Luke Maxwell

Director Bertie Brosnan takes a candid look at the downsides of celebrity in this “behind-the-scenes featurette”, writes Luke Maxwell.

This documentary shows couples and individuals recounting romantic rendezvous under the iconic Clery’s clock on O’Connell Street. It looks at things worth cherishing from that time, and things best left in the past.

Nine years after a savage sexual assault Ailbhe Griffith meets her attacker face-to-face in a mediated environment in “The Meeting”, the difficult new film from Alan Gilsenan.

“I can say wholeheartedly, and with some embarrassment, that I wasted my time fretting over whether Black ’47 is all it was made out to be. It’s a special kind of picture for many reasons.”

This portrait of the noted Provisional IRA member combines fascinating interviews with occasionally hokey dramatisation.

Set in the lost-and-found office at a train station in a small Irish town, Liam O Mochain’s latest film “charms us with its winsome worldview”, writes Luke Maxwell.

The narrative lets the film down but there is plenty to admire in “Dublin Oldschool”, writes reviewer Luke Maxwell.

Cartoon Saloon’s latest animated feature tells the story of young Parvana’s life under the Taliban. “There is hard work and humanity in every frame,” writes Luke Maxwell.

This hypnotic story of man, nature, and poetry in the Burren is “enthralling from beginning to end”, writes Luke Maxwell.

Frank Berry’s “heartbreaking” drama follows the downward spiral of a naive teenager who, sent to prison, finds the opposite of redemption, writes Luke Maxwell.

A struggling stand-up comedian teaches life skills to a group of oddballs as part of a back-to-work programme in this “squirmy and appealing black comedy with a bleeding heart”, writes Luke Maxwell.

When this film is at its best, it’s “a kitschy good time. Unfortunately, bright spots are few and far between,” writes reviewer Luke Maxwell.

“Whenever I felt as though I had a handle on director Niall McCann’s tricks or the limits of the film’s form, there was another surprise waiting for me,” writes Luke Maxwell.

A reluctant banker goes rogue in this Dublin-set thriller. The debut picture is “a little sloppy in its plotting, but never dull and always visually pleasing”, writes Luke Maxwell.

This new film dramatises Charles Dickens’s writing of A Christmas Carol in a style that’s “silly and sincere all at once”, writes Luke Maxwell. In it, Dublin does a fine job as a stand in for 1840s London.

The film-makers have crafted an “intriguing knot out of their shoestring budget”, which brings the audience “uncomfortably close to these desperate characters, but we want to be there”, writes Luke Maxwell.

Mixing the social-problem and horror genres, this new film explores one of Ireland’s most notorious murder cases, and its effects on those it left behind.

This film about the renowned Dublin-born architect offers great insights into his philosophical approach, but few into his inner self, writes Luke Maxwell.

This new film is “an impressive feature debut, well-observed, earnest in its execution and filled with humanity”, writes reviewer Luke Maxwell.

An unlikely and at times harrowing love story, “Maudie” presents the life and times of Canadian folk-art institution Maud Lewis. It’s a film that looks for the little sparks of light in the dark.

“The Farthest”, a new documentary, is the moving story of NASA’s Voyager mission. It is “hard science on the outside but gooey on the inside”, writes Luke Maxwell.

This Sligo-set film is a little rough around the edges, but it excels as a feel-good picture with its heart in the right place, writes reviewer Luke Maxwell.

Zoe Kavanagh’s lo-fi, high-concept horror-action debut “Demon Hunter” is a bona fide B-picture that makes a lot out of a little.

This feature-length sitcom from the director of “The Stag” takes a semi-autobiographical look at adolescent male friendship, boarding school and family.

In Liam Gavin’s first feature film, dark forces and ritual misery give way to something truly affirming, writes Luke Maxwell.

This film “shows the quiet malice of standing by and letting people slip through the cracks of society”, writes Luke Maxwell.

“Every time I expected the film to threaten its characters with danger of violence, I was pleasantly surprised to see gentleness and warmth instead,” writes Luke Maxwell.

Death comes to small-town America when a series of unusual and gruesome murders occur in this shoestring thriller that’s got “cult” written all over it.

This is not so much a rags-to-riches story as it is a rags-to-further-rags-and-then-contentment kind of story, writes Luke Maxwell. “I wasn’t born with a silver spoon up my ass,” Tommy Byrne explains.

A documentary follows the unlikely rise of a Dublin-based mattress salesmen in this surprisingly low-key documentary about the men behind the social-media phenomenon Mattress Mick.

Luke Maxwell tries to pin down why “The Young Offenders” made him laugh more than any other film this year.

“I was taken in by the film’s earnestness and taken aback by its forcefulness,” writes Luke Maxwell. “This is an Irish film that deserves to be seen the world over.”

Aoife Kelleher’s documentary about the village of Knock, is “simply put, a magnificent achievement”, writes Luke Maxwell.

Selected as the Irish entry for the 88th Academy Awards, Paddy Breathnach’s film explores familial relationships, sexuality and machismo in Havana, Cuba.

“For me, cinema is the gateway to the rich and detailed view of the world that those more fortunate than myself experience every day,” writes Luke Maxwell.

In this low-budget earnest variation on the magic hobo picture, director Gerard Walsh creates a touching film with a powerful finale.

Should we welcome “Once” director John Carney’s new film “Sing Street” with swaying arms and clicking fingers or turn a deaf ear?