There are 3 films that I'm absolutely chomping at the bit about seeing this year and want to recommend:
1) 'Pan's Labyrinth'
2) 'A Scanner Darkly'
3) 'The Fountain'

First out of the gate is the new film from Guillermo del Toro:

PAN'S LABYRINTH


'Pan's Labyrinth' Teaser Poster (2006)

'Pan's Labyrinth' (AKA: 'El Laberinto del Fauno') is a fanciful yet chilling story set against the backdrop of a fascist regime in 1944 rural Spain. The film centers on Ofelia, a lonely and dreamy child living with her mother and adoptive father; a military officer tasked with ridding the area of rebels. In her loneliness, Ofelia spends a lot of her time in the maze behind their house and creates a world girl lives in an imaginary world of her own creation filled with fantastical creatures and secret destinies. With post-war repression at its height, Ofelia must come to terms with her world through a fable of her own creation. Doug Jones plays both the part of the Satyr - Pan, as well as The Pale Man - a nightmarish creature who enjoys nothing more than feasting on children.

"This film has been the single most fulfilling creative experience of my career," said del Toro. "Hopefully it represents a future direction for my work. 'Pan's Labyrinth' is a passion project and it took over two years of my life to see it made the way I wanted it."

Guillermo del Toro is best-known for Hellboy, Mimic, Cronos, The Devil's Backbone (aka: El Espinazo del Diablo - fantastic movie) and Blade II.


Director Guillermo del Toro and Doug Jones as 'Pan' on the set of 'Pan's Labyrinth'.

Produced, written and directed by del Toro, 'Pan's Labyrinth' was produced by Telecinco, through its production arm, Estudios Picasso, headed by Álvaro Augustin, Tequla Gang’s Bertha Navarro and del Toro and Esperanto Filmoj’s Alfonso Cuarón and Frida Torresblanco. The film’s producers are Cuarón, del Toro, Torresblanco and Navarro. The executive producer is Augustin. Longtime del Toro collaborator Guillermo Navarro served as director of photography.

"'Pan's Labyrinth' is an explosion of the full potential of Guillermo’s mind," said Alfonso Cuarón.

Judging from the trailer and some of the awesome screen shots I've found online (see below) this looks set to really be somethin' else. It may not pull in the big $$$, but for me it's the experience that counts, and this certainly looks like the kind of movie I could very easily lose myself in quite happily.


Doug Jones in the title role of 'Pan'


The gruesome legend of the Pale Man, eater of children...


Pale Man scents his prey


Looking for its next meal...


The Pale Mans seeks out another victim...


A feast to behold - just don't touch...


The Pale Man waits...


Doug Jones as the child-eating 'Pale Man'


Their flesh tastes better when they're scared...


In a room of plenty, Ofelia discovers a strange being...


Pan challenges Ofelia with a task...


Pan listens intently


Pan the mentor...the guide...a creature of temptation...


Pan (Doug Jones) and Ofelia (Ivana Baquero)


TRAILER + French Site

Official Movie Site


'Pan's Labyrinth' is scheduled for release to the American market on December 29th 2006.



A SCANNER DARKLY


The late Philip K. Dick's science-fiction stories inspired 'Blade Runner,' 'Minority Report' and 'Total Recall'. Now the prolific writer-director Richard Linklater is adding to the list with the computer-animated 'A Scanner Darkly,' based on Dick's futuristic 1977 novel about an undercover narc dealing with the onslaught of a severe identity crisis.



Keanu Reeves plays Bob Arctor - an undercover cop who learns he is becoming dangerously addicted to the drug while assigned to watch a group of potential criminals...and the addiction is starting to cause serious brain damage. The film explores a drug-obsessed culture in ways that naturally are supposed to provide parallels to our own culture and the manner in which legal and illegal drugs of all kinds fit in.



The not-so-distant future world of 'A Scanner Darkly' is portrayed in extremes. People are continually monitored by hidden cameras and recording devices. Undercover cops, trying to control the sale and abuse of the illegal and addictive 'Substance D', wear 'scramble suits', (it's christened "the ultimate Everyman"), shape-shifting contraptions that theoretically can give them more than a million separate identities providing the wearer with inumerable faces, bodies and clothing changes to help avoid recognition, this is almost worth the price of admission alone. Nearly all the characters in the film take Substance D pills in varying quantities.



Much like the original theatrical release of another Phillip K. Dick movie adapataion of his book 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' (filmed as 'Blade Runner'), Arctor is the film's narrator, trying to observe his world from a distance rather than join in the action. Reeves' emotionless delivery works effectively in the voice-over narration. Arctor watches his friends' antics from the sidelines, occasionally mediating mildly, but never quite part of the group he's infiltrating, much less engaging with the world he inhabits. His detachment wavers slightly in his relationship with Donna (played by the light fingered Winona Ryder), with whom he is supposed to be involved strictly for surveillance purposes. Their exact relationship is never made entirely clear to us, but then again it's seemingly not clear to them, either.



The gradual effects of Arctor's brain damage (one hemisphere begins to do the work normally performed by the other) are not clearly depicted in the film. It takes too long for us to notice any unusual behavior, and he doesn't suffer to the same degree as Freck, his long-addicted acquaintance who undergoes frequent vivid, disorientating (and frankly disturbing) Kaffka-esque hallucinations. But who is Arctor? Is he Fred or is he Bob?



Filmed in the same computer-animation style as 'Waking Life' (2001), 'A Scanner Darkly' was shot first as a live-action feature, then transformed over a 15-month period by animators using the rotoscoping method. At least this gives the movie a visual variety it would otherwise sorely lack.



The rotoscoped look of the film has a grittier, edgier look than 'Waking Life', which used the same techniques. Linklater chose animation for 'A Scanner Darkly' primarily for budgetary reasons: the "scramble suit" and other effects would be extremely expensive to create in a live-action film. I can't even imagine how the scramble suit would be effectively portrayed in a live-action film - certainly not as effectively as it is with this style. However, the rotoscoping also adds a surreal quality to the characters and their surroundings, which enhances the overall drug-culture mood. Most of us have watched live-action films with the lead actors and we are well acquainted with the way they look. In 'A Scanner Darkly', they look familiar, but also strange, removed from reality even...'The Simpsons' this ain't, it has a far more dynamic, surreal, organic look.



'A Scanner Darkly' focuses more on conversation and less on action than other adaptations of Philip K. Dick's work, such as 'Blade Runner' and the distinctly average 'Total Recall'. It would be easy to quip that 'A Scanner Darkly' is director Linklater's idea of an action film, in which characters talk about action rather than blasting people or blowing shit up, but that's not at all accurate. I would speculate that he's being faithful to the source material in structure and in tone - the film doesn't feel overly talky or static, and does generate and maintain suspense and interest. (Rumour has it that Dick's family have gone on record as saying it's the most faithful adaptation of his work yet). I confess I had trouble lasting through 'Waking Life' - and even 'Slacker' to a certain extent, but was alert and absorbed by 'A Scanner Darkly'.



I was impressed overall with 'A Scanner Darkly': the animation, the storyline, the supporting performances, and the haunting, lovely score from composer Graham Reynolds. In fact, I liked the score so much that I bought tickets to a special screening later this month where Reynolds is performing live. I don't think the movie will appeal to a wide audience, but I could see it becoming a perennial cult classic, right up there with the likes of 'Repo Man'.



'A Scanner Darkly' is thought-provoking rather than entertaining. It's the kind of movie that makes you want to go somewhere with your friends afterwards to discuss it, triggering hours of talk about society, politics, drugs, entertainment, and contemporary filmmaking. See it with a group and make sure the theater is near a good gathering place with late hours.
(Review by Jette Kernion)

TRAILER

Official Site



'A Scanner Darkly is released internationally July 2006



THE FOUNTAIN


Being a big fan of Darren Aronofsky's previous works such as 'Pi' and 'Requiem For A Dream', release of 'The Fountain' just can't come quick enough for me - without a doubt THE one film I truly can't wait to see this year above all others. Filmed in complete secrecy and closed sets over a prolonged period, nothing much was known about it's storyline until earlier this year when the teaser trailer was finally unveiled online (see below).



The basic premise of 'The Fountain' is seemingly of one mans odyssey - a thousand-year struggle to save the woman he loves. 1500ad, 2006ad and 2500ad As a 16th century Conquistador, a modern-day scientist and an astronaut. It's a story of love, death, spirituality, and the fragility of our existence in this world. (The movie's tagline is: 'What if you could love forever?').

His epic journey begins in 16th century South America, where conquistador Tomas Verde (Hugh Jackman) commences his search for the Tree of Life, the legendary entity believed to grant eternal life to those who drink of its sap. As modern-day scientist Tom Verde, he desperately struggles to find a cure for the cancer that is killing his beloved wife Izzi (Rachel Weisz). Travelling through deep space as a 26th century astronaut, Tom begins to grasp the mysteries of life that have consumed him for more than a millennium.

Originally intending to film 'The Fountain' on a $75 million budget in 2001, Aronofsky orignally cast Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett for the lead roles. While it was believed that Aronofsky and Pitt had creative differences during pre-production, Aronofsky stated in an interview that Pitt was not really at fault, saying, "The ultimate reason 'The Fountain' shut down is because of Brad, but Brad didn't do it. He didn't come to Australia, but why he didn't come has to do with a lot of things and has to do with many politics of his own life as well as what had happened before that on a film." Pitt eventually left the project to film 'Troy'. As a result of Pitt's departure, the studio withdrew its support, shutting the movie down for the time being.

In 2004, Aronofsky finally resurrected 'The Fountain' with the help of Warner Bros., although this time he only received a $35 million budget for the project. However, in his words he called it: "...a $90 million budget film shot for $35 million". Aronofsky cast Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz to replace Pitt and Blanchett in the lead roles. The director finally wrapped 'The Fountain' in summer 2005, before entering into a protracted period of intense post-production. Variety magazine originally announced that 'The Fountain' was going to be part of the Cannes Film Festival's line-up in 2006, but the claim did not turn out to be valid.


TRAILER

Official Site


REVIEW: (Not heavy on spoilers - but warning all the same)
There’s a moment in the 'space bubble' segment of 'The Fountain' where I realized the tattoos on Hugh Jackman’s arms are counting off years, like the rings inside the tree sitting behind him. It's one of those moments that sent shivers down my spine because of the way it combines concept, theme and imagery into one perfect visual moment. There are a lot of scenes like that in 'The Fountain', scenes filled with subtle revelations and understandings. I walked out of the film dumbstruck with awe, having just seen something brilliant.

Brilliant is really the only word I can use to describe the film. It took Darren Aronofsky years to get his movie made, but every day was worth it. The finished work is wonderful, is moving, is stunning. I may have walked out of the movie dumbstruck but I spent the next few days wishing I could talk to someone about it. The movie stayed in my mind; not just images (and there are so many gorgeous images), but ideas and themes. The narrative is complex but not overly complicated, and that complexity gives you the opportunity to keep turning aspects over in your mind, making the small connections and getting the satisfaction of taking it apart and putting it back together again. What's most appealing about the narrative is how it treats the audience as adults – we're not led step by step through everything, but at the same time things aren’t needlessly obscured just to preserve a sense of mystery or to give a cheap twist.

Thematically, 'The Fountain' is a phenomenon. The difference between this and 'Requiem for a Dream' – a film I unabashedly love but can rarely watch because it just makes me feel rotten – is galactic.

I know that I'm using lots of superlatives here. I would like to tone the rhetoric down, but it's not rhetoric. It's reality. I don't want to create unreasonable expectations, but for me the question about 'The Fountain' isn't "Is this one of the best films made in decades?" but "What are the handful of films in my lifetime as beautiful and profound as this one?"

It isn't just the post-production work that gives it that energy, to be fair. The Fountain was once going to star Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, but after his funding fell through Aronofsky rebounded with Hugh Jackman and Rachel Weisz. I don't know what a Pitt/Blanchett Fountain would have been like, but the one we have features two actors doing perhaps the best work of their careers. Weisz doesn't play her dying character as a one-note weeper; she has levels of complexity, layers of fear and acceptance, that she is able to get across in a minimal amount of screentime. Weisz has gorgeous eyes, and she uses them to tell half her story.

The revelation is Jackman. We knew he was charismatic. We knew he could sing and dance. I, for one, didn't know that he could be completely emotionally naked, flaying himself on screen down to his own bare essence.

The scenes he plays as the Conquistador are good.

The scenes he plays in the modern day are affecting and moving.

But it's the scenes that he plays in the future that are brilliant.

He's sitting alone, bald, in a bubble with a tree amidst the vastness of intergalactic space, and yet he makes these scenes my favorite in the movie. In the bubble he's a madman, a lost soul, a Buddha, all at once. Hugh Jackman has delivered a performance that demands an Academy Award nomination.

'The Fountain' is a low budget film – the original incarnation was budgeted at $75 million, while this one is only $35 million. Every now and again you can recognize the budget – the South American jungles in the 16th century feel a touch claustrophobic – but Aronofsky makes the budget work for him. The sets are small, but they have a warmth and realness. Even the closeness of the jungle feels like a story point, since this is the 16th century South American jungle in a novel, after all. But one place where the budget isn't felt is in the special effects. In the final act the bubble drifts through the nebula, and the visuals serve as reminders that special effects can do more than sink big boats or destroy the Golden Gate Bridge. The nebula scenes in The Fountain evoke real wonder and awe.



All of that awe and wonder would be pointless if the movie didn't have a serious emotional core. The film is thematically and conceptually dense, but it's also emotionally rich; I've heard the film described as 2001 with a heart, and I don't think that's a terrible example. The relationship between Jackman and Weitz's characters is completely real and totally fleshed out and developed. The actors have to represent a full, rich relationship while enacting the final three days of a very sick person's life, but they cut through the easy pathos to present two people very believably and relatably in love.

There's more to gush about – the score is incredible, and Ethan Suplee and Ellen Burstyn deliver tremendous supporting performances. There are a couple of incredible moments that I can't wait to talk about once everyone has seen the film. 'The Fountain' is the sort of movie that makes me want to write a book about it. What's most important, though, is that 'The Fountain' vaults Aronofsky to a new level as a filmmaker. Before he was a cult director, a fringe talent who appealed to the film geeks and the people who look to the edge.

'The Fountain' is not a mainstream movie – it's really fucking smart, for one thing – but the director who made this movie is a man coming into his own. 'The Fountain' is beautiful, gripping and utterly transcendent. It’s the best film of 2006.
- Devin Faraci (Chud.com)

REVIEW SOUNDBITES:
"As you'd expect if you've seen any of the great stuff from this movie, it's absolutely gorgeous. Spectacular. There's every reason to think the movie will be too, let's just hope we really all get to see it this time. They've been trickling it out to a few select members of the press for really early reviews, which is at least confirmation that the thing exists. October 13 can't come soon enough..."
Josh Tyler - Cinemablend.com

"This one seems to be dividing audiences much in the same way that films like Donnie Darko and 2001 did. Those that have the movie wash over them think it's the second coming and those that fight it seem to find it pretentious, arty and dull."
- Quint from AintItCoolsNews.com
Read the entire article HERE.

'NANA'S USELESS TRIVIA DEPT:
'The Fountain' was completely shot on a soundstage in Montreal.

Weisz on her reaction reading the script for the first time:
"My mind was blown and I sobbed. I sobbed for hours."

Aronofsky claims that he was inspired by 'The Matrix' movies, the Spanish Conquistadores, and David Bowie's 'Space Oddity'.

Clint Mansell (ex P.W.E.I), who scored Aronofsky's 'Requiem for a Dream', is also the composer for 'The Fountain'.

Mayan Mysticism was the main cultural influence for 'The Fountain', particularly the Mayan Mystic Tree.
(In Mayan mythology the center of the universe is associated with a tree of life, 'Whac Chan', symbolised by a great Ceiba tree that is uniting the nine levels of Xibalba - The Underworld, with the surface of the Earth and The Thirteen Heavens ~ 'nana).

The co-writer for the film and long-time associate of Aronofsky, Ari Handel, has a Ph.D in neuroscience.

Aronofsky and Weisz presented a panel for 'The Fountain' at Comic Con 2005, showing a teaser trailer and the first 10 minutes of the movie to an enraptured audience.

Aronofsky specifically wrote in parts for Ellen Burstyn and Mark Margolis, who were previously in Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream.

Sean Gullette, who starred in Aronofsky's 'Pi', plays a minor role in 'The Fountain'.

20 of the 70 extras cast as Mayan warriors were actually Mayan, flown in from Guatemala.

The specially-made scaffolding that was needed to support very specific camera shots over the surface of the water on the Tree of Life set (see top photo) cost more than the entire budget of 'Pi' according to Aronofsky.

I like Earl Grey with Soya Milk. (just checking that you're not bored yet)



A graphic novel of 'The Fountain' (ISBN 1401200591) illustrated by comic artist Kent Williams was released in November 2005 to positive reviews. The graphic novel is based on the original script Darren Aronofsky wrote for the movie he originally had in mind. After the initial script was refused for production reasons, Darren Aronofsky presented the script to Vertigo Comics to be transformed into a graphic novel. Aronofsky gave Kent Williams the freedom to visualize the story as he saw fit without having any say in how the graphic novel turned out.

Aronofsky's next film project under development will be the novel 'Flicker,' with Jim Uhls ('Fight Club') in negotiations to adapt. Written by Dr. Theodore Roszak, a Cal State history professor, 'Flicker' is a conspiracy thriller that takes a disturbing and revisionist look at film history. The story is told through the eyes of a Los Angeles film student who, after he becomes obsessed with the oeuvre of a hack filmmaker, determines that B movies are part of a plot to destroy all life on Earth.

Aronofsky will not be directing a forthcoming episode of 'LOST' after all due to his wife (Rachel Weisz) expecting their first child. Also, it is still uncomfirmed if he has anything to do with the adapatation of Alan Moore's 'Watchmen'.

'The Fountain' is due for release on October 13th, 2006.

does the Jim Henson creature shop have anything to do with PAN?

dawntreader said:

Not to my knowledge.

Possibly...maybe?

BananaCologne said:

looks really muppety. in a good way.

dawntreader said:

OH MY GOD!!!!!

All these movies sound incredible. I only knew about A SCANNER DARKLY movie.


M

I have been waiting for the Fountian for about 3-4 years now. I can't wait for this to come out.

thanks for the post.

Looks very good

MIGUELGOMEZ said:

Hi baby! We need to talk - org note me today sometime.

superspaceboy said:

Yeah - you and me both! I'm literally salivating!

I'd never heard of The Fountain until this thread, and now I'm convinced I HAVE to see this movie.

Thank you baby! I will totally be seeing all 3 of these movies. Only heard of scanner but the other 2 sound great

Thanks for this, Im looking forward to a Scanner Darkly, I love Phillip. K. Dick's books.

Bladerunner is in my top 5 movies.

can't wait to see Pan's Labyrinth.

I'm not much of a Del Tormo fan.

But The Fountain should be suitably awesome.

BTW, you do know there's A Scanner Darkly thread already, don't you? If you can put up with the vomit talk, that is.
[Edited 7/19/06 11:10am]

I'm really looking forward to The Fountain. Sounds promising. Philip K. Dick is a favorite of mine, and I've loved several of his film adaptations. That said, I couldn't be any less thrilled about A Scanner Darkly than I already am. That rotoscoping style of animation doesn't appeal to me at all.

TMPletz said:

jum.

dawntreader said:

.

i wanna see all of those now!

thanks for the tips

IstenSzek said:

Ditto!

TMPletz said:

Keanau Reeves looks really messed up after a recent interview went horrifically wrong.