Four films I'll be giving a shit about in

CHAPPIE

I'm having real trouble reconciling the Neill Blomkamp / Hugh Jackmanliness of this with the indelible image of Short Circuit's Johnny Five. That said, Blomkamp is still in credit with the Bank Of Suit despite Elysium, so shits will be given in these parts about Chappie. (6th)

 HYENA

Gerard Johnson's feature debut Tony was a low-budget, blackly comic gem starring his cousin Peter Ferdinando as an unassuming serial killer. Their follow-up (in which Ferdinando is unrecognisable as the same guy who played Tony) is a grim, unrelentingly pessimistic look at West London cops, reminiscent of Eastern Promises but without the budget. Give a shit about it if you would like confirmation that the world is a really awful place full of really awful people. (6th)

MOMMY

Precocious Canadian writer-director-and-everything-elser Xavier Dolan is on his fifth film despite being just 25 years old, the talented BASTARD. I've only seen one of his films - the unbearably pretentious Heartbeats - but suspect I will end up looking silly if I don't crack on with the rest of his filmography sharpish. Mommy looks worth giving a shit about if only for its ballsy 1:1 aspect ratio. (20th)

THE VOICES

There is literally no way any poster or trailer can convey what The Voices is like. It's a completely unmarketable film, and anyone going in expecting a slasher flick or a romcom is going to walk out within half an hour. It is both of those things and neither of those things, but what it definitely is is quite brilliant. You should definitely give a shit about it. (20th)

London Film Festival: Heartbeats

Here are the IMDb's Plot Keywords for Heartbeats (or Love, Imagined, its more accurately translated international title):

While all those things are present and correct (except tension), they don't really give you an accurate idea of what the film is like. What might be more appropriate would be:

All credit (literally) to star, writer, director, producer, costumier, art director, editor, graphic designer, photographer and probably popcorn seller and projectionist Xavier Dolan, but Heartbeats is just a little bit too Film Festivally for its own good. If only it were showing at some kind of Film Festival right now, it might just find its audience.

Heartbeats is showing at the LFF at 5.45pm on Thursday 21st October and at 3.00pm on Friday 22nd October at Vue Leicester Square, and at 6.30pm on Sunday 24th October at Cine Lumiere in South Kensington.

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