Stephens Green Shopping Centre Tel: (01) 478-5336 Better than Newry Prices! Spend 25 and get a 25 off voucher 25 voucher* to spend in 2010 when you spend 25 or more on Jewellery this Christmas *Terms and conditions apply. Ask in store for details Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer Going Out Films Kiddies fantasy metro Arts & Entertainment life Coronas Christmas Party In Town This Weekend A festive gig to celebrate this years album Tony Was An Ex-Con, which went straight to No.1 in the Irish iTunes chart Tonight, Olympia Theatre, 72 Dame St D2, 7.30pm, 25 (returns only). Tel: 0818 719 300. www.thecoronas.net Paul Durcan Conference A celebration of the work of the Dublin poet whose collected poems, Life Is A Dream, has just been published. Featuring contributions from Declan Kiberd and Colm Tibn Tomorrow, Robert Emmet Theatre (2037), Arts Building, Trinity College Dublin D2, from 9am. www.poetryireland.ie Bell X1 Their last gig of a hugely successful year that produced fourth album Blue Lights On The Runway and a solo record from guitarist David Geraghty Sun, Olympia Theatre, 72 Dame St D2, 7.30pm, 25. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.bellx1.com Book Now Big Gay Musical Life imitates art for two gay actors starring in the off- Broadway musical Adam And Steve Just The Way God Made Em Paul is in hot pursuit of the perfect partner (if only for one night), while in-the-closet Eddie struggles to reconcile his faith with his sexuality. Sprinkle in some showtunes and scantily-clad dancers, and you have one hoot of a film. Admission for this screening includes Absolut promos Dec 14, IFI, 6 Eustace Street D2, 8.30pm, 20. Tel: (01) 679 3477. www.irishfilm.ie Where The Wild Things Are (PG) Running time: 101min I didnt set out to make a childrens movie, says Being John Malkovich director Spike Jonze, I set out to make a movie about childhood. And, indeed like other recent alternative childrens book adaptation The Fantastic Mr Fox, this is more like an adult film in kiddies clothing or rather in Jim Henson monster suits. Because when rambunctious nine-year-old Max (perfectly cast, adorably expressive Max Records) feels ignored by his busy single mom (Catherine Keener) and her new boyfriend (Mark Ruffalo) and runs away from home, he finds himself on an island populated by huge, hairy scary Wild Things. Here he gets himself crowned king, and he and the monsters all fight and play and throw mud at each other (the bit younger viewers will love). He returns home. Thats it. And thats your problem. As a film, I cant deny its disappointing. Despite whimsical imagination and heart-tugging moments, Jonze and co-writer Dave Eggers inevitably lose the wonderful subtlety of Maurice Sendaks well- loved 338-word picture book just by spinning it out into a full-length feature. Enough already! We GET this dysfunctional group of neurotic Wild Things represent Maxs childs-eye view of grown ups! ie incomprehensible giants, both terrifying and loving. However, even the repetitive action and stomping non- subtleties that make this feel more family therapy session than fairy tale cant destroy the films oddly haunting magic. What would have been perfection at one hour is still a bravely different Christmas movie, undoubtedly destined to be a cult classic for generations to come. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh 18 metrolife Friday, December 11, 2009 The Limits Of Control (15) Running time: 116min Director Jim Jarmusch (Ghost Dog) is known for his complex, episodic art house films. But this wilfully elliptical endeavour makes recent features Broken Flowers and Coffee And Cigarettes look like Mission: Impossible. An unnamed man (Isaach De Bankol, pictured) travels across Spain meeting mysterious international contacts in cafs. They each slip him a matchbox containing a code, which he then swallows. His quest is doubtless criminal in nature, but the film is more concerned with the characters he meets, or rather the philosophical monologues they each deliver. The good news is that they are all played by excellent actors, including Tilda Swinton, John Hurt, Bill Murray and Gael Garca Bernal. Theyre also beautifully dressed and shot. Under painstaking analysis, the jigsaw monologues probably form an interesting existential theory. But this is so sparse on dialogue and plot, its in danger of alienating all but the most patient of Jarmusch fans. Anna Smith Unmade Beds (15) Running time: 97min One morning, 20-year-old Spanish Axl wakes up in a strange squat in London next to a girl he doesnt recognise again. Because when Axl drinks he remembers nothing of the night before. A problem when he meets the girl of his dreams, Vera (Dborah Franois). This atmospheric indie made by Argentinian writer-director Alexis Dos Santos is fun and quietly irreverent but its not hugely romantic nor particularly eventful, while a subplot about Axl looking for his English father is interesting, but underplayed. A story of two lost European souls wandering London waiting to meet each other even though they dont know it yet. AS The hoTTesT TickeTs in Town We have two pairs of tickets to see THE BIG GAY MUSICAL Dec 14 at IFI, 8.30pm 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. In the musical La Cage Aux Folles, what is the name of Albins drag act alias? A. Zahara B. Zaza The winner of yesterdays tickets to see The Mars Volta is: Raj Khan GIG Dawn Landes Americana, by its very dreamy, rambling, folkloric nature, is a musical form that travels particularly well and singer- songwriter Dawn Landes is bound to go down well with Dublin audiences. Now based in Brooklyn, her original material draws on the country-blues roots of Kentucky and Missouri, where she was raised, but she also adds an appealingly fresh spin to these melodies. Her latest album Sweet Heart Rodeo, the follow-up to 2008s acclaimed Fireproof, contains fictional reveries, confessional tales and family history, while new track Brighton is her lilting ode to the British seaside town. Her bright live charisma and catchy tunes offset the darker themes; even the broken- hearted Romeo is delivered with perky attitude. Landes has proved that shes easily able to charm a crowd as a solo performer but shes joined for these shows by drummer Ray Rizzo and guitarist Josh Kaufman, both of whom feature on the latest record. Hopefully, the set list will also include their very lovely bluegrass reworking of Peter, Bjorn And Johns Young Folks. Dont miss this shooting star live. Arwa Haider Tomorrow, The Sugar Club, 8 Lower Leeson Street D2, 8pm, 13.50. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.dawnlandes.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