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?

     In case you blinked during the Southland Tales trailer (Apple), that IS Kevin Smith in the wheel chair. Here’s a close-up image of that character.

     I can’t believe that is him! As a side note, as I see this trailer more and more, the more I’m looking forward to it. I think the ridiculous cast will actually work in the film’s favor. Plus I like the comedic, quirky, action-filled vision of the future and what is sure to be a real thinker of a movie (ala Donnie Darko). The kind where you have to watch it 16 times to understand what is going on; and even then have to jump on the message boards to confirm your theory.

 Cinecast Episode 66 [145:10m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

this episode:
After Dark Wrap-Up, Affleck in The Assassination of Jesse James and Affleck in Gone Baby Gone, Scariest Halloween movie moments, DVD and all the usual fare.

Unwrap the complete Show Notes by clicking on this link (WARNING - there seem to be varying degrees of spoilers in the COMMENTS section. Reader beware)…

Read the rest of this entry »

     If you saw the Family Guy episode a month or two back in which they recreated the entire movie of Star Wars: Episode IV, you know it was one of the funniest moments on TV in the past few years (at least for me). So I found out today Seth MCfarlane and crew are definitely going to be doing the follow-up: The Empire Strikes Back. Oh Happy (Halloween) Day!

     According to Cinematical, the cast has already done the script read through and McFarlane says it is a go for sure. When IESB talked to McFarlane, they asked which Family Guy character would be playing Boba Fett, McFarlane noted that the “Giant Chicken would fill Fett’s boots.” Fans should know the Giant Chicken from its ridiculously long fight sequences with the character Peter Griffin.

Who knows, maybe they’ll do ROTJedi next? Sounds good to me:

     If you’ve never seen the Family Guy Star Wars episode, check out the full episode broken into YouTube length chunks by clicking and unwrapping the text below (it’s worth it)…

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     Thanks to Kurt and his write-up over at Twitch for the heads up on this one. We seem to be giddy over here lately with the Day Watch (MP review) DVD release yesterday and the discussion on tonight’s Cinecast 66. Well, as fate would have it, the trailer for director Timur Bekmambetov’s newest film, Wanted (IMDb), found its way onto the internet today.

See the streaming trailer at Yahoo! movies as well as some HD streams.

     The signature style of Wanted is all Bekmambetov. It has a lot of the same look and feel of the Watch series; complete with the red sports car and armored truck chase. The slow-mo shots and eerie, yellow, surrealistic landscapes are all present. Unfortunately I’m not all that excited about the film just from the trailer. Yeah it looks kinda cool, but we got Morgan Freeman in his typical, monotone, voice-over narration as well as Angelina Jolie playing Mrs. Smith/Lara Croft all over again. I’m sure it will be better than any of the other crappy SFX/comic book movies next summer, but I have to see more to get really excited.

     I know this won’t be relevant to most of the readers here, but anyone who lives in the southern part of Minnesota need to head over to Minnesota State University campus at Mankato to check out their oldies, but goodies 12 hour film festival. A dontaion of just $20 gets you in… and just check out the lineup up films you get to see on the BIG SCREEN for your twenty bucks!…

NOON - This Is Spinal Tap
One of the funniest and most quotable films of all time. Easily in my top ten comedies and the original mockumentary.

1:40- Dr. Strangelove
In my top 5 films of all time. Kubrick rules all.

3:30 - Gimme Shelter
Haven’t seen this yet, but funny enough this is the topic of discussion for next week’s Movie Club Podcast. So this is a great opportunity to see it the way it was meant to be seen and know what the hell we’re talking about on the show next week!

5:00 - One Hour Break
Grab some food, stretch your legs, or enjoy the trailers and film shorts running.

6:10 - Animal House
Amazingly enough, I have not seen this. Good time and place to finally see it though eh?

8:15 - Shaun Of The Dead
Also in my top 50, one of the most original and funny movies of the last decade. Pegg and Frost are dynamite together. Zombies and comedy. How can you go wrong?

10:00 - Blue Velvet
Not my favorite in the Lynch series, but certainly a must see. Dennis Hopper is ridiculous in this. It’ll be fun late at night too.

     You can visit the KMSU Film Fest Official Page for all the details on where to go and how to get tickets. They also have embedded trailers for all the above films. So it’s worth stopping by just for the Spinal Tap trailer.

     I was writing up my DVD pick of the week for Day Watch (Movie Patron Review) when I discovered something that may be annoying depending on how they handle it. You see I have never read the original books so I can’t really comment as to whether they will have to take a huge deviation from the source material but about a month or so ago Twilight Watch was picked up by Fox. You might be thinking that oh good the Russian movie will be distributed by Fox. Nope, right now Twilight Watch is in production in the United States and it will be filmed in English. This really doesn’t bode well for the movie as part of the trilogy. It may end up being a really good movie by itself but I just don’t see how they are going to fit it into the world that they have created. Are they going to just drop all the main characters and focus on totally new ones? Will it have only American actors or will there be a combination of Russian and American? My hope is that they do not drop the main characters and that they go with a combination of nationalities.

     I have to say that Twilight Watch is not a write off for me yet but I am definitely a bit worried about the series as a whole.

     Wow! LOADS of fun at this year’s Toronto After Dark Film Festival. As you could see from other posts here and there, there were a lot of fun people to chat with and get drunk with. Although the film selections this year weren’t quite as strong as they were in 2006, I still had a blast and spent entirely too much money on fun fun fun.

     On to the movies. As I said, not as strong as last year. There were several really good movies, but no really great titles like last year’s Funky Forest or Behind the Mask. That being said, there were a lot of good things to see and my personal awards go as follows:

GOLD: Alone - this was a close call, but the higher budget, great story and sleeker look finally won me over. Especially when this type of film isn’t usually my thing.
SILVER: Blood Car - amazing what a fella can do with such a minimal budget. Funny funny funny. One of the best experiences in the theater at TAD this year.
BRONZE: Mulberry Street - a terrific zombie picture that really picks apart (no pun intended) the lead characters with almost no budget. The stars and director showing up was a big plus.
- honorable mention: Murder Party - not Behind the Mask, but what a way to close the festival! Great acting and a unique story was really fun. Again, kudos to the producer/main star to show up and get drunk with us at the closing party.

     With these fun movies also come some duds. Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead was one such dud. One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen, but with the midnight festival crowd it became more fun than anticipated and worth every penny. I can’t say the same for Crispin Glover in Simon Says. This was hands down the worst movie I have seen all year and I pretty much loathed every poorly acted second of it. But again, some of these duds are actually what make the festival experience fun because it provides for great conversation and debate, plus they make that next movie on the docket that much more enjoyable.

     Meeting new people and/or meeting people that I’ve known for a while, but finally face to face is the real treat at TAD. Seeing Kurt (Cinecast co-host), John Allison filmgrotto (and MP blogger), Serena from themovieblog, Sarah (Pop Journalism), Jay from DVDwolf, Steven from Filmopia, Mack and Todd from Twitch, Leah from Anchor Bay, Bob the Builder zombie dude (can’t remember his name, but a good guy), Jay Cheel from FilmJunk and so many more new faces and friends and I can hardly count them all on ten hands.

     I really encourage all to check out this Festival if you have the means next year. It’s a fun and intimate festival with a great director and terrific programmers. I can’t wait to see the lineup for next year already. You can see synopsis’ and reviews for all the titles over at Movie Patron’s TAD headquarters. If you’re into martial arts, zombies, slashers, original and zany comedies, unique documentaries or fantastical animation, I highly encourage you to stop in. There’s something in this line-up for nearly everyone!

Mack (Twitch), Me and John Allison

Serena (themovieblog) and Sarah Gopaul (PopJournalism.ca)

Rodrigo Gudino (founder of Rue Morgue Magazine)

A great place to buy illegitimate DVDs

     Hayden Christiansen evokes a lot of feelings in people. Most know him as the guy who murdered Anakin Skywalker with some sub-par acting. Some hate him for that and others are just indifferent. Very few people actually like him quite a bit. I am one of those in the minority. With terrific performances in titles like Shattered Glass and Life as a House, he is often overlooked because of his larger (poorer) role in Star Wars. Also, while watching the recently released on DVD film, Factory Girl, about he life of Edie Sedgwick, I was surprised to see him steal the show playing the legendary Bob Dylan.

     Anyway, cutting to the chase, here is the latest trailer for his film, Awake. Alongside the always great Terrence Howard and the beautiful Jessica Alba, this does have potential. Potential to be what I’m not sure, but potential none the less. Take a look at this recently released trailer and tell me what you think. I think it is compelling, but it could go either way in terms of quality.

     Hey all. Just a reminder that the MoviePatron crew, alongside FilmJunk and MadAboutMovies.net have scheduled their recording of the 2nd episode of The Movie Club for November 6th. the show should be posted and available for download sometime by Wednesday or Thursday of that week.

     As a reminder, be sure to catch Sergio Leone’s Duck You Sucker (aka A Fistful of Dynamite) and The Rolling Stone’s documentary, Gimme Shelter. Both films will be discussed in depth and we’d love to have you join us (free from being spoiled as we dig pretty deep) and send us your own opinions on the movies.

See ya there!

     More fun at Toronto After Dark. So much fun in fact that I’ve neglected to get any writing done. It will all be up by the end of the weekend over at the Movie Patron After Dark Headquarters. But the first 6 or 7 reviews are available right now.

Kurt and Todd Brown from Twitchfilm.net.

Bad camera setting shot of Lloyd Kaufman (Troma Films).

Hanging with themovieblog writer, Serena Whitney.

Some of the Zombie crowd for Automaton Transfusion.

Out to lunch with FilmGrotto’s John Allison.

The fabulous Bloor Cinema. All the screenings are here.

     More updates and picture to follow over the next few days. For more info on the festival, check out our full spread of titles, reviews and trailers at our headquarters, or visit the official TAD site

 Cinecast Episode 65 [72:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

this episode:
Part A: “Live” from Toronto! Toronto After Dark Festival Films: In the Name of the King, Mulberry Street, Audience of One. Also playing catch-up with Cate Blanchet and Clive Owen in Elizabeth.
- music interlude provided by “The Long Winters”
Part B: The Darjeeling Limited and DVD picks for this week.

Be patient with some sound issues since we recorded outside.

Unwrap the complete Show Notes by clicking on this link…

Read the rest of this entry »

     Here are some pictures from The Toronto After Dark Film Festival. Once I finally got my luggage from the airline, everything has gone fairly smooth and it’s been a real blast. I have tons of pics to post over the next few days, but here are a few from the first couple screenings. Remember I didn’t have my luggage, hence the same clothing in several pics.

By the way, you can see our review for each of the films at our After Dark headquarters if you are so inclined.

With festival director Adam Lopez (awesome host).

Two of the programmers, Todd Brown from Twitch and Peter Kuplowski (short films).

Hanging with legendary film maker Uwe Boll.

Jay Cheel from FilmJunk.com and the documentary blog.

The CN Tower in Toronto.

My wife preparing for the midnight screening.

     More updates and picture to follow over the next few days. For more info on the festival, check out our full spread of titles, reviews and trailers at our headquarters, or visit the official TAD site

This may be a bit late (as the festival started on the 17th of October) but I just thought it would be interesting to do a post about it. There is always a lot of talk about TIFF and TAD but since I am nowhere near where those take place I thought I would mention the film’s showing at a festival a little closer to home for me. Here are some of the films playing that stand out to me:

Widely known films:

4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days - Winner of this year’s Palm D’Or

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - Highly anticipated movie starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck.

The Darjeeling Limited - Wes Anderson’s new film.

I’m Not There - Bob Dylan biopic starring Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale (both and many others playing Bob Dylan (wtf?))

Eastern Promises - New crime thriller by David Cronenberg

Juno - This year’s Little Miss Sunshine

Into The Wild - Sean Penn’s new film that has taken years to get made.

Lust, Caution - Some say “masterpiece” while others say “pointless”. Still peeking my interested though.

Sicko - How can I resist?

Lesser Known:

City of Men - from the makers of City of God but inevitably inferior. Still want to see it though.

Far North - not sure why I am interested in this but I am.

Chop Shop - The name alone makes me want to see it.

There are many, MANY more obviously but I just thought I would point out a few. Check out the website here.