The film "Spotlight" was recently released, based on the true story of the Boston Globe’s investigation of the Boston Archdiocese’s willful coverup of child molestation and abuse. The reviews have been, like the movie itself, scattered.

This is, without a doubt, a shattering film. Well made and well acted, it…

There is a moment in "Brooklyn" -- the recently released 1950s period semi-romance -- when one naive and worried young Irishwoman turns to a slightly less naive and worried young Irishwoman and asks her what America will be like. The response is heartfelt, immediate, true and not quite true, all at once: "Like Ireland,…

New York looms large in the history of the Irish. For the Irish-American -- particularly the 19th century Irish-American -- New York City was, in almost every way possible, the gateway city of America. Vast, foreign, dangerous, the city consumed migrants and emigrants alike. Decade after decade the people…

There is a certain type of Irishman who looms large in fiction: The "haunted man," the "angry man," the "tortured man," the "violent man," the "quiet man." He is a cliche ... but a cliche born of so much truth it is a bit like encountering an old friend when he shambles onto…

Reviewers have already begun to weigh in on "Calvary," the new John Michael McDonagh film (in U.S. theaters now).

Dark, depressing, soulless, derivative, quirky, devout,…