Lff2012

News, Reviews & Features

#LFFtovers: Compliance

Movie Review | Ali | 25th October 2012

I figure as we're still technically in the same week that the London Film Festival closed, I can just about get away with posting reviews for films that I saw over its duration. We've all moved on from LFF mania now, but let this leftover review of Compliance act as a timely reminder of just how good us film fans had it slightly less than a week ago. Good times indeed.

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#LFFtovers: The Sessions

Movie Review | Ali | 22nd October 2012

No sooner than it had begun (okay, 12 days after it had begun), the London Film Festival closes for another year. Shit. Even though I managed to break my own record by seeing a whopping SEVEN films in competition, I've still managed to emerge into the cold light of day with loads of poorly-written notes for films I've not yet had time to review. Hence these 'LFFtovers': a rather delicious pun that hopefully distracts you from how sloppy I've been in adding my reviews. Shut up. Here's my take on The Sessions.

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#LFF2012: Sightseers

Movie Review | Ali | 21st October 2012

"If I'm not back in 20 minutes... come and rescue me," says Kill List's protagonist Jay to his hitman partner Gal, as he enters a warehouse housing the unsuspecting pervert behind unimaginably sick snuff films, preparing for a bloodbath. We wait with Gal in the car as 20 excruciating minutes pass. Shit. Eventually, fearing for his friend, Gal reluctantly takes his gun and sidles slowly into the building, anticipating death around every corner. We hear horrible sounds interrupt excruciating periods of silence as Gal gets closer to seeing his worst fears realised. Finally, Gal swoops around the corner ready to confront whatever horrors await, only to find Jay â€“ hammer in hand, covered in blood from his still- twitching victim, happy as a pig in shit â€“ staring back at him. Beat. "Was that 20 minutes?"

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#LFF2012: Beasts Of The Southern Wild

Movie Review | Matt | 19th October 2012

Beasts Of The Southern Wild is this year's wreath-laden indie movie of choice: an incredibly slight independent film from a first-time director, with no real plot to speak of, a cast of unknowns â€“ including a tiny yet infinitesimally wise child as its lead â€“ and a GREAT BIG POLITICAL METAPHOR at its heart. Naturally, I felt inclined to hate it upon first sight, but 'Beasts Of The SoWi' (as some horrible hipster shit in my screening called it) defrosted my cold, dead heart like one of those polar ice-caps it pretends to care about. It's actually pretty lovely if you can park the cynicism bus round the back for a bit.

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#LFF2012: Seven Psychopaths

Movie Review | Matt | 18th October 2012

For a film about the perils of screenwriting, Seven Psychopaths sure could have used a few extra drafts. Far from the dognapping caper the trailers would have you believe, writer/director Martin McDonagh's follow-up to In Bruges is actually a far darker, way more ambitious meta comedy about a man trying to write a genuinely heartfelt movie in spite of the various ridiculous incidents that seem determined to inform it. That it immediately invokes unfavourable comparisons to Adaptation does not necessarily make Seven Psychopaths a failure, but you do find yourself wishing that McDonagh had the foresight to intentionally ruin his own movie with as much precision as Charlie Kaufman had.

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#LFF2012: Argo

Movie Review | Ali | 17th October 2012

How could it be that Ben Affleck â€“ he of being the bomb in Phantoms, yo â€“ has become the most exciting American director working today? The former himbo and male half of Bennifer made one of the all-time greatest career turnarounds when he ditched the smug action hero roles and gave honest to goodness filmmaking a shot; first with sensational kidnapping drama Gone Baby Gone, then with palm-sweatingly tense heist thriller The Town. Affleck has gone one better with his third film as director, moving from the frying pan of Boston into the fire of Iran for his most ambitious â€“ and awards-worthy â€“ movie yet.

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#LFF2012: End Of Watch

Movie Review | Matt | 4th October 2012

As we welcome the BFI London Film Festival into our lives once again, get ready for a spate of reviews of worthy, awardsy type films that illicit an emotional response different to our usual "fuck yeah, that roundhouse kick was awesome!". And End Of Watch is as good a film as any to kick off proceedings, being a GRITTY, REALISTIC cop drama that reminds us that crime on the streets of LA is GRITTY and REALISTIC and OFTEN QUITE HARROWING REALLY.

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