every single one of Africas 2million-plus flamingos is born in the same place (Lake Natron in Northern Tanzania)? And that flamingos are pink, lay eggs and look awfully nice against a sunset? There, saved you the price of admission. Lavish visuals and cute scenes of baby flamingos trying to stand/totter/ fly (aww!) cant make up for a narrative with all the plot thrust of a hurled feather. Its also tricky to see who its aimed at: an almost vulturous delight in the chicks that didnt make it results in a disturbing watch for youngsters, while Mariella Frostrup, with her Fag Ash Lil voice-over, is seriously miscast. LI-Z The hoTTesT TickeTs in Town We have three pairs of tickets to see KINKY FRIEDMAN tomorrow at Whelans, 8pm For a chance to win, e-mail your answer to the question below to life@metroireland.ie by noon today with Hot Tickets in the subject line. With your answer please include your name, address and a number where you can be contacted between 1pm and 3pm. Strictly one entry per person; entrants must be age 18+. Q. Friedman fictionalises himself as a detective in a series of whodunnit novels. What is his tipple of choice? A Jameson B Tia Maria The winners of yesterdays tickets to see The Wailers are: Jessica OMalley & Tom Boyce THEATRE REVIEW The Manganiyar Seduction The folk music of Rajasthan and Amsterdams red light district make compelling bedfellows in this show staged by RSC-trained Indian director Roysten Abel. More a concert than theatre, it is nonetheless a feast for the eyes, its 43 Indian musicians and singers from three generations performing inside four illuminated storeys of lush, red-curtained cubicles as reminiscent of Hawa Mahal architecture as erotic booths. A community of travelling Muslim minstrels who traditionally performed for the kings of Rajasthan (and also worship Hindu deities), the Manganiyars became internationally renowned following the shows successful premiere in 2006 at Delhis Osian Film Festival. Layers of percussion, mellifluous gypsy vocals, Sufi poetry and classical Hindustani elements build up slowly each compartment tantalisingly revealed one at a time before reaching an intoxicating crescendo of undulating folk rhythms. Conductor Daevo Khan exuberantly fronts the orchestral choreography while also playing the kartal (castanet-like instruments), which at one point results in a call and response sequence with a musician on the morchang, a curious percussive gizmo that is twanged between the teeth and sounds almost like electronica. Seductive indeed, and slicker than a pan of ghee. Lucy White Until Sun, Gaiety Theatre, South King Street D2, 7.30pm (Sat & Sun mat 3pm; post-show talk tonight with Roysten Abel, 9pm), 18 to 38. Tel: (01) 677 8899. www.dublintheatrefestival.com index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html