EIFF 2010: The story so far

Sir Sean, a new Scottish comedy classic, the return of some classic and the chance to see some decent new movies just about sums up the last few days of my Edinburgh International Film Festival.

Coming right up-to-date, last night I headed along to the Festival Theatre, newly kitted out as Edinburgh's biggest and grandest cinema, to witness Sean Connery (I'm sure if you're local you're allowed to dispense with the 'Sir' part) introduce his 1975 movie, The Man Who Would Be King, alongside co-star Saeed "Billy Fish" Jaffery. Both men may be getting older - Sean hits the big 80 in the next few months - but they both clearly relished being in front of the crowd.

Sean in particular seemed emotional at returning to the city and recalled how years ago he and members of the EIFF committee tried to acquire the Festival Theatre for film screenings, but that costs had been too great. Outgoing Managing Director Ginnie Atkinson noted that Edinburgh needed something as grand as this to compete with other European countries and, while the seats may not be the most comfortable, it's hard to disagree with her that it's an impressive venue.

I've caught up with a bundle of new films over the last few days, most notably the sequel to 2006's Red Road, Donkeys. While Red Road was bleak and unsettling, Donkeys is the complete opposite, a funny take on family problems starring James Cosmo, Kate Dickie and Martin Compston. I was taken by the clever dialogue and the move between drama and comedy which is well handled by all involved - I hope it finally gets a cinema release after sitting on the shelf for two years.

Another Scottish film I had high hopes for is Outcast, which premiered at the EIFF. The Edinburgh-set horror promised much from actors James Nesbitt and Kate Dickie, but I found it a real chore to sit through. It takes its time to build up suspense but doesn't reward the patient viewer with anything satisfying, though some may appreciate the fact that it doesn't go all out for gore. A wasted opportunity.

If you were lucky over the weekend you may have been in the queue to see Toy Story 3D, which arrived in Edinburgh just one day after its US release. The return of old friends Woody, Buzz and co. was one of the best cinema experiences I've had this year, an emotional return to the world of characters who came to life once more having been away for a decade.

Other films worth catching if you can are: US drama Winter's Bone, a dark, noirish, drama about a young girl searching for her drug addict father; Jackoots on Whitehall, a puppet-led adventure story set in an alternate world where the Nazi's took over Britain, with the voice of Ewan McGregor; HIGH School, a stoner comedy set in a US high school where a well-regarded student has to ensure all his schoolmates get high to foil a new drugs test; and The Hunter, an Iranian drama about a widowed husband who takes revenge on the police who allowed his wife and child to die but gets more than he bargained for.

I'm also thoroughly enjoying the Retrospective strand, which looks back at forgotten films from the 1970s. Director Stephen Frears introduced Gumshoe yesterday and today sees Edinburgh-set The Long Shot, filmed at the 1977 EIFF, receive a screening at 3.15 - head along if you can and you might even see yourself in it if you were around town that year.

You can read some of my longer reviews over at www.reelscotland.com or you can follow me on Twitter for more on this year's EIFF.