It is sad news that this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival has come to an end. I have had the pleasure of seeing a diverse and thoroughly enjoyable section of films for The People’s Movies. So here is a little run down of the best, some guilty pleasures and the worst.
THE BEST
Killer Joe
I don’t believe the festival could have been opened in a better way than with iconic director William Friedkin’s first feature in five years, Killer Joe. The director presented us with an energetic fusion of claustrophobic tension, raw brutality and black comedy with a career best performance from Matthew McCougnahey. Unfortunately, it may result in a fear of fried chicken. …Read Review
7 Days In Havana
The festival presented us with several strong anthology features, including 7 Days In Havana. The various directors capture the music filled, rum-soaked nightlife of Havana, whilst also managing to portray everyday life in the Cuban capital…Read Review
God Bless America
Bobcat Goldthwait’s twisted, feel-good film ponders the question, what if someone killed society’s most annoying people? The director’s unique sense of humour, alongside some thought-provoking social commentary makes for an excellent watch…Read Review
V/H/S
My favourite horror film since Ti West’s The House of The Devil, V/H/S (also featuring a segment from the director) captures all that horror fans love in the genre. It completely revitalises the handheld camera filmmaking style – showing that originality can still be brought to what was thought to be a tired style. Each segment is worth a watch, which is completely rare for an anthology…Read Review
Pusher
Pusher is a stylish, gritty British gangster flick that proves gripping for start to finish. Luis Prieto has presented us with a vibrant, visually striking update of Nicolas Winding Refn’s 1996 Pusher…Read Review
Fred
Richard Ledes’ heartwarming drama, Fred, proved to be a surprise favourite of mine at this years’ festival. Fred is a delicately crafted portrayal of the aging process featuring a combination of touching drama and deadpan humour courtesy of Elliott Gould…Read Review
GUILTY PLEASURES
Brake
Delivering some much needed B-Movie thrills to the festival was Brake. High octane plot twists, claustrophobic direction from Gabe Torres and an outstanding performance from Stephen Dorff were just some of the highlights. Who knew watching a man in a car boot could be so much fun?…Read Review
The Lorax
Controversially, I preferred Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax to the Pixar produced Brave. Stellar vocal performances with a combination of fun musical numbers and vibrant animation left me with a smile on my face….Read Review
THE WORST
Lovely Molly
Unfortunately expectations for Eduardo Sanchez’s Lovely Molly were far too high. The Blair Witch Project’s director’s proved to be tired and generic horror fare, squandering several interesting and original concepts…Read Review (link to cinehouse review)
The Fourth Dimension
This anthology attempted to discover finding their ‘fourth dimension’ – I am still no clearer as to how one goes about this. These chaotic, mismatched segments were simply so different that no distinct message could be gathered from them…Read Review (link to cinehouse review)
OTHER REVIEWS
Guinea Pigs – Read Review
Grabbers – Read Review
California Solo – Read Review
Shadow Dancer – Read Review
Berberian Sound Studio – Read Review
Tim And Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie – Read Review
Kotoko – Read Review
Sun Don’t Shine – Review
Life Is Just – Review ( Reviewed by Sophie Stephenson, Cinehouse link)
