*First there were The People vs George Lucas
*But then the jedis met the zombies in Evil in the Time of Heroes
*Only to be snuffed out by the silly Red Hill
*Don’t worry though: magic tricks from The Illusionist made it all better
other news
The Edinburgh International Film Festival officially kicked off last night with the premiere of Sylvia Chomet’s love letter to Edinburgh and 1959, The Illusionist. I watched this period film at the Festival Theatre, an old, warm venue with huge red curtains and wooden seats with antique number fonts. I couldn’t have asked for a more fitting location for this film.
Chomet and the EIFF’s director Hannah McGill introduced the film, with Chomet playing the silly French character, stealing the mic from Hannah and chatting away about people dying on the very stage they stood upon.
I’m having a great time spending most of the day in the dark screening rooms around Edinburgh. If I’m having this much fun covering the festival for free, I can’t imagine the silly-kid grin I’d be wearing all day if I was getting paid. I hope all the employed reviewers have the same sense of joy.
Also, I need to give a shout out to my wife Bethany, who has been like a pit crew to me over the last two days. Unlike sitcom nagging wives out to destroy a man’s dreams, she’s been totally behind me on this project: editing my posts while I’m seeing more films and providing encouraging words when I’m feeling tired of my own writing style. I’m very lucky to have a good partner, especially while covering the fest.
reviews to come
22 Bullets, Blank City
The Filmsmith 
Marriage FTW. Way to go Bethany! 🙂