LFF 2018: Fourteen Of The Best Films We Caught At The 2018 BFI London Film Festival

Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn & Saam Das

The 62nd BFI London Film Festival came to a close last month, concluding with well-received Laurel & Hardy biopic 'Stan & Ollie', starring Steve Coogan and John C Reilly. The 2018 LFF was similarly well received, with record audience numbers, including almost 150,000 attendees for its London screenings and over 30,000 more at satellite screenings across the UK. We've rounded up a selection of our top films from the 200+ features on offer at this year's LFF below.

Preview: Celebrate Black History Month With These Films At The 2018 BFI London Film Festival

BFI London Film Festival 2018 (10-21 October 2018) // Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn & Saam Das

The 62nd BFI London Film Festival kicks off today, with 'Widows' as its Opening Night Gala. As mentioned in our recent music-focussed preview of the LFF 2018, Steve McQueen's new effort is a tantalizing prospect, and an appropriate Opening Night Gala as the Oscar winner hails from London. As one of the industry's (sadly rare) successful black directors, it is also appropriate considering October is Black History Month in the UK. We've put together a list of some other appropriate films to help celebrate BHM at this year's LFF.

Preview: Ten Of Our Top Picks At The BFI London Film Festival 2017

Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn // BFI London Film Festival (4-15 Oct '17)

Public booking for the 2017 BFI London Film Festival opens this morning at 10am, with the festival itself kicking off on October 4th with Andy Serkis' directorial debut 'Breathe, starring Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy, and scored by Nitin Sawhney. From the established to the more obscure, we've plucked ten of our most anticipated movies from the LFF's catalogue below.

Year In Review: Lauren Johnson-Ginn's Top Ten Films Of 2015

Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn

10: 'Jurassic World'

Who doesn’t love dinosaurs? And, more to the point, who doesn’t love Chris Pratt? This ambitious revisiting of the celebrated franchise was a true CGI-fest with a couple of questionable plot holes – but that didn’t make it any less enjoyable, particularly when combined with popcorn.

On Camera #30: Mockingjay Part 2 / Gueros / Master Of None / Together

Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn & Saam Das

In Cinemas: 'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2' (2015) + 'Güeros' (2015)

Review: Eleven Of The Best Films We Caught At The 2015 BFI London Film Festival

BFI London Film Festival (7-18 Oct '15) // Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn & Saam Das

The 59th BFI London Film Festival drew to a close last month, opened by Sarah Gavron's feminist drama 'Suffragette' and closed by Danny Boyle's 'Steve Jobs'. Lauren Johnson-Ginn and Saam Das were on the ground to catch as many films as we could - keep on reading for eleven of our favourite films (in alphabetical order) from the 2015 BFI London Film festival.

London Film Festival 2015 Review: Black Mass (2015)

'Black Mass' (UK Release: 27 Nov '15) // Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn

Taking a deep dive into Boston’s murky 1980s underworld, 'Black Mass' charts the rise of one of America’s most infamous career criminals - Jimmy ‘Whitey’ Bulger (Johnny Depp). With excellent left-field casting, gripping pace and a clever script, director Scott Cooper has made a film that’s far more engaging than your typical mobster movie.

London Film Festival 2015 Mini-Reviews: 21 Nights With Pattie + Arianna

Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn

'21 Nights With Pattie' (2015)

Preview: Ten Films To Watch At The BFI London Film Festival 2015

BFI London Film Festival (7-18 Oct '15) // Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn & Saam Das

The BFI London Film Festival returns to its familiar surroundings this week, and we have ten of our most anticipated films to share with you. Read more of our thoughts and click on the film titles below for further information, and find out about last minute ticket availability via the BFI website.

Film Review: Serena [BFI London Film Festival 2014]

'Serena' (UK Release: 24 Oct '14) // Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn

Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper team up again in this atmospheric drama from director Susanne Bier, bringing their much-discussed on-screen chemistry to a sombre tale of cutthroat Depression-era industry and turbulent romance. Adapted from Ron Rash’s best-selling 2008 novel of the same name, 'Serena' follows the rise of George Pemberton’s (Bradley Cooper) North Carolina timber empire.

Film Review: Gueros [BFI London Film Festival 2014]

'Güeros' (UK Release: TBC) // Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn

A pretentious black and white movie with no clear meaning? That’s the gist of an extremely meta comment directed at 'Güeros' by a protagonist in one of the film’s wry fourth-wall-poking moments – but it’s a comment that doesn’t accurately reflect the charm of this clever coming-of-age odyssey.

BFI London Film Festival 2014 Mini-Reviews: In Darkness We Fall + Thou Wast Mild And Lovely

Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn

'In Darkness We Fall' (2014)

Although found footage horror may now lack the nail-biting fright factor it once had in its 'Blair Witch Project' heyday, director Alfredo Montero brings genuinely unsettling realism back to the genre with 'In Darkness We Fall' ('La Cueva') – a claustrophobic cautionary tale of cave exploration gone wrong.

On Camera #7: Sin City 2 / The Congress / Cuckoo / Almost Royal / Locke / London Film Festival

Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn and Saam Das

In Cinemas: Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (2014) + The Congress (2013)

Film Review: Oculus (2014)

'Oculus' (UK Release: 13 June '14) // Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn

On paper, the concept of a haunted mirror may not sound particularly scary – but against the odds, Mike Flanagan’s supernatural horror 'Oculus' delivers plenty of tense moments, sharp shocks and general creepiness.

Film Review: The Family (2013)

'The Family' (UK Release: 22 Nov '13) // Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn

We’ve grown reluctantly accustomed to seeing Robert De Niro starring in half-baked comedies in recent years, but 'The Family' heralds a (sort of) return to form for the actor, placing him in familiar hard-man mafia territory. Directed by Luc Besson, perhaps best known for 'Leon' and 'The Fifth Element', this dark comedy casts De Niro as patriarch of the formerly Brooklyn-based Manzoni family, on the run in provincial Normandy under the watchful eye of the FBI’s witness protection scheme.

Film Review: Blue Is The Warmest Colour (2013)

'Blue Is The Warmest Colour' (UK Release: 22 Nov '13) // Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn

Perhaps one of the most stir-causing, feather-ruffling films of the year so far, 'Blue Is The Warmest Colour' scooped the Palme D’Or at Cannes – becoming the first title ever to be awarded the prize to both director Abdellatif Kechiche and the two lead actresses, Adèle Exarchopoulos and Léa Seydoux. Discussion of the film has been (unsurprisingly) dominated by its unusually long and explicit sex scenes, but – strangely enough – these are the least interesting component of this piercingly intense love story.

Review: BFI London Film Festival 2013

BFI London Film Festival (9-20 Oct '13) // Words: Team FG

The 57th BFI London Film Festival may have started off in inauspicious circumstances - the online system for priority booking crashed - but concluded successfully with the Oscar contending 'Saving Mr Banks'. Along the way, we caught dozens of the festival's wide array of features, and here are some of our favourite films - many of which are soon to arrive at a cinema near you, if not already.

LFF 2013 Reviews: Don Jon + Inside Llewyn Davis + Only Lovers Left Alive

Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn & Raman K

'Don Jon'

Joseph Gordon-Levitt makes a remarkably polished directorial debut with romantic-comedy 'Don Jon', also starring as the titular Jon – a man of simple pleasures whose primary concerns in life include his body, his pad, his car, his friends, his girls and (most importantly) his porn. When he meets Barbara (Scarlett Johansson), however – a ‘solid dime’ – he’s forced to change his ways, and make a choice between love and, er, rigorous self-love.

LFF 2013 Review: Of Good Report (2013)

'Of Good Report' (UK Release: TBC) // Words: Lauren Johnson-Ginn

Jahmil Qubeka's neo-noir thriller 'Of Good Report' has experienced a rather rocky road to the screen, having been banned – and then unbanned, following protests – by the South African government earlier this year. Its depiction of a teacher’s illicit sexual relationship with an underage pupil is certainly disturbing and controversial, though it’s unclear what the film is trying to achieve – sharp social critique, or just a stylish and thoroughly South African take on the classic psycho-killer tale?

Preview: BFI London Film Festival 2013

BFI London Film Festival (9-20 Oct '13) // Words: Team FG

The world renowned BFI London Film Festival returns this month for its edition, opening and closing with a Tom Hanks double bill - diving head first into proceedings via hijack thriller 'Captain Phillips' and exiting with 'Saving Mr Banks', a biopic surrounding the film adaptation of 'Mary Poppins'. With tickets still on sale to many films, we've compiled a list of our most anticipated festival offerings.