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I watched this wonderful musical experience on DVD recently. I hadn't seen it for at least ten years and was delighted to see how well it's stood the test of time. Memories came flooding back of going to see it several times in the cinema with my then girlfriend (now my wife of twenty three years). Every time we went we met the same group of friends, smuggled in some beer, then danced all the way through the movie. Anyone too young to remember Talking Heads in their prime should watch Stop Making Sense and see how a group of talented musicians can put on a stunning show without the need for any flashy pyrotechnics. The originality and quality of the music and the clever use of simple lighting combine to make this a must see movie. Just be sure to move back the furniture so you have room to dance!

Normally any movie with a good score on IMDb is worth watching, so I sat down to enjoy "The Boondock Saints" expecting enjoyable action. The first thing that made me worry was the opening scene, which is set in what is presumably a Roman Catholic Church. There was obviously no effort whatsoever made to ensure that the service was accurately portrayed (for example -the Lord's Prayer which is recited was not the Catholic version, but the reformist "Protestant" one, which is never used in a Roman Catholic service). If filmmakers decide to set a plot in any particular geographical location or ethnic community they should show at least enough respect to get the basics right. This on its own is a minor point but it was only the beginning and should have warned me about what was to come. It seems that the only reason that the main characters are Irish is to fulfil the necessary religious link needed by the movie title, by using the stereotypical off-the-shelf Irish Catholic, hard drinking, hard fighting but with a heart of gold model. It would have been far better to have done without the painful attempts at an "Oirish" accent which were amongst the worst since "Finian's Rainbow" and painful to an Irish ear. (If you want to see how it is possible for non-Irish actors to get the accent perfect watch "The Proposition".) All of these faults aside the movie could still have been entertaining. Unfortunately the plot is so weak and predictable that not even an actor of the quality of Willem Dafoe could save it. I had to struggle with the desire to switch this movie off after the first twenty minutes, something I almost never do. There are a lot of movies in this genre and my advice is to pick a different one – especially if you're Irish.

It's not often that I enjoy a movie to the point of laughing out loud – but Black Dynamite had me belly-laughing more than once. For those of us who are old enough to remember the joys of 1970's cinema this movie brings back all that was best (and worst) of those slightly grainy, scratched, funk and wow-wow pedal laden classics. The deliberate continuity errors and goofs are hilarious. The dialogue and stock characters could be drawn from any of those wonderful blacksploitation movies that were so exciting for a young lad living in rainy (and then almost 100% white) Ireland. So dig out your wide-collar shirt, pendant and platform boots and enjoy this gem.