BLACK SHEEP (MA) 3 stars
Starring Nathan Meister, Peter Feeney
Directed by Jonathan King
On a New Zealand farm, genetically modified sheep become baa-baric! King’s Peter Jackson-styled splash is a bold, brash, extremely silly and, for most of its compact runtime, good fun film. White-coats have been tinkering with DNA on the family sheep farm. It all goes horribly wrong when a vial of genetic material containing a mutant lamb with murderous intent is snatched. One nip later and an activist is well on the way to becoming a were-sheep while the flock just turn nasty. King’s story plays against a minor chord of sibling rivalry: Angus is buying out brother Henry who has an unmanageable phobia that sheep will, one day, do exactly what they end up doing here. Forced to confront his fear, fearsome creatures and a frightening brother, Black Sheep quickly becomes a vehicle for gags and gag-inducing gore. Loaded with the requisite score of jumps and scares, one-liners, dead-pan humour, megalitres of fake blood and entrails, Black Sheep ticks the boxes in rapid succession. It’s no Shaun of the Dead, it’s not clever enough for that. This is Brain Dead for a new generation and a calling card for King. At both levels, it succeeds admirably.
THE
COMMITMENTS(1991)
This was the music film of the early ’90s. Relegating horror stories like Xanadu to the dust-bin of cinema
history, the industry had redefined the musical genre with movies about music.
Director Alan Parker had similar success with Fame and though Evita emptied
his creative goldmine five years later, for a brief moment the future was
bright of the got-to-wear-shades variety. Based on Roddy Doyle’s novel about a
pub band in Dublin,
The Commitmentsburns with the writer’s trademark humour and a soundtrack to die
for. In Dublin’s
Barrytown a slip of a kid gets the idea to bring soul to the city. He forms a
band with those he finds in his back yard, but have they got the commitment to
hold it together? Ballsy, heart-breaking
and hopelessly endearing, The Commitmentsis Parker’s best work to date. Even
though the band never cut a record, and their hopes end in bitter acrimony, “it
raises people’s expectations and was great while it lasted”. Although Joey was
talking about the group, he speaks just as clearly about the film.
Did you
know...
Despite a blistering debut performance as
Jimmy Rabbite, Robert Arkins has only made one more film. He appeared as the ‘bleeding
yuppie’ in What Are You Looking At?
His onscreen father, Colm Meaney, appeared
in two more ‘Barrytown triology’ adaptations – The Snapperand The Van. He was also a series regular on
TV’s Star Trek: Next Generation.
The Frames’ Glen Hansard starred as the
band’s guitarist Outspan Foster. Fifteen years later he made his second film,
starring as The Busker in Once.
rish band The Corrs got their start with
bit parts in The Commitments. Look
for Sharon Corr as a violinist in Bernie’s band. The film’s musical coordinator
became The Corrs’ manager.
In fine Irish tradition, the word ‘fuck’ is
used 145 times in just 113 minutes.
BLACK SHEEP (MA) 3 stars
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