THE RAINDANCE FESTIVAL
The Raindance festival is the place you get to see independent films from
around the world including the UK that you would never normally get to see. By
and large they are much more interesting than most mainstream films. We decided
to take in a view the reviews are below.
This is the sort of film that film festivals are all about. It�s edgy,
interesting, and more true to life. But the big bonus for me was that it starred
Naomi Watts who has finally turned from budding actress
to big star material recently with the up coming King Kong film and her
great reviews for 21 grams.
But it was in Mullholland drive that she
first came to my attention. Not since Sharon Stone in Basic instinct had an
actress stopped me in my tracks. I know what you are thinking and you are wrong.
I�m not talking sexually or looks here. Cute as Naomi is it was her acting
ability that grabbed my attention.
In a way this film is a taster to the part
she plays in Mullholland Drive since she plays the part of an actress and
the stunning scene where she reads for a part in a film in M.D is duplicated
here in many different ways.
It takes a special kind of actress to hold you
attention for over and hour and a half, where she is nearly constantly on screen
but she pulls it off.
The story itself has probably been experienced by
thousands of actors and actresses so in some ways it�s not that original. (You
could say the writer needs to get out more). Also with a less dynamic actress or
actor it may have fell into the category who �Who cares� after half an
hour.
Full credit to the director/writer Scott Coffey for trying to
make it edgy and documentary like but it not a good advert for how to drive
safely. If you see the film you�ll know what I mean and see it you should.
Whether it gets a limited cinema release I don�t know. I doubt it will be listed
at your local multiplex. So my other suggestion is look out for it at the video
store sometimes its worth a watch.
RED MERCURY
Red Mercury is a British thriller about terrorist in London made before 7/7.
In fact I saw it being shot at Old street back in a cold January and was asked
to play a small part as a journalist & Photographer (Typecast) since I was
hanging around to do an article anyway.
Anyway my Cameo apart, It�s a decent
thriller starring Juliet Stevenson, Ron Silver and Stockard Channing and a large
assortment on familiar T.V faces to UK viewers. Ironically the film mirrors more
the botched Bomb attempt in London rather than the one that happened. When
things go wrong for the British born Terrorist a hostage situation occurs.
Surprisingly considering the subject matter it has quite a bit of humour to the
film. Although some of the dialogue was a bit dodgy in parts and a sub plot
regarding Juliet�s Daughter seemed thrown in to give her another dimension,
which I feel didn�t really work, it is a decent thriller nevertheless and has
one very good twist in the film. In some ways its like the T.V show �Spooks� but
I just wonder with something like that on T.V for free will people flock to the
cinemas to see this film. The fact that it�s topical may work in the films
favour or it could backfire. I wish this film good luck anyway because everybody
who worked on the film braved near artic conditions on some days of the shoot
and its good entertainment rather than anything really cutting edge.