Edinburgh International Film Festival - My Top Five Picks

Yesterday the schedule for The Edinburgh International Film Festival was announced. We already knew The Illusionist, from the creators of Belleville Rendez-vous, was going to open the event and that Toy Story 3 would play in Edinburgh the day after its world premiere on 18th June.

However, yesterday was the day we found out about the other 131 movies that will feature at this year's festival. Tickets go on sale on 3rd June at 12 noon. I've picked out five I think you should look out for:

Mr Nice
Directed by Bernard Rose

Based on Howard Marks' autobigraphy, Mr Nice tells the tale of the Oxford graduate turned drugs smuggler, played by Rhys Ifans. Along the way he gets involved with the IRA, Mafia and wanted by the DEA. Expect a mix of comedy and action as we see the enigmatic Marks talk his way in and out of perilous situations:


Mr Nice Trailer

The Secret in Their Eyes
Directed by Juan José Campanella

From Argentina comes the winner of this year's "Best Foreign Language Film" at the oscars. It's set in 1999, but features flashbacks to 25 years earlier, as our protagonist tries to piece together a case that has haunted him for decades: the rape and murder of a young woman in 1974. Pitched as part murder-mystery, part romance, this one is definitely a must see for any film aficionado.


My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?
Directed by Werner Herzog

"Produced by David Lynch and Directed by Werner Herzog" should be enough to convince most film fans to go and see this one. Marketed as "Inspired by a true story" (the most misleading statement known to man BTW - what film is not inspired by at least one true story?), Herzog describes it as "a horror film without the blood, chainsaws and gore". Although certainly from the trailer, it looks more like a psychological thriller than a fright-fest....


My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done Trailer


The Extra Man
Directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini

Possibly the most star-studded of this year's films, The Extra Man sees Paul Dano, John C. Reilly, Katie Holmes and Kevin Kline join directors Berman and Pulicini (American Splendour) for a film that sees Kline take young playwright Dano under his wing. It seems this has the type of indie sense of humour one might associate with Wes Anderson, and its unsurprising that this made its debut at Sundance: a festival renowned for such quirky indie hits. I for one am a huge fan of movies of this ilk, and can't wait to see Dano in a role supposedly markedly different from both There Will Be Blood and Little Miss Sunshine.


Third Star
Directed by Hattie Dalton

Rounding off this year's fest comes Third Star, a British bromance/road-trip movie. Combining the type of comedy and emotion of something like Cemetery Junction, it features four friends going on what they hope will be a relaxing trip away, but practical difficulties and emotional revelations inevitably get in the way of such notions. The festival has put a lot of confidence in the movie by putting putting it in as the closing night gala, here's hoping its World Premiere doesn't disappoint.

The Edinburgh Film Festival runs from 16th until 27th June. Tickets can be booked in advance on the website: http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/

Edinburgh Film Festival - Here I Come

I recently received an email confirming that I've been accepted as a member of the press for the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

This is great news since it'll mean I'm able to see and review lots of fantastic films before they get their national release, as well as attending some press conferences, and potentially getting exclusive interviews with the cast and crew of this year's most exciting movies.

Obviously, you'll hear about exactly what I've seen or who I've met on this very site. As such, expect updates on a daily basis during the festival which runs from the 16th-27th June.

The programme is released on the 1st June, so I'll do my best to pick out the highlights before the box office for the festival opens on the 3rd June.

In the meantime, you can check out the trailer for the festival at http://www.edfilmfest.org.uk/gallery/videos/eiff-tv/120

Top 5 Most Anticipated Movies of 2010

Another day, another top five. This time it's about movies not yet released. This list, unlike the others, is very much my inner fanboy coming out to play. I have no idea what the quality of these movies will be, but I do know the excitement I feel when thinking about their release.

5. Inception
This film is directed by Christopher Nolan (Dark Knight, Prestige, Memento) so it makes the list for that reason alone. The plot isn't that clear as yet, but its tagline: "Your Mind is the Scene of the Crime" implies this will be a psychological thriller where it's not always clear what reality is. It also makes me think Nolan will also exploring the true intent of his characters' actions: the strongest theme in his work to date.
I'll let you try and make sense of the trailer:



4. Kick Ass
Directed by Matthew Vaughn, who worked with Guy Ritchie on Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels then Snatch before going on to direct Layer Cake and the excellent Stardust by himself. Kick-Ass concerns a group of have-a-go-superheroes without any actual superpowers. Among them is the incredibly violent Hit-Girl: played by twelve-year old Chloe Moretz. I think you get a good sense of the mix of violence and humour from the pre-watershed trailer:



As well as the 18-rated post-watershed trailer which introduces you to Hit-Girl, and as such contains very strong language, so NSFW:

3. Up in The Air
I spoke last week about my love for the trailer of this movie. Having listened to the film's director Jason Reitman (Thank You For Smoking, Juno) talk about this project, as well as film critics in America, I can't wait to see it. George Clooney plays a character who's job it is to fire people. He spends most of his life in hotel rooms and airports doing his best to make connections, so long as they aren't human. Zing! - One day I will write trailer monologues:

In a world of connections, Ryan is doing his make to make some - cut to him making a flight - and avoid others - cut to him making excuse after leaving a woman in a hotel room.

Thankfully they didn't hire me to do the trailer, and made this wonderful one instead:



2. Toy Story 3
I've heard Toy Story 1 & 2 described as "The Godfather" of animated movies: an amazing first feature followed by an even better sequel. Here's hoping the third one doesn't turn out to be like the ill-judged Godfather Part 3 then. The film opens with Andy going off to college, so the toys are taken to a day-care centre. Once there, the unbridled chaos of dozens of little toddlers leads them to plot their escape. Pixar's last three movies have all been in my top five of their respective years. They've succeeded, because unlike the Shreks of the animated world, they realise that making adult-friendly films goes beyond making smutty jokes that go over kids heads (Do you think he's maybe compensating for something?). It's about story. Here's the trailer:

1. Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Scott Pilgrim is based on a comic book series by Bryan Lee O'Malley and directed by Edgar Wright (Spaced, Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz). It tells the story of 23-year-old Scott Pilgrim who's in the post-uni, pre-work stage of life. His life changes when he meets Ramona Flowers, literally the girl of his dreams. Mixing action, music and pop-culture references, this is one of my favourite comics ever. I'm super-excited about seeing the film, which stars Michael Cera as the lead, and also includes a grown-up Kieran Culkin as his totally platonic gay-bedmate.
There's no trailer for the movie yet, so you'll have to make do with Edgar Wright's description of the film, interspersed with sword-fighting from the cast: