While at the Edinburgh International Film Festival I had the chance to sit down with Bobcat Goldthwait and Joel Murray as they discussed their new film God Bless America. The sort of comedy/fantasy/drama film that places a baby at the business end of a shotgun in the opening scene is a must see for anyone who has dealt with assholes who never seem to get what’s coming to them. Director… Read More »
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EIFF 2012
EIFF Review: Berberian Sound Studio
Peter Strickland’s sophomore effort Berberian Sound Studio was on many people’s ‘must see’ of the festival lists. It’s a film that, due to its subject matter and the era it takes place in, had me excited from the get go. Gilderoy (Toby Jones) a timid British sound engineer is hired by famous Italian director Santini (Antonio Mancino) to assist his team finish his new horror film, The Equestrian Vortex. Unnerved… Read More »
EIFF Review: Flying Blind
Katarzyna Klimkiewixz’s directorial debut Flying Blind is a politically fuelled romance with a fine central performance from the exceptional Helen McCrory. Frankie (McCrory) is a high ranking aerospace engineer contracted with the delicate job of designing new a top secret aircraft for the Ministry of Defence. Shortly after she meets young student Kahil (Najib Oudghirir), and they begin a passionate affair. With Kahil a muslim and Frankie holding such an… Read More »
EIFF Review: California Solo
A pick rakes gracefully across a beautiful six string and the sound of music is heard. Like many fictional films featuring a musician as the focus, California Solo is a breezy story about the highs and lows of fame and the dangers of excess. The early 90s saw an explosion of new wave and alternative music coming out of the La Hacienda/Manchester scene. The kids who grew up listening to… Read More »
EIFF Review: Eddie – The Sleepwalking Cannibal
Writer/Director Boris Rodriguez aptly blends black comedy and horror, soaking the snowy Candian setting with the crimson of blood in Eddie – The Sleepwalking Cannibal. When the once high regarded Danish artist Lars (Thure Lindhardt) arrives into the sleepy town of Koda Lake to fulfil a teaching position at the local art school, he is quickly told about Eddie (Dylan Smith), the mute nephew of the school’s biggest benefactor. But… Read More »
EIFF Review: Brave
IT’S official – Pixar have found their rhythm again after the car crash that was, erm, Cars 2. The creative folk behind such smash hits as the Toy Story trilogy, Up and WALL-E are back with a glorious bang. Scotland-set Brave tells the tale of Merida (Kelly Macdonald), a princess unlike any other. Rather than being the a-typical prim and proper daughter of royalty, she’s a boisterous chick who enjoys… Read More »
EIFF Review: Kotoko
Working alongside pop singer Cocco, director Shinya Tsukamoto uses the singer’s own past experiences and opens the door to mental illness in what could be the rawest depiction of the condition ever put on screen. Kotoko (Cocco), a young single mother, lives alone with her baby son. Suffering from an unknown illness that makes her see double – especially people – and not knowing which version of the person is… Read More »
EIFF Review: Rent-a-Cat (Rentaneko)
Are you feeling a little lonely these days? Do you have the desire to meet new people but lack the confidence to strike up a conversation? These days it is easier to make new viral “friends” then to look someone in the eye and engage in verbal and nonverbal communication. You see, without the truth of the eye most folks are blind to the true nature of a stranger. So… Read More »
EIFF Review: Sexual Chronicles of a French Family
Attempting to investigate the importance of sex within society, using a middle class family as a barometer, Jean-Marc Barr and Pascal Arnold’s Sexual Chronicles of a French Family is a quirky but raunchy dissection of the role sex plays within our lives. Everybody seems to be having sex except Romain (Mathias Melloul) and it’s driving him mad. Now 18 and with eyes for the beautiful Coralie (Adeline Rebeillard), his virginity… Read More »
EIFF Review: Future My Love
Up for the Michael Powell Award at this year’s festival, Maja Borg’s insightful documentary Future My Love promises us a new vision into an alternative way of living, one – according to the many interviewed in the film – that will sustain a united, healthy social and cultural global existence. Interspersed with some beautiful and experimental cinema, representing the director’s experience and understanding of a past break-up, Borg investigates the… Read More »
