Current release: IN SEARCH OF A MIDNIGHT KISS

This little indie was a big hit at last year's Edinburgh festival but the ability to miss all the favourites at every festival I go to is ingrained in my DNA, so I had to wait for the cinema release.

The end of the year. Two young people both recovering from heartbreak and/or failure meet over the internet and agree to a date. The deal is simple - they meet up on Hogmanay in LA, and have until midnight to see if they can make it work.

I applaud this low-budget romantic comedy-drama for avoiding the easy route (well, most of the time) in playing out its will-they-won't-they romance and relying predominantly on characters rather than daft situations (although there are a few nice touches there too). It's a little like Richard Linklater's BEFORE SUNSET and BEFORE SUNRISE but with the occasional CLERKS-style humour thrown in (without overdoing it).

What really stayed with me however, was the loving portrait of LA. While I stand by the above movie comparisons, I think that intentionally or otherwise, this film struck me as a kind of updated take on Manhattan - not just the romance angle but the fact that the city becomes a central character in the movie. I've seen plenty of films set in LA, but this is the first one I've seen that has really been an LA movie. I've never been there so I've no idea what kind of a portrait it paints in terms of accuracy, but it certainly felt genuine to me.

Touching, funny and unlikely to stay in cinemas very long during the summer I imagine. Another one worth seeing.