The first domestic version of the one-sheet for Guillermo Del Toro produced, The Orphanage, has hit the web. The poster doesn’t do much for me, but it does reek of Guillermo Del Toro’s style, even if he’s not directing. New man in town, Juan Antonio Bayona will be taking the reins for this one and it looks to be very much in the same vein as Del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone. Of course, this is just the feel I get from the poster, so we’ll have to wait and see until some footage is released. In the meantime, here’s the marketing shot (click image for hi-res)…

     Though not yet announced officially on the main TAD site, Twitch is declaring Alone (MP review) as the winner for the 2007 audience choice awards. This is very good news. This little Thai horror flick had me nearly gasping for breath with the scares and then totally enthralled with a great story to boot.

     While predictions of a travesty looming as Troma’s Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (MP review) stood a good chance of taking the honor, I’m pleased to say that that theory can be laid to rest. The crowds in Toronto seem to concur with my personal pick for the best movie at TAD this year: Alone (a possible limited theatrical release may be imminent and a bullshit American remake is already in the works).

     So I stopped by FilmJunk today during my web movie rounds and stumbled upon their movie entitled The Running Tunnel. I guess it’s been around for a while and I’ve neglected my duties in seeing it. Check out the movie below and then head over to FilmJunk and let ‘em know what you thought. I personally think it’s pretty damn funny and I love the “grindhouse” look of the film - as though it has aged for a year or three. To the filmjunk crew: Hilarious! Keep em coming.

     One of the best westerns of the last 25 years is certainly Dances with Wolves. I saw it at least three times in the theater and loved it even as a young man. Costner haters be damned as this film was totally amazing in almost every respect and won Costner best picture and best director along with editing and cinematogrpahy wins, not to mention nods in several other categories. It is the epitome of outstanding film achievement.

     So word comes today that a director has just been signed to helm the sequel to Dances with Wolves, The Holy Road. I didn’t even know novelist/screenwriter Michael Blake even wrote a sequel. To me, this is bad news for three reasons.

1) It probably won’t star Costner.
2) The first film is perfect and should be left alone where it ends. I can’t think of a movie with a more unfathomable sequel possibility.
3) The director hired on is Simon Wincer. Let’s take a look at Mr Wincer’s resume:

D.A.R.Y.L.
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man
Free Willy
Lightning Jack
Phantom
Flash
…and the kicker?
Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles

     Sweet, tap-dancing Jesus does this guy know how to pick ‘em or what? Now, in all fairness, he also did direct a couple of the watchable “Young Indiana Jones” episodes (which were okay). And he also did Quigley Down Under and the “Lonesome Dove” mini-series which were pretty decent westerns for their time. So at least I have hope that the guy has a knack for doing some good western stuff. Otherwise, this is something of a tragedy and the worst news I read all day.

     Put her in anything and I’m bound to watch; just for the sheer fact that she makes my heart race a little faster than normal. After Buffy and some other fair to mediocre films, Dushku has sort of fallen off the map. But it looks like Joss Whedon is going to help change all that.

     The newest idea out of the Whedon camp is for a television show called “Dollhouse,” in which a group of super agents go on special missions within each episode. Before their mission, their brains are programmed with special abilities, thought and memories that will aid them to accomplish whatever their goal might be. After completing their mission, they return to the Dollhouse where their memories are completely erased and new thoughts implanted.

     Sounds like a terrific idea to me; and with Whedon behind the scenes and helping to write scripts and what not, I’m sure it will be comletely fantastic. The wrinkle in the storyline comes with Ms. Dushku who through the course of the show, apparently begins to remember and have self-awareness.

from filmstalker, Whedon had this to say:

     “I sat down with [Eliza] to talk about her options, and acted all sage, saying things backwards like Yoda and laying out what I thought she should do. But in the course of doing it, I accidentally made one up. I told it to her, and she said, ‘That’s exactly what I want to do.’ ”

     I love sci-fi stuff like this when it is done well and I have no doubts about this being done well. the only question is will the sheep that watch TV be able to grasp and then embrace something like this.

     No secret around here that I love Paul Giamatti. I eagerly anticipate just about anything the man is involved in (though my enthusiasm for Fred Claus has waned due to the lame posters and newest trailer). Still, he’s usually terrific and I’ve learned that one of his newest projects will be to star in an adaptation of an unfinished Phillip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Scanner Darkly, Minority Report, Total Recall and many others) story.

     The The Owl in Daylight, is a complicated tale that involves Ed Firmley, a B-movie composer, a race of aliens that have evolved without the ability to hear sounds, and our deeply held believes about art, happiness, and, oh yeah, heaven.

says Giamatti (who actually plays Dick in the film):

“There’s a guy writing a script right now… The idea is to take one of his last stories and put him as a character in the story. A lot of his stories were about reality getting bent around, so we’re trying to do that.”

“Well [Phillip K. Dick] was mentally ill in a lot of ways and he had lots of problems; he was married many times, was paranoid about a lot of things,” Giamatti explained. “Strange guy. He had a very interesting, complicated life.”

source: MTV movies blog

     Sounds good to me. Giamatti playing Dick in an unfinished story written by Dick has excellence writte all over it. Thoughts? Feel free to let them be known below…

     It’s always fun when because of someone talking about a certain movie that they just saw or whatever it turns to a different but still related conversation. Recently I had one about the best movie opening shots/scenes (or towards the beginning) you have ever seen. I just wanted to mention it on the blog and get other people’s favourites. Here is some of mine:

Blade Runner - A movie that took me a whopping 4 times to appreciate and now I LOVE it. And even when I HATED it I still really loved the opening shot. The overview shot of the city with the explosions and the close-up of the eye (BEAUTIFUL!).

Donnie Darko - We open with the view off the top of a mountain road, we pan over to a guy lying on the road with his bike next to him. He gets up (after presumably sleeping there all night) turns towards to the camera, a sly smirk comes on his face and he walks away and the words DONNIE DARKO come on the screen in front of the sky. Don’t know why I love that shot so much.

Once Upon A Time In The West - This may be actually a bit of cheat because with this I am referring to the first 5 minutes. The three cowboys commandeering the train station and waiting for the train to arrive. One of them sits with his hat slightly over his face, with a fly annoying him. The eerie silence and tension is fantastic (and cheers to Kurt for encouraging me to see this masterpiece).

Memento - The ULTIMATE film for playing around with the plot order. And the opening shot (which is actually the end of the story) of Guy Pierce standing there after having just killed somebody and then it reverses to the picture he tok going back into the camera, the gun flying back up into his hand and the guy he just shot coming back to life. It’s a crazily effect movie with that shot opening it perfectly as far as being in tune with what the rest of the movie is like.

Reservoir Dogs - One of my all time favourite scenes in one of my all time favourite movies. Tarantino as Mr Brown explaining the meaning of “Like A Virgin” by Madonna. And of course Mr Pink not tipping the waitress. Classic and hilarious.

Okay those are just some of mine but what are yours?