Audio Review: Slapstick 2010 on BBC Radio Scotland’s Movie Café

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend Slapstick 2010, the UK’s only (as far as I’m aware) festival dedicated to screenings of silent films alongside guest talks and special events.

Over four days I recorded some of my thoughts of the event for BBC Radio Scotland’s excellent Movie Café programme, and the episode is now up for seven days on the BBC iPlayer.

While I’d recommend listening to the full programme, my segment begins around 25.47 minutes in and features an interview with actor Paul McGann and Aardman Animation’s Peter Lord.

You can also read a review by fellow Slapstick 2010 attendee Walter Dunlop over on my other blog, Adventures in Primetime.

Film news: Buy a seat at the Cameo cinema

Stuck for a novel Christmas present? Fancy having your name on a little bit of history? If you have a spare £125 you could get your name on a seat in Screen One of one of the oldest cinemas in Scotland, Edinburgh’s Cameo.

Film fans can name a seat of their choice, with a dedication to themselves, a loved one or business engraved on a brass plaque mounted on the seat.

The price is £125 until 31 December, when it rises to £150, with funds to be matched by the cinema’s parent company, City Screen Limited.

The cinema will put funds raised towards the £80,000 refurbishment bill required to restore the 95-year-old cinema.

To find out more contact the Cameo directly:

Cameo Picturehouse
38 Home Street
Edinburgh EH3 9LZ

Booking & Info Line: 0871 704 2052
(10p a minute from a landline)

Email: cameo@picturehouses.co.uk

Photo courtesy www.scottishcinemas.org.uk

Reel Time film news and reviews

I hope you’ll allow me to indulge in a short diversion from the norm as I give a mention to my other life as film columnist for the Edinburgh Evening News.

As well as writing a Friday section for The Guide Plus section of the paper called Reel Time, usually discussing my thoughts on current films or whatever random thoughts enter my head on the subject of cinema, I run a blog on the Evening News site, also called Reel Time.

So, if you’d like even more film news and views, as well as the odd review, please feel free to head over to the blog or pick up your Friday paper if you get the urge. Plug over…

Film News: 2010 EIFF Submissions Open

Though I usually cover new films – and more than the occasional old one – on this site, this is a short shout out to any budding Spielberg’s or Meadows’ from the Edinburgh International Film Festival organisers who are looking to the future for submissions for the 2010 festival.

The 64th EIFF will take place from 16 – 27 June 2010 in Edinburgh. The Festival is internationally regarded as a focus for discovery, a celebration of cinema, a centre of debate and a catalyst for new films.

EIFF is committed to screening high quality new short and feature film and video work in all genres from around the world.

Please note all submitted films should be no more than 12 months old by June 2010 and EIFF requires at least UK premiere status.

Interlude: Pontypool needs you!

A worrying message was issued by Edinburgh’s Cameo cinema today via their Twitter feed, stating that: “It seems the poor reviews have killed Pontypool. A real shame as it’s one of the more original films out there. Creepy and humorous.”

A quick email to the cinema’s manager confirmed that audience numbers have been low in the only cinema in Edinburgh, and I believe the only one in Scotland, to be screening the film.

The reason I’d say this is worrying is that the Canadian thriller/horror, which tells of an attack on a small town by a horde of zombies, is one of the best I’ve seen this year, a film I recently gave four stars on this very blog, stating that it’s “something of a “grower”, an always entertaining little film which stays in the memory long after you’ve seen it and improves with age.”

In Friday’s Edinburgh Evening News I went on to say it’s “a claustrophobic film with an impressive central performance from McHattie…director Bruce McDonald wrings out just enough tension along with a few laughs to create a memorable horror gem.”

Following this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival I took part in a Pontypool audiocast for the Filmstalker website, where three of us gave the film a glowing review, while the site’s owner, Richard Brunton, reviewed Pontypool and said that “despite some issues it was intelligent, different, visually engaging and had some laughter in there too.”

Film Preview Exclusive: Dawn/Day of the Dead screenings and Q&A’s, 25 October, Cameo Cinema, Edinburgh

The Cameo have done it again. Not content with bringing cult movie favourites Bruce Campbell and Lloyd Kaufman to the city, they’re now about to host another special event in conjunction with local shop Cult Fiction and Arrow Video: screenings of Dawn of the Dead (1978) with a Q&A from star Ken Foree and Day of the Dead (1985) with Q&A from Joe Pilato.

The second and third in director George A. Romero’s series of films depicting a world overrun by the living dead, each one adds a new set of characters and scenarios into the mix.

Dawn of the Dead follows a band of survivors hiding out in an abandoned shopping mall while Day of the Dead centres on a group of scientists and military officers defending themselves in an underground bunker.

Sunday 25 October will see the Cameo first  screen Dawn of the Dead followed by an in person Q&A with Ken Foree (Peter) then show Day of the Dead followed by an in person Q&A with Joe Pilato (Captain Rhodes).

Dawn of the Dead trailer:

Reel Time blog

Some readers of this blog may be aware that I write a weekly film column, Reel Time, for the Edinburgh Evening News in which I ramble for 500 words about something cinema-related  before the editor (quite rightly) cuts me off in my prime.

Now there’s a new online spin-off from the column with all-new articles and extended reviews that I can’t fit in the paper.

I’m also planning to run exlusive competitions on a Friday,  starting in the next few weeks. Please take a trip over to Reel Time to find out more.

Film News: District 9

Currently lighting up the internet – or at least the Twitterverse – is the trailer for upcoming US sci-fi film District 9.

According to the blurb on IMDB, an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly find a kindred spirit in a government agent that is exposed to their biotechnology.

While that sounds intriguing in itself, the trailer really impresses, offering a tantalising glimpse of what we can expect here in the UK come it’s release date of 4 September. You can head over to Yahoo to see it now.

In the meantime, as pointed out to me by a friend, the director of the movie, Neill Blomkamp also made a short film, Alive in Joburg, upon which the feature is based and I’ve embedded it below the jump.

Film News: Corman and Dante team up for online horror

Last night, as part of the 2009 Edinburgh International Film Festival, low-budget/high-concept movie legend Roger Corman took part in a talk covering his career at the city’s Cineworld cinema.

While Corman made for a fascinating interviewee, someone who seems to be a genuinely decent guy in a business known for it’s cut throat nature, he dropped some new information into the discussion about his future plans, which I first wrote about over in my Reel Time blog for the Edinburgh Evening News.

As director Joe Dante slipped quietly into the auditorium to hear the last 45 minutes of the talk, Corman mentioned that the pair are soon to start work on a new project after being approached by US online DVD rental and streaming company Netflix (similar to the UK’s Lovefilm).