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In the midst of his confession, a man promises to kill Father James (Brendan Gleeson) in one week's time. Not because he's a bad priest, but because he's an innocent priest. His reasoning comes as the result of being raped for several years by a priest when he was a young boy and while the man responsible for such deplorable acts has now died, this confessor believes to kill the criminal would have been worthless anyway, but to kill an innocent priestc Well, that would turn some heads. These are the opening moments of John Michael McDonagh's sophomore effort Calvary, a movie that left me emotionally rattled in a way I can't say I've experienced in some time. Set in a small Irish village, McDonagh makes good use of a small number of locals, touching on a wealth of societal touchstones including religion, drug abuse, banking scandals, adultery, domestic...

Director: John Michael McDonagh; Screenwriter: John Michael McDonagh; Starring: Brendan Gleeson, Chris O'Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aidan Gillan, Dylan Moran; Running time: 101 mins; Certificate: 15

Brendan Gleeson and writer/director John Michael McDonagh (big brother of Martin 'In Bruges' McDonagh) are back in the wild west of Ireland following their hit 2011 cop caper The Guard. Calvary is just as dark and wickedly droll, but there is no revelling in the cynicism that surrounds Gleeson who is, this time, playing a priest - one of the good ones.

Father James looks increasingly out of place in small-town Sligo and is warned that his time is almost up. It's not a divine prophecy but a death threat he receives in the confession box, prefaced by one of the boldest opening lines in film history: "I first tasted semen when I was 7 years old..." The anonymous man goes on to explain that he...

Last week saw the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, and a slew of new films vying for people's attention. While some films may never make it in front of mass audiences, movie studios are always there to make some purchases. I've gathered up a list of some of those purchase announcements so that you can see what will be coming your way in the future!

Let's get started (these are copied from the press releases I received to better reflect the information):

* Lionsgate (NYSE: Lgf) and Roadside Attractions, and Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions (Spwa) each announced today that the respective companies have acquired rights in all territories to Craig Johnson’s drama The Skeleton Twins. Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have jointly acquired Us rights to the film, while Spwa is taking all worldwide rights outside of the Us. Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions are planning a theatrical release for the feature film...

Fox Searchlight Pictures Presidents Nancy Utley and Stephen Gilula announced today that the company has acquired U.S. rights as well as select international territories to the blackly comedic drama Cavalry . Written and directed by John Michael McDonagh, Cavalry 's ensemble cast includes Brendan Gleeson, Chris O'Dowd, Kelly Reilly, Aidan Gillen, Dylan Moran, Isaach De Bankolé, M. Emmet Walsh, Marie-Josée Croze, Domhnall Gleeson, David Wilmot, Pat Shortt, Gary Lydon, Killian Scott, Orla O'Rourke, Owen Sharpe and David McSavage. The film was produced by Reprisal Films. Chris Clark and Flora Fernandez Marengo and Octagon's James Flynn, and is an Irish Film Board and BFI presentation in association with Lypsync Productions. The film is scheduled to be released in 2014....