✔Programmer’s Pick 

During a production break on Avengers Assemble, Joss Whedon gathered his favourite actors and shot this Shakespeare adaptation inside a fortnight in his own Hollywood home. What sounds like a vanity project however, has turned out to be a real treat for Shakespeare lovers and Whedon’s own fan-base alike, delivering a witty, affectionate, and utterly convincing modern-dress version of the frisky comedy last seen on celluloid in Kenneth Branagh’s traditional 1993 incarnation.

Yes, there are smartphones and cop-movie references, yet instead of flaunted gimmickry, what comes across most strongly here is real enjoyment in delivering the text, allied to Whedon’s facility for whipping up an infectious team spirit in his ensemble cast. Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof shine as the central couple Beatrice and Benedict, spikily striving not to fall in love, while Serenity star Nathan Fillion goofs amiably as bumbling watchman Dogberry.  (Notes by Trevor Johnston.)

PROGRAMMER’S PICK
It might seem surprising that Joss Whedon (Serenity, Avengers Assemble) has turned his hand to Shakespeare, but his beautifully performed film shows that the two share a sense of humour. Much Ado About Nothing is an absolute pleasure, and will satisfy fans of each writer’s work, in its fidelity to the original text, and in the use of familiar faces from across the Whedonverse.

This film will be one of three films discussed in June’s The Critical Take, our FREE monthly film club, on Wednesday, June 26th at 18.40.

IRISH SHORT
These screenings will include My Fair Mot, a short film about immigrants learning to speak ‘Dublinese’, presented by The Little Museum of Dublin as part of their competition ‘Uniquely Dublin’. 2 mins, 2013, Colour.