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At a loss for what to watch this week? From new DVDs and Blu-rays, to what's streaming on Netflix, we've got you covered.

New on DVD and Blu-ray

"The Skeleton Twins"

Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are fantastic as estranged twins with a family history of depression. After a failed suicide attempt, Milo (Hader) goes to live with Maggie (Wiig) and her Golden Retriever-like husband, Lance (Luke Wilson). Although Maggie's life looks perfect from the outside, she's got just as many self-destructive secrets at Milo. Sweet and sad, this is definitely Wiig's best dramatic role to date.

"This Is Where I Leave You"

Tina Fey and Jason Bateman lead an impressive ensemble cast in this dramedy about a family forced together for their father's funeral, and the seven days of mourning customary known as sitting shiva in the Jewish tradition. Jane Fonda, Adam Driver, Rose Byrne, Kathryn Hahn, Ben Schwartz,...

It's St. Patrick's Day week, which means it's time to celebrate movies from the Emerald Isle. While there's no G-rated Irish film available for instant Netflix streaming, I highly recommend "Darby O'Gill and the Little People," a classic Disney leprechaun tale starring a very young Sean Connery (who's actually Scottish but still great to see). Here are great PG, PG-13, and -- if you have older teens -- R-for-language picks for this week. Erin go Bragh, movie lovers! PG Pick - Page to Screen: "The Secret of Kells" (2009, 75 minutes) Netflix Amazon Instant iTunes Kids Will Love: Even kids who like everything they see will realize how special this movie is, regardless of whether they understand the setting of a medieval Irish abbey. This is a hero's journey set in a supremely original setting. The orphaned nephew of the head Abbot, young Brendan is supposed to help build a wall to ward off invading Vikings.

Chicago – One of the defining thematic elements in a Neil Jordan picture is a central relationships built upon a giant question mark, whether it be between a call girl and her chauffeur (“Mona Lisa”), an Ira volunteer and a seductive hairdresser (“The Crying Game”), or in this case, a fisherman and the woman he catches in his net.

Who is this luminous lady in the water? Is she some sort of mythical creature, perhaps a mermaid or a selkie? Is Jordan offering his own low-key take on “Splash,” much like how “Mona Lisa” seemed to be the filmmaker’s masterful variation on “Taxi Driver”? That certainly seems to be the case early on in “Ondine,” a rather endearing and evasive mood piece that holds its cards tightly to its chest until its final minutes. The story is a faerie tale clearly intended for adults, yet older kids and teenagers may...

Who better to give us a taste of Ireland than two of the country's best known entertainment figures, Neil Jordan and Colin Farrell?  The pair collaborates to bring us "Ondine" the story of a girl who may be much more than she appears to be. Syracuse (Colin Farrell) is a humble Irish fisherman who finds something strange in his net one afternoon.  Well, actually someone strange to be precise.  She is a young woman named Ondine (Alicja Bachleda). Syracuse brings the woman ashore and into his world.  His daughter Annie (Alison Barry), who suffers from kidney...

There is an odd charm to the romantic fantasy Ondine that makes it watchable for about half of its running time. Established writer-director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) is able to work well with cinematographer Christopher Doyle to create a film of visual entrancement. The problem here is that the story never takes off and, even worse, doesn’t have much of an attention-getting quality to begin with.

The main character is Syracuse, an Irish fisherman played by Colin Farrell. Since his divorce, Syracuse has made good on his promise to stay sober so that he can remain a viable role model for his daughter Annie (Alison Barry), who suffers from kidney failure. He isn’t a churchgoer, but he makes frequent visits the local priest (Stephen Rea) to confess his wrongdoings. He is a good man at heart, and Farrell makes him easy to like.

At the start of the film,...

My special interview with Colin Farrell about his new film "Ondine" from director Neil Jordan. It's about a man who discovers a woman in his fishing net. Is this woman a mermaid?

In this interview, we talked about:

How he got involved with "Ondine"

Working with Neil Jordan

The setting of the film

Have fun!

Here's more info on "Ondine" from Yahoo:

Syracuse is a simple fisherman who catches a beautiful and mysterious woman in his trawler's nets. The woman seems to be dead, but then she comes alive before Syracuse's eyes and he thinks he may be seeing things. However, with the help of his ailing, yet irrepressible daughter, Annie, he comes to believe that the fantastical might be possible and that the woman (Ondine) might be a myth come true. Ondine and Syracuse fall passionately in love, but just as we think the fairytale might go on forever,...

Ondine

Directed by: Neil Jordan

Cast: Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Alison Barry

Running Time: 1 hr 50 mins

Rating: R

Release Date: June 11, 2010

Plot: A fisherman (Farrell) pulls a woman (Bachleda) out of the water who is suspected to be a “selkie,” which is the Scottish version on the mermaid.

Who’S It For?: Mature foreign-filmgoers who don’t mind a little enchantment sprinkled in their cup of reality.

Expectations: Especially with limited release films like this one, I rarely know what it is about until I go in. This is certainly the case with Ondine, which I only knew was a Neil Jordan film starring Colin Farrell.

Scorecard (0-10)

Actors:

Colin Farrell as Syracuse: The actor’s macho outer appearance is unrecognizable in the skin of the dirty and meek fisherman. We are invested in his curiosity as he tries to figure out the true origins of Ondine, and legitimately...

Director: Neil Jordan Writer: Neil Jordan Starring: Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda "Does it always have to be 'Once upon a time'?" – this question is posed by little Annie (Alison Barry), a wise-beyond-her-years preteen suffering from a bum kidney which has landed her in a wheelchair. Neil Jordan’s Ondine is a modern day fairy tale with a figurative “once upon a time” beginning in which an Irish fisherman named Syracuse (Colin Farrell) hoists a European runway model – Ondine (Alicja Bachleda) – from the depths of the sea in his fishing net. Ondine does not seem to remember who or what she is. Annie, Syracuse’s daughter, believes that her father’s catch of the day is a selkie (a seductive sea creature – similar to a mermaid, siren, or ondine – with a lovely singing voice found in Scottish and Irish mythology). Whatever Ondine is, she seems to give Annie and her divorced...

Let me throw up a tantalizing offer for you, like an all-you-can-eat buffet featuring King Crab Legs at a seaside resort!!! Neil Jordan made a relatively unheard-of little film with money from the Irish Film Board, a PG-13 film mind you, starring Colin Farrell as a fisherman who discovers a mysterious woman in his net who may or may not be a mermaid. Digest a bit, maybe walk around on the shore before you make your decision.

Sounds promising, no? Yet when you come through the doors, you're face to face with a bloated, soggy-fried lumps of still-partially frozen clams version of a fairy tale that leaves you nauseous. Ondine is Jordan's inside out version of the legend of the selkie. Except it gets parboiled and leeched of all color through a filter of misbegotten Irish woe. The strangest part is the acting's better than fine, albeit peppered with a bevy of confounding accents,...

Filmmaker Neil Jordan has told "Once Upon A Time" stories before but never one as quaint and poetic as his Irish mermaid tale "Ondine". Actually, the mystery at the heart of the movie involves a selkie, a legendary sea creature that's a seal in the water and turns human once on land. The fairy tale shifts into a thriller at the film's climax and while Jordan may be at fault for trying to shove too many genres into one movie he does make it all work via a happy ending.  Credit Colin Farrell who gives one of his most sympathetic performances as the damaged fisherman looking for a break. After years of working on his fishing trawler and hauling his meager catches to the local commercial fisherman's co-op, water has lost its mystery for Irish seaman Syracuse (Farrell) and has become a drab place of work not much different than a factory floor.

By Scott Weinberg (reprint from 4/22/10 -- Tribeca Film Festival)

Take a dash of Splash, a generous pinch of The Secret of Roan Inish, and a healthy portion of low-key and very effective Irish charm, and the result is Ondine, a sweet and frankly lovely little film from Neil Jordan. Best known for movies like Mona Lisa, The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire, Michael Collins, and The Brave One, Jordan approaches his latest project as if it's a modern-day fairy tale -- while probably hoping that his audience is not too cynical to play along.

Colin Farrell stars (and excels) as a fisherman with a handicapped daughter, a dumpy trawler, and a history of alcoholism. But things take a turn for the weird once the lovely Ondine (Alicja Bachleda) pops up in one of Syracuse's fishing nets. At first he believes the stunning woman to be a figment of his imagination,...

Filmmaker Neil Jordan has told "Once Upon A Time" stories before but never one as quaint and poetic as his Irish mermaid tale "Ondine". Actually, the mystery at the heart of the movie involves a selkie, a legendary sea creature that's a seal in the water and turns human once on land. The fairy tale shifts into a thriller at the film's climax and while Jordan may be at fault for trying to shove too many genres into one movie he does make it all work via a happy ending. Credit Colin Farrell who gives one of his most sympathetic performances as the damaged fisherman looking for a break. After years of working on his fishing trawler and hauling his meager catches to the local commercial fisherman's co-op, water has lost its mystery for Irish seaman Syracuse (Farrell) and has become a drab place of work not much different than a factory floor.

Technically, Ondine -- the title character of Neil Jordan's new film -- isn't a mermaid. When she winds up in fisherman Colin Farrell's net in the middle of the ocean, his daughter (Alison Barry) becomes convinced that she might be a selkie, a mythological seal-human hybrid of European folklore that the father and daughter take in as one of their own.

But, after all, a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet, and a mermaid by any other name would smell just as briny. Whatever you want to call its subject, "Ondine" certainly follows many of the rules of mermaid movies established by its cinematic predecessors. To wit, here are some rules to live by when your average Joe pulls out a mermaid from the sea (oh, and beware landlubbers, some Spoilers be near):

1) They're about testing the possibility of impossible love.

Most mermaid movies,...

By Christopher Stipp

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Check out my new column, This Week In Trailers, at SlashFilm.com and follow me on Twitter under the name: Stipp

Ondine - Review

The story seems silly enough if read on paper: Local fisherman (Colin Farrell), out fishing looking for seafood to sell at the local market, finds a woman in his net (Alicja Bachleda) who doesn’t remember who she is or how she ended up caught in a man’s fishing line. He allows the woman to live in a small house located in a sleepy wharf where she can get her bearings all the while telling his young daughter who suffers from kidney failure a story that involves an Irish version of mermaids, silkies, thus bringing us to the beginning of the story. The brevity with which writer and director Neil Jordan sets up almost all of the plot...

Rating: 3/5

Writer: Neil Jordan

Director: Neil Jordan

Cast: Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Tony Curran, Stephen Rea, Alison Barry

Studio: Magnolia Pictures

The set up of Neil Jordan’s latest, Ondine, is simple to the point of intrigue. An Irish fisherman (Colin Farrell) catches a girl (the painfully beautiful Alicja Bachleda) in his net. He’s in the middle of the sea, far from not only land, but also any other human beings. What now? The girl is, thankfully, alive. But is she really a woman? And where did she come from? And why, exactly, is she here?

Read more on Theatrical Review: Ondine…...

Neil Jordan's the kind of director who's tried just about everything: dramas and comedies, fantasies and histories, big studio productions and tiny independents. That willingness to experiment and versatility with various genres and tones come in handy for Jordan's new film "Ondine," which combines aspects of children's fairy tales, crime stories and an Irish strain of kitchen sink realism into one unique combination.

Colin Farrell stars as Syracuse, a down-on-his-luck fisherman who pulls up his net one day and finds a beautiful woman (Alicja Bachleda) inside. There's no reasonable explanation how the woman, who doesn't remember who she is or how she got there, wound up drowning off the Irish coast, but Syracuse's daughter Annie (Alison Barry) thinks she's a "selkie," a mermaid-ish half-seal, half-human creature of folklore. The mystery surrounding the woman -- who they name Ondine -- intertwines with the carefully observed details of Syracuse's life, his...

With magnificent cinematography and brilliant execution, master storyteller Jordan explores pain and renewal in a world where nothing is what it seems.

Set in a tiny Irish fishing village, this simple tale is about a down-on-his-luck fisherman named Syracuse, sometimes known as Circus the Clown (Colin Farrell), a divorced, recovering alcoholic whose life revolves around sparse fishing for meager wages and his seriously ill little girl, Annie (Alison Barry). One day when trawling for fish, Syracuse is surprised to see a beautiful young woman (Alicja Bachleda) caught in his net. Ah, a mermaid, you say. No, this is no mermaid; she has no tail. She does, however, have a mysterious singing voice — one that seems to reverberate through the lowest depths of the sea. And whenever this woman, who calls herself Ondine (defined in German mythology as one emerging from the water), sings, huge quantities of fish appear in Syracuse’s net.

Ondine

Starring Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, and Alison Barry

Directed by Neil Jordan

Rated PG-13

There was a movie in 2007 about the legend of the Loch Ness Monster called The Water Horse. If the real legend had been as lackluster as the movie, people would have stopped talking about Nessie centuries ago.

And so it is with director Neil Jordan's mermaid story, Ondine. Fariy tales, kind of by definition, have to be a bit fantastical. They're too good to believe, maybe with more emphasis on the good than in a lot of cases because your suspension of disbelief has to elevated that much more; after all, mermaids are hard to take at face value.

Jordan (The Crying Game, Interview with a Vampire) has placed his mermaid story in Ireland, and has more centrally located it in a fishing village, which has a convenient in to the mythical underwater world...

Check out our interview with up-and-coming Polish actress Alicja Bachleda, who played the title character Ondine in the new Magnolia Pictures release. The movie, which was filmed in Ireland, is set to be released in the U.S. on June 4. It tells the story of an Irish fisherman named Syracuse, played by Colin Farrell, who discovers Ondine in one of his nets. His young, sick daughter Annie, played by Alison Barry, comes to believe Ondine is a selkie or mermaid. ‘Ondine’ will be available on VOD, Xbox & Amazon on Friday, May 7th. Question (Q): How much time did you spend in the water? It looked like [...]...

In Ondine, Colin Farrell plays Syracuse, just a fisherman trying to make ends meet as a single dad trying to stay sober when his nets pull up a most unlikely catch: a gorgeous woman who calls herself Ondine (Alicja Bachleda). Confused by the choking, shivering woman who seems to come back to life on his boat, Syracuse secrets Ondine away in his late mother's cabin. Later, as he tells his precocious daughter Annie (Alison Barry) a fairy tale to distract her during her regular kidney dialysis, Annie decides the fisherman in his "story" has found himself a selkie, a woman who was a seal that shed its skin to come to land. This luscious tale is written and directed by Neil Jordan, who admitted, "I've done a lot of movies that are about politics and the grimness of the political residue [in Ireland], and I thought, 'It's such a beautiful landscape ...

Check out our interview with ‘Ondine’ lead actor Colin Farrell and writer/director/producer Neil Jordan. The new Magnolia Pictures movie, which was filmed in Farrell and Jordan’s native Ireland, is set to be released in the U.S. on June 4. It tells the story of an Irish fisherman named Syracuse, played by Farrell, who discovers Ondine, portrayed by Polish actress Alicja Bachleda, in one of his nets. His young, sick daughter Annie, played by Alison Barry, comes to believe Ondine is a selkie or mermaid. ‘Ondine’ will be available on VOD, Xbox & Amazon on Friday, May 7th. Question (Q): How are your swimming skills? Colin Farrell (Cf): Non-existent! Q: [...]...

Magnolia has released the domestic trailer for Ondine starring Colin Farrell and Alicja Bachleda.

This movie made its way to Toronto Film Festival last year and it will be released in limited theaters this summer.

So, we guess you agree with us when we say that there’s no better way to start summer, than with this lyrical modern fairy tale, mixed with mystery that just needs to be solved.

If you’re not familiar with this Ondine story, here’s a little synopsis reminder: “story of Syracuse, a simple fisherman who catches a beautiful and mysterious woman in his trawlers nets. The woman seems to be dead, but then she comes alive before Syracuses eyes and he thinks he may be seeing things.

However, with the help of his ailing, yet irrepressible daughter, Annie, he comes to believe that the fantastical might be possible and that the woman (Ondine...

Take a dash of Splash, a generous pinch of The Secret of Roan Inish, and a healthy portion of low-key and very effective Irish charm, and the result is Ondine, a sweet and frankly lovely little film from Neil Jordan. Best known for movies like Mona Lisa, The Crying Game, Interview with the Vampire, Michael Collins, and The Brave One, Jordan approaches his latest project as if it's a modern-day fairy tale -- while probably hoping that his audience is not too cynical to play along.

Colin Farrell stars (and excels) as a fisherman with a handicapped daughter, a dumpy trawler, and a history of alcoholism. But things take a turn for the weird once the lovely Ondine (Alicja Bachleda) pops up in one of Syracuse's fishing nets. At first he believes the stunning woman to be a figment of his imagination, but reality kicks in once his adorable but...

With the current economic downfall, Americans want to go to the movies to escape their everyday lives and see a fairytale unfold on screen. The new fantasy-drama ‘Ondine,’ starring Colin Farrell and newcomer Alicja Bachleda, will not only provide audiences with a story they can relate to, but also integrates mythical legends onto the script to take them away to a fantasy world. ‘Ondine’ tells the story of Syracuse (played by Farrell), a down-on-his-luck Irish fisherman dealing with being estranged from his ten-year-old daughter Annie (played by Alison Barry) and adjusting to life as a recovering alcoholic. One day while unsuccessfully trying to catch fish on [...]...

Magnolia Pictures has released the trailer for the domestic release of Neil Jordan's latest drama "Ondine" starring Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Alison Barry, Stephen Rea, and Tony Curran.

Film will make its debut at this years Tribeca Film Festival and will open in theatres on June 4, 2010.

Here is the synopsis of the film:

Ondine is the enchanting story of Syracuse (Farrell), a lonely fisherman who one day pulls a beautiful woman named Ondine (Bachleda) out of the sea in his nets. His young daughter Annie is convinced that she is a “selkie” —a creature from Irish folklore much like a mermaid. Syracuse has his doubts, but as Ondine brings some luck and joy to his otherwise downcast life, he starts to come around as well. Ondine deftly blends romance and fantasy with the realism of modern life in an Irish seaside town.

Have a look at the trailer below...

The Irish Film and Television Awards saw Neil Jordan's 'Ondine' walk away with a Lead Actor Award for Colin Farrell, Supporting Actress Award for Dervla Kirwan and a statuette for Production Designer Anna Rackard. The film receives its general theatrical release on Friday, March 5th, an occasion Iftn marks with a Q&A session with the film's acclaimed Irish writer and director, Neil Jordan. 'Ondine' is the story of Syracuse, a simple fisherman, played by Colin Farrell (In Bruges), who catches a beautiful and mysterious woman, played by Polish actress Alicja Bachleda (The Absinthe Drinkers), in his trawler's nets. The woman seems to be dead, but then she comes alive before Syracuse's eyes and he thinks he may be seeing things. However, with the help of his ailing, yet irrepressible daughter, Annie, played by newcomer Alison Barry, he comes to believe that the fantastical might...

HeyUGuys were fortunate to see a preview of Neil Jordan’s (Interview with the Vampire, The Crying Game) latest release ‘Ondine’ last week. Filmed in the beautiful Beara Peninsula, West Ireland, it is a ‘modern fairy tale’ fused with strong hints of Celtic myth. Ondine tells the story of Syracuse (Colin Farrell), a loveable loner and reformed alcoholic fisherman who catches Ondine (played by Farrell’s partner Actress Alicja Bachleda-Curus) in his fishing net.

The film concentrates on the theories regarding Ondines origins as she transforms the lives of Syracuse, his estranged wife (Dervla Kirwan), daughter Annie (Alison Barry) and the local townsfolk – where it appears everyone knows everyone’s business.

However it is his daughter Annie (played superbly by young actress Barry – definitely one to watch), who believes that the woman is a ‘Selkie’, a sea creature of legend that’s capable of assuming human form by shedding its seal skin,...

It doesn’t take long for Neil Jordan to announce Ondine’s intention to play with audience expectation. In its first moments it looks to be conventional enough. Colin Farrell’s Syracuse is a fisherman plying his wares along a rough section of Irish coastline. We’re treated to the soft plucking of guitar strings, intimate close ups of the working man; all very genteel and small canvas, but then Farrell plucks an attractive woman from the ocean, covered in algae and clothes which might have been made from Fisherman’s nets.

Farrell, who wouldn’t normally expect to do better than a half-net of snoek, is understandably perplexed. Ondine, who threatens to break the fisherman’s code that you should never attempt sexual intercourse with your catch, is easier on the eye than fish, doesn’t appear to have any fixed abode and is reluctant to be seen by other people.

The first poster for Ondine, a movie starring Colin Farrell has been released.

Ondine plot summary: A lyrical, modern fairy tale that tells the story of Syracuse (Colin Farrell) an Irish fisherman whose life is transformed when he catches a beautiful and mysterious creature (Alicja Bachleda) in his nets. His daughter Annie (Alison Barry) comes to believe that the woman is a magical creature, while Syracuse falls helplessly in love. However like all fairy tales, enchantment and darkness go hand in hand.

Hit the jump to see the full poster.

Academy Award winner, Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Breakfast on Pluto, The Brave One), serves as both director and writer for the movie.  Also starring Tony Curran, Stephen Rea, Tom Archdeacon, Dervla Kirwan, Emil Hostina, Don Wycherley and Norma Sheahan.

Ondine will hit limited theaters in the U.S. on June 4th, 2010.

Ondine Poster...

It’s been a bit quiet on the Neil Jordan front in recent times. He’s had a career that’s mixed great films with Hollywood misfires. For Ondine, he’s back on home turf and looks to have made a rather lovely film starring Colin Farrell, Tony Curran, Alicja Bachleda and Alison Barry. It’s a film where fairytale meets reality and combines to magical effect…or something like that. Here’s the trailer!

Synopsis: Ondine is a lyrical modern fairy tale that tells the story of Syracuse (Colin Farrell), an Irish fisherman whose life is transformed when he catches a beautiful and mysterious woman (Alicja Bachleda) in his nets. His daughter Annie (Alison Barry) comes to believe that the woman is a magical creature, while Syracuse falls helplessly in love. However, like all fairy tales, enchantment and darkness go hand in hand. Written and directed by Neil Jordan...

Thanks to a heads up from The Playlist we have the trailer for Neil Jordan's June 4 release of Ondine starring Colin Farrell playing Syracuse, a fisherman who one day catches a mysterious woman (Alicja Bachleda) in his nets. She appears to be dead, but comes back to life in a film described as an "enchanting fairy tale." Stephen Rea, Alison Barry and Tony Curran also star.

You can check out the trailer directly below and get a much longer synopsis breakdown on our official page for the film right here, where you will also find five images from the film in our gallery.

Ireland.com has posted the first trailer for "Ondine". Opened with a preview to how a fisherman and his daughter get closer to Ondine after he caught her in his net, the video then shares the intense part as he starts to doubt the woman's origin.

This lyrical, modern fairy tale follows Irish fisherman Syracuse whose life is transformed when he catches a beautiful and mysterious creature in his nets. His daughter Annie comes to believe that the woman is a magical creature, while Syracuse falls helplessly in love. However like all fairy tales, enchantment and darkness go hand in hand.

Colin Farrell is on the cast ensemble to be Syracuse, while Alicja Bachleda tackles the role of Ondine. Meanwhile, playing Syracuse's daughter is Alison Barry. Coming from the man behind 1994 "Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles", Neil Jordan, "Ondine" is expected to hit limited U.S. theaters on...