Sweet Nothings

We’re currently in the middle of the BFI London Film Festival, and I thought I’d better make an effort this year and catch a couple of films. This is trickier for someone who holds great stock in reviews, as I’m reluctant to pay to see anything that I know nothing about. And of course the really high-profile movies sell out instantly.  Still, I managed to nab tickets to the gala screening of Miral , Julian Schnabel’s new film centered around the Israel-Palestine conflict. This being from the director of the astonishing Diving Bell and the Butterfly and starring Freida Pinto, currently “hot”, as I believe they say in Hollywood parlance, after the success of Slumdog, I had quite high hopes. Not to mention that at £17.50 a pop, this gala screening would surely include a swanky drinks reception and the chance to mingle with slebs and that. Well, there certainly was a drinks reception, but not one to which the hoi polloi were invited. Furthermore, there were two screenings in ...

Ooh, this is mentioned in the Guardian today - a blog wherein a plethora of London arty folk have posted illustrations (in some cases mini comic strips) of tracks from the Magnetic Fields' wonderful 69 Love Songs album. Already one of my favourites, now if only someone could find a way of patching these pics directly into my brain when each song came up on my [generic MP3 player], that would be.... well, quite awkward I imagine, but still pretty darn cool. There's also a Stephin Merritt documentary coming out. Maybe it'll even sneak its way into a cinema in London at some point! To say I'm stupidly excited would be an understatement.