Holy Water (2009)

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Good movie but grossly overrated

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

This movie turned out to be better than I had anticipated. I thought it was just going to be yet another comedy. But "Holy Water" is more than just your average comedy.The story was good and catchy right from the beginning, and it just got better and better as the story progressed throughout the movie. The characters in the movie were well fleshed out and had lots of depth.As for the cast. Well nothing to point your fingers at here. Although they did have fairly big names like Linda Hamilton and Tony "Tiny" Lister, the movie would have worked even without their names on the list.Well, it is not the kind of comedy that will leave you laughing yourself breathless, but it got enough satire and 'out there' comedy to keep you amused throughout the entire movie.If you are in for an evening, "Holy Water" is a good choice for a movie to watch. Though you should know that they are speaking English with heavy Irish accent, but that fact shouldn't keep movie fans at bay.

In a sleepy Irish village, nothing much is happening and the only exciting part of everyone's week is when the local band play in the pub. Then with job cuts and no prospects of financial security, local postman, Podger Burns (Cornelius Clarke), hatches a plan to hijack a shipment of Viagra and together with his band-mates (John Lynch, Lochlainn O Mearin, Cian Barry), the heist is set in motion. This is a fun film. It reminded me a little of A Fish Called Wanda, Waking Ned and many of the old Ealing Comedies. Full of Irish character actors, bursting with charm, good performances, this is an ideal way to spend 90 minutes. There are some truly comic moments and the dialogue cracks along. There's something for everyone here.

I saw this film in London when it was release in February and was surprised when I read some negative reviews. Some sour-faced reviewer said there were no laughs in it. He must have seen a different film. But what annoyed me about the naysayers most was their insistence that it wasn't a good film because it was not filmed in Ireland, but in Devon and therefore not authentic and therefore no good! I can't see the logic to this argument at all. It's not a documentary, it's a comedy that happens to take place in Ireland with Irish characters. In fact all the Irish characters in the film are played by Irish actors(I have lots of free time to comb the net). I got some news for those who disliked this film for daring to be filmed not in Ireland; Gone with the Wind was not filmed in the "Deep South", but in Hollywood. The Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan films were not filmed in India or Africa, but in Hollywood. The Wizard of Oz was not filmed in the Land of Oz or even in Australia, but in Hollywood. WAKING NED (Irish film with a Scot playing one of the main leads) was filmed in the Isle of Man, not Ireland. Mary Poppins was not filmed in London, but in Hollywood.Okay, Seven Samuraii was filmed in Japan, but did the film-makers go back in time to the 1600s? No!NOT AUTHENTIC! Most of Titanic was filmed in a water tank in Mexico, not the North Atlantic. Casablanca was not film in Morrocco, but in ... you guessed it. Does it make any of those films less enjoyable knowing they are not "authentic"? If you answered yes, then go and write crappy reviews of films that are trying nothing more than to entertain you. How dare they? I WILL NOT FEEL GOOD AND POSITIVE BECAUSE I HATE HATE HATE. I WANTED TO WRITE NOVELS INSTEAD OF THREE COLUMNS IN A NEWSPAPER!!!! Anyway, I thought Holy WAter was a good film. Okay, it could have been better, but as far as I know it is a low-budget independent film that probably needed a break. But the school bullies have grown up and now write film reviews!"Let's kick it before it has a chance to get up"!

At last, an film set in Ireland not about "the troubles" or the sleazier side of the working classes. Although, that's not to say this film isn't without it's sleazy characters. But, this is a fun film. In the tradition of the Ealing comedies, this tells the story of a sleepy town, filled with characters who live within each others pockets. In the town, four men, led by the village postman (who steals, rather than delivers the post), come up with a plan to hijack a truck filled with little blue pills (there was a disclaimer at the front of the film saying Pfizer wanted nothing to do with the depiction of their little blue pills - why? what else do people use them for?). Anyway ... they steal the pills, convinced they're worth a few thousand. But when Linda Hamilton and her SWAT team turn up, they realise they're worth considerably more. The four hijackers are in over their heads. They panic and put the pills into the local well. Guess what happens? Yep! This is a fun film, packed with gags. Some work, some don't, but the main thing is it's fun. Come on, we've seen Avatar, let's get behind a small film with big ideas. When I went to the screening of this film, it was by no means full, but those of us that were there were laughing. Often and loudly.