Top Ten Films of 2018 (so far)

We have reached the halfway point of the year and now is as good a time as any to reflect back on the films that have stood out as we patiently wait for Ant-Man and the Wasp to be released here in the UK.
As always the list will only feature films which have had a UK theatrical or Netflix release by 30th June 2018. Hence why many of the films viewed at the Edinburgh & Glasgow Film Festivals, and Incredibles 2 are not on the list.
So without further adieu...

Annihilation

While there will be some people who just don't get it, there will be some who find it akin to 2001: A Space Odyssey in its themes and messages about humanity. They will spread the word and build up its cult status for years to come. Potentially even organising underground guerrilla screenings.
It's legacy on the science fiction genre certainly won't be annihilated. If anything, this is just the beginning!

Read the full review here.

Hereditary

Exiting the cinema in a complete daze, utterly shell-shocked by what one has just seen, don't lose your head. Just keep repeating "It's only a 5 star movie, it's only a 5 star movie, it's only a 5 star movie".
Read the full review here.

A Quiet Place

In A Quiet Place, silence is not only golden, it's survival. However it is safe to say that audiences and critics won't stay silent after watching it and this will turn into the breakout horror film of the year.

Read the full review here.

Avengers: Infinity War

Just like someone holding a complete Infinity Gauntlet, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is virtually unstoppable at this point and Avengers Infinity War is their finest hour so far... but one expects, as a time stone would tell, the best is yet to come.

Isle of Dogs

Deftly walking the tightrope of Eastern and Western influences, Anderson has bred a film of the highest pedigree that must already be one of the favourites to win the Best Animated Film at next year’s Oscars.

Read the full review here.

The Shape of Water

Grinding Nemo is one of the most beautiful, stunning, moving fairy tales ever to grace the silver screen and it is deserving of so many superlatives that, just as the lead character, one struggles to find the words to describe how fantastic it truly is.
Read the full review here.

You Were Never Really Here

Joe is a tortured anti-hero, at times literally hammering the point home, and his relationship with Nina mirrors that of Travis and Iris in Taxi Driver, hinting that an escape and redemption might be possible for both of them. Yet like Bickle, it is left open to interpretation as to whether he is the rain that washes the scum of the streets or is ultimately another one of the animals that come out at night.

Read the full review here.

Lady Bird

With her debut feature film as writer-director, Greta Gerwig proves that a beautiful Lady Bird is just waiting to emerge from the cocoon of the cover girl for manic, hipster pixie girls.

Read the full review here.

Calibre

This is Scottish, and indeed, world filmmaking of the highest calibre. Read the full review here.

Secret Cinema Presents Blade Runner - The Final Cut

To be honest, I went back and forth on this final entry. Ultimately I struggled to come up with ten films that would make the cut so decided to go for a slice of Event Cinema to fill the final slot. Sorry Hugh Jackman, The Greatest Showman Sing-A-Long was very close but this just pipped it.

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. I've watched a sea of people dancing under umbrellas in the Los Angeles acid rain. I watched Roy Batty take down a squad of Blade Runners without breaking a sweat. Without being able to take photos at Secret Cinema, all these moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain..."

Read the full review here.

Calibre - EIFF review

Calibre is the debut feature film from writer/director Matt Palmer. Matt has experience directing short films but many know him as the programmer and curator of All Night Horror Madness, an annual celebration of horror movies that takes place at The Cameo.
It is clear that his love of horror and film has given him the tools to craft a tense and thrilling tale.
Childhood friends Vaughn (Jack Lowden) and Marcus (Martin McCann) head up to the remote Scottish highlands on a hunting trip before Vaughn settles down with his fiancee and baby that is on the way.
After a night of heavy drinking with the locals, ruffling a few feathers along the way, the pals set out to stalk deer in the woods. Only the peace of the misty morning is shattered by a tragic accident that will set the friends down a road from which there may be no return.
What can let a horror or thriller down is when it strays too far from believability but this is not an issue here. Every single decision or choice that the two lead characters make comes from an honest and believable place from where they are at that time. It dares to ask the question of "what would you do?" in a situation like that. Would you have acted any differently? We like to think we would but...
Palmer understands the notion of "best laid plans" and slowly dials up the tension and naturalistically placing obstacles in the way of the duo's success and escape.
Yet the note perfect script would all be for nothing if not they had not assembled a talented group of actors to deliver the goods and they are uniformly terrific.
Jack Lowden is fast becoming one of Scotland's finest talents (Dunkirk, England Is Mine) and completely convinces as a young man whose life as he knows it is suddenly over with the click of a trigger. Torn between a need to tell the truth and a desire to be there for his growing family, he allows himself to be dragged further and further into an impossible situation by his friend.
Where Vaughn is quiet and reserved, Martin McCann's Marcus is loud, brash and cocky. The Northern Ireland actor has the swagger of a young Michael Fassbender and his behaviour sets him at odds with the rural locals (played by the likes of Tony Curran and Ian Pirie) and stirs tensions that potentially put any chance of reconciliation off the table.
The film certainly plays on the differences between the rural and city folk. Not to the over-the-top stereotypical levels League Of Gentlemen ("are you local? there's nothing for you here") or The Wicker Man (even though a bonfire is mentioned at one point) but instead coming in this modern landscape where the gulf in wealth and opportunity is as great as the physical distance between the Highlands and the City.
Palmer's debut deserves to be mentioned in the same conversations as the likes of similar genre films Eden Lake, Deliverance and Straw Dogs. Effectively ringing every drop of tension and menace out of this unsettling moral dilemma.
This is Scottish, and indeed, world filmmaking of the truly highest calibre.

5 stars

Calibre has its World Premiere at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on Friday 22nd June, 8.30 with extra screenings on Saturday 23rd June, 3.15 and Saturday 20th June, 3.15. 
To book, click here.
Calibre will debut on Netlfix from Friday 29th June.

To listen to interviews with the cast and crew of Calibre, check out the latest Filibuster podcast on The Nerd Party/

Edinburgh International Film Festival - Top Ten Things To See

This morning I travelled to Edinburgh, and more specifically, the Filmhouse to attend the programme launch for the 72nd Edinburgh International Film Festival.
Festival Director Mark Adams introduced us to the launch, the festival and went through a selection of his own personal highlights before making sure we all had our goodie bags...

With over 120 films in the official line-up it can be daunting to know where to start when deciding what to go and see. To help you out a little bit, I've gone through the entire brochure with my trusty highlighter and selected my top ten recommendations for what to watch this June.
Tickets are on sale now to Filmhouse & Belmont Filmhouse members and on sale to the general public from 10.00am on Friday 25th May.

Blood Fest

Screening 22nd & 24th June

Dubbed a razor-sharp synthesis of Scream and Cabin In The Woods, this meta horror sees a group of hardcore film fans having to use their knowledge of the genre to escape a horror movie festival when events take a gory turn. This could be one of the breakout late night hits of the fest.
To book tickets, click here.

Calibre

Screening 22nd, 23rd & 30th June

A World Premiere for writer-director Matt Palmer’s tale of two friends on a hunting trip in the remote Scottish Highlands that takes a deadly turn. The film also sees a welcome return for Festival favourite Jack Lowden who opened the Fest in 2016 with Tommy’s Honour and closed last year’s with England Is Mine.

To book tickets, click here.

Flammable Children (Swinging Safari)

Screening 27th & 29th June

Sold on this film by the image of Guy Pearce with a moustache to rival Paul Rudd’s from Mute, this Australian comedy set in the “swinging Seventies” and also stars Kylie Minogue this is one movie made especially for you (sorry, not sorry).

To book tickets, click here.

Humor Me

Screening 30th June & 1st July

Sometimes just a couple of cast names is enough to merit a viewing and the double act of Jemaine Clement and Elliot Gould as a father-son duo is a must see.

Clement stars as a struggling playwright who moves in with his father in a retirement village and finds himself coaching a group of woman putting on a staging of The Mikado. Could this be Flight of the Concubines?
To book tickets, click here.

The Incredibles 2

Screening 24th June

Someone at the Festival must have something on Disney because this is the 4th year in a row that they have scored an advance screening of the new Pixar film for the Family Gala and this year it is the sequel to The Incredibles, one of the greatest Pixar films of all-time. Will it be a Toy Story 2 or a Cars 2? Only time will tell but I’m keeping my elasti-fingers crossed for this one.
To book tickets, click here.

Jaws - In Concert with RSNO

Friday 22nd June

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the Festival Theatre, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra will play one of John Williams’ most iconic scores live at a screening of Steven Spielberg’s summer blockbuster Jaws.
Following in the footsteps of previous year’s screenings of Back To The Future, E.T. The Extra Terrestrial and Raiders Of The Lost Ark, this will be one night not to be missed.
To book tickets, click here.

Life After Flash

Screening 28th & 30th June

A light-hearted documentary that follows Sam Jones as he tours the convention circuit. Finally embracing the fame and fandom that came with starring in Flash Gordon, a film that for a long time he had a difficult relationship with.

To book tickets, click here.

Searching

Screening 21st & 22nd June

The plot of a father trying to track down his missing daughter might not sound like anything new but this film tells the story entirely through various screens from laptops to mobile phones which could elevate this crime thriller to something truly special.
To book tickets, click here.

The Secret Of Marrowbone

Screening 21st & 22nd June

Expectations are high for Sergio G. Sanchez’s haunted-house drama given that he wrote the screenplay for The Orphanage. It stars Scottish star George Mackay as part of a family that move to a dilapidated old house to escape their brutal father but realise there might be an even greater danger lurking in the attic.

To book tickets, click here.

Unicorn Store

Screening 29th & 30th June

One of the hot tickets of the festival, Brie Larson’s directorial debut sees Captain Marvel herself play a woman obsessed with unicorns who is offered the chance to adopt a real unicorn by a flamboyant salesman (Samuel L. Jackson), if she completes a series of tasks in this quirky and charming story.
To book tickets, click here.

Also, if you prefer to listen to my picks, check out this mini Filibuster podcast where Lee and I talk about our most anticipated movies...