Lights, Camera... London Film Festival!

So there is one week to go until the cultural orgasm that is London Film Festival arrives in our bustling City, and it wouldn't be completely nuts of me to assume that tickets are selling fast...

...Yep, I've just checked. They are. Get involved.

For those who may not be familiar on its background, here's a quick LFF history lesson - It is organised by the British Film Institute (BFI), and has been on the social calendar since 1953. It is the UK's largest public festival of its kind and is visited by thousands of film enthusiasts who are given the unique opportunity to see over 300 films, docs and shorts from all over the world. The festival is all about showcasing both internationally established film-makers as well as the new kids on the block. Another cool thing (one of my favourite aspects, in fact) is that visitors also have the ability to see restored archive films.

Having had a look at the line-up, it seems that this year's momentous jubilation of new movies covers all the bases, from the big Hollywood blockbusters to the indy gems.

Here are my 'Top 5' picks. If I get my way, I'll get along to at least on of these over the course of the festival. It's one of those things where there really isn't an excuse that's good enough not to.

12 Years A Slave

Steve McQueen's period biopic has already received rave reviews at Toronto Film Festival, and has emerged as the bookies favourite for Best Picture at the 2014 Oscars. Can't say I am all that surprised, what with one of the most impressive casts the industry has seen so far this year. Michael Fassbender, Brad Pitt and Benedict Cumberbatch are all in the mix. Time Out describes it as a pull-no-punches slavery drama that is perfect for seekers of serious and seriously excellent drama. I'm sold.

Captain Phillips

Now, I am a HUGE Tom Hanks fan. I have never wanted a celebrity to be my dad, quite as much as I do in the case of this legendary chap. So, it doesn't take much for my interest to perk when it comes to any movie he is in. In the case of Captain Phillips, it's not just the Hanks factor that has me purring... Director Paul "The Bourne Supremacy" Greengrass is involved, not to mention the fact that this is a story about an American captain whose ship is taken hostage my Somali Pirates... Pirates! AND... it's based on real life events.

Don Jon

I have a fairly sizeable crush on JGL at the moment, so even if this movie wasn't getting such great reviews, I'd probably still want to see it. His directorial debut is yet another flick that got a lot of attention at Toronto.

Inside Llwelyn Davis

You had me at Coen Brothers... Feels like a lifetime since the last helping from these wickedly talented brothers, and I greet their latest production with open arms. Wide open. In this Sixties folk drama, we see Drive's Oscar Isaac playing a struggling musician in New York City. When it comes to movie critics, The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw is usually pretty trustworthy... and this is what he says on the flick - "Brilliantly written, terrifically acted, superbly designed and shot; it's a sweet, sad, funny picture about the lost world of folk music which effortlessly immerses us in the period".

Enough said

Sadly (very, very sadly), this is the final performance by the undeniably and epically talented James Gandolfini. For me, it's a case of "say no more" - on those grounds alone, I am already queued up to see this movie. He plays a frumpy, overweight academic named Albert, who embarks on an awkward romance with Eva (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), a masseuse who, like Albert, is the divorced parent of a teenaged daughter about to leave home for college life. Feedback so far see's big Jim being crowned the star of the show, with a performance that has lead to astonishing reviews in the US and a heck of a lot of Oscar nominee talk.

If you're worried that you've missed the boat - like I was when I was reading my Time Out on a packed tube this morning - stop. No need to panic. There are still tickets on sale, and a heap more will be made available this Thursday (October 3rd). Hit up bfi.org.uk to see what's on offer!

Worth noting that the whole city seems to be fairly actively involved in LFF this year... The Ritzy in Brixton, the Screen on the Green in Islington, the Picturehouse in Hackney and the Curzon Chelsea in the West are all participating in some way or another.

Like I said - Get involved :)