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Last year at the wonderful Raindance Film Festival, I saw A Thousand Kisses Deep and was rather fond of it. Why? For the same reason you should see it in UK cinemas this week: it's a bit like Dr. Who. If Dr. Who were played by David Warner.

Yes, David Warner - everyone's favourite camp Satan and former Dr. Who actor himself - plays a grumpy janitor who takes Mia (the lovely Jodie Whittaker) for a ride... THROUGH TIME. Warner takes Mia all the way back to her childhood, where she meets sexy slimeball Dougray Scott. He plays jazz trumpet.

If you can forgive Dana Lustig's overly familiar brand of psychoanalysis, there's an interesting drama unfolding here, whether you take it at face value or buy into the steamy Freudian smudgeness of it all. Why? Because the seedy locations and top performances are as easy to watch as Matt Smith wearing a fez.

So, to recap, that's David Warner as a Time Lord saving the day for Jodie Whittaker from an evil Scottish musician. Or, to put it really briefly, it's Dr. Who. But with more jazz trumpet.

All this time-travelling fun only a few days after Jenna Louise-Coleman is unveiled as The Doctor's new companion? Try not to get the two confused. The easiest way to tell them apart: David Warner's time machine is an old, rickety elevator in a rundown block of flats. Matt Smith, on the other hand, has a TARDIS.

 

 

Head this way for a full A Thousand Kisses Deep review and our Dana Lustig interview from the Raindance Film Festival - or read on for a new clip from the film.

Director: Dana Lustig
Cast: Jodie Whittaker, Dougray Scott, David Warner
Certificate: TBC
UK Release Date: Friday 15th June

How well do you know yourself and those you love…?

Returning home from work, Mia (Jodie Whittaker – Good, Venus, St. Trinian’s & St. Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold) witnesses an aged woman leap from a window. Scattered around the old woman’s broken, lifeless body Mia discovers shredded pieces from a beloved photograph of herself and her former lover Ludwig (Dougray Scott – Hitman, Enigma, Mission Impossible II). Highly unnerved, Mia begs Max (David Warner - Avatar, Planet of the Apes, Titanic ), the buildings’ all knowing custodian, to let her into the deceased woman’s flat.

While inside this strangely familiar place, Mia recognizes the contents as her own. Confused and disturbed by what lies before her, she bolts back and forth in time to safeguard her future and confront the man she loves deeply - but dreads the most.

Do you remember Raindance? All those months ago in September? Maybe you've forgotten what films you saw at the festival, maybe you missed it entirely, but the good news is that while America gets excited about Sundance, you can catch some Raindance Film Festival movies in UK cinemas in 2012.

It's great to see theatrical releases secured for some of the festival's more interesting and challenging productions. When I spoke to Raindance filmmakers in September, some were still crossing fingers over British distribution and could only confirm a release date in israel.

But now, there are 6 Raindance films lined up for cinemas around the country this year. Here they are:

Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Michelle Williams, Eddie Redmayne, Kenneth Branagh, Julia Ormond, Judi Dench 
Certificate: 12A

It's one thing going into a film knowing that Michelle Williams will get nominated for an Oscar. It's another thing coming out thinking that you just saw Marilyn Monroe alive and well for two hours.

Williams manages the transformation entirely, drawing in everything around her, including Laurence Olivier (Branagh). "When she gets it right, you can't take your eyes off her," Olivier sighs, struggling to directing her on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl. He's right. And My Week with Marilyn is all the better for it.

Standing near the entrance of the lovely Apollo Cinema West End, people keep pushing past to get to the world premiere of A Thousand Kisses Deep. But as the foyer fills up, I'm busy talking about jazz and time travel - as you do, if you're chatting to Dana Lustig, director of tonight's intriguing romantic drama.

The interview was equally interesting, even if it was conducted amid a gaggle of visitors walking between us right near the top of a stairwell. And, to make matters more chaotic, old friends kept popping up to say hello. (Her friends, I should add - I'm not that popular.)

But Dana stayed to chat, sharing her passion for London, music and Dougray Scott. And then Dougray himself arrived and hijacked the whole thing. As you do, if you're Dougray Scott.

Here's what happened:

"And sometimes when the night is slow, the wretched and the meek, we gather up our hearts and go a thousand kisses deep."

There's nothing like a bit of Leonard Cohen to put you in the mood for some doomed romance. But Dana Lustig's drama is a bit more than that. Following the attempts of Mia (Jodie Whittaker) to untangle her relationship with Ludwig (Dougray Scott) from her troubled past, A Thousand Kisses Deep plays like a cross between psychoanalysis and Dr Who. With Dougray Scott playing the trumpet. And David Warner playing Dr Who. 

With X-Men: First Class fast approaching, fanboys across the internet are drooling like crazy. Mostly over January Jones' breasts.

It's no surprise compared to the quality of breasts on show in X-Men 3: The Last Stand. But before people start saying Matthew Vaughn's prequel is as good as Bryan Singer's first two X-Men movies, it's probably worth taking eight hours of your life to re-watch them all to get a sense of perspective.

But what if you don't have the highly-evolved stamina to make it through Brett Ratner's ballsed-up sequel? Well, this X-Men marathon live blog should sort you out.

Four X-Men movies, one evening, no special powers. This is the X-Menathon. Mag-neato!