Some son-of-a-nutcracker had to go to some stag do somewhere, meaning they took time off work, making me the only FTW Specialist available at work.

Normally this is no big deal, but this time it co-incided with this particular film festival. In a nutshell I missed out on some good stuff because of this, but at least I had the weekend.

As the weekend arrived, be it my luck that I had a mighty headache on Saturday evening. I went to this all-nighter expecting to probably walk out after the 1st film (which happened to be Alien). From prior experience of these all-nighters, they aren't always in the order advertised & I really did want to see Alien so that was plain lucky. With some more such luck I actually managed three out of the four films.

This is the order they played in, the films need no real introductions but I'll say a couple of cents on each:

Alien (1979) - The last time I saw this I was about 9 or 10, I used to keep an eye open in the free Herald & Post newspaper that we got through the door each week for films that were on Saturday nights. I had just worked out how to use the timer record function on the VCR and knew that I could watch the Saturday film on a Sunday afternoon. The teddy bear scene as I like to call it, freaked me out, I actually didn't eat for a whole day, because if I ate, I knew what happened next. I felt it was about time I seeked closure about that one. I finally did & it was hilarious. I have washed away my fears. I can finally open the Quadrilogy box set now & watch the rest (which I've never seen) and enjoy it. -- True Story

Pitch Black (2000) - I saw this at the cinema when it came out, bought it on DVD when it came out. It is 'the' film where Vin Diesel was cool. That other riduculous film was not Riddick. This one is the awesomeness that got him noticed & with good reason. What the hell happened to him anyway?

Solaris (2002) - Had never seen it, expected a suckfest that put me asleep if not a coma. (It began at 04:30) .. was pleasantly surprised. No clasic by any measure, but not as terrible as I'd heard it was.

The Thing (1982) - Like a sucker, I have never seen this, the reason I walked out is because I thought at 7am (when this was starting), I may not be able to give it the attention it deserves. I don't even have it on my DVD shelf sticking out - that will have to be rectified in the near future.

As with the Anime All Nighter last year, the atmosphere was worth the admission price alone, the ample supply of Red Bull, Ice-Cream & Tea/Coffee .. just another bonus, even the goodie bag had DVD's in it ... If you're a geek & you know it, this is the film festival you shouldn't miss. Everyone geeks out & feels at home about it. The whole experience is akin to a warm hug. (& no they aren't paying me to say that, I'm just bitter I missed so much of it).

Highlander: Search for Vengeance'

Plot Outline:
In the new tale, the lone warrior Colin travels with the wise-cracking ghost Amergan across a desolate landscape searching for the immortal despot Marcus Octavius, who killed his lover Moya on the Celtic plains tens of centuries ago.

Will Colin lead the people to freedom or become consumed by hate? The answer may lie with the beautiful yet tough freedom fighter Dahlia, who has a mysterious connection to Moya. Colin must confront Marcus in a showdown where the future of all men will be decided. In the end, there can be only one.

Overall Impressions:
It takes for granted that you know the highlander franchise, even though the story makes sense and is explained fully, it's the smaller things, like the Quickening and the Holy Ground that are not explained in much detail. The whole package is another cliche' central.

Amergan is in essence a bitter old Obi-Wan telling Colin how crap he is throughout the film, amusing, but rather pointless, definitely not inspirational in the least. Overall I had a lot of hope for this one but I came out of this thinking, damned another crap sequel. They had it right the first time, I guess in the end there can only be one. (All the sequels were pants too).

Though has a moment or 2 worthy of the Highlander label, overall pants! (4 out of 10)

Paprika'
London Premiere

Plot Outline
29 year old Dr. Atsuko Chiba is an attractive but modest Japanese research psychotherapist whose work is on the cutting edge of her field. Her alter-ego is a stunning and fearless 18 year old “dream detective,” code named PAPRIKA, who can enter into people’s dreams and synchronize with their unconscious to help uncover the source of their anxiety or neurosis.

Having developed such a form of psychotherapy with the invention of a machine, when the device is stolen by a "dream terrorist," it is up to Atsuko to track down the apparatus and save the world from total madness. After all, with great power comes great responsibility & all that ;-)

Overall Impressions:
Such a surreal film, I fell in love with it in the opening sequence. It was so vibrant, colourful, and extreme yet pleasant to watch. It made sense instantly that this would be a dream. I didn't know the plot beforehand, so I thought it did a pretty good job of getting you clued up in the first five minutes with what to expect.

The quirky team around the Doctor all have their place in keeping a parallel line of humour running throughout. As the investigation progresses, it becomes even more and more important for it to be resolved, as dreams start crossing each other and taking over reality.

A special mention to the big guy, who ate like how I used to back in the day, Bravo! The background music also was in tune with the mood of the ongoings and the artwork spectacular throughout.

One of the strangest yet best films I've seen this year!!!. (7.5 out of 10)

Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society'
UK Premiere

Plot Outline
The story takes place in the year 2034, two years after the events in Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C 2nd GIG. Major Motoko Kusanagi has left Public Security Section 9, an elite counter-terrorist and anti-crime unit specialising in cyber warfare, which has expanded to a team of 20 field operatives with Togusa acting as the field lead.

Section 9 is confronted by the mysterious suicides of thirteen operatives of the disbanded Siak Republic, remnants of which found asylum in Japan. They manage to catch up to Ka Gae-Ru, a former Siak Colonel who has taken a hostage in the hope of gaining safe passage out of the country. Gae-Ru says fearfully that "Kugutsu Mawashi" is coming before killing himself.

The investigation begins..

Overall Impressions:
Sound like quite a mouthful to follow? Well it's not all that bad. I'm pretty behind myself with the whole Stan Alone Complex scene, I've seen some episodes from the 1st Gig but I don't remember them, so it can't have done me all that much good. That said, it definitely is a thinker.

I must admit I was quite impressed, particularly with the fact that it was firstly self-contained which came as a pleasant surprise and secondly had a clear undertone of deep and meaningful thought which you only realise as the plot itself unravelled.

A smart film. I understood it and it did get me thinking, however it is probably worth looking at in more detail to get the full benefit of it. I get the feeling it's quite heavily layered. It has certainly caught my attention enough to now try & get my hands on the series.

Highly watchable as it's an animated action thriller, with a mystery. (6.5 out of 10)

Plane Dead
UK Premiere

Plot Outline
Flight of the Living Dead, previously advertised as 'Plane Dead' this film takes you aboard a routine flight from LA to Paris, a renegade scientist is transporting a coffin containing the body of a colleague killed by a genetically-engineered virus.

The jumbo jet collides with two massive thunderstorms and the turbulence triggers the release of the 'flesh-eating' scientist from the cargo hold. And she is very hungry! As the creature feeds, it passes on the deadly virus, working its way through the passengers and crew.

No government will let the aircraft land, and there is talk of blowing it out of the skies. Stranded in the air the remaining passengers are running out of places to hide.

Forget Snakes on a Plane, think zombies on a plane – priceless..

Overall Impressions:
I've had many a discussion with many a people about how they just don't make good 'bad' films anymore, but it seems once in a while they do and this fills a certain hunger I have. From the initial get-go it begins to fill you in with the "cliche central" characters.

The celebrity golfer with club at hand, the retiring pilot on his last flight, the hero cop with attached con artist criminal, the pretty heroine flight attendant, the slutty flight attendant, the nun, the villain doctor who is the one to blame for the whole zombie fiasco and ofcourse the token young couples who will make out in the toilets at the wrong time.

It's all about the setup, which is done to a calculated perfection in my opinion. This is certainly no ground-breaking feature, its a parody in essence, but this is where it scores. The lead-up is the stronger portion I have to admit, but here-on as the sequences of unleashed zombies on a plane kick in, you know you're in for a comical ride. Each and every character that has been introduced play their part in keeping you entertained. I would say it falls under comedy more than it does horror, but there is ample blood-spray and decapitation, so I wouldn't recommend it to the squealing variety of audience.

There are a couple of sequences of "let's go into the basement one by one" and I thought this was hilarious, it really fit the cliche' which we've seen many a time except back then you were supposed to be taking it seriosuly (i think). The whole film to me had a very Family-Guy / Southpark kinda humour about it. -- Pink-Eye in particular.

What I enjoyed the most was the play between the con and the cop, the dialogue between them was totally inspired. You can tell that must have had great fun making this & they're got exactly what they intended.

Perhaps back in the day films like this were made simply because it would be financially viable, and because adventurous sci-fi was less so, but I really think these B-movies have a place to fill in the current day industry too, and I'm really glad they are still doing this.

Nostalgic in itself, a great modern-day interpretation of the B-movie genre. (7 out of 10)

I also wonder if it was based at all on this webcomic of the same title?