LFF6: Another bright night

Ben Whishaw and Jane Campion led the charge tonight up the red carpet in Leicester Square for the gala screening of their exquisite John Keats biopic Bright Star, which happens to be my favourite film of the festival so far. They were joined for the screening by a slightly random array of London celebrities, including Mayor Boris Johnson.

I had another busy day at the London Film Festival running from screening to screening, and managed to take a long enough break between two films to have a hot lunch (badly needed as the weather has turned very chilly). Here are three films that were on today...

The Limits of Control

dir Jim Jarmusch; with Isaac De Bankole, Tilda Swinton, John Hurt 09/Spain ****

While it's probably too meandering and vague for mainstream cinemagoers, this offbeat thriller is a terrific example of Jarmusch's subtly cheeky tone, plus gorgeous Christopher Doyle cinematography and a terrific cast ... REVIEW >

Life During Wartime

dir Todd Solondz; with Allison Janney, Shirley Henderson 09/US ****

Typical of Solondz, this film is a surreal spin on his 1998 hit Happiness, with the same characters portrayed by a very different cast several years later. Blackly hilarious, the film features superb performances by an eclectic cast that includes Ally Sheedy, Paul Reubens and Ciaran Hinds, and dialog that's both laugh-out-loud funny and sharply observant. The central idea is forgiveness, and whether we ever really get over our upbringing, past sins and deep prejudices. Pretty amazing, but much more edgy and anarchic than it looks.

Blue Beard
dir Catherine Breillat; with Dominique Thomas, Lola Creton 09/France ***
Taking her typically girl-power view and applying it to a fairy tale, Breillat creates a deeply undettling period tale about two sisters who are obsessed with the story about the resident of the nearby castle - and expecially the way his wives have all gone missing. When they get a chance to meet him, they play it as an audition, and sure enough, one is chosen as the next wife. But things don't go as expected - or maybe they do - as tables are turned and promises are broken. It's a tricky, difficult film to unpack, but there's some fascinating stuff inside.

LFF5: Flying high

Anna Kendrick, Jason Reitman and Vera Farmiga hit the red carpet tonight for the premiere of their film Up in the Air. Alas, George Clooney couldn't stick around for this one - after two appearances at the London Film Festival last week (for Fantastic Mr Fox on Wednesday and The Men Who Stare at Goats on Thursday), he jetted off to Rome for the festival there. Also walking the red carpet on Sunday were the child stars of Julian Fellowes' British drama From Time to Time, Cold Souls star Emily Watson, French filmmaker Jean Pierre-Jeunet and Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu. Here are some film highlights...

Up in the Air

dir Jason Reitman; with George Clooney, Vera Farmiga 09/US *****

Clooney is perfectly cast in this terrific downsizing comedy-drama, which manages to keep us laughing even as it examines the darker underside of both the recession and a corporate lifestyle in which you fly high and travel as light as you can. Reitman's direction is bright and edgy, while Farmiga and Anna Kendrick develop strong female counterpoints that bring surprising depth to a film that refuses to become sentimental.

The Men Who Stare at Goats

dir Grant Heslov; with George Clooney, Ewan McGregor 09/US ****

Based on true events as recounted in the Jon Ronson book, this freewheeling war comedy is deeply entertaining due to the crazy-but-believable premise and wonderfully outrageous characters. ... REVIEW >

Kinatay

dir Brillante Mendoza; with Coco Martin, Maria Isabel Lopez 09/Philippines ***

Surprise winner of the directing prize at Cannes, this restless and grim drama explores endemic police corruption through the harrowing personal odyssey of a young cop-trainee who is dragged along with several off-duty officers on a night of unspeakable brutality. The loss of innocence is palpable, and the film is thoroughly, effectively unnerving with its skilful camerawork and sharp editing. But it also feels just a little simplistic.

Cold Souls

dir Sophie Barthes; with Paul Giamatti, Emily Watson 09/US ****

Like a collision of Charlie Kaufman and Woody Allen, this dark comedy is a surreal gem, astutely examining the issue of identity. And it gives the cast, especially Giamatti, terrific characters to sink their teeth into. ... REVIEW >

LFF4: Sharp suits

Here's another photo from yesterday - as the rather obscenely beautiful quartet of Nicholas Hoult, Tom Ford, Colin Firth and Matthew Goode arrive for the premiere of their film A Simple Man. I suspect that, in addition to directing and cowriting the film, Ford also designed the suits they're all wearing.

Today was a more relaxed day for me - a decent night's sleep, just one movie and a walk through chilly North London - it feels like I'm on holiday! Well, briefly at least. And except for the North London bit. Sure, attending a film festival is great fun for movie fans (and critics should be the ultimate movie fans), but it is also a lot of work. I need to write reviews of every movie I see, and seeing three or four films a day tends to build into a massive backlog. I caught up a bit today but still have a long way to go. And more movies to watch tomorrow. Here are a few highlights from today's programme...

44 Inch Chest

dir Malcolm Venville; with Ray Winstone, Tom Wilkinson, John Hurt 09/UK ***

With its limited setting, contained cast and existential plot, this feels more like a play than a film. So while it's well-acted by a first-rate cast, it also feels somewhat indulgent and oddly unsatisfying ... REVIEW >

Bellamy

dir Claude Chabrol; with Gerard Depardieu, Clovis Cornillac 09/France ***

Playful and intriguing, but too word-bound to make the central mystery work on screen, Chabrol's oddly lightweight film is most effective when it's examining the fascinatingly stubborn central character, played to comical perfection by Depardieu ... REVIEW >

Tales From the Golden Age

dir Cristian Mungiu, Ioana Uricaru, Hanno Hofer, Constantin Popescu 09/Romania *****

After the riveting 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Mungiu is back with five more stories from Romania's "golden age". But these tales replace that earlier film's brilliantly bleak chill with light-hearted irony ... REVIEW >

LFF3: Serious men

Viggo Mortensen was on press conference duty on day 3 of the London Film Festival, out promoting his new film The Road with director John Hillcoat and writer Joe Penhall. It was a much more serious press conference than the previous two days, as the thoughtful, articulate Mortensen led an intense and thoroughly engaging discussion of the themes in the film. Later in the evening I walked past him as he was patiently signing autographs in the crowd outside the Vue Cinema on Leicester Square, chatting with fans and clearly in no rush to leave. I also spotted Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley on the red carpet tonight. Firth was there for his film, Tom Ford's A Single Man, for which Firth recently won the best actor award in Venice...

The Road

dir John Hillcoat; with Viggo Mortenson, Kodi Smit-McPhee 09/US *****

Another Cormac McCarthy novel becomes one of the best films of the year. This startling post-apocalyptic adventure is almost relentlessly grim as it follows a father and son across an American landscape totally bereft of humanity or civilisation. But in each encounter, we discover things about these characters, and we see a very tiny glimmer of hope for the future. A stunning allegory, the film boasts spectacular cinematography and some truly unforgettable performances.

A Single Man

dir Tom Ford; with Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult 09/US ****

It's no surprise that this film is exquisite to look at; Ford knows how to capture an image, and we want to fall into every frame of the almost too-perfect 1962 Los Angeles setting, with its modern lines, gleaming cars and form-enhancing clothes. The story centres on one pretty terrible day in the life of a university professor (Firth) as he tries to quietly come to grips with the death of his boyfriend in a society in which he's not allowed to even have a boyfriend. Firth captures something untouchable in his performance, making us feel this man's despair and also his wry understanding that his life might not be over. And Moore shines in a showy role that she turns into something quietly profound.

Paper Heart

dir Nicholas Jasenovec; with Charlyne Yi, Michael Cera 09/US ****

An ingenious blending of rom-com and doc, this charming film worms its way under our skin from the start, keeping us laughing as it explores love and relationships from a strikingly original angle ... FULL REVIEW >

LFF2: Staring at the stars

Howdy from Day 2 of the London Film Fest. Another long day featuring three movies and a press conference. I started out with more of George Clooney, who appeared with Kevin Spacey (above), director Grant Heslov and author Jon Ronson for their film The Men Who Stare at Goats, which also had its starry premiere in Leicester Square tonight. Here are some other films that screened today...

Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno

dir Serge Bromberg, Ruxandra Medrea; with Romy Schneider, Serge Reggiani 09/France ****

Intriguingly combining footage of Clouzot's unfinished film L'Enfer with re-enacted scenes and documentary interviews, this artistic doc pieces together the story of a masterpiece that never was. It's perhaps a little overworked, but cinephiles will love every glorious frame ... FULL REVIEW >

Around a Small Mountain

dir Jacques Rivette; with Jane Birkin, Sergio Castellitto 09/France ***

Quirky and warm, this gently surreal comedy drama shows that the iconic director still has a playful side, as he orchestrates a momentous encounter between a travelling Italian businessman (Castellitto) and a French circus at precisely the moment an ex-highwire walker (Birkin) returns after 15 years in exile. Lots of lives are sorted out along the way, with plenty of gentle humour and a bit of offbeat romance. The cast are natural and funny, even if the film itself is enigmatic and elusive on all fronts.

From Time to Time

dir Julian Fellowes; with Maggie Smith, Alex Etel 09/UK ****

Obviously based on a children's book, this gentle period drama tells its story on two fronts, as a teen (Etel, all grown-up since Millions) goes to stay with his grandmother (the fabulous Smith) in 1944 and stumbles into old family secrets in the form of ghosts from 1809 wandering around the family manor. It's an involving story, a fun mystery and a very nicely observed look at Britain. It also has an ace supporting cast that includes Timothy Spall, Hugh Bonneville, Dominic West and Pauline Collins.

Enter the Void

dir Gaspar Noe; with Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta 09/France ***

Notorious filmmaker Noe finally followed up his controversial hit Irreversible - and it's another slightly gimmicky approach: using only subjective point of view to tell the story of a nice-guy American drug user (Brown) in Tokyo who is caught in the crossfire of a police raid, dies and haunts his friends and sister (de la Huerta) in the days and months that follow. As expected, Noe's filmmaking is astoundingly skilful, packing the movie with telling details, wry humour and vivid characters. It's also extremely indulgent; at least 30 minutes could easily be cut out of the meandering narrative. Noe was on hand to introduce the film tonight and then held a long and hugely informative Q&A afterwards.

LFF1: Celeb-tastic!

The 53rd London Film Festival kicked off tonight in Leicester Square with a far more glamorous opening night than we've ever seen: a star-studded world premiere for Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox (comments below). The film was shown to the press early this morning, followed by a press conference with (left to right) Eric Anderson, Bill Murray, Wes Anderson, George Clooney, Jason Schwartzman, Wally Wolodarsky and Jarvis Cocker. They're sitting at the table with the figures of their characters in the film. And yes, it was a pretty raucous session, with the always likeable Clooney fielding most of the questions and the hilariously deadpan Murray keeping everyone laughing.

Over the next 16 days, there will be more than 300 films and shorts screened at venues around the city. And this year there's an unusual number of massive movies with attending star power. Clooney will be back two more times - for The Men Who Stare at Goats tomorrow and Up in the Air on Sunday. We've got Viggo Mortensen on Friday with The Road, Julianne Moore with Chloe, Clive Owen with The Boys Are Back, and filmmakers like Michael Haneke, Gaspar Noe, Frederick Wiseman, Cristian Mungiu and Tom Ford. to name a few. I'll be blogging every day with comments and reviews - and I'll try to snap press conference/celebrity photos (like the above) whenever I can.

Fantastic Mr Fox

dir Wes Anderson; with George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray 09/UK ***

The beloved Roald Dahl book has been transformed into a Wes Anderson movie complete with wacky capers, silly swearing and a story that centres around a quirky dysfunctional family. That's not to say it's a bad thing! It's great fun to watch, packed with hilarious dialog and witty sight gags. And the stop-motion animation is simply spectacular, harking back to a slightly jerkier age when things looked a bit more stiff, and yet were much more full of character detail, emotion and pure visual invention. But by shifting Dahl's tone, the film feels far more pleased with itself than it should be - sunny and silly and ultimately rather weightless.

Critical Week(s): Stuck in Zombieland

Simon Pegg and pals (above) have a lot to answer for. Five years after Shaun of the Dead brilliantly combined zombie horror with comedy, we're in an epidemic. There's also the fact that I feel like a zombie at the moment with an overload of movie screenings - but that's usual for this film-packed time of year when Raindance and the London Film Festival converge on us critics like an inexorable, undead force. Soon we're left with sunken eyes and wobbly legs, barely able to remember which film we saw an hour ago, let alone last night.

As a result of this, I missed a week in this blog, and I saw 21 films in the past fortnight. Zombies featured in five of those (Zombieland, Colin, Jennifer's Body, Surviving Evil and The Descent Part 2) - six if you include Nicolas Cage's nutty performance in The Bad Lieutenant - Port of Call: New Orleans.

The best of these two weeks were Steven Soderbergh's The Informant!, Grant Heslov's The Men Who Stare at Goats and Jim Jarmusch's The Limits of Control; the worst were Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau in Couples Retreat, Jamie Foxx and Gerard Butler in Law Abiding Citizen.

And so it goes. The screening frenzy continues here for the rest of the month (I havd 15 films in the diary for this coming week), but I'll switch on Wednesday to a daily London Film Fest blog, with reports on the celebrities parading through Leicester Square and of course the films themselves. We kick off with Wes Anderson's Fantastic Mr Fox on Wednesday - can't wait.