Zonad

If you're buying a ticket to John Carney's new one, Zonad, be warned: the opening scenes will make you think you have walked into possibly the worst movie ever. Thankfully things go uphill from there. Following the escapades of two ex-cons on the run, the plot thickens when one ditches his buddy before taking refuge in the aptly titled Ballymoran (or, even better, Baile na Amadain) under the guise of "Zonad", a visiting extra terrestrial. Testing the old adage of the Ireland of a hundred thousand welcomes, Zonad lives it up like a king, drinking the town dry and sampling the delights of the local ladies. With some moments of 1950s kitsch peppering the zany humour, Zonad is silly in its own way but is helped by not taking itself too seriously. One thing's for sure, Once: The Sequel it ain't.

Words: Lisa Hughes