14 metrolife Friday, January 8, 2010 D Going Out Films Taking a cold, hard Its Complicated (15A) Running time: 120min The Road (16) Running time: 112min Most post-apocalyptic movies have thrilling 3-D effects, zombies, killer robots and/or aliens. Not this one. Impressively faithful to the Pulitzer-winning novel by Cormac McCarthy (No Country For Old Men), its a stark, sparse tale set on an Earth that was burnt out, a decade earlier, by an unidentified event. Pushing a shopping trolley filled with their tattered possessions across a largely lifeless wasteland, a father (Viggo Mortensen) and his young son (Kodi Smit-McPhee), known simply as Man and Boy, struggle for survival. Cannibalism is the great fear in this grim, claustrophobic scenario that borders on arthouse horror film. Yet its also an unforgettable love story, an absorbing road movie, a searing examination of people pushed to the very limits and an ultimately uplifting celebration of the human spirit. The last point presumably the reason why Oprah bigged it up on her Book Club. Basically its a universal fable that you can interpret as you will, but pushes you into some seriously tough moral territory. And though never schmaltzy, the one constant source of lightness is the Boys loving innocence. Were the good guys, arent we papa? he begs with a heart-tugging conviction that makes the young actors current omission from the awards roster a daylight robbery. Maybe voters couldnt face the journey. Powerful and painfully beautiful, theres no dodging the fact that watching The Road feels like director John Hillcoat (The Proposition) and co-writer Joe Penhall (Enduring Love) took the word bleak out to a blasted heath, then bullied it until it sobbed. Larushka Ivan-Zadeh About Town THE HOTTEST TICKETS IN TOWN We have six pairs of tickets to see GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS Jan 11 to 16 at New Theatre, 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 the answer 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 or over. Q. In the 1992 film version of Glengarry Glen Ross, character Shelley Levene is played by which veteran actor? A Walter Matthau B Jack Lemmon The winners of yesterdays tickets to see John Bishop are: Mary McGoey & David Nugent Colm Mac Con Iomaire A small but perfectly formed set from the Celtic/acoustic artist, who will perform alongside poets, jugglers, jesters and fire-eaters. Limited tickets available from City Discs in Temple Bar Tomorrow, Cobalt Caf, 16 North Great Georges Street D1, 7.45pm, 12.50. Tel: (01) 873 0313 Irish Film Institute Ian Coppinger Book Now Glengarry Glen Ross metrometro lifeStaying In & Going Out The much-loved IFI in Temple Bar has undergone a makeover and now boasts a new 61-seat digital screen theatre and a redesigned shop and bar. Check out the Yasujiro Ozu (Tokyo Story, pictured) season currently under way IFI, 6 Eustace Street D2. Tel: (01) 679 3477. www.irishfilm.ie Whose Line Is It Anyway? regular Ian Coppinger rules the roost among fellow comics Jarlath Regan, Gar Murran and last years Bulmers Comedy Festival, Cork, winner Chris Kent Until tomorrow, Laughter Lounge, Eden Quay D1, 7pm, 25. Tel: 1800 266 339. www.myspace.com/ iancoppinger Following its successful November run, Idir Mns unique take on David Mamets (pictured) 1984 multi-award-winning play returns, the predominantly female cast putting a new spin on the testosterone-fuelled drama of real estate salespeople in hot pursuit of the American Dream. And its no male impersonation exercise either; the actresses play women who happen to work in an industry associated with machismo Jan 11 to 16, New Theatre, 43 Essex Street East D2, 8pm, 12 to 15. Tel: (01) 670 3361. www.thenewtheatre.com As if being Americas greatest living actress wasnt enough, the mega-million- dollar success of Devil Wears Prada and Mamma Mia! have belatedly transformed Meryl Streep into box office gold. And three cheers, because its finally convinced studios that when it comes to gals on screen, life doesnt end at 39. The envy- inducing romcom set-up sees Streep play a long-divorced, highly successful chi-chi baker with gorgeous clothes, luminous skin (if we all look like Streep at 60, ageing is something to look forward to) and a lush house newly empty of her grown-up children. Attempting to fill the hole, she contemplates a kitchen extension and plastic surgery before filling it with her ex (Alec Baldwin), the husband who cheated on her ten years ago then married his young, hot (now nagging) mistress. I had drunken sex with a married man turns out Im a bit of a slut! hoots Streep with a delightful relish. Its her chemistry with Baldwin that lifts this predictable and repetitive, if solidly entertaining, chick flick to another level. Low points are Steve Martins sensible-shoes love interest, a cringey pot-smoking scene, and the amount of hairy, fake-tanned Baldwin flesh flaunted on screen picture an X-rated Garfield. LI-Z Daybreakers (16) Running time: 97min Like Twilight, this features a handsome, principled vampire called Edward whos more keen on protecting humans than slaying them. But fear not horror fans, thats pretty much where the similarities end. This is a stylish, grown-up vampire sci-fi with, literally, plenty of guts. Its 2019, and most people have become bloodsuckers. Remaining humans must hide out to avoid being eaten or harvested by a ruthless corporation run by Sam Neill. Trying to change things from the inside is haematologist Edward Dalton (Ethan Hawke), who hopes a blood substitute will save the human race. His life changes when he meets a group of spirited human survivors (including Claudia Karvan and Willem Dafoe) who could hold the key. Hawke has a strong presence as the sensitive, conflicted Edward while both his casting and the moody look recall 1997s Gattaca although this is much more visceral. Deprived of blood, vampires mutate into wizened, winged creatures, creating several gripping, stomach-churning scenes. Yet Daybreakers doesnt quite deliver the plot drags a little here and there, and the ending lacks gravitas. Several developments are predictable, and Australian actress Karvan is too icy a love interest. So much fun you want it to be better. AS Also Out: It Might Get Loud (PG) Low-key rockumentary from Davis Guggenheim (An Inconvenient Truth), wherein Jack White, Jimmy Page and The Edge (pictured) extol their love of electric guitars, then unite for a rather awkward jam session. Charming highlights include The Edge returning to the site Though yet to set the world, or even Irish music, alight, Dark Room Notes are a band with plenty going for them. Mixing and matching influences with an easy grace, they are one of those groups that seem to simultaneously exist in many genres at once whilst never sounding like anyone but themselves. Youll hear hints of Depeche Mode and New Order in their gloom-swept retro synths; and depressive lyrics hint at teenage years immersed in Morrissey, an effect offset by their tactical deployment of caffeinated Franz Ferdinand guitars. Fond of too-tight-for comfort suits and nervous dancing, singer Ronan Gaughan, meanwhile, is in the tradition of awkward frontmen stretching from Jarvis Cocker to David Byrne. Two years ago, they were the newcomers to watch in Dublin and while debut album We Love You Dark Matter didnt quite live up to that early promise, they remain an act whose best days, you feel, are still to come. And how better to mark the mother of all cold snaps than with a quartet whose songbook comes rimmed in icicles of purest 1980s angst? Eamon de Paor Tonight, The Academy, 57 Middle Abbey Street D1, 7pm, 12. Tel: 0818 719 300. www.darkroomnotes.com GIG Dark Room Notes v1 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