SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL 2013

You’ve probably spent the last few weeks pouring over the SFF lift-out guide, the app or their website compiling a wishlist, circling movies or dog-earing page after page. It’s overwhelming, we know, and this year's bumper crop of films for the festival’s 60th birthday is bigger and better than ever. Well, we’re not here to tell you what to see or what not to see - experience has taught us that when it comes to cinema, it's each to their own. What we can do is point out a few picks that made our must-see list that we feel might deserve a little extra attention.

For those of you new to the film festival scene or if you’re simply wanting to get a jump on the flicks bound for a wider release later in the year, may I suggest you wet your whistle with ‘Thanks For Sharing’ - it re-teams Marvel-verse stars Mark Ruffalo and Gwyneth Paltrow as members of a support group for sex addiction. This comedy also stars Tim Robbins and features music superstar Pink. It may not be Pink’s first foray on the silver screen, but it’s the only one worth noting. ‘Thanks For Sharing’ is the directorial debut for ‘The Kids Are Alright’ scribe Stuart Blumberg, so it’s sure to be a goodie.

It’s been 18 years since Celine and Jesse took that fateful train-ride in ‘Before Sunrise’. A quick trip down memory lane in 2004 saw the pair finally reunite and answer those burning questions that had haunted them for almost a decade - well now it’s 2013, and this stunning tale is getting a bookend with ‘Before Midnight’. One of the most anticipated sequels in recent years is at our fingertips and any fan of the series will be gagging to see chapter three. For all the newbies out there, I suggest hitting up iTunes or your local Blockbuster to play catch-up - you won’t be sorry.

Last year saw comedian extraordinaire Billy Connolly make an entrance only he could, as he strutted into a George Street cinema to a fanfare of bagpipes for the premiere of Pixar’s ‘Brave’. This year, SFF boasts yet another Pixar feature with ‘Monsters University’. Any animation and/or Pixar fans (both adults and children) surely cannot contain their excitement for the prequel of prequels (sorry, 'Star Wars').