London Film Festival 2012
The 56th London Film Festival opens today with a great set of movies. This list starts with the ones I am seeing at the festival (#1-#7) and then runs into recommendations of films I have seen elsewhere (#8-#18) and then finally interesting ones I am missing and want to catch later (#19 onwards). Looking for recommendations to add to the final section of the list.
I am starting with 40 films. I can't cover everything but fortunately there's a complete list of films on the festival web site.
Trivia: IMDb was the official site of the London Film Festival in both 1994 and 1995 before pretty much anyone had even heard of the web. We added all the festival films to IMDb ourselves beforehand via an intense week of typing and created a special page. Mark Harding, Alan Jay and I then went along to sit by a PC connected to a modem in the press bar area to demonstrate it to passing journalists. In 1994 this may even have been the first film festival to have an official website!
I am starting with 40 films. I can't cover everything but fortunately there's a complete list of films on the festival web site.
Trivia: IMDb was the official site of the London Film Festival in both 1994 and 1995 before pretty much anyone had even heard of the web. We added all the festival films to IMDb ourselves beforehand via an intense week of typing and created a special page. Mark Harding, Alan Jay and I then went along to sit by a PC connected to a modem in the press bar area to demonstrate it to passing journalists. In 1994 this may even have been the first film festival to have an official website!
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40 titles
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsWinona RyderCatherine O'HaraMartin ShortWhen a boy's beloved dog passes away suddenly, he attempts to bring the animal back to life through a powerful science experiment.Opening night gala presentation
- DirectorNick MurphyStarsPaul BettanyStephen GrahamBrian CoxThriller charting the moral collapse of a police family. Two cop brothers, smothered by the shadow of their former police chief father, must investigate a crime they themselves have committed.On Friday looking forward to another Mark Strong movie from Nick Murphy, the director of The Awakening
- DirectorThomas VinterbergStarsMads MikkelsenThomas Bo LarsenAnnika WedderkoppA teacher lives a lonely life, all the while struggling over his son's custody. His life slowly gets better as he finds love and receives good news from his son, but his new luck is about to be brutally shattered by an innocent little lie.Seeing on Saturday (we are also at LFF earlier in the day to watch a presentation on Edith Head's work with Alfred Hitchcock).
- DirectorBarnaby SouthcombeStarsCharlotte RamplingGabriel ByrneEddie MarsanA noir thriller told from the point of view of a femme fatale, who falls for the detective in charge of a murder case.Seeing on Sunday -- the IMDb plot description had me at hello
- DirectorBen LewinStarsJohn HawkesHelen HuntWilliam H. MacyA man in an iron lung who wishes to lose his virginity contacts a professional sex surrogate with the help of his therapist and priest.Seeing next Wednesday -- lots of Oscar buzz on this one.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnny OndraCarl BrissonMalcolm KeenA fisherman and a rising young lawyer, who grew up as brothers, fall in love with the same girl.This year's BFI Archive Gala Screening a week on Friday and the next of the restored silent Hitchcock films to be unveiled.
- DirectorMike NewellStarsToby IrvineRalph FiennesJason FlemyngA series of events change the orphaned Pip's life forever as he eagerly abandons his humble origins to begin a new life as a gentleman.Attending the closing night gala a week on Sunday.
- DirectorBen AffleckStarsBen AffleckBryan CranstonJohn GoodmanActing under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.I've already seen #8-#18. One of my top 5 from Toronto. Ben Affleck proves his directorial excellence yet again. Unmissable.
- DirectorJacques AudiardStarsMarion CotillardMatthias SchoenaertsArmand VerdurePut in charge of his young son, Alain leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Alain's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.My favourite film from Cannes with an exceptional performance by [link=nm0182839Marion Cotillard[/link].
- DirectorMartin McDonaghStarsColin FarrellWoody HarrelsonSam RockwellA struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.Another TIFF favourite. Highly recommended if you liked Martin McDonagh's In Bruges.
- DirectorBenh ZeitlinStarsQuvenzhané WallisDwight HenryLevy EasterlyFaced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.A hauntingly beautiful and original film; one of my favourites from Cannes (it premiered at Sundance and won the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize)
- DirectorRodney AscherStarsBill BlakemoreGeoffrey CocksJuli KearnsAn exploration of various interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's horror film, The Shining (1980).My favourite documentary this year and you'll never look at The Shining in the same way again. I saw it at TIFF but it was a hit at Cannes and Sundance too.
- DirectorBen WheatleyStarsAlice LoweKenneth HadleySteve OramChris wants to show girlfriend Tina his world, but events soon conspire against the couple and their dream caravan holiday takes a very wrong turn.This is off-the-charts outrageous and a must-see British film. A darkly comic tale directed by Ben Wheatley of Kill List fame. Seen at TIFF.
- DirectorJake SchreierStarsPeter SarsgaardFrank LangellaSusan SarandonIn the near future, an ex-jewel thief receives a gift from his son: a robot butler programmed to look after him. But soon the two companions try their luck as a heist team.A simply charming story which was one of my favourites from Sundance.
- DirectorBrandon CronenbergStarsCaleb Landry JonesLisa BerrySarah GadonIn a blackly satirical near future, a thriving industry sells celebrity illnesses to their obsessed fans. Employee Syd March's attempts to exploit the system backfire when they involve him in a potentially deadly mystery.See rising star Caleb Landry Jones in this original and twisted tale from the mind of Brandon Cronenberg (the clue is in the last name). I missed this at Cannes and caught it at TIFF (where it had been re-edited slightly).
- DirectorDavid AyerStarsJake GyllenhaalMichael PeñaAnna KendrickShot documentary-style, this film follows the daily grind of two young police officers in LA who are partners and friends and what happens when they meet criminal forces greater than themselves.Intense police thriller seen at TIFF
- DirectorMichael HanekeStarsJean-Louis TrintignantEmmanuelle RivaIsabelle HuppertGeorges and Anne are an octogenarian couple. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, also a musician, lives in Britain with her family. One day, Anne has a stroke, and the couple's bond of love is severely tested.Palm d'Or winner at Cannes. It's a masterpiece by Michael Haneke although bring plenty of handkerchiefs to dry your eyes.
- DirectorLee Toland KriegerStarsRashida JonesAndy SambergElijah WoodA divorcing couple tries to maintain their friendship while they both pursue other people.Wonderful comedy from Sundance with great chemistry between the leads.
- DirectorPablo BergerStarsMaribel VerdúEmilio GaviraDaniel Giménez CachoA twist on the Snow White fairy tale that is set in 1920s Seville and centered on a female bullfighter.All remaining titles unseen as of time of writing, but I wanted to catch them at the festival (alphabetical order). This is Spain's entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars.
- DirectorOriol PauloStarsJose CoronadoHugo SilvaBelén RuedaA detective searches for the body of a femme fatale which has gone missing from a morgue.
- DirectorKen BurnsSarah BurnsDavid McMahonStarsAntron McCrayKevin RichardsonKharey WiseA documentary that examines the 1989 case of five black and Latino teenagers who were convicted of raping a white woman in Central Park. After having spent between 6 and 13 years each in prison, a serial rapist confessed to the crime.
- DirectorCraig ZobelStarsAnn DowdDreama WalkerPat HealyA normal Friday service at a fast food restaurant becomes interrupted by a police officer who claims an employee stole from a customer, but something more sinister is going on.
- DirectorBrett MorgenStarsMick JaggerCharlie WattsBill WymanLegendary British rock band The Rolling Stones mark their 50th year together.
- DirectorDaniel EspinosaStarsJoel KinnamanMatias VarelaDragomir MrsicWhen JW becomes a drug runner in order to maintain his double life, his fate becomes tied to two other men: Jorge, a fugitive on the run from both the Serbian mafia and the police, and mafia enforcer Mrado, who is on the hunt for Jorge.
- DirectorAna PiterbargStarsViggo MortensenSoledad VillamilDaniel FanegoA man who assumes the identity of his deceased twin in Argentina.