Today I managed to see two very different and very unique films...

First up was Fantastic Mr. Fox, which is the Opening Gala Film for the festival and - following up from Cannes decision to open with Pixar's Up - a seemingly 'family' oriented and strange choice. Indeed, as is obvious, Fantastic Mr. Fox is a stop-motion animation film with a wealth of celebrity voices, but this is very much unlike any other studio animated movie of recent times.

Directed by Wes Anderson, the man responsible for such films as Rushmore and The Royal Tenenbaums, he successfully bleeds his own distinctive style into this alternate form or storytelling. So much so that it is fair to say that if you despise his methods then you're probably not going to be won over here. Though the trailers and advertising may pitch this as a fast-paced Ocean's Eleven style caper, that's not quite the case in actuality.

What is immediately apparent is that Anderson has created a very lush, fully realised, slightly askew world for his characters to play in; much like the subverted realities that his cartoon-like humans exist it's kind of the flip-side to that here, human-like cartoons as it were. Even for animation there is something extraordinarily peculiar and other-worldly to this creation, yet also rooted in an exceptional and satirical sense of the absurd. The animation style is also - pleasingly and refreshingly - askew, it's jerky, awkward, imperfect and thusly wonderful. Unlike oh-so-slick stop-motion fare like the (distinctly bland) Corpse Bride, Mr. Fox is not afraid of being a practical, hand-made uncanny world and it's breathtaking.

The cast is peppered with Anderson regulars such as Jason Schwartzman as Fox's son Ash, Owen Wilson as a sports instructor and Bill Murray as Badger, and there are plenty of new additions most notably George Clooney as the title role, Meryl Streep as his wife and Michael Gambon - who is absolutely magnificently evil in both vocals and form - as Bean. Unlike such fare as Shark Tale the actors are cast for what they bring to the role, rather than any sort of celebrity cache, with most of the 'names' relegated to rather small supporting roles (try and spot Oscar Winner Adrien Brody). This is as much an ensemble as any other Anderson film and it tackles its drama in much the same fashion, albeit with a touch more slapstick and dancing.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a film that is definitely going to divide audiences, it exists in a strange netherworld between being a 'kids' film and a movie for adults, but it's a family film in both the best and bizarrest sense of the word. It's the kind of picture - like a warm, nostalgic Christmas classic - that will linger on long in the memories of those who adore and embrace it, and is a bold and dazzling visual experiment as much as The Dark Crystal was for Jim Henson.

The second film I saw was the documentary 45365, which - as the title card at the film's outset explains - is the zipcode for the American town of Sidney, Ohio. I can admit to you from the off that I've never seen a film like this before, it is a beguiling and hypnotic portrait of contemporary American life.

Seperated into five 'acts' it very casually observes the comings and goings of an ever expanding cross section of people living in Sidney, from a local radio DJ to the high school football team, a judge running for re-election to a policeman going about his day. It is at once simply a look at ordinary life realised in such poignant and humorous simplicity and also an oddly artistic living document. This is, without wishing to sound too harsh, not a film that one can particularly recommend as a 'must see', but for those who enjoy the more experimental side of film-making there is much to enjoy here.

Directors Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross have managed to put their subjects at total ease, effortleslly catching lightning in a bottle, never resorting to interview or reflection and just simply presenting life as it is. The lack of overt narrative may alienate some, and even at a lean 88 minute running time the film has its dips in pace, but this is a peculiar peek into ordinary lives simultaneously strange and confounding and totally ordinary!

For more information visit: http://www.bfi.org.uk/lff/