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It’s midnight on a Wednesday and I need sleep, but I can’t quite give in yet. I’ve been playing Nioh all evening yet I haven’t moved an inch. Blocking my path is a black monolith that rises from the ocean to pummel me with arms shaped like eels; to eviscerate me with lightning blasts from its orb-eye; to make a mockery of the character that I’ve carefully levelled to a point of pride

Bit by bit I’m learning to deal with its varied attacks, walking a tight margin for error like a trapeze artist. I decide to take a break – not for sleep – but to explore the other areas of the pirate-infested ruins, searching for loot and a chance to level up. There’s something cathartic about having a plan of action and when I return to the beast, luck is in my favor.

You can keep up with Kim Morgan’s coverage of Telluride over at Sunset Gun. The films chosen for presentation this year will be: California Split (d. Robert Altman, U.

Main programme includes Birdman, Foxcatcher, The Imitation Game and Rosewater.

The Telluride Film Festival (Aug 29 - Sept 1) has revealed the line-up for its 41st edition, packed with films tipped for awards season.

The festival will include 85 features, short films and revivals representing 28 countries, along with special artist tributes, conversations, panels and education programmes.

The main programme includes Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Birdman, starring Michael Keaton, which opened the Venice Film Festival to rave reviews yesterday.

The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, The Homesman, directed by Tommy Lee Jones, and Jon Stewart’s directorial debut Rosewater are all generating awards buzz.

There are also several titles that picked up prizes in Cannes earlier this year including Foxcatcher, which won Bennett Miller best director; Russian drama Leviathan, winner of best screenplay; Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner, which saw Timothy Spall win best actor; and jury prize winner Mommy from Xavier Dolan.

The 50 Year Argument (d. Martin Scorsese, [link...

There are a lot of familiar faces in the just announced 2014 Telluride Film Festival line-up, but as much as this fest is about what's officially announced, it's also about what's not mentioned as secret screenings are pretty much what makes Telluride such a buzzy fest, though this year a little bit of snow may also be part of the conversation. As for the titles announced so far you have Venice early standout Birdman, Jon Stewart's Rosewater, The Imitation Game and Jean-Marc Vallee's Wild along with a Ton of Cannes crossover pics including Foxcatcher, The Homesman, Leviathan, Mommy, Mr. Turner, Red Army, Wild Tales and Two Days, One Night. There is plenty of Toronto crossover with many of this pics as well, which also includes Ramin Bahrani's 99 Homes, the new Martin Scorsese documentary The 50 Year Argument, Joshua Oppenheimer's The Look of Silence and Ethan Hawke's Seymour among others.

Telluride — With all the reindeer games going on in the fall festival world, a lot of the drama and mystery surrounding Telluride's perennially on-the-lowdown program began to seep out like a steadily deflating balloon this year. Toronto, Venice and New York notations of "World Premiere," "Canada Premiere," "New York Premiere" or "International Premiere" and the like made it all rather obvious which films were heading to the San Juans for the 41st edition of the tiny mining village's cinephile gathering, and which were not. But the fact is, if you're in it just for the surprises — or certainly, for the awards-baiting heavies — you're never going to be fully satisfied by the Telluride experience. That having been said, this year's program might just be the most exciting one in my six years of attending. Starting with all of the stuff we were expecting, indeed, Cannes players "Foxcatcher," "Mr. Turner" and "Leviathan...