Author: Jamie Unwin

Categories
LFF

2014 London Film Festival recommendations

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Categories
General Uncategorized XBMC

A new MUBI plugin for XBMC/Kodi

Download Mubi (2015) plugin 0.8.zip [updated : 21/3/2015] [** Updated: March 2015 **]

[The source is also now on GitHub]

I really like MUBI a moving 30 day window of hand curated films for the price of a coffee, or as they like to describe themselves ‘an online cinema’.

But despite being a member for some time now and reguarly checking the iPad app for new films. I found myself rarely streaming the films direct from MUBI’s site, as my main film watching platform is a dedicated HTPC running Kodi.

Someone had previously written a very nice and feature rich MUBI plugin for XBMC. However it was now i) broken and no longer being maintained and ii) was built against an older version of the site, prior to the introduction of a 30 day selection window and the phasing out of the old pay-per-film model, so much of it’s funtionality was no longer relevant and/or broken.

But that gave me the incentive to look at using a mix of Beautiful Soup (to handle the scraping, MUBI doesn’t have a public API I assume due to rights issues) and XBMCSwift2 (to make the addon code slightly cleaner and easier to test from the command line).

Anyway, after a couple of false starts, a bit of request/response interrogation using Charles and some trial and error, I managed to get everything working. Although this is my first XBMC plugin, first time using BeautifulSoup or XMBCSwift2 and the second thing I have written in Python of any consequence, so it’s undoubtable a little rough round the edges.

I haven’t pushed this out as an official XBMC plugin, nor do I have any plans to. But if anyone wants to download my code/plugin then feel free to do so. Just don’t ask me (or MUBI) for any support on it, although feel free to add feedback or let me know if it’s broken for you (just don’t expect an immediate fix!). It’s highly likely to break again next time MUBI change their site and I certianly don’t want to get into a cat/mouse situation trying to keep it up to date, especially if they are unhappy with the idea of a 3rd party XBMC plugin accessing their service.

Download Mubi (2014) plugin 0.5.zip [updated : 28/11/2014]

Download from GitHub

You will need a MUBI account to use the plugin, you can sign up for a 30 day trial here.

MUBI XBMC plugin

Thanks to jbaiter for his original plugin which gave me a starting off point for this version. There’s also a couple of lines/patterns that I took verbatim from his original plugin due to their elegance/simplicity.

Categories
Berlinale Film Film festivals

Berlinale 2014 – Roundup

Berlinale 2014

All in all a slightly disappointing year it has to be said, especially in terms of the main competition. Whilst Berlin is never going to have the same pulling power and choice of films as Cannes, there were very few standouts films competing for the Golden Bear and of those that did shine, the best Linklater’s Boyhood had already been screened at Sundance.

That’s not to say it was a wasted trip, the Pannorama and Forum section seemed to be where the better films were hiding out, although once again many of these titles were European rather than World premieres.

Competition programme

The standout in the Competition for me was Richard Linklater’s Boyhood (A) which I absolutely adored and cannot wait to see again. It follows Mason, played by actor Ellar Coltrane growing up in Texas from age six to his eighteenth birthday, filmed over the space of 12 years while the actor himself was growing up. Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette, his co-stars, similarly age in real time over the course of the film. Go, if not run, to see it at the first opportunity you get.

Boyhood

Boyhood, Richard Linklater

Yann Demange’s 71 (B-) I think was best viewed as a kind of John Carpenter’esk ‘Escape from Belfast’. In that capacity it kept me on the edge of my seat, as for it’s social commentary I’m not sure it added anything we didn’t already know.

Even if it was at times like watching someone shooting fish in a barrel in terms of it’s lampooning of religious fundamentalism, I loved the dark humour in Kreuzweg (Stations of the Cross) (B-). Although later in the week someone suggested to me that it wasn’t meant to be humorous. If that was the case, I’m not sure what that says about either me or the film.

Grand Budapest Hotel (B-) was Wes Anderson, better than Moonrise Kingdom and once again amazing to look at, but for me very hard to love. I found myself simply watching a very pretty surface throughout, admittedly it was a very fine and pretty surface I was watching (with a fun caper plot beneath). But I want more than that from a film, even a Wes Anderson one. Then again maybe I have just worn thin to the charms of Wes Anderson.

I really enjoyed Nymphomaniac Vol. I (long version) (B) [update: unfortunately I didn’t get to see Volume 2 till I was back in London, which quickly brought my enthusiasm for the film as a whole crashing back down to earth].

The rest of the competition line up seemed to be comprised of at best, the sort of average to mediocre festival fare that is admired but soon forgotten, only to turn up on a tiny VOD release a year or two down the line or at worst films that made you question how they’d even been programmed into such a prestigious slot in the first place.

Panorama

Standouts in the Panorama section for me were the excelent Norwegian drama Blind (B+) which I instantly wanted to rewatch and the Sundance hit Love is Strange (B+) about two elderly gay men who have to move out of their New York Apartment, in turn splitting them apart , which I can see going on to popular widespread appeal (with parallels begin drawn to  Leo McCarey’s 1937 film Make Way for Tomorrow).

Blind

Blind, Eskil Vogt

Also worthy of attention I thought were Things People Do (C+) from Terence Mallick’s former editor Saul Klien and Guard director John Michael McDonagh’s follow up Calvary (ungraded) staring Brendan Gleeson (I must confess I was extremely tired during this screening and may not have given it the attention it was due, I need to rewatch to grade it properly).

Forum

In the Forum section I finally got to watch Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer (B), still no date for a UK theatrical release, but an announcement from Harvey Weinstein that it will now be released unedited.

A couple of great, but not maybe not terrific documentaries, Finding Vivian Maier (B-) about a nanny posthumously discovered as a street photography and spoken of slightly over enthusiastically by some in the film as a peer to the likes of Cartier Bresson or Diane Arbus and The Dog (C+) about John Wojtowicz, the inspiration for Al Pachino’s character in Dog Day Afternoon.

Finding Vivian Maier

Finding Viviane Maier,  John Maloof / Charlie Siskel

Less successful for me, but still interesting was Josephine Decker’s arty indie drama Thou Wast Mild and Lovely (C-). Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Estonian film Free Range (E) which left me extremely disappointed.

European Film Market / Sundance at EFM

The EFM continued with thier Sundance at EFM programme, showcasing key Sundance titles fresh from their premieres at Park City. From that section I caught films as diverse as such as indie drama Obvious Child (B) which I really enjoyed (and no, thankfully it’s not Juno 2), the extreemly uneven Gods Pocket (C-) featuring the late Phillip Seamoure Hoffman (given his recent death, the screening has rather odd feel to it it has to be said), Lenny Abraham’s Frank Sidebottom inspired Frank (C) staring Michael Fassbender, the Mark Ruffalo lead Infinitely Polar Bear  (C+) about a bi-polar man trying to win back custody of his childen, Lynn Sheltions’s less successful Laggies (D) staring Kiera Knightly and a fascinating documentary The Green Prince (C+) about the oldest son of a founding member of Hamas who becomes an Israeli spy.

Obvious Child

 Obvious Child, Gillian Robespierre

And anyway, even if the main lineup was a little lacking this year, at least the weather made up for it. Far from the usual trudging from cinema to cinema in snow and ice, fighting off Eastern European winds, this year the sun was out and shining.

Films by grade

Competition:
Boyhood (A)
Nymphomaniac Part I (Long version) (B)
Grand Budapest Hotel (B-)
71 (B-)
Kreuzweg (Stations of the Cross) (B-)
Jack (C+)
No Man’s Land (D+)
In Order of Disappearance (D+)
Inbetween worlds (D+)
Two Men in Town (D+)
Praia do Futuro (D+)
Black Coal, Thin Ice (D)
Stratos (D)
History of fear (E)

Panorana:
Love is strange (B+)
Blind (B+)
Things people do (C+)
20,000 Days on Earth (C)
Calvary (ungraded)

Forum:
Snowpiercer (B)
Finding Vivian Maier (B-)
The Dog (C+)
Thou Wast Mild and Lovely (C-)
Free Range (E)

Out of competition:
Two Faces of January (B)
NYRoB Untitled Martin Scorsese Documentary (uncompleted)

EFM:
Infinitely Polar Bear  (C+)
The Green Prince (C+)
Supermensch (C+)
Fishing Without Nets (C+)
Frank (C)
Gods pocket (C-)
Laggies (D)
Electric Slide (not yet publicly screened)

Categories
Film Film festivals LFF

57th London Film Festival 2013 picks

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It’s around that time of year when the nights start closing in, the clocks go back and the London Film Festival rolls in town. As usual I’ve compiled a list of films that I’m most looking forward to seeing along with a few others that that I’d love to see if time and schedule conflicts allow. They’ll almost certainly be some others that will arrive from nowhere as ‘must sees’ so have tried to leave some room in my schedule for these as well.

I’ve already watched several of the titles at this years Festival earlier in the year at Cannes. These include the Coen Brothers’ brilliant Inside Llewyn Davis (highly recomended – in fact so good I went to a second screening of it), Robert Redford in JC Chandor’s near silent ‘lost at sea’ film All is Lost (recommended), Asgahar Farhadi’s follow up to A Separation The Past / Le Passé (recommended), Ozon’s Jeune et Jolie (worth a watch, although there’s no denying it’s slightly questionable subject matter will anger some), James Franco’s experimental split-screen adaptation of Fawlkner’s As I Lay Dying (approach with caution, choose the Thursday 10 October NFT1 screening with subtitles as most of the dialog is mumbled and unintelligible and brush up on the plot prior to watching), A Touch of Sin Jia Zhangke’s Cannes screenplay prizewinner (which some critics loved, I was less bowled over by it) and the dark Danish home invasion dry-humored Borgman (worth a watch if dark dry-humored slightly surreal, in a Buñuel way, Danish home invasion flicks are your bag).

Galas

Having already seen Inside Llewyn Davis which otherwise would have been very high on my list, these are the other Gala’s I’m most looking forward to.

 12 Years a Slave

12-years-a-slave-002

What so far seems like 2013’s critics’ favorite post it’s screenings at Telluride and TIFF, picking up the audience award at the latter. Steve McQueens latest is probably this years hottest ticket at LFF.

Reviews: Rotten Tomatoes

Gravity

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While Robert Redford is lost at sea in JC Chandor’s All is Lost (hidden much lower down the lineup, but still very much worth a watch) Sandra Bullock and George Clooney are lost in space in Alfonso Cuaron’s latest. Great reviews from TIFF make this another highly anticipated screening.

Reviews: Rotten Tomatoes

Blue is the Warmest Colour

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This years Palme D’or winner, recently back in the news due to a rather public spat between the actresses and director. Should make for an interesting Q&A at the Gala.

Reviews: Rotten Tomatoes

Night Moves

night-moves-001

Having watched every one of Kelly Reichardt’s films at the LFF since Old Joy back in 2006, it’s fantastic to see her having now progressed to a main Gala slot with her new film (a namesake to one my favourite 1970’s neo-noirs). By all accounts well received at both at TIFF and Venice.

Reviews: Variety | Hollywood Reporter | Guardian

Surprise Film

surprise

Always one one of the festival hottest tickets and unfortunately it comes with no guarantee of quality (Brighton Rock I’m looking at you). But there’s also nothing worse for the avid cinephile than finding out via the powers of Twitter that the hotly anticipated ommission from the programme was hiding under the banner of the Surprise film all along (No Country for Old Men, The Wrestler) and you didn’t get a ticket. My early guess would be a TIFF crowd pleaser like Spike Jonze’s Her screening at the NYFF a week or so before LFF could also fit the bill. 

Possibly..

I will almost certianly try and catch the Tom Hanks festival opener Captain Phillips about Somali pirates at the press screening (one of my favourite smaller picks from last years festival was the Danish Somali pirate movie A Hijacking so would be interesting to compare the two). I also would also like to see Alexandra Pane’s Nebraska in order to make up my own mind on it having read lots of mixed reviews and I’d be interested to see if Lukas Moodysson has returned to form with We Are the Best the story of three girls forming a punk band in 1980’s Sweeden.

Official Competition

Under the Skin

under-the-skin-001

Really looking forward to Jonathan Glazer’s “existential kitchen-sink sci-fi” with Scarlett Johansson as a recently arrived Alien in Scotland. What’s not to love.

Reviews: Little White Lies | Time Out | Variety | The Telegraph | Guardian

The Double

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Jesse Eisenberg stars twice in Richard Ayoade’s new film.

Reviews: Guardian | Telegraph | Variety

The Selfish Giant

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Clio Barnard’s adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s children’s story has had glowing reviews since it screened back in May as part of Directors Fortnight. Looks to be following the footsteps of Ken Loach’s Kes or Andrea Arnold’s Ratcatcher.

Reviews: Guardian | Screen | Hollywood Reporter | Variety

Ida

ida-002

Pawel Pawlikowski’s latest is a black and white ‘exploration of faith and history’ according to the LFF synopsis. Which could mean the driest (I am sure there is a pun there involving a certain Danish director but I’ll refrain) 80mins spent in a cinema during October or something poetic and beautiful. I’m obviously hoping for the latter.

Reviews: Variety | Hollywood Reporter

Possibly..

Also kind of fascinated to see Isabelle Huppert in Catherine Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness. Several people recommended Like Father, Like Son to me back in Cannes, so tempted to give it a try as well.

Themed Selections

I’ve grouped together the following selection of films listed in the catalogue under ‘theme’ headings, as my small selection is fairly navigable without them, although I have broken out the documentaries and genre films. To be fair to the LFF it always seemed a bit odd to have a dedicated French section, but not one for say Asia or Latin America in the catalogue, so not sure any classification system is ever perfect and something will always end up being the odd shaped case on the DVD shelf.

I’ve already seen J.C. Chandor’s All is Lost which otherwise would be high on this list along with Asgahar Farhadi’s follow up to A Separation The Past.

Computer Chess

computer-chess-001

Been looking forward to this for a long time. Mumblecore’s Andrew Bujalski’s (Funny Ha Ha) pseudo-documentary on a 1970’s computer chess tournament. Filmed in grainy black and white on an vintage Sony AVC 3260 tube camera.

Reviews: Screen | Hollywood Reporter | Variety

Gloria

gloria-001

“The romantic (mis)adventures of glamorous, disco-loving fiftysomething Gloria provide the narrative energy of Sebastián Lelio’s award-winning comedy” sounds like it went down well with both critics and audiences in Berlin earlier this year where the lead actress Paulina Garcia won the Silver Bear for Best Actress.

Reviews: Hollywood Reporter | Telegraph | Reuters

Locke

locke-001

Tom Hardy, as structural engineer Ivan Locke, driving in a car from Wales to London sounds more like a radio play than a movie. But equally it sounds pretty fascinating and one of those film that is probably better watched on a big screen at a festival as opposed to a DVD or via VoD at home, where the temptation to get up and make a cup of tea half way though is probably too great.

Reviews: Variety | Guardian | Little White Lies

11.6

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François Cluzet’s (Little White Lies) slow burn heist movie.

Reviews: Screen | Hollywood Reporter 

Manuscripts Don’t Burn

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A “film about the attempt by the Iranian authorities to cover-up a past state crime” from dissident Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof sounds both fascinating and risky (for the director not the audience).

Reviews: Screen | Hollywood Reporter

Heli

heli-001

This film about Mexico’s brutal drug wars picked up the best director prize in Cannes, where it’s graphic and unpleasant scenes divided critics.

Reviews: Screen | Hollywood Reporter | Guardian | Telegraph | Variety

Salvo

salvo-001

Winner of Critics week at this years Cannes film festival, about a Mafia hitman who takes a blind girl hostage.

Reviews: Variety | Hollywood Reporter

Possibly..

Also on the long list is Nicole Holofcener’s mid-life romcom Enough Said staring James Gandolfini, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Catherine Keener as middle aged divorcees. Joe Swanberg’s latest comedy Drinking Buddies staring Olivia Wilde and Anna Kendrick. Grand Central a romance between two French nuclear workers staring Tahar Rahim and Vic + Flo Saw a Bear which David Rooney in the Hollywood Reporter describes as “Wes Anderson and Eric Rohmer”.

Midnight movies

Not screening at Midnight, but ‘Cult’ which is which is the heading under which the LFF filed most of these seems like an premature tag to label a film with before it has acquired that status and to simply label them ‘Genre’ seemed a bit too trade/industry jargon. Whatever they are the LFF have done a great job programming a selection of films that wouldn’t be out of place at Fantastic Fest or Sitges.

Grand Piano

grand-piano-001

John Cusack and Elijah Wood in this stylish thriller that looks like it owes more than a nod to Brian De Palma and Dario Argento.

The Sacrament

sacrament-001

“Ti West brings his inimitable brand of smart, slow-burn terror to this story of two journalists visiting a mysterious religious commune.”. Guy Lodge in Variety writes “Ti West’s largely terrific sixth feature investigates unseemly goings-on at a rural Christian commune.” while the Hollywood Reporter warn “Not quite a horror movie, which might disappoint the purists, but nonetheless a bone-chilling genre piece about religious fanaticism taken to deadly extremes.”

Reviews: Variety | Hollywood Reporter

Only Lovers Left Alive

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Jim Jarmusch’s neo vampire tale staring Tilda Swinton, Mia Wasikowska, Tom Hiddleston and John Hurt.

Reviews: Rotten Tomatoes

Possibly..

Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani, who directed Amer back in 2009, have a new film The Strange Colour of Your Body’s Tears at this years fest that looks like another giallo-inspired exercise in style over substance. Reviews are mixed on this and I expect it largely depends on how much you want some plot in your movie. The Hollywood Reporter describe it as “A film as stylish as it is narratively labyrinthine” while Variety warn “This blood-spattered pseudo-Freudian nonsense is suitable only for the most avid giallo groupies”. Mmmm…haven’t made my mind up on this, sounds like it might be more at home in the ‘Experimenta’ strand of the festival, but if your gonna watch it, I expect the big screen is the the way to go. Also in the ‘Cult’ section is Why Don’t You Play in Hell? which looks like it could be a lot of fun for fans of all things genre. Screen called it “a classic cult title that will keep midnight movie fans entertained and amused” while Justin Chang in Variety is less impressed “Sion Sono trawls sub-Tarantino B-movie-pastiche territory with this tedious, over-the-top gorefest”.

Documentaries

 The Armstrong Lie

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As the title suggests Alex Gibney’s (Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron) latest covers the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.

Reviews: Rotten Tomatoes

At Berkeley

at-berkeley-002

Frederick Wiseman brings his camera to the Berkeley University campus in this 4hr documentary.

Reviews: Hollywood Reporter | Variety | Hollywood Reporter

Let the Fire Burn

let-the-fire-burn-001

“Original news broadcasts and archive footage tell how 11 people died when Philadelphia’s police tried to crush the African-American MOVE group in 1985”

Reviews: Hollywood Reporter | Screen |

Possibly..

Other docs that look interesting include Cutie and the Boxer which shines a spotlight on the 40 year marriage of two New York artists. Manhunt about the real CIA operatives who tracked Osama Bin Laden; not sure how many times this story can be retold, it seems to have been done to death in both in fiction and documentary format, but this new documentary looks to be getting some good reviews. Matt Wolf’s “prehistory of the Teenager” Teenage looks like it could also be worth a watch (I really enjoyed his previous doc Wild Combination on the life and legacy of musician Arthur Russell). Finally, Roman Polanski’s 1971 documentary on his friend and Formula One champion Jackie Stewart ‘Weekend of a Champion‘ is one of two F1 themed documentries in the programme, the other being the concisely titled 1.

Classics

The Lady from Shanghai

lady-from-shanghai-002

“Orson Welles’ celebrated noir-thriller dazzlingly restored, with femme fatale Rita Hayworth famously reflected in a surreal hall of mirrors.”

Manila in the Claws of Light

manila-in-the-claws-of-light-002

“Lino Brocka’s portrayal of a young labourer’s desperate search for his abducted girlfriend in the lower depths of Manila.”

Categories
Film Film festivals LFF

56th London Film Festival round up

56th London Film Festival

Listed below are the films I watched at this years LFF or films from the LFF programme that I watched prior to the festival (at SXSW, Cannes or Berlin) in some semblance of an order.

The greats (A)
Amour [Michael Haneke] (Cannes) IMDB
No [Pablo Larraín] (Cannes) IMDB
A Hijacking / Kapringen [Tobias Lindholm] IMDB
West of Memphis [Amy Berg] IMDB
The Hunt / Jagten [Thomas Vinterberg] (Cannes) IMDB

The very good (A-)
Argo [Ben Affleck] IMDB
Central Park Five [Ken Burnes] IMDB
Beasts of the Southern Wild [Benh Zeitlin] (Cannes) IMDB
Room 237 [Rodney Ascher] (Cannes) IMDB
End of Watch [David Ayer] IMDB

The good (B+)
Rust and Bones [Jacques Audiard] (Cannes) IMDB
In the House / Dans la maison [François Ozon] IMDB
Sightseers [Ben Wheatley] (Cannes) IMDB
Our Children / À perdre la raison [Joachim Lafosse] IMDB
The Sessions / The Surrogate [Ben Lewin] IMDB

The impressive (B)
Sister / L’enfant d’en haut [Ursula Meier] IMDB
After Lucia / Después de Lucía [Michel Franco] (Cannes) IMDB
Fill the Void / Lemale et ha’halal [Rama Burshtein] IMDB
Lore [Cate Shortland] IMDB
The We and I [Micheal Gondry] (Cannes) IMDB

The worthy of a watch (B-)
Silver Linings Playbook [David O’Russell] IMDB
Perverts Guide to Ideology [Sophie Fiennes / Slavoj Zizek] IMDB
Seven Psychopaths [Martin McDonagh] IMDB
Compliance (SXSW) [Craig Zobel] IMDB
Easy Money / Snabba Cash [Daniel Espinosa] IMDB

The worth a rental (C+)
Robot and Frank [Jake Schreier] IMDB
Shell [Scott Graham] IMDB
Celeste and Jesse forever [Lee Toland Krieger] IMDB
Beware of Mr Baker [Jay Bulger] IMDB
Frankenweenine [Tim Burton] IMDB

The OK (C)
Beyond the Hills [Cristian Mungiu] (Cannes) IMDB
Paradise: Love [Ulrich Seidl] (Cannes) IMDB
Reality [Matteo Garrone] (Cannes) IMDB
Lawrence Anyways [Xavier Dolan]  (Cannes) IMDB
Hyde Park on Hudson [Roger Michell] IMDB

Approach with caution (C-)
Everyone has a plan / Todos tenemos un plan [Ana Piterbarg] IMDB
Love Marilyn [Liz Garbus] IMDB
Post Tenebras Lux [Carlos Reygadas] (Cannes) IMDB
My Brother the Devil [Sally El Hosaini] IMDB
Quartet [Dustin Hoffman] IMDB

Need to try try harder (D)
Le Grand Soir (Cannes)  [Gustave de Kervern / Benoît Delépine] IMDB
AntiViral (Cannes)  [Brandon Croneburg] IMDB
Ginger and Rosa [Sally Potter] IMDB
Girls against Boys [Austin Chick] (SXSW) IMDB
Spike Island [Mat Whitecross] IMDB

Finally, the ones ones I missed (but that I’d like to have caught)
Neighbouring Sounds / O som ao redor [Kleber Mendonça Filho] IMDB
What Richard did [Lenny Abrahamson] IMDB
In the Fog / V tumane [Sergei Loznitsa] IMDB
God’s Horses / Les chevaux de Dieu  [Nabil Ayouch] IMDB
My German Friend / El amigo alemán [Jeanine Meerapfel]  IMDB

Categories
Film Film festivals LFF

55th London Film Festival 2011 – LFF Picks

OK here’s the long and short list, long as it’s quite a lot of films, short in that I expect it will get added to as this years festival approaches.

I have only listed the films I am seeing at LFF 2011 and have excluded any films that I have already seen at at other festivals this year, which include the Very Good: Steve McQueen’s Shame, Lynn Ramsey’s We Need to Talk About Kevin, Black, White and Silent crowd pleaser The Artist and The Dardenne Brother’s The Kid with a Bike. The Bad: Takishi Miike’s Hara-Kiri Death of a Samurai and Gus Van Sants’s Restless and the OK: Paolo Sorrentino’s This Must Be the Place, Markus Schleinzer’s Cannes competition entry Michael, Miranda July’s The Future. On the whole I’m also skipping on any films that are on general release in October.

Surprise film

The Iron Lady (UK release, 6th Jan 2012) would seem to be an obvious choice for the Surprise film but may not be ready in time. So the safe, even money favourite this year is probably Moneyball (25th Nov) staring Brad Pitt and Phillip Seymour Hoffman, although it’s baseball theme might not be the obvious choice for a London festival it otherwise ticks all the other boxes. Also high in the running I expect is The Rum Diary (4th Nov) staring Johnny Depp (both the Rum Diary and Moneyball already have a BBFC cert unlike most of the other films on this shortlist, although as far as I am aware a cert isn’t a requirement for any film showing at the festival). Given it’s numerous British connections My Week with Marilyn probably can’t be ruled out, although given the damp squids of the last two years (Michael Moore’s capitalism and Rowan Joffe’s Brighton Rock) you would all but hope that Sandron Hebron’s is going to pull something special out of the bag for her final year at the festival…

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/1817

Martha Marcy May Marlene

One of the big hits from both Sundance and Cannes this year. An “atmospheric story of a young woman recently escaped from a cult-like commune” as the programme blurb describes it. Been looking forward to this since missing it in Cannes, despite everyone telling me to go see it, I will listen next time.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/1746

Reviews: IMDB: Screen | Hollywood Reporter | Variety

Take Shelter

Michael Shannon and Jessica Chastain star in another of this years big Sundance hits.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/1818

Reviews: IMDB | Screen | Hollywood Reporter | Variety

Snowtown

This years Animal Kingdom? By all accounts an excellent, yet very dark and hard to watch dramatisation of Australia’s ‘Bodies in the Barrels‘ murders (it may be best not to read the Wikipedia page first).

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/1807

Reviews: IMDB | Screen | Hollywood Reporter | Variety

Carnage

Roman Polanski’s Brooklyn set comedy of manners staring Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C Reilly.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/1646

Reviews: IMDB | Screen | Hollywood Reporter | Variety | The Guardian | Indie Wire

Rampart

Woody Harrelson’s plays a rogue LA cop with a performance that has been described as career defining.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/1783

Reviews: IMDB | Screen | Hollywood Reporter | Variety

50/50

Indie Cancer Comedy [if such a genre exists] staring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Seth Rogen, Anna Kendrick, Anjelica Huston and Philip Baker Hall.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/1612

Reviews: IMDB |  Screen | Hollywood Reporter | Variety | The Guardian

The Descendants

Alexander Payne’s first feature since Sideways.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1667

Reviews: IMDB |  Screen | Variety |  The Guardian | Hollywood Reporter

A Dangerous Method 

David Cronenburg’s latest based on Christopher Hampton 2002 stage play ,The Talking Cure. Vigo Mortensen and Michael Fassbender respectively play Freud and Jung.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1661

Miss Bala

“A young woman clinging on to her dream to become a beauty contest queen in a Mexico dominated by organized crime”. Miss Bala has been widely regarded as one of the highlights of this years Un Certain Regard.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/1752

Reviews: IMDB | Screen |  Hollywood Reporter | Variety

Like Crazy

Transatlantic indie romance flick, another of the big buzz film from this years Sundance.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1734

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

There is only one screening of this at LFF. Which clashes with my already booked ticket for Snowtown. So will have to catch the press screening of it instead. The latest film from Nuri Bilge Ceylan, which charts the investigation of murder over 24hrs. Although like Ceylan’s previous films this isn’t going to be your standard detective on a murder case movie.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/1771

Reviews: IMDB | Screen | Time Out | Hollywood Reporter | Variety

Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life

Werner Herzog’s new doc, a “powerful exploration of violence and its consequences, told through Death Row inmates and others close to their crimes” according to the LFF synopsis.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1719

Reviews: IMDB | Screen | Variety

Crazy Horse

Veteran verité documentary maker Fredrick Wiseman (now in his 81st year) takes his camera into Paris’ Crazy Horse cabaret club.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/1658

Reviews: IMDB | Guardian | Variety | Twitch

Dreams of a Life

Director Carol Morley’s investigative documentary on the story of a young woman discovered in a London flat three years after her death.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/new_british_cinema/1671

Headhunters

Yet another “Dark Norwegian Thriller”

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1705

Reviews: IMDB | Screen | Variety | Hollywood Reporter

Walking too fast

From Variety: “Set in 1982 Czechoslovakia, Radim Spacek’s “Walking Too Fast” is a slow-burn political thriller about a secret police lieutenant bucking the system. Comparisons to “The Lives of Others” are apt, although “Walking’s” thoroughly unsympathetic protagonist makes the film more admirable than likable.”

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/cinema_europa/1835

Reviews: IMDB | Variety

The Student

From Pablo Trapero’s (Carancho, Lions Den) screenwriter comes this political allegory set in the wheeler-dealing world of Argentine student politics.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/world_cinema/1813

Reviews: IMDB | Variety | Hollywood Reporter

Guilty

From the LFF programme “Philippe Torreton gives a superb performance in Vincent Garenq’s no-holds-barred docu-drama about a man unjustly accused in a notorious paedophilia trial.”. With Variety describing it as “Devastating drama about the greatest French judicial scandal in recent history.”

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/french_revolutions/1701

Reviews: IMDB | Hollywood Reporter

Restless City

From Variety “Camera-scoured Manhattan wouldn’t seem to have many secrets left, but the extraordinarily beautiful “Restless City” achieves revelation on two tiers — in the kinetic landscape of the city itself and in the world of Senegalese immigrants, whose struggle evolves just beneath the sightlines of the average New Yorker.”. Hollywoood reporter calls  ‘Restless City’ a Stunning Look at New York’s West African Immigrant Community.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/world_cinema/1786

Reviews: IMDB | Variety | Hollywood Reporter

360

360

Fernando Meirelles’ multi stranded festival opener, has been panned by The Guardian and received less than enthusiastic reviews elsewhere. Still I quite enjoyed Babel by fellow Mexican, Alejandro González Iñárritu, which has a similar theme and was dismissed by critics, so hoping for an enjoyable if not particular deep start to this years festival with this one. Update: The commenters describing 360 as “Love Actually without the jokes” aren’t far off, a pretty poor opening night film.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/442

Reviews: IMDB | Screen | Hollywood | Reporter | Variety | The Guardian | Indie Wire

…the book nearer the time

Below are the films that I haven’t yet booked, but will probably get tickets to nearer to festival depending on my schedule.

Without

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1846

One of the nominees for this year’s Sutherland Award, Mark Jackson directorial debut is described in the catalogue as a haunting, claustrophobic drama

Reviews: Time Out

Alps

The new film from Greek Director Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth, Attenberg)

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/1619

Reviews: IMDB | Screen | Variety | Hollywood Reporter

Breathing

The winner of best European film in the Cannes Directors Fortnight sidebar. The directorial debut of Austrian actor Karl Markovics, Breathing is described in the LFF programe an ‘assured, intelligent work’. The film follows Roman, an institutionalised young offender in Vienna, serving time for a violent crime with a surly, uncommunicative attitude, blankly accepting of the solitary conditions.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/cinema_europa/1643

Reviews: IMDB | Variety | Indie Wire | Hollywood Reporter

Elena

From the LFF blurb “Andrei Zvyagintsev’s award-winning account of a struggle over inheritance is accompanied by an effective score by Philip Glass.”. Screen comment’s “A late addition to Un Certain Regard, for which it is the closing night film, one can only wonder, why is this extraordinary film not in the main competition?“

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/cinema_europa/1676

Reviews: IMDB | Screen | Telegraph

This is not a film

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/world_cinema/1825

Iranian director Jafar Panahi’s (who is awaiting a six-year jail sentence and a 20-year ban on making or directing any movies, writing screenplays, giving any form of interview with Iranian or foreign media as well as leaving the country) new film which according to the Guardian “was smuggled into the country on a USB stick buried inside a cake posted from Iran to Paris”.

Reviews: IMDB | The Guardian | Twitch | Mubi

…the (relative) Unknowns

Not the Tod Browning movie about an armless knife thrower, but a few of the largely unseen and distributor-less films picked out from the vast selection of European and World films in the LFF lineup.

The Forgiveness Of Blood

Maria Full of Grace director, Joshua Marston returns with an Albanian-set story of family caught up in a blood feud

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/world_cinema/1689

Reviews: IMDB | Screen| Variety | Hollywood Reporter

Stopped on Track

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/cinema_europa/1811

From Variety A German postal worker’s precious few months between diagnosis and death are chronicled with an acute and raw sense of honesty in “Stopped on Track.”

Reviews: IMDB | Variety | Telegraph

17 Girls

From Variety “Based on a true story that happened in the U.S., “Girls” relates how the accidental pregnancy of an attractive teen leads to an epidemic of knocked-up peers.”

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/french_revolutions/1610

Reviews: IMDB | Variety | Screen

The Monk

Vincent Cassel is The Monk.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/french_revolutions/1754

A Bitter Taste of Freedom

Documentry on Russian journalist Anna Politkovskay.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1640

Reviews: IMDB | Variety

Rebellion

Mathieu Kassovitz directs and stars in this political thriller come war movie.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/french_revolutions/1784

Reviews: IMDB | Screen

The Screen Illusion

Mathieu Amalric’s latest “gives classic French theatre a twist by wittily updating Corneille’s play as a modern intrigue set in the CCTV present” according to the LFF synopsis.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/french_revolutions/1791

Reviews: IMDB | Variety

Corpo Celeste

“A rebellious teenager reacts against strictures of her local church and ends up on a bizarre errand to collect something out of town with the parish priest.”

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1656

Early One Morning

From the LFF synopsis “Jean-Pierre Darroussin plays a banking executive driven off the rails in Jean-Marc Moutout’s incisive and angry indictment of the financial world.”. The main still instantly reminded me of Laurent Cantet’s Time Out whether that was an intentional decision I’m not sure but it’s certainly piqued my interest.

https://bfi.org.uk/lff/films/french_revolutions/1675

My Back Page

From the programme synopsis “A rookie journalist in 1969 falls under the spell of a charismatic student radical (Kenichi Matsuyama), only to realise that he’s capable of murder. Nobuhiro Yamashita and his cast recreate the political turmoil of the period with awesome credibility.”

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/world_cinema/1757

Reviews:  IMDB | Japan Times

 

 

Categories
Film Film festivals LFF

54th London Film Festival – LFF Picks 2010

Booked

It’s that’s time of year again and this is the list of screenings I have tickets for next month. A few, including Never Let me Go (excellent, but opening the week after the festival anyway) and Carlos I have already seen and so probably won’t be re-watching.

Black Swan

Darren Aronofsky’s psychological thriller starring Natalie Portman.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/442

Reviews: Screen | Indie Wire

Somewhere

A late addition to the programme, Sofia Coppola’s Golden Lion winner.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1180

The Kings Speech

Picked up the audience award at Toronto complete with a slew of good reviews and Oscar buzz.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/471

Reviews: Indie Wire | Screen | Guardian

Never Let Me Go

Mark Romanek’s drama based on Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/galas_special_screenings/483

Reviews: Screen | Indie Wire

Surprise FIlm

(update: obviously not Sophia Coppola’s Somewhere as it’s just been added to the main lineup). So maybe the more homegrown Brighton Rock (odds: even money) which screened at TIFF but which was missing the LFF programme, the excellent Australian crime drama Animal Kingdom (odds:6/1) although I hope not, given that I have already seen it, or if we’re really lucky the Coens with True Grit (odds:50/1) but given that it’s not been screened publicly yet it’s a bit of a long shot. Another outside contender, if it’s ready in time, is the Angelina Jolie/Johnny Depp film The Tourist (odds:20/1) from Lives of Others director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/503

Neds

Peter Mullan’s new film “tips a hat to the 1970s tales of Ken Loach and Alan Clarke” according to Time Out’s Dave Calhoun.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/galas_special_screenings/482

Reviews: Screen | Mubi

The American

Probable could / should have waited for the general release on this one in November, otherwise what will I have left to watch come Christmas. But couldn’t wait..interested to see what Anton Corbijn has come up with given a bigger budget.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/436

Reviews: Metacritic

Submarine

Really looking forward to this, Richard Ayoade’s (the IT Crowd) debut film, staring Paddy Considine.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/501

Reviews: Indie Wire | Screen

Meeks Cutoff

Having seen and loved both of Kelly Reichardt’s previous features, really looking forward to this one. Once again Jon Raymond has written the script and Michelle Williams stars.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/479

Reviews: Screen | Indie Wire

Blue Valentine

Michelle Williams again and Ryan Gosling star in this years Sundance favourite.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/443

Reviews: Indie Wire | Screen

Essential Killing

Vincent Gallo on the run, in Jerzy Skolimowski’s (Deep End, The Shout and w/ Polanski, Knife in the Water) new film. Mixed reviews from Venice, with some praising it and others hating it. (update: now rather annoyingly clashing on the schedule with Somewhere and Michael Winterbottom’s The Trip).

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/453

Reviews: Screen | Mubi | Time Out

Carancho

When I looked at the press stills I thought Secret in Their Eyes, Nine Queens, maybe that’s lumping all Argentine thrillers together. But hey they were both good and this is from the director of Lions Den so guessed it was worth a shot.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/445

Reviews: Time Out | Mubi | Screen

Treacle Jr.

British drama from Jamie Thraves.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/new_british_cinema/820

Review: Time Out

Tabloid

I think you can probably watch an Errol Morris doc on reputation alone, so that’s what I’m doing.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/505

Reviews: Indie Wire | Screen | Mubi

The Arbor

Experimental documentary on playwright Andrea Dunbar.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/798

Reviews: Time Out | Eye for Film | Variety

A Working Class Hero Is Something to Be (Shorts)

You don’t often get to watch shorts on a proper cinema screen outside of festivals, so going to check out this selection of films programmed by Philip Ilson.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/short_cuts_animation/1117

Possibly, maybe….

This is the ever growing list of films which I haven’t booked for yet but may take another look at closer to the festival, time allowing. My LFF accreditation has also just been confirmed, which means I might be able to catch a few of these at their press screenings over the coming fortnight (update: 29th September, have just watched Tom Hall’s Irish enjoyable and well acted wry comedy Sensation at a LFF press screening, short review coming soon).

Boxing Gym

Not only do we get a new Errol Morris doc, we get a new Fredrick Wiseman doc, sometimes have mixed feelings about Wisemans observational docs, if it’s not a subject your particularly interested in (although to be fair interesting people are innately interesting) they can seem to run a bit long. That said I’m not an huge boxing fan, but this doc set in an Austin, TX gym looks like it might be well worth a watch

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/444

Reviews: Indie Wire | Time Out

Armadillo

Well received documentary about Danish soldiers on a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/cinema_europa/571

Indie Wire | Screen

Inside Job

Documentary tracing the causes of the 2008 financial meltdown. The problem with these kind of docs is often in their attempt to oversimplify the causes, with lots of talking heads giving their personal opinions but with no real depth. On the other hand I’m pretty sure I don’t want to sit though an economics lecture for an hour an a half. Reviews seem good though ,so may well be worth a look.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1152

The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu

Documentary on Ceausescu, created entirely from archive TV footage.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/cinema_europa/573

Reviews: Indie Wire | Screen

Mars

Part animated slacker sci-fi staraing Mark Duplass (Duplass Brothers) and featuring Kinky Friedman as the President of the USA.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/1063

13 Assassin

Takashi Miike’s new fim.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/431

Film Socialisme

The latest film from Jean-Luc Godard

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/459

Reviews: Time Out | Indie Wire

Outside the Law

The rise of three brothers who end running the Algerian independence movement in Paris.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/film_on_the_square/487

Reviews: Mubi | Screen

Cold Weather

Aaron Katz’s (Quiet City, Dance Party, USA) mumblecore thriller, if such a genre can really exist.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/world_cinema/1030

Le Quattro Volte

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/492

Reviews: Time Out

Categories
Film Film festivals SXSW

SXSW Serbian Film Pre Shots

“Mum are you here? Because if you are you totally shouldn’t be watching Serbian movie”
Tim Leauge of the Alamo / Fantastic Fest introduces the midnight screening of Serbian film at SXSW with a round of extreme tequila shots. First snort a line of salt, down a shot of Tequila “left behind by the Jack Ass boys” and finally squeeze a wedge of lime into your eye.

I met one of the participants at another screening later in the week, his comment on Serbian Film “Compared to watching that movie, squeezing a lime into my eye was painless”. I couldn’t have agreed more, although thankfully I didn’t squeeze a lime into my eye, then again maybe I should have, it might have made the movie more palatable.

Categories
Film Film festivals LFF

London film festival round-up

Here is my LFF round-up in (a vaguely) descending order.

Un Prophète (imdb) ***** (seen prior to LFF)
The White Ribbon (imdb) **** (seen prior to LFF)
Fantastic Mr. Fox (imdb) ****
A Serious Man (imdb) ****
A Single Man (imdb) ****
Lebanon (imdb) ****
Precious (imdb) *** (seen prior to LFF)
Ajami (imdb) ***
Life During Wartime (imdb) ***
Father of My Children (imdb) ***
The Road (imdb) ***
Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans (imdb) ***
Tales from the Golden Age (imdb) *** (seen prior to LFF)
Polytechnique (imdb) *** (seen prior to LFF)
Double Hour (imdb) ** [need to revisit]
Micmacs à tire-larigot (imdb) **
Bunny and the Bull (imdb) ** (seen prior to LFF)
Disapearance of Alice Creed (imdb) **
Applause (imdb) **

Despite a few two stars I don’t think I saw a truly bad film this year. Listing them like this it’s obvious how useless a star rating system is. I really liked aspects of Applause, The Double Hour, Bunny and the Bull, Micmacs and Alice Creed but because as a whole, for me, they fell below say The Road or Ajami they got relegated to two stars each, but that’s not to say they we’re bad films, in fact they could probably all easily be moved up to three stars. A star rating will also never explain why Bad Lieutenant ended up where it did on the above list (in many ways it’s a two star film at best) and obviously it’s fairly broad stroke to group Haneke’s latest with Mr. Fox based on something as simplistic as a 1 to 5 rating system.

Categories
Film Film festivals LFF

53rd London Film Festival – LFF Picks 2009

Sent off my booking form for this years LFF tickets at the weekend, so far have only booked tickets for films that are likely to sell out early, will leave the smaller films to later to see how my schedule is nearer to the dates. (update: got everything I wanted with the exception of the Up in the Air and Surprise film, probably pay back for me trying to guess it. Will try again when the next tranche of tickets is released)

So what am I going to see next month..

Galas

A Serious Man

A Serious Man

New Coen brothers, great reviews from TIFF. I’m excited. Trailer here.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/484

The Road

road_01

John Hillcoat bleak adapatation of Cormac McCarthy’s bleak (but brilliant) novel.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/475

Up in the Air

up_in_the_air_01

New movie from Juno director Jason Reitman about the world of business travel.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/521

Father of My Children

father_of_my_children_01

Mia Hansen Løve’s film loosely based on producer Humbert Balsan. Been wanting to see this since missing it in Cannes

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/388

Micmacs à tire-larigot

micmacs_01

New film from Amile director Jean-Pierre Jeunet, looks fun.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/445

Fantastic Mr. Fox

fantastic mr fox

I caved in and got tickets to see it at LFF even though it’s on general release the following week.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/386

Films on the Square

Life During Wartime

life_during_wartime_01

New Todd Solondz, Loved Happiness (and Welcome to the Dollhouse) hoping I’m going to love this as much.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/432

A Single Man

A Single man

Fashion director Tom Ford’s directorial debut is getting great reviews and looks like a work of art, plus Julianne Moore sealed the deal for me. Trailer can be found here.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/492

Lebanon

Lebanon

This years Golden Lion winner, set almost completely in the confines a tank.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/430

Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans

Bad Lieutenant: Port Of Call New Orleans

Grab your lucky crack pipe, the LFF have just (23rd Sept) added Werner Herzog’s re-imaging of Abel Ferrara’s 1992 film to the programme. This also puts pay to my initial second guess at the Surprise film.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/773

Surprise Film

Surprise film

My guess is Where the Wild Things Are, but that is based purely on guesswork, no inside knowledge or anything, failing that my moneys on Herzog’s Bad Lieutenant. (update: 25 Sept – Bad Lieutenant just added to main programme, wondering if was the backup film and has now been shifted to the main program with the confirmation of LFF’s first choice of film).

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/500

Possibly, maybe..

The films on the ‘book nearer to the date’ list, mainly compiled from films I want to watch but need to see how my schedule goes and a couple of complete unknowns that sound interesting for one reason or another.

Will also try and collate some existing reviews for these films in the run up to LFF mainly so I can quickly see what on this list really worth catching and which just have a good sounding synopsis and can probably be given a miss. Although based on previous years this list could equally grow as it could shrink. (update 23rd Sept – I gave in and booked half of them)

The Disappearance of Alice Creed (booked)

disappearance_of_alice_creed_01

Twisty debut from British director J Blakeson. A three hander staring Gemma Arterton, Eddie Marsan and Martin Compston. Been hearing good things about this movie and want to see if it lives up the the hype.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/372

Ajami (booked)

ajami_02

Crime drama set on the streets of the occupied territories. Looks good. (Update: Ajami has been selected as Israel’s 2010 Oscar entry)

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/333

Trash Humpers

Trash humpers

Harmony Korine latest project looks totally out there crazy, kind of John Walters’ Pink Flamingos meets Lars von Trier’s The Idiots. It’s actually getting some positive reviews. The trailers 80’s analogue VHS video effects are great and the squealing laughter is just so wrong.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/517

Headhunter
Headhunter

Euro thriller from Denmark; yet to hear anything about it but from the synopsis it looks like it might be worth a look.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/406

The Double Hour (booked)

double_hour_01

Another Euro thriller (I’m a bit of a sucker for them) from the production team behind Il Divo. Screen give this one the thumbs up as do Variety.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/375

Applause (booked)

Applause

Danish film about a recovering alcoholic making her return to the stage as Martha in a production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Sounds a bit like a Danish version of Cassavetes’ Opening Night.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/342

44 Inch Chest

44 inch chest

New British film staring Ray Winstone

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/326

Burning Down The House: The Story of CBGB

bowery

Documentary on the legendary Bowery venue. Review from Variety here.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/774

We live in Public

we live in public

Another documentary, this time a Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner, which focuses on the (little known to me anyway) story of internet pioneer John Harris and his turn of the millennium ‘art experiment’ which involved cramming hundreds of artists into a New York bunker, and filming the results.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/529

Dogtooth

Dogtooth

This year Un Certain Regard winner, from Greece. Sounds fairly experimental but interesting at the same time.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/373

Shorts

Shorts

Would like to try and catch some of the shorts programmes if I can.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/films/short_cuts_animation

Already seen..

There are also a few films screening at LFF that I have already seen, but which I would recommend to anyone who hasn’t.

A Prophet

Prophet

Gritty French prison drama from Beat That My Heart Skipped director Jacques Audiard. This years Gomorrah if not better, go see it.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/471

The White Ribbon

White Ribbon

Haneke at his most austere, but brilliant at the same time

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/706

Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire

Precious

Given how much I though I was going to love this film. I did end up having slight issues with it in terms of the ‘middle class teacher attempts to get girl out of the gutter’ central story, the dream sequences that just seemed to sit at odd with the rest of the film and at times it felt like the director just didn’t know when to hold back on ramping up the drama to a such point that any realism the film had constructed was instantly lost. All that said it’s extremely well acted and certainly worth a watch.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/470

Tales from the Golden Age

Tales from the golden age

Very dry humoured set of shorts from Cristian Mungiu (Four Months, Three weeks) and friends set in Ceausescu’s Communist Romania.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/504

Bunny and the Bull

Bunny and the bull

A let down if your expecting “Mighty Boosh the Movie” but still contains enough imagination, quirkiness and inventiveness to make it well worth a watch.

http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/node/359

Missing?

Wondering why Corneliu Porumboiu’s, highly praised at both Cannes and TIFF, Police, Adjective didn’t make it into the London Film Festival?

Politist adjectiv

Vue and splitting screenings over two screens

I was going to save my full rant about Gala and Film on the Square screenings being split over two separate 400 seat multiplex screens till another post (but it slipped out here). I know the LFF is hard pressed for cash (although as my credit card statement for tickets to this years festival shows I am doing my bit to help). I know the Vue deal was signed before they knew the OWE was still going to be around and I know the LFF team are a bunch of cinema lovers who must have tried hard to avoid this situation. So my criticism is less directed at the LFF/BFI rather than the wider powers that be in this country for letting this happen. It may sound cliché to say but “Can you imagine this happening in France or Italy?” the truth is I couldn’t; of course the French already have a nice architectural eyesore meets concrete bunker to hold theirs in.

But really if your going to split a screening over two mid sized screens at a multiplex can you still call it a Gala screening? Could not all the Gala’s have be held at the Odeon Leicester Square? Realise that’s not LFF decision and that the Odeon is a commercial organisation with shareholders, but given the profits the Odeon chain make from cinema in the UK per year it wouldn’t have seemed too much to ask that they offer up their flagship screen for more than the opening, closing night and two other additional nights. It just seems embarrassing that the flagship film festival in the UK is reduced to using a couple of multiplex screens for it’s Gala screenings. Not that I was holding my breath that Boris was going to step in to help the situation, although I’m sure he’ll turn up at the start of Bright Star and ramble on about how fantastic it is to be standing here (in a 400 seat multiplex cinema) and how he wants to support the festival and help UK filmmakers by introducing some token scheme. I hope I’m proved wrong and he actually turns up to announce that his awarding the BFI funds to build their long awaited new home on the Southbank. (Update: I eat my words BFI National Film Centre gets the green light : Congratulations to the BFI)

In terms of the Q&A’s at the Films on the Square and Special screenings, let face it, for all the talk about attempting to have multiple Q&A, it’s going to end up with a quick introduction before the film in both screens and a bit of pot luck as to which screen gets a proper Q&A or are we just going to end up with a couple of questions per screen. I know at many festivals you don’t get a Q&A at all but LFF always did so well here and it just seems such a shame to reduce them to simple introductions. The festival is a month away so I may be proved wrong, lets wait and see. On the plus side at least Vue has decent sight lines of the screen.

Sorry that was meant to be a brief footnote, you can tell I’m already peeved.