Anthony McG

I took this back in 2004 when I was in Barcelona with the football club for a tournament. We visited the Olympic stadium to watch an Espanyol game and took this on the way home.

This is great. Few of the crew from ImprovEverywhere thought it’d be funny to bring desktop PCs to Starbucks. I haven’t seen Windows 95 in years.

Which song am I referring to? Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing”. It’s become the go-to song for DJs across Ireland over the past six months and I’m sick of it. Can they not find another retro song to latch on to? It was played three times in the space of a few hours on Saturday night in the local late bar. I enjoyed when it first re-appeared on the airwaves but it’s getting a bit ridiculous now.

With the lights dimming in the Savoy Screen 1 this afternoon a packed auditorium awaited the surprise film at the DIFF. I had no idea what it would be, nor was I particularly pushed in guessing. The production titles revealed the title: ‘The Escapist’. Disappointment at it not being Indiana Jones faded and the film proper began. Frank Perry (played by Brian Cox) is a lifer: in prison for the rest of his natural-born days. And he’s been perfectly willing to accept his fate until a letter arrives, his first in 14 years.

What unfolds in the following 99 minutes is a fresh take on the standard prison movie. I don’t wanna say too much about the actual way it works but Brian Cox is excellent in the titular role. I was surprised to see Joseph Fiennes as the muscles behind the escape. The last film I actually remember seeing him attached to was ‘Shakespeare in Love’. All said though, I’d thoroughly recommend seeing this when it’s released here in April.

Yep, I’m posting this on Saturday but in my defence, it was taken yesterday. It’s a giant directors chair being used to promote the Dublin International Film Festival. Unfortunately the shot is a little out of focus cos of the fading light. I’m going to the surprise film tomorrow afternoon which will close the festival.