The 56th BFI London Film Festival

So, last night the 56th BFI London Film Festival (what a mouthful!!) kicked off with opening screenings of Tim Burton's new stop-motion feature, Frankenweenie. His first collaboration with Disney, it was a real gem to start off the festival, and stars such as Burton himself, wife Helena Bonham-Carter, Catherine O'Hara and Martin Short graced the red carpet in Leicester Square to kick off the show.

For those who haven't checked out the BFI website to see what's happening, can do so here and will see there's plenty of exciting movies to check out. My brother and I went to the IMAX viewing of Frankenweenie, and aside from some seriously dodgy camerawork from the red carpet (mostly featuring Lauren Laverne's legs, and some continual forward/rewind action) shown before the film, and a 30 minute delay to allow the stars to sit their famous posteriors down (the other screenings can't start before the offical red carpet opening), it was a very enjoyable opening.

My tickets have all arrived now, and I'm seeing (in order).........

1. Frankenweenie - Tim Burton's first Disney collaboration
2. Rust & Bone - Jacques Audiard's new French drama with Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts
3. Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time - South Korean gangster noir with Oldboy's Choi min-Sik
4. John Dies at the End - Comedy horror from Don Coscarelli based on David Wong's crazy insane book
5. Everybody Has a Plan - Ana Piterbarg has Viggo Mortenson playing twins in this Argentine Drama
6. Caesar Must Die - Inmates of a high-security Roman prison put on Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
7. Seven Psychopaths - Martin McDonagh's anticipated follow up to In Bruges with Colin Farrell
8. End of Watch - David Ayer's LA-based police crime action with Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena

Although there are a few I missed out on due to either high prices, fast-selling tickets, or timings - Doomsday Book, Argo, Crossfire Hurricane, Sightseers, Midnight's Children - I'm extremely excited about the tickets I have films for, and am anticipating all of them equally.

Due to moving flat (twice!), starting a new role at work and a load of band rehearsals, the reviews won't quite be to the standard of previous due to simply not having the time, so I have opted to do short Paragraph Reviews with a gist and general opinion on the movie. That way I can stay on top of the films I see. If you get the chance, do try and attend - it's great fun and something every film-loving Londoner should take advantage of.