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Post by youngoffender on Oct 5, 2017 13:52:13 GMT
Based on what was shown at Telluride/Toronto but not on the LFF programme, most likely Surprise Films are probably: Suburbicon Lady Bird Molly's Game The Children Act
Looking forward to Lean on Pete tomorrow.
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959 posts
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Post by alicechallice on Oct 5, 2017 17:26:11 GMT
Does anybody want to buy my ticket for Gemini on Sunday evening at 18:00, Empire Haymarket? Happy to do mates rates.
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1,866 posts
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Post by Marwood on Oct 5, 2017 22:57:45 GMT
Saw the restoration of Jabberwocky tonight: enjoyable enough but the years haven't been kind to it to be honest, some fun moments but it does sag a bit in the middle (probably why it hasn't been shown much, if at all in recent years) but what a cast: Michael Palin, Max Wall, John Le Mesurier, Harry H Corbett, Bernard Bresslaw, Rodney Bewes, Graham Crowden, Brian Glover (to name just a few) - as Michael Palin said afterward, 'the only one missing from 70s comedy was Derek Nimmo and I based my performance on him'
Gilliam and Palin were on fine form (along with Annette Badland) in an all too brief Q&A afterwards (still don't know why Gilliam insists on wearing those awful Peruvian styled fleece jackets when he does public appearances though) - they had to clear out of the NFT1 for the Robert Pattinson film on straight after, and on leaving the BFI, who should get out of a car right by me as I walk out but R-Pattz himself to sign a lot of tat for his admiring hordes (well to be honest, there were 7 or 8 people waving some Twilight tat hoping to get it signed).
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Post by foxa on Oct 5, 2017 23:08:13 GMT
Ha, Marwood - as you were walking out of NFT1 I must have been getting ready to walk in. We saw the Pattinson film 'Good Time' and had, well, a good time. Q&A afterwards with director and Pattinson, but crowd, I would say very much not a Twilight group, though I did see a small group of fans gathered outside.
If you find yourself with some time to kill at the BFI, I recommend the mediatheque - the area where there are booths where you can watch a wide selection of films for free. We chose a silent film called 'A Cottage on Dartmoor.' Think my husband enjoyed that more than 'Good Time.'
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Post by callum on Oct 6, 2017 15:52:50 GMT
Also I've noticed that quite a few tickets for previously sold out screenings or events have been made available on the BFI website today, including the Cate Blanchett Q&A tonight. Perhaps keep an eye on the website if there's anything you want to see and have easy access to London.
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Post by Jon on Oct 6, 2017 16:03:59 GMT
Also I've noticed that quite a few tickets for previously sold out screenings or events have been made available on the BFI website today, including the Cate Blanchett Q&A tonight. Perhaps keep an eye on the website if there's anything you want to see and have easy access to London. I assuming it's tickets that didn't sell on the AMEX presales or house seats. I managed to secure tickets to Battle of the Sexes next weekend.
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Post by kathryn on Oct 6, 2017 22:28:52 GMT
Well, I have to admit that this seeing a film every night malarkey is more tiring than I thought it would be - not helped by train trouble!
Mudbound last night - coming to Netflix and to a few cinemas - and Journey's End tonight, which should get a proper release. So basically it's been polio, racism/poverty/WWII and WWI this week. Really cheery stuff.
Journey's End is an adaptation of a play so I'm sure many here will be familiar with it. It never quite escapes its wordy roots despite Laurie Rose's gorgeous cinematography, but the performances are excellent.
We're seeing a comedy tomorrow - Bad Lucky Goat -and to be honest we need the laugh! Hope it's good.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 6, 2017 22:40:45 GMT
I couldn't make it to any of the festival films last year, and had forgotten about the totally uninspiring intro reel the BFI insists on running before every film they show at the festival - 'the best films in the world': you wouldn't think it from the dull clips they pick out. I have another four films to go, I'll be losing the will to live by the time the last one of those has come around.
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2,524 posts
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Post by n1david on Oct 7, 2017 17:30:42 GMT
Well I'm seven down as of Saturday night, and I've yet to see an absolute winner, and only one absolute clunker (The Maersk Opera, but it wasn't helped by the person next to me managing to knock their nearly-full glass of wine over me ten minutes in). I thought Journey's End was worthy, but struggled to escape what now seems like cliché in the context of so many WWI dramas. I know the original work was groundbreaking, but it no longer seems so, although this is an accomplished adaptation. Both my husband and I studied this at school (12 years and 400 miles apart), so if it's still on the curriculum it should have a decent life. 120bpm had that luscious French indulgence of telling a story at length (2.5 hours), which others can interpret as a lack of pace, but tells a good story of the political and the personal. I liked it very much but it won't be for everyone. Of the others; Rift is a curious but compelling Icelandic psychological thriller - very low-budget but punches above its weight; The Summit seemed like a TV pilot without the rest of the series (too many hanging stories) and Beach Rats struggled to break out of its indie gay roots to say anything very significant, although there was a great central performance by Harris Dickinson, who trained at a London drama school and did a handful of minor shows in London but now plays a blinder as a disaffected Brooklyn youth... Like kathryn above, I'm dying for a laugh, so I hope she enjoyed Bad Lucky Goat as I have that tomorrow.
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Post by callum on Oct 7, 2017 23:43:22 GMT
@n1david if you're looking for a chuckle, then Brigsby Bear tickled me the other day if there are any more showings.
For myself, had a blast at The Meyerowitz Stories and Battle of the Sexes - both have top-rate casts at the top of their game with very experienced directors. Would definitely recommend people seek them out, though I don't think they'll be hard to find.
Wonderstruck was an odd beast but surprisingly not too twee and genuinely sweet and magical. Very original, and a film about children but for adults. And Cate Blanchett was just radiant at her Q&A, though she didn't reveal anything about All About Eve.
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Post by Jon on Oct 8, 2017 1:00:10 GMT
I'm looking forward to seeing Battle of the Sexes.
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Post by callum on Oct 8, 2017 1:11:43 GMT
A bit of advice to ask - I'm seeing a film at Curzon Mayfair at 12:45 that lasts 97 mins but I'm hoping to see a film at Odeon Leicester Square at 14:30. Should I give up hope of getting to LS in time or leave early and make a dash for it?
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Post by Jon on Oct 8, 2017 1:14:28 GMT
A bit of advice to ask - I'm seeing a film at Curzon Mayfair at 12:45 that lasts 97 mins but I'm hoping to see a film at Odeon Leicester Square at 14:30. Should I give up hope of getting to LS in time or leave early and make a dash for it? 97 minutes won't be including credits so I think you could leave once the credits appear but I don't know how far it is from Mayfair to OLS?
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515 posts
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Post by callum on Oct 8, 2017 1:20:17 GMT
A bit of advice to ask - I'm seeing a film at Curzon Mayfair at 12:45 that lasts 97 mins but I'm hoping to see a film at Odeon Leicester Square at 14:30. Should I give up hope of getting to LS in time or leave early and make a dash for it? 97 minutes won't be including credits so I think you could leave once the credits appear but I don't know how far it is from Mayfair to OLS? 20 min walk or 8 minute drive along Picadilly apparently, though will be tight either way.
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Post by kathryn on Oct 8, 2017 8:25:34 GMT
Bad Lucky Goat is my highlight of the festival so far. Charming film, very funny in places although it has a different pace than the comedies we usually get so the laugh-rate is lower. It didn't pass the 6 laugh test - but the 3 or 4 laugh-out-loud moments were proper guffaws. It's very much a character piece, about the misadventures of 2 siblings after accidentally killing a goat, with the island itself as much a character as the human cast.
Dark River is also about a sibling relationship, but while very well-made, well-acted and thought-provoking it is another depressing one. Ruth Wilson's character returns home to the family farm and her brother after the father who abused her as a child dies. The relationship with her brother is very well portrayed.
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Post by kathryn on Oct 8, 2017 8:27:02 GMT
97 minutes won't be including credits so I think you could leave once the credits appear but I don't know how far it is from Mayfair to OLS? 20 min walk or 8 minute drive along Picadilly apparently, though will be tight either way. Hmm. I've not had a screening start on time yet, but not sure if that makes any difference.
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Post by n1david on Oct 8, 2017 9:16:59 GMT
20 min walk or 8 minute drive along Picadilly apparently, though will be tight either way. Hmm. I've not had a screening start on time yet, but not sure if that makes any difference. Yes, and I’m getting a bit annoyed given the BFI emails telling me that all LFF films start on time without trailers. Haven’t had a clash yet, but had to duck out of one Q&A because the screening started 10 minutes late and I didn’t want to leave in the middle of the Q&A.
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Post by callum on Oct 8, 2017 10:18:17 GMT
Thanks Kathryn and David - think I'm going to go for it. The second film has directors and guests so hopefully Claire Stewart will give it a lengthy intro to work in my favour!
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Post by Marwood on Oct 9, 2017 11:11:35 GMT
Hmm. I've not had a screening start on time yet, but not sure if that makes any difference. Yes, and I’m getting a bit annoyed given the BFI emails telling me that all LFF films start on time without trailers. Haven’t had a clash yet, but had to duck out of one Q&A because the screening started 10 minutes late and I didn’t want to leave in the middle of the Q&A. I've seen three films at the LFF this year, and none have started on time (Pickups was 10 minutes late last night) and they've all had two trailers in front of them. Anyway, yesterdays films: My Generation: rather enjoyable, better than the 'Weren't the 60s great?' sort of programmes that channels 4 and 5 fill up their weekend evening schedules with that I was half expecting/dreading, helped immeasurably by Michael Caine actually appearing on screen rather than just doing a voiceover (and rather than the usual 'celebrity' talking heads who have next to no connection to the events on screen, this has Caine talking to the likes of Paul McCartney and Twiggy) . I thought it lost its way a bit towards the end when it got a bit bogged down with drugs talk, but as Caine and the director David Batty said in the Q&A after, it would be impossible to fit the decade into 85 minutes (a TV series is to follow). Must admit it was a bit disconcerting when the lights dimmed to look to my right and see Michael Caine stood right next to where I was sitting...
Pickups: a sort of docudrama/comedy starring Aidan Gillen as an actor called Aidan, who may or may not be a serial killer, and his relationship with his son and fans (a word of advice, don't go asking him for a selfie if hes out with his dog, picking up dogsh*t ). An odd little film, rather enjoyable but hard to see masses of people lining up to see this when it gets a proper release (not sure this is the sort of thing that GoT fans will lap up) - I can see why it took so long to edit this after the initial filming, but it was well photographed and had some nice music as well (by Jamie Thraves, the director). There are some funny moments, but there are also some really odd moments that jar with this (it doesn't really have a conventional storyline, if that is what you primarily look for when you see a film).
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Post by n1david on Oct 9, 2017 21:51:39 GMT
Battle of the Sexes. Liked it.
Call Me by your Name. Loathed it. Obviously in a minority here as it's currently sitting at 96% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, bur couldn't get on with this at all.
Amant Double: Bizarre supuercamp French so-called erotic thriller. Love most François Ozon stuff but this was a bit much even for me, and a truly lousy ending.
Bad Lucky Goat. Amusing (but no more than that) Columbian comedy. Its future acceptance will be challenged by the fact that a major plot point means that they cannot say that "no animals were harmed in the making of this film".
A day away from the LFF tomorrow to trip down to Chichester to see Serena's Lear. Hoping that the second half of the festival has some more gems - I seem to be striking more misses than hits so far this year.
(Oh and both of today's screenings started over 10 minutes late - one was a gala where it might be understandable, but the other had no introduction, the film just started late.)
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Post by Deleted on Oct 10, 2017 8:56:56 GMT
Call Me By Your Name is the best film of the year thus far for me (going by American release dates). Timothée Chalamet is an exceptional, exceptional young actor. Couldn't sleep last night because this one was stirring around my head so much. 5*
I find it funny that the director of God's Own Country has been retweeting stuff about how his film is better because it includes full frontal male nudity. I enjoyed God's Own Country and appreciated the male nudity (as an artistic choice), but that film is nowhere near as sexy, sensual or loving as this one.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 10, 2017 9:07:25 GMT
Have found out that Michael Caine is going to be at the screening of My Generation I'm going to at the Curzon the Kings Road - woot woot! And I'll also get to see Cillian Murphy, Timothy Spall, Bruno Ganz, Kristin Scott Thomas and Cherry Jones at The Party, Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin at Jabberwocky and Aidan Gillen at Pick-Ups: S. Craig Zahler will be at the screening of Brawl In Cell Block 99, but I'm hoping Vince Vaughn will be a late arrival to make this a grand slam of woot woots... And Vince Vaughn confirmed for Brawl... yay!
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Post by kathryn on Oct 10, 2017 10:50:16 GMT
Saw Funny Cow last night and Big Fish and Begonia on Sunday.
Big Fish and Begonia is beautifully animated and visually stunning, but I'm not quite sure I entirely followed who everyone was and why everything was happening. Still, very enjoyable to watch - beautiful images of dolphins flying through the sky.
Funny Cow has been described as miserablist, and it's true it portrays very grim circumstances featuring domestic violence and some very un-PC jokes. But it's ultimately about a woman who manages to be herself and live her own life, without compromising who she is to fit in. Maxine Peake and Paddy Considine put in terrific performances. I enjoyed it a lot - though it certainly won't appeal to everyone.
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Post by callum on Oct 10, 2017 20:56:10 GMT
Having a great time this festival. Making the most of trying to attend films with Q&A sessions, often makes the whole feel of a festival much richer. Gladly gave Ambassador Samantha Power a standing ov after seeing The Final Year on Sunday, and would have done the same for Billie Jean King for Battle of the Sexes had she returned following the end of the film.
Really enjoyed Last Flag Flying yesterday and looking forward to The Shape of Water and The Florida Project that are still to come.
At least with the Weinstein scandal my fear that the Surprise Film would be The Current War has been quashed. Still hoping for Lady Bird, but will likely be The Disaster Artist I feel, which I'm fine with too. I think if it was going to be Lady Bird, On Chesil Beach would've been scheduled to play closer to the Surprise Film so Saoirse Ronan could attend the Q&A. Still, if she's still in town you never know...
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Post by Jon on Oct 10, 2017 21:35:32 GMT
Having a great time this festival. Making the most of trying to attend films with Q&A sessions, often makes the whole feel of a festival much richer. Gladly gave Ambassador Samantha Power a standing ov after seeing The Final Year on Sunday, and would have done the same for Billie Jean King for Battle of the Sexes had she returned following the end of the film. Really enjoyed Last Flag Flying yesterday and looking forward to The Shape of Water and The Florida Project that are still to come. At least with the Weinstein scandal my fear that the Surprise Film would be The Current War has been quashed. Still hoping for Lady Bird, but will likely be The Disaster Artist I feel, which I'm fine with too. I think if it was going to be Lady Bird, On Chesil Beach would've been scheduled to play closer to the Surprise Film so Saoirse Ronan could attend the Q&A. Still, if she's still in town you never know... I will be kicking myself if The Surprise Film is The Disaster Artist as it looks hilarious, luckily it is released in December I doubt the surprise film is The Current War as it got terrible reviews!
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Post by callum on Oct 10, 2017 21:52:21 GMT
They've opened the circle in OLS for the Surprise Film this year so still plenty of tickets left...
Also forgot to share I got an email saying that 16-25s can now get £5 tickets IN ADVANCE for certain high-profile events including The Florida Project red carpet on Friday and the Annette Bening Screen Talk on Thursday afternoon.
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Post by Jon on Oct 10, 2017 22:41:00 GMT
They've opened the circle in OLS for the Surprise Film this year so still plenty of tickets left... I'm seeing Battle of the Sexes at the same time at the Curzon Mayfair so I can't make it anyway.
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Post by callum on Oct 10, 2017 23:50:51 GMT
They've opened the circle in OLS for the Surprise Film this year so still plenty of tickets left... I'm seeing Battle of the Sexes at the same time at the Curzon Mayfair so I can't make it anyway. I imagine some will sneer at it for being a crowd pleaser but it's so well-directed and well-acted, it's probably the film I most 'enjoyed' so far. I was on Cloud Nine at the end of it! You'll have a great time Jon.
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Post by Marwood on Oct 11, 2017 0:00:40 GMT
Saw The Party earlier tonight and have to say I thought it was very poor: I'm guessing it is supposed to be a black comedy but if so, the laughs were few and far between - it was only the fact I knew the running time was a 'mere' 71 minutes that made me sit through this to the end. I'd say this was maybe the worst film I've seen at the cinema this year, its hard to see this being an amazing success when it gets its full release at the end of this week (I didn't stick round for the Q&A after, I'm not going to clap like a trained monkey for something I don't like).
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Post by callum on Oct 11, 2017 2:30:43 GMT
Yep the running time put me off - asking people to pay full price for 71 minutes is a bit of a joke, though from the sounds of it the running time was the best thing about it. I presume 71 mins includes credits so why on earth wasn't this put on BBC2 or Sky Arts...
At least cinemas can schedule a performance every hour and a half.
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