Fall Movie Bonanza (Part 2)

After looking through yesterday's post, there was one thing I noticed that made me a little sad: the fact that it seems like all movies these days are remakes or sequels. It's nice to see new ideas every once in a while. With that in mind I'll start the second half of the preview with a new, original idea! Without further ado, #'s 6-10:

6. THE ORPHANAGE (EL ORFANATO)
Match the magic of last year's Pan's Labyrinth and add the backdrop of a ghost story and you get the Orphanage. Story concerns Laura, who moves back to the house in which she grew up with her husband Carlos and their adopted son Simon. When they move back, they become aware that Simon has made a few new friends. Of course the new friends are imaginary and the new friends have Simon relaying some really freaky stuff to his parents. When Simon goes missing, Laura realizes she must tap into the paranormal aura of the house, which leads to a dark and mysterious past, involving five orphans which used to live there. This Guillermo Del Toro produced project has everything going for it, including an International Critics' Week selection at the Cannes film festival. Not only that, it received a five minute standing ovation at the festival. Normally ghost stories don't get that honor, making this movie a can't miss. Expect a smart, intelligent horror film with tension throughout. No telegraphed scares here ;). But don't think for one minute we fully escaped the remake treatement here. New Line has set up an English language version of the film already.

7. THE GOLDEN COMPASS
Philip Pullman's best selling His Dark Materials fantasy trilogy looks to become the next Lord of the Rings in the cineplexes and this is the first installment of that trilogy. The pic starring Nicole Kidman and Daniel Craig, was surrounded by controversy and a change of directors. The books contain a lot of what can be considered anti-catholic themes, and Chris Weitz stepped away from the project when New Line demanded that any reference to the church be taken out the film. After bringing in Anand Tucker, New Line realized they missed what they had with Chris Weitz, and decided to bring him back on board. The film reportedly has a budget of somewhere around $150 million, so expect a full fleshed out fantasy world full of magic and monsters for our viewing pleasure. The buzz for the film grew at Comic-Con, where this film became the so-called film to beat for the end of the year. Whether or not this can become the next LoTR is yet to be seen, but the anticipation is there nonetheless.

8. WALK HARD: THE DEWEY COX STORY
Fans of Judd Apatow, the man behind recent hits Knocked Up and Superbad will no doubt enjoy this Walk the Line spoof about fictional musician Dewey Cox. Played by none other than John C. Reilly, expect hilarious shenanigans spoofing the whole music scene of yesterday. Reilly is no stranger to comedy (as evidenced by last year's Talladega Nights) and will become a surefire star after this flick, if he isn't one already. Besides Reilly, the cameos are tremendous, with Paul Rudd as John Lennon, Justin Long as George Harrison, Jason Schwartzman as Ringo Starr, Jack Black as Paul McCartney and Jack White (of the White Stripes fame) as Elvis! Lately everything Apatow's touched has gone to box office gold and it won't be any different with this film. What are you waiting for, check out the hilarious trailer now!

9. GONE BABY GONE
Nice to see fellow Boston boy Ben Affleck has stepped away from the Gigli's and Surviving Christmas' in the world. After a rather impressive performance in Hollywoodland, Affleck steps behind the camera in his directorial debut, guiding brother Casey in the Dennis Lehane adaptation (you may know his work from a small little film called Mystic River). Story is about two Boston detectives played by Casey Affleck and Michelle Monaghan, who reluctantly take on the case to find a four year old who went missing in the tough neighborhood of Dor-chest-ah. Another thing going for the flick is the inclusion of Morgan Freeman and Ed Harris. This all adds up to being a huge comeback for Ben Affleck.

10. THERE WILL BE BLOOD
It seems forever since he tackled pornography in Boogie Nights and raining frogs in Magnolia, but Paul Thomas Anderson is back with his take on the story of a Texas oil tycoon. Daniel Day Lewis will play the lead role in PTA's follow up to Punch Drunk Love. Based on the Upton Sinclair novel "Oil!", expect greed and corruption to be at the focus of the film about a family which strikes rich in oil at the turn of the century. Not much else to say about the pic as little has been said, but with the director and the lead involved, know that it should turn out to be a quality flick.

There are many other flicks that look worthy this fall, so here's to a hopefully joyful movie season!