Yes, it is that time of year again. As Jack Thomson nearly said last year: “In the dark, we share our germs.”

Well, these are the films I’ve bought tickets for anyway. There were a couple that I’d like to see but couldn’t because they sold out or clashed with something else I had on. I did want to see Holding The Man, but I figure it’ll get a general release soon. It sold out as I was making our bookings. As my program was pretty long I decided not to try to see The Secret River as we will get to see it soon on TV.

I try to organise a big group of people and we bulk purchase tickets to get a good price. It is a bit like herding cats, but worth it in the end. Sometimes I am going with friends, sometimes alone. I generally take a few days off to enjoy the festival too, so whilst it looks a little ambitious, I’ll be on leave for much of it. So here we go with this year’s schedule:

We Are Still Here. Who doesn’t like a decent chiller? And this session is conveniently in Newtown.

Slow West. A western. With Michael Fassbender and Ben Mendelsohn. It won an award at Sundance. And Kodi Smit-McPhee is supposed to be the next big thing.

Results. Because Guy Pearce.

Mr. Holmes. I love Sherlock and a good mystery. Also, Ian McKellen is coming along nicely as an actor.

Vincent. I love many French films and I’m also a fan of the supernatural in film. So mixing the two could be magic. Or it might be a disaster.

99 Homes. A thriller. Even if it is no good, we still get to look at Andrew Garfield for 112 minutes. Although, he does seem to be sporting a silly beard …

600 Miles. Another thriller. I think Tim Roth is always good and a little under-rated as an actor. My kind of story, so it should be enjoyable.

The Tribe. Sex scenes! And violence. No, really I buy it for the articles. Well it has won heaps of awards and there is no dialogue.

Spring. A romantic drama with some mayhem. Who could resist that? Also, it is being screened in Newtown.

Victoria. A thriller set in Berlin. We have one spare ticket and I love Berlin, so I may go to this.

Phoenix. A post-WW2 mystery: another genre that I love.

54 (Director’s Cut). The unsanitised homoerotic version. It is being shown in Newtown.

The Invitation. Because Horror. And its being shown in Newtown.

A Second Chance. Yet another thriller, from Denmark. Stars the Kingslayer (aka Nikolaj Coster-Waldau).

“German Angst” (a trio of films: Final Girl, Make a Wish & Alraune). Because sex, death & supernatural forces.

I usually try to write up short reviews, especially if I think the film was worth seeing (or not).