Edinburgh Film Festival

Day Five - "I am obsessed with music, yes. I like to hear every track that comes into the shop at least once. (Pause) Sounds mad..."

2011-06-20T03:36:00.006+01:00

Featured review of the day: Page Eight.

Other films seen today:

Post Mortem (4 stars, won't disappoint fans of Tony Manero)

The Divide (3 stars, will play well to the FrightFest crowd and I'll be amazed if it doesn't show up there in August)

Sound It Out (4 stars, delightful documentary about the last independent record shop in Stockton and the collection of music obsessives that both run and frequent the shop)

On the Shore (2 stars, somnambulistic flic flick)

Jitters (4 stars and will make my Best of the Fest list. As this blog will attest, I am a sucker for a well made Scandinavian coming-of-age drama and this was an excellent example).

Also, a) interviewed Bob Ingersoll for Project Nim and b) attended the interview with imdb co-founder Col Needham.

Day Four - "You don't even got any class..."

2011-06-18T18:01:00.005+01:00

Today's featured review: Perfect Sense. Personally, if it had been up to me to choose which press photos to make available, I would have gone with a still of Ewan McGregor and Eva Green eating soap in the bath. I'm just saying.

Other films seen today:

Trollhunter (4 stars, clever blend of Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield that has a lot of fun with existing mythology. Pretty sure there's a Fungus the Bogeyman reference in there too. Need to see this again).

The Caller (3 stars. Enjoyable, if ridiculous horror / thriller in which the lovely Rachel LeFevre is menaced by someone who's calling her from 1977 or so. Has a couple of very effective moments and on this evidence, LeFevre deserves to be a bigger star).

Bombay Beach (4 stars. Extraordinary blend of documentary and dance that is unlike anything I have ever seen before. Ostensibly a portrait of an impoverished California community in Salton Sea, Alma Har'el's film follows around several different characters and occasionally they perform stunning choreographed dance sequences to the music of Beirut. I am not someone who is normally moved by dance sequences as a rule, but this really got to me. I'm still processing it a day later. I might even end up giving it 5 stars. Director Alma Har'el is lovely too - it's a shame there wasn't a Q&A at the public screening I went to).

Jessica Brown Findlay update: Despite repeated and increasingly desperate entreaties, I have been unable to secure an interview with Jessica Brown Findlay. I have been offered Sebastian Koch instead, which is, I think we can all agree, NOT THE SAME, as these photos will attest.

Jessica Brown Findlay:

Sebastian Koch:

Day Three - "Is that your sex hat?"

2011-06-17T18:14:00.003+01:00

Featured review of the day: Bobby Fischer Against The World.

Films seen today:

Angels Crest (3 stars, smalltown indie drama with strong performances, slightly ruined by unnecessary ending - review to follow).

Albatross (4 stars, very enjoyable British drama featuring yet another lovely performance from Felicity Jones and a star-in-the-making turn from newcomer Jessica Brown Findlay, who I have only just realised is the sexy political one in Downton Abbey - review to follow).

In the meantime, here is a picture of Jessica Brown Findlay:

*sigh*

Day Two - "Traditionally, it's the stationery cupboard..."

2011-06-17T18:04:00.002+01:00

Featured review of the day: Tomboy.

Other films seen today:

Arrietty (aka Arrietty The Borrower aka The Borrower Arrietty aka The Borrowers - no-one seems to be able to agree on the title, but it's this film and it was every bit as lovely as you'd expect a Studio Ghibli version of Mary Norton's The Borrowers to be - 4 stars, review to follow).

Project Nim (4 stars, fascinating documentary, see Day Six's featured film).

Page Eight (3 stars, worth seeing for performances, see Day Five's featured film).

Perfect Sense (2 stars, the first real disappointment so far - see Day Four's featured film).

Day One - "Fischer-watchers refer to this period as 'The Wilderness Years'..."

2011-06-17T17:53:00.005+01:00

Featured review of the day: Opening Night Gala - The Guard.

Other films seen today:

Bobby Fischer Against the World (4 stars; see Day Three's featured film).

Truth About Men (4 stars, like a Danish version of (500) Days of Summer - review to follow).

Our Day Will Come (3 stars, bizarre Ginger Apocalypse drama starring Vincent Cassel - review to follow).

Tomboy (4 stars, currently the front-runner for my favourite film of the festival - see Day Two's featured film).

This was also the day of the Opening Night Party. Officially the lowest-attended opening night party I have ever been to. The dancefloor was literally deserted all night long. They did have delicious hot pork buns though, so it wasn't all bad...

Quick list of films I've already seen

2011-06-17T17:35:00.005+01:00

Normally, by the time the festival starts, I've already seen a large number of the films on offer. This year, that number is a rather pathetic five, so something somewhere has gone terribly, terribly wrong. Edinburgh's woes this year have been well-publicised elsewhere so I won't bother going into them here but here's a blog post I wrote for The Blog No-one Reads about the Edinburgh line-up and the films I was looking forward to the most (based on a cursory glance at the programme).

Anyway, the films I've seen so far are:

The Guard (4 stars, see Day One's featured film).

Jack Goes Boating (2 stars, felt too stagey and Hoffman's lead character didn't really work for me)

Ghosted (2 stars, might have given it 3 if I hadn't seen a better British prison movie that week - liked Craig Parkinson a lot, but it was let down by a painfully contrived ending)

Meet Monica Velour (3 stars, low-key but very enjoyable, a sort of Napoleon Dynamite meets...well, meets a trailer-trash version of Kim Cattrall)

Countdown to Zero (which I'm probably going to see again while I'm up here because 1) I saw it ages ago, 2) I can't remember anything about it and 3) It's out next week).

"Hmmm. When the bloody hell is he going to get around to starting this year's blog?"

2011-06-17T17:31:00.001+01:00

Day Twelve - "I see why you need Shakespeare."

2010-06-27T16:26:00.003+01:00

Featured review of the day (for Best of the Fest): Skeletons

Coming soon: Freetime Machos

Day Eleven - "Liven up that grave with a wolf-whistling Jesus!"

2010-06-27T16:20:00.003+01:00

Featured review of the day - Third Star (Closing Night Gala)

Coming soon: Donkeys, R, Yo Tambien

Day Ten - "Sadly, my great opus was stolen by a Swiss hunchback but that's all too trying to go into now."

2010-06-27T15:58:00.003+01:00

Featured review of the day: Heartbreaker

Coming soon: The Extra Man, Lucky Luke

Day Nine - "Can you still play 'Nuclear Sex Animal'?"

2010-06-27T15:55:00.004+01:00

Featured review of the day: The Secret in Their Eyes

Coming soon: Ollie Kepler's Expanding Purple World, Gravity, Honeymooner

Day Eight - "You've gone all Charlie Chaplin again. Silent, I mean, not schmaltzy and unfunny."

2010-06-24T15:57:00.005+01:00

Featured review of the day: The Kid

Coming soon (although maybe not that soon): Get Low, Crimefighters, Skeletons

Day Seven - "He tossed his oatmeal at us. It's all a little confusing."

2010-06-23T18:30:00.003+01:00

Featured review of the day: Barry Munday

Coming soon: My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?, The Secret in Their Eyes, Vacation!, Mr Nice

Day Six - "I'm not an alcoholic. I mean, you've only ever seen me drunk, but that's a choice I make every morning..."

2010-06-22T05:31:00.005+01:00

Featured review of the day: Superhero Me

Coming soon: My Words, My Lies - My Love, The Kid, The Good Heart, The Crab

Day Five - "This trip is like going for a walk with a sick white Oprah"

2010-06-20T20:24:00.004+01:00

Featured review of the day: The Runaways

Third Star

British drama starring Benedict Cumberbatch as a terminally ill young man who invites his three best friends (Tom Burke, JJ field and Adam Robertson) on a camping trip to his favourite place in the world.

Expanded version of official ViewEdinburgh review: Impressively directed and sharply written, this is a powerfully emotional British drama with superb performances from all four leads. Directed by Hattie Dalton, Third Star opens with a voiceover by terminally ill 29 year-old James (Benedict Cumberbatch) explaining that he doesn't intend to see 30 and that he's okay with that. James duly invites his three best friends – sensitive Davy (Tom Burke), practical Bill (Adam Robertson) and feckless Miles (JJ Feild) – to accompany him on a camping trip to his favourite place in the world - Pembrokeshire's Barafundle Bay - but his three friends are unaware that he plans to commit suicide when he gets there. The trip consists of the usual round of mishaps, arguments and bizarre encounters (including a make-up-wearing ferryman, Nanny McPhee 2's Eros Vlahos as an angel-winged little shit who steals Miles's watch and Hugh Bonneville as a bonkers beachcomber in search of a shipment of rare brown Darth Vaders) before the inevitable round of revelations, confessions and soul-searching. But will James' friends let him go through with his plan when they discover his intentions? The performances are excellent and the friendship between all four men feels organic and real, particularly in their easy, piss-taking banter and good-natured rough-housing (“I liked the squeaky noise you made when he had you in a head-lock”). Of the four, Cumberbatch is moving and dignified as James, while Feild adds several layers to Miles in the more obviously charismatic role (as well as demonstrating an impressive ability to cry underwater), but there's strong support from Burke and newcomer Robertson, both of whom find touching moments of their own. Vaughan Sivell's script crackles with witty, natural-sounding lines (including an extremely funny suppository gag) and familiar-sounding pointless conversations (the title comes from an argument about the correct directions to Neverland), while the emotional speeches are well handled, with Sivell showing an impressive ability to both undercut the more mawkish moments (Miles accuses James of “unnecessary fake soul-searching”) and to swerve away from the usual clichés at the last moment (e.g. when James starts nagging Miles about his abandoned novel and Miles just tells him to shut up). In addition, the film is beautifully shot and takes full advantage of the gorgeous scenery, while the climax is both impressively directed and powerfully emotional. Four stars.

Coming soon: High School

Day Four - "Just so you know, my parents think you put drugs in my drink and had sex with me while I was unconscious"

2010-06-20T20:17:00.009+01:00

Featured review of the day: Winter's Bone

Toy Story 3

Threequel to Pixar's flagship franchise, in which Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz (Tim Allen) and the rest of the toys get accidentally shipped off to a hellish, prison-like Day Care centre after Andy (John Morris) goes off to college.

Expanded version of ViewEdinburgh review: Directed by Lee Unkrich, Toy Story 3 (in 3D) opens with Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and the rest of Andy's toys – the Potato Heads (Don Rickles and Estelle Harris), dinosaur Rex (Wallace Shawn), piggy bank Hamm (John Ratzenberger), cowgirl Jessie (Joan Cusack) and Slinky Dog (Blake Clarke) – resigning themselves to being put up in the attic as Andy (John Morris) prepares to go off to college. However, they accidentally get sent to the Sunnyside Day Care centre instead where Sunnyside leader Lotso-Huggin Bear (Ned Beatty) consigns them to the hellish Caterpillar Room, full of destructive, hyper-active toddlers. Realising that they won't survive in the Caterpillar Room, the toys plot an elaborate escape, which isn't easy, as Lotso locks them up at night and runs the centre like a prison, complete with a scary cymbal-clashing monkey as look-out. Meanwhile, Woody meets some new toys when he ends up being taken home by a young girl (Emily Hahn as Bonnie) and Barbie (Jodi Benson) thinks her dreams have come true when she meets Sunnyside's resident hunk, Ken (Michael Keaton). The vocal performances for these much-loved characters are as wonderful as ever, though there are some terrific new additions this time round, most notably Ned Beatty as Lotso, Timothy Dalton as actorly hedgehog Mister Pricklepants, Michael Keaton as Ken, Kristen Schaal as Trixie the Triceratops and Emily Hahn, who is flat-out adorable as Bonnie. Similarly, the animation is also as gorgeous as ever (especially in the inventive fantasy Wild West playing sequence that opens the film) and the 3D effects are extremely impressive, with the film largely steering clear of gimmicks in favour of fleshed-out 3D environments. The script is excellent, developing several powerfully emotional themes, such as the toys' sadness at Andy not wanting to play with them anymore or various subtle observations about the lifespan and purpose of a toy. Needless to say, the script is packed full of delightful gags and devastatingly emotional moments – make no mistake, tears will be shed by adults and children alike, so bring tissues. All in all, this is a worthy threequel to the wonderful Toy Story franchise with gorgeous animation, terrific vocal performances and a brilliantly written script that's consistently both laugh-out-loud funny and powerfully emotional. Basically, those Pixar geniuses have done it again - this is one of the best films of the year and is quite simply unmissable. Five stars. EDIT: Okay, there's not much more I want to add to this, except to say that I really loved the Death By Monkeys gag and thoroughly enjoyed the whole extended Toy-Story-as-Prison-Movie thing.

Barry Munday

Black comedy starring Patrick Wilson as a libido-driven wage slave who is forced to re-evaluate his life after the double-whammy of losing his testicles and discovering he's impregnated a woman (Judy Greer) after a one-night-stand he can't remember.

Full text of ViewEdinburgh review:Superbly written, frequently hilarious and brilliantly acted by a note-perfect cast, this is a hugely entertaining black comedy that has an unexpectedly warm heart. Written and directed by Chris D'Arienzo, Barry Munday is based on the novel “Life Is A Strange Place” by Frank Turner Hollon and stars Patrick Wilson as Barry Munday, a libido-driven wage slave who spends all his time either ogling, fantasising about or trying to pick up women. However, after a freak attack by an outraged father wielding a trumpet, Barry wakes up in hospital to find that his testicles have been removed. As if losing the family jewels wasn't bad enough. Barry gets a further shock when he's hit with a paternity lawsuit by frumpy, bespectacled Ginger Farley (Judy Greer), a woman he can't remember having sex with. Secretly thrilled that the Munday line might not end with him after all, Barry attempts to step up to his responsibilities with Ginger, though he finds it an uphill struggle when he meets her family (Malcolm McDowell, Cybill Shepherd and Chloe Sevigny), particularly when, right before meeting them for the first time, Ginger informs him that she's told them that he drugged her and had sex with her while she was unconscious. Patrick Wilson is brilliant as Barry, delivering a warm-hearted, vanity-free performance that ensures the character remains likeable even when he's being an idiot. Judy Greer (finally graduating to female leads after an eternity of Wisecracking Best Friend-type parts) is equally good as Ginger and the film also boasts a terrific supporting cast that includes Chloe Sevigny (as Ginger's seemingly perfect sister Jennifer), Jean Smart (as Barry's mother), Billy Dee Williams (i.e. old Lando Calrissian himself) as Barry's boss Lonnie and Cybill Shepherd and Malcolm McDowell as Ginger's parents. The script is excellent: the dialogue crackles with funny lines and there are several laugh-out-loud moments. Highlights include: Barry unable to stifle his giggles during a genital mutilation support group; Barry committing a pretty serious faux pas during sex; and pretty much every second that Billy Dee Williams is on screen (he drives a DeLorean, for God's sake). D'Arienzo's skilful direction gets the tone exactly right, expertly blending pitch black comedy with bittersweet moments that reveal a surprisingly warm heart. This a hugely enjoyable black comedy with terrific performances from a wonderful comic cast. Highly recommended.

Coming soon: Thelma, Louise and Chantal, Putty Hill

Day Three - "I can't come to the phone right now because I'm out clearing the streets of bureaucratic vermin".

2010-06-18T14:08:00.023+01:00

Featured review of the day: The People vs George Lucas

The Runaways

Rock biopic of The Runaways, based on the book by Cherie Currie, starring Dakota Fanning as Cherie and Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett.

Full text of ViewEdinburgh review (different version to follow): Directed by photographer Floria Sigismondi and adapted from the book by Cherie Currie, The Runaways opens in 1975 when Bowie-obsessed 15 year-old Cherie (Dakota Fanning) is introduced to guitarist Joan Jett (Kristen Stewart) by impresario Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon). Despite feeling guilty about leaving her older sister Marie (Riley Keough – Elvis's grand-daughter) to look after their alcoholic father (Brett Cullen), Cherie eagerly joins the band and is soon embarking on a gruelling schedule of tours and indulging in the usual sex, drugs and rock'n'roll shenanigans with a little experimental lesbianism thrown in. Dakota Fanning is terrific as Cherie Currie – this is essentially her movie and she delivers an emotionally engaging performance that captures both the aggressive rock chick image and the grown-up-too-soon teenager inside. Her scenes with Keough are particularly good; their relationship is as central to the film as Cherie's relationship with Joan. Stewart is equally good, capturing Jett's look, spirit and attitude, even if the character is frustratingly under-explored by the script. There's also strong support from Keough and Stella Maeve (as drummer and band co-founder Sandy West) but the film is neatly stolen by the always-excellent Michael Shannon, who gets all the best lines and several amusingly off-the-wall moments, such as having a business phonecall with Joan while having sex. Sigismondi has the expected photographer's eye for an arresting image (such as Joan mentally composing songs in a milky-white bath) and her direction is suitably stylish throughout. Similarly, the film ticks all the expected biopic boxes (drugs, arguments, breakdowns, lesbianism) and the concert scenes are well handled, particularly an early heckler-heavy gig and the central set-piece performance of Cherry Bomb. The main problem is that this is essentially The Runaways: The Cherie Currie Story, meaning that the rest of the band are frustratingly side-lined (poor Alia Shawkat gets just one line, off-camera) and the film ends when Cherie leaves the band, when Jett's story is just as interesting. Despite a few wobbles, this is a stylish and enjoyable rock biopic with terrific performances from Fanning, Stewart and Shannon. Recommended. Enjoyable, stylishly directed rock biopic with terrific performances from Fanning, Stewart and Shannon, though the fact that it's adapted from Currie's book means that only Cherie's story is explored in any depth. Four stars.

Superhero Me

British documentary in which film-maker Steve Sale attempts to transform himself into a superhero.

Directed by Steve Sale, Superhero Me is a micro-budget British documentary that opens with various comic fans and comic shop owners discussing what it takes to become a superhero. Narrowing the basics down to “Look good in spandex, learn self-defence, get a costume, a lair, some gadgets and a vehicle”, film-maker Steve Sale sets out to become a superhero with the help of his extremely supportive girlfriend (and later wife), Charlotte. With various friends operating the camera, the film follows Steve as he gets fit (cue amusing training montage), learns self-defence, flies to Naples to meet real-life superhero Entomo: The Insect Man, acquires a costume, names himself SOS, gets a theme song, tests his sonic weapons (i.e. personal alarms) on his dogs, postpones his honeymoon to fly to Florida and hang out with real-life superhero Master Legend and finally graduates to fighting crime as SOS on the mean streets of Sutton and Epsom. Along the way he discovers, amongst other things that velcro is incompatible with ninja-style stealth and that flying isn't quite as easy as it looks. As indicated by its title, Superhero Me is heavily influenced by Morgan Spurlock's Supersize Me, but it's also extremely similar to last year's A Complete History of My Sexual Failures. What all three films have in common is an extremely likeable director-slash-protagonist who's willing to throw themselves whole-heartedly into the project, even at considerable personal risk. For the most part, Sale keeps things moving at a decent pace (arguably, the film spends a little too long with Master Legend in Orlando), ensuring that there's a decent laugh every few minutes. Highlights include: Steve solving the problem of how to go to the toilet and eagerly demonstrating the suit's easy-access panel (“I won't get him out now though – don't want to make this an 18”), Steve discussing his crime-fighting adventures on the phone to his mum and an amusing cut to Steve beating up some thugs, quickly followed by the caption “This didn't really happen”. The only real problem with the film is that it leaves the community of real-life superheroes frustratingly under-explored - you sense there's a whole film waiting to be made there. Similarly, there's a slightly uncomfortable moment where Steve attempts to use his powers to, er, evict some squatters. You'd never catch Batman doing that. This is an entertaining, frequently funny documentary that plays like a real-life Kick-Ass and marks Steve Sale out as a talent to watch. Three stars.

Huge

British comedy directed by Ben Miller, starring Noel Clarke and Johnny Harris as a pair of would-be comedians trying to make it big.

Full disclosure: I saw this back in September as part of a Twitter-organised test screening. I'd hoped there had been significant changes since then, but sadly, I also suspected that there was very little chance of saving it without total reshoots. Much of the following review is more or less what I wrote on the test forms at the time. Co-written and directed by Ben Miller, Huge is based on a play by Jez Butterworth and stars Johnny Harris (best known as the psycho pimp from London to Brighton) and Noel Clarke (in a curly wig and glasses that make him look exactly like Moss from The IT Crowd) as Warren and Clark, two Morcombe & Wise-obsessed would-be comedians who decide to form a comedy double-act after Clark drunkenly heckles Warren at a disastrous gig. That's pretty much it, plot-wise - they get several rejections, crash a comedy awards after-party (cue a slew of cameos from Ben's famous comedian friends, though I didn't spot Alexander Armstrong) and fall out over something or other. Unfortunately, the film has so many problems that it's hard to know where to start. Firstly, for a film about comedians it's horrifically unfunny - Clark's heckle to Warren for example is "Tell us a joke" and then a knock-knock joke ("Warren who?" / "Exactly") when invited up on stage. Secondly, the film doesn't seem to know whether Warren and Clark are actually meant to be any good - Harris insisted at the Q&A that he wasn't, but the film's coda suggests otherwise. Thirdly, both Warren and Clark appear to be a little bit...special (Warren has a personality disorder at the very least, Clark dresses like he's on day release) but the film never addresses this in any way. Fourthly, the script has some severe problems - for example, at the beginning of the film Clark is working as a waiter in a Greek restaurant and has a nice moment of chemistry with Michelle Ryan (aka Zoe Slater from EastEnders and did I mention I met her at the after-party?) as pretty co-worker Cindy. It's then revealed that Cindy is going out with the manager of the restaurant (Russell Tovey), who is, of course, an utter bastard of the first order. At this point you think "Oh good, he's eventually going to win her away from the bastard Tovey", but no - instead the characters disappear completely and are never seen again, which is a shame, because Ryan is easily the best thing in the film. Another massive problem occurs later on when the story picks up several months later (after the argument) and Clark supposedly has a big TV job where he's being pampered by everyone around him and is dating a make-up girl (Tamsin Egerton) and having producers fawn over him...and then it turns out he's just a man in a chicken suit doing an advert. Finally, as much as I love Johnny Harris as an actor, he's badly miscast here, because it's impossible to like Warren. A friend of mine pointed out that it might have worked better if Harris and Russell Tovey had swapped roles and I'm inclined to agree. Sadly, this is pretty much unwatchable as it just doesn't work on any conceivable level. One star. Such a shame, too, because I love Miller's comedy work elsewhere. Sorry, Ben.

Day Two - "Sometimes it's busy but I just hit redial until it unbusies"

2010-06-17T21:05:00.021+01:00

Featured review of the day: World's Greatest Dad

A Real Life (Au Voleur)

French drama starring Florence Loiret Caille as a pretty young teacher who impulsively goes on the run with a petty thief (Guillaume Depardieu).

Another one for the Starts Well But Tails Off list, this stars Florence Loiret Caille (who reminded me of someone but I can't think who) as Florence, a respectable German teacher who picks up petty thief Bruno (Guillaume Depardieu) and ends up going on the run with him when the cops start closing in. The performances are good (this was Depardieu's final film before his tragic death two years ago) and there's appropriately strong chemistry between the two leads - you can see why bored, overlooked Florence would be attracted to Bruno, even if he's not exactly a Jean-Paul Belmondo in the glamorous gangster department. I liked the suggestion that she only picks him up in the first place because she knows he stole her watch when she fainted in the street and she wants it back. There were lots of good scenes in the first half (my notes say "Wes Anderson feel" but I think that's more to do with the credit sequence) and there's even a decent car chase scene, but once they go on the run - just when you'd expect the film to kick into gear - it runs out of steam and meanders all over the place. Literally, in fact, since they end up drifting down stream in a punt without a pole and...nothing happens. I was expecting a Gun Crazy-style shoot-out amongst the reeds, but no. Still, it had its moments and I'm giving it a pass based on its weirdly brilliant 1930s American folk songs-based soundtrack alone. If someone knows the name of the "Picky pick pick, cloudy cloud cloud" song, please let me know. Three stars. I do sort of wish I'd gone to the Chase the Slut screening instead though.

The Dry Land

Drama starring newcomer Ryan O'Nan as a soldier with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder who returns to his small-town Texas home after a tour of duty in Iraq.

Directed by Ryan Piers Williams, The Dry Land stars newcomer Ryan O'Nan (who looks a bit like Matthew Fox's younger, better-looking brother) as James, a soldier suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) who returns home to El Paso, Texas after a tour in Iraq. He's given a warm welcome by his loving wife Sara (America Ferrera) and his friends (Ethan Suplee, Jason Ritter) but finds it difficult to readjust to normal life. When he nearly strangles Sara during a bout of night terrors, he decides to take a road trip with his best friend Raymond (Wilmer Valderrama) to visit an injured platoon buddy of theirs (Diego Klattenhoff as Henry) in the Walter Reed hospital. All three men were involved in the incident that injured Henry but James has repressed the memory (which, in turn, is behind his Night Terrors) and Raymond refuses to talk about it, so James is hoping Henry will help recover his memory, but is he really ready to hear the truth? It's fair to say that The Dry Land doesn't really cover any new ground - there's nothing here that you won't have seen in other PTSD-based movies - but it's superbly acted (Valderrama, O'Nan and Jason Ritter are particularly good), nicely shot and emotionally engaging throughout. There are several good scenes but the highlight for me was - spoiler alert - the guitar scene, which is already upsetting enough (it's Henry's guitar but his hands are injured), then has a sweet moment as James picks it up and plays a song Henry taught him (with all three men singing) and then takes a sudden turn in an equally upsetting direction. There's also strong support from Melissa Leo as James's dying mother, who has a powerfully emotional scene with O'Nan towards the end. Four stars. (Animal abuse watch: there's a rabbit shooting scene).

SoulBoy

British coming-of-age drama set in the 1970s Northern Soul underground music scene, starring Martin Compston, Felicity Jones and Nichola Burley.

This was one of the films I was most looking forward to - it has a terrific cast (including two of my favourite up-and-coming actresses) and a lot of things going for it, but ultimately it wasn't as quite good as I wanted it to be, though I still enjoyed it. Not to be confused with Soul Boy (also playing at the festival), SoulBoy is directed by Shimmy Marcus and set in 1970s Stoke-on-Trent. Martin Compston stars as Joe, an assistant deliveryman who spends his evenings in crappy local pub nightclub The Onion with his idiotic best friend Russ (Alfie Allen, giving the same performance he always gives). However, no-one in The Onion appreciates Joe's somewhat individualistic dance moves and when he hears about the burgeoning Northern Soul scene in the Wigan Casino nightclub he's persuaded to check it out, not least because he's smitten with haughty hairdresser Jane (Nichola Burley). However, he soon discovers that Jane is a) going out with dancefloor king (and utter bastard) Alan (Craig Parkinson) and b) has her own special space at the front that only the best movers get to dance in. Realising that he has to learn the Northern Soul dance styles if he's going to have a chance with Jane, Joe turns to kindly Mandy (Felicity Jones) to teach him the moves, unaware that she has a huge crush on him. Compston is excellent as Joe and it makes a nice change to hear him speaking in a non-impenetrable accent for once. I also liked that his dance moves were...achieveable (i.e. slightly rubbish). Jones and Burley are equally good and there's strong support from the always excellent but still little-known Craig Parkinson - you'll know his face, because he looks like a cut-price Paddy Considine. There's also a sub-plot with Pat Shortt (from the excellent Garage) as Joe's boss, who's in love with one of his customers (Jo Hartley) but that doesn't seem to go anywhere. There were a lot of things I liked about SoulBoy - the depiction of the Northern Soul scene (complete with Wigan-bound buses from all over the country and a uniform involving long leather coats, singlets and Adidas bags that I didn't quite understand), the 70s period detail and the performances, as well as several individual scenes, but it also has its fair share of problems. For one thing, Allen's character disappears after a fairly crucial plot detail and that entire sub-plot is left dangling. Similarly, without giving too much away, the climax didn't quite work for me and I felt a better director could have made more of the choosing-between-two-women scene. The script doesn't help in that regard - as lovely as Mandy is, there's never a moment where Joe really falls for her, while Jane is sufficiently softened throughout the film so that there's no reason that they shouldn't be together. Still, I did enjoy it and will probably see it again when the National Press Show rolls around. Great soundtrack too, obviously.

Lucky

Documentary from the director of Spellbound, examining the lives of people who've hit multi-millon dollar jackpots on the State Lottery in the US.

I really enjoyed this. Spellbound is one of my favourite documentaries of the last few years (it's the sine qua nonof the competition-based feelgood documentary genre) and while this never gets close to hitting those heights, it's still an enjoyable and thought-provoking film. Director Jeff Spitzer basically follows several different people who have all won multi-million dollar jackpots on the State lottery in the US. They include: Vietnamese ex-pat Quang Dao (who still feels guilty about leaving his family in Vietnam and builds a huge plot of land to keep his family together in the US); shy, unhygienic loner James who lived with his parents his whole life and was broke and on the verge of suicide after they died, only to hit the jackpot with his last $10); all-American husband and wife Kristin and Steve (and their two kids - I could relate to the son; his "I'm not good with change at all" was nearly my quote for the day), who win an astonishing $110 million and find it hard to deal with the change in their relationships with their friends but who try to compensate by putting the money to as many good causes as they can think of; university maths professor Robert, who played the lottery "for the fantasy value", despite knowing the odds of winning were 18 million to 1 (hilariously he explains how he picked his numbers and then says "and then I just used those same numbers for 2 and a half years and then I won"); and obnoxious, crotchety old-timer Buddy, who fritters it all away as fast as he possibly can and doesn't help anyone with it (his boss astutely comments that "Winning the lottery is like throwing Miracle Grow on your character defects". There's also: a guy whose bastard friends played a practical joke on him (from "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and made him believe he'd won (and taped it); a group of 80+ teachers who hit a massive jackpot but ended up with only a few thousand each after taxes; and Verna, a poor black woman who spends between $70 and $100 a day on the lottery and has only ever won $5000 but remains optimistic that her day is coming and plays numbers based on dreams or numbers she notices popping up in her day-to-day life. The film covers the moment the subjects won (using news reports) and picks up their stories some time after they've won before coming back a year later for an update. Spitzer also includes some animated inserts and some fascinating lottery-based FACTS, such as the fact that an unclaimed jackpot is known as a Clarence Jackson Jnr. The stories are by turns uplifting, amusing and heart-breakingly sad and the film really makes you question whether winning the lottery is all it's cracked up to be. Highly recommended and likely to make by Best of the Fest list. Four stars.

Out of the Ashes

Documentary that tells the remarkable story of the Afghan cricket team, who rose from obscurity to become international competitors.

I might have enjoyed this more if I hadn't seen Lucky immediately beforehand. To be honest, it was a choice between this at the FilmHouse and The Red Machine at Cineworld and I chose this partly because I couldn't be arsed to walk back to Cineworld after spending most of the day there. Anyway, Out of the Ashes tells the remarkable true story of the Afghan cricket team, who rose from obscurity to become international competitors, thanks to sheer hard work (it's worth noting that they trained with minimal facilities and had never faced a professional team before their World Cup qualifying matches) and the dedication of inexperienced head coach Taj Malik Aleem. One slight criticism is that the film foregrounds the team's success, which robs it of some crucial tension at certain points; similarly, it actively shies away from the actual cricket, as if afraid that too much cricket would put people off...a film about a cricket team. That said, there's a lot to like here, largely because the characters are so compelling, notably Taj (there's a heart-breaking moment in the middle of the film that hurts the film quite badly), the Minister for Cricket (complete with personal bodyguard), who criticises everything in Jersey, saying that Afghanistan is better; a good-looking rookie player; and several other team members. The achievement of the team is both remarkable and inspirational but it didn't quite deliver the emotional punch I'd been promised, perhaps because you already know how it's going to end. Three stars.

Day One - "I mean, I'm wearing Star Wars underpants, for God's sake..."

2010-06-16T19:07:00.017+01:00

Featured review of the day: Opening Night Gala - The Illusionist

The People Vs George Lucas

Documentary exploring the betrayal felt by Star Wars fans at the combined atrocities of the re-edited versions, the prequels and Jar-Jar Binks.

Directed by Alexandre O. Philippe, The People Vs George Lucas explores the betrayal felt by Star Wars fans at the combined atrocities of the re-edited versions of the original trilogy and the crushing disappointment of the three prequels, to say nothing of Jar-Jar Binks. The film is split into four chapters: Just A Nerf Herder from Modesto takes a look at Lucas's early beginnings and explores the phenomenal success of the original Star Wars films,examining the deep and lasting effect they've had on Star Wars fans everywhere; The Great Tinkerer discusses Lucas's obsession with re-editing the original trilogy (at one point going so far as to say the original version would no longer be available), examines the many issues fans had with the re-mastered versions (e.g. Greedo shooting first, the re-insertion of a poorly animated Jabba the Hutt) and explaining Why It Matters (someone points out that if Da Vinci turned up in a time machine and tried to change the Mona Lisa there'd be an uproar); Revenge of the Geeks lists the crimes of the three prequels (step forward, Jar-Jar Binks) while generously acknowledging that kids still like them; and A New Hope? looks at the ways in which fans have continued to make their own versions, re-editing the existing films themselves and creating their own spin-offs, tributes and re-enactments. Philippe has assembled a wealth of terrific material that includes fan-made films (the bits where people use their pets as Ewoks or wookies are guaranteed to elicit "Aaahs"), archive footage, film clips, comedy clips (Jon Stewart berating a bemused Lucas on The Daily Show) and home movies as well as interviews with dozens of fans both young and old – a clip of a young girl looking to her father for approval when she says she likes Jar-Jar is just one of several highlights. Philippe has also rounded up an eclectic selection of talking heads, including Lucas's biographer (Dale Pollock), several film critics (Glenn Kenny, Chris Gore and Todd Hanson among them), film historians, cultural commentators, writers (Neil Gaiman), comedians (Simon Pegg, Jared Christmas), artists and film-makers, as well as interviewing the creators of several of the best fan-made films (including Chris Strompolos, whose full-length Raiders of the Lost Ark: the Adaptation I saw a few months back). The editing is excellent, particularly in the stitching together of some of the fan material. In addition, there are some very funny lines (Jared Christmas's handjob analogy is priceless) and the film deserves a lot of credit for giving Lucas his due, most notably in pointing out that he actively embraces the fan film culture, even going so far as to make sound effects available for free online.
This is a hugely enjoyable, frequently funny documentary that explores some intriguing cultural issues and provides a fascinating insight into the passionate nature of Star Wars fandom. Highly recommended. Four stars.

Pelican Blood

British drama starring Harry or Luke Treadaway as an obsessive bird-watcher whose desire to kill himself after his 500th rare bird isn't diminished by the sudden reappearance of his old girlfriend (Emma Booth).

Directed by Karl Golden, Pelican Blood stars Harry or Luke Treadaway (okay, it's Harry, but seriously, who can tell them apart?) as Nikko, an obsessive bird-watcher (or Twitcher) who has recently been released from a mental hospital after being sectioned by his well-meaning but exasperated sister, following a failed suicide attempt. Unbeknownst to his two best friends (Doctor Who's Arthur Darvill as Cameron and Ali Craig as Bish), Nikko intends to kill himself after spotting his 500th rare bird and he's already up to bird number 498. When his ex-girlfriend Stevie (Emma Booth, from The Boys Are Back) reappears on the scene, his friends and family are horrified, blaming her for Nikko's suicide attempt, but the truth is a little more complicated. The performances are fine (particularly Craig and Darvill who add much-needed comic relief) and I'm never going to object too strongly to a film with nudity this gratuitous (Booth walks around topless just to wind up Nikko's sister and uptight brother-in-law) but this didn't really work for me overall. For one thing it struggles to link its two strands - on the one hand it's a romantic comedy about obsessive bird-watchers and on the other it's a dark, angst-ridden drama about suicidal self-harmers rekindling a potentially destructive relationship. Worse, it side-lines the more interesting elements of the story (e.g. Nikko's friends and family panicking when Stevie reappears) and instead goes off on a weird tangent involving an illegal egg collector. On top of that, characters behave inconsistently from scene to scene and the ending will make Shakespeare students everywhere squirm with embarrassment. Oh, one other thing that annoyed me - the introduction of Stevie (where you don't realise that they already know each other) is too clever-clever for its own good and adds nothing to the story other than early annoyance at the film-makers. It does have a good score though. Two stars.

Boy

New Zealand coming-of-age comedy-drama from the director of Eagle vs Shark, about an 11 year-old boy who finds that his just-out-of-jail father doesn't quite live up to the mythologised image he'd built up around him in his absence.

The second best film of the day. I was a huge fan of Taika Waititi's Eagle vs Shark so I was very excited to see this and it didn't disappoint. A charming and funny coming-of-age tale, it's set in 1984 and stars James Rolleston as Boy, an 11 year-old boy who idolises Michael Jackson almost as much as he idolises his father, who's currently in prison. Boy spends his days hanging out with his friends (including two sisters named Dallas and Dynasty), keeping an eye on his younger brother Rocky (Te Aho Aho Eketone-Whitu), looking after his pet goat and pining after pouty classmate Chardonnay (RickyLee Waipuka-Russell). While his grandmother is away at a funeral, Boy enjoys being the head of the household but then his father Alamein (Taika Waititi) gets out of jail and moves back in. ("This used to be my old room. You can still use it though.") Initially overjoyed, Boy gradually realises that his father might not be the heroic figure he'd imagined him to be. This is a treat from start to finish with likeable characters and a script that's both laugh-out-loud funny and genuinely moving. It's also brilliantly directed and edited throughout - the opening montage set to Boy's class presentation is a work of genius and could stand alone as a short. There are several wonderful scenes and moments but highlights include: Boy imagining his father's spoon-based escape from prison; Alamein's obsessions with 1980s TV (his Dukes of Hazzard car-entering style is hilarious); any scene involving Rocky and his "powers" of telekinesis; and Alamein's well-intentioned snippets of fatherly advice, such as telling Boy and Rocky, "Don't get into the Nazi stuff" just after proudly showing them the swastika he carved into their wall as a child. I'm already looking forward to seeing this again and not just because I started to feel sleepy (through no fault of the film) in the last 20 minutes or so. Highly recommended. Four stars.

Red Hill

Australian thriller starring Ryan Kwanten as a small-town cop who comes up against an escaped killer on his first day on the job.

Ryan Kwanten (aka True Blood's Jason Stackhouse) stars as Shane Cooper, an Australian city cop who's transferred to smalltown Red Hill because his heavily pregnant wife has been advised to keep her blood pressure down following a previous miscarriage. Just Cooper's luck then that on his first day he encounters escaped killer Jimmy Conway (Tommy Lewis), who's seemingly intent on gunning down every member of the police force. And as if that wasn't bad enough, there's also a ravenous wild animal on the loose. This is already the third or fourth film I've seen so far that starts brilliantly but then tails off halfway through and fails to deliver on its initial promise. The performances are excellent (Kwanten proves he can do likeable without resorting to Stackhouse-like dim-wittedness) and the characters are intriguing, particuarly the aptly-named Old Bill (Steve Bisley), the no-nonsense chief cop in charge of the manhunt. However, any tension involved in awaiting Conway's arrival is dispensed with almost immediately and the rest of the film is mostly a stalk-and-shoot affair, interspersed with the occasional ridiculous moment (the bit where the jungle cat appears is worse than the whole of Kimmeh vs The Mountain Lion in Season 2 of 24) and some increasingly awful lines - the final scene, for example, is peppered with unintentional laughs and features one of the worst last lines in recent memory. Shame, because for the first 25 minutes or so this was very promising. Two stars.

Day Zero - "Did you know a dolphin can only hold its breath for twelve minutes?"

2010-06-16T01:16:00.011+01:00

Two Eyes Staring

Dutch horror film in which a young girl experiences some creepy goings-on when her parents move into a house inherited from her estranged grandmother.

Two Eyes Staring (Zwart Water, original title fans!) is a Dutch chiller that's desperate to acquire the tag-line "The scariest film since The Orphanage". Sadly, despite certain similarities, it is nowhere near as scary as The Orphanage. The plot centres on 9 year-old Lisa (Isabelle Stokkel), who has a loving father (Barry Atsma as Paul) and a fascination with her mother, Christine (Hadewych Minis) that she doesn't really understand. When the family inherit a creepy house in the Belgian countryside from Christine's estranged mother, Christine reluctantly agrees to sell their old place and move in, ostensibly because it will free her up to pursue her dream job. Shortly after moving in, Lisa finds one of her mother's old diaries that she wrote as a child, a diary that seems to hint at the fact that her mother had a sister that neither Lisa nor Paul have ever heard of. Things get worse when Lisa befriends Karen (Charlotte Arnoldy), a ghostly girl she finds in the cellar, but is her new friend all in her head or is something sinister going on? Two Eyes Staring starts brilliantly, generating a creepy atmosphere and teasing out the details along the way. It's also beautifully shot throughout and has superb performances, especially from young Stokkel. However, the plot loses its way around the 60 minute mark and starts introducing elements that either come to nothing (Paul's weird co-worker) or only exist to provide a quick shock (a couple of scary scenes involving Christine) and are quickly brushed over instead of explored. Having spent all that time and effort on the build-up, the film then completely fails to deliver a satisfying climax, which is a shame, as there's a lot here to like and a better script could have made this something special. Warning: contains potentially upsetting scenes involving a rabbit. Three stars.

The Last Rites of Ransom Pride

Western starring Lizzy Caplan as a female outlaw attempting to buy back the corpse of her deceased lover.

This is just about one of the worst films I've ever seen at Edinburgh. Badly written, poorly directed, atrociously edited and featuring some truly dreadful performances, it's essentially a western in which gunslinger Juliette Flowers attempts to buy back the body of her deceased lover Ransom Pride (Scott Speedman) with the unwitting live body of his younger brother, Champ (Jon Foster). Along the way, Juliette and Tramp clash with a series of bounty hunters and ne'er-do-wells and the lead begins to fly, though the scenes are so badly shot and edited that it's impossible to tell who's shooting at who. The film is also unforgivably boring and dull throughout and the only good bits come from a sorely underused Peter Dinklage as...well, to be honest, I was never entirely sure who he was supposed to be. Oh, I tell a lie - the film did have another plus point, namely that Lizzy Caplan (most recently seen in Hot Tub Time Machine) looks utterly gorgeous throughout. I'd happily watch her play the same character in a different movie, but Ransom Pride is just plain rancid and there's no pride in that. One star.

Monsters

Offbeat road movie starring Scoot McNairy and Whitney Able as a pair of travellers in South American who have to negotiate their way through territory inhabited by giant squid-like aliens.

Written and directed by Gareth Edwards, Monsters stars Scoot McNairy (In Search Of A Midnight Kiss) and Whitney Able (who looks like a hotter version of Hannah Spearitt) as an aspiring photographer and the engaged daughter of his billionaire publisher boss, who find themselves on an unplanned road trip through an area of South America that's infested with giant squid-like aliens. The film is unusual, beautifully shot and has great performances from McNairy and Whitney, but it also bangs you over the head with its multiple METAPHORS (and, worse, has the characters vocalise comments that would have been better left to the audience) and I felt it could have done a lot more with its premise. That's not to say there aren't a handful of lovely moments along the way, such as a chilling scene involving a swamp or the strangely beautiful finale. There are also lots of fascinating details, such as the ubiquitous gas masks (suggesting that the Americans are actually wreaking more havoc than the aliens with their incessant bombing), murals (see photo), protest signs and cartoons featuring the monsters on TV. A solid three stars, even if it leaves several tantalising avenues unexplored.

Son of Babylon

Road movie about a grandmother and her grandsin searching for the boy's father in post-war Iraq, three weeks after the fall of Saddam Hussein.

Directed by Mohamed Al-Daradji, Son of Babylon is a story about a grandmother and her young grandson, Ahmed, taking a road trip to try and find the boy's father, three weeks after the fall of Saddam. The father disappeared almost twelve years previously and the grandmother suspects he was being held in a prison at Nasiriyah so they travel to Nasiriyah hoping for news of the prisoners' release. Along the way they encounter a series of fellow travellers, including: an outspoken man who first attempts to rip them off but is later won over by their courage and strength of character; a young boy who befriends Ahmed and helps out with a stubborn bus driver; and Musa, a kindly middle-aged man whose confession shocks and disgusts the grandmother, causing Ahmed to plead for forgiveness on his behalf. I enjoyed the first half of this enormously, but, for whatever reason, it failed to hold my interest towards the end. That said, it's worth seeing just for the euphemism "I'm going to call Saddam" for when you're going for a piss. Strong performance from the child actor, too. Three stars. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to call Saddam.

Quick list of films I've seen already

2010-06-14T16:00:00.007+01:00

Normally, by the time the festival starts I've already seen a good handful of films in London beforehand, but for whatever reason (and it wasn't for lack of trying, as my failed attempt to get into a screening of The Runaways will attest - there was *actual pleading, but to no avail), I've only seen a small handful this year, some of which will be the featured reviews on my ViewEdinburgh coverage. They include:

Opening Night Gala - The Illusionist (wonderful, 4 stars)

World's Greatest Dad (very dark, very funny - 4 stars)

Winter's Bone (bleak, tense, brilliantly acted - 4 stars)

Heartbreaker (charming, funny - 4 stars)

22 Bullets (missed the first five minutes and ended up missing all , will attempt to catch the beginning - 4 stars)

The Rebound (generic Catherine Zeta-Jones romcom - no idea what this is doing in the festival - 3 stars)

EDIT: I forgot I'd also seen Hung but as I saw a test screening of it back in September it would be unfair to judge it on that version. I'm intending to see it again during the festival and will review it properly then. I tried to contact Ben Miller on Twitter to ask if he'd made any changes as a result of that screening but so far, no reply.

Finally, here's a link to a post I wrote for The Blog No-one Reads about the Edinburgh line-up in general and a couple of the films I'm looking forward to seeing.

Edinburgh Film Festival 2010

2010-06-14T15:28:00.004+01:00

The Annual Apology

As you may have noticed, I only managed three full days of blogging last year, which is an appalling FAIL on my part. Obviously I was just having too much fun, so I'll try very hard not to have as much fun this year. One of my reasons for starting the blog in the first place was so that I'd have mini-reviews (that could easily be knocked up into ViewLondon reviews) all ready to go when the films eventually got released, so it was actually a massive pain in the arse to have to review several of last year's films from memory (Boogie Woogie) and in some cases (Spread, My Last Five Girlfriends) I had to actually see the films again, because I couldn't remember a single thing about them. On a similar note, I am intending to go back over last year's blog and at least fill in a few interview links on the films I ended up reviewing when they came out, but I think we both know how likely that is.

The Story So Far

Anyway, I've been here since Sunday afternoon and apart from being an Annual Special Guest on Duncan's team at the monthly FilmHouse Film Quiz (we came third, destroying our perfect record, at least as far as the June quiz was concerned) I've mostly been trying to get a stack of reviews done before the festival starts on Wednesday. So far: two down, thirteen to go. Argh.

A Few Random Thoughts

1) As is tradition, I spent the four and a half hour train journey going through the programme and sorting out my screening schedule. I've highlighted a list of 60 films I really want to see (eight more than last year and the year before that) but I know from the year I actually did see 60 films in 13 days (Edinburgh's 60th anniversary - it seemed like a good idea at the time) that that's next to impossible, so I'll settle for the more usual 42. The only problem is deciding which 18 films not to see, if you see what I mean.

2) I'm staying at the Budget Backpackers hostel again this year. I had hoped, what with this being my 10th Edinburgh in a row (and also covering it for ViewEdinburgh for the third year running) that some kind soul might have offered me a Guest Of The Fest hotel room, but no such luck. Still, it's not all bad - Budget Backpackers have free wi-fi now (well, £1 for 7 days, but close enough), which should help things enormously.

3) Like last year, I'll be doing a review per day for ViewLondon's sister site ViewEdinburgh.co.uk, but I'll also be posting links to them here, along with potted reviews of basically everything I see while I'm up here. Aiming to manage more than three days of blogging this year but, well, I say that every year. Still, hope springs eternal and all that.

4) And finally, the same bit of pedantry as last year (and the year before). In previous years, I've called the first day of press screenings "Day One", but that's confusing when the festival actually starts a day later. In 2008 and 2009 I called the first day of screenings "Day Zero" and no-one died, so I'm doing the same again this year.

5) With Budget Backpackers, the newly-discovered sockets in Monbodo and my genius system for sneakily using the power sockets in the FilmHouse, I think I may have found the Holy Grail of quiet places to work with both sockets and free wi-fi. Whether this translates into actual productivity remains to be seen.

6) EastEnders Watch: Sanjay's here every year, Mel (Tamzin Outhwaite) was here in 2003 or so, I interviewed Mas last year and apparently Zoe Slater: Terminator (aka ManHands) is turning up for the Huge premiere. Goal for this year: Interview Zoe Slater.

7) No press screening as yet for Mr Nice, even though every single other filmhas a press screening. Very annoying. Sort it out please, E1. No press screening = no reviews.

"Hmmm. When the bloody hell is he going to get around to starting this year's blog?"

2010-06-14T15:20:00.002+01:00

Wrapping up EdFilmFest 2009 (a year late)

2010-06-14T14:40:00.004+01:00

A few notes about last year's Festival.

Total films seen: 42

The Bestival of the Festival

The Top Ten Films I saw at the festival were:

1) Fish Tank
2) Mary and Max
3) Modern Love Is Automatic
4) Pontypool
5) Big River Man
6) Easier With Practice
7) The Hurt Locker
8) Humpday
9) Little Soldier
10) The September Issue

Special mentions to: My Last Five Girlfriends, AntiChrist, Spread, Le Donk and The Girlfriend Experience.

That said, if I included the films I saw before the festival started, the list would also include Moon, Mesrine (parts I & II), Adventureland and Rudo y Cursi, the first two of which would definitely have made it into the top ten above.

Highlight of the Festival: Meeting and interviewing Gerald Peary, brother of Danny Peary, of "Guide For The Film Fanatic fame (aka The Book That Changed My Life - it's where "FilmFan" comes from). Also had great interviews with Gael Garcia Bernal and Diego Luna, Jesse Eisenberg, Brenda Blethyn, Mas from EastEnders and the very lovely Andrea Riseborough, who, quite rightly, wouldn't let me take her picture.

Disappointment of the Festival: No Surprise Film this year. Still not sure why, though if I had to guess, I'd say because they're more trouble than they're worth.

Party of the Festival: Definitely the Le Donk party, complete with Le Donk and Scor-zay-zee performing on stage.

Day Eleven - "Childish, I know, but I felt I deserved a sulk"

2009-06-29T00:44:00.003+01:00

Featured review of the day (from Best of the Fest): Mary and Max

Coming soon: Wide Open Spaces, Unmade Beds, Kicks, My Last Five Girlfriends, The Maiden Heist

Day Ten - "On a clear day you can see Val Doonican"

2009-06-27T13:17:00.002+01:00

Featured review of the day: Adventureland

Coming soon: A Boy Called Dad, The Maid, Crimson Wing, Crying With Laughter

Day Nine - "Doctor Zerlang sure knows where it's at..."

2009-06-26T15:55:00.004+01:00

Featured review of the day: The Hurt Locker

Coming soon: Stella, The Trip, Terribly Happy

Day Eight - "For greater safety, please avoid the English language"

2009-06-25T12:23:00.004+01:00

Featured review of the day: Fish Tank

Coming soon: Pontypool, Romeo and Juliet vs The Living Dead, The Wild Angels, Roger Corman In Person, Spread

Day Seven - "I feel a fucking Rocky moment coming on here..."

2009-06-25T12:12:00.004+01:00

Featured review of the day: Moon

Coming soon: Boogie Woogie, For the Love of Movies, Le Donk

Day Six - "You're putting me in a very idiosyncratic spot here"

2009-06-24T17:38:00.003+01:00

Featured review of the day: Mesrine: Public Enemy No. 1

Coming soon: The Missing Person, The Girlfriend Experience, AntiChrist, The September Issue

Day Five - "Something just hit me. I think we might be morons..."

2009-06-21T21:15:00.004+01:00

Featured review of the day: Rudo & Cursi

Coming soon: Mad, Bad and Sad, Humpday

Day Four - "I love it when you play doctor with me"

2009-06-21T21:10:00.002+01:00

First of all, apologies for falling behind with the blog reviews already. There is a big catch-up binge coming, honest. In the meantime...

Featured review of the day: Mesrine: Killer Instinct

Coming soon: Fragments, Big Things

Day Three - "I can't believe they left Princess Di behind..."

2009-06-20T15:55:00.003+01:00

Featured review of the day: Sin Nombre

Coming soon: My Year Without Sex, Turn it Loose, Jerichow

Day Two - “ As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a lawyer.”

2009-06-19T13:24:00.007+01:00

Featured review of the day: The Private Lives of Pippa Lee

Modern Love Is Automatic

Low-budget black comedy about a terminally apathetic nurse (Melodie Sisk) who becomes a dominatrix.

Directed by Zach Clark, Modern Love Is Automatic plays like a low-budget version of Belle de Jour with a dash of Russ Meyer. Melodie Sisk (who is, let's be clear about this, smoking hot) plays Lorraine, a terminally apathetic nurse who even reacts to walking in on her cheating boyfriend with a disinterested stare. Dumping the boyfriend, she continues to ignore co-workers and potentially interested new doctors alike, until an opportunity for some S&M sex work suggests itself and she begins a potentially liberating sideline as a dominatrix. Meanwhile, Lorraine's super-perky new roommate (Maggie Ross), fresh from graduating top of her modelling class, struggles to deal with the seedy realities of her chosen profession and also fails to notice that her boyfriend Mitch (Carlos Bustamante) is becoming increasingly obsessed with Lorraine. Despite its low budget and its occasionally dodgy production values (which means that it's unfortunately unlikely to receive a theatrical release), I really enjoyed this and found myself thinking more and more about it as the day went on. Sisk is simply sensational, despite having minimal dialogue and presenting the same blank-faced stare throughout the majority of the film. Of course, this means that when she finally takes even the slightest step towards a normal human reaction (such as silently gripping the hands of a distraught blonde colleague), it's surprisingly moving. On a similar note, I'm tempted not to reveal the film's best scene (so look away now if you're spoiler-averse), but it concludes with a beautifully directed and superbly acted karaoke scene that's both heart-breaking and uplifting at the same time. The film's also shot through with jet-black humour (X's job as a mattress-saleswoman is as funny as it is depressing) and Clark uses a neat device of using want ads as occasional onscreen captions. Also, Lorraine's latex catsuit will stay with me for a very long time. Speaking of which, the programme warns of sexually explicit imagery, but that's not really the case – there's no nudity and the S&M imagery (including a rapid-fire montage that should be popular on DVD) didn't seem to merit the warning, unless you're very easily offended. Anyway, I was initially going with three stars, but having slept on it and thought about it, I'm upgrading to four. Worth seeking out. I'll also be keeping a close eye on Sisk's career in future, as she's something of a cult actress in the making.

Black Dynamite

Note-perfect Blaxploitation pastiche, starring Michael Jai White as a superbad Shaft-alike sticking it to The Man in revenge for the murder of his brother.

Directed by Scott Saunders, Black Dynamite stars Michael Jai White (who co-wrote the script) as superbad Shaft-alike Black Dynamite, who takes to the streets and sticks it to The Man in revenge for the murder of his younger brother. The jokes come thick and fast and the attention to detail is so good that if you didn't know better, you'd swear this was a recently unearthed 1970s film. Clearly Saunders loves him some 1970s Blaxploitation – the funk score is perfect and the fight scenes (complete with wildly over-the-top sound effects) are fabulous. It's also packed with brilliantly quotable lines (“Now who the HELL interruptin' my kung fu?”) and the absurdly ripped White is superb as Black Dynamite – hopefully he'll be back for Black Dynamite 2. However, that said, the film drags horribly in the middle section where the plot gets hopelessly confused and the jokes all start to repeat themselves. I sat with a row full of fellow film reviewers and we all laughed uproariously for the first 30 minutes or so, then sat in mute silence for another 40 minutes before the film rallied for an admittedly hilarious finale. Favourite exchange: “We didn't tell you about your brother, because we didn't want you to cause rivers of blood in the streets” / “So just tell me who did it and I'll only make a little puddle”. Three stars.

Coming soon:

Fish Tank

British drama from Red Road director Andrea Arnold, starring Katie Jarvis as an angry young teenager whose life changes when her mother (Kierston Wareing) brings home a new boyfriend (Michael Fassbender).

This is actually going to be the featured review on Day Eight, so I'll keep this relatively short, but this is currently my Film of the Festival so far, in joint first place with Mary and Max. Newcomer Katie Jarvis stars as 15 year-old Mia, who's warring with the girls on her estate (she delivers one of them a vicious headbutt in the opening five minutes so you know not to mess with her) and doesn't get on with either her constantly partying mother Joanne (Kierston Wareing) or her bratty, foul-mouthed younger sister, Tyler (Rebecca Griffiths). Her only passion is dancing, which she practices in secret in an empty flat on the top floor, although in a spot of early SYMBOLISM she's also slightly obsessed with freeing a hungry-looking horse she encounters tethered to a lump of concrete on a patch of wasteland. However, things begin to change when her mother brings home charming, charismatic new boyfriend, Connor (Michael Fassbender). Connor's likeable presence actually begins to draw the family closer together, but is he everything that he seems? This is a stunningly well directed film, with scenes so beautiful that it's almost painful to watch them. Arnold's style recalls the Dardennes Brothers' films, in that we spend the entire movie following one character around, semi-documentary style, except that Arnold's camera is subjective, reflecting Mia's inner life – for example, the scene where Connor picks up a pretending-to-be-asleep Mia and puts her to bed is filmed with tight close-ups and with the action slowed down (telling us everything we need to know about how Mia feels about Connor at that point) and then she has her arm over her face, so the camera only half sees as he gently undresses her for bed. This scene is also a neat encapsulation of the entire film: Connor removes Mia's shoes and then there's a tense moment where he slides off her trousers and you suddenly doubt his intentions...only for him to quietly fold her trousers, cover her with a blanket and tip-toe out of the room. As for Katie Jarvis, she ought to be a shoo-in for every acting award going – it's easy to see why she was the sensation of Cannes this year, and why Hollywood have already signed her up. Aside from being a great dancer (her little routines are a joy to watch and Arnold films them against the bright blue paint of the abandoned flat, giving the scenes a happy, colourful feel), she's tough, funny, and, at times, genuinely heart-breaking to watch. There's also strong support from the ubiquitous Fassbender (giving an equally extraordinary, complex performance – like Mia, we like him and want to trust him, though unlike Mia, we're never entirely sure if we can) and from Wareing, while Griffiths steals almost every scene she's in by coming out with some brilliant lines (“I like you – I'll kill you last”) and Harry Treadaway shines in a low-key role as Mia's “pikey” sort-of boyfriend. Arnold includes several wonderful scenes, but highlights include: the entire day-trip sequence, but particularly the fishing scene and Joanne interrupting Mia showing Connor her dancing skills; Mia visiting Connor at work; the audition sequence; and a heart-stopping sequence towards the end of the film that it would be churlish to spoil any further. Hmmm. Okay, so that wasn't as relatively short as I'd hoped, but that only goes to show how wonderful a film it was. Frankly, it's a masterpiece and, I would think, a shoo-in for the Michael Powell award. Five stars.

High Life

Comedy about a group of mostly ex-con junkies planning a heist.

Directed by Gary Yates, High Life is set in 1983 and stars Timothy Olyphant as Dick, a hopeless junkie ex-con who gets fired from his job when his ex-cellmate Bug (Stephen Eric McIntyre) visits him on his first day out of prison. For Bug, the 80s present something of a culture shock: there's weird music (New Wave), everyone's doing different drugs (coke is in, LSD is out) and banks have these new-fangled cash machines that he doesn't quite understand. However, Bug's cash machine-based confusion gives Dick an idea for a heist that could solve all their cash flow problems in one fell swoop. In the meantime, Dick sets about recruiting jittery ex-con Donnie (chameleonic British actor Joe Anderson) and smooth-talking, really, really good-looking fellow drug addict Billy (Rossif Sutherland, brother of Kiefer), who's not an ex-con, but that shouldn't be a problem. Should it? Needless to say, with all four characters such hopeless junkies, the heist doesn't go entirely as planned... I enjoyed this very much. Timothy Olyphant's always been one of my favourite actors (although I STILL haven't seen seasons 2 and 3 of Deadwood) and he's on good form as Dick, even if, as the relative straight man, he doesn't have much to do beyond a series of exasperated reaction shots towards the end. As for the supporting cast, McIntyre's Bug is a genuinely terrifying creation: psychotic, unpredictable, treacherous and yet also kind of pathetic. Anderson is good too, but Rossif Sutherland almost steals the film as Billy (he bears an uncanny resemblance to Billy Zane, so the name might not be coincidence), particularly in the post-heist scenes. The script was loosely based on a two-act play (which took place in Dick's apartment and then the car outside the bank – the joke being that they're such bickering fuck-ups that they never even get out of the car), but Yates does a good job of expanding the story and taking it in several delightfully unexpected directions. The dialogue crackles with great lines such as “Just because you hit someone and they die, doesn't mean you killed them” and “Look at you! Like a pink Chuck Norris!” and there are several lovely throwaway gags too, such as a cut to Dick's film society screenings in prison where they're all watching Polanski's The Tenant (“What the fuck is this shit?”), or Donnie expounding on his method of stealing old ladies' purses and returning them afterwards. There's also a brilliant sight gag that's slightly spoiled by the film's publicity stills (see above), though it's still funny even if you know it's coming. Anyway, this was very enjoyable and a good addition to the ranks of blackly comic heist movies such as The Ladykillers (an acknowledged influence) and Palookaville. Four stars. Also, weirdly, it used the exact same New Order song (Age of Consent - I had to ask which song it was in the Q&A) as Modern Love Is Automatic this morning.

Easier With Practice

Drama starring Brian Geraghty as a writer who becomes involved in a strange, entirely phone-based relationship with a woman he's never met.

Absolutely brilliant and my third favourite film of the festival so far. Written and directed by Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Easier With Practice stars Brian Geraghty as Davy Mitchell, a writer on a promotional tour, with his asshole brother Sean (Kel O'Neill) along for the ride. One night, Davy receives a seemingly random call in his motel room, from a total stranger calling herself Nicole (voiced by Kathryn Aselton), who talks him into an intense bout of phone sex that sparks off a bizarre, erotic but ultimately meaningful relationship. As the tour continues, Davy and Nicole talk to each other every night, sharing their innermost feelings while also continuing their phone sex encounters; both admit that in some way they prefer phone relationships to real relationships. However, Nicole refuses to give Davy her phone number, telling him that she's got a boyfriend, a situation that eventually leads to them fighting, whereupon Nicole stops calling. When his book tour ends, Davy is drawn into a possible relationship with Samantha (Marguerite Moreau), an attractive ex-work colleague he once had a one-night stand with, but he finds that he can't get Nicole out of his head and determines to persuade her to meet him if she ever calls again. This is a superbly written, beautifully directed film with a wonderful central performance from Brian Geraghty (who's also here with The Hurt Locker). It's based on an autobiographical magazine article called “What are you wearing?”by Davy Rothbart, but I'd advise you not to google the article till you've seen the film. There are some brilliant scenes, from the quite hard-to-watch opening phone sex sequence (to the two idiots standing right in front of me at the crucial moment – thanks a lot, you fucking morons), to a superb montage sequence that indicates time passing on the book tour and an excruciating and extremely tense game of “Two truths and a lie”. The dialogue's superb too – lines I've written down include, “I'd hardly call myself an intellectual, sitting here jerking off in a station wagon in the parking lot of a New Mexico motel” and “A conscious asshole is hardly an asshole”. There are also some great sight gags, such as Davy's car unfortunately breaking down next to a massive piece of graffiti that reads “Eat My Asshole” in block capitals. There's also strong support from Moreau and from O'Neill (who's incredibly obnoxious and kind of weird), as well as Jeannette Brox as Sean's what-does-she-see-in-him girlfriend Sarah. However, what really stands out is Geraghty's deeply moving performance and an extraordinarily generous, completely unexpected ending that packs a powerful emotional punch. Highly recommended. Four stars.

Day One - “Do you promise never to develop a thing for seahorses?”

2009-06-17T18:32:00.006+01:00

Featured review of the day: Sam Mendes' Away We Go (Opening Night Gala).

Mary and Max

Australian stop-motion animation about Mary, a little girl in 1970s Australia, who becomes penpals with middle-aged, overweight New Yorker Max Horovitz.

I confess, I didn't have particularly high hopes for this, because I was worried it would be like some of the atrocious European animated films I've sat through in the last year – atrocities like Free Jimmy, Terkel in Trouble or The Ugly Duckling and Me. Happily, it turned out to be what I'm sure will be one of the best films of the festival. Written and directed by Adam Elliot (whose Oscar-winning short Harvie Krumpet I will now be seeking out), Mary and Max is filmed entirely in stop-motion animation, only the characters are rather more grotesque than we're used to seeing in mainstream animated movies, even by the standards of Henry Sellick's films. Beautifully narrated by Barry Humphries, the film begins in 1976 with 8 year-old Australian schoolgirl Mary (voiced by Bethany Whitmore and, later, Toni Collette) deciding, on a whim to write to someone in America to find out whether babies really do come from the bottoms of beer glasses, like her recently-deceased grandfather told her. So she picks a name at random from the phone book and ends up becoming pen-pals with middle-aged, overweight New Yorker Max Horovitz (Philip Seymour Hoffman, sounding uncannily like Dustin Hoffman), who is eventually diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome. They write to each other over a period of twenty years, bonding initially over their shared love of chocolate and a children's cartoon called The Noblets. The script is really wonderful and Humphries' narration is so perfect that I would happily listen to the entire thing being read on the radio. Needless to say, it's packed full of great lines and visual gags – I particularly liked all the scenes involving Mary's pet rooster, Ethel.The animation is wonderful throughout and Elliot uses colour in interesting ways – the Australia is sort of sun-bleached brown, while New York is entirely black and white, except for red lipstick and the various objects that Mary sends Harvey through the post, like the red pom-pom he wears on his head (see picture above). (This idea of happiness bringing colour to drab black and white lives is also brilliantly used in the upcoming film Kisses, which I half expected to be in the EIFF). Other highlights include: Max giving Mary advice on dealing with bullies; Max explaining his various Aspergers-related run-ins with the law ("Fortunately, I forgot to tell them that I was a member of the Communist Party"); and Mary's romance with Damien Papadopolos (Eric Bana), the Greek boy next door. Also, if Elliot ever needs funds for his next film, he ought to seriously consider selling copies of his adorable plasticine models of pugs. Anyway, this was a delight from start to finish – a superbly written, beautifully animated film that's both darkly funny and deeply moving. Five stars. No sign of a UK distributor yet though – hopefully someone will pick it up soon.

Away We Go

Indie comedy / drama directed by Sam Mendes, starring John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph as a thirty-something couple who take a road trip in order to decide where they should raise their imminent child.

Away We Go is the featured ViewEdinburgh review for Day One (see link to review above), but owing to its unusual scheduling (Are Opening Night film press screenings usually only a few hours before the film?), it was also the second film I saw today. I don't have a huge amount to add to what I wrote in the review, but I definitely think it's a better Opening Night Film than last year's. It's very un-Mendes-like too, in the sense that if you had to guess who directed it, you wouldn't pick him. (For the record, I'm a huge fan of American Beauty and Revolutionary Road, but less keen on Road to Perdition and Jarhead). Great role for Krasinski too - if the beard was a deliberate attempt to distance himself from The Office's Jim, then it really worked. There are a few things that will stay with me from this film, but I particularly liked: the scene where Allison Janney moves in for an inappropriate snog and then thinks better of it - most directors would film this in close-up and go for a big laugh, but Mendes makes it weird and interesting by having Janney's neglected 13-year-old daughter being chatted up by two sleazy guys in a truck in the background; Burt's phone voice and pretty much every scene with Burt on the phone but specifically the scene where Verona's sister tells her how lucky she is; the hilarious stroller scene ("You won't have that much fun again till you discover ORAL PLEASURE!"), which is so good it's worth mentioning twice. Four stars.

Pardon My French

French comedy starring Chiara Mastroianni as a blocked writer who develops a friendship with her young female stalker (Agathe Bonitzer).

Or “Un Chat Un Chat”, original title fans. To be honest, this didn't work for me at all and I may have voted with my eyes once or twice. Chiara Mastroianni (who looks so much like her father that it's actually quite disturbing) stars as Celimene, a blocked novelist who's very dissatisfied with her life, to the point where she keeps telling people to call her by different names. She also has a sleep-cake-making habit that's becoming a bit of a problem. She divides her time between looking after her ultra-smart young son and hanging out with her best friend (Sophie Guillemin, who I was delighted to see on screen again, as she hasn't been in a UK-released film in years) and also strikes up a friendship with her friendly female stalker, a young woman named Anais (Agathe Bonitzer). This annoyed me on several levels. First of all, Celimene is almost impossible to like – she's selfish, humourless, neglectful and just not very interesting – it doesn't help that Mastroianni's performance seems very lifeless throughout. That makes it impossible to care about whether or not she gets back with her ex or, indeed, about any of her relationships. There's also nothing to the story – I only saw the film a couple of hours ago and I'm struggling to remember anything that could conceivably be described as a plot. The programme says “a wonderful comic turn by Mastroianni”, but if she gave anything resembling a wonderful comic turn, it must have happened while my eyes were closed. First outright stinker of the Festival so far. One star.

Opening Night Party

Lots of fun, as usual. Teviot Row House is a superb venue (same as last year) and there was live music by Alexi Murdoch, whose music is featured heavily in Away We Go. In fact, it turned out John Krasinski (see below) was a huge fan of Murdoch's music and had suggested him to Mendes for the soundtrack. We also had a nice chat about The Office. Also chatted to Brian Geraghty (who was losing his voice) and the producer of Mary and Max.

Day Zero - "Then you show up like Mister Death himself..."

2009-06-16T21:25:00.006+01:00

Little Soldier

Danish drama about a female soldier who returns from the war and takes a job as a driver for her father's call girl business.

Nothing like a dose of Scandinavian miserablism to kick the Festival off in style. I really enjoyed this. Trine Dyrholm stars as Lotte, a Danish soldier who returns home after the war and takes a job as a driver for her father's (Finn Nielsen) call girl business. Her most regular client is Lily (Lorna Brown), a Nigerian woman who's also her father's current girlfriend. Lily's goal seems clear: she sends money home to her 9 year-old daughter every week and she'll only work till she's paid off her debt to the “madam” that brought her to Europe. In the meantime, she considers herself lucky to be the boss's girlfriend. Despite a somewhat prickly start, the two women forge a gradual friendship, but when Lotte tries to help Lily out of her situation, she doesn't get the reaction she expects. The three central performances are superb, particularly Dyrholm, whose tough, hard-drinking exterior is masking a deep pain that is only hinted at. The ensuing relationships in the film are genuinely fascinating, not just between Lotte and Lily but also between Lotte and her father and also her next-door neighbour. Director Annette K Olesen lets the relationships play out at a slow place that reflects Lotte and Lily's reluctance to open up to anyone, so that even a small thing like the two women kicking a Coke can around seems like a huge step forward. A superbly acted, sharply written and emotionally engaging drama. Four stars.

Elkland

Blackly comic Swedish drama in which a man returns home for his father's funeral and finds sibling rivalries re-emerging with the brother he left behind.

Make that two doses of Scandinavian miserablism. Directed by the delightfully named Per Hanefjord, Elkland is a Swedish comedy (it says here) starring Jimmy Lindstrom as Henrik, who returns to his remote small town home after an absence of several years, in order to attend his father's funeral. In fact, the coffin (which, in the film's funniest scene, turns out to be too small) arrives at the same time as he does – they're both dropped off, separately, at a crossroads, where they're eventually picked up by Henrik's younger brother Ronnie (Orjan Landstrom). Things quickly get much darker: it turns out that Ronnie has hidden their father's body (because that's what he wanted) rather than taking it to the morgue prior to the funeral; their mother is also on her death bed and immediately asks Henrik to kill her (because it wouldn't be fair to ask Ronnie); Henrik's ex-girlfriend (and possibly ex-fiancee), Liv (Anna Azcarate) turns out to be his mother's nurse; and on top of that, Ronnie overhears his mother's deathbed euthanasia request and it awakens old sibling rivalries. There are several good moments – the sequence where they're moving the body around could have been a short called “Dead Santa” - and the scene that gives the film its title is also very sweet. I liked the Christmas tree story too. However, the film ends rather abruptly, as if they'd written a slightly more emotional finale and then just decided against it. Enjoyable enough, but didn't really add up to much. Three stars.

The Hurt Locker

Drama directed by Kathryn Bigelow, about a US bomb disposal unit in post-war Iraq.

This will actually be Day Nine's featured review, so I'll keep this short, but I really enjoyed this. Jeremy Renner's been one of my favourite actors ever since I saw him in Twelve and Holding and Neo Ned at previous Edinburghs. It's a shame those films either didn't get released (Neo Ned) or had only blink-and-you'll-miss-it theatrical releases (Twelve and Holding played at a Wimbledon cinema for one week in London) because otherwise, I'm convinced he'd be a much bigger star. I think of him as the new Sam Rockwell, not that there's anything wrong with the current Sam Rockwell. Anyway, Bigelow orchestrates some terrifically tense bomb disposal scenes (Renner plays a fearless bomb disposal expert who seems to have learned the art of bomb disposal from watching the Lethal Weapon movies) as well as a thoroughly gripping (and scary) sniper shoot-out sequence. It's my firm belief that every thriller needs a good "Oh fuuuuuuuuuuck..." moment and The Hurt Locker has one about every 20 minutes or so. Strong performances from Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty too (who, after 28 days of Renner-induced stress are seriously contemplating "accidentally" killing him) and there are also a series of brilliant cameos from Guy Pearce, Ralph Fiennes, David Morse and, in a bit of a "What the fuck?!?" moment (for me, anyway), Lost's Evangeline Lily. Four stars. (Oh and I really had to resist the urge to shout "WAAALLLLL-EEEEE!" during the opening disposa-bot scenes...)

Big River Man

Documentary about eccentric Slovenian Martin Strel and his attempt to swim the length of the Amazon

Directed by John Maringouin and narrated by the subject's son Borut (no relation to Borat), Big River Man follows the extraordinary story of eccentric Slovenian Martin Strel, who has made it his life's ambition to swim the world's rivers in order to draw attention to world pollution. Having already swum the Danube, the Mississippi and the Yangtze, the film joins Martin as he prepares to swim the Amazon, all 4000+ kilometres of it. Incredibly, it takes almost 70 days, during which Martin essentially goes insane. He's not the only one - their American navigator Matt (who got the job because he volunteered, not because he knew anything about navigation) cracks up right alongside him and has a severe attack of the Timothy Treadwells, repeating sentences like "He's like the last superhero in the world, man" and "It's five minutes to midnight, man..." over and over again. (There's a weird bit where Martin and Matt both disappear overnight - we never find out what happened but Martin is found naked on a beach stroking a tree and neither of them are every quite the same again). This is a film of which Werner Herzog would most definitely approve (I would kill to know if he's seen it) - in fact, one might almost call it Herzogian in its study of obsession and insanity. It's frankly astonishing that Martin is allowed to continue - his face being fried by sunburn early on is bad enough, but by Day 50 it's a miracle he's still alive. There are, not surprisingly, some extraordinary scenes and you also get some moving details that shed light on the root of Martin's obsession (the story of his first endurance swim speaks volumes). Other highlights include: the revelation that Borut "plays the part" of Martin for all radio interviews; Borut inventing the "white mask method" of endurance swimming (solving the sunburn problem and making headlines worldwide); Martin being named "The Fish Man" by the people of Brazil (he attracts HUGE crowds); and the completely surreal final scenes, where Martin apparently enters a "fourth dimensional state", collapses in a hotel room and will only be visited by a priest who's also a puppeteer. A strange, moving and unforgettable film. Four stars.

Edinburgh Film Festival 2009

2009-06-16T19:56:00.002+01:00

The Annual Apology

First of all, the annual apology for the huge rush job on the last four days of last year's blog, but -hey!- at least I finished it this year. Sort of, anyway. I promise I will go back and fill in the quotes at some point, but I left my notebook in London so I can't remember any of them right now. I also don't have my records for how many films I saw in the end, but I've a feeling it was around 42. Again, I'll check when I get back to London.

The Story So Far

Anyway, I've been here since Sunday evening and apart from being an Annual Special Guest on Duncan's team at the monthly FilmHouse Film Quiz (we won and I'll treasure my...er...Corona t-shirt with pride), I've hardly spoken to anyone so far, largely because I spent all day yesterday holed up in the Starbucks on Lothian Road, mainlining coffee and frantically trying to get two week's worth of reviews done (plus reviews of the Edinburgh films I've already seen) before the Festival kicks off on Wednesday. I managed 8 out of 15 reviews and will hopefully be doing the other 7 tonight.

A Few Random Thoughts

1) As is tradition, I spent the four and a half hour train journey going through the programme (the first time I've really looked at it, apart from a cursory glance at the launch) and sorting out my screening schedule. I've highlighted a list of 52 films I really want to see (weirdly, the exact same number as last year) so that's the goal for this year: 52 films in 13 days.

2) I'm staying at the Budget Backpackers hostel again this year and am already the target of karmic revenge. After tormenting fellow journalist and unfortunate dorm-mate Saxon Bullock with my snoring last year, I'm sharing a dorm with other snorers. Still, despite being jolted awake every couple of hours or so, at least I don't feel as guilty that I'm keeping everyone awake. (f you're reading this, foxy Swedish girls from last year, I am once again very sorry indeed).

3) I'm cutting and pasting this from last year, but once again, what the bloody hell is the point of making a big deal about your "Free Wi-Fi" if you're going to block all the FUCKING power outlets? The FilmHouse and the Cameo, I am looking at YOU. Grrr. Actually, there might be a glimmer of hope at the Cameo, as I spotted a load of unblocked power outlets behind a sofa this morning, but further investigation is required. As for the FilmHouse, I remember someone telling me last year that the manager was a tight git and that I shouldn't let him catch me using the power outlets, but that no-one else cared. Just my luck then that the bastard caught me on my first day. I shall have to use stealth in future, although I can foresee several run-ins before the Festival ends. All this means I'm in a weird situation – I've found two quiet places with sockets but no Wi-Fi (Starbucks, the new Nando's near Cineworld) and two places with Wi-Fi but no sockets. There is always the Delegate Centre, I suppose, but it's impossible to get any work done there because you're constantly bumping into people you haven't seen since last year. So the Holy Grail of Free Wi-Fi and available sockets remains unfound. All suggestions gratefully received, etc.

4) No word yet on whether the system for requesting public screening tickets is the same as last year (see last year's blog ( + link)), but I suspect it is. Fingers crossed, anyway.

5) Breaking news on the Videotheque front! Only just found out that the rubbish DVD players have all been replaced by brand spanking new digital system, which means no stressing that someone else is watching the film you want to watch. Also means they'll actually do overnight loans of check discs, which is unheard of.

6) Like last year, I'll be doing a review per day for ViewLondon's sister site ViewEdinburgh.co.uk, but I'll also be posting links to them here, along with potted reviews of basically everything I see while I'm up here. Aiming to manage more than seven days of blogging this year but, well, I say that every year. Still, hope springs eternal and all that.

7) And finally, the same bit of pedantry as last year. In previous years, I've called the first day of press screenings "Day One", but that's confusing when the festival actually starts a day later. Last year, I called the first day of screenings "Day Zero" and no-one died, so I'm doing the same again this year. Next year I won't even bother mentioning it. (Though I should also acknowledge, again, that yes, I stole the idea from the Empire Cannnes blogs).

"Hmmm. When the bloody hell is he going to get around to starting this year's blog?"

2009-06-15T22:02:00.002+01:00

Wrapping up EdFilmFest 2008

2009-06-15T22:00:00.007+01:00

A few notes about last year's Festival.

The Top Ten Films I saw at the festival were:

1) Let the Right One In
2) Black Balloon
3) Good Dick
4) Red
5) Blood Car
6) Death Defying Acts
7) The Wave
8) Somers Town
9) Summer
10) Better Things

Special mentions to: Strange Girls, Of Time and the City, Wellness, Time Crimes and Tiramisu.

That said, if I included the films I saw before the festival started, the list would also include The Visitor, Man On Wire, Donkey Punch and A Complete History of My Sexual Failures, the first two of which both made it into my Best of 2009 list.

Highlight of the Festival: Hanging out with Alex Orr (director of Blood Car) and Rona Mark (director of Strange Girls). Edinburgh 2009 won't be the same without them.

Disappointment of the Festival: I can't remember now. Um...not getting to meet Keira Knightley?

Party of the Festival: The Donkey Punch party, largely because EVERYONE was there so I got to talk to Shane Meadows, Tom McCarthy, Richard Jenkins, the cast of Donkey Punch and the director of Sexual Failures all without moving from the same spot.

Day Ten

2009-06-14T20:46:00.003+01:00

This was my last day and I only had time for one last film, so I went to see Jeanne Moreau's L'Adolescente, which wasn't as good as I'd hoped.

Then I watched my friend Rona Mark's Strange Girls on the train back to London and it turned out to be very much the sort of film you shouldn't watch on the train home to London. I really enjoyed it though. Loved the Psycho references at the beginning, plus the ginger twins were terrific (and terrifying). Four stars and a fitting end to the festival.

Day Nine

2009-06-14T20:35:00.005+01:00

Featured review of the day: WALL-E

Faintheart

ViewLondon review of Faintheart

Trail of the Screaming Forehead

All I remember about this was that it was mental, but not as good or as mental as the Frank Henenlotter films it was trying to imitate. I also remember wishing I'd liked it more than I did. Two stars.

Day Eight

2009-06-14T20:09:00.010+01:00

Featured review of the day: Elite Squad

Cheating again, but:

Bigga Than Ben

British drama starring Andrei Chadov and Ben Barnes as Spiker and Cobakka, two best friends and self-confessed Moscow scum, who come to London intending to make some fast cash.

ViewLondon review of Bigga Than Ben. I didn't like it much, though. Two stars.

Dangerous Liaisons

The French version, which I'd wanted to see for years and it didn't disappoint. I'm a huge fan of the Stephen Frears version - I'd seen the play, read the book, bought the soundtrack, had the stills, the theatrical poster and the video shop poster, so this was basically completing the set. Anyway, it was excellent and one of the highlights of the festival, for me.

Transsiberian

ViewEdinburgh review of Transsiberian

One of the few reviewed Edinburgh films not to get a UK theatrical release (it went straight to DVD), which is a shame, because I'm a huge fan of director Brad Anderson and am also one of the few people I know to have seen ALL his films (including brilliant is-he-isn't-he time-travel romcom Happy Accidents, starring Vincent D'Onofrio and Marisa Tomei). Enjoyed this a lot, but then I'm a sucker for any film featuring a) trains and b) snow and this had both, in copious abundance.

Wellness

American indie drama about a middle-aged salesman.

This was a thoroughly depressing experience that played like a real-life Death of a Salesman. Jeff Clark plays a salesman who's staked his life savings in order to get a stake in a company selling a new cure-all "Wellness" pill. Essentially, it's a Pyramid Scheme, but the salesman never realises, which makes the ensuing film all the more excruciating to watch. That said, the film really stays with you and Jeff Clark is absolutely superb. Four stars. Should be shown to anyone who thinks a Pyramid Scheme is a really good idea.

Let the Right One In

ViewLondon review of Let the Right One In

Day Seven

2009-06-14T19:34:00.006+01:00

Featured review of the day: Man On Wire

The Order of Myths

Documentary about Mobile, Alabama's dual Mardi Gras celebrations - one for whites and one for blacks.

Okay, well, first things first, I'm frantically writing these reviews before the 2009 festival begins, so forgive me if I'm hazy on the details. I thought this was an excellent film and I'm sad that it doesn't look like it'll be getting a theatrical release in the UK. Directed by Margaret Brown (who I met in the FilmHouse - she was lovely), the film details the build-up to the parallel events organized by the Caucasians' Mobile Carnival Association (MCA) and the African-Americans' Mobile Area Mardi Gras Association (MAMBGA), both of which involve crowning a king and queen, holding parties, and staging elaborate parades on the same day. However, there are massive differences - the white king and queen essentially inherit their positions due to their lineage, whereas the black king and queen (both schoolteachers) are chosen by their communities. The rather depressing fact is that the dual events constitute a sort of accepted racism (or at least segregation), although one of the pleasures of the film involves white queen Helan Meaher (pictured) having her eyes opened (perhaps as a result of the film, though this is never made clear) and the scene where the black king and queen are invited to attend the white celebration FOR THE FIRST TIME can be seen as something of a step forward. (It would be interesting to know if that was repeated the following year, without the cameras around). Other highlights: Black queen Stephanie realising that Meaher's family probably owned the slave ships that brought her people to America in the first place. Three stars. I also met Meaher (bumped into her on the way to the FilmHouse after seeing a different film) and had one of those weird moments where I thought she was someone I knew, till I realised.

A Film With Me In It

Black comedy starring Dylan Moran.

I'm afraid I remember next to nothing about this one except a) it wasn't that funny, b) it was quite dark and nasty in places and c) I voted with my eyes (i.e. fell asleep) at least once. Directed by Mark Doherty (who also stars), it's basically about a down-on-his-luck actor having A Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day and he's eventually surrounded by dead bodies and only has his disabled brother David (played by Doherty's actual brother David) and his drunken best friend Pearce (Dylan Moran) to help him. I do remember being quite impressed by the darkness of the ending and there were one or two laugh-out-loud moments, but I'm mystified by the glowing reviews this has received elsewhere. Two stars.

Okay, this is kind of cheating, but time constraints have forced me into it...

Surprise Film: The Rocker

My ViewLondon review of The Rocker

Day Six: "I, for one, am not running around town with Oliver Twist's mum"

2008-06-24T16:51:00.016+01:00

Featured review of the day: Better Things.

Black Balloon

Australian coming-of-age drama about a teenage boy growing up with a severely autistic older brother.

Hugely enjoyable coming of age drama, loosely based on writer-director Elissa Down's own experiences of growing up with an autistic brother. Set in a perpetually sunny Australian suburb, the film stars Rhys Wakefield as Thomas, a blonde teenager who's beginning to resent his highly autistic older brother Charlie (Luke Ford), especially now that he's dealing with his first crush (Australian supermodel Gemma Ward as Jackie). Worse, Charlie's parents (Toni Collette and Erik Thomson as Maggie and Simon) have their hands full dealing with a late pregnancy, especially when Maggie is advised to stay in bed, so Thomas has to look after Charlie even more than usual. Luckily, when Charlie accidentally breaks into Jackie's house to use the toilet, Jackie proves remarkably understanding, even if Thomas and Charlie did catch her in the shower. Soon, the three of them are spending the idyllic summer together, hanging out at swimming holes, listening to music and so on. However, Charlie's behaviour constantly threatens to spiral out of control and ruin everything. The performances are exceptional, particuarly Luke Ford, who delivers a boldly physical performance, while Wakefield and Ward have strong chemistry together. There's a lot of cliché-busting going on here – Gemma Ward defies the prettiest-girl-in-school stereotype and her character is full of surprises, while the film also avoids the usual doom-and-gloom final act associated with this kind of movie. The quirky supporting characters are memorable too, especially Erik Thomson (who takes advice from stuffed animals) and the always-excellent Toni Collette, who has seemingly inexhaustible reserves of patience. There are some terrific scenes too: a supermarket freak-out scene is genuinely painful to watch, while the climactic fight sequence at Thomas' birthday party is a brilliantly choreographed scene that feels all too realistic and places you right in the centre of the erupting chaos and violence. This ended up being one of my favourite films of the festival. Four stars.

Incidentally, I also interviewed Elissa Down (right) and she was utterly lovely. I might post the interview at a later date, depending on whether or not the film gets a UK release date.

Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day

1930s-set comedy starring Frances McDormand as a down-on-her-luck nanny who becomes "social secretary" to flighty actress Delysia LaFosse(Amy Adams).

Based on a novel by Winifred Watson, this British comedy is set in London in 1939 and stars Frances McDormand as dowdy domestic drudge Guinevere Pettigrew, who keeps getting fired from nannying jobs. When her agency declares they're washing their hands of her, she overhears details of a potential client and rushes over to intercept the job. She soon finds herself working as a maid-slash-personal assistant to ditzy screen siren Delysia La Fosse (Amy Adams) and is thrown in at the deep end as she tries to help Delysia juggle her three boyfriends: penniless songwriter Lee Pace, theatre producer Tom Payne and sleazy nightclub owner Mark Strong. Meanwhile, Miss Pettigrew feels the glimmer of her own romance when she meets the charming Joe (Ciaran Hinds), only to discover that he's engaged to Delysia's bitchy friend Edyth (Shirley Henderson). This is an enjoyably fluffy farce, enlivened by two terrific performances from McDormand and the always-delightful Amy Adams. It also benefits from a strong supporting cast, superb production design and a suitably screwball pace, courtesy of director Bharat Nalluri. It doesn't really add up to much, but it's fun while it lasts and I really enjoyed Amy Adams' singing scene. Three stars.

The Wave

German thriller based on a true story, about a teacher who forms a fascistic movement as part of a school "project week", only for things to get horribly out of hand.

Directed by Dennis Gansel, The Wave is based on a novel, which, in turn, was loosely based on true events (although they happened in California, not in Germany). The opening is great, with spray-painted credits and hip teacher Mr X (Jurgen Vogel) speeding to school and singing along to The Ramones' Rock 'n'Roll High School. It transpires that it's political project week at his school and he wants to switch to anarchy, only to be told that he can't do anarchy because someone else is doing it and besides, “it's been planned for weeks”. (I was the only one who laughed at that joke, for some reason). Instead, he's stuck with autocracy, but he quickly gets fired up when a debate begins in his class over whether or not a dictatorship could still happen in modern day Germany. He then encourages the class to form their own political movement and you can probably guess where things go from there. Needless to say, their movement (dubbed 'The Wave'), with its accompanying white shirt uniform and slogan of 'Discipline through Strength' proves surprisingly popular and soon the whole school is getting in on the act, sticking up for fellow Wave members and giving even the previously outcast students a sense of belonging. This is the film's main strength, because, even though things happen quickly, the excellent script actually allows you to see the appeal of the movement and the various stages of escalation are entirely believable. The sense of inclusion is also brilliantly handled – for example, a reluctant student is doodling and the teacher says, “You're good at drawing – why don't you design a logo?”, prompting another student to suggest that they work together on a website and so on. Gansel maintains a terrific pace throughout (it takes place over the course of a week) and it's incredibly suspenseful in places – the final “rally” sequence, in particular, is genuinely chilling. That's not to say it's without its flaws, however – for example, one of the students is seriously unhinged and it seems odd that no-one says anything about his behaviour. You can just about put down the teacher's dismissal of the student to his own vanity, but it still strikes a wrong note. Still, this was easily one of the best films of the festival for me – look out for it when it gets a cinema release later this year. Four stars.

Shiver

Spanish thriller about a boy suffering from photo-sensitive skin, who discovers something nasty in the woods when he moves to a remote town.

Shiver (or Eskalofrio, original language fans) has a terrific opening sequence in which a young boy is running for his life and then suddenly bursts into flames. That turns out to be a dream, of course, which is a shame, because Shiver doesn't ever really manage to top that moment. The boy turns out to be Santi (Junio Valverde), a young teenager who's suffering from a severe light allergy. In desperation, his mother (Blanca Suarez) moves him to a remote mountain village that gets very little sunlight. However, his arrival coincides with a series of vicious night-time attacks on the local farm animals and it isn't long before Santi finds himself under suspicion. Sadly, the film doesn't really live up to its premise and I lost interest way before the end. It's impressively acted and moderately atmospheric (the shady village is a nice idea), but it's never really scary or suspenseful. Still, there are some nice touches – Santi ends up going out with the only Goth in the village – and things liven up a bit with the arrival of Santi's best friend, but the denouement is disappointing and you immediately end up thinking of several better alternatives. Three stars.

The Cool World

Part of the Shirley Clarke retrospective, about a young man trying to gain some street cred by acquiring a gun.

I probably shouldn't have gone to this, as I was quite tired and I ended up not enjoying it as much as I might have otherwise. After seeing The Connection the other night, I thought I knew what I was in for, but the style and content were completely different, in surprisingly modern ways - occasionally, it reminded me of watching the young black kids in The Wire. Set in the 1960s and adapted from a novel by Warren Miller, the film follows two black teenagers as they wander around the streets of Harlem, trying to get hold of a gun. The film often feels like a documentary, to the point where the dialogue is so naturalistic that it actually got quite boring to listen to. The film also has a great jazz soundtrack and features a brief appearance by the legendary Dizzy Gillespie. Unfortunately, my tiredness meant that I couldn't really engage with it and I was struggling to stay awake by the end, gun or no gun. Still, it was impressively photographed and Clarke gets impressively naturalistic performances from her two leads. It's a mystery that the film isn't better known, because it's easy to see that it's been hugely influential over the years. Three stars.

Day Five: "Next stop: Edinburgh - the Athens of the North!"

2008-06-22T21:06:00.010+01:00

Featured review of the day: Donkey Punch

Death Defying Acts

Okay, so I'm a sucker for many genres, but apart from being a sucker for time-travel movies, Scandinavian coming-of-age movies and competition documentaries, I'm also a sucker for films about escapologists / illusionists and films set in the 1920s. (I will be first in line if they ever make Carter Beats the Devil). Anyway, I was really looking forward to this and it didn't disappoint. Set in 1920s Edinburgh, Death Defying Acts stars Guy Pierce as legendary escapologist Harry Houdini, who offers $10,000 to any so-called psychic who can tell him his dead mother's final words. When Houdini announces Edinburgh ("the Athens of the North!") as the next stop on his tour, his offer piques the interest of sexy con artist Mary (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who makes her living as the scantily-clad psychic "Princess Kali" with her daughter Benji (Atonement's Saoirse Ronan) posing as her "Dusky Assistant". However, when Mary accepts Houdini's challenge, she finds herself unexpectedly drawn to him, even as she and Benji scheme to somehow find out the final words by trickery. Similarly, Houdini is charmed by Benji and captivated by Mary, not least because of her resemblance to his dear departed mother. Directed by Gillian Armstrong (which reminds me that I STILL haven't watched My Brilliant Career, despite buying the DVD months ago) does an excellent job of capturing period Edinburgh and some of the set design work (the elaborate stage acts; the luxury hotels) is superb. Guy Pierce is excellent as Houdini, brilliantly hinting at the tortured man beneath the bravado (although, in one scene, he does look disturbingly like Mark Wahlberg). There's also genuine chemistry between Pierce and a sensational-looking Catherine Zeta-Jones - I found myself actually holding my breath during a scene where they almost kiss. Apart from looking stunning in a series of fabulous frocks, Zeta-Jones also pulls off an extremely impressive Edinburgh accent and it's great to see her in a decent role for once. Someone please cast her in some more decent movies, because she's the closest thing we have to proper old-school Hollywood glamour these days. There's also terrific support from Saoirse Ronan, who almost steals the entire movie with a series of delightful little moments (e.g. handing someone a half-eaten toffee apple), though her voiceover begins to grate after a while. She also does a fabulous job of conveying the fact that Benji is jealous of her mother, without even properly understanding where her jealousy comes from. Begrudgingly, I will also admit that Timothy Spall was pretty good as Houdini's right-hand man and that the Spallness Factorwas low. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed this, thanks to Armstrong's impressive direction (there are several striking scenes, notably one set high above Princes Street), superb performances from the leads and an emotionally engaging script. Terrific final scene too. Four stars.

Goodnight Irene

Portugese drama starring Robert Pugh as an ageing English actor who joins forces with a young Portugese man when their mutual friend disappears.

Robert Pugh stars as Alexander Corless, an misanthropic English ex-pat actor living a largely lonely life in Lisbon, who records travelogues for American tourists in a sound booth in his own apartment. However, when a beautiful artist (Rita Loureiro as Irene) moves into his building, she insinuates herself into his life by demanding that he let her paint his portrait and he gradually finds himself opening up to her. Then, without warning, she disappears and Alex is forced to join forces with a weird Portugese man (Nuno Lopes as Bruno) to try and find her. Directed by Paolo Marinou-Blanco, Goodnight Irene is beautifully shot throughout, to the point that it will have people booking holidays to Lisbon, assuming it receives a general release. It's nice to see one of our best character actors (see Master and Commander) in a lead role and Pugh really throws himself into it, though at times he overdoes it and is clearly channelling both Anthony Hopkins and Richard Burton, espcecially during the travelogue readings. The problem is that Irene is a much more interesting character than Bruno (and the relationship between Irene and Alex is infinitely more compelling than that between Alex and Bruno) so it's hard not to feel short-changed when her character disappears. Similarly, Nuno Lopes makes very little impact as Bruno, to the point where, two days later, I'm struggling to remember his face. Essentially, despite Pugh's superb performance, the film is occasionally pretentious, occasionally overwritten and not as moving or as emotionally engaging as it thinks it is, thanks to the wrong character disappearing. Two stars.

The Kreutzer Sonata

Danny Huston reunites with Ivansxtc director Bernard Rose for another Tolstoy adaptation, in which Huston plays a philanthropist who becomes maniacally possessive of his beautiful wife (Elisabeth Röhm).

The Kreutzer Sonata reunites director Bernard Rose with his Ivansxtc actor, Danny Huston, for yet another Tolstoy adaptation, this time adapted from a scandalous story that Tolstoy wrote in response to the titular Beethoven piece. Huston plays wealthy philanthropist Edgar, who becomes insanely, pathologically jealous of his beautiful wife, concert pianist Abby (Elisabeth Röhm, from Angel). Huston is perfectly cast in the lead role and his delivery of the voiceover (most of which is direct from Tolstoy's story) is so good that you'd happily listen to him read War and Peace. There's also strong support from Elisabeth Röhm and a delightful cameo from Angelica Huston as Edgar's sister. The film is brilliantly directed throughout and it often feels as if Rose is letting the Beethoven soundtrack dictate what we see on screen. Certainly, the soundtrack is used brilliantly throughout, particularly during scenes involving sex (of which there is an awful lot) and violence - indeed, the sequence of Abby and would-be lover (Matthew Yang King) playing the Kreutzer Sonata is the most sexualised music scene since Elisha Cook Jnr's drum solo in Robert Siodmak's Phantom Lady. There are some extraordinary scenes here: the sex scenes are both powerful and extremely intimate, yet seem more naturalistic (Röhm is flushed with a convincing post-coital glow) than any Hollywood sex scene I can recall. Similarly, the violence -which you spend the whole film dreading- is utterly shocking when it finally happens - one moment in particular made the entire audience jump. However, perhaps the most shocking thing about the film is Tolstoy's own writing (the book was an instant scandal and banned for many years), not just because of the sexual jealousy and violence but because it dares to voice ideas such as the fact that children are not necessarily a blessing (Abby has severe post-natal depression; Edgar denounces the idea that children are automatically wonderful as "a fucking lie") and that even sex itself isn't all it's cracked up to be. I really want to see this again. Four stars.

There was also an excellent Q&A afterwards, which I'll post later, along with some rubbish photos.

The Connection (Shirley Clarke)

Part of the excellent Shirley Clarke retrospective, The Connection is a one-set drama about a group of New York junkies waiting around for their dealer to show up.

First, a confession: since I was 14, I've been obsessively ticking off films in a book called Danny Peary's Guide for the Film Fanatic. Normally, I forget to go through the book and look up the films in Edinburgh's retrospective seasons, only to kick myself when I get back and find that I've missed something crucial. This year, however, I remembered in time, so I'll also be seeing Clarke's The Cool World and three of the Jeanne Moreau films. However, the confession is that I probably wouldn't have gone to see The Connection if it wasn't for Peary's book and I'm so glad that I did, as it was excellent. The plot is simplicity itself - adapted from a play by Jack Gelber, it features a group of New York junkies as they sit around an apartment building, improvising jazz and waiting for their dealer (Carl Lee as "Cowboy") to show up. However, the film is also presented as a documentary, with a director and cameraman present at all times and the cameraman (Roscoe Lee Brown, the only actor I recognised) only occasionally coming out from behind the camera. This was astonishing on several levels: the language (surprisingly frank for 1962), the onscreen depictions of drug use (so thisis what "underground film-making" really means), the superb camerawork and the impressive performances. However, what really stood out for me was Warren Finnerty as Leach, who was the spitting image of Steve Buscemi and spoke and behaved in exactly the same way as Buscemi does. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if a) Finnerty turned out to be Buscemi's dad or b) Buscemi had based his entire career on Finnerty's performance here. Honestly, it's uncanny. On top of some terrifically twitchy performances and some great "beat" dialogue (the programmer called The Connection the first truly "beat" movie and it's hard to disagree), the film also has a fabulous jazz score, courtesy of Blue Note legends Jackie McLean and Freddie Redd. I really want to see this again.

Day Four: "I wouldn't recommend a vacation to Iraq anytime soon"

2008-06-21T18:17:00.015+01:00

Featured review of the day (and the best film of the festival): The Visitor

Earlier today I interviewed the director and stars of The Visitor: Tom McCarthy, Hiam Abbass and one of my favourite actors, Richard Jenkins. The interviews will be up on ViewEdinburgh and ViewLondon (see links, right) as soon as I type them up...

Standard Operating Procedure

Documentary by Errol Morris, investigating the truth behind the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal.

I'm kind of embarrassed to admit it, but my first thought as I sat down to watch Standard Operating Procedure was "Wow, what a great Danny Elfman score - I wonder if the soundtrack is out yet?" That said, once the credits were over, I quickly settled into the required position of outrage, shock and horror. Acclaimed documentarian Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War, Gates of Heaven) tackles the 2004 scandal surrounding the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. The majority of the story is told in the words of the soldiers themselves, including the infamous Lynndie England, who featured in some of the most shocking photographs (holding a leash with a naked prisoner on the end of it; pointing at a hooded prisoner's naked genitals and doing a thumbs up sign, etc). Other voices include: General Janis Karpinski (scape-goated, despite voicing concerns); Army Investigator Brent Pack (who looks a lot like Bill Bailey and whose job it was to establish a time-line from all the different photographs and determine which incidents were crimes and which were Standard Operating Procedure (a climactic scene where dozens of photos of clear human rights violations are all stamped "Standard Operating Procedure" -or "S.O.P."- is devastating); Private Javal Davis (who first found out he was being scapegoated when he watched the news and was disturbed to discover the media had used a photo of him pulling an angry, mean-looking face from when he was winning a track event in high school); Sabrina Harman (the pretty, smiling woman from some of the most shocking photographs, who, despite her apparent complicity, voiced her own concerns in her letters home and took many photos herself as evidence of what was going on); and Civilian Interrogator Tim Dugan, who expresses his profound disillusionment with the War on Terror as a result of his findings. The film makes it abundantly clear that the soldiers were scape-goated as "rotten apples" and received unjust sentences as a result. England clearly says that "The example was already set when we got there" and Davis remembers his first question: "Why is everyone naked?" Shockingly, no-one higher than a staff sergeant was ever prosecuted. To be fair, none of this is really all that surprising if you follow the news, but I found the following things really shocking and I hadn't heard them before: 1) far from being known criminals, many of the prisoners at Abu Ghraib were simply rounded up in the dead of night because they were "of fighting age". 2) As well as taking "fighting age" young men, the soldiers also imprisoned children and used them as bargaining tools ("If you want your children back, tell us where Saddam is") - as Davis points out, "I call that kidnapping"). 3) The sandbags you see on the heads of the prisoners were frequently soaked in hot sauce. 4) Far from being used purely to scare the prisoners, attack dogs actually attacked them on a regular basis. In short, then, this is a powerful, superbly made documentary that demands to be seen. Ideally, it should be seen in a double-bill with Alex Gibney's recent Oscar-winning documentary, Taxi to the Dark Side. Four stars.

Incidentally, Errol Morris gave an excellent 40+ minute Q&A afterwards, which I recorded and will put up if I can figure out how to upload an mp3. He spoke verrrrry slooooowly though, so 40 minutes of questions was akin to 20 minutes of normal questions. The most interesting thing he said -in response to a question about the film not showing the prisoner's side- was that he'd tried to find the actual prisoners in the photos but had been unsuccessful.

Time Crimes

Spanish time-travel thriller starring Kara Elejalde as a middle-aged man who investigates a crime, only to find that he committed it.

I'm a sucker for time-travel movies (my other favourite genre) so I was really looking forward to this. Karra Elejalde plays middle-aged businessman Hector, who lives in a country house with his loving wife Clara (Candela Fernandez). One day, he spies a naked woman (Barbara Goenaga) in the forest behind his house and is compelled to investigate, but as he approaches the woman he is attacked by a mysterious assailant clad in blood-soaked Invisible Man-style bandages. Seeking refuge in a scientific compound, Hector meets a nervous scientist (played by director Nacho Vigalondo), who stuffs him into a giant tank filled with white liquid...and when he gets out, seconds later, he discovers that it's about 12 hours earlier in the day and the scientist has no idea who he is... This was a lot of fun to watch and the performances were excellent (particularly the oddly impassive Elejalde), but I have to confess that I spotted every single twist well in advance. (If you've seen the vaguely similar Primer, you'll probably guess them too). I kept hoping all the way through for it to pull one final killer twist out of the bag and actually surprise me, but it didn't. Shame. It probably didn't help that one of the twists is the twist from my favourite film of all time. It was fun to watch though and fun trying to work out how all the players got into position, even when you knew what was coming next. It's already being remade though (by David Cronenberg?), so maybe the American version will have a more satisfying ending - I do actually have a better ending for it myself, but it's SPOILERIFIC, so I'll put it in the comments below after the public screenings. Love the Spanish poster (above, right) too - the tag-line says "The crime is only a matter of time". Three stars.

By the way, those of you paying close attention (both of you) will have noted that there's no review of Mum and Dad as promised yesterday. This is because Time Crimes overran and I decided to skip the screening of Mum and Dad rather than miss the first 15 minutes. I'll try and catch up with it in the videotheque though.

Day Three: "And I woke up, naked, under a pool table and clad only in a milkman's coat..."

2008-06-21T13:00:00.019+01:00

Featured review of the day: The Wackness

Dummy

British drama about two brothers coping with the death of their mother.

British film set in Brighton, starring Thomas Grant and Aaron Johnson as Jack and Danny, two brothers who are forced to cope with the death of their mother. By an astonishing coincidence, the boys are independently wealthy and Danny has just turned 18 so he's awarded custody of pre-teen Jack. Meanwhile, Jack's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic (including keeping a dummy of his mother in the bedroom and talking to it, Norman Bates-style), while Jack throws himself into his new DJ career and a burgeoning relationship with local girl Zoe (Emma Catherwood). I wanted to like this more than I did. To my mind, as a study of the traumatic effects of grief, it doesn't do anything that Lars and the Real Girl didn't do ten times better - for one thing, the premise is never really explored as Jack creates the dummy fairly early on and nothing else really happens until the final twenty minutes or so. Also, I'm not quite convinced of Aaron Johnson's acting skillz (having seen him in both this and Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging recently) though his teen heart-throb status seems assured, if the number of shirtless or clad-only-in-pants scenes here is anything to go by. That said, it was perfectly watchable and Thomas Grant was excellent as Jack. Beautifully shot too, plus -speaking as an ex-Sussex university student- it's always good to see Brighton on screen. Three stars.

Summer

British drama starring Robert Carlyle as a man trying to atone for the mistakes of his past.

Superb British drama starring Robert Carlyle as Shaun, who spends his days looking after his wheelchair-bound best friend Daz. When Daz is given just a few weeks to live, Shaun thinks back to the summer when everything began to go wrong: labelled a bully at school, his learning disability was ignored and he was expelled, eventually destroying his future through an act of destruction. At the same time, Shaun recalls that same summer as the best time of his life, when he and Daz (Sean Kelly and Jo Doherty) spent a blissful time hanging around with Shaun's girlfriend Katy (Joanna Tulej), who Shaun still thinks of as the love of his life. And when Daz goes into hospital and his teenage son Daniel (Michael Socha) goes off the rails, Shaun decides to see if he can reconnect with Katy (now played by Rachel Blake)... Directed by Kenny Glenaan (who made 2004's Yasmin), this is a powerfully emotional drama with Carlyle on top form and a potentially career-making performance from young Sean Kelly (who reminded me a lot of Shameless's Jody Latham) as the teenaged Shaun. As well as getting powerful performances from his actors, Glenaan brilliantly captures the feel of carefree summers in small towns and orchestrates some astonishing sequences, such as a shocking and heart-breaking scene in which Shaun deliberately crushes his hand in a vice out of frustration with his dyslexia. Powerful, beautifully shot and emotionally devastating, this marks Glenaan out as a talent to watch. Four stars.

Better Things

British drama directed by Duane Hopkins, about a series of fractured relationships unfolding in a community where a beautiful teenager has just died of a drugs overdose.

Quite possibly the festival's most depressing film (and as you can imagine, it's up against some pretty stiff competition), Better Things is directed by Duane Hopkins and features several unknown actors as members of a smalltown community in the Cotswolds, where a beautiful local teenager has just died of a drugs overdose (the film opens with a shot of her corpse with a needle in her arm and it's all downhill from there, emotionally speaking). Other characters include: the dead girl's boyfriend, Rob, who feels guilty about her death and seeks solace in -yes!- heroin; an old woman who can't understand why her just-released-from-hospital husband is so furious with her; an agoraphobic and depressed young woman caring for her bedridden grandmother; Rob's best friend, David, who's visited by his ex-addict girlfriend and decides to apply for methadone treatment; and, in the film's most compelling segment, a young teenager called Larry who only finds out his girlfriend Rachel has dumped him when he sees her making out with a motorcycle-riding older boy. Hopkins eschews traditional narrative in favour of a series of character snapshots and the accumulative effect is nothing short of extraordinary as the recurring theme of love's power to hurt us emerges. It's also beautifully shot, courtesy of cinematographer Lol Crawley, but what really stands out is the stunning sound design work. At one point, two characters are talking in a car and all the background noise is removed, leaving just the conversation and creating a dreamlike, surreal effect that works brilliantly. Similarly, there's very little in the way of traditional dialogue, but the few conversations that we do hear (the old couple eventually discussing their problems; Larry's angry phonecall with Rachel) are utterly devastating. An unforgettable film. Four stars.

The King of Ping-Pong

Swedish coming-of-age drama about an overweight teenager who overhears some distressing news about his paternity.

I love Scandinavian coming-of-age movies. They're probably my favourite festival genre, right up there with wacky competition documentaries (Pucker Up: The Fine Art of Whistling, Air Guitar Nationetc). In the past few years, I've seen several delightful ones at Edinburgh, including Just Bea and Fourteen Sucks so I was really looking forward to The King of Ping-Pong. I have to say that it wasn't quite the movie I was hoping for (after the triple-bill of depression above I was really in the mood for a feelgood coming-of-age comedy) but I still enjoyed it. Jerry Johansson stars as overweight teen Rille, who lives for ping-pong because it's the only thing he's really good at and the only place where his stewardship of the ping-pong cupboard allows him to lord it over the younger kids, instead of regularly getting beaten up or bullied once he leaves the sports hall. He's also jealous of his popular younger brother Erik (the delightfully named Hampus Johansson), but when he overhears some distressing news about his paternity, Rille suddenly realises why he and his brother are so different. Johansson is superb as Rille (think Row-land from 1980s-era Grange Hill) and there was strong support from Hampus Johnansson and from tiny Alicia Stewen as Anja, a young girl who secretly likes Rille. This was much darker than I was expecting, plus the ping-pong wasn't as crucual to the plot as I was hoping, either (clearly, my dream film is one that combines Scandinavian coming-of-age stuff with sports competition docu-dramas). There were some striking scenes though (Rille's ice-throne; his drunken father unexpectedly jumping into an ice-hole; his fights with Erik) and one lovely sequence involving a truck, a car and a bridge, when Rille is driving with Anja in the passenger seat and they both break into delightful smiles. (I'd have been more than happy for the film to end at that point, actually). Also, a very weird coincidence: both King of Ping-Pong and Blood Car have the same gag, when an otherwise innocent-looking girl (Anja here, Anna Chlumsky's Lorraine in Blood Car) are revealed to be drawing extremely obscene pictures. Three stars.

Tiramisu

Dutch drama about an ageing actress who suddenly finds her riverboat home at risk because of her overspending.

This turned out to be the perfect end to a day of pretty miserable films. Directed by Paula van der Oest, Tiramisu stars Anneke Blok as Anne, an ageing theatre actress struggling with her ex-husband's remarriage to a younger, prettier actress. Hungover after a closing-night party, she receives an unexpected visitor at her riverboat home in the shape of book-keeper Jacob (Jacob Derwig), who informs her that she's hugely in debt and risks losing her lovely riverboat home unless she comes up with some money. What follows is a heart-warming culture-clash comedy-drama (uptight accountant vs free-spirited flighty actress) that takes ideas from backstage drama movies (Blok is physically similar to Gena Rowlands), Altman-esque ensemble dramas (the 20 minute climactic party scene could have come from an Altman movie) and, as some clever-clogs in the audience correctly pointed out, the works of Chekhov, particularly The Cherry Orchard, from which it lifts its entire structure. (The director awarded the audience member 10 points at the Q&A). Blok and Derwig spark off each other well and the supporting cast are delightfully quirky without ever becoming irritating. A solid three stars.

Day Two: "Deadly tarantulas. For sale. In vending machines."

2008-06-20T18:36:00.016+01:00

Featured review of the day: A Complete History of My Sexual Failures.

Good Dick

Offbeat indie romcom starring Jason Ritter as a video store clerk who becomes obsessed with one of his erotica-renting customers (writer-director Marianna Palka).

Written and directed by Marianna Palka (who looks like she could be Sigourney Weaver's daughter), Good Dick stars Jason (son of John) Ritter as an unnamed video store clerk in Santa Monica who becomes obsessed with an attractive customer (Palka) who rents erotica (not to be confused with hardcore porn) every day. Ritter's not quite your usual obsessive though: first he follows her home, then he pretends his aunt lives in the building and has recently died and then he ends up moving into her apartment, even though she doesn't really like him all that much. To give much else away would spoil the pleasures of the sheer weirdness of this film. Suffice it to say that it's the total opposite of any romcom you've ever seen: everything takes place in the wrong order; characters say one thing and do the opposite; sexually charged scenes unfold in completely unexpected ways and so on. Ritter and Palka are terrific together, even if it takes you a while to work out just how much of a nutter Ritter is at the beginning. There are also weird little cameos from the likes of Charles Durning and Bryce Dallas Howard, while there's strong support from Eric Edelstein, Martin Starr and Mark Weber as Ritter's colleagues. This is quite possibly my favourite film of the festival so far. Terrific final shot too. Four stars.

Mancora

Spanish-Peruvian co-production starring Jason Day as depressed slacker who goes on a roadtrip with his step-sister (Elsa Pataky) and her husband (Enrique Murciano) following his father's suicide.

Co-produced by co-star Enrique Murciano (aka Danny from TV's Without A Trace), Mancora stars Jason Day as Santiago, a depressed slacker who goes on a roadtrip to Mancora in Northern Peru with his step-sister Ximena (the gorgeous Elsa Pataky) and her husband Inigo (the not-exactly-beaten-with-the-ugly-stick Enrique Murciano) following his father's suicide. The film has drawn comparisons to Y Tu Mama Tambien, because of the one-woman-two-men road trip plot and the fact that there's quite a lot of sex in it, but it lacks the heart and the depth of Cuaron's film. Part of the problem is Jason Day as Santiago - sure, he's really, really good-looking (as Zoolander might say) but he barely even speaks and we don't really care about him all that much. Similarly, Inigo is a bit of a shit and it's also hard to sympathise with Ximena, cute as she is. Still, the scenery is lovely and there are a handful of good scenes, but overall it's slow-moving and light on plot. Three stars.

Of Time and the City

Terence Davies' heartfelt documentary about his personal history of Liverpool.

A stunningly beautiful film. Davies (together with a loyal team of researchers) has assembled a wealth of gorgeous archive footage of Liverpool from the 1940s onwards and its overlaid with pieces of classical music, Davies himself quoting poetry and reading famous quotations, as well as giving his own recollections about growing up in Liverpool, going to the cinema for the first time and, in one particularly enjoyable sequence, ranting about the monarchy. It's beautifully edited and flows together seamlessly, so that it's almost dreamlike in places, especially in the way it shifts topic so easily. Four stars. Davies also gave a highly entertaining Q&A afterwards. Someone please give this man money to make his next film. I for one can't wait to see his "romcom with a happy ending".

Blood Car

Black comedy horror about a man who invents a car that runs on blood, with predictably grusome results.

This was a huge amount of fun. It's in extraordinarily bad taste but I laughed like a drain throughout. There was also a hilarious short beforehand called "Web Site Story: An Internet Paedophile Musical", with the songs set to the music from West Side Story ("Luvhorses! I just met a girl named Luvhorses!" etc), which you can watch here). Blood Car was written and directed by Alex Orr. Set in a future where petrol is incredibly expensive (ring any bells?), it stars Mike Brune as Archie Andrews, a vegan primary school teacher who is trying to invent a car that will run on wheatgrass. Instead he accidentally invents one that runs on human blood (not, unfortunately, animal blood, which he only discovers after he's slaughtered a sackful of cute puppies). Even more unfortunately, the car tends to run out of fuel pretty quick, so he's constantly topping up, in order to impress slutty Meat Stand employee Denise (Orr's real-life girlfriend Katie Rowlett). The script is very funny with several extremely rude and outrageous gags, plus sex scenes that are, shall we say, a little more risque than perhaps we're used to seeing. Orr (a self-confessed film geek) told me in the bar afterwards that he'd never seen a Russ Meyer movie before making the film but frankly I find that hard to believe - the busty hitch-hiker sequence alone is straight out of a Russ Meyer movie. He also amusingly revealed that all the girls who bare their breasts for the movie were recruited from Craig's List. I'm dying to spoil the film's most shocking gag, but I can't really do it. Suffice it to say that Orr succeeds in getting laughs from situations that you would never expect to find yourself laughing at. I hope he gets to make his next project, Black Hand, a film about a white supremacist who loses his hand and gets a black hand. Four stars. No distributor yet either...

The excellent Blood Car poster:

Director Alex Orr, giving out post-screening Blood Car t-shirts (and yes, I got one and have already worn it with pride):

Day One: "If you need to stretch your legs, buy a blow-job off a Lithuanian"

2008-06-19T21:46:00.013+01:00

Featured review of the day: The Edge of Love.

Red

Smalltown thriller based on a novel by Jack Ketchum, starring Brian Cox as a storeowner seeking justice against the thugs who killed his dog.

I really enjoyed The Lost two years ago, so when I read that Red was also based on a Jack Ketchum novel, I was really excited about seeing it. Brian Cox plays semi-retired store-owner Avery Ludlow, who seeks justice against three local teens when one of them (Noel Fisher from "The Riches") kills his dog (Red) for no reason. Unfortunately it turns out that the boy's father (a slimmed-down Tom Sizemore, still playing bastards) is something of a local bigwig so justice looks unlikely. However, things quickly get out of hand after a local TV reporter (Kim Dickens) does a news story on Avery. This was brilliant from start to finish. Cox is superb - he's not as angry here as he often is in other films, which made for some interesting slow-burning tension. Sizemore, of course, is one of the screen's all-time great bastards and he's as good as you'd expect, but there's also strong work from Dickens, Fisher and Kyle Gallner as Sizemore's more sensitive son. Needless to say though, you might want to avoid this if you're a dog-lover. Four stars.

Just Another Love Story

Danish film noir starring Anders W Bertelsen as a married man who becomes obsessed with a coma victim and allows her family to believe he's her boyfriend, even after she wakes up.

This was very much like a Danish film noir version of While You Were Sleeping. Anders W Bertelsen (you'll know the face – he's in practically every Danish film I've ever seen) plays married photographer Jonas, who witnesses a car accident and becomes obsessed with the victim (Rebecka Hemse), who ends up in a coma. Visiting her in hospital, he allows her concerned family to believe that he's her boyfriend Sebastien, a deception he continues even after she wakes up (with apparent -and convenient- memory loss). But then the real Sebastien (Nikolaj Lie Kaas – also in every Danish film) turns up and things take a nasty turn... To be honest, this wasn't quite as good as I was hoping it would be, despite good performances from Bertelsen and particularly from Kaas. It definitely had its moments, but the whole lying-bleeding-in-the-rain beginning / ending thing has been done to death over the years and I didn't think the script did enough to sell Jonas's sudden obsession. There were some nice touches though, such as all the scenes with Dejan Cukic as Jonas's weird best friend Frank who, like Dennis Hopper in Elegy yesterday, gives really bad relationship advice. Also, it was brilliantly edited, particularly during the scenes where Jonas is starting to lose it and mixing up his two relationships in his head. Three stars.

Somers Town

Shane Meadows reunites with Thomas Turgoose for this low-budget black and white tale of the friendship between a lonely Polish teenager and a young runaway.

Partly funded by Eurostar, thanks to a rather spectacular bit of product placement, Shane Meadows' latest film stars his This Is England discovery Thomas Turgoose as Tomo, a young runaway who comes to London and is promptly mugged. A chance meeting in a cafe leads to a developing friendship with bored Polish teenager Marek (Piotr Jagiello) as the two attempt a few rubbish money-making schemes, steal Tomo some clothes (leading to him wearing a woman's blouse for most of the film) and try to woo the French waitress (Elisa Lasowski as Maria) that Marek has a crush on. Turgoose and Jagiello are both excellent and the charming script brims with witty, naturalistic dialogue that works well. The film paints an interesting picture of the Somers Town area of London, with its Polish immigrant workers (Marek's father is building the new St Pancras station) and local cafes and apartment blocks. There are several great scenes, but the highlight is Tomo and Marek treating Maria to their “special taxi service”. Four stars.

Three Miles North of Molkom

Swedish documentary about a New Age healing festival and a young rugby-playing Australian who wonders what the hell he's doing there.

Three Miles North of Molkom is a Swedish documentary about a New Age healing festival that's held annually in the woods, er, three miles north of Molkom. It begins with a bunch of half-naked tree-hugging hippies rolling around together in a scene that reminded me of The Shunting in Society. Anyway, we're quickly introduced to various tree-hugging types including solid-looking Siddhartha (who's kind of like the Eric Thal character in Mouth-to-Mouth, only not as manipulative), blonde children's care worker Marit, Hawaiian hippie Ljus (who says he was raised by goats and does actually look a lot like a goat) and middle-aged retired careers advisor Mervi. And then there's Nick, a no-nonsense Australian rugby teacher who wound up at the festival because a friend recommended it and who cheerfully announces to the group that his first thoughts were “Oh fuck, it's a cult”. He doesn't really see the point in “all that tree-hugging shit” and doesn't care who knows it. However, over the course of several different exercises including Fire-walking, Tantric Sex workshops (at least, I think that's what they were doing), Finding Your Inner Power Animal, Primal Screaming and actual, literal tree-hugging, Nick gradually starts to come around and eventually gives his own mini-class called The No-Worries Workshop, where the group learn phrases like “No, you're alright” and “We're not here to fuck spiders”. The only problem is that the movie doesn't sell us on Nick's conversion – whatever it is that he gets out of it, we don't see it, so the effect is kind of like watching someone getting brainwashed. Also, it's at least 20 minutes too long and some of the New Age sessions go on far too long. That said, there are some great scenes, particularly when Nick's group have a session with someone who teaches them about channelling power as self-defence who then ends up knocking Mervi to the ground (“Where the fuck were you guys? Why didn't you channel your power to stop me?”). And then faces rugby player Nick... Not bad, but not the documentary of the festival either. Three stars.

Day Zero: "Even our adulteries can't compare - yours plays the oboe"

2008-06-17T22:03:00.017+01:00

Directed by Santosh Sivan, Before the Rains is a lush melodrama with a hint of Merchant-Ivory. Set in 1930s colonial India, it stars Linus Roache as spice-grower Henry Moores, who's engaged in building an important road and is desperate to finish before Monsoon season begins. He's also engaged in a passionate affair with his young house-keeper, Sanjani (Nandita Das), which he has to hide from the local villagers because of her arranged marriage to the vicious Rajat (Lal Paul). However, Henry's bliss is short-lived, first because his wife Laura (Jennifer Ehle, as lovely as ever) arrives from England with their young son in tow, and secondly because Rajat's discovery of Sanjani's affair puts everyone's lives in danger. Seeking refuge, Sanjani turns to Henry for help, but he's desperate to hide the affair from Laura, so he asks his right-hand man, T.K. (Rahul Bose) to help Sanjani get to safety. However, Sanjani isn't ready to leave without the man she loves... This is the sort of film where one character gives another a gun as a present in the second scene, so you pretty much know where it's going right from the start. Also, given the scandalous subject matter, it's a remarkably chaste affair - sex scenes take place behind rocks, bathtub scenes involve too much foam and even the shootings and beatings occur offscreen. The cast do their best (Bose and Das are particularly good, though Ehle's rather wasted as Laura) but the end result is rather underwhelming and a racier director might have spiced it up a bit. Watchable enough, though and the scenery is fantastic. Three stars.

Time to Die

Polish drama about an old woman and her dog.

Crisply shot in black and white, Time to Die stars Polish screen legend Danuta Szaflarska as 92-year-old Aniela, who lives in a large-but-rickety old house that's far too big for her, with only her faithful dog, Phila (short for Philadelphia) for company. Her good-for-nothing son visits every so often (bringing her overweight and deeply uninterested granddaughter with him) but Daniela correctly senses that he's only waiting for her to die so he can sell the house to the property developer next door. However, when her son decides to go behind her back and make a deal with the neighbour anyway, Aniela decides that she's not going to go down without a fight. My knowledge of Polish (or, more accurately, Polish swearing) was good enough for me to realise that Aniela's actually a lot more abrasive and coarse than the rather tame subtitles suggest (and, while we're at it, WHY do subtitlers still persist in using white subtitles on white backgrounds?), so this was robbed of some of its impact but it was still enjoyable, if a little slow. Szaflarska is excellent throughout (the constant twinkle in her eye leaves you in no doubt as to whether or not she's entirely compos mentis) but the film really belongs to the dog, who gives the best canine performance of the year and would be a shoo-in for the Canine D'Or at Cannes (a real award). In fact, during the film's slower moments, it's fun to pretend that the film is actually all about Phila and her daily adventures as she opens doors, answers the phone, chases off property developers, cracks and eats walnuts and delivers note-perfect comedy reactions on demand. There are some other good scenes too (Aniela enjoying a thunderstorm, for example, or her interaction with a young “rascal” nick-named Dostoyevsky) but this is worth seeing for the dog alone. Three stars.

Elegy

Classy drama based on a novel by Philip Roth, starring Ben Kingsley as a lecturer who falls head-over-heels for one of his grad students (Penelope Cruz).

What is it with Ben Kingsley lately? How come he's suddenly getting the sort of onscreen relationships you usually see in Woody Allen movies? In the last few months he's bedded (onscreen, I hasten to add) Tea Leoni (in You Kill Me), Mary-Kate Olsen (in The Wackness) and Famke Janssen (also in The Wackness) and now there's a whole movie about his relationship with Penelope Cruz? Kingsley must have the best agent in the world. Either that or compromising photographs of every casting director in Hollywood. Anyway, I digress. I freely admit that Kingsley's not my favourite actor but his two recent performances (in The Wackness and Elegy) have brought me round somewhat. Here he plays David Kepesh, an author and college professor who walked out on his wife and child many years ago, something his “father-hating son” (Peter Sarsgaard) still hasn't forgiven him for. Since then, the closest thing David has to a meaningful relationship is his monthly hook-up with self-made businesswoman Caroline (Patricia Clarkson), an arrangement that seems to suit them both perfectly. However, when David falls head-over-heels for one of his students (Penelope Cruz, looking fabulous) and begins a relationship with her, his jealousy threatens to destroy everything because he's convinced she'll eventually leave him for a younger man. Given a set-up like that, it should surprise precisely no-one that all this is adapted from a novel by Philip Roth. Kingsley and Cruz are both excellent and I have to begrudgingly admit that there is decent chemistry between them, even though it was all I could do not to shout “GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER, KINGSLEY!” during Penelope's nude scenes. However, the film is stolen by a superb supporting performance from Dennis Hopper as David's best friend and confidante, a -wait for it- Pulitzer Prize-winning Poet (stop laughing at the back there) who offers terrible relationship advice and still has affairs, even though he's married to DEBBIE FREAKING HARRY. Hopper's terrific though – he lights up every scene he's in, plus, I won't forget the image of him feeding a depressed Kingsley with the old “Here comes the choo-choo train” routine in a hurry. I hadn't checked the director before the film started (it's one of those 'all the credits are at the end' jobs) but it didn't surprise me at all to discover that it was directed by Spanish director Isabel Coixet, whose last film I really enjoyed. She should probably ditch her Woody Allen obsession though – a shot of Kingsley and Cruz on the beach in long-shot, seen through a gap in a fence is directly stolen from either, September, Another Woman or Interiors (one of Allen's really boring films, anyway). All in all, this is a classy, beautifully photographed and superbly acted drama, though it's not quite as emotionally engaging as it ought to be and it could have used a) a bit more humour and b) less voiceover. Three stars.

Helen

Low-key drama about a young woman who begins to identify with a murdered girl after standing in for her during a police reconstruction for TV.

I'd heard good things about this, but, to be honest, I was a little underwhelmed (which, now that I think about it, has been the case all day – I'm struggling to pick a Film of the Day from this lot, so I think I'll skip it). Anyway, I liked the premise a lot: when local teenager Joy disappears and is presumed murdered, loner Helen (Annie Townsend) agrees to play her in a police reconstruction for TV. As she takes to wearing the Joy's distinctive yellow leather jacket (how she gets to keep it is never explained), she becomes increasingly obsessed with the dead girl, befriending her parents and even getting Joy's ex-boyfriend to deflower her. Slowly, it becomes clear that Helen knows nothing about her own background – she's grown up in care and her case file was sealed until she turned 18 – and is filling in her own gaps with details from Joy's life. There's a superb central idea here, but the film ends just as it's getting interesting. Similarly, Christine Molloy and Joe Lawlor's joint directorial style is extremely distancing (it reminded me of The Last Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael, only not as horrible), with an ever-present discordant soundtrack and long takes and close-ups of nothing happening. It also doesn't help that all the dialogue in the film is delivered in the same measured, precise and oddly patronising tone: for example, the first scene involving speech is when a detective is asking Joy's parents to identify her things and speaking to them slowly and deliberately because they're in shock...and then everyone else in the film speaks the same way. There are also odd moments where side characters (police officers, a drama teacher) deliver inappropriate motivational speeches that don't quite work. I was also confused by the setting, as characters either spoke with Irish accents, Newcastle accents, Birmingham accents or Liverpool accents - it turned out that the film had been funded jointly by film boards in all four places, so that cleared that up, but it detracted from the film. That said, Helen grew on me towards the end and I really liked Annie Townsend's performance, even if she does bear an unfortunate resemblance to Lou Taylor Pucci. There were also several striking images, such as an early shot of a line of police combing the forest and a follow-up shot from behind with their emblazoned jackets reading “POLICE POLICE POLICE POLICE POLICE POLICE”. I liked the final line a lot too. Three stars.

What if they held a Festival and nobody came?

2008-06-17T21:37:00.005+01:00

Well, I'm here. I even managed to watch a film on the train (Sandrine Bonnaire's Her Name Is Sabine, which had me surreptitiously wiping away tears) and go through the programme marking up my schedule. I've identified 52 films that I really want to see, so that's the goal this year: 52 films in 11 days.

Some random thoughts:

1) Hardly anyone is here so far. Okay, so the festival doesn't officially start till Wednesday but the press deskers looked a little spooked that no-one had turned up yet, as if they were wondering whether they'd got the dates wrong and had turned up early by mistake. I would imagine there's a lot of anxiety this year about whether people (both journalists and audiences) will turn up in sufficient numbers, given the controversial decision to move the Festival away from August.

2) Sadly, I can't stay with my friend this year, so I'm staying here instead, for 11 nights. It's alright so far. Very friendly staff. Few too many Gemermans for my liking, mind.

3) What the bloody hell is the point of making a big deal about your "Free Wi-Fi" if you're going to block all the FUCKING power outlets? The FilmHouse and the Cameo, I am looking at YOU. Grrr.

4) One delightful difference this year - they've changed the system for requesting public screening tickets. Previously, us lowly green pass holders had to fill out a lengthy form and hope for the best, while smug gold pass types (you know who you are) queued up in the morning and got whatever their hearts desired, just like that. However, THIS year, it's a veritable free-for-all (perhaps, again, because they're worried about bums on seats) so, to all intents and purposes, green = gold. Brilliant.

5) And finally, a bit of pedantry. Normally, I would call the first day of press screenings "Day One", but that's confusing when the festival actually starts a day later. This year, my first day of screenings will be "Day Zero", which should clarify things a bit. I think I may have stolen this from the Empire Cannes Blog, but I'm not sure.

Edinburgh Festival 2008

2008-06-14T04:17:00.002+01:00

There are two big changes this year. The first, obviously, is that the festival has moved to June, away from the larger, all-powerful festival in August. I am actually quite pleased because it means I'll get to go to Frightfest this year. The second change is that I'll actually be getting paid this year - as well as my reviews here, I'll be covering the festival for our newly launched sister site, ViewEdinburgh. The current plan is to do a daily review on ViewEdinburgh and review everything else here. Also, there'll be a couple of ViewEdinburgh Film Blog entries, but they'll be more towards the end of the festival.

Some Notes About Last Year

2008-06-14T03:46:00.002+01:00

It wouldn't be fair to just leave last year unfinished without a few notes, so here are a few things about last year's EIFF.

I ended up seeing 40 films in 13 days, which wasn't nearly as impressive as the previous year's 60 films in 10 days, but was still pretty good.

The top ten films I saw at the Festival last year were:

1) In Search of a Midnight Kiss
2) Paranoid Park
3) Control
4) Billy the Kid (still unreleased, though it'll be on More4 soon)
5) Stardust
6) The Counterfeiters
7) Crazy Love
8) Teeth
9) Ex-Drummer
10) I Served the King of England

Special mentions to: Razzle Dazzle, The Waiting Room, John Waters: This Filthy World, The New Man, Run Granny Run, The Interpreter, Auftauchen, Skills Like This, Special People and Joshua for pure camp value.

Highlight of the festival: Landing an incredibly jammy 25 minute interview with the lovely Olga Kurylenko, in the cafe of her hotel, just as she was about to leave. Pictures are here:

and here:

Basically, at that point, I seriously considered just going home, because there was no way I was going to top that.

Disappointment of the festival: Not getting to meet John Waters.

Party of the festival: Probably the Knocked Up party, purely because I briefly spoke to both Seth Rogen and Natalie Press. Nothing as good as last year's Air Guitar Nation parties though.

Another apology

2008-06-14T03:43:00.002+01:00

Talk about an Ode to Procrastination. I’ve put off finishing off last year’s Edinburgh Blog for an entire year now and here we are at Edinburgh time again. Well, sort of - it is in June this year, after all. It's still shocking though. I am, literally, crimson with shame. Still, onwards and upwards. I hereby solemnly swear to complete this year’s blog if it kills me, even though I swore the same thing last year and still didn't finish it. I did get one day further along last year than in 2006 though, so that's something. Maybe I'll just attempt to get one day further along each year and that way, I'll actually complete one in 2011.

Okay, so I reposted the apology from last year. Again. But THIS year is going to be different, oh yes. Just wait and see.

"Hmmm. When the bloody hell is he going to get around to finishing last year's blog?"

2008-06-12T01:44:00.003+01:00

Day Eight - "I'm like the weather, dude - I can get real bad, real fast."

2007-08-23T17:02:00.001+01:00

Paranoid Park

Gus Van Sant's latest film, adapted from the novel by Blake Nelson, about a teenager (Gabe Nevins) dealing with enormous guilt after an incident near Paranoid Park skate park.

Film of the day and second best film of the festival so far. (I'm not giving up my allegiance to In Search of a Midnight Kiss!) It's also, quite possibly, Gus Van Sant's masterpiece. Ostensibly a story about an aimless Portland teenager named Alex (Gabe Nevins, pictured on the film's remarkable poster, left), whose parents are getting divorced and who spends most of his time skateboarding with his best friend Jared (Jake Miller), which, in turn, is beginning to annoy his girlfriend Jennifer (Taylor Momsen - little Cindy Lou Who from The Grinch, all growed up). One evening, Alex goes to the Big Kids Skate Park (nicknamed Paranoid Park) by himself and has a chance encounter that will change his life. The film is framed as a story or a letter that Alex is writing and early on he says, "No...wait...I forgot...this happened earlier...they said in Creative Writing that my style was bad but I'll get it all down eventually." So the film skips about, chronologically with some scenes repeating or overlapping in the process. The strange thing is that it feels totally seamless and your brain kind of fills in the correct sequence for you as you go along. (This is hard to explain properly unless you've seen the film). It's also beautifully shot, courtesy of master cinematographer Chris Doyle (who also appears briefly as "Uncle Tommy", a key player in Alex's parents' divorce). Every shot in the film is astonishing, but highlights include: the opening shot of Portland Bridge (it's probably not called Portland Bridge but I haven't got time to google it - I welcome corrections from bridge aficionados); a shower scene where Alex is hanging his head so the water cascades off it in multiple streams (that sounds normal but again, you have to see the film); a shot of Alex skateboarding with an open umbrella; a sequence in a skating tunnel with a bright light at the end; shots of bright yellow falling leaves; and close-ups of Alex's unusual face, with his huge eyes but curiously unexpressive mouth. The film also includes some terrific variations on usual teen movie staples, such as a superbly filmed sex scene (Alex's face expressionless throughout, the camera angle hovering tightly over his shoulder the whole time); a break-up scene scored to music, where we can lip-read almost everything Jennifer says; and a conversation with his father (the only scene in which his father appears), where the father is in background of the scene and out of focus the whole time. There's also at least one shot that will make the audience gasp in shock, but to give that away would be churlish. Finally, the film has a spectacular soundtrack with a delightfully eclectic mix of songs and styles that Van Sant uses to terrific effect - for example, one scene has Alex driving around listening to rap music and then there's a quick jump-cut and the soundtrack suddenly switches to classical, which completely changes the scene and yet perfectly complements it at the same time. There's also a surprising amount of incidental music from Fellini movies, notably "Julieta of the Spirits" and "Amarcord". The performances are superb too - Nevins is exceptional, but Momsen ("Oh my God, we totally did it - no, it was fantastic!", Miller and Lauren McKinney (as Macy) are equally good. The blurb says that many of the actors were sourced from MySpace, which much have seemed like a dodgy idea at the time but it's paid huge dividends. Unmissable. Five stars.

Skills Like This

Low-budget indie comedy thriller about a slacker who discovers that he has a talent for robbing banks.

I don't know whether it's just me, but the sound in Screen 1 at the FilmHouse has seemed oddly muted on two occasions now (for both this and "Teeth") and I found myself straining to hear the dialogue both times. I hate that. Anyway, the film itself was very amusing and I liked the poster / badge / sticker campaign (see poster, left). Screenwriter Spencer Berger stars as Max, a failed playwright (the film opens with his hilariously awful production, "The Onion Dance") who suddenly discovers he has a talent for robbing banks. His two best friends (Brian Phelan as Tommy and Gabriel Tigerman as Dave) are horrified and excited, respectively and it's not long before Max is itching to rob somewhere else. However, things are complicated by the fact that he's also romancing the cute bank teller from the first heist, Lucy (Kerry Knuppe). The film had a certain knockabout charm and there were a lot of great lines, most of them delivered by Brian Phelan, who's hilarious as Tommy and the best reason to see the film. The script is pretty good and I liked the way it worked in the Onion Dance monologue at the end - I'm hoping that was a scriptwriter's joke rather than a sincerely meant moment, but it made me smile, anyway. The romance worked well too (Kneppe is very sweet), although Berger's performance teeters on smug at times and he's not always as likeable as the film seems to think he is. Respect to the afro though - I asked the director during the Q&A whether that was his real hair and apparently it was. The film also has a great soundtrack, sourced from local bands. Three stars, but that's a high three, not a low three like Saxon. Oh, and can Marta Martin (who plays Rosa, the cafe waitress) do more films please? Thanks.

Note: "Skills Like This" screened with a very amusing short by Matthew Modine called "I Think I Thought", which is worth looking out for.

Full disclosure II

I had every intention of seeing Auftauchen (aka Breaking the Surface) today but when I got to the screening, a man came out and said that the reels had arrived without labels, so they had someone who'd seen the film in the projection room trying to match up images to their memory of the film but it could all go horribly wrong and if it did, they'd stop the film and reschedule it. I'd already missed the alternative (Ex-Drummer; coming soon) so I stayed, largely because the programme had said that the film had "a rare command of that most awkward of film-making challenges, the sex scene". Sure enough, twenty minutes in, there is an impressively filmed sex scene (by which I mean intense and lots of heavy breathing rather than explicit imagery)...and then, as soon as it finished, the lights went up and the now very sheepish-looking bloke came out and told us that, essentially, we'd had our fun and now had to leave. Some very flustered audience members were giving each other embarrassed looks on the way out and saying, "I feel so cheap..." But, really, this festival is taking the concept of the tease way too far...

Coming soon:Weirdsville, Parting Shot, The Surprise Film: The Kingdom

Day Seven - "You can squeal to Herzog if you want"

2007-08-22T16:22:00.000+01:00

Saxon

Low-budget council estate private eye flick, starring Sean Harris as a jailbird investigating his friend's disappearance.

The write-up for "Saxon" says "Startling UK thriller brings the grit of 70s Hollywood to a messed-up London estate". I tried to count the number of lies in that sentence but I lost count. Apparently, there were a number of walk-outs at the public screening and, based on the expectations raised by that write-up versus the reality of the film, I can't say I blame them. I freely admit it was one of the films I was most looking forward to, just from the brochure. That said, I didn't hate it, although I appear to be in the minority of people I've spoken to. It starts brilliantly: Sean Harris plays Eddie, an ex-con who gets out of jail and promptly gets his eye taken out by loan sharks, owing to the fact that the interest on his £500 loan sky-rocketed while he was in jail. Desperate to keep the other eye, he shows up on the doorstep of his ex, Linda (Sarah Matravers), who still lives on the Saxon council estate, despite her husband Kevin (Paul McNeilly) recently winning a fortune on a TV game show (hosted by a cameoing Henry Kelly). However, Kevin has gone missing, so Eddie turns private eye in return for Linday helping him out with his debts. To be fair, Sean Harris is an excellent actor and he's superb here. There's also strong support from Matravers, McNeilly (their training montage is hilarious) and Michelle Connolly as Jackie, a hairdresser / femme fatale who gives Eddie half a haircut. Apparently the script for the film was widely acclaimed when it showed up on Kevin Spacey's TriggerStreet.com website and it's not hard to see why, as the private eye jokes are very well observed and the film is often very funny. Unfortunately, it falls apart horribly towards the end and it could also have used a) a better director and b) a lot more money. Basically, it looks like something someone knocked up in a couple of afternoons on a council estate with his video camera and some mates. It reminded me a lot of the Aberystwyth novels, which are also a private eye pastiche, only set in Wales. They always fall apart at the end too. Oh hell, I'm feeling generous - three stars, but only just.

The Counterfeiters (Die Fälscher)

German wartime drama, based on a true story, starring Karl Markovics as a Jewish master counterfeiter forced to assist the Nazis with their forging operation whilst interned in a concentration camp.

Film of the day. Thoroughly enjoyable German wartime drama, based on the memoirs of Adolph Burger, although, oddly, the film isn't actually about Burger and he only appears as a supporting character, albeit an essential one. Karl Markovics (who looks like a grumpy Bing Crosby) plays Salomon "Sally" Sorowitsch, a Jewish master counterfeiter who lives a fast life of women, cards and forged cash in Berlin. He's arrested in 1936 and thrown into the Mauthausen concentration camp, where he quickly uses his artistic skills to gain favours by doing portraits of the guards and murals and the like. He's then essentially head-hunted and transferred to the camp of Sachsenhausen where he's put in charge of overseeing Operation Berhard, the largest counterfeiting operation in history. However, their luxury conditions are in stark contrast to the concentration camp just over their adjoining wall and one member of Sally's team, Adolph Burger (August Diehl) resorts to sabotage, which puts Sally in an increasingly difficult position. The performances are superb. Markovics is terrific, in a performance that appears to be emotionally cold on the surface, but is gradually revealed to have hidden depths, primarily through his friendship with a young fellow prisoner from Russia. Diehl is also excellent, nailing Burger's wild-eyed desperation - he looks like he could have stepped out of a 1940s Hollywood film. There's also strong support from Devid Striesow as Superintendent Friedrich Herzog, who's responsible both for Sally's arrest and his later promotion and who turns out to be surprisingly sympathetic. The film's also beautifully shot and contains some superbly suspenseful sequences, such as Herzog gathering the men to tell them about one of their agents trying to cash the first batch of British pounds. Well worth seeing when it gets a general release in a month or so's time. Four stars.

The Interpreter (La Traductrice)

Euro thriller starring Julia Batinova as a young Swiss / Russian woman who becomes involved in the trial of a shady Russian businessman

This was watchable enough but by the end, I felt like some of it had got lost in translation. The rather lovely Julia Batinova (who looks like a cross between Charlotte Church and Linda Cardellini) plays Ira, a 20-something student who was born in Russia but brought to Geneva when she was seven and raised by her mother. When a shady family friend (Sergei Garmash as Oleg) offers Ira a job as the interpreter between a Russian businessman accused of drug-dealing and his Swiss lawyer (Bruno Todeschini), Ira finds herself dragged into some decidedly dodgy political manoeuvrings in the run-up to the trial. At one point it threatens to go a bit Hannibal Lecter, with the businessman (read: gangster) taking an unhealthy interest in Ira and urging her to go back to Russia so she can reconnect with her roots. Okay, I'll admit it. Part of the reason the film annoyed me was because I thought I'd called an early twist and that the gangster would turn out to be her father (Oleg says early on that the gangster has a daughter who "has the same eyes") but that wasn't the case. And frankly, it should have been, as the actual revelation had very little dramatic impact. It's also guilty of a serious bit of father-figure overload - I counted four at one point and she has an affair with one of them. Frankly, it was no surprise to hear the director, Elena Hazanova, confess at the Q & A afterwards that the story was "largely autobiographical". Translation: the thriller elements were secondary to the writer-director working out her daddy issues. That said, it was watchable enough and Batinova will hopefully go on to bigger and better things. Three stars.

Full disclosure I

I also went to see Riza today, a Turkish film about a long-distance truck driver stranded in a remote village. I was prepared for it to be slow-moving, but evidently not prepared enough, because I lasted about 15 minutes before voting with my eyes and deciding to have a nap instead. I think I made the right decision. The description in the brochure said "a film of slow-burning emotional force" and in future I shall give "slow-burning" movies the same wide berth I give to films described as "lyrical tone-poems". Also, the subtitles were the worst I've ever seen, with horrendous spelling mistakes all the way through. Well, all the way through all the bits I was awake for, anyway.

Day Six - "You know, they say even Hitler had friends..."

2007-08-19T20:42:00.001+01:00

Stardust

British fantasy adventure based on the novel by Neil Gaiman, about a young man (Charlie Cox) who sets out to capture a fallen star to impress the town beauty and discovers that the star is, in fact, a beautiful woman (Claire Danes).

For some reason the other galas have received much more of a trumpeting than "Stardust" (perhaps because the distributors are rumoured to have banned the cast from attending the festival), but this turned out to be an absolute delight from start to finish. Charlie Cox (who could have a big, Hugh Grant-style career ahead of him if his performance here is any guide) plays Tristan Thorn, who ventures through the Forbidden Wall in search of a fallen star, with which to win the hand of the town beauty (Sienna Miller). However, Tristan is unprepared for what he finds: the star is in fact a beautiful woman (Claire Danes) and, what's more, she's none too pleased with being handed over as a present. That's the least of her problems, however - she's also being pursued by an evil witch (Michelle Pfeiffer, enjoying herself enormously) who wants to eat her heart in order to stay young and beautiful, plus two rival princes (Mark Strong and Jason Flemyng) are on her trail because of a necklace that brought her down to earth. On top of all that, there's the small mystery of Tristan's mother to contend with. Considering the huge number of characters and sub-plots, director Matthew Vaughn (aka Mr Claudia Schiffer, who reputedly persuaded Vaughn to do the film after reading Neil Gaiman's novel while pregnant) and screenwriter Jane Goldman (aka Mrs Jonathan Ross) do a remarkable job of keeping each plot strand moving. The action / fantasy sequences are enjoyable (the spells fight is better than anything in the Harry Potter movies) and the cast are terrific, especially Robert DeNiro, who has a fabulous part as the Dreaded Pirate (by reputation, at least), Captain Shakespeare. Danes and Cox make a great screen couple - they have real chemistry together which, literally, lights up the screen. The film is also extremely funny - there are several hilarious lines and many wonderful sight gags (e.g. Michelle's witch aging a little more every time she uses magic; the various killed-off princes -including Julian Rhind-Tutt and Adam Buxton- tagging along as ghosts). Also, this is a film that finally understands that audiences want only two things from a Ricky Gervais cameo: 1) to see him shut up, and 2) to see him get killed. Happily, this delivers both. Four stars.

Crazy Love

Documentary about the relationship between Burt Pugach and Linda Riss, who eventually married, despite the fact that Pugach had served 14 years for hiring thugs to throw acid in Linda's face, after she rejected him.

There is only one possible reaction to a viewing of "Crazy Love", and that's: "Man, that is Fucked. Up." It's a remarkable documentary that tells an even more remarkable story. Linda Riss was a stunningly beautiful girl in the late 1950s, until her jilted ex-boyfriend Burt Pugach (pronounced "Poo-gash", pronunciation-fans) hired some thugs to throw lye in her face, permanently disfiguring her and leaving her with almost total blindness. (To add further colour to the story, Linda only split with Burth because she found out about his wife and child!) At any rate, that's just the beginning of the story. While in jail, Burt bombards Linda with love-letters. Then, after serving 14 years (during which he studied law and even got convictions overturned for his fellow inmates), Burt gets out of jail and goes on TV, proposing to Linda and asking her to forgive him. And she accepts. And they're still married. The documentary basically allows Burt and Linda to tell the stories in their own words, via interviews conducted both separately and together. There are also interviews with Burt's friends (one of whom seems like a particularly unsavoury piece of work), Linda's friends, Burt and Linda's biographer and Burt's ex-secretary, with whom he also had an affair. Like the tabloid sensation that the story was in its time (both in the 50s and then in the 70s when they got married), the story is lurid, compelling and utterly fascinating. It's also heart-breakingly sad - Linda looked like a cross between Gloria Grahame, Susan Hayward and Anne Bancroft in her youth and Burt robbed her of her sense of self. The director (Dan Klores) spices things up with a terrific soundtrack and several photographs, home movie extacts and period news reports etc. The really interesting thing is when you finally get to watch Burt and Linda as they are now: she seems extremely controlling (basically, she's a terrible nag) and as the footage we're watching hammers that home, Linda's voice on the soundtrack says, "Basically, I figured that was the best punishment..." Klores was there for a Q&A afterwards, at which he revealed that he thought both Burt and Linda were narcissists who thrived on publicity (something the film doesn't really make clear) and that the only question that Burt wouldn't answer was whether or not he'd had homosexual experiences in prison. Oh, and the photo is of the wildly inappropriate strawberry lollies given away at the screening. You've got to love Tartan. Four stars.

Teeth

American indie horror flick, about a girl who discovers that she has sharp teeth in her vagina...with predictably gory results.

This was a lot of fun, although the recording levels made the film difficult to hear at times. Jess Weixler plays clean-cut teenager Dawn, a leading light in her school's Promise-Keepers movement, regularly urging her fellow students not to have sex until they're married. However, when her new crush attempts to date rape her, Dawn discovers that she has sharp teeth in her vagina and she's driven to a spot of self-exploration and self-discovery. (No prizes for guessing what happens when she goes to the gynaecologist). Meanwhile, her ne'er-do-well half-brother Brad (John Hensley from "Nip/Tuck", playing an equally fucked-up character) is dealing with his own issues, following a traumatic 'I'll show you mine if you show me yours' incident with Dawn when they were young. "Teeth" reminded me a lot of "Ginger Snaps", because both are teen horror pics that use physical anomalies (werewolves / vaginal teeth) as metaphors for emerging womanhood / puberty etc, plus the leads in both films get gradually, almost imperceptibly hotter on a scene-by-scene basis until they're drop-dead gorgeous by the end. It's also very, very funny in places and much credit is due to the production's special effects team, particularly in regard to the...um...prosthetics. There are also nods to Cronenberg and various high school movies and if the audience reaction was anything to go by (alternate and sometimes simultaneous bouts of cheers -the girls-, winces -the boys-, laughs, shrieks and "Ewwww!"s), this should be a big word-of-mouth hit. Four stars.

Day Five - "We were trying to pop this cow for like half an hour..."

2007-08-19T13:27:00.000+01:00

LYNCH

Documentary, of sorts, in which the film-makers hang around with David Lynch while he prepares for INLAND EMPIRE.

Essential viewing for David Lynch fans, this would make an excellent extra for the "INLAND EMPIRE" DVD, even if it never actually tells you anything about Lynch's work. Basically, a couple of unnamed film-makers (the directors are credited, stupidly, as "blackANDwhite") follow David Lynch around with handheld, mostly black-and-white cameras, recording him during candid moments, rather than adopting a more direct interview-to-camera approach. They seem to have been granted fairly comprehensive access during the pre-production and shooting stages of "INLAND EMPIRE", so there are some intriguing shots of Lynch rehearsing with Laura Dern, for example. Other than that, we get a series of anecdotes, we watch Lynch record video messages for davidlynch.com members (you're almost sure to sign up after seeing this), we see him at work and we follow him around as he indulges in his hobby of photographing old factories (apparently he has taken over 1400 photos of Polish factories alone). The directors have a real eye for imagery too - there's a beautiful shot of Lynch where his white suit and grey hair are brightly lit but the rest of his face is in total darkness. However, as watchable as the film is, it is frustrating that we don't get more of a sense of what makes Lynch tick - at one point he all but admits that he makes his films up as he goes along, which seems annoyingly disingenuous. Worth seeing though, especially if you're a fan. Three stars.

W∆Z

Trashy thriller starring Stellan Skarsgard and Melissa George as two cops on the trail of a killer who carves a weird algebraic formula into each new victim.

The title is meant to be 'W Delta (∆) Zed' (or "Zee"), but everyone is calling it "WAZ", which is, of course, hugely amusing for all the wrong reasons. Stellan Skarsgard plays a grizzled cop in what is meant to be New York. His new partner is Detective Helen Westcott (Melissa George), who, frankly, doesn't seem cut out for this police work lark, given the fact that she can barely question a thug without her hand shaking. They're on the trail of a killer who carves part of a strange algebraic equation into the body of each new victim and as the corpses pile up, Skarsgard realises that the deaths might have something to do with a horrific gang rape case several years before. (If you pay attention to the credits you'll quickly work out who the killer is, though the film is nice enough to leave the cast list to the end). W∆Z is extremely trashy and it has its fair share of unforgiveable moments (a shot of the mutilated body of a cute child seems included just to inject a bit of shock value) but the climax has a certain balls-to-the-wall chutzpah about it, even if you can see the main twist coming a mile away. (An early shot should have been cut because it gives too much away). Skarsgard is good value as ever but Melissa George really is a Patsy Kensit for our times and is, as usual, horribly miscast. (It would be fine if her nervousness and unsuitability was incorporated into the plot but it isn't). There's also good support from Ashley Walters (as Skarsgard's informer) and an amusing cameo from Paul Kaye ("Fuck the monkey! The monkey's nothing!") as a creepy scientist. However, the film also features yet another terrible performance from Tom Hardy (see also "Cape Wrath" and "Scenes of a Sexual Nature"), who I've yet to see deliver his lines without mumbling incoherently. Also -and I think I speak for most right-thinking film-goers here- I've had just about enough of torture in movies recently. Having said that, director Tom Shankland is actually fairly coy about the torture scenes on display here (certainly compared with the recent likes of "Paradise Lost" and "Hostel Part II") and, ironically, the climax is weaker as a result. A bit of a mixed bag then, but worth seeing on balance, especially if you're a fan of trashy thrillers. Three stars.

I Served The King Of England

Wartime Czech drama, adapted from the acclaimed novel by Bohumil Hrabal and directed by Jiri Menzel.

Film of the day. After serving 14 years and 9 months of his 15 year sentence, Jan Dite (Oldrich Kaiser) gets out of jail and reflects on the events that led to his imprisonment. We then see flashbacks with Dite (now played by Ivan Barnev) working as a waiter in various hotels as he works towards his dream of becoming a millionaire. However, his life takes an unexpected turn when he falls in love with a Nazi (Julia Jentsch), causing him to turn a blind eye to the fate of his fellow Czechs. There are echoes here of films such as "Life is Beautiful" (clownish physical comedy; the Holocaust; the Nazi occupation) and "Black Book" (picaresque wartime adventures; frequent nudity; more Nazis) but the film has a certain Czech charm all its own. The segments with Dite as an older man are less successful, but the flashback scenes are wonderful and Barnev is a delightful physical comedian (there's a hint of Chaplin in the restaurant scenes). It's also very funny and surprisingly erotic in places (in a tasteful way, not a Paul Verhoeven-type way), thanks to Dite's frequently indulged habit of adorning beautiful naked ladies with whatever comes to hand (e.g. flowers, fruit, money etc). Casting the "Aryan breeding facility" sequence must have been fun too. Four stars.

Day Four - "I for one am certainly going to continue to raise a little hell."

2007-08-18T13:27:00.000+01:00

Sugarhouse

British thriller starring Steven Mackintosh as a man trying to buy a stolen gun from a crackhead (Ashley Walters).

This wasn't quite as bad as I'd feared but it wasn't particularly good either. It's directed by Gary Love and adapted by Dominic Leyton from his own play. Steven Mackintosh plays Tom (who for some reason turns out to actually be called Horatio), a middle-class businessman who is trying to buy an "item" from a twitchy crackhead named "D" (Ashley Walters). The item, naturally, turns out to be a gun but there's a slight problem. D has nicked the gun from local nutter Hoodwink (Andy Serkis) and he wants it back. Essentially the film is a non-stop mish-mash of secrets and lies, interspersed with violent beatings. There are a couple of twists, but neither of them are remotely surprising. Mackintosh is fine and you have to admire Walters' commitment - his crackhead make-up is very impressive - but Serkis' character is such a caricature of RAGE that he's never remotely scary and you just end up laughing at him. Given that the film revolves around a gun, it's not too much of a spoiler to say that the gun goes off at some point and that when it does, the accompanying effect is the best thing in the film. Watchable but nothing special. Two stars.

The New Man (Den Nya Manniskan

Swedish film about a young girl (Julia Hogberg) who is locked up in an institution to await enforced sterilisation by the state.

Film of the day, no contest. This is very much like Sweden's version of "The Magdalene Sisters", because as recently as 1976, young women who were either promiscuous or came from poor families or who were considered to be mentally or physically ill were taken from their families and put into institutions to await enforced sterilisation (via what the doctor refers to as "tubular occlusion") by the state. The film centres on a young girl named Gertrud (Julia Hogberg), who comes from a very large, very poor family and is taken away when she's just a teenager. (It wasn't too clear exactly when because a projectionist fuck-up meant that the second line of the subtitles wasn't visible for a full five minutes - seriously, what kind of retarded fucking projectionist doesn't ensure the subtitles are visible? I ask you.) Gertrud forms various relationships with the other girls at the school, including angry Jenny (Lo Kauppi), who agrees to stay in the institution because it's the only way to ever see her son; Astrid (Ellen Mattsson), who believes she has epilepsy; overweight, child-like Alba (Ann-Sofi Nurmi), who believes she's pregnant; and beautiful Lisa (Anna Littorin), who agrees to the operation because she dreams of promised job in a lawyer's house, without quite realising what that job might entail. In addition, Gertrud forms relationships with both the attractive young groundsman, Axel (Christoffer Svenson) and the kindly head nurse, Solbritt (Maria Lundqvist), whose character narrates the film. The performances are excellent (Hogberg looks a lot like someone I know, which was a bit weird), the characters are superbly drawn and the film is extremely moving in places. Like "The Magdalene Sisters" it'll also make you very angry indeed. Four stars.

Run, Granny, Run

Documentary about 94-year-old Doris "Granny D" Haddock, who ran for Senate opposite incumbent Republican candidate Judd Gregg in 2004.

Enjoyable documentary about the remarkable Doris "Granny D" Haddock, a 94-year-old woman who ran for Senate in New Hampshire in 2004. She'd previously garnered some media attention by walking across the country (aged 89) to raise awareness about the implications of special interest groups and corporations contributing to political campaigns. Then, in 2004, the Democratic candidate in New Hampshire unexpectedly dropped out of the race, creating a last-minute vacancy, so Granny D agreed to stand against the two-time incumbent Republican candidate Judd Gregg, despite having no money for a political campaign. The film basically follows her around the campaign trail as she -literally- walks around New Hampshire trying to raise money. Granny D herself comments on the film on occasions, which doesn't quite work as it comes across as a little disingenuous (e.g. "Oh no, how did I get myself into this?" etc) Better value are the interviews with her son, who tirelessly helps with her campaign and her equally patient campaign manager. (Their not-so-dedicated fundraising manager is fired about halfway through and you'll want to boo her). Granny D's story is compelling enough in itself but the film will also make you angry as hell at a) the sheer ignorance of the American voting public and b) the blatant hypocrisy of politicians - the Democrats in particular basically hang Granny D out to dry. There is, however, a wonderful sequence where she has to debate Judd Gregg on live television and the film is worth seeing for that alone. Hell, it's probably on YouTube. Three stars, but that's a high three rather than a low three.

A Casa de Alice (Alice's House)

Documentary-style Brazilian drama about the various secrets and lies that bubble to the surface in a middle-aged woman's family.

Engaging documentary-style film that moves slowly but gradually gets under your skin. Alice (Carla Ribas) is a middle-aged woman married to Lindomar. Alice works as a manicurist and they live in a house with their three teenaged sons and Alice's mother, who is slowly going blind. However, it's the grandmother who sees everything, such as explicit photographs of a young woman (one of Alice's friends) that fall out of the pockets of both the husband and one of the sons while she's doing the laundry and also one of the sons getting out of the car of an older man. Meanwhile, Alice discovers that the husband of one of her wealthy clients is actually her childhood sweetheart and as her marriage seems to be failing in the bedroom department, she contemplates an affair. Director Chico Teixeira comes from a documentary background and his fly-on-the-wall approach works beautifully, observing tiny details that really get to you (e.g. the grandmother, having just found out about the husband's affair, joins Alice on the balcony with a look in her eyes and...says nothing). The film is filled with great scenes and the Ribas is astonishing in the lead role. Terrific final shot too. Four stars.

Day Three - "And that's when I knew that there could be such a thing as Art in the cinema..."

2007-08-18T10:35:00.000+01:00

A Mighty Heart

Michael Winterbottom's procedural drama based on the kidnapping of journalist Daniel Pearl, starring Angelina Jolie.

Full disclosure: I was suffering a bit this morning, so perhaps it's fair to say that I wasn't really in the mood for this. As a result, I nearly nodded off a few times, to the point where I actually missed the final caption about Angelina's character at the end. Based on the kidnapping and (SPOILER for anyone who doesn't read newspapers) eventual beheading of political journalist Daniel Pearl (Dan Futterman), the film concentrates on the efforts of the US (represented by sinister character actor Will Patton, which doesn't bode well) and Pakistani authorities to track down those responsible for the kidnapping before it's too late. Angelina Jolie plays Daniel's pregnant wife, Mariane, herself a political journalist, who tries to keep a level head throughout the ordeal. Essentially the film is a procedural drama, shot in a hand-held documentary style - literally all we see of Daniel after his kidnapping is his image in the photos released by the kidnappers. Jolie's performance is superb and she embues Mariane with extraordinary reserves of strength and courage: the speech where she defends what Daniel was doing ("With the greatest respect, sir, that is exactly the business of a journalist") is pure Oscar-clip material. Unfortunately, the film just isn't that exciting, not least because of its horribly unhappy ending. In addition...and unfortunately there's no sensitive way of saying this but...well...you do feel kind of cheated for not getting to see "the video". Basically, I wanted to see Dan Futterman's head come off. There, I said it. Also, the title is never explained (presumably it applies to Mariane) and that kind of thing always annoys me. Three stars.

Coming soon...

The Witnesses (Les Temoins)

French drama starring Emmanuelle Beart, about a young male hustler in 1984, whose various romantic liaisons are complicated when he contracts a new mystery virus.

Directed by Andrew Techine, this is an enjoyable, oddly old-fashioned French drama, from its blocky, bright red opening credits to its 1980s setting and subject matter. Emmanuelle Beart (still sporting a little too much of a Trout Pout for my liking) plays a struggling author who's just had her first child and is having difficulties adjusting. (At one point a friend discovers the baby crying downstairs while she wrestles with writer's block with ear-muffs on upstairs). Her husband, Mehdi (Sami Bouajila) is a no-nonsense cop, intent on cleaning up the red-light districts. Meanwhile, Sarah’s friend Adrien (Michel Blanc) falls for cocky young hustler Manu (Johan Liberau), a young man he met while cruising in a park. However, when Adrien takes Manu to Sarah’s beach house for the weekend, Manu falls for Mehdi and the two begin an affair. The first half of the film is extremely strong – the performances are good, the characters are well drawn and the story is interesting. However, once Manu contracts “the virus”, it becomes a little anti-climactic. You think that either Mehdi or Sarah are going to get AIDS as well but for some reason the film cops out of that decision and gives them both the all-clear. There’s also no dramatic revelation with the affair itself, as Sarah doesn’t seem remotely shocked that Mehdi swings both ways. In fact it’s Adrien who feels betrayed and he wasn’t even sleeping with Manu. Still, rather this than disease-of-the-week style Hollywood melodramatics and any film where Emmanuelle Beart repeatedly takes her clothes off can’t be all bad. Three stars.

XXY

Argentinian drama about a teenage hermaphrodite who's being pressured to decide whether she wants to live as a woman or a man.

This was easily the best film of the day. It also won the Critics Week Grand Prize at Cannes, fact-fans. Ines Efron stars as Alex, a 15-year-old hermaphrodite whose parents (including Ricardo Darin from “Nine Queens”) have dealt with her condition by exiling the family to a remote island. However, now that Alex is approaching adulthood she’s being pressured to decide whether she wants to live as a man or a woman. To that end, her mother invites some friends from Argentina to stay with them, one of whom just happens to be a surgeon who specialises in gender reassignment surgery. They also bring their teenage son Alvaro (Germain Palacios), who doesn’t know anything about Alex’s condition but soon finds out the hard way. So to speak. Impressively directed by Lucia Puenzo, “XXY” is beautifully shot and features a stunning central performance from Efron. Darin is superb too, as is Palacios, who has an amusing line in gormless charm. There are several excellent scenes, including a couple of surprises and a number of real heart-breakers towards the end. There’s also a weird fish imagery thing going on (Darin’s character is actually named “Kraken”) which I didn’t really understand. Also, this must be the day for feeling slightly cheated, but it’s a shame the production didn’t spring for a prosthetic effect (if you see what I mean and I think you do), particularly as it plays such an important part in the film. Four stars.

The Waiting Room

British romantic comedy about two characters whose lives are transformed by a chance meeting.

This enjoyable, low-key British romcom opens with a couple, Anna (Anne-Marie Duff) and George (Rupert Graves) hurrying home with their two kids, sticking the telly on and then rushing upstairs to have sex. All very well, except you then find out that they’re actually having an affair and that George is married to Jemma (the lovely Zoe Telford) and lives next door (one of the kids is his, Anna’s a single parent). Meanwhile, care worker Steven (Ralf Little – or rather Ralf Not-So-Little as his all-too-frequent nude scenes kept insisting) is having doubts about his own long-term relationship and when he briefly meets Anna at Wandsworth Station, neither of them can get the other out of their minds. This is a nicely acted, very sweet little British romcom, even if you’re in no doubt whatsoever as to how it’s going to end. That said, it really must be Day Of The Cop-outs today, because even this film denies you the Affair Revelation scene. It’s also slightly inconsistent in that Jemma is repeatedly horrible to George and yet suddenly she’s the one upset about their relationship. It’s also hard to reconcile the happiness of the opening scene, given the enormity of the affair they’re embarking on and especially given Jemma’s subsequent relationship with Anna. Still, it’s very sweet and very watchable and there’s strong support from Frank Finley (as a patient who brings Anna and Stephen together) and from Phyllida Law, who breathes new life into the elderly-dying-patient-with-words-of-wisdom cliché. Nice use of Wandsworth, too. Three stars.

John Waters: This Filthy World

Filmed version of John Waters' solo show, in which "the Pope of Trash" discusses his life, his films and whatever else comes to mind.

Directed by Jeff Garlin (of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” fame), whose direction basically consists of pointing the camera at John Waters while he’s on stage and occasionally cutting to an uncomfortable-looking college audience. This is basically Waters’ own solo show and he’s frequently hilarious, whether delivering a brilliantly obscene punchline to a routine about Michael Jackson (I would have made that today’s quote but I didn’t write it down), discussing deviant sexual practices (trust me, you don’t want to know what “blossoming” is), talking about his film career (his favourite of his own films is, surprisingly, “Female Trouble”) or ruminating on Hollywood (e.g. wondering why Charlize Theron never thanked Aileen Wuornos in her Oscar acceptance speech). There’s not that much else to say about this, really, other than that the show is thoroughly enjoyable and I laughed out loud several times. Four stars.

John Waters Q & A

Unfortunately, the promised 45 minute Q & A was something of a disappointment, owing to a rather rowdy audience (they actually started whistling at one point) and some fairly dull questions, though at least we didn’t get the usual “How do you find funding for your movies?” question. Waters wrapped the Q & A up himself, so I suspect he wasn’t really enjoying it and the tedious pink-haired fuckwit who wouldn’t shut up certainly didn’t help matters. The best part was when he talked about his friendship with and respect for Andy Warhol and speculated on what Warhol would be doing if he were alive today.

Rubbish pictures:

Day Two - "I'm taking the routine and injecting industrial quantities of shazoom".

2007-08-15T13:05:00.001+01:00

Joshua

Mainstream thriller about a young boy in New York who turns out to be EVIL! Or is he?

This is a little bit like a lame 21st Century version of "The Omen", only it's not nearly scary enough. Sam Rockwell and Vera Farmiga (two of my favourite actors, both of whom deserve better than this) play Brad and Abby, two wealthy New York parents who have just had their second child. Unfortunately, this doesn't sit too well with their first child, 10-year-old Joshua (Jacob Kogan, pictured) and soon the percentage of household accidents is on the increase. Will Brad realise what Joshua's up to before it's too late? The Omen references come thick and fast - at one point Joshua is even dressed in Damien's high white-collared shirt ensemble. There are a couple of suspenseful scenes and the acting is pretty decent too. Kogan is extremely creepy (where on earth did they find him?) and Michael McKean is on hand to provide a tiny bit of light relief as Brad's unsympathetic boss ("You idiot! Never beat up your kid in a crowded park on the weekend!") Unfortunately, though it's well made and well acted, director George Ratliff doesn't always get the tone right and sometimes it's hard not to burst out laughing. Unintentionally amusing highlights include: a dopey Abby cutting her feet on glass and smearing the blood on her leg while telling Joshua about a lovely pair of sexy red boots she used to own; Brad blatantly ignoring the warning signs like dead guinea pigs and stuffed toys being slashed open to perform Egytpian rituals; Grandma having a bit of an accident with some stairs; and the final twist, which is both hilarious and borderline offensive and if you don't want to know what it is then LOOK AWAY NOW. Still here? Okay then. Basically, it turns out that Joshua effectively gets rid of both of his parents because he wants to spend more time with his Gay Uncle Ned (played by Dallas Roberts), the suggestion being that musically gifted, sensitive Joshua may have tendencies in that direction himself. It starts well but it isn't nearly scary enough. If you want a movie about EVIL children, rent the little-seen (at least over here - it's well-known in the States) "The Bad Seed" instead. Two stars.

Razzle Dazzle: A Journey Into Dance

Australian mockumentary starring Ben Miller and Jane Hall as the heads of two rival dance troupes who go head-to-head in the annual Sanosafe Troupe Spectacular.

The words "Australian", "mockumentary", "dance troupe" and "Ben Miller" should tell you everything you need to know about "Razzle Dazzle" and I mean that in a good way. Miller plays Mr Jonathan, leader of the Jazzketeers dance troupe, whose controversial, politically motivated dance routines (e.g. the Kyoto Protocol Shuffle) have often stood in the way of his success at dance competitions, especially now that there's competition from the rigidly traditional school run by Miss Elizabeth (Jane Hall). As the annual Sanosafe Troupe Spectacular approaches, Mr Jonathan is counting on his routine about oppressed Afghanistan women to win the day, but will it be enough to swing the judges? The film also focuses on the relationship between pushy mother extraordinaire (Tara Morice) and her daughter Tenille (Shayni Notelovitz), as well as Barbara (Denise Roberts), a foster mother who keeps returning her charges when it turns out that they lack dancing talent. As mockumentaries go, "Razzle Dazzle" is pretty funny but there's nothing here you haven't seen before. The characters are well written, the performances are great and there are some extremely funny lines ("She's got a lot in store - she's an Ikea of talent"), but it doesn't do anything you're not expecting. Three stars.

Control

Anton Corbijn's biopic about Ian Curtis, starring newcomer Sam Riley and Samantha Morton.

Acclaimed photographer Anton Corbijn's feature debut is a terrific biopic of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis (Sam Riley), who committed suicide at the age of 23 in 1980. Shot in gorgeous black and white, the film often recalls the kitchen sink dramas of the 1960s. Riley is sensational as Curtis, beautifully capturing his electric stage presence but also his agonising private conflicts, such as his struggles with epilepsy and his love for two women: his wife, Debbie (Samantha Morton), who he married at a very young age, and Belgian strumpet-slash-groupie Annik Honore (Alexandra Maria Lara), who became his sort of on-tour mistress. The script, based on Debbie's book, is superb, particularly in the smaller details, such as Curtis' day job at the Labour Exchange, where he tries to help people with disabilities find work ("I. DON'T. LIKE. HOTDOGS!") There's also terrific, colourful support from Tony Kebbell as wisecracking manager Rob Gretton ("Where's your money? It's in my fuck off pocket") and Craig Parkinson as Tony Wilson, who does well to step out of the shadow of Steve Coogan's earlier performance. It goes without saying that the soundtrack's brilliant too. It also made me want to rewatch "24 Hour Party People" (with which this would make a great double-bill) as soon as possible. Five stars and yet another instant entry into my Best of the Fest list.

Opening Night Party

The opening night party this year was in conjunction with Hallam Foe (review to follow at some point), which meant it was decorated with David Shrigley artwork (pictured right) and there were lots of topless barmen with stag head-dresses wandering around. It also meant that Franz Ferdinand (who contribute to the film's excellent soundtrack) played a four-song accoustic set. I videoed one of the songs and hopefully will be able to embed it below. Fingers crossed. Apparently John Waters was there, but I didn't see him, unfortunately. I did see Dylan Moran, Tilda Swinton (looking spectacular in a silver jackety thing) and Ewan Bremner but I didn't speak to them. I briefly spoke to Jamie Bell (pictured) and Jamie Sives (who I've interviewed before) but the highlight of the party, for me, was a) the little pots of lamb stew, b) the chocolate mousse desserts and c) the fact that Guinness was one of the sponsors. I've spent the last seven years begging anyone who would listen for them to make Guinness one of the sponsors so, clearly, someone finally listened. Result. Paying for it now, mind.

Franz Ferdinand playing at the Festival launch party

Day One – “What the hell are we all doing? Why are none of us setting ourselves on fire?”

2007-08-15T11:01:00.000+01:00

The Hottest State

Ethan Hawke’s second feature as a director, based on his own novel about a New York-based slacker (Mark Webber) getting his heart broken.

I didn’t mind this at all at the time, but then I saw "In Search of a Midnight Kiss" (see below) straight afterwards and it blew this out of the water. Mark Webber plays William, a Texas-born slacker trying to make it as an actor in New York. When he meets aspiring singer Sara (Catalina Sandeno Moreno) in a bar, he thinks he’s found the girl of his dreams but he’s destined for heartbreak. The main thing I learned from The Hottest State is that Ethan Hawke must be a very neurotic chap indeed, given to over-analysing every tiny aspect of a past relationship failure in a haze of nostalgia-induced misery. And who amongst us hasn’t done that? Webber’s actually pretty good, even if you occasionally want to slap him. Moreno is good too, but she suddenly becomes an utter bitch for no reason and we never find out why. This is, admittedly, sort of the point, but it’s still frustrating and it turns you against her character, which doesn’t feel right. There’s also good support from Michelle Williams (as one of William’s ex-girlfriends who still likes him) and especially from both Laura Linney (as his no-nonsense mother) and Hawke himself as William’s Texas-based father, whose absence from William’s life may go some way to explaining his issues. To be fair, there are some good scenes. I liked the brief, well-edited “time passing” montage, illustrated by changing movie marquees (Splendour in the Grass, The Last Picture Show and Paris, Texas, which tells you pretty much everything). Other highlights include: Sara singing (the film could have used more of this), prompting William to proudly exclaim, “That’s my jacket!”; an excruciating scene that perfectly captures the agony of multiple unanswered phonecalls (when you just know they’re listening but not picking up); and the understated porch scene where William finally meets up with his father (“Seeing you here today says a hell of a lot about you”). There are some great lines of dialogue too. Having said that, the film has more than its fair share of angsty and pretentious moments and it’s not quite as profound as it thinks it is. Oh, and if anyone does end up seeing it, could they please explain the first sex scene to me? Did they have sex then or not? The dialogue was muffled but he later tells his friend they didn’t have sex (it becomes kind of a plot point later on) and it sure looked like they were having sex to me. Basically, the sweetest part of the whole film is when he thanks Dead Poets co-stars Robert Sean Leonard and Josh Charles in the closing credits. Three stars, but that’s being generous.

In Search of a Midnight Kiss

Indie relationship drama about an L.A.-based slacker (Scoot McNairy) who places an online personal ad on New Year’s Eve.

This was absolutely wonderful and if I see another film even half as good as this I’ll be very happy indeed. As it is, this has shot straight into my Best of the Festival list. Shot entirely in crisp black and white, the film opens on the morning of New Year’s Eve, with lonely, L.A.-based slacker Wilson (the delightfully named Scoot McNairy, who looks a little like Casey Affleck) photo-shopping his roommate’s girlfriend and then getting caught while…er…using the picture. Luckily his roommate Jacob (Brian McGuire) and his girlfriend Min (Katy Luong) see the funny side and persuade Wilson to place an online personal ad. Wilson’s still depressed about breaking up with his ex-girlfriend in order to come out to L.A. so he decides to give it a go and places an ad which reads “Misanthrope seeks Misanthrope”. He winds up on a date with Vivian (Sara Simmonds), a beautiful, bossy and decidedly full of herself wannabe actress, who warns him that if he doesn’t come up to scratch she’ll call someone else at 6 o’clock because there’s no way she’s spending New Year’s Eve with some loser. The rest of the film basically follows them on an extended ramble around Los Angeles as they bicker, flirt and get to know each other. The two leads are wonderful and it just goes to show you that all you really need for a romcom are two talented, likeable actors and a great script. It’s hard to convey just why this is so great, but what I liked about it was the entirely believable evolution of their relationship, particularly the way in which Vivian gradually lets her guard down. (Wilson himself is also a lot sweeter than the opening scene suggests). The film is packed with lovely little scenes, several great lines and a genuinely heart-breaking moment towards the end that comes out of nowehere (answering machines play a part here too). On top of everything else, it’s very funny, the supporting cast are great, the black and white photography looks gorgeous and it’s a real novelty to see a film set in L.A that involves so much walking (although, admittedly, they do take the subway a couple of times). As an aside, I had an argument afterwards about whether or not In Search of a Midnight Kiss could be said to belong to the emerging “mumblecore” movement. I argued that it could and I invite Mumblecore Experts to persuade me otherwise. Five stars and the first genuinely unmissable film of the festival so far.

Extra bit

So, only two films today. It would have been three, but a last-minute rescheduling meant that In Search of a Midnight Kiss clashed with the third film I’d lined up (Solitary Fragments). It turned out for the best because, unusually for me, I really didn’t want to see anything else after In Search of a Midnight Kiss, because it was so good and I wanted to let it sink in.

Festival films I’ve already seen in London

I’m planning to review as many of these as possible as and when their screenings come up.

Hallam Foe (opening night film)
Ratatouille
And When Did You Last See Your Father?
Sparkle
The Legacy
Once
The Serpent
Breach
Death Proof
Knocked Up
Year of the Dog
Rocket Science
Two Days In Paris (closing night film)

Edinburgh Film Festival 2007

2007-08-13T12:27:00.000+01:00

Well, I made it up in one piece, despite not getting any sleep at all the night before. I even managed to reunite with my quiz team (well, a quiz team who have adopted me) from last year and defend our title at the FilmHouse Film Quiz. We were handicapped with a minus six point start and we still won by six points. So that was nice.

Unusually, there are no press screenings today, so I'm going to spend the day going through the programme and sorting out a screening schedule. (I usually do that on the train up but a) I didn't have a table seat and b) I was too tired). However, I've already seen a large number of the gala screenings this year (including Hallam Foe, Death Proof, Two Days In Paris, Once, The Year of the Dog and so on - full list to follow after programme scrutiny) so instead of doing my usual thing of ignoring them, I'm going to review them as if I'd seen them here, if you see what I mean. I imagine this will play merry hell with my annual numbers game, so I think that's going to take a back seat this year. My only real goal is to see enough films so that I've seen one for every day of the year so far and I'm currently 50 or so behind. I won't keep that tally here though as it was too confusing in 2005 (see below).

Goals for this year? Only one: to meet and hopefully interview John Waters...

Some notes about last year

2007-08-13T12:11:00.000+01:00

It wouldn't be fair to just leave last year unfinished without a few notes, so here are a few things about last year's EIFF.

I ended up seeing 60 films in 10 days, which seemed appropriate as it was the 60th festival. I had the option to see a couple more but stopped at 60 because of the 60 years / 60 films thing.

The top ten films I saw at the Festival last year were:

1) Jindabyne
2) Air Guitar Nation
3) Sherrybaby
4) Twelve and Holding (which got a blink-and-you'll-miss-it release)
5) The Aura (still unreleased)
6) One Fine Day (still unreleased)
7) The Ring Finger (still unreleased)
8) Neo Ned (still unreleased)
9) Summer '04 (still unreleased)
10) The Right of the Weakest (still unreleased)

Special mentions to: The Host, London to Brighton, Brothers of the Head, The Treatment, loudQUIETloud (which went straight to DVD), Stephanie Daley, The Lost and Art School Confidential.

Highlight of the festival: Meeting J.K. Rowling at the "Driving Lessons" tea party and chatting for about 20 minutes. At the same party I also chatted to John Hurt and Harry Shearer, Rupert Grint set his t-shirt on fire (by accident) and Julie Walters hugged me by mistake. So that was fun.

Party of the festival: The two "Aireoke" (like Karaoke but with Air Guitar) parties for Air Guitar Nation. The first one was good but the second one was even better. If I ever go to an Aireoke Party again I am definitely doing "Duelling Banjos".

Another Apology

2007-08-10T23:54:00.000+01:00

Talk about an Ode to Procrastination. I’ve put off finishing off last year’s Edinburgh Blog for an entire year now and here we are at Edinburgh time again. Shocking. I am, literally, crimson with shame. Still, onwards and upwards. I hereby solemnly swear to complete this year’s blog if it kills me.

Okay, so I reposted the apology from last year. But THIS year is going to be different, oh yes. Just wait and see.

"Hmmm. When the bloody hell is he going to get around to finishing last year's blog?"

2007-06-11T11:47:00.000+01:00

Day Seven - "Wait...you're all wearing wigs, aren't you?"

2006-08-27T11:09:00.000+01:00

Films seen today: 4
Films seen so far this festival: 33
Films seen so far this year: 224

Dead Man's Cards

British film about an ex-boxer who becomes a bouncer at a seedy nightclub.

Quite possibly the worst film of the festival. A badly acted, badly written, badly shot and badly edited mess. It reminded me a bit of Guy Ritchie's appalling Revolver (officially the worst film of the year) in that there seemed to be something "important" going on that you were supposed to pick up on (e.g. minor characters 'shooting' the lead with plastic guns or fingers, or people telling him "You're dead!"). However, the script is so painfully inept that you're none the wiser as to what it all means (if anything) by the end. James McMartin (who looks a bit like Joey "The Lips" Fagin, from The Commitments plays Tom, an ex-boxer whose dodgy eye injury has forced him into retirement. He's married to Samantha Janus but he doesn't seem all that happy about it and she's barely in the movie anyway. Then a chance encounter with the bloke from The Full Monty (Paul Barber, playing, er, Paul) leads to a job as a nightclub bouncer and from then on the plot is all about pissing off the local crims to the point where they want revenge with "shooters". Frankly, I lost interest long before the end, largely thanks to McMartin's abysmal performance - I can only assume he once saved the producer from drowning or something. Barber's usually pretty good in support, but he's given too much to do here and he ends up giving a weirdly monotonous performance. Tom Bell fares mildly better as nightclub-owner "Billy the Kid", but the guy playing the lead crim ("Chongi") isn't remotely scary and is guilty of some seriously bad Grange Hill-style acting. There are plenty of other reasons to dislike this film (Tom's "I can't work here anymore" scene comes from nowhere; characters are frequently just forgotten about etc) but I'm tired of talking about it. I pity anyone who went to see this based on the programme’s promise of “a poetic melancholy that recalls early Wong Kar-wai”. One star.

Mutual Appreciation

Low-budget American indie movie about a musician bumming around Brooklyn and developing an attraction for his best friend's girlfriend.

Admittedly, Dead Man's Cards had put me in a foul mood by this point, so perhaps I wasn't quite in the right frame of mind to enjoy this. Written and directed by Andrew Bujalski, it stars Jason Rice as Alan Peoples, a Boston musician who comes to Brooklyn after the acrimonious break-up of his band and spends his days bumming around Brooklyn and crashing out with his friend Lawrence (Bujalski) and Lawrence's girlfriend Ellie (Rachel Clift). Bujalski's influences are writ large for all to see - his characters spend the whole film talking and not actually doing much, cf Jim Jarmusch, John Cassavetes, Whit Stillman, Eric Rohmer, etc. This would have been fine if a) the characters had been likeable instead of incredibly annoying and b) if the film had been 80 minutes long instead of almost two hours. Instead by the 100 minute mark I was stifling shouts of "Just SHUT UP! You are saying NOTHING!" There were, admittedly, a couple of good scenes (Bujalski taking the director's role that little bit further by exposing his arse so Alan and Ellie can decide whether Lawrence has ass-cancer; Alan being bullied into dressing up as a girl; Alan's brief relationship with Seung-min Lee's cute radio DJ) but these scenes are few and far between. Two stars.

Stephanie Daley

Drama starring Tilda Swinton as a forensic psychologist investigating the case of a 16-year-old girl charged with murdering her newborn baby.

This is an intriguing, thought-provoking and ultimately devastating drama with superb performances by both Tilda Swinton and Amber Tamblyn (from The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants). Swinton plays forensic psychologist Liddy Crane, who is in the midst of recovering from her own recent stillbirth when she’s asked to investigate the headline-grabbing case of “Ski Mom” Stephanie Daley (Tamblyn), a 16-year-old girl who gave birth while on a ski-ing trip and was subsequently accused of murdering her newborn child. As Crane gradually gets Stephanie to open up, she uncovers several disturbing details, such as the fact that she was coerced into sex by an older boy at a party (the film stops short of crying rape by deliberately obscuring the issue of consent, but it’s an uncomfortable scene to watch). Ultimately the case hinges on whether Stephanie knew she was pregnant and whether she was conscious of her actions at the time of the birth. The film is directed by Hilary Brougher, who has a real eye for visual detail – the scene of Stephanie’s blood-soaked footsteps through the snow makes an extremely effective opening sequence and there are several other arresting shots, such as an unusual close-up of a frog in the grass. There are a number of terrific scenes – highlights include a game of Murderball, Stephanie’s exchanges with her best friend Rana (X X, who was wonderful in The Squid and the Whale) and a horrific sequence that plays in total silence, with Stephanie giving birth in a toilet. The performances are superb – Tamblyn, in particular, is something of a revelation, while there’s strong support from Timothy Hutton (as Liddy’s husband), X (please cast her in more films, casting directors), and X X as Satin, a fat girl who used to be Stephanie’s best friend. It also has a chilling final line, which I’d be tempted to include, except for the fact that it gives too much away. Four stars.

Iceberg

Steven Soderbergh Reel Talk

Meme-spotting

Someone gets hit with a boom in both Iceberg and Summer of ’04.

Coming soon

Day Eight - Hotel Haribati, loudQUIETloud: A film about the Pixies, Air Guitar Nation, Wide Awake, Walking to Werner, The Oh in Ohio.

Day Nine - Next Door, Snowcake, Who Needs Sleep?, This Film Is Not Yet Rated, The Treatment.

Day Ten - The Page Turner, The Killing of John Lennon, Sheitan.

Day Eleven - The Ring Finger, The Prodigy, Brian DePalma Reel Talk, The Uncertain Guest.

Day Twelve - Brothers of the Head, Lives of the Saints, Black Brush, Cargo, Surprise Film: Keane, Air Guitair Nation Aireoke Party (complete with pictures).

Day Thirteen - An Inconvenient Truth, 3 Degrees Colder, The Aura.

Day Fourteen - Driving Lessons "Tea Party", Life and Lyrics, Shut Up And Shoot Me.

Day Six - "The dog has spoken."

2006-08-23T01:16:00.000+01:00

Films seen today: 4
Films seen so far this festival: 29
Films seen so far this year: 220

The Lost

Independent American drama about a small-town psychopath, based on the cult novel by Jack Ketchum.

This is very good but the sickening violence at the end has probably killed its chances of getting a decent release. Shame, because until the climax, it’s an enjoyably pulpy study of a small-town psychopath. I haven’t read the Jack Ketchum novel on which it’s based, but I’m certainly going to try and track it down. (A credit at the end reads: “If you liked the movie, read the book. If you didn’t like the movie, read the book.”) It’s set in a small town in the American Midwest and stars Marc Senter (sure to be a household name among film fans by this time next year) as Ray Pye, a charming, eye-liner-wearing sociopath who could have stepped out of a 1950s biker movie. The film opens as he commits a brutal murder and then we flash forward four years and discover that Ray’s still walking around because the police couldn’t make the case stick, despite him being the only suspect. Ray continues to deal drugs and have sex with a string of teenage girls, but cracks are beginning to appear: an ex-cop’s girlfriend, Sally (Megan Henning) has gone undercover at his mum’s motel to spy on him, while his erstwhile girlfriend Jen (Shay Astar, who looks a lot like Aisleyne from Big Brother 7) and his best friend Tim (Alex Frost), who both witnessed the murder, are close to breaking point. On top of that, he meets Katherine (Robin Sydney), a beautiful woman from a rich background and finds himself falling in love with her. But is she just after a walk on the wild side or does she have something else in mind? There are some unusual character touches in the film, such as the relationship between Sally and her 60-year-old cop boyfriend, Ed (character actor Ed Lauter, who really ought to make more movies) and Ray’s bizarre walking style, which a caption at the beginning informs us is the result of Ray putting beercans in his boots to make himself look taller. Director Chris Sivertson displays a definite sense of style and uses some effective techniques, such as a speeded-up sequence of Ray angrily trashing a hotel room. There’s a subtle Twin Peaks vibe to the small town sequences that works well. The performances are all good (particularly Megan Henning) but the film really belongs to Senter, who thoroughly inhabits the role and even manages to elicit glimmers of sympathy before the horrific, blood-soaked climax (think Sharon Tate) completely obliterates that. Not for the weak of stomach but definitely worth seeing. Four stars.

Snakes On A Plane

FBI Agent Samuel L Jackson fights a bunch of snakes. On a plane.

Not strictly an Edinburgh Film Festival film, admittedly, but the fact that there were no press screenings for this at all meant that I had to see it at the first available public screening. And it was fantastic . Has any film ever delivered so completely on its premise as Snakes On A Plane? I don’t think so. After about 30 minutes of character build-up (during which you can have fun trying to guess who’s going to get “snaked” first), a crate-load of deadly poisonous serpents are released on a plane (in order to ensure that FBI Agent Samuel L Jackson’s key murder witness doesn’t make it to trial, since you asked) and all hell slithers loose. The film’s directed by David R. Ellis, who knows a thing or two about enjoyably trashy thrillers, having directed both Cellular and Final Destination 2. Sure enough, though many of the snake-related deaths are played for laughs (a couple getting snaked while joining the Mile High Club; a man acquiring an unwanted trouser snake during a bathroom visit; a snake emerging from the cleavage of an overweight woman), the film never descends into farce, despite its clearly ridiculous premise. Jackson is terrific, barking out a series of hilarious lines (“Sporks?” and, in one glorious sequence, zapping snakes with a tazer gun. Julianna Margulies (hot off a great guest spot on The Sopranos provides the “sky candy” as resourceful flight attendant Claire, while there’s amusing support from Rachel Blanchard (as a thinly-veiled Paris Hilton clone), Kenan Thompson (who gets all the best lines that aren’t allocated to Jackson, as a rap star’s reluctant minder), and David Koechner as the chauvinistic co-pilot. Basically, you could make a list of everything you wanted to see in a movie called Snakes On A Plane and by the end of the film you’d have everything ticked off. Put simply, it’s the most fun I’ve had in a mainstream Hollywood film this year. Five (yes, five) stars.

Wristcutters – A Love Story

Offbeat indie love story set in an after-life for suicides, starring Patrick Fugit and Shannyn Sossamon

Normally I can’t stand Shannyn Sossamon, so I was expecting to have reservations about this, but I have to admit, this is the first film I’ve liked her in. Patrick Fugit (from Almost Famous) plays Zia, a heartbroken twenty-something who kills himself after he’s dumped by his girlfriend Desiree (Leslie Bibb, still not quite a big star, though she’s getting there). However, Zia winds up in a purgatory populated exclusively by other suicides and where everything is more or less the same as in the real world, “just a little worse”. Zia meets a host of eccentric characters, each of whom are introduced with a short, frequently blackly comic flashback showing how they “offed”. When he discovers that Desiree also committed suicide he hooks up with Russian misfit Eugene (Shea Whigham) and moody Gothic hitchhiker Mikal (Shannyn Sossamon) and they embark on a road trip, in a car that just happens to have a black hole under the front seat. The script is quirky, inventive and frequently funny – the bickering relationship between Eugene and Zia is a definite highlight (“I am not sitting in back. Everyone knows that man in back does not have cock.”) There are also superb cameos from Tom Waits (as the mysterious Kneller) and from Arrested Development’s Will Arnett as a kind of afterlife cult leader. This doesn’t have distribution as yet, but fingers crossed that someone picks it up, as it deserves a decent release. Four stars.

Summer ‘04

German thriller starring Martina Gedeck as a 40-year-old German woman whose idyllic family life is thrown into disarray by the actions of her son’s 12-year-old girlfriend.

I saw Martina Gedeck in Atomised recently but I hadn’t twigged that she was the actress from Mostly Martha until I read the programme notes for this. She stars as Miriam, a 40-year-old German woman holidaying in her summer house by the sea, together with her husband Andre (Peter Davor) and her 15-year-old son Nils. However, her idyllic family life is shattered by the arrival of Nils’ precocious 12-year-old girlfriend Livia (Svea Lohde) and the two engage in a sexual tug-of-war for the affections of Bill (Robert Seeliger), a handsome middle-aged man that Livia picks up during an afternoon of sailing. Director Stefan Krohmer maintains a superbly tense atmosphere throughout and you’re never quite sure what’s going on in the character’s minds and how much they’re lying to everyone. The performances are superb, particularly Gedeck, who deserves to be as well known over here as, say, Emmanuelle Beart. There are a couple of quietly shocking scenes and the film builds to a powerful climax. One of the films of the festival. Four stars.

Day Five – “Can you imagine how big Jesus would have been if only he’d played the guitar?”

2006-08-21T11:10:00.000+01:00

Films seen today: 5
Films seen so far: 25
Films seen so far this year: 216

Change of Address

French drama about a French horn teacher with crushes on both his kooky female flatmate and one of his students.

A friend of mine summed this up perfectly on the Guardian Film talkboards: “What happens if Ross from Friends moves in with Phoebe and none of the others are around?” Writer-director Emmanuel Mouret (who has an amusing hangdog expression and looks a lot like Sean Hughes) stars as David, a French French horn teacher looking for a room to rent. After meeting ditzy blonde Anne (Fanny Valette) he’s soon sharing both her apartment and her bed, despite her professed attraction to someone else. (The scene where they sleep together while both fantasising (out loud) about the people they fancy is extremely well done and very funny). Evidently David’s not much of a one for boundaries because apart from fancying his flatmate he also falls in love with Julia (Audrey Tautou-alike Ariane Ascaride) one of his music students. After a shaky start, things seem to be going well with Julia…until they meet smooth-talking restauranteur Julien (Frederique Bel) when he stops a bag-snatcher from stealing her bag. This is a beautifully written, achingly funny film that will strike a chord with anyone who’s ever had their dream girl stolen from right under their nose. There are some lovely scenes, particularly the montage of Anne and David playing Monopoly, having sex and just hanging out. The performances are lovely too – Valette basically is Phoebe from Friends, though she looks a lot like Hope Davis. Frederique Bel is extremely good as Julien – it would have been very easy to make that character objectionable and it’s to Mouret’s credit that he never goes down that route. As a result the film perfectly strikes balance between heart-breaking and funny. Four stars.

Colour Me Kubrick

British drama based on a true story, starring John Malkovich as a conman who impersonated Stanley Kubrick.

Subtitled “A true…ish story”, this is an engaging, frequently funny comedy-drama with a superb performance by John Malkovich. He plays homosexual con-man Alan Conway, who spent a large part of the 1990s impersonating legendary reclusive director Stanley Kubrick, even though he appears not to have actually watched Kubrick’s films or learned his filmography. The film isn’t especially deep – we never, for example, really get to know Conway or understand just why he did what he did – but it’s no less enjoyable for that. There are some wonderful touches throughout, such as the film being scored with classical tracks from Kubrick’s films. This is frequently used to amusing effect, such as Thus Spake Zarathustra playing over a scene of Conway going to the laundrette, or a telephone ringing in time with The Blue Danube. Malkovich is clearly having a lot of fun, using a variety of weird accents and getting thoroughly carried away with the whole thing (“Little Tommy Cruise would like a part…”). There are also a series of increasingly bizarre celebrity cameos scattered throughout (e.g. Leslie Phillips, Honor Blackman, Richard E Grant, Peter Bowles, the woman who played Nurse Gladys Emmanuelle on Open All Hours, etc), culminating in the frankly astonishing sight of Jim Davidson playing a Dick Emery-type entertainer and singing “Hello…is it me you’re looking for?”. (I’m a confirmed Davidson hater, but it has to be said, he’s very, very good in this). The only time the film loses its way is during the asylum sequence (“I’m Stanley Kubrick!” “No, I’M Stanley Kubrick!” etc), when his fellow patients (Ken Russell, Shaun Parkes and Peter Sallis – that’s how weird this film is) are all mugging horribly and it looks very amateurish. There’s also strong non-comic support from Bryan Dick (who should be Doctor Who after David Tennant – the campaign starts here) and Robert Powell as a journalist, who, for some reason, is the only character who talks to the camera. Worth seeing, assuming it gets a proper release – at the time of writing, a) it doesn’t have one and b) it’s already available on DVD in France. Three out of five stars.

Twelve and Holding

American indie drama about three twelve-year-old kids dealing with the death of one of their friends.

This shot straight into my Top Five of the Festival. Directed by Michael Cuesta (who made L.I.E), it stars Conor Donovan as Jacob, a shy 12-year-old boy with a port-wine stain on his face, whose charismatic twin brother Rudy is killed in a traumatic tree house fire caused by some neighbourhood bullies. The film then follows the impact of Rudy’s death on his small circle of friends, including neglected psychiatrist’s daughter Malee (Zoe Weizenbaum) and overweight Leonard (Jesse Camacho). Malee develops a huge crush on one of her mother’s patients (Jeremy Renner, in what can only be described as “the Sam Rockwell role”) while Leonard decides to rebel against his overweight family and get into shape. Meanwhile, Jacob plots revenge on the two bullies that started the fire. The performances are terrific – these are characters you really care about and Cuesta’s superb direction really exploits that, ensuring that there’s at least one “hold your breath in fear” moment for each of them. Of the supporting cast, Renner is easily the stand-out in a complex part, but there’s also good work from Annabella Sciorra as Malee’s mother and 24’s Karen Hayes as Jacob’s mother. There’s also a really weird cameo by Tony Roberts (from Woody Allen’s “early, funny” films) as a doctor. The script is superb, achieving an effective balance between scenes that are darkly funny and occasionally shocking, while the climax is nothing short of devastating. Unmissable. Five stars.

Gretchen

Low budget American indie comedy about a geeky high school girl with RAGE issues.

This was something of a disappointment, although, as with In Between Days, the distorted sound on the Video Projection Unit in Cineworld 5 is partly to blame as it was literally painful to listen to at times. The programme write-up gets this exactly right with its description of Gretchen as “like a cross between Napoleon Dynamite and Welcome to the Dollhouse”, but it’s not quite as good as the comparison suggests (for one thing, the casting of slightly older adults as high school kids doesn’t really work). Courtney Davis (who looks like a slightly chubbier Amy Adams) plays Gretchen Finkle, a nerdy, awkward girl in love with local bad boy Ricky (John Merriman). However, when Ricky turns his attentions elsewhere (“Ricky likes sluts”), Gretchen gets an attack of RAGE and takes her revenge. This lands her in the Shady Acres Centre for Emotional Growth where she falls for yet another bad boy with the same consequences, prompting her psychiatrist to ask her, “Gretchen, do you know what a pattern is?” As with Napoleon Dynamite there are some great lines (“Love is not against the rules!” “Actually, it is”), several off-the-wall moments (Gretchen throwing a toilet seat) and some extremely funny physical details (e.g. Gretchen’s “stealth” running style; a hilarious “rave” sequence), but the good bits are few and far between and the film makes its 98 minute running time seem remarkably long. Having said that, I’d like to see it again without the sound distortion, because I bet it’s funnier second time round. Two stars for now, with one in reserve.

Destricted

Porn. But by respected arthouse directors, so it’s alright.

Yet another nightmare in store for the chaps at the BBFC. Destricted features a group of arthouse and mainstream directors –including Matthew Barney, Sam Taylor-Wood, Marco Brambilla, Gaspar Noe and Larry Clark – turning their hand to, ahem, “erotica”. Or, to give it its proper name, porn. I was annoyed to discover that there are actually another two films that were supposed to be included, but Edinburgh apparently only chose to screen five of them. It’s their prerogative, of course, but I wish they’d at least mentioned it in the programme notes. Anyway, the result is something of a mixed bag. Barney’s film begins with a five minute close-up of an inert cock, which slowly becomes erect and that part of the film works really well. However, the rest of it features a man (apparently Barney himself) going to extraordinary lengths to have a wank, with the aid of what looks like a large potter’s wheel and a turnip up his arse. At least, I think it was a turnip. His “clay” also appears to be made of ejaculate and he keeps rubbing himself on it as it turns. Really, it has to be seen to be believed. And it really should come with a “Kids – don’t try this at home!”-style warning. Brambilla’s film only lasts about two minutes but it’s easily the best of the lot. It’s comprised of a rapid compilation of images from sex scenes, from both mainstream and pornographic films (I recognised Sherilyn Fenn’s hairstyle from the shower scene in Two Moon Junction but that was it), set to a great soundtrack and edited so that the images seem to overlap each other and the performers are in the same positions. I’d estimate that there are only maybe two or three frames of each film, so it would be…er…illuminating to go through a DVD copy of it. It could be like a picture round in a film quiz or something. Or not. Sam Taylor-Wood’s film was, frankly, ridiculous and featured an actor having what looked like a very painful wank in the desert. At one point he’s leaning over on one elbow on painfully rocky ground. Also he doesn’t seem to be enjoying it very much and surely that’s the point? I’m not sure he even finishes, but he lets out a giggle-inducing sigh when he finally stops and his facial expressions (it’s all in a medium shot) are equally amusing. I also couldn’t stop imagining the cameraman shouting “Come on, hurry up – the light’s going!” Larry Clark’s film is basically a “casting couch”-style porn film but all the non-sex bits are really good – ironically the film would have worked much better without the explicit sex. Anyway, Clark (mostly off-camera) interviews a series of male would-be porn stars, all of whom are either in their late teens or early 20s. He asks them all about their porn experiences and their sex lives, before asking each of them to strip off, the old perv. He then chooses one and the lucky winner (a skinny, vaguely Gothic, sensitve-type – let’s call him Teen X) gets to interview a series of porn starlets (again requiring them to get naked) before choosing one to shag on camera. The interviews themselves are quite interesting and all the porn stars come across really well, except the 40 year old one, who is clearly bonkers. Yet that’s who Teen X chooses. The sex scene itself is pure hardcore porn and the only other interesting bit is that Clark keeps the camera running for the rather messy santorum-related business during the anal sex scene (if you don’t know what santorum means, google it), resulting in the woman amusingly exclaiming, “Woah, hang on – might have to stop for a minute…” halfway through and Teen X getting a little freaked out. The final film is by Gaspar Noe (who made Irreversible and Seul Contre Tous) and it basically involves a woman masturbating with a giant teddy bear and a man having sex with a blow-up doll (before putting a gun in its mouth). They also appear to be watching the same porn film, even though they’re in different bedrooms. All very basic, you might think, except –ah ha!- Noe has added strobe lighting. Truly, the man is a genius. No, not really – his film was almost as bad as the desert wank one and it seemed to go on forever. On balance, it’s probably a three star film overall, since the good or average films outweigh the bad ones. It is apparently getting a cinema release as well, so knock yourselves out.

Meme-spotting

Stretching this a bit now, but Gretchen’s comical running style in Gretchen is remarkably similar to Ned’s in Neo Ned.

Day Four – “Tuesday has become a very serious problem.”

2006-08-18T17:23:00.000+01:00

Films seen today: 7
Films seen so far: 20
Films seen so far this year: 211

Princess

German drama about a gang of four young women on a run-down housing estate.

I had one of those weird experiences with this, where you arrive after the film’s started but then it suddenly turns out you’re watching a short film (in this case Live Boys by the same director as Princess). Anyway, I’d heard good things about this, and it was enjoyable enough but nothing special. The somewhat ironic title (explained, rather brilliantly in the final shot) refers to a gang of four young women who live in a run-down housing estate in a West German suburb. In the opening scene, Yvonne (the hardest-looking one, played by Henriette Muller) casually punches a female commuter in the face for no explained reason, causing one of her friends to remark “I’m really going to miss you, Yvonne.” Sure enough, it turns out Yvonne’s going to jail, so the gang try and decide how to spend her last day of freedom. However, Yvonne’s not actually planning on going to jail at all and hatches an alternate plan. Meanwhile, Katharina (Irina Potapenko) conducts a half-hearted relationship with a train-spotting boyfriend, while sexually aggressive Jenny and precocious Mandy are just happy to tag along and don’t really get plots of their own. There are some good scenes, particularly a rather startling slapping scene towards the end (perhaps more shocking because it’s been established that the, er, slapper works as a nurse) and a neat scene without dialogue in which Katharina helps her neighbour throw some plastic Christmas trees down the garbage chute. Director Birgit Grosskopf (seriously? Her surname is “Bighead”?) also achieves a neat effect by having firecrackers constantly going off throughout the film, a bit like the scene with Alfred Molina in Boogie Nights only not as horrible. Three stars.

The Right of the Weakest

Belgian drama by Lucas Belvaux, about a group of laid-off steelworkers planning a heist.

I was really looking forward to this, because writer-director Lucas Belvaux’s Trilogy was one of the most exciting film experiences of the year back in 2003. Set in the French industrial town of Liege, The Right of the Weakest (or La Raison du Plus Faible, original-title fans) stars Belvaux as Marc Pirmez, an ex-con determined to go straight. Visiting his local pub, he soon falls in with a group of steelworkers who’ve recently been made redundant and it isn’t long before a plan is hatched to rob the steel factory safe. It’s extremely well acted and you really care about the characters, particularly Belvaux, who has a fascinating face. There are some superb scenes too, such as when Mark forces Robert to imagine a robbery going wrong, or when “Bob” tries on disguises and plays with the guns like a little kid. The tension builds brilliantly throughout and by the end you’re almost begging them not to go through with it. The programme’s description of the film as “Ken Loach meets Jean-Pierre Melville” is so good that it’s worth repeating here. An astonishing final shot, too. Four stars.

London to Brighton

British drama about a prostitute and a young runaway who flee to Brighton in order to escape some dangerous criminals.

This is the first feature by British writer-director Paul Andrew Williams, who looks set to be a talent to watch in years to come. It stars Lorraine Stanley as Kelly, a prostitute who has taken 11-year-old runaway Joanne (Georgia Groome) under her wing. The film opens with a distressed and beaten-up Kelly forcing Joanne to hide in a toilet cubicle while she quickly makes enough money for them to get away. They then flee to Brighton and it quickly becomes clear that some dangerous criminals are after them, including Kelly’s pimp, Derek and a mob boss’ son. The cleverly structured script layers in intermittent flashbacks, in which we discover how Joanne and Kelly met and what exactly happened to make them go on the run. This is a cut above the usual British gangster rubbish, with strong dialogue and two lead characters you really care about. The performances are excellent, particularly Stanley. There’s also strong support from Johnny Harris and Nathan Constance as the two main crims, both of whom are terrifying but in subtly different ways – Harris, in particular, does well to make his character even remotely sympathetic. There are some terrific scene here, particularly the nail-bitingly tense finale. Heart-breaking final shot. Four stars.

Red Shoes

South Korean horror movie about a pair of red (actually pink) shoes that chop people’s feet off.

I might as well put my cards on the table here – Asian horror movies are probably my least favourite genre. They always seem to end up the same way, with lots of screeching on the soundtrack, jarring musical notes to let you know where the scares are, a fondness for flickering lights and a load of incomprehensible stuff involving ghosts and hair. Sadly, Red Shoes is no exception. Basically it’s about a pair of red (actually pink, but everyone calls them red) shoes that cut your feet off if you nick them off their rightful owners or something. There’s lots of blood and some very nasty imagery but it wears out its welcome way before the end. Worse, an already bonkers storyline is rendered totally nonsensical by some truly atrocious editing, to the point where it’s impossible to tell what’s a dream sequence, what’s flashback, what’s fantasy and what’s reality. (If you can work out how the little girl ends up in hospital then you were paying way more attention than I was). It doesn’t help that the character of the daughter is really, really annoying. However, it does have an intriguing central relationship between the lead character and her, er, interior designer. The programme notes describe this as a homage to Powell and Pressburger’s The Red Shoes but I’m not convinced, because why make the shoes pink if that’s the case? I bet they’re calling the shoes pink in Korean. Two stars.

Someone Else

British romcom starring Stephen Mangan as a feckless 30-something who can’t decide between two women.

Watchable but ultimately disappointing British romcom which will be very lucky indeed if it wangles a proper release. Stephen Mangan (“You may remember me from Green Wing and that coffee ad where I walk across the washing line”) plays David, a feckless 30-something cheating on Lisa, his girlfriend of three years (played by Susan Lynch), with flighty Nina (Lara Belmont, from The War Zone). However, as soon as he plucks up the courage to leave Lisa, Nina dumps him, leaving him bouncing around his friends (including married Shaun Dingwall and terminally single Christopher Coghill), wondering where it all went wrong. And that’s actually pretty much it. Ultimately this doesn’t work because we don’t care enough about David’s happiness (he is, after all, an unutterable bastard) and it’s not funny or romantic enough to work as a romcom. That said, the script is well-observed in places and there are several good lines and moments. Two stars. Must Try Harder.

One Fine Day

Belgian comedy starring Benoit Poolevorde as Francois, one of life’s losers who wakes up one day to discover that he can do no wrong.

Not to be confused with the underrated George Clooney / Michelle Pfeiffer romcom, this was, frankly, brilliant, despite the fact that I had to go through four DVD players in the VideoTec before I could see it properly. Benoit Poolevorde (from Man Bites Dog) plays Francois, one of life’s perennial losers. Francois has become accustomed to his daily routine of constant misery, from problems with his ex-wife, to being ignored at work right down to an exploding coffee machine and noisy neighbours. However, one day he wakes up and everything is perfect: his coffee machine works, the neighbours are quiet, he gets promoted at work and the pretty girl he has a crush on sits next to him at lunch. The next day is the same and things just keep getting better and better for Francois. Surely it can’t last? There’s a definite hint of “Le jour de Groundhog” here and the clever script explores some intriguing ideas about happiness and what happens when you get everything you ever wanted. Poolevorde is terrific as Francois and the film is frequently hilarious and full of inventive touches, even if the surreal musical number seems a touch out of place (delightful as it is). Four stars.

In Between Days

Canadian drama starring Jiseon Kim as Aimie, a Korean teenager with a crush on her best friend Tran (Taegu Andy Kang).

I’d heard great things about this, but it was something of a disappointment, though how much of that was down to the appalling sound in Cineworld Screen Five is a matter of debate. Set in Toronto, this is yet another ‘young girl coming-of-age’ movie, this time starring Jiseon Kim as Aimie, a Korean teenager who has recently relocated to Toronto with her mother. Her best friend is Tran (Taegu Andy Kang), a Korean boy her own age, on whom she has a massive crush. However, Tran’s attentions are beginning to be drawn elsewhere. The film makes a virtue of its ultra-low budget DV origins and has some acute observations on the heartbreaks of adolescence but it doesn’t really work because Aimie is such a passive character. There are some nice scenes though and their friendship is genuinely moving, particularly when Aimie lets Tran sleep in her wardrobe. Two stars.

Conversations With Taxi Drivers (I)

As I blearily grabbed a cab to my 9am screening this morning (don’t start – I’ve got a massive blister, alright?), I got suckered into the following conversation with my taxi driver:

Taxi Driver (let’s call him Dave): “9 o’clock’s a bit early for a film. What’s that all about?”
Me: “I’m a film critic – it’s a press screening for the Film Festival. It’s supposed to be good.”
Dave: “A film critic, eh? What’s your favourite film of the last decade?”
Me (thrown, sleepy): “Er…let me think…probably L.A. Confidential .
Dave: Oh, aye. I haven’t seen that. Or maybe I have. Anyway, have you ever seen The Thin Red Line?”
Me: “Ha ha! Yeah.”
Dave: “Why do you laugh?”
Me: “Me and my friends argue about it all the time. They all say it’s a masterpiece but I’m not convinced.”
Dave: “You know the first scene? What did you make of that?”
Me: “Er…well, let’s see, that was well over a thousand films ago for me. Remind me?”
Dave: “It’s all about the Bible, see? There’s a snake and [Dave then proceeds to detail all the Biblical references in the film. Luckily we arrived at the screening just as we were getting to Noah’s Ark].

Meme-spotting

Both In Between Days and Deep have supposedly “cool” English-speaking characters called “Steve” that the leads almost have sex with.

Day Three - "What's wrong with the fucking Bee Gees, anyway?"

2006-08-16T03:29:00.000+01:00

Films seen today: 6
Films seen so far: 13
Films seen so far this year: 204

Jindabyne

Australian drama based on a short story by Raymond Carver, about a group of men who find a dead body while on a fishing trip.

This was the film I'd most been looking forward to and it didn't disappoint. It's set in Australia and based on the Raymond Carver short story "So Much Water So Close To Home" (also used in Altman's Short Cuts), in which a group of men (Gabriel Byrne plus three Australian actors) go into the mountains for a fishing trip, find the body of a naked woman and decide to finish their fishing weekend before reporting it. However, it adds several other elements (the girl is from a local tribe so racial tensions erupt; Byrne's having problems with wife Laura Linney; the other characters have problems too etc) so the script is incredibly multi-layered. There's even a disturbing serial killer element that's reminiscent of Wolf Creek. Anyway, it's terrific. Great performances from Byrne and Linney, superb photography / use of landscape and a superbly written, complex script. Five stars.

Neo Ned

Drama starring Jeremy Renner as a neo nazi who falls in love with a black girl (Gabrielle Union) he meets at a mental institution.

Weird little indie film starring Jeremy Renner as Ned, a neo nazi who falls in love with Rachael (Gabrielle Union), a black girl he meets at a mental institution who thinks she’s Adolf Hitler. However, it really isn't the film that that summary might lead you to expect - there's no America History X-style violence, for one thing. In fact, it's surprisingly warm-hearted with a very funny script and a bizarre, yet strangely fitting feel-good / feel-bad finale. There are some terrific scenes (e.g. Ned attempting to woo Rachael with a crudely drawn picture of bees and swastikas) and some superb lines – as Ned says, “Just because I’m a racist, doesn’t mean I’m not sensitve.” Renner is a revelation – he’s utterly brilliant and really makes the character his own, right down to his odd little staccato laugh. Ned’s naïve and maybe a little crazy but he’s also sweet-natured with a child-like enthusiasm for life – his crushed delivery of the line “What about the zoo?” is heart-breaking. I hope it gets a proper release. Four stars.

Them

Thriller based on a true story, in which a French couple are terrorised by an unseen menace outside their house.
This wasn’t as good as it sounded. Based on a true story, it stars Olivia Bonamy and Michael Cohen as Clementine and Lucas, an expat French couple living in an isolated house in the woods outside Bucharest. One night, they are suddenly terrorised by an unseen menace outside their house. There’s no real way to discuss the film without revealing what that menace is so please look away now if you want to remain unspoiled. Basically it turns out it's kids, the little bastards, and according to the titles at the end, a group of around 5 10- to 15-year-old kids really did murder a French couple. Kids today, eh? Unfortunately, the film doesn’t really work. There was far too much wandering around the house and going "Eek!" at strange noises for my liking. There’s also an awful lot of just waiting for something to happen and when it finally does happen there’s just a lot of running and screaming. A horror-movie style prologue with a mother and daughter doesn’t do the film any favours either, as it’s misleading (particularly when the poster features three silhouetted kids in hoodies). Despite several cheap shocks and some admittedly effective low-level lighting the film just isn’t scary enough and you can’t help but wonder if telling it from the victims’ point-of-view wasn’t the wrong decision. Two stars.

The Sacred Family

Chilean drama about a son and his father competing for the attentions of the son’s self-obsessed girlfriend.

This was tedious beyond belief. The write-up said it was like an Eric Rohmer film and I suppose it was, only not in a good way. Annoying son Marco Jnr brings his self-obsessed girlfriend Sofia round to his parents' holiday home on the beach. His mother gets called away for the weekend and his dad, Marco Snr, tries to pull Sofia. Meanwhile Marco Jnr is off out getting off with his best friend (who hardly ever speaks and is therefore the best character), while a couple of gay students work through their own relationship problems in a neighbouring house. Admittedly, it sounds good from the description, but their conversations were excruciatingly dull. You know you’re in trouble when your peripheral characters (in this case the gay couple and the best friend) are a lot more interesting and sympathetic than all three leads. The ending's a bit rubbish too. One star.

Deep

Dutch coming-of-age drama starring Melody Klaver as a 14-year-old girl who discovers boys, sex and drugs while attempting to cope with her parents’ separation.

The Edinburgh Film Festival always seems to be full of films about young girls coming of age – for some reason these films don’t get the post-Festival distribution they deserve. Simone van Dusseldorp’s Dutch drama is a case in point, although it has a couple of underage (non-sexual) topless scenes which will probably render it persona non grata at the BBFC. This is a pity, because it’s beautifully made and very enjoyable. Melody Klaver stars as Heleen, a 14-year-old Dutch girl whose parents have just split up. As she and her brother are bounced around from one parent to the other (and their new partners) she begins to discover boys, sex and drugs, as a result of her childhood friend Axel (Stijn Kooms) and his “cool” American friend Steve (Damien Hope). There are several well-observed scenes and the general theme of “Boys are rubbish” is sure to strike a painful chord or two, though Hope almost lets the film down by virtue of being a terrible actor. There’s strong support from the rest of the cast though (especially Jorik Scholten as Heleen’s younger brother Emile) and Klaver is excellent throughout - she reminded me a lot of Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater on EastEnders) at times, while the film itself was reminiscent of Somersault with its use of close-ups (entire scenes are played out through close-ups of Klaver’s eyes) and generally gorgeous camerawork. Four stars.

Special

Low budget comedy-drama starring Michael Rapaport as a traffic warden who thinks his experimental pills have given him superhuman powers.

A good end to the day. Directed by Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore, this low budget indie (which -rejoice!- has a November release) stars Michael Rapaport (remember him?) as Les (pronounced "Less"), a traffic warden who starts taking some pills as part of an experimental drug trial. The pills are meant to reduce self-doubt but they make him think he's a superhero, with increasingly hilarious (or actually decreasingly hilarious, as the film gets darker as it goes on) results - the scene where he thinks he's telepathic is extremely clever and very funny. Rapaport is really, really good in it too - he must have been taking acting lessons in his absence. There’s also good support from Alexandra Holden (as a checkout girl with a stutter than Les has a crush on) and from Josh Peck as his comic-store-owning best friend. Three stars.

Meme spotting

Both Neo Ned and Little Miss Sunshine have a running gag with people trying to jump-start a car.

Day Two – “All that murder shit? Totally September 10th, Jerome.”

2006-08-16T03:23:00.000+01:00

Films seen today: 3
Total films seen so far: 7
Total films seen so far this year: 198

Ants in the Mouth (Hormigas en la Boca)

Spanish thriller set in pre-revolutionary Cuba.

Kind of a Spanish Chinatown, this a pleasingly old-fashioned mystery story set in 1950s Havana, with a lead actor (Eduard Fernandez) who looks like a cross between Robert Downey Jnr, Clive Owen and Dexter Fletcher. Oh, and the lovely Ariadna Gil, who, I'm pleased to say, hasn't aged badly at all since I last saw her in 1997 or so. Fernandez plays Martin, an ex-con who’s just gotten out of jail after a ten year stretch for anti-government activities. He heads to Havana in order to track down his ex-girlfriend (Gil) who had absconded with a bag of cash belonging to Martin and his partners in crime. However, when he arrives in Havana he isn’t quite prepared for what he finds. There are shades of both Chinatown and Laura (which probably gives away a fairly major plot point, so sorry about that) in this stylish, sharply written thriller, as well as a hint of Altman’s The Long Goodbye, not least in a couple of violent scenes that come out of nowhere. The climax is, unfortunately, a little disappointing and the film could have done with being a shade or two darker but it’s still a solidly made, enjoyable thriller. Three stars.

The Host

Korean monster movie from the director of ‘Memories of Murder’

This is the second feature from pleasingly-named director Bong Joon-ho, after 2003’s Memories of Murder (which I still haven’t gotten around to watching, despite having had it on tape for almost two years). It was a huge hit at Cannes and apparently inspired a minor bidding war, with the result that Optimum are releasing it later this year. It’s in the same sort of league as Tremors and other schlocky American monster pictures like The Relic. After a knowing prologue in which an American scientist forces a hapless Korean lab assistant to pour tonnes of dangerous chemicals directly into the Han river, the film skips forward a few years (via an amusing interlude in which a fisherman is bitten by a tiny, unseen creature) when a giant, mutated (and entirely CGI) creature crawls out of the river and starts eating people, as monsters are wont to do. It’s up to a noodle-stall owner and the rest of his dysfunctional family (fuck-up son, resourceful granddaughter, resentful oldest son and, brilliantly, his bronze medal-winning daughter who would have taken the gold at archery but for her tendency to hesitate before she shoots. (You just *know* that’s going to come back to haunt her at some point). This is a lot of fun and it builds to a great finale, even if it does have a couple of dull stretches in the middle. It's probably funnier in Korean, too. Four stars.

Art School Confidential

Terry Zwigoff and Dan Clowes re-team for this follow-up to Ghost World, starring Max Minghella as an art student trying to find his voice.

I'm aware of the poor reviews this has had elsewhere but I'm pleased to say I really enjoyed it. It's basically an update of 50s teen flick High School Confidential mixed with the art school scenes from Ghost World and fans of the latter won’t be disappointed. Max Minghella plays Jerome, an art student trying to find his voice amidst his pretentious fellow students and falling for life model Sophia Myles. There’s also the small matter of a serial killer stalking the campus. John Malkovich puts in a rather wonderful turn as Jerome’s frustrated teacher (“How long have you been painting the triangles?” “I was one of the first”) and there are some great cameos from the likes of Steve Buscemi, Jim Broadbent and Angelica Huston. It’s not very tightly plotted and Sophia Myles is badly miscast but the dialogue is extremely funny and there are some wonderful scenes. Good ending too. (Plus, Ghost World fans will no doubt argue for ages as to whether the unnamed student in the bob, glasses and purple t-shirt is meant to be Enid or not. Personally, I vote yes). Four stars.

Meme-spotting

Both The Host and Sherrybaby had scenes where a young child pissed their pants out of fear.

Opening Night Party

Not much to report this year, really and I didn’t take any pictures either, despite having my camera with me all night. It was in a new venue (Cargo, on Fountainbridge), which was nice because there was room to stand around outside (with Edinburgh now being non-smoking in all bars, this is something of an issue). They’d laid on burgers, although I’d stupidly eaten immediately beforehand so I didn’t try one. They’d also done up the outside like the French Village Fete scene from The Flying Scotsman, which was quite impressive. The only stars I spotted were Brian Cox (who I wanted to talk to, but decided not to after hearing him tell people he was just about to leave) and Lovely Laura Fraser, who I had a 15 minute chat with, during which she forgave me for my imminent bad review of Nina’s Heavenly Delights. Well, she kind of did. She knew I wrote for Hotdog and she’d thanked me for my “honest opinion” on the film after I’d slagged it off. Which is kind of the same thing.

Day One – “You know what I’m afraid of? Cows.”

2006-08-13T00:30:00.000+01:00

Films seen today: 4
Total films seen so far: 4
Total films seen so far this year: 195

Apart From That

Multi-character indie drama about the mysteries of ordinary suburban lives.

I chose this because the write-up in the EIFF programme name-checked Miranda July’s You, Me and Everyone We Know but it was ultimately kind of disappointing. After a weird and lengthy credits sequence in which all the characters are introduced but everyone talks over each other, Altman-style, this eventually focuses on just five characters: Peggy, an old woman who may or may not be senile; Ulla, a neurotic blonde woman who may or may not be cracking up; Leo, an Indian guy trying to get back together with his wife (at least I think that’s what was going on) and a Japanese-American father trying to bond with his weird and inexplicably WASPish young son, Kyle. It started well and there were some lovely scenes (e.g. Peggy stripping to her underwear and calling the fire brigade so they burst in on her; Peggy dancing in her driveway to a loud car stereo playing hardcore dance music) but at two hours long it rather outstays its welcome, particularly as it moves really slowly. Some nice ideas though. I liked Kyle’s friend’s “voice-activated television” (very Calvin and Hobbes) and Leo conquering his fear of cows by approaching cows and asking them “Are you death?”. It’s directed by Randy Walker and Jennifer Shanin and it’ll be interesting to see what they do when they get a more ruthless editor Two stars.

Sherrybaby

Indie drama starring Maggie Gyllenhaal as an ex-junkie who gets out of prison and tries to reconnect with her 9-year-old daughter.

This went straight into my top five of the festival, thanks to a wonderful performance by Maggie Gyllenhaal. She’s been one of my favourite actresses since Secretary but this is her first decent role in a really long time. She plays Sherry Swanson, a recovering drug addict who gets out of prison after serving three years for drug-related robbery and tries to reconnect with her 9-year-old daughter, Lexi, who’s being looked after by Sherry’s brother Bob (Brad William Henke) and his wife Lynn. At the same time she struggles with her addiction and tries to hold down a hard-earned job with children while keeping on the right side of her officious parole officer (Giancarlo Esposito). It’s a superbly written film with great characters (notably Danny Trejo as fellow ex-addict Dean) and some terrific scenes – one casually shocking scene in particular gives a heart-breaking insight into the source of Sherry’s problems. It’s, er, a great film for Shallow And Obvious Reasons too – Maggie spends almost every scene scene naked, topless or wearing a flimsy low-cut top, though I for one was glad when she hopped out of bed and turned the light out right before her sex scene with Danny Trejo. Superb film. Five stars.

The Flying Scotsman

Scottish drama based on the true story of Scottish cycling legend Graeme Obree, starring Johnny Lee Miller, Brian Cox, Billy Boyd and Lovely Laura Fraser.

An excellent choice for the festival’s opening film, this is a beautifully filmed Scottish drama which, at the time of writing is shockingly still without distribution. Johnny Lee Miller (he was married to Angelina Jolie, you know) stars as Scottish cycling legend Graeme Obree, who smashed the world one-hour cycling record on a home-made bicycle of his own design that he nicknamed “Old Faithful”. The film also touches on his background (he was severely bullied as a result of having a policeman for a father) and his constant battles with crippling bouts of depression. My first thought after seeing this was “Johnny Lee Miller in ‘Decent Performance’ Shock!” but that admittedly facetious comment shouldn’t detract from the fact that this is his best performance to date - his intense, haunted expression is perfect for Obree. There’s also strong support from Brian Cox and Lovely Laura Fraser as Obree’s long-suffering wife. First time director Douglas Mackinnon (no relation to Gilles, as far as I know) shoots everything in a surprisingly colourful palette and there are some nice comic touches too, largely from Billy “Comedy Hobbit” Boyd, though also from one of the cast of cult Scottish comedy Absolutely as one of Graeme’s sponsors. Steven Berkhoff is also on hand as an Evil Cycling Honcho who keeps banning Obree’s cycling positions. The cycling scenes are well handled, with some extremely impressive Steadicam work and the film itself is genuinely moving in places. Four stars. One question though – WHO is that gorgeous woman in the photos of Brian Cox’s dead wife?

Love Sick

Romanian film about a lesbian relationship between two university students.

Another film that, like Apart From That didn’t really live up to its initial promise, despite a relatively short running time. It stars Maria Popistasu and Ioana Barbu as Kiki and Alex, two university students in Bucharest who fall madly in love. It’s presented in a refreshingly non-sensational manner and there’s genuine chemistry between the two stars, but it seems odd that the film-makers decided to complicate things by having Alex struggling to escape from an intense relationship with…er…her own brother. It all perks up a bit towards the end but there’s a very boring middle stretch during which my eyes may have closed a little. It’s no Show Me Love, put it that way. Two stars.

Meme-spotting.

It often happens at Edinburgh that the similar (or occasionally identical) scenes will occur in different films. This year I’m going to attempt to catalogue them. Because, you know, I’m weird that way. Anyway, both Sherrybaby and Love Sick had scenes where someone aggressively tried to talk to the main character while the main character was on the phone.

The FilmHouse Film Quiz

I was asked to join a team for the legendary Edinburgh FilmHouse Film Quiz earlier tonight. Rather impressively, we won, scoring 138 out of a possible 142 points and trouncing 18 other teams in the process. It was an extremely hardcore quiz, comprising dialogue rounds, quote rounds, music rounds, picture rounds, Oscar rounds and all sorts of other things. It also lasted two and a half hours! So no early night for me. We won two crates of lager and The Respect Of Our Peers. The most impressive moment was when one of our team nailed the 12 point, 6 clue question after one clue (10 points for getting it at two clues, 8 points for 3 clues etc). The question? “Which star was born on October 16th, 1925?”

Edinburgh Film Festival 2006

2006-08-12T23:52:00.000+01:00

Having successfully completed my goal of seeing over 365 films last year, it is my aim this year to beat last year’s total of 369 films. I’m basically aiming for an average of over a film a day, but I don’t think I’ll keep a running total of the days this year as it seems a little confusing now I look at it again. I’m also aiming to beat last year’s total of films seen at Edinburgh, but as the festival lasts two days longer this year (it’s the 60th anniversary, you know) that shouldn’t be difficult. Suffice it to say that if I see more than 47 films at Edinburgh this year it will be Mission Accomplished.

Anyway, I took the train up (a mere £46) and arrived just in time to pick up my press pass on Saturday afternoon, thanks to the efforts of a taxi driver who positively relished the opportunity to get me where I needed to go in a short space of time (“You do know there’s a parade on, sir? Ach, hang on – I’ll see what I can do…”). Settled in, hit a cocktail bar (Kohl, cocktail bar fans) and had a delicious Strawberry Smash before deciding that unless I wanted to be a) bankrupt and b) hungover, I’d probably better leave and get an early night, ready for the press screenings bonanza tomorrow morning.

An Apology

2006-08-12T18:51:00.000+01:00

Talk about an Ode to Procrastination. I’ve put off finishing off last year’s Edinburgh Blog for an entire year now and here we are at Edinburgh time again. Shocking. I am, literally, crimson with shame. Still, onwards and upwards. I hereby solemnly swear to complete this year’s blog if it kills me. And who knows? Maybe I’ll be on such a high when I do that I’ll go back and fill in last year’s last couple of days…

Day Twelve - "Another confrontation with the Angry Tree..."

2005-08-31T03:29:00.000+01:00

Day: 240
Film total today: 2
Films seen so far this year: 234 (6 to go)

Total number of films seen this festival: 45

At some point I really ought to post something about the seven festival films I saw in London before the festival started. They are: Thumbsucker, Asylum, Land of the Dead, Kinky Boots, On A Clear Day, Guy X and Battle In Heaven. Not today though.

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