Jonathan Melville - Reel Time

Published on Friday 19 February 2010 10:25

FORGET the east/west divide (and that 45-minute train journey) for just a few minutes: the sixth annual Glasgow Film Festival opened last night and runs until 28 February, which means dozens of new movies waiting to be discovered if you can make the trip over.

I'll be heading across for a number of screenings and events during the next week or so, trying to make the most of each trip by squeezing in as many films as possible each day.

On the off-chance you can get over there tonight, it's worth seeing new thriller Cuckoo at 11pm, starring Laura Fraser and Richard E Grant. There's also a showing tomorrow of new horror The Crazies, a remake of George Romero's 1973 classic which is getting good buzz from US critics.

On Sunday, you can see the late, great Edward Woodward's final film, A Congregation of Ghosts and Michael Moore's latest documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story in which he turns his ire on the banks and corporations who tipped us into the economic black hole we're currently trying to get out of.

New sports comedy Whip-It, starring Juno's Ellen Page and directed by Drew Barrymore, looks promising while the closing night film, Legacy, is a paranoid drama featuring The Wire's Idris Elba as a former Black Ops soldier embroiled in US politics.

Friday 26 and Saturday 27 sees the latest Frightfest take place, the mini-horror fantasy festival that in past years has got hold of some rare treats. This year I recommend REC 2, the sequel to the eerie 2008 Spanish original, and Splice. The latter, about a genetic experiment gone wrong, was a hit at Sundance a few weeks ago.

One of the highlights for me will be Gregory's Girl 30th Anniversary School Reunion, a showing of Bill Forsyth's romantic comedy introduced by Gregory himself, John-Gordon Sinclair, alongside various cast and crew. One not to be missed.

There's also a rare opportunity to hear Darth Vader (well, the voice of), actor James Earl Jones, as he discusses his career in films such as Dr Strangelove and a certain Star Wars trilogy.

For fans of the classics, there's a retrospective of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa and Cary Grant, both of which should appeal to those who know the films well as well as new viewers.

I'll let you know how I get on over on the blog at www.edinburghnews.com/reeltime