Up In The Air
This weekend has seen George Clooney jet between the London and Rome Film Festival to promote his latest movie Up In The Air
Clooney teams up with Jason Reitman, the man behind 2007's Juno, for Up In The Air, which has been a major hit on the festival circuit so far.
Clooney stars as Ryan Bingham, a corporate hatchet man who loves his life on the road but is forced to fight for his job when his company downsizes its travel budget.
He is required to spend more time at home just as he is on the cusp of a goal he's worked toward for years: reaching five million frequent flyer miles and just after he's met the frequent-traveller woman of his dreams.
Up In The Air shows that Reitman's quirky Juno two years ago was not just a one off and this almost certain to get some recognition come awards season for the script and direction.
Despite this, and a great supporting cast, this movie, as you would expect, belongs to George Clooney and he may be polishing another Oscar in the new year.
And it's Clooney that has so far dominated proceedings in London as The Men Who Stare At Goats is another of his movies that have been met well by the critics so far at the festival.
Starring alongside Ewan McGregor The Men Who Stare At Goats is based on a real life story. McGregor stars as Bob Wilton who is in search of his next big story when he encounters Lyn Cassady (Clooney), a shadowy figure who claims to be part of an experimental U.S. military unit. According to Cassady, the New Earth Army is changing the way wars are fought.
A legion of "Warrior Monks" with unparalleled psychic powers can read the enemy’s thoughts, pass through solid walls, and even kill a goat simply by staring at it. Now, the program's founder, Bill Django (Jeff Bridges), has gone missing and Cassady's mission is to find him.
While Hollywood royalty may be in town stealing most of the limelight it's good to see some British movies and performances creating some waves at the festival.
Of course I'm talking about 44 Inch Chest, which was screened over the weekend and starred Ray Win stone.
From the team behind Sexy Beast Win stone stars as Colin Diamond, a man in agony, shattered by the bombshell of his wife’s infidelity with a young French waiter.
His motley crew of friends; Old Man Peanut (Hurt), Meredith (McShane), Archie (Wilkinson) and Mal (Dillon) kidnap Lover boy (Pupa) and assemble a kangaroo court so that Colin can restore his manhood with revenge.
What's great about this movie is how the cast just seem to bounce off one another as they bring this great script to the big screen.
The Road is another movie that has been met well by the critics this weekend after a string of delays over the year.
Starring Viggo Mortensen The Road is an adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy novel and could find itself featuring heavily during the awards season.
The script is incredibly faithful to the novel but it's Mortensen's performance that really drives the film as he delivers yet another powerful turn.
Other movies that have fared well this weekend include The Exploding Girl and A Single Man, which is directed by Tom Ford and stars Colin Firth.
The London Film Festival runs until 29th October.
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in George Clooney BFI