Pretty knackered in the lounge of the Picture House, I contemplate whether I should see this or not. On my twitter feed @filmstalker warns me to avoid it. I leave a message asking why and go in anyway. The curtain opens, the film begins, or does it?

In the City of Sylvia'
En la ciudad de Sylvia

Plot Outline:
A young man (Xavier Lafitte) arrives in Strasbourg and spends his days sitting at an outdoor café, sketching the figures of the women around him, patiently waiting for Sylvia, the woman that he fell in love with six years earlier, to appear.

He finally thinks he sees her in Ella (Pilar López de Ayala) and gives chase, but it turns out to be someone else. He resumes his quest for his lost love and the innocence he longs to regain. Sylvia's presence lingers, but it is impossible to return to the past.

Overall Impressions:
So, as I was saying above Mr. FilmStalker warned me about this. The film had begun but appeared to be very still. The guy in it was pencilling something. A couple of minutes later, things begin to kick off. Well, I say that but there was a lot of still camera following certain angles of streets.

UK Shorts 2'

Title: Home Time
Runtime: 6 mins
Directed by: Natalie Brady
Synopsis: D At the end of a school day there's one girl in the playground who doesn't want to go home.
Quite a subtle way of story telling through indicating rather than show & tell. I certainly think this should be practised more often in film, but I understand why it isn't seen too often, its a tough balance to set. Good to see it done well here.

Title: Breath
Runtime: 11 mins
Directed by: Mark Gillespie
Synopsis: Hard hitting drama based around the delivery of a donor organ.
Though it was emotionally balanced & encompassed well distinguished characters. The hero on the motorbike, the hopeful parents, the innocent child, the irresponsible driver. There were a limited umber of ways it could pan out & so I began looking more at the locations & background music used & this is what struck me as more impressive than the story. A good portfolio film I feel, execution above content would be my criticism for it, but that could be its strength if used/pitched accordingly..

Title: I Was Here
Runtime: 12 mins
Directed by: Richard Porter
Synopsis: The story of a man who decides not to go to work one day. He simply walks away, with no idea of where he will go or what he will encounter.
With absolutely no dialogue, again music came as a saviour for it. Though nearer the beginning I wondered if this is going anywhere, by the end I looked at the character with some envy. I wish I had more days like that. In the rut that becomes work/home routine, it is unfortunate to simply just not have the time to 'get away'. Even precious holidays (a measley 25 days or so) have to be managed carefully. Here I am using them up at film-festivals. *sighs* ..such is life.

Title: Home
Runtime: 11 mins
Directed by: Debs Gardner-Paterson
Synopsis: Sometimes leaving brings you back.
This was the mandatory grim one. There's always one. It deals well with handling past & present & I did take away some sort of message out of it. Which is where I feel depressing tales quite often fail. I find I want to receive some sort of small reward if I have to endure pain that these characters I invest in endure. Here I walked away with more than just 'home' being where the heart is, but that giving up, attempting suicide is just passing the misery on to another. Its quite irresponsible. Hopefully the idiots that keep dropping off at Surbiton might see this.

Title: Legion of Plotters
Runtime: 10 mins
Directed by: Tom Martin
Synopsis: Conspiracy or paranoia? Plagued by a deluge of aggravations, Mr Jasper draws a dark conclusion. Adapted from a short story by Richard Matheson.
Another befriended film-maker. I pretty much made the effort to come see this batch at 10:30 on a Saturday morning primarily because it was the only time I'd get the chance to see his film. On the corner of your mind you always have that concern that you might not like it. What then? How will you face this 'friend'?! Thankfully, it held up as the best of the lot. *phew*

It was very well edited, from the very opening, the credits impressed. Seeing Richard Mathesons' name stamped on it impressed even more & the dark humour worked a treat for me. If anyone follows me on twitter they'd probably see why this would appeal to somebody like me. Those plotters really are out there I tell you, in the form of cute & cuddly 'infants'. Grrrr

Even as the credits closed I was left with an additional unexpected chuckle.

Title: The Imaginary Girl
Runtime: 11 mins
Directed by: Richard Porter
Synopsis: Seven year old Amy, whose recently separated parents hold different views on her social development, is enthralled in her world of make-believe.
When writing comments for these films, some times this is the 1st time I have read the synopsis & it's interesting how some appeal more on paper & some don't feel quite what I saw. In this case, the film sells itself better than he synopsis. The 'mother' was so irritating I wanted to shoot her myself. Unfortunately she doesn't get shot in the film either, but she got close.

What we see the child going through is infuriating. It actually reflected an old memory a little too close to home to be honest, but I cant hold it against the guy. A job well done uncovering old wounds Richard!! :-P

Title: Crosswords
Runtime: 10 mins
Directed by: James Malcolm
Synopsis: Mrs Mitchell thinks people are sending her messages through crosswords. Her eccentric house, packed floor to ceiling with thousands of old puzzles, is about to be targeted by the Pristolux Homecore Company.Dark humour. Love it. A brilliant atmosphere for it. The ending too nailed it. Stupid Man. Stupid Hoover. lol

Thoughts Overall: I didn't dislike any. Not that many of you will get the chance, but these were the unmissable ones. Glad I missed the screening earlier in the week, else following batches would have had too much to live up to.

The idea is this. People send a synopsis to Screen East before a certain deadline (earlier in the year) Six of these get chosen as finalists & the filmmakers will pitch their idea for a microbudget feature of under £150,000 to a panel of experts who'll give their feedback on the idea, and how feasible a "micro" budget production it is.

The filmmaker of the best pitch will win a one-to-one feature film development session with The Script Factory (worth £300). Results will be announced at this event & then printed in the BAFTA and Screen East newsletters.

Me, in the audience getting to see 6 pitches & the feedback may not sound interesting to all of you, but it most certainly was. For me, from the ideas, only 4 out of 6 worked. 2 of them could have done with some more preparation, a hook to sell their film better, and 2 genuinely interested me. 1 of these 2 intrigued me to the point, I have requested to be kept in the loop with the project.

Oddly enough, the winner was one of the 2 I dismissed as not terribly interesting content-wise, but, I have to admit, his pitch was good. He had locations planned already, an outline of areas he's have permission to shoot, basically a lot more feasibility study than the others & that wins a pitch contest. It makes sense.

Another interesting truth that came about was that UK Film seems to be getting labelled as 'gritty', 'dark' and generally quite unpleasant. I'd agree. The pitches backed this theory. Maybe I should put a pitch together for the 'Ranjeet' screenplay after all. Seems like they could do with it. I guess I should finish writing it first. Hmmm'

Best of ..
Screen East
Digital Shorts'

To coincide with the launch of the 2009 scheme, a selection of films from past years will be screened followed by a Q&A session with a past writer director and Sam Burton, Executive Producer of the scheme.

The Lineup:
THE TECHNICAL HITCH Director: Jon Dunleavy. 2006. Written by Luke Wright
MONOCULTURE Director: Jason Cuddy. 2007. Written by Simon Edmondson
BILLY'S DAY OUT Director: Iain B Macdonald. 2005. Written by Antony Mann
BLASTED ANGELS Director: Ian Claxton. 2006. Written by Paul Burke
BLOOD ON HIS HANDS Director: Justin Coleman. 2007. Written by Justin Coleman

"The Technical Hitch" was a refreshing little animation with poetic narration, that used some profanities when I least expected, humorously I might add. It came across as symbolic of chaos being a part of the larger order & somewhat also the butterfly effect of cause & effect. It was pleasant to watch visually too. Worth seeing if you see it on show anywhere.

"Billy's Day Out" and "Blasted Angels" with a lack of synopsis *shame on you Screen-East people* .. I can't actually recall at the moment. I'll edit if it comes to me. Blatantly they didn't leave too much of an impression. This is probably due to the above & below being the standout ones.

2 of these badgers I'd seen last year, my thoughts towards them haven't differed:

Title: Blood on his Hands
Runtime: 9 mins
Directed by: Justin Coleman
Synopsis: James must make a decision about his brothers killer....
A drug addict, should he be allowed he chance to be rehabilitated or should he get the harshest of all penalties through the law? A thought provoking little short, that leaves the resolution open to the individual.

Title: Monoculture
Runtime: 9 mins
Directed by: Jason Cuddy
Synopsis: Harry grows a magical plant and finds happiness, but can he keep it?
By far the best short I have seen here so far. In black & white we see the monotonous lie of a young man, late o work, day & night at work, ending up home, only to rise another day to a similar routine. Until he gets his hands on some seeds that he decides to plant. As the plant flourishes it brings colour to his life & everything that he allows.

He finds himself, living the colourful life with a partner, decorating every aspect of hs life, until the plant itself gets neglected and wilts. Slowly he ends back into the monotone that he originally began in. There is a message here. It's the little things in life that make itcolourful & worth living. It's crucial to remember that these roots need watering, whatever they are.

Thoughts Overall: I think I'm confident enough now, maybe I should apply for this scheme.

International Shorts 2: Lost and Found'

Title: Dear Fatty
Runtime: 7 mins
Directed by: Hsin-I Tseng<
Synopsis: In this stop-motion animation,a little girl is writing a letter to her runaway hamster "Fatty" and wondering about its experiences in the outside world.
My thoughts as I saw this & afterwards was largely envy. Children have a certain innocence that is enviable. The animation was fitting, but what grasped me was the voice-over of a child. It made the film come to life. Wondering about thins that realistically would be far more harsh. I found it touching.
You can see 30 seconds of it here:

Title: The Back Room
Runtime: 17 mins
Directed by: Greg Ivan Smith
Synopsis: Two utter strangers uncover astonishing connections as they search for a mysterious Renaissance painting.
A man trying to close up a book store 10 minutes earlier than closing time was somebody you were sympathetic to. Enter the conflict, the big hefty guy that 'may' be a problem. The common ground they find was believable. The fairy-tale ending they go for not-so-much. It ruined it a little for me. Had they simply left together, this would have been okay.

Title: For You My People
Runtime: 5 mins
Directed by: Jose Pablo Gonzalez
Synopsis: An animated short film that tells the compelling story of a senator who must confront his secret deeds of corruption.
I think the message here was Corrupt Politician pays for this that & the other being covered up, and parallel to this greets all the victims of such as equal individuals publicly. Either that or I missed the plot. Interesting use of animation though. Would be interesting to see what else this guy has done.

Title: Radu and Ana
Runtime: 8 mins
Directed by: Paul Negoescu
Synopsis: Radu is the unluckiest guy on earth. Things might change. Or not.
The pick of the lot for being the stand-out comedic one. The escalation of things that went wrong for the poor guy, really were rather amusing as well as making him a character you wanted things to go better for. When a motion of events that look like its looking up for him finally, I did find myself wanting that for him. Does it happen? Well Yes & No. Definitely worth checking out f you see it screening anywhere.

Title: Amma (Mother)
Runtime: 5 mins
Directed by: Aparna Kapur
Synopsis: After receiving a ball of yarn at her grandmother's deathbed, Mia diligently begins to knit a weave that will eventually reunite the two of them.
The use of animation showing progression of one life to the next, how generations & legacies evolve (if I interpreted that right), has been done a number of times, but the music really had be involved in this one. It was pretty amazing. Another person I'll be keeping my eye open for. I've been listing to the Maa (Mother) song from Taare Zameen Par on repeat since I saw this yesterday.

Title: Girl in Red Sarong
Runtime: 13 mins
Directed by: Jeremy Sing
Synopsis: A spoof of a Singapore national icon, told through a day-in-the-life tale of Leng, a waitress who is simply, trying to survive.
The maker of this one had flown in from Singapore & I kinda felt bad for him, for I didn't understand the film. I saw him around later, but didn't mention the film. I feel kinda bad now, I probably should have pressed him for an explanation of some sort, but I think that it was quite a cultural thing. A woman struggling to pay her rent manages to find work by her traditional garments or something?! It was well-shot, at least I can say that

Thoughts Overall: This has been the best set of shorts I've seen yet. Either that or my attention span is getting worse & worse. Though I wouldn't say I liked them all, I do feel I took away more from these than I did prior screenings. All of them had something for me.

International Shorts 1: Sensitive Souls'

Title: Punch
Runtime: 10 mins
Directed by: Sotiris Dounoukos
Synopsis: In a city of beauty and noise, a broken man tries to escape his pain and loneliness by playing the clown he feels like...
I didn't see it as hugely original, yet it engaged me emotionally. It reminded me of a scene from Mera Naam Joker (My Name is Joker) which covered 3 acts, as 3 different time periods in the life of a clown, but what differed was that this clown was only a clown to us as a viewer, to the surrounding people on-screen he was being treated as just another person seeking some attention, which I'd say was its hook.

Title: Hello, Goodbye
Runtime: 16 mins
Directed by: Antoine Bourges
Synopsis: A short drama that depicts the first and last day of a foreign student in Vancouver, from his initial observations to his last farewells.
Discussing with one of the other film-makers, there was more to read in here than I initially anticipated. It follows an interns beginning & end at a school for architecture, which was engaging enough in itself. However there was something larger her in his actual project. I'd be interested in seeing it again to see if my thoughts change on how I interpreted this part.

Title: Puppies & Pickup Trucks
Runtime: 18 mins
Directed by: Vincent Biron
Synopsis: The chronicle of a dying childhood.
Absolutely hated it. Something terrible happens & I empathised with the boy, however this was simply it. Very little followed events-wise, lamentation which didn't suffice for me as a resolution to what we'd been put through as a viewer.

Title: Dreamers
Runtime: 14 mins
Directed by: Vlamyr Vizcaya
Synopsis: A tender coming of age story in a crude world!
Another dud for me I'm afraid. The fact t hat only the next day I can't even remember this short shows how much of an impact it left on me.

Title: Man
Runtime: 15 mins
Directed by: Myna Joseph
Synopsis: Maggie and her sister form an unusual bond during an encounter with a young man.
This one was interesting. I'm not sure how often this sort of thing happens in real life, where an online relationship comes to life when a boy & girl finally meet & decide to fornicate on that first meeting, but having the sister there in this instance made it odd & interesting. On the one hand the one sister was the cause & on the other she was trying to protect her sister. There was also a sense of envy here. The mix of emotions is what made this believable & engaging.

Title: Legacy
Runtime: 15 mins
Directed by: Grant Sputore
Synopsis: A coming of age story - an account of innocence lost and a life saved in Australia during World War ll.
I befriended the maker of this a few days earlier, so I'm a little conflicted about reviewing it, but I will anyway. The World War setting put me off a little, just as its a genre I don't tend to get on too well with. This said, the message of the story (even relayed in its title) was clear & well portrayed. It leaves us with he question of whether our duty to our own outweighs the progression of oneself.

In this instance, it is a story of a War Veteran drunk father, a young soldier son who is seeing himself becoming his father, while trying to convince the younger son, his brother, to 'not' follow in his own or his fathers' footsteps. The resolution being left quite open though hinting towards a specific angle.

Thoughts Overall: Bar the two films that I found pretty dull, this was a good batch. I did have concerns about them because they were largely over 10 minutes, which means they need to be good to not bore me, but they panned out quite well. Rather impressed.

This film I'll admit, I saw for Sarah Connor. I feel quite like Linda Hamilton, a label is being attached to Lena Headey although it's also allowing her an emergence to a larger audience. Provided she keeps doing roles outside of Terminator, I feel she has scope for larger things. It obviously helps that she's far from bad looking. ;-)

The Brøken'

Plot Outline:
Having premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival as a part of the 8 Films to Die For theme, this film follows the story of a woman in London.

Gina (Lena Headey) wakes up in the hospital following an encounter with a mysterious doppelganger. Her life begins to turn sour & ridden with nightmares as she tries to come to grips with the incident.

In the process of trying to make sense of her repressed memories of the incident, she thinks she sees herself drive past in her own car. Stunned by this strange event, Gina follows the mystery woman up to her apartment.

From here, events take an unexpected turn for the worse, to the point where Gina's awareness slides from solid reality into a world that will haunt more than just her nightmares.

UK Shorts 3'

Title: Speechless
Runtime: 8 mins
Directed by: James Cooper
Synopsis: D has plenty of time on his hands. He could be doing all sorts of things.... but generally he isn't doing very much. Disillusioned with just about everything around him, he takes solace in gangsta rap, bags of family sized crisps, chips, sausages... and 'texting'.
By far, the funniest of the lot. I'd actually like to get hold of this at some point to show a few friends, where its all at. Conveying takes skill. Conveying without words is a good way of practising this. Which was in part what I was going for when I wrote 'Building Character'. Kudos for pulling it off with numerous laughs.

Title: Time Out
Runtime: 8 mins
Directed by: Angus Gafraidh
Synopsis: What would you do if you could see twenty four hours into the future?
This was humorous & well executed, but it it did have a dash of familiarity about it. The concept is not all-that original. Numerous TV shows through the years have been based upon it. Though technically this doesn't affect the end-product, it did notch it down a bit in my liking of it.

Title: Terrafarmer
Runtime: 2 mins
Directed by: Will Adams
Synopsis: A lone astronaut attempts to terraform a hostile planet with a malfunctioning robot as his only companion.
This felt like a showcase of 3d Animation. Humerous yes, but perhaps too short to actually get into. Perhaps an impressive series lies ahead?

Title: Blunder
Runtime: 8 mins
Directed by: Simon J Riley
Synopsis: A sales rep, witnesses the kidnapping of a female jogger whilst driving to meet a client. After following the kidnapper to his house and trying to save the jogger, Jack realises things aren't quite what they seem.
This went well for its first half, the setup & tension were working well upto a point. Once the story unfolded, it lost steam & became predictable.

Title: The Legend of Ol' Goldie
Runtime: 8 mins
Directed by: Matthew Snyman
Synopsis: A fairytale about a boy and his only friend... his pet goldfish. The thing is, Goldie isn't your average Goldfish.
The clichéd arguing parents annoyed, but the story of a boy with a pet & how it became a lasting friendship was engaging. Overall, I felt sort of neutral about it.

Title: And The Man is Born
Runtime: 9 mins
Directed by: Pravel Prokopic and Marie Morgan
Synopsis: A comedy of life's disappointments for one young woman. Realising her dreams never felt so bad.
Just plain weird & not in a good way. I don't have much else to say.

Title: Sun in the Night
Runtime: 4 mins
Directed by: Anne Wilkins
Synopsis: A mother hopelessly waits for her lost son to return, whilst her young daughter plays with a strange imaginary friend.
You can actually watch it yourself here:

Title: 21 Seconds
Runtime: 9 mins
Directed by: Ru McArdle
Synopsis: A gritty romantic tragedy. Maddie is looking for a place to commit suicide; security guard Keith is out to save her. Fairytale ending? Definitely not.
This felt too silent. It had an interesting use of motion to encompass the business surround the principal characters, however the story for me fell flat. 2 self-absorbed, self-pitying losers whine about how their life sucks. I must admit I wanted them to meet & suddenly be happy, even though it wouldn't be realistic, but instead it ends with more moping. Boo hoo. Die already! Sound too harsh?

Title: Charon
Runtime: 13 mins
Directed by: Chiara Ambrosio
Synopsis: Charon, the mythic ferryman over the river Styx, sails off on a journey to recover his childhood and mortality. This is a film about loss, mortality and time.
The use of puppets impressed, but it ran too slow in showing off this very skill. I did feel for the old chap working so hard for a little bit of peace & rest. I think it was supposed to be a deep & meaningful portrayal of the generations before us, which does come through, just too slowly.

Title: Sundays
Runtime: 6 mins
Directed by: Sarah Bick
Synopsis: A visual study of spending Sundays in make-believe. Because six bad days is bearable. Seven is not.
A visual study yes. A film no.

Thoughts Overall: As a set of shorts, a better ratio of good stuff to so-so stuff compared to the 'UK Shorts 1' programme, largely I assume this is because of the humour factor. What can I say? I like to be entertained.

This film is a large production, you'll probably see posters for it if you keep your eyes open. This thought it was a great film to watch was a bit of a mistake on my part, as I would certainly have had a chance to see it again in a few weeks time, plus, the alternative "The Man from London" I hear is fantastic, but isn't getting the deserved attention (ie; Limited showings worldwide & hence no 'wide' release).

I've Loved You So Long'
Il y a longtemps que je t'aime

Plot Outline:
In this gentle yet suspenseful drama, two sisters attempt to
reconstruct their relationship after a long separation, as haunting family secrets slowly emerge.

Juliette (Kristin Scott Thomas) has been abroad for fifteen years for mysterious reasons and is outcast by her family. On her return, only her sister Léa (Elsa Zylberstein) is willing to take her in, but Juliette's presence disturbs the household, as Léa's husband is deeply suspicious of her sudden reappearance in their lives.

This is the story of her gradually finding acceptance within a family now alien to her & in the process finding her own capacity to heal from the past that haunts her.

UK Shorts 1'

Title: Hand Gum
Runtime: 9 mins
Directed by: James Farrant
Synopsis: A poetic study on the cruelty and innocence of youth in modern society.
Interesting representation of when kids just aren't innocent any more. Like with plants, they should be grown under controlled conditions & given a lot of attention, else hey're just weeds!

Title: Trip
Runtime: 9 mins
Directed by: Harry Wootliff
Synopsis: An emotional tale of what happens when a father tries to do the right thing by his two daughters but chooses the worst way to go about it.
The synopsis pretty much sums up what I thought of it. You see it from the outset that it can't end well, but he 'tries', bless him.

Title: K
Runtime: 20 mins
Directed by: Piers Thompson
Synopsis: 15-year-old Kaylee encounters an enigmatic stranger who compels her to re-evaluate her future.
This was pretty slow, pretty long & pretty boring to be honest. Largely I think a lack of background score, really didn't help it here, but I just found it a bit pointless, which is okay for a short short, not for something greater than 10 minutes

Title: Ripple
Runtime: 18 mins
Directed by: Paul Gowers - Official Site
Synopsis: A black comedy. One small random act of malice forces an ordinary man off the safe road and on to a dark journey that he'll never forget.
This was pretty funny, the over-use of profanities may not be comfortable for 'everyone', but the concept & execution otherwise is pretty good. it's a simple story of a bad day escalating for a man. Nicely done. When a short film is over 10 minutes long & doesn't make me want it to end, they've done well. This one I could have watched as even longer, the escalation was engaging, the music suited it too.
I managed to find a trailer for it:

Title: Veils
Runtime: 13 mins
Directed by: Dan Susman
Synopsis: Veils is a story about a Jewish girl and a Palestinian guy on their wedding day. But this is not a standard Romeo and Juliet story of forbidden love..
This was looking predictable, but interesting none-the-less, but they then ruined it by putting in a twist for the sake of having one. Easily done I suppose. I wonder if my next short will have a twist?!

Title: Tide
Runtime: 4 mins
Directed by: Felix Wiedemann
Synopsis: He kisses her. Is this the beginning of a great love - or the end ? A short film which plays with the audience's perception - backwards.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, its short (like shorts should be) & captures you unaware. It took me a moment to realise it was backwards (which you do eventually). However the way it plays with perception was quite smart. Interestingly, my friend didn't pick up what was going on until I explained.

Thoughts Overall: As a set of shorts, with the exception of Ripple, they were a little serious for my liking, but a decent compilation that improved within its duration. I take away Ripple as most humorous, but Tide left me most moved.

The concept of this film had me intrigued at the very outset, I suppose this is a good sign. From a mere synopsis, if you're already intrigued, compelled to see it, something definitely went right.

Lufbusiness'

Plot Outline:
Looking for some easy money, three young homeless drop-outs are introduced to the idea of auctioning over the internet (eBay). Considering they have no real material possessions, they think hard about the potential things they could attempt to sell. They think overnight as to what they possess, which they could do without & decide to auction parts of their lives.

One of the kids sells his future, one sells his past (his childhood). The third sells his soul. What begins as a simple joke gets a little more serious once the bidding begins.

When the auctions complete and they come to discover that they've sold their very existences, the effects upon them are intense & unpredictable. Naturally at this stage, there are no refunds...

Amused. I can't actually review this because I pre-viewed and wrote the blurb for the Raindance Film Festival catalogue last year, amongst others. The 'blurb' .. you know, that bit you read about a film that tries to convince you to go see it. If I did a review, it would reflect 'some' of that, sure, but naturally, a fair amount is omitted to ensure it sounds 'good', ie; no critique.

Summer Scars

Anyway, which blurb do you prefer? Which would make you go watch this film?

The Raindance Version (My Version)
When six 14 year old kids skip school to play in the woods, their day's antics culminate in a motorcycle crash where they fear having killed a drifter. Relieved that he is still alive and well, they feel obliged to befriend him- an obligation they come to deeply regret.

The drifter's behaviour increasingly oscillates between kindness and abuse and the truants eventually find themselves being held hostage in their own den. They are soon forced to embrace the darker side of human nature if they are going to survive this ordeal.

Summer Scars sheds serious light on the choices we are forced to make under extreme circumstances where our impulsive reactions can sometimes take us beyond what we thought capable. With an unsettlingly natural Jekyll and Hyde like performance from Kevin Howarth, writer/director Julian Richards superbly captures the essence of life-changing experiences. The resonance of a single event is beautifully explored here, this is a definite must for all British Film fans.

The Cambridge Version
In this disturbing British thriller, the fate of a gang of urban kids who skip school to play in the woods with a souped-up stolen moped is changed forever when they crash into Peter. A dishevelled drifter, Peter is delighted to have a group of youngsters to hang out with. First he gains their trust by joining in their games but then his behaviour begins to change. Peter uses what he has learned about the kids against them, bullying the alpha boys, belittling the weaker ones and saving his worst for the only girl of the group. The kids realise too late that they are being held hostage and when Peter acknowledges things have gone too far, the kids are forced to embrace the dark side of human nature if they are going to survive the ordeal.

They say the first film you watch at a film festival stays with you for the life of the festival. They don't actually say that at all, but maybe they should. Last year I saw 'Rock, Paper, Scissors' & it did become the most memorable film of the festival, the year before I only saw the one programme so it still holds for that year. This year, its early days, ask me on the 29th :)

Gomorrah'

Plot Outline:
Winner of the Cannes Grand Prix this summer for its ground-breaking adaptation of Robert Saviano's best-selling book (The non-fiction book that has raised mob threats that in turn have forced Saviano into hiding.)

In a nutshell, it's a reality-based depiction of the destructive and pervasive impact of organised crime on ordinary people. It focuses on five almost independent groups of people, that have one thing in common besides being in the working-class suburbs of Naples. They're all on some level involved with the mob.

The film journeys into a nightmarish landscape of crumbling concrete housing blocks and polluted wastelands to show us everyday lives corrupted by crime.

Year One: The weekend I popped up to Cambridge to meet my friend Demon at his new place (which as a side-note was a hybrid Half-flat Half-Pizza Hut Transformer type thing), that weekend quite luckily just happened to coincide with the Film Festival they had on. I only saw a couple of things but I recall being in awe. They had a few Charlie Chaplin Silent Shorts on, however instead of the worn out track on the film, they had brought in a live pianist to play in sync with the film & he was one skilled man.

Later I was having a drink with the guy & it turned out that there was another guy who was supposed to be doing the show but had cancelled & that he had been called in last minute & had never seen the film before. That was my moment of amazement. I had to come back for more.

Year Two:
I took some time off work & made a longer trip down. This year the theme was Harry Lloyd, but I was more interested in the festival environment & the variance in films being shown. I sat with the schedules & worked out a plan of what to see & when. A plan that failed miserably.

Even so, I saw a fair few & blogged most of them. However the biggest flaw in my attendance last year was that I did get a little carried away, watching stuff that I knew I'd not be impressed by.

I was also filling in for FilmStalker as he took his deserved holiday. By the end of it I was doing 12-13 hour days, then socialising & sleep took its toll. I'd say I almost died, but that'd just be overly melodramatic. I almost died :)

Year Three:
The plan is to take each day as it comes. The first time I looked at what is showing is today. I'm making a point of noting things I definitely want to see, but beyond that, I'm going to take a more casual approach. ie; Not watch documentaries that get on my nerves.

On that note: Hello Cambridge!

Pineapple Express'

Plot Outline:
Dale Denton (Seth Rogan) is a slacker. He appreciates his job as a process server because it gives him plenty of time to smoke marijuana. His dream is to be a radio talk show host, and he frequently calls into talk shows to talk about how marijuana should be legal. He also is dating a high school senior, Angie (Amber Heard). She wants him to meet her parents but he is afraid to.

Dale has only one reason to visit his dealer Saul Silver (James Franco) & that is 'to purchase weed'. After a small fight with Angie, Dale visits him. Saul sells him a rare new strain called Pineapple Express.

When Dale becomes witness to a murder by a crooked cop and the city's most dangerous drug lord, he panics and dumps his roach of Pineapple Express at the scene. Dale now has another reason to visit Saul: to find out if the weed is in fact so rare that it can be traced back to him -- and it is.

As Dale and Saul run for their lives, they quickly discover that they're not just suffering from weed-fuelled paranoia: incredibly, the bad guys really are hot on their trail and trying to figure out the fastest way to kill them both.

Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, The'

Plot Outline:
Set during World War II, this is a story seen through the innocent eyes of Bruno (Asa Butterfield), the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a concentration camp. Unaware of the reason behind the War, he becomes friends with a Jewish boy, named Shmuel, who has been put in the camp at the bottom of Bruno's garden. This forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.

Overall Impressions:
You know there's not all that much to say. It was a simple sad story, that was conveyed well. Rather predictable in its content, I still found it shocking at a couple of particular points. From what I saw here I'm tempted to have a read of the novel its based on, so it certainly left an impact, but it's the child perspective that sells this rather than the events. There was some great acting from every one of the cast, but the 2 children can be singled out as the stars of the show.

It was perhaps a little odd to find the Germans speaking in British accents, but you know the score, if you sound British, you're either Hugh Grant or you're 'evil'. Here obviously this equates to the latter, (if you see them as different entities).

Overall, a decent period drama from the refreshing perspective of the naive & young. I wouldn't recommend it for the faint-hearted, but if you're looking for an engaging drama, it pulls at the right strings to get those emotions rolling.

Step Brothers'

Plot Outline:
Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) is a thirty-nine-year-old who has never left home and lives with his divorced mother, Nancy Huff (Mary Steenburgen). Dale Doback (John C. Reilly) is a forty-year-old who is quite similar in many respects. He too has never left home and lives with his widower father, Dr. Robert Doback (Richard Jenkins).

Both of them are unemployed and have been living off the goodness of their parents their whole lives. When Nancy meets Robert; they instantly fall in love. They marry, and move into Robert's home. The two sons are forced to live together in the same room as step brothers.

Initially they hate each other, but it doesn't take too loong for them to discover that they are not all that different. They are both practically 12-year-olds trapped in adult bodies living with their parents totally dependant upon them.

They become best of friends, and when everything is finally going well for them, their parents decide to kick them out, because they are getting a divorce. Their lives are about to change, and they must finally grow up if they're going to be able to survive in the big bad world.

Bangkok Dangerous'

The Pang Brothers have remade one of their own earlier works here going by the same title. I haven't seen it, have added it to my rental list now though. An interesting difference was that the Hitman in the original was deaf & dumb (with probably a better suited haircut).

Plot Outline:
Hitman Joe (Nicolas Cage) goes to Bangkok on an assignment to kill four people. He collects his resources & hires a local pickpocket Kong (Shahkrit Yamnarm) as his disposable errand boy, so that he has a medium between himself & his employer. As their relationship develops, Kong becomes Joe's student instead of one of his victims.

He begins enquiring and commenting on Joe's victims being bad people. Though he answers that it doesn't matter, that they're "bad for someone", it does awaken his conscience. When his fourth and final target turns out to be a politician beloved to the local people, including Kong, Joe hesitates to kill him. In the world of hired guns, hesitation has dire consequences.

Babylon A.D'

Plot Outline:
Veteran-turned-mercenary Toorop (Vin Diesel) takes the high-risk job of escorting a woman from Russia to America. 'Little does he know' that she is host to an organism that a cult wants to harvest in order to produce a genetically modified Messiah.

Overall Impressions:
Okay, here's the deal. Based on a French novel called Babylon Babies by Maurice G. Dantec which I haven't read & can't hence comment on, the film seems stuck in the 90's. Remember the 90's? when Vin Diesel was showing much potential as the *news* action star for the new millennium coming?! Yep. Whatever happened? I'll say this about what I think, Diesel's been plain unlucky. It's not that his career choices have been wrong, but rather the timing has been a bit 'off'. He's not bad in any of his films & this one is no different. The culprit here is the story. It semi-resembles Children of Men, which too was set in the future, however a more grim future, (with less technology & advertising prospects -- seriously, the product placement in this is total madness), however it lacks the fine-tuning that is key to any decent screenplay.

I can't go on to any social networking website without bumping into the announcement of Google's new browser which is 'to be released' at some point today. Things like this become a worldwide event now & I find it in part odd, in part exciting. Time to geek-out! :)

Well my largest concern at the moment is whether or not I will have the chance to play with it at work tomorrow. I will download it & take it in, just in case they won't allow us to download it there (probablity: high), but I haven't worked out whether & how to get it on the machines there.

Time will tell.
It's available here now: http://www.google.com/chrome/