Two More for the Road

I am off to play for my birthday at Wildwood with D tomorrow. It's a 2 hour trip from my house, so who knows when I'll be home. But I came across two more trailers for films I want to see this Fall and had to share them.

First up, the prequel to John Carpenter's now classic version of The Thing, which also happens to be called The Thing.

I'm not sure why the writers, director and producers couldn't come up with a different title. Hmm... maybe it's because it looks like it's the same movie as Carpenter's, but with Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgrim Vs the World) in the Kurt Russell role. It looks like the they've combined parts of the Howard Hawks' 1951 The Thing from Another World * and Carpenter's 1982 Masterpiece of Sci-Fi Horror (both based on John W. Campbell Jr's short story "Who Goes There?").

The fact that it's produced by the same folks who brought us Zack Snyder's not-half-bad remake of Dawn of the Dead is encouraging. I'll certainly see it, but I can't imagine that the CGI will be nearly as effective as the physical FX in the Carpenter film.

*The next time you watch Carpenter's original Halloween, look for this film on the TV...

Also this fall, director Martin Scorsese directs his first family film, Hugo, based on Brian Selznick's book "The Invention of Hugo Cabret." It tells the story of a young boy who is hiding out in the Paris train station while searching for a key that will wind an automaton left to him by his father. Starring Chloe Moretz (Let Me In); Emily Mortimer (Shutter Island); Jude Law; Christopher Lee; Sasha Baron Cohen; Ben Kingsley; Ray Winstone and newcomer Asa Butterfield, Hugo is a Steampunk mystery adventure set in 1930.

I haven't read the book on which it's based, but I imagine that a family film directed by the guy who gave us Taxi Driver; Raging Bull and The Departed will be nothing less than extraordinary, to say the least. Hugo is scheduled for release on November 23rd, just in time for Thanksgiving. Like many childless adults, I expect I'll be seeing this film at a late evening screening.

I still want to know what movies you want to see this Fall. Post a comment to share.

More, anon.

Prospero