Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2015: Post The Second (And . . . . . Last)

It's all winding down now. As we reach the very end of the month, people start to realise that you can't escape hangovers for an infinite amount of time. Worst of all, a lot of people are about to be hit by a LOT of delayed hangovers all at once. But as long as they saw some shows, and perhaps even enjoyed some of them, then it's all been worthwhile. Maybe.

For my own part, following on from the first post here, I was also able to see the following:

Stewart Francis - Pun Gent - I've been a fan of Francis, and his magnificent puns, for a number of years now. He's as hilarious live as he is exhausting (any more than an hour and I think I would have needed pain relief for the constant laughing). He did, however, also come out with a few jokes that were in very poor taste. Oh, I still laughed, even while cringing slightly, but it's worth bearing in mind that seeing him live means hearing a few gags that certainly wouldn't make it on to any of his TV appearances. ****

360 All Stars - A drummer who can also play keyboard, at the same time. A beatboxer/DJ. A couple of breakdancers. A BMX stunt rider. A guy who goes around in a giant hoop. And Mr. Basketball. This motley crew really live up to their team name in a show that's loud, energetic, and hugely entertaining for all the family. There's some repetition here and there that may annoy some, but this was a show that seemed to go down a storm with everyone in the audience. ****

Breakfast At Piffany's - Another person I have been a fan of for some time is Piff The Magic Dragon, and Mr. Piffles. Focusing on comedy more than magic, this was a fun time with a late-night crowd. I have to kick myself for not remembering the name of the female assistant to Piff, because she often stole the show by putting on a big showbiz grin while being saddled with the tidying up, moving heavy objects, and generally unglamorous jobs required to keep the show moving. Very funny, and with a surprisingly glitzy, funky finale. *****

Morgan & West's Utterly Spiffing Magic Show For Kids (And Childish Grown-ups!) - I have now seen Morgan & West a couple of times, and they tend to both entertain and slightly irritate me. Their patter on stage is great, and that goes doubly so for this show aimed at kids in which West plays up the fact that he is not a fan of kids at all, but many of their tricks are based on very simple techniques/cheats. Of course, you could say that about all magic shows, which is why the presentation goes a long way, and the presentation here (for both kids and us childish grown-ups) was wonderful. The duo seemed to be a firm favourite as I chatted about the act with my 11-year-old daughter once we'd left the venue. ****

The Room: The Musical - Oh boy. Nothing in recent memory has made me laugh as much as this did. All of the cast were great, the actor playing Tommy Wiseau was uncannily perfect. The songs were funny. If you've endured/experienced The Room then you owe it to yourself to see this. Unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be shown again after this festival. Unless I was lied to. Do whatever it takes to see this tonight. Seriously (ummmmmm . . . . . . within all standard legal boundaries, of course). *****

Photo taken from the Facebook page of The Room: The Musical, and is credited to Tim Kelly. See more of his photography here - http://www.timothykellyphotography.com/ - or here - https://www.facebook.com/timkellyphotographer?fref=ts

Scalarama 2015

Did you know that September is the unofficial month of cinema? Scalarama 2015 is the fifth year of a fine tradition that encourages people to broaden their cinematic horizons, revisit some sorely neglected classics, and generally have as much fun as it's possible to have in a cinema without trying to re-enact that Diner trick.

The website, with plenty of further details, is here. Check it out.

Highlights include a John Waters retrospective, screenings of Eyes Without A Face, The Dance Of Reality, Roar, and a 16mm print of The Begotten, as well as a look at some interesting films from female directors, including The Watermelon Woman and Girlfriends (1978). There's a Shirley Clarke retrospective, and much more.

I'll be hoping to check out a few of these films myself in the coming weeks, so a few reviews will certainly end up here on the blog. I hope that other folks out there will check their local cinema listings and perhaps buy a ticket for a cinema experience a little different from the usual blockbuster fare.

EIFF 2015.

I went along to cover the festival again, as usual. And here are links to all of the new reviews that appeared at Flickfeast. As well as some photos of my celebrity stalking victims. I mean . . . . . . . . coincidental meetings.

Like the time I bumped into Wedge AKA Denis Lawson

Bereave
Fresno

Aubrey Plaza also appears in Fresno, and I met her at EIFF 2014

Narcopolis
Scottish Mussel
Tu Dors Nicole
Swung
Labyrinthus
Misery Loves Comedy
The Wolfpack
You're Ugly Too
Blood Cells
The Summer Of Sangaile
Iona
Norfolk
Dope
The Pyramid Texts

James Cosmo. The man, the legend, and STAR of The Pyramid Texts

Brotherhood Of Blades
The Houses October Built
Chicken
Welcome To Me
Maggie
Dead Rising: Watchtower
The Road Within
Parasyte: Part 1
Liza, The Fox-Fairy
Chuck Norris vs Communism
The Sisterhood Of Night
The Incident
Manglehorn
Cut Snake
The Violators
Inside Out
Remake, Remix, Rip-Off
The Diary Of A Teenage Girl
Future Shock! The Story Of 2000AD
Turbo Kid
Precinct Seven Five

Two dodgy guys together? Me and Michael Dowd, the subject of Precinct Seven Five

That Sugar Film
The Hallow
The Messenger
Brand New-U

The lovely Nora-Jane Noone (stuck with me), who stars in Brand New-U

Paper Planes
Therapy For A Vampire
Cop Car
The Legend Of Barney Thomson
She's Funny That Way

Rhys Ifans, who starred in She's Funny That Way and a few other festival films this year

Every Secret Thing
Amy
Big Gold Dream: Scottish Post-Punk And Infiltrating The Mainstream
Hector

The ubiquitous Keith Allen, who appeared in Hector

And the lovely Natalie Gavin, who also appeared in Hector

600 Millas
The Closer We Get
 

And here is a photo of me and Karen Gillan. Just because.

The Lady Boys Of Bangkok: Glamorous Amorous

The Lady Boys Of Bangkok have been drawing in big crowds at Edinburgh Festival for many years now. In fact, they're almost as much part and parcel of our annual cultural explosion as our world-famous military Tattoo. I'd never made it along to one of their shows, but this year I wanted to change that.

The fact is that The Lady Boys Of Bangkok is a strange name for a major show that you may end up enjoying and recommending to others. It's a show title, in fact, that will cause no small amount of arched eyebrows and sniggers.

Never mind such things. The show put on for the audience is just fantastic. All of the performers mime along to hits that include the latest popular dance tunes (this show featured the likes of Gangnam Style, brilliantly done, and crowd-pleasing stuff from Nicki Minaj, Ne-yo and Girls Aloud, to name a few) and also a selection of beloved standards - My Way, I Will Survive, The Best, etc.

Oh, and there's plenty of sexy dancing. Things are at their very best when the impressive dance routines mix humour, real skill and some occasional thrusting. They dip to their worst, though I may be in the minority with this opinion, when the cheeky routines give way to more unsubtle, almost cringe-inducing, crudity. A "comedy" song and dance about Fifty Shades Of Grey just left me impatiently waiting for it to end, while a singalong of Who The F**k Is Alice? made me worry that we would all see a special cameo appearance from Roy 'Chubby' Brown.

A strange, musical circus designed to let a drunken audience enjoy themselves to the utmost, The Lady Boys Of Bangkok is a mixture of gaudy delight and potential awkwardness. It's a fine line between performers providing a spectacle and performers BEING a spectacle, and it's always just one step away from being nothing more than lowest common denominator fodder for the masses. Everything moves along so briskly and loudly that nobody has the time to consider just what it is that they've actually paid to see anyway.

There's plenty here for men to enjoy, but many of the song choices make it clear that this is all planned as a great night out for the ladies. Judging by the women singing and dancing around me, this show knows its audience and it doesn't matter what I say now anyway.

But I will end with this. I had a lot of fun with this show. In fact, for 3/4 of the show I had a great time. There was one number in particular - My Way - that actually hinted at how much more these performers could give audiences. The performer, changing from dress to suit, mimed along to the Shirley Bassey version before things moved, eventually, to the classic voice of Frank Sinatra. It was poignant, it gave the whole song an extra layer as the person onstage seemed to struggle with keeping one identity from start to finish, and it was brilliantly executed. But it was also completely removed, tonally, from the rest of the show.

I'm glad that I finally went along to see The Lady Boys Of Bangkok and I'd recommend people go to see them at least once. Would I go back? Probably not. Despite the razzle dazzle of it all, despite the enjoyable music and despite the impressive dance moves, I still feel that I overpaid slightly to watch some people mime on a stage while lots of people around me drank slightly more than they should have.

***

You can buy your tickets for The Lady Boys Of Bangkok here and their main website is here.

Morgan And West: A Grand Adventure

Morgan and West are time-travelling, Victorian magicians and all-round good eggs. I had the pleasure to catch a clip of their act last year in Edinburgh at the fantastic Forth On The Fringe and so, while wandering the High Street with my daughter a few days ago, was delighted to take one of their cards and find out that they had a show on that very afternoon. I bought tickets and killed some time until my daughter and I headed along to enjoy an hour of magic, thrills and comedy.

Let me start by saying how much I enjoy the style of Morgan and West. They are both likeable, witty and talented men. All-round good eggs, funnily enough. A Grand Adventure sees disaster strike the pair when they lose their big book of secrets and have to travel to the ends of the earth, facing many dangers along the way, to recover it. The story, and the humour contained in many of the set-pieces, is a delight and the staging is perfect - the duo making the most of a sparse set that has all they need while easily setting the scene for imaginative audience members. The magic, unfortunately, isn't always such a delight.

An opening sequence about misdirection and manipulation is a real treat, clever and funny and very impressive, but it's a highlight in a show that constantly fails to dress up the simple mechanics on display in, ironically, a more distracting fashion.

I am neither as talented or dexterous or as smart as these gentlemen, but I knew how a number of the bigger effects were achieved (especially a lengthy routine that involved Mr. Morgan tied up in a sack, but also most of the teashop trickery) and there were some that I didn't even care about by the time of the reveal. Yes, sirs, I'm on about the cracking of the safe.

I'm not saying that the show was bad, because it wasn't, but I was saddened by the fact that many of the tricks were based on principles so simple that I'd read up on them as a teenager. Thankfully, the humour and quirky nature of the characters makes up for a lot. There's also a superbly funny bit involving lots of sugar, an impressive encounter with a famous thief and some fun audience participation (note: if you don't want to be involved then don't sit in the first few rows).

I encourage people to see Morgan And West, despite my average rating for this show, and I'd also encourage people to buy one of their tea towels (they do sell them, they may even mention it during the show), but I know that they are capable of much finer magic than the tricks used in A Grand Adventure. The fact that many moments do, however, feel like a grand adventure is jolly spiffing indeed. Remember their names and be sure to catch them at least once when/if they perform at a venue near you.

***

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image: morganandwest.co.uk

n.b. - all ratings for live shows use the standard 5-star system

EIFF 2013: Wrapping Up - The Flickfeast Overview.

Here is the full list of what I managed to see at EIFF 2013. I WILL edit this when the four remaining reviews are published on Flickfeast.

10 Rillington Place.
The Boston Strangler.
Fantastic Voyage.
The Narrow Margin.
Soylent Green.
Breathe In.
Monsters University.
After seeing We Steal Secrets: The Story Of WikiLeaks I was very happy to get an interview with the director, Alex Gibney.
Not Another Happy Ending.
Before You Know It.
Blackbird.
C.O.G
The Complex.
The Conjuring.
Die Welt.
Everyone’s Going To Die.
Fire In The Night.
First Cousin Once Removed.
Frances Ha.
Frankenstein’s Army.
The Great Hip Hop Hoax.
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction.
Hawking.
I Am Breathing.
I Catch A Terrible Cat.Ji Seul.Kiss The Water.
Leviathan.
A Long Way From Home.
Lukas The Strange.
Magic Magic.
Mister John.
My Dog Killer.
Old Stock.
Outpost: Rise Of The Spetsnaz.
The Sea.
Shooting Bigfoot.
Sofia’s Last Ambulance.
A Story Of Children And Film.
Struck By Lightning.
Svengali.
The Swimming Pool (La Piscina).
This Is Martin Bonner.
Three Sisters.
Up And Away.
Upstream Colour.
Uwantme2killhim?
What Maisie Knew.
When Night Falls (Wo Hai You Hua Yao Shuo).
You & Me Forever.

And, to make it all just the most fun ever, THIS happened. I tried to get it all to go viral but, alas, no.

And that's it. My personal best. FIFTY movies in just under a fortnight. If only I could apply the same amount of energy to something useful ;-)

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Some of the rest of the fest (a Top 10, if you like).

This is by no means any kind of comprehensive overview of the acts appearing just now in Edinburgh but it is a small selection of shows and names that I have seen, heard and give a thumbs up to.

The place to go is HERE for a more in-depth browse and all of your ticket purchases. Oh, and your first port of call should, of course, be the three shows that I was able to review recently after loving each and every one of them. Anyway, here are 10 acts/shows that I think you should check out for a variety of reasons. This "top 10" is in no particular order, it's just 10 recommendations because 10 is a nice, round number and I don't want to overstretch myself.

1) Jim Jefferies - I managed to catch a bit of Jim Jefferies when I attended Forth On The Fringe last Friday at The Playhouse and he's as wonderfully crude and sharp as ever. If you're a fan of his then check out his latest show, Fully Functional. If you're not a fan of his yet but like comedy from someone unflinching then check out his latest show, Fully Functional.

2) Camille O'Sullivan - The darling of the Festival music scene is back for only a few nights this time around. But I've heard that any evening spent listening to Miss O'Sullivan is an evening to treasure.

3) Felicity Ward - I had never heard of this woman before last Friday evening (she was also part of the Forth On The Fringe set) but I'm now a fan.

4) Then we have THESE guys. LAN-T003. Maybe a friend of mine has been helping them, mayyyyyyyybe.

5) Michael Winslow. Yes, the man of 1001 sounds is back in Edinburgh. Best know to fans of the Police Academy movies, Winslow is a huge talent. Make a double-bill of this man and Tom Thum and you have a cacophony of sounds you'll never have thought possible from the human voicebox.

6) The Ladyboys Of Bangkok. Now, I know that you may snigger and say "yeah, yeah, right Kevin" when I tell you that I've not seen this show yet in all the years that it has been coming to Edinburgh. But it's true. What else is true is that I have been keen to see it for a long time, apparently this group of performers can put on one helluva show.

7) Fans of the written word will definitely want to take their pick from the many wonderful opportunities that arise at the Edinburgh International Book Festival.

8) Jerry Sadowitz. A supremely accomplished magician and also, most probably (surely?), a diagnosed psycopath. If you're brave enough then go along and see how quickly Sadowitz can offend you.

9) Tim Vine. Okay, so I've never seen Tim Vine in an actual live show but I've seen enough of his schtick to know that he's a personal hero of mine. I love him, mainly because he'll never pass up the opportunity for a great (or even awful) pun. He returns in 2012 with The Tim Vine Chat Show. If you don't have fun then I'll cut all of my hair off, bake it in a pie and then eat it. With no added sauce.

10) Oh, there's also something going on every night that ends with fireworks going off. It's usually already sold out by now but you can test your luck here.

Appointment With The Wicker Man.

With a mix of the very clever, the very stupid and the very excellent film that IS The Wicker Man, Appointment With The Wicker Man is a fantastic blend of comedic performances, occasional tension and one or two inappropriate musical numbers changing the entire mood of the piece.

The whole premise for this show is set up for you as soon as you enter the venue and are handed The Programme (The Loch Parry Players Present The Whicker Man). Along with a synopsis of the main event, you can pore over the history of The Loch Parry Players, read bios of the latest line-up and also enjoy some local adverts printed on the back page (my particular favourite one being for the Loch Parry Singles "Meet at the NCP Car Park - every Thursday midnight").

Yes, it's a play within a play structure as you get to watch a comedy about The Loch Parry Players and their attempt to put on an impressive stage version of The Wicker Man. Sadly, nobody in the main cast has actually seen the film. One cast member got bored and switched it off before the end while another claims to have seen it and loved it and then mentions how much she loves Nicolas Cage. Things do not bode well for the production, especially with the company thinking that one or two more "Glee-like" numbers always help to rouse the audience they expect to be playing to. Things also seem to be looking bleak for newcomer Rory Mulligan (played by Sean Biggerstaff), a proper actor, he's been on the telly and everything, who becomes more and more tired of the amateur errors around him and also grows more curious about the mysterious disappearance of the actor he replaced, Roger Morgan. There are times when Rory can focus on playing Sergeant Howie and perform his search for missing Rowan Morrison but there are times when the lines blur too easily and Sergeant Howie/Rory starts to ask about the missing Roger Morgan.

If the above sounds a bit complicated then, at times, it is. But it's only complicated when you start to pick it all apart and look at the parallels between this play and the play within the play and the movie that it takes inspiration from. And when you do pick it all apart while watching the story unfold it provides plenty of rewards. It's very meta at times but it also has plenty of easy laughs, a superb cast giving great physical performances and a script that I would happily purchase in paperback form. And there are a number of tracks from the soundtrack of the movie used so if you're a fan of those strange and wonderful sounds, as I am, then that's another big plus.

Vicky Featherstone directs, from a script written by star Greg Hemphill and Donald McLeary, and the cast, as well as Biggerstaff and Mr. Hemphill, includes Jimmy Chisolm, Johnny McKnight, Sally Reid, Paul Riley and Rosalind Sydney. You may recognise a few faces or you may not but the only thing that matters is how they fit into their roles in this production and I can easily say that everyone is fantastic.

There's even an actual wicker man that makes an appearance, albeit one not actually made of wicker, and there's a finale that takes a number of twists and turns before turning in to a Grade A, full-on, crowd-pleaser. It's a shame that it takes a little while to get to the better ideas, and there are a few sideroads that just keep it from being a 5-star experience, but if you ever wanted to see a stage show that mixed The Wicker Man with The League Of Gentlemen with the "Once More, With Feeling" episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer then this is for you. I'm certainly glad that I kept my own Appointment With The Wicker Man.

****

http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/theatre/appointment-with-the-wicker-man

Tom Thum - Beating The Habit.

He may have first come to the attention of many people as a member of Tom Tom Crew but Tom Thum easily wins over any audience and shows just how well he can hold a show on his own in this solo . . . . . . . . . extravaganza.

If you think that beatboxing is all about JUST drum noises backing up some rap lyrics or if you think that vocal effects have been taken to their very limits by someone like the excellent Michael Winslow then I urge you to check out this astoundingly talented young man.

I've heard people pretend to scratch and mix records before but I've never heard anyone who could make me REALLY hear the vinyl and the needle crossing that surface while the tune is being created. I've heard people create impressive bass before but I've never heard anyone who created a bassline that shook through my entire body. I've heard bagpipes before but never someone trying to sound like bagpipes . . . . . . . . . . and a T-Rex at the same time (a result of a moment in which Tom accepts challenges from the audience to recreate a variety of sounds).

I was really, really tempted to find another online clip of this man and put it in this review but, to be honest, that just wouldn't be fair (ohhh, okay, I couldn't resist putting a link in below because it's one of the many highlights). With an audience that seemed to range from 6 - 60, I advise you to just accept that you will have a good, albeit loud, time and to go along for something unique and feelgood from start to finish. In fact, I suspect that only good manners prevented the star from naming his show "Aural Sex" because the audience certainly emanated a rosy afterglow feeling as they left the venue.

It may be stretching it a little bit to say that this is a show to unequivocally recommend to everyone but it's certainly a show that you may even enjoy even if the thought of the musical style (all done with the vocal stylings of Tom Thum, even if it often sounds like he has a whole set of synthesisers backing him up) doesn't seem all that appealing to you.

The musical moments, which make up most of the act, will have you ready to get up and dance but there are also plenty of laughs in the show. Whether it's Tom trying to sell people his Box Of Beats or the "harrowing" look at the pain caused by a beatbox obsession, there was plenty to get even the most cynical audience member laughing along with everyone else.

Go along, have fun, LOVE the music and then make sure to stop by outside and by a CD. Because a great beatboxer is for life, not just for The Fringe.

*****

http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/music/tom-thum-beating-the-habit

Re-Animator: The Musical.

Well, I review movies on this here blog and I sometimes rant about things that pop into my head but I've never really considered this space a viable option for other materials to be pored over. As far as I can recall, I've not included any book reviews here (I'd be terrible at that, just ask any of my old English teachers), no album dissections and no stage shows. Oh, I may have mentioned events going on around me and things that I have visited but I don't think I've ever gone into detail.

With the Edinburgh Fringe gathering speed I began to wonder just what good it would do me to review anything that I saw this year. Surely, these shows will have been and gone by the time that people read my li'l attempt to praise or criticise them? But then I realised that I'd been fortunate enough to see a number of shows at the very start of this busy time. Not only that, a lot of these acts go elsewhere after the material has been well-received in Edinburgh. Maybe I can help in my own little way by recommending some favourites. And it also helps me to write a little bit more about Edinburgh, in general.

Don't worry, I'm not about to start reviewing absolutely everything I do in life (meals in restaurants, drinks in clubs, etc) but I DO think that shows are something I can comment on. I'm no expert (but, then again, I am no expert on movies and that's never stopped me before now) but I'll try to mix in as much information with my opinion as possible.

Which brings us to the first review of this kind that I've ever written and, indeed, it's the main reason that I finally caved in after arguing with myself about including stage fare here. Re-Animator: The Musical. When I heard that it was showing here in Edinburgh I knew that I had to see it. In case you weren't aware of the fact, I am a huge fan of Re-Animator. Director Stuart Gordon created something I will always love. And now, in a very different way, he's done it again.

Yes, Stuart Gordon is the director once more and the music and lyrics are by Mark Nutter. Between them, these men have taken the elements that fans love about Re-Animator and crafted something that just shouldn't work but really, REALLY does. It follows the movie quite closely, albeit with many more songs in the mix, and all of the best-loved lines from the movie's script are either recreated here or made into a song lyric.

The cast are exemplary. George Wendt is the most famous name among them, as far as I'm aware, but he generously makes way for the leading men to . . . . . . . . . . lead. Graham Skipper plays Herbert West and, amazingly, captures the essence of the character as we know him from the movie while also putting his own stamp on the performance. Jesse Merlin is positively channeling the spirit of David Gale in some places and is bloody superb as Dr. Hill. Chris L. McKenna and Rachel Avery, playing Dan and Megan, respectively, were both great. I even almost forgot about Barbara Crampton while watching this new incarnation of Megan. Almost.

Everything you want is here. There's zombie action with blood spraying out over the audience, that memorable sequence with the cat is here, Dr. Hill is creepy and scheming and there's more zombie action that results in more blood spraying over the audience (if you're brave enough then try to get a seat front and centre to be located in the coveted "Splash Zone"). Then there are, of course, the many songs. They're often very silly but they're also very catchy and I'd be lying if I tried to say that I hope to purchase a CD with accompanying lyric-covered liner notes.

I still like to give my movies ratings out of 10, just for my own personal preference, but I can change things slightly for stage shows and use a 5-star system (not to be confused with the 5-Star system, which is based on the lyrics of System Addict). Yep, sometimes even I can be traditional.

*****

And here is the website for all of your information/purchases.

August In Edinburgh.

It's that time of the year again, The Fringe is happening. The Fringe then mutates into the full Festival, which also incorporates our wonderful Book Festival here in Edinburgh.

And I am stuck in a day job that will get busier and busier (I work in a hotel and this is a peak period for hotels). I like my job. Well, to be fair, I have times when I hate my job. Believe me, if I could set up some Kickstarter scheme to allow me to watch and review movies 7 days a week then I would jump on it like an unconscious Mary Elizabeth Winstead (or, indeed, like some other more important and legally sound imagery). But, in general, I have a lot of things to enjoy. My workmates are a bit mad and they put up with me being . . . . . . . . more than a bit mad. I also get some nice coffees.

Where was I? Rambling, as usual. The point I was trying to make was that a lot of people in Edinburgh who live and work here all year round just end up hating the Festival time. That's just sad.

This is a beautiful city and it's busy most of the year. Yet it's never more vibrant and paradoxically draining (physically AND financially) and rewarding than it is during this time of year.

My wife and I already went along on Friday night to Radio Forth On The Fringe 2012 and enjoyed a number of great acts, one of them I had to rush out and get tickets for the very next day (yes Tom Thum, I mean YOU). It was mainly comedy, yes, but there was also music and magic and even some risky stunts from the impressive and amusing Tumble Circus.

Then on Saturday I took my daughter to the circus, one based at Ocean Terminal this year, and had a great time. I overspent, I've seen better and the portaloos were already stinking to high heaven but I got to ogle exotic women and enjoy some great acrobatic displays before being dragged up to take part in a physical comedy routine. When I went back to my seat, to compliments from other parents and at least one high five, I was a STAR! Okay, I was only a star to my daughter and the others in that big top who were relieved that they hadn't been picked but a moment of stardom is a moment of stardom. I'll take what I can get and The Festival hands out such moments with a wonderful regularity and a lack of concern for sex, sexuality, race, monetary value or social standing.

That Tom Thum show at the Underbelly (I think) is on Tuesday. I am taking a friend and am determined to enjoy the evening. Beforehand, I am going to see An Appointment With The Wicker Man at The Assembly Rooms and after those main events I may even try to catch one or two free shows from the huge selection that makes up the superb PBH's Free Fringe.

Basically, I am going to try and make the most of this most wonderful time of year. As I do every year. I encourage others to do the same. Yes, it gets harder to move along the streets. Yes, bus journeys can take double the amount of time. Yes, prices are bumped up in many places. Yes, there is plenty of shit to avoid while searching for the good stuff. It's not supposed to be easy, it's supposed to be worth some effort. And, let me assure you, it most definitely bloody IS.

It's almost over but nowhere near the end.

So, once again, I come to the end of my time at the EIFF for another year. Some time in the videotheque and a screening of Brave tomorrow and I'm all done. Work, and a semblance of normality, calls.

But it doesn't end there.

As of this moment, I still have about a dozen reviews to write up and get on Flickfeast and there are already ten or so due to appear. After that happens I get to do a bit of pimping and hope that those responsible for my favourite movies maybe notice my little bit of praise and help me in my pimpage.

And those favourites are:

Tabu - just sheer quality from beginning to end.

Unconditional - you won't ever be able to predict where this movie is going. It's very dark in places and very, very good.

Dragon - Donnie Yen does it again, legend that he is.

Berberian Sound Studio - a bit of a headfuck, but in a good way. I loved it.

V/H/S - inconsistent but nearly brilliant.

Eddie: The Sleepwalking Cannibal - it may have an amusing title but it's also damn good.

NFA - strong stuff and well worth seeing.

The Imposter - fact is stranger than fiction once again.

Grabbers - aliens kept at bay by a high blood alcohol level? Brilliant.

Once I am done with all of these I can then settle back into my standard routine of movies, movies and movies and the EIFF always reminds me of just how much I love so many different types of movies so even as things settle back to my version of normality I know that the rest of the year will be full of films - good, bad and ugly - that I will enjoy writing about, even if I won't enjoy every viewing.

EIFF 2012: The story so far.

Well, it's a few days into the full flow of the festival and I am already remembering how tiring it is to see everything I want to see, write up full reviews, tweet away and add FB updates (as well as a blog post or five).

In true EIFF fashion, I have already been reminded of a few things that I seem to forget each year.

1) The quieter the movie, the louder my stomach. Just ask the poor guy sitting beside me while we all watched Fred.

2) Cinema staff may be there to facilitate the needs of those attending screenings but that doesn't mean that manners have to be left outside the cinema.

3) There AREN'T enough hours in the day.

4) The best French cinema nowadays remains a great experience but the lesser outings feel like parodies of the movies that were first shown late at night on Channel 4 two or three decades ago.

5) Many critics seem to feel that if something is made to be enjoyed by a lot of people, or is lightweight fun, then it's not really worth their time but might make for an acceptable filler in between a schedule full of "worthier" movies.

6) There ISN'T enough coffee in the day.

7) I love being kept so busy and being allowed to view so many different films for free. Absolutely LOVE it. Yes, there are bad movies as well as good ones but that's the chance you take when you schedule two weeks worth of eclectic viewings.

8) People who are late into screenings or who leave early always make me more mistrustful of the festival coverage - do these people still write reviews or are they just there for their personal enjoyment and well within their rights to see as much or as little as they want to?

9) Nobody will ever believe you when you tell them what a great time you're having BUT that it is also hard work. Nobody, with the possible exception of other reviewers.

10) I'm quite a fast typist nowadays but could always do with trying to be even faster.

It's all true, folks, it's all true.

More EIFF 2012.

I am trying to be prepared this year, trying to not let this blog get covered and dust and a thin sheen of neglect while I busy myself with the big event in my movie calendar, the Edinburgh International Film Festival.

As this post is being written ahead of time I have no idea just how EIFF 2012 will pan out for me this year but I know that, as I have done for the past two years, I will do my best to see as many movies as possible and to get the reviews up on Flickfeast ASAP. It's a win-win situation for everyone involved. I get to see LOTS of movies for free, the website gets some extra traffic (hopefully) and those involved with the festival get added exposure from us. Hey, we may be a small fish in a big pond but we keep swimming.

It's all too easy to fall in love with a movie or two and to be swept along with the celebrities and the premieres but the main thing to remember is also the main thing that's easiest to forget - the festival works because of so many people making a concerted effort at every level. Those making the films, those selecting the films, those showing the films, those spreading the word on the films, etc, etc. Every year I remember to thank the wonderful staff at The Filmhouse and Cameo cinema who put up with the crowds and the unsociable hours every festival and this year will be no different.

Everyone who knows me knows that when I go to the cinema I like to get "a bit of bang for my buck", as I often put it, but I also do my damnedest to remind people that the smaller cinemas are often the places to go to see something that you just won't get at your local multiplex. The fact that they're often staffed by people with a genuine love of cinema is a huge bonus. Supporting your local cinema really does show them that they're doing the right thing and that not everyone and their uncle wants to rush along to see Harry Potter And The Twilight Of The Transformers (in RealD 3D with smell-o-vision).

Do I go along to these smaller cinemas as often as I should? No, no I don't. But when I do go along I never resent handing my money over (especially at my annual horror overdose that goes by the name of Dead By Dawn) and I always speak highly of these Edinburgh institutions when anyone asks me about them. I hope you have somewhere similiar in your local area. And I really hope that you, even just occasionally, pop along and spend some of your hard earned cash there.

EIFF 2012.

It's here.
It's begun.
YES! I have managed to get along to see Jaws on the big screen (mega mega happy dance) but of equal importance is the fact that I have just picked up my goodie bag and press pass for EIFF 2012.
For anyone interested I will provide the following two links.
EIFF 2010
and
EIFF 2011.
If you liked ANY of those ramblings then I assure you that there are some goodies coming up on Flickfeast over the next couple of weeks, including Killer Joe, a film about a psychic octopus, V/H/S (which I will be doing my damnedest to see), Grabbers and much, much more.
I hope that anyone who has stumbled onto my bloggy nonsense will look forward to the coverage and I aim, as ever, to just see as much (in terms of both quantity AND variety) as possible.
Now, I think it's time to swagger around town like a complete twat with my branded bag of freebies. Ahhhh, such a hard life.

Festivalitis.

"Gather round, gather round, make plenty of noise and the crowd will get bigger and bigger".
It's that time of year in Edinburgh again.
Pretty people look at pretty sights and buy pretty much anything that physically represents their visit to the capital of Scotland. I went to "The Athens Of The North" and bought this cuddly Nessie wearing a kilt. Of course.
The streets are awash with leaflets and leafleters.
People wait to be entertained while entertainers wait to entertain enough people. It's funny how everyone seems to reach their creative peak at a time of year when it could prove most profitable.
If a clown is rendered speechless by the madness of it all does he automatically become a mime?
"See our show, see our show".
See one, see them all, see none at all. See the crowds in your way as you try to get home from work. See the stewards shepherding tourists into organised groups and police walking about looking as if they care. It's the time of year when you walk during the daylight in a mass of eager faces and walk at night around broken glass, broken spirits and broken dreams.
"If everyone applauds at the same time then nobody looks stupid".
Jugglers keep juggling as they have done for so long, now joined by comedic contortionists and hula hoopers. The entertainers seem to get younger and younger every year, or maybe that's just me getting old.
A bigger proportion of the acts seem to get worse every year, or maybe that's just me getting old.
Famous faces sit beside hopeful unknowns. But not for too long.
"This is a free show, ladies and gentlemen. Free to get in but not necessarily free to get out".
Everything doubles in price. Who knew that ice cream was such a precious commodity? The grandeur of the buildings and natural geography overlook all of this grubby money-grabbing, this tawdry attempt to bilk tourists for all they're worth and then wait another full year to do it all over again.
But don't get me wrong.
I still love it.
"Here comes the hat, here comes the hat. If you've enjoyed yourself today then do spare some change".