The Imitation Game, 2014 - ★★★★

Some excellent performances and a (mostly) superb script are let down by lacklustre direction which resorts to far too many cliches. Still a solid and enjoyable film though.

November 30, 2014 at 11:06AM

Nymphomaniac: Vol. II, 2013 - ★★

After two hours of foreplay the second volume arrives and is a messy anticlimax. It's hard to know if the problems are to do with length; four hours is just too long to maintain interest in what turns out to be a fairly straightforward story. The older Joe's story becomes unpleasant without adding anything (would the film suffer if Jamie Bell's scenes were removed - no offence to the former Billy Elliot). Joe's career path came as a surprise and is quite interesting but the film ends in a way that was predictable from the very start. Disappointing.

November 26, 2014 at 07:42PM

Nymphomaniac: Vol. I, 2013 - ★★★★

The first part of Nymphomaniac is pretty much what I've come to expect from a Lars von Trier film although surprisingly not that repulsive. It's stylish, thoughtful, provocative, gratuitous, funny, uncomfortable and only really let down by an irritating accented Shia LaBeouf.

November 26, 2014 at 07:31PM

Little Fockers, 2010 - ★

Occasionally skates close to something resembling humour but on the whole there is no reason for this to exist. Hopefully it will have put an end to the series.

November 23, 2014 at 10:12PM

Bangkok Dangerous, 2008 - ★

There's no such thing as a bad Cage film. There's no such thing as a bad Cage film. There's no such thing as a bad Cage film.

However when he's playing things straight in a dull action film it all ends up being incredibly boring.

November 22, 2014 at 12:31AM

Year One, 2009 - ★½

A great cast (and Vinnie Jones) are wasted in a completely unfunny script. A disappointing and therefore sad final film from Ramis.

November 22, 2014 at 12:29AM

The Gatekeepers, 2012 - ★★★

Insightful talking heads combined with some fantastic visual work recreating scenes of photos make for a compelling documentary.

November 22, 2014 at 12:21AM

Birdman, 2014 - ★★★★

Everything about Birdman made me want to love it, but I didn't and I don't know why.

November 21, 2014 at 12:14AM

The Creeping Garden, 2014 - ★★★★

Always fascinating, frequently beautiful. In the middle it spends too much time on humans but their passion is also great to watch. Towards the end it looked like things were building to a satisfying climax as the more emotional side began to be explored. Unfortunately due to the film starting late I had to leave early and missed the final ten minutes.

November 21, 2014 at 12:12AM

Song of the Sea, 2014 - ★★★★

Beautifully borrowing from so many styles yet remaining completely unique. I kept hoping for something really special to happen but despite all the magic it was still lacking something for me.

November 21, 2014 at 12:07AM

What We Do in the Shadows, 2014 - ★★★★★

Even better on the second viewing, the anticipation of some of those lines confirms that they and the film will become a classic.

November 21, 2014 at 12:03AM

Heaven Adores You, 2014 - ★★★★

A celebration of Elliott Smith's life and the cities where he lived throughout his life.

Q&A with the producer Marc Smolowitz

ps My bad audience tag is for the people who managed to eat the loudest packet of crisps during the first half of the film, not the enthusiastic but very drunk fan who hijacked the Q&A (and apparently was talking throughout the film but I couldn't hear this).

November 19, 2014 at 11:37PM

Shame, 1968 - ★★★½

I liked this a lot more than Persona which I saw first in a double bill at Leeds International Film Festival. It seems to take a long time before the interesting parts happen and gets quite absurd towards the end but perhaps that's the point.

November 19, 2014 at 11:18PM

Persona, 1966 - ★★★

Somehow I've not seen any of Bergman's films (I remember falling asleep during a wild Strawberries as a teenager) and this may not have been the best place to start. It's easy to see why this is regarded so highly from an academic point of view but I found it difficult to engage with in any meaningful way (which may be a result of it being my 30-something film of the festival).

November 19, 2014 at 11:11PM

From Bedrooms to Billions, 2013 - ★★★

A comprehensive but overlong look at the British video games industry. Unfortunately it's unlikely to appeal to anybody who doesn't already have an interest in the subject matter. The opening titles are incredibly well done and outline the entire path of the film (and therefore industry) stylishly in a few minutes. The rest of the film drags on and could be edited down, especially when two talking heads are basically saying the same thing.

November 18, 2014 at 09:07PM

Wild, 2014 - ★★★

A solid if somewhat unremarkable film. Seeing it so soon after Tracks probably lessened the appeal.

November 17, 2014 at 11:56PM

Catch Me Daddy, 2014 - ★★

I've had enough of this style of filming, it's been done to death over the last few years in cinema and on TV. The film wasn't badly made but it was completely heartless and boring. I couldn't and didn't care about anything that was happening. Apart from the Bovril scene, that was quite good.

Apparently the film was supposed to be subtitled but this made little difference. Apart from the final scenes the intention always seemed obvious.

Some of the cast and crew were in attendance but really wish they hadn't bothered. Three turned up on stage and said nothing, the rest talked throughout the film.

November 17, 2014 at 11:49PM

Trespassing Bergman, 2013 - ★★★

Some of my favourite filmmakers talking about a filmmaker I'm lamentably unfamiliar with. The framing device of allowing directors to explore Bergman's (seemingly) preserved home is fascinating but also under utilised - I wanted to know so much more about the writing on the furniture. Providing an overview of Bergman's whole career also means the film does drag on a little. Bonus points for Lars Von Trier basically being Lars Von Trier.

November 17, 2014 at 11:40PM

Royal Space Force: Wings of Honneamise, 1987 - ★★★½

Epic and ambitiously packing a lot of deep ideas into what seems like a fairly simple story.

November 17, 2014 at 11:33PM

Drew: The Man Behind the Poster, 2013 - ★★★★

With so many people quite rightly having so much to say the film dashed along at a cracking pace to fit in as much as possible. An always fascinating insight into a wonderful career.

November 17, 2014 at 12:17AM

The Canal, 2014 - ★

A promising start which looks like it's going to be a high quality ghost story but quickly descends into a horrible mess of clichés. The cinematography is the only redeemable quality, everything else is bad and gets worse as the film progresses. When I thought it was pretty but was going to other nothing new I considered leaving (something I've never done before). I was trapped in my seat and couldn't easily leave so I got to stay and see things get even worse. By the time they give up on cliche and just start ripping off other films all my patience was gone.

Unforgivably awful.

November 17, 2014 at 12:15AM

Patch Town, 2014 - ★★★

One of the films I was looking forward to at #LIFF28 but a big disappointment. There were lots of ideas that failed to be pulled together in any satisfying way. Still a lot of fun though and I suspect the short film on which this was based will work a lot better.

November 17, 2014 at 12:11AM

Songs from the Second Floor, 2000 - ★★★

Once again I found myself wanting to like this more than I ever was. In theory it was my kind of thing, a nice combination of surreal sadness, but it just didn't connect. On a different day, in a different mood, I may have appreciated it a lot more.

November 17, 2014 at 12:07AM

Housebound, 2014 - ★★★★

The second horror comedy from New Zealand in the #LIFF28 and nearly as fantastic as What We Do In The Shadows. This is more of a horror but it manages to perfectly mix the haunted house story with lots of humour and is just a whole lot of fun.

November 16, 2014 at 12:25AM

Szabadesés, 2014 - ★★★★

I'm still not entirely sure what this was but it was absolutely brilliant. Slightly worrying that it only appeared to me and the couple next to me laughing throughout. Perhaps could've done with one less story but I wouldn't want to drop any of them. The scariest cow in film history, a Chris Morris style trip to the doctors, the most ocd couple and a tv sitcom.

November 16, 2014 at 12:22AM