Movie News

The grindhouse is alive, and it's got a new blade to swing at you. Despite rather lackluster box office returns for the 2007 film "experiment" of Grindhouse, Robert Rodriguez has finally expanded his fake trailer from that film. Machete, the feature, is here, and it's loaded with ridiculous action, gallows humor, and Danny Trejo. Hell, Rodriguez even has a message or two packed in there somewhere. It's an unstable piñata filled with all the great things that made the grind house films of old such a unique experience, and, once it bursts, it showers you with the candy inside. It's bloody candy, though, so you may need a poncho.

You need a narrative in there somewhere, too, I guess, some sense of a story so the head explosions, limb slicing, and squib popping have some sense of weight behind them. Trejo plays Machete, naturally, a former Federale who, in the film's brutal opening scene, is betrayed by his government and has his family slaughtered by Steven Seagal. Seagal is supposedly playing a druglord here, but, really, it's just Seagal pasting on a thick accent.

Machete moves to Texas where he takes work as a day laborer. His life is peaceful until a businessman, played by Jeff Fahey, makes Machete an offer. He will pay him $150,000 to kill a local senator, played by Robert De Niro, running for re-election on the campaign of border control. Machete agrees, but, before you can say, "they just messed with the wrong Mexican," they mess with the wrong Mexican. Machete, finding himself betrayed once again, turns to his violent ways and takes revenge on the lot of them. Entrails ensue.

Co-directed by Rodriguez and his long-time editor Ethan Maniquis, the film is a hodgepodge, almost a mess, of cartoonish violence. From the opening scene, we know what kind of movie we're getting into. Before the opening credits, even before Rodriguez's signature burning Troublemaker Studios logo, we're subjected to hails of bullets, bloodied bodies, and Machete lopping heads off with little might. The bodies in this movie seem made of soft rubber, and the lack of effort put forth by Machete to cut their heads, arms, and legs off just adds to the already thick sense of levity in the air.

This is not the type of action movie to cringe at the way in which people are dispatch. This is the type of film that has our hero slicing open a man's stomach, reaching into said stomach, pulling out an end of intestine, and then using that intestine as a means of escaping out a window. It's the type of film that has Cheech Marin show up as a priest, also Machete's brother, with TV surveillance monitors stacked in the form of a cross. It's all a big joke, and it's easily passed off as something much less than offensive.

Of course, getting back to the co-directing idea, the film does feel up and down in the way the humor and violence is handled. At times, it's way over the top. See intestine ripping scene above. At other times, the cartoon pulls back a bit and the crags in Trejo's face aren't quite as smoothed over. There is little indication what scenes were directed by Rodriguez and what was handled by Maniquis, but the notion of more than one chef in the kitchen definitely bleeds through at times.

Whichever one of them, though, that handled the sex/romantic side of Machete doesn't pull through, though. I'm all for Trejo not only getting his first starring role here but also being able to have close scenes with Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, and Lindsay Lohan (or her stunt double, for that matter). These scenes, though, the ones that try to tone the film down a bit and give us a breather between set pieces, are simply boring. It's easy to blame the directors here, because they've been giving us non-stop absurdity for God knows how long. If all you feed a kid is Skittles, he's not going to be too interested when you plop a piece of chicken down in front of him.

These scenes are few, though, and Rodriguez, Alba, and yes, even Lohan get to kick a little tail in their own right when the time comes. Much of this is in the concluding battle to the film, which doesn't handle itself all that well, either. It's not that the ridiculousness isn't there. There are still crazy deaths and violent wackiness to be had well into Machete's third act. It's just that, somewhere along the lines, it loses a bit of its steam. The piñata is still busted open, and there's still bloody candy raining down for us. We just might be a little too familiarized with the whole concept to care to see when and where it will stop.

Regardless, Machete certainly delivers on the craziness Rodriguez teased us with in that trailer two years ago. On a related note, he does a good job including all of those shots in the film. The jerky way in which the subtler moments are handled and the gas siphoning out of the tank well before the film's finale are definite problems to overcome, but it's hard not to look back on Machete fondly. It is working towards something, something ridiculous, but something nonetheless. Fans of the Grindhouse experience will absolutely be entertained by the slicing and dicing of Machete, and, if for nothing else, the film will always go down as Danny Trejo's introduction to the land of "Name Above the Title". It's a nice place to be, and, in cases such as Machete, it's one filled with an excessive amount of dead bad guys. Just the way Machete would want it.

Jeremy's Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Back in August we heard that writer/director Todd Phillips was producing a biopic on the legendary late comedian John Belushi with Steven Conrad (The Pursuit of Happyness) writing the script. Recently MTV caught up with Phillips who talked about a little bit about the project, but also made sure to mention that it's still very much in the early stages of development and the script hasn't even been started yet. As Phillips so eloquently puts it: "That's something that gets released by some agent of somebody and then you get asked questions about it." So since he was obviously asked about it, what did the comedy producer have to say?

Though it's still in the "very nascent stages," Phillips and Conrad (who he calls "a fucking brilliant writer") know what they don't want to do with this biopic. Here's what the producer had to say about the project:

"Our goal is not to do a traditional biopic approach with it that people expect, whether you’re talking about 'Walk the Line' or 'Ray.' All good movies, but our goal is not to make that typical biopic. We want to make a movie that, if John Belushi saw it, he would be happy that it captured his spirit. Sometimes I feel that they don’t entirely capture the spirit of the person they're about. Our goal is to capture the spirit of Belushi, not necessarily make a straight-ahead biopic. One of the reasons I'm being a bit vague is because we haven't nailed it yet. It's in early stages. I'm really talking about the very television-narrative approach that a lot of biopics take. We don't want to do that. We're trying to take a very renegade approach to who I think was one of the most renegade comedy actors of all time."

Though at first this sounds like standard fluff for a new project (saying you want to do something different than what's been done previously), when it comes to portraying the life of John Belushi, I fully understand where he's coming from with his explanation. Belushi's life was so off-the-wall with not only lots of drama but obviously comedy that this biopic needs a different approach than others before it. As far as who the actor is to bring Belushi to life on the big screen, he says it's too early to speculate. "It's about nailing the script down at this point. If it's a new face or if it's someone people are familiar with, we haven't figured that out yet." Hopefully the pieces fall into place soon, as I'm eagerly waiting for this to get off the ground.

Those who have been anticipating the highly unlikely sequel to M. Night. Shyamalan's vastly underrated film Unbreakable will be happy to hear that at least some elements of the proposed story will actually end up hitting the big screen in some form. In a recent interview with MTV, Shyamalan revealed: "I cannibalized the idea for the sequel to Unbreakable for one of the Night Chronicles." Apparently the idea was a villain who was originally written to appear in Unbreakable, but ended up being saved for the second film when the original script became too cluttered. That villain has been transferred to the third Night Chronicles project.

Here's what Shyamalan said about the evolution of the villain and the story for the third, currently untitled, film (that we know nothing about) in the forthcoming Night Chronicles series which kicks off with Devil.

"It was such a cool idea for a villain, and it was actually originally in the script for 'Unbreakable,' and it was too much. There were too many villains, so I pulled this villain out and was like, 'I'll make this the second flick.' I fleshed it out more and more, and thought, 'This could be a standalone movie.' I'll just say it: the third 'Night Chronicles' movie is what would have been the sequel [to 'Unbreakable']. So now I need to come up with a new idea [for 'Unbreakable 2']."

This is both interesting and disheartening to hear since I've always wanted to see a sequel to Unbreakable, and now the initial idea for that film has been recycled for use in a completely different film. I guess it's cool that we'll still see the villain realized anyway, but an Unbreakable sequel needs to be made at some point. Honestly, it's about the only film Shyamalan could direct right now that I would have any interest in at all. Shyamalan even says, "Literally, that's the question I get asked the most anywhere around the world — if I'm making the sequel to Unbreakable," Sadly, the filmmaker's decreasing appeal to audiences (read: laughing stock) likely means it won't happen anytime soon, if ever. Do you still want an Unbreakable sequel?

With the end of both Harry Potter and The Twilight Saga in the not-too-distant future, Lionsgate is already looking to hit audiences with the next big franchise based off a series of young adult books. An adaptation of the Suzanne Collins' young adult novel The Hunger Games is already in the works and Deadline reports that there are three contenders to helm the first of a hopeful new franchise from the novels. David Slade (Twilight: Eclipse), Gary Ross (Pleasantville) and Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road) are the favorites to direct a story that has apparently captivated both teens and adults alike and has all of Hollywood buzzing.

If you're unfamiliar with Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, here's a taste of the story from the back of the book (which a younger relative of mine happens to currently be reading):

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Sounds pretty dark for a young adult novel, but that's certainly not a discredit to the story itself. Following The Hunger Games are two more books in the trilogy: Catching Fire and Mockingjay. This potential series seems like yet another great role for the maturing child actresses like Chloe Moretz and Abigail Breslin to segue into their presumed career as grown-up actors or a phenomenal opportunity for an unknown young actress to step up to the plate and make a name for themselves. The script will certainly be loyal to the book since it was written by Collins herself with a re-write from Billy Ray (State of Play, Breach).

Apparently the script for the adaptation is being kept under tight wraps, and the choice of director is being watched by a lot of people in the industry. Higher-ups are paying close attention to see how much money Lionsgate intends to throw at the project while the directing gig seems to be the most interesting part. Ross seems to be the most unqualified for the job having only directed Seabiscuit and Pleasantville (a personal favorite) while Slade (Hard Candy) and Mendes (Road to Perdition) have each dabbled in dark material before. In addition, if this job goes to Slade, that could take him out of the running for Wolverine 2 and our dreams of a Darren Aronofsky directed comic book film could come true. The Hunger Games is certainly a project to keep our eyes on, so we'll keep you posted as this develops and a decision for a director is made.

The forthcoming adaptation of John Le Carre's spy novel Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, from director Tomas Alfredson, boosted our anticipatory excitement with an impressive cast: Gary Oldman, Colin Firth, Ralph Fiennes and Michael Fassbender. However, it looks like a change of the guard has taken place as The Daily Mail (via The Playlist) reports Tom Hardy (Inception, Bronson) has replaced Fassbender in the film. Set in the aftermath of the cold war, the thriller (called a "breathtakingly ordinary" sort of anti-James Bond) tells the tale of a big spy hunt within the highest echelons of the British Secret Intelligence Service.

The Working Title production has Oldman in the lead role of George Smiley (once played in the TV series by Sir Alec Guiness) a small, podgy spy who is charged with unearthing a mole. Meanwhile, Hardy will play the character Ricky Tarr, a man who helps Smiley put the pieces of this jigsaw puzzle of a mole-hunt together. The other actors, which also include Benedict Cumberbatch (BBC's "Sherlock"), Jared Harris ("Mad Men") and Ciaran Hinds (There Will Be Blood) will play various intelligence chiefs and bureaucrats who are under suspicion of being the Soviet mole. Combine this cast with the spectacular writing talents of Peter Morgan (of The Queen, Frost/Nixon) and you've got yourself one hell of a thriller to look forward to down the road.

We've heard iconic director Ridley Scott talk about his upcoming Alien prequel films (at least two of them remember?) many, many times over the last few years, but we still haven't seen any major progress on either of them (does anyone know when they're going to start shooting?). Although we still don't have any new info in that regard, The Independent (via ComingSoon) recently talked with Scott and got more quotes from him about what we can expect and the ideas/questions the movies will be addressing. It's not much, but it is a bit more about the Alien prequels, which is always good, and it sounds like exactly what I want to see in these.

Set 30 years before the 1979 original, so with no room for Sigourney Weaver's Ripley, the prequels will explore the origins of the deadly aliens. "The film will be really tough, really nasty," he notes. "It's the dark side of the moon. We are talking about gods and engineers. Engineers of space. And were the aliens designed as a form of biological warfare? Or biology that would go in and clean up a planet?"

As we know, the prequels will be about the "space jockey" guy seen in the chair from the first movie. We also know Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof is currently writing the script and it's supposed to be one of Scott's next projects, but who really knows. Ridley seems inspired by James Cameron's success with Avatar. "Jim's raised the bar and I've got to jump to it," he says. "He's not going to get away with it." Considering not many people actually liked Robin Hood, which only made $105 million at the box office, and Cameron's Avatar is now the highest grossing movie of all time, I think he did get away with it. But these Alien prequels will give Ridley a chance to prove himself again and I really hope they're damn good. Stay tuned for more updates!

Fantastic! Olivia Thirlby is one of my favorite up-and-coming actresses who's been in a lot of great indie films (Juno, The Wackness, Solitary Man) and is on the verge of breaking out very big. She has a lead role in Summit's upcoming alien invasion film The Darkest Hour, but Variety reports she has just now been cast as Cassandra Anderson in DNA Films' 3D adaptation of Judge Dredd. It was revealed during Comic-Con, and confirmed later, that Karl Urban will star as our hero Judge Dredd, while Thirlby will be playing a telepathic rookie who shadows Dredd, seen in the comics. Shooting is supposed to begin in South Africa later this year.

Judge Dredd is being directed by Vantage Point and Omagh director Pete Travis from a script written by Sunshine and 28 Days Later writer Alex Garland. The $45 million futuristic flick is financed by Reliance Big Entertainment and Stuart Ford's IM Global through a deal with Andrew Macdonald and Allon Reich's DNA Films. It was confirmed a few weeks ago that this will be a "very hard, R-rated, gritty, realistic movie" and that Dredd's helmet won't ever come off. I'm pretty damn excited to see this come together and the cast is starting to shape up very nicely. We'll keep you updated as pre-production continues to move forward!

Ohhhhhh hell yes, this looks awesome! Ain't It Cool News has just debuted the first teaser trailer for Jason Eisener's Hobo With a Shotgun, the first feature-length film from the guys behind Treevenge. We ran a first look at some early footage back in April, but this is the trailer you've been waiting for. I know this kind of style isn't for everyone, but I love it. I love what these guys are doing, I can't believe they pulled this off, and with Rutger Hauer no less, such a badass! This also features our friend Gregory Smith as the bad guy "Slick" with the shades. Can't wait to see this! Machete and Hobo With a Shotgun double feature, maybe?

Watch the unrated teaser trailer for Jason Eisener's Hobo With a Shotgun:

The production quality in this looks fantastic so far, I'm glad Eisener got the financing and money they need to make this as their first feature film. As a reminder, Hobo With a Shotgun is based on a "fake" trailer that Eisener and his Halifax, Nova Scotia-based crew made for a Grindhouse contest during the release of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino's double feature. The trailer won the top prize and was included as part of the three-hour film in Canada (but not in the US). I don't think I really need to explain the plot (it's about a hobo with a shotgun, damnit!) but this is being directed by filmmaker Jason Eisener. It's an indie, so expect it to hit some film festivals first, but we're not sure how soon it will be ready to premiere. Awesome, yea?

In case you missed it, back when Sam Worthington was going to star opposite Chris Pine in McG's action comedy This Means War, the Aussie actor was also looking to star in Man on a Ledge. Though the former deal fell through, the latter is still very much happening and the thriller just gained two new cast members. Deadline reports Jamie Bell (Defiance, King Kong) has signed on while Variety reports Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker) is negotiating to join the cast as well. The story follows an ex-cop threatening to jump to his death from a Manhattan hotel rooftop, but the potential suicide might be a front for something bigger.

Summit Entertainment is developing the project and Asger Leth, of only the doc Ghosts of Cité Soleil, is making his feature directorial debut. The original script for Man on a Ledge was written by Pablo Fenjves (Trophy Wife), but RED, Whiteout and Battleship writers Erich & Jon Hoeber are currently polishing it.

Unbeknownst to the police psychologists brought in to talk him down, this suicide attempt is supposedly a cover for the biggest diamond heist ever attempted. Worthington will play the cop who was thrown in jail for a crime he didn't commit, but finds himself let out for his father's funeral. Meanwhile, Bell plays his brother, who happens to be planning a heist of a jewelry store across the street during the suicide, and Mackie plays the disgraced cop's ex-partner. Apparently Amy Adams is also interested in joining the cast as one of the police psychologists, but no deal is in place yet. Sounds like an interesting thriller to say the least and since I've made it no secret that Worthington is one of my least favorite actors around, the addition of Bell and Mackie definitely get me a bit more interested. Surely more casting is on the way, so we'll keep you posted.

We've been featuring a lot of poster art recently, that's mainly because its been kind of slow for news, but it's also because there's been a lot of really great art recently. And now we've got even more for you guys today! Robert Rodriguez's Machete, starring the one-and-only Danny Trejo, hits theaters today and MySpace has unveiled three posters that two artists from Los Angeles designed for the film. One (above) was made by Mr. Cartoon and was also seen on the side of the taco truck at Comic-Con. The other two (below) were made by muralist David Choe, including a cast compilation in the shape of a massive blade. Both look awesome.

You can see a video on MySpace about these. Choe calls the blades on the right a "Frida Kahlo lion's mane."

After being betrayed by the organization who hired him, an ex-Federale named "Machete" (Danny Trejo) launches a brutal rampage of revenge against his former boss. Jessica Alba and Steven Seagal star, too.

Machete is co-directed by both Robert Rodriguez and his long-time editor Ethan Maniquis as his very first directorial debut. The screenplay was written by Robert Rodriguez and is an expanded version of the "fake" Machete trailer Rodriguez made for the release of Grindhouse in 2007. He finally got a greenlight last year and shot this down in Austin, TX last year with quite an impressive cast. 20th Century Fox will be bringing Machete to theaters on Labor Day Weekend, September 3rd this fall. Can't wait to see it! Still excited?

We already know and are very excited that the next project from Guillermo del Toro is the long-gestating adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft's novella At the Mountain of Madness which is being produced by James Cameron and shot in 3D. Though production isn't expected to begin until May of 2011, apparently Universal and del Toro are already in the midst of searching for their cast. Collider reports that the studio would like James McAvoy to lead the film while del Toro is much more interested in bringing Tom Cruise on board. In addition, Chris Pine is also being considered as a potential candidate for del Toro's new passion project.

While Chris Pine has quite a future slate already lined up like the forthcoming Star Trek sequel, the action comedy This Means War, the Jack Ryan franchise reboot Moscow and The Art of Making Money with D.J. Caruso, the other two aforementioned actors aren't nearly as busy. McAvoy will soon be shooting X-Men: First Class with Matthew Vaughn and at some point after could then be shooting the adaptation of Cloud Atlas with director Tom Tykwer and other X-Men alums Ian McKellen and Halle Berry. Meanwhile, Cruise is prepping for the next installment in the Mission Impossible franchise and has a feature film surrounding his Tropic Thunder character Les Grossman in development as well. Both will likely have no problem opening their schedules for a May production start next year. So which actor is more likely to take on this big role?

While there were rumors that McAvoy would take on the role of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, which del Toro sadly had to leave, a more solid relationship most likely already exists between Tom Cruise and the Hellboy director. One of the projects del Toro left behind in order to finally adapt At the Mountains of Madness was a new take on Van Helsing with Cruise producing and maybe starring. So it stands to reason that del Toro still wants to work with Cruise and finds him the perfect man to to lead the project. Being unfamiliar with the H.P. Lovecraft story, I can't speak as to whether Cruise's potential casting is good or bad, but if del Toro has faith in him, that's certainly good enough for me. Any Lovecraft fans have any other suggestions?

I know we've written about Gareth Edwards' Monsters quite a bit over the last few months, but please bear with us as we continue to cover all the cool stuff that Magnolia is putting out, because it's one of my favorite indie discoveries of this year and I'm all for covering everything. Although we've already seen that gorgeous official poster for the low budget sci-fi film, Vulture just debuted yet another "alternative" poster design that is just as unique, just as original, and just as awesome. We also already got a glimpse in the latest trailer, but those tentacles in the right eye are from the aliens in this. And here's a new positive review. Check this out!

Monsters is written, produced and directed by Gareth Edwards, a big up-and-coming filmmaker who shot this on a shoestring budget in Mexico and did all of the visual effects on his own computer. The movie stars Scoot McNairy, who I've actually seen in commercials recently, and Whitney Able. Here's the basic concept: "Six years after Earth has suffered an alien invasion, a cynical journalist agrees to escort a shaken American tourist through an infected zone in Mexico to the safety of the US border." It's a totally amazing film that I loved and will be pushing as much as I can through October. Visit the official website: monstersfilm.com.

After leading the infamous A-Team in the big screen adaptation of the classic TV series, Heat Vision reports Liam Neeson will be leading a team of a different sort in director Joe Carnahan's (also of Narc, Smokin' Aces) next project The Grey. Described as "existentialist kind of drama" which Carnahan wrote himself, the story follows a group of pipeline workers in Alaska flying back into civilization after working for number of months. The 737 they're on goes down, and they're then hunted by a pack of rogue wolves. Neeson replaces another member of The A-Team, actor Bradley Cooper, who was previously slated to star in the same role.

Ridley and Tony Scott are producing via their Scott Free banner and writer Ian Jeffers also helped write the script with Carnahan. The project is yet another in the recent line of films to place the 58 year-old actor in intense, action-packed situations since his ass-kicking role in Taken. At least Carnahan is having an easier time getting this project together than his previously mentioned but never produced projects like White Jazz and Killing Pablo. Though Carnahan may not be the most talented filmmaker (in my humble opinion), I had a great time watching The A-Team, and The Grey sounds like it will be an intense story of man vs. nature.

If you're an avid reader of FS, you'll know we're big fans of any and all viral marketing games and concepts, big or small. Last week I came across a viral site located at theyrehere.net that's promoting a mysterious, upcoming sci-fi flick. The site only contains some very ominous text stating "Meet Them" and "Be The First To See Them" and that all will be revealed on 10-10-10, but other than that we have no clue what this is. However, we just got an email today from the site with a link to a YouTube video that shows some amateur nighttime UFO footage, but we're still in the dark. Anyone want to help us figure out what this viral is for?

The weird thing is that the website is centered on a potentially fictitious character named Paul Geist, who has been communicating with people via twitter and the website. The site is also based out of the UK, which may not mean much, but I have a feeling this isn't connect with any Hollywood feature film. Obviously there are a lot of alien invasion sci-fi projects currently in the works, but I can't figure out what this is for. Maybe it's something we've never heard of yet? And how much will they reveal on 10-10-10? Apparently a trailer will be arriving in September for the "feature film" so it looks like we will have a bit more to check out soon.

In the meantime, look around the site, check out the video and tell us what you think. If you find any leads or hints or have any idea what this is for, let us know, as it seems like it might be an interesting sci-fi flick.

If you're a follower/fan of "Mad Men's" hunky Jon Hamm, you probably already know that his girlfriend is actress/filmmaker Jennifer Westfeldt (of Kissing Jessica Stein, Ira & Abby), who he took as his date to the Emmys last weekend (seen above). According to Showbiz411 (via Playlist), Hamm and Westfeldt are now teaming up for a feature. Westfeldt typically writes and stars in her own films, and she'll be doing the same with this. The project is called Friends with Kids and we don't have any plot details for it, but I imagine it's about, well, friends with kids. It was previewed last month in a script reading at a small theater festival.

Hamm told Showbiz411 at an Emmy party (what a way to get a scoop) that they're "ready to roll" and they're "starting to pull together what’s necessary to make Friends before 'Mad Men' starts again." Additionally, they're trying to secure Anne Hathaway and Kristen Wiig as co-stars, but obviously they're not officially involved yet, so we'll keep you updated on them. This seems like an interesting little project and I'm a fan of Westfeldt's work (loved Ira & Abby) and I'm looking forward to seeing these two collaborate beyond just in the bedroom (sorry, had to say it). Considering they're hoping to shoot this before "Mad Men" starts again, it sounds like it'll be coming up very soon, so stick around for more details as we hear them. Thoughts?

For the third straight year in a row, I'm embarking upon a massive 30-day non-stop film festival tour. I'm catching a flight this morning to kick things off starting at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado (Sept. 3 - 6), then I'll be heading up to the Toronto Film Festival (Sept. 9 to 19), and finally I'll be heading back to Fantastic Fest in Austin at the Alamo Drafthouse (Sept. 23 - 30). It's a very long trip, but I love every second of it, I live for this stuff. My partner in crime is Peter Sciretta of SlashFilm, who will be joining me on this exciting, exhausting and entertaining adventure to some of the best fests the film world has to offer.

We'll obviously continue to provide as much regular coverage as we can. Ethan Anderton has freed up his schedule to help balance out the regular stuff. As for me, I'll be bringing you guys early reviews, video (and text) blogs, numerous interviews, and as much good coverage as I can from the three festivals. I'm excited to head out on this trip again, as I love all of those festivals and the mood this time of year, especially because there's always a lot of Oscar buzz. Two years ago, Slumdog Millionaire's first ever showing was at Telluride, and I was there. I really hope Danny Boyle is bringing 127 Hours to unveil this year up in the mountains!

If you want truly up-to-the-minute coverage, I suggest following my twitter: @firstshowing. That's where I'll be constantly tweeting about my immediate reactions to films, what I'm watching and what's going on, and any other major news or announcements. My hope is to be able to provide coverage from the different fests that is unique to me, yet is able to give you a good sense of what each festival has to offer. Hopefully I can pull that off! If you're also attending any of these festivals and want to say hi, please shoot me an email or message me on twitter and we'll connect up. For now I have a plane I need to catch, so I'll see you soon!

Paul Conroy Isn't Ready To Die. We've seen a few official trailers for Rodrigo Cortés' Buried before today, but this new international trailer (via UK's The Sun) actually has some good footage in it. I think Lionsgate's trailers are very bold, but I liked that they didn't show much footage because there's only so much they can show without ruining it. As a quick recap, Buried is that one-man, buried alive, stuck in a coffin thriller that I raved about at Sundance. If you truly want to enjoy the experience, then don't watch this trailer. But if you still need a bit more to convince you it's worth seeing, there's just enough in here to do that. Check this out!

Watch the new international trailer for Rodrigo Cortés' Buried:

If you haven't seen the original trailers, you can watch the full theatrical one or the "darker" teaser trailer.

A U.S. contractor working in Iraq awakes to find he is buried alive inside a coffin. With only a lighter and a cell phone it's a race against time to escape this claustrophobic death trap. Buried is directed by Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Cortés, of the films 15 Days, The Contestant, and Dirt Devil previously. The screenplay was written by first-time writer Chris Sparling. This was one of my favorite films from Sundance (read my review) and I can't wait for everyone to be able to experience it! Buried hits ALL theaters on October 8th.

Another film I'm keeping a close eye on at the Toronto Film Festival is Ceremony. It's the feature debut of Max Winkler, son of Henry Winkler, who wrote the script and directed a cast including Michael Angarano (Forbidden Kingdom), Reece Thompson (Assassination of a High School President), Lee Pace (The Fall) & Uma Thurman. It's a comedy about two friends, one of whom falls for an older woman about to be married. Sam (Angarano) drags Marshall (Thompson) out to a beach town in hopes of breaking up the wedding, but they soon realize how out of place they are amongst the British groom and his guests. Three photos below.

Ceremony has a score from Fruitbats singer Eric D. Johnson as well as other great songs on the soundtrack.

In the lower two photos, you can see Max Winkler directing various shots, while the top one is an actual still. While this could be described as a coming-of-age comedy, I talked with Max and he said it's actually more of a coming-of-age story in reverse. Essentially Angarano's character thinks and acts a lot older than he is, but over the course of the film set at this wedding, he ends up realizing he needs to be true to his own age. From what I've seen and heard, it has the potential to be a fantastic indie gem and I'm very excited to see it (check out a soundtrack listing on The Playlist). These photos probably don't do it justice either, but that's all we've got for now. Stay tuned for our review and more coming soon! Visit the official TIFF webpage for extra info.

A couple more impressive posters to feature today. Most probably already know I'm a big fan of both Tron Legacy and Let Me In. so obviously if there's an awesome poster for either movie, I'm going to mention it. IMPAwards just dug up two sleek bew posters for both, but since they're international (Tron is from Japan, Let Me In is from France) I decided to toss both of them together into one big post. I love the Let Me In one because they can promote it without having to worry about the MPAA and that includes putting a little blood on there. As for Tron, it's just a cool design (a lot better than this one) but it's not particularly my favorite.

You can click on either poster below to see full-size. Don't be fooled by the Tron poster, I'm pretty sure Sam Flynn and Quorra (played by Olivia Wilde) are not actually enemies in the movie, they're on the same side!

Tron Legacy is directed by first-time filmmaker Joseph Kosinski. The screenplay was co-written by Adam Horowitz ("Lost"), Richard Jefferies (Blood Tide, Living Hell), Edward Kitsis ("Lost"), and the director of the original movie, Steven Lisberger. This first got the greenlight last year because this early teaser played well at Comic-Con. Disney is bringing Tron Legacy to theaters in 3D starting on December 17th. You in?

Let Me In is both written and directed by American filmmaker Matt Reeves, who's feature directorial debut was J.J. Abrams' Cloverfield but prior to that he directed episodes of "Felicity" and various other TV shows. This is a re-adaptation/remake of the Swedish novel and feature film Let the Right One In written by John Ajvide Lindqvist. Overture Films is bringing Let Me In to theaters everywhere starting October 1st this fall.

Warner Brothers recently debuted this brand new international trailer on YouTube for Todd Phillips' Due Date, starring comedy champions Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis as well as Juliette Lewis, Michelle Monaghan, Jamie Foxx, Alan Arkin, RZA and others. It's not too different from the official trailer we featured back in July, but it is just as funny and it definitely has some great moments that you all need to see. I'm not easily sold on comedies, but this is definitely one I'm looking forward to seeing this fall, it looks hilarious. Yes, it's just like Plane, Trains & Automobiles, but there's nothing wrong with that! Watch below.

Watch the new international trailer for Todd Phillips's Due Date:

High-strung father-to-be Peter Highman (Robert Downey Jr.) is forced to hitch a ride with aspiring actor Ethan Tremblay (Zach Galifianakis) on a long road trip in order to make it to his new child's birth on time.

Due Date is directed by Oscar nominated (only for writing) veteran comedy director Todd Phillips, of Road Trip, Old School, Starsky & Hutch, School for Scoundrels and The Hangover previously. The screenplay was written by Alan R. Cohen & Alan Freedland ("King of the Hill") and Adam Sztykiel (Made of Honor) & Todd Phillips. Warner Bros is bringing Due Date to theaters everywhere on November 5th this fall. Look funny?