Dominic Keating Star Trek Veteran Remains an Unbelievable Actor Even with the Pandemic by Brad Balfour In the Star Trek universe, British actor Dominic Keating established himself as a significant player once he joined the Star Trek: Enterprise cast as Lieutenant Malcolm Reed, one of its core members. As the Enterprise's armory officer, he was in the senior command and appeared in 96 episodes where his presence was felt in this benchmark franchise. And even though it's nearly

Gilbert O’Sullivan – World Café Live – Philadelphia, PA – July 10, 2019 – Photo by Jim Rinaldi © 2019 Gilbert O’Sullivan It Wasn’t Out of the Question by Jay S. Jacobs For years, if American fans wanted to see 1970s sensation Gilbert O’Sullivan in concert, they would have to fly to Europe or Asia or something. You see, O’Sullivan, who was the best selling solo artist of 1972 – beating out the likes of Elton John, Rod Stewart and Neil Diamond – had not played in the United Sta

James Frecheville at the New York press day for “Black 47.” James Frecheville Plays Hardened Fighter Feeney Getting Revenge in Black 47 by Brad Balfour In the Irish film Black 47, times are not good. Thanks to Draconian laws imposed on the Irish people by their genocidal British occupiers, the potato famine that had hit Ireland in the mid-1840s depleted the starving populace of their main source of food. Forced evictions by the absentee English landlord further exacerbated th

Altan Altan Irish Ensemble Makes for Thoroughly Modern Traditionalists by Brad Balfour When the Irish group Altan visited New York during St. Patrick’s week, it transformed the City Winery in lower Manhattan into a pastoral scene. It was rich with lilting melodies, harmonious voices and the engaging sonics of various traditional instruments such as violin, accordion, and bouzouki. The band packed the club and stirred an enthusiastic crowd throughout the nearly two-hour perfor

The Cured THE CURED (2017) Starring Sam Keely, Ellen Page, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Paula Malcomson, Stuart Graham, Oscar Nolan, David Herlihy, Peter Campion, Hilda Fay, Lesley Conroy, Natalia Kosfrzewa, Barry McGovern, Amy De Bhrún, Chelsea Debo, Tadhg Devery, Judy Donovan, Sandy Kennedy, Sarah Kinlen, Natalia Kostrzewa, Niamh McCann, Dez McMahon, Alan Moriarty, Patrick Murphy, Amy Naves and Frank Cannon. Screenplay by David Freyne. Directed by David Freyne. Distributed by IFC Fi

D.A.R.K. L to R: Andy Rourke, Dolores O’Riordan, Olé Koretsky. Photo credit: Jen Maler A Great and Emotional Loss in The Death of Singer Dolores O’Riordan by Brad Balfour The late singer Dolores Mary Eileen O’Riordan was the kind of rock ‘n’ roll babe that we all were inspired by: one who was sensitive and yet powerful, compelling and compassionate, sexy but not frail. In the song “Zombie,” her performance embodied so many of the virtues that made her group the Cranberries th

Marketa Irglova in concert at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia. Photo copyright 2014 Jim Rinaldi. Markéta Irglová Can Have Whatever She Dreams Of by Jay S. Jacobs Music has led Markéta Irglová down many roads.  She was born under the communist regime in the old Czechoslovakia.  Though not a musician himself, her father was very involved in the local arts scene and helped to set up performances by many international artists. It was through one of these performances that Irglová

Louise Macnamara and Ellie Macnamara of Heathers Heathers Sending Some Forget Me Knots by Jay S. Jacobs Irish twin sisters Ellie and Louise Macnamara have been creative waves in their homeland with their intense blend of traditional folk and more current dance rhythms.  Their band Heathers has been turning a lot of heads – remixer David Guetta wanted to work with them, filmmaker JJ Abrams hired them to play his Oscar party and the Irish tourism board used their song “Remember

In Fear IN FEAR (2013) Starring Iain De Caestecker, Alice Englert and Allen Leech. Screenplay by Jeremy Lovering. Directed by Jeremy Lovering. Distributed by Anchor Bay Films. 85 minutes. Rated R. If you ever wondered what it would be like to have an Irish approximation of one of the early Wes Craven films (Last House on the Right, The Hills Have Eyes) with a whole heck of a lot less blood, In Fear is probably as close as you are going to get. Writer/director Jeremy Lovering

Philomena PHILOMENA (2013) Starring Judi Dench, Steve Coogan, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Mare Winningham, Barbara Jefford, Ruth McCabe, Peter Hermann, Sean Mahon, Sean Mahon, Amy McAllister, Michelle Fairley, Wunmi Mosaku, Charlie Murphy, Cathy Belton and Kate Fleetwood. Screenplay by Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope. Directed by Stephen Frears. Distributed by 20th Century Fox. 98 minutes. Rated PG-13. One of the most difficult parts of filmmaking is precisely judging the tone to use in

The Guard THE GUARD (2011) Starring Brendan Gleeson, Don Cheadle, Liam Cunningham, David Wilmot, Rory Keenan, Mark Strong, Fionnula Flanagan, Dominique McElligott, Sarah Greene, Katarina Cas, Pat Shortt, Darren Healy, Laurence Kinlan and Gary Lydon. Screenplay by John Michael McDonagh. Directed by John Michael McDonagh. Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics.   96 minutes.  Rated R. Irish Garda (police officer) Sgt. Gerry Boyle is a lot of things to a lot of people.  He is lou

Leap Year LEAP YEAR (2010) Starring Amy Adams, Matthew Goode, Adam Scott, John Lithgow, Noel O’Donovan, Tony Rohr, Pat Laffan, Alan Devlin, Kaitlin Olson, John Lithgow, Maggie McCarthy, Peter O’Meara, Macdara O. Fatharta, Dominique McElligot and Ian McElhinney. Written by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont. Directed by Anand Tucker. Distributed by Universal Pictures. 97 minutes. Rated PG. It’s probably just as well that leap year only comes around once every four years. At least