First-time director John Crowley and novice screenwriter Mark O'Rowe -- both Irish theater veterans -- make impressive movie debuts as they sketch a huge gallery of colorful characters, beautifully portrayed by a top-drawer cast.

The great thing about Intermission is that you barely have time to spot the gaps.

Not real Irish, but the movie kind: the latest to stumble off the [John] Ford assembly-line. full review

Such are the dangers of teaching foreign cultures to yelp like Reservoir Dogs. full review

Intermission bursts with the energy of a documentary filmed on the run with a stolen camera.

Intermission is the first movie in ages to show us what Irish native Hollywood star Farrell is capable of. full review

One of those films that should keep you entirely entertained but that disappears from memory almost immediately. full review

Invigorating fun -- cheeky, saucy, a bit crass and just drunk enough on its own sense of playful invention.

Crowley ... nimbly juggles all of these characters and gives his slight film a bouncy, knockabout quality. full review

A welcome reminder that the best, most fun entertainment encourages thinking, not the cessation of it. full review

Working off a very funny and intricately formulated screenplay by Mark O'Rowe, what Crowley gives us is an entertaining example of Irish-Alt cinema ('alt' standing for both 'alternative' and 'Altman'). full review

So full of pep you can't help surrendering to its creative energy.

Often unsettling -- random acts of violence outnumber those of kindness. But it's also touching, startlingly original and even profound. full review

A virtuoso act from beginning to end, juggling violence and farce, coincidence and luck, characters with good hearts and others evil to the core. full review

There are some genuinely funny moments... There also are some genuinely horrifying ones. The problem is, they never really mesh.

If Intermission isn't profound, it's got boisterous humor and energy. full review

This is a likeable movie about nasty people. full review

Visceral thrills and mordant humor are on this film's agenda, and it serves up both in style. full review

Very, very funny, thanks to a lively first script by Mark O'Rowe, who has a good ear for earthy dialogue and a sense of life's absurd little synchronicities.