Arts & Culture

A Good Day To Die HardDIRECTED BY: John MooreSTARRING: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch, Yuliya SnigirCERT: 15A A Good Day To Die Hard will look great on a lot of CVs, mostly those of the stunt and technical crews, the lads who put together a wagonload of very impressive action scenes throughout the film.Neither will it do any harm to the career of Jai Courtney, a decent young actor with the makings of a fine action star. If nobody paid him too much attention in TV’s Spartacus or the recent Tom Cruise turkey, Jack Reacher, they’ll be taking notice now.These things aside, the movie is basically useless.Getting word that his estranged, wayward son is in a spot of bother, veteran tough nut John McClane (Willis) goes all misty-eyed before catching a lift to the airport and departing for Russia with a lovingly stern warning from his daughter (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) not to go causing more trouble. An early reminder …

If you ever wondered about how you might cope in prison, RTÉ’s Life On The Inside is an eye-opener. With over 4,000 men and women banged up in the country, this two-part documentary explores the Irish prison system through the eyes of inmates and prison officers. Filmed over the course of a year, producers got full access to the closed, medium security prison at Wheatfield and open prison Shelton Abbey, with the idea of showing what life is like on the inside.Six prisoners convicted for offences like drugs, robbery and murder shared their stories on prison conditions and how it affects them and their families by being in there. The one thing that struck me as they mused their way through how it was that there were in there is that they all seemed to see themselves as victims. It made me wonder how the victims of their crimes might feel about matters.Situated behind Liffey Valley in Clondalkin, up to …

James dies at the start.As Bond beginnings go, it is a fairly original tack to take but, after the critical mauling Quantum of Solace received – an overly-maligned flick – Sam Mendes was under a lot of pressure to make sure Skyfall, the 23rd in the spy series released 50 years after Dr No did not suck.In fact, it had to do quite a bit more than that just to earn a modicum of approval and by jove it did.Not only does he resurrect the martini-swilling lothario, ably played by Daniel Craig, Mendes provides a Bond that is both action-packed in the style of the previous two (thank you Mr Bourne) and witty, tipping its cap at the rich tradition the films have built up over their 50 years without ever drifting into parody of overt comedy.While the story starts in a suitably Bond-y place – a stolen disc threatens to reveal the identities of MI6 deep cover agents – …

COROFIN Drama Society, which tasted All-Ireland drama success last year coming third in the open drama category, returns to the fray this year with its latest production By the Bog of Cats, written by Marina Carr.

THE Lime Tree Theatre invites audiences to spend Tuesdays with Morrie, as they bring the Breda Cashe production to the Limerick City stage on February 20 and 21 at 8pm.

A NEW exhibition, Sunshine Photography has opened at the Cliffs of Moher Visitor Centre, featuring works of North Clare photographer Brian Cosgrove.

A VALENTINE’S musical treat is in store this weekend when Boris Hunka brings together two female singers in Killaloe for a concert, counting down the top 20 love songs of all time.

OSCAR Wilde’s theatrical masterpiece The Importance of Being Earnest will be staged by the London Classic Theatre company in Glór next week.