Skyline looks to be a half-cheesy, half-totally awesome (contradiction intended) science fiction movie laden with visual effects. The latest trailer seems to merge abduction lore with Lovecraftian aliens and a generous helping of District 9/Independence Day /V aliens-hovering-above-us vibe:

Skyline is in cinemas in November. Check out the movie's website for more info.

We've recently discussed Clint Eastwood's upcoming movie that deals with NDEs and mediumpship. A promising movie but an exceptional director, for sure

But hey: this is 2010, when the US no longer has a monopoly on cinema; and from the land of Samba comes yet another film that seems to boldly go where the Gran Torino dared not to!

Nosso Lar (Our Home), a Brazilian film inspired by the the most popular book of spiritist medium Chico Xavier —a very prominent figure in the Brazilian spiritual movement, who penned dozens of books using the process known as psychography— has already broken all the box office records in the Brazilian theaters, and in just one weekend it has already been viewed by over 2 million spectators.

Nosso Lar is the first spiritual drama to be developed in Brazil but the third to go on release after Bezerra de Menezes througth Fox Brazil and Chico Xavier through Downtown-Sony in April this year.

Nosso Lar tells the story of a 1930's era physician called André Luiz. When he dies, André arrives to another dimension and is forced to redeem his earthly mistakes in a sort of "purgatory", before being accepted in an idyllic spirit colony —the beauty of Rio de Janeiro & the futuristic architectural features of Brasilia served to create the stunning backgrounds of the main character's life on the other side.

Here's the trailer:

[EDIT: A new member of TDG who lives in Brazil has been kind enough to send us the link to Nosso Lar's English webpage]

The film's ground-breaking success, with musical tracks by Philip Glass, has already obtained most of the voting by Brazil's Ministery of Culture to; with the voting, Nosso Lar will go and represent Brazil in this year's competition for Best Foreign Movie at the Oscar awards ceremony —which will surely ensure its global distribution.

Who knows? Maybe the reason films like these are coming from South America instead of the US, it's because *they* don't fear the wrath of a Randy or a Richard Dawkins ;)

Whatever the case, I'm sure looking forward to seeing this one. How about you?

It's a match made in hell that many have been waiting for - film-maker Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy, Pan's Labyrinth) and horror fiction giant H.P. Lovecraft. But recent developments suggest it could become quite a bizarre love triangle, with today's news that James Cameron could be joining del Toro in making At the Mountains of Madness:

Since he left The Hobbit, Guillermo del Toro's next film has been a hot topic of conversation. I'm hearing he will next direct At The Mountains Of Madness, an adaptation of the HP Lovecraft tale that will be shot as a 3D film for Universal Pictures. The big surprise is that Avatar director James Cameron will come aboard as a producer. Del Toro was non-committal when I asked him about the prospect of Mountains days ago as we discussed the Comic-Con reaction to Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark. But when del Toro announced at Comic-Con he'd cowrite and produce Haunted Mansion, he told the crowd he'd set his next film shortly, and that it would be scary. At the Mountains of Madness fits that bill, even for del Toro and Universal.

The film will be a big ticket item, shot in 3D, where Cameron's expertise can really help. Cameron has said he won't put his name on many future movies outside of the 3D reboot of Fantastic Voyage at Fox, but I've heard he's making an exception for del Toro. Cameron's presence helped win over the studio. I'm told the film will begin pre-production in the next few weeks, and shoot next summer.

Hopefully this project pans out better than The Hobbit did. Or we'll all be screaming "Tekeli-li"!

Interesting news about an upcoming project from Magnolia director Paul Thomas Anderson:

"The Master" is the story of a charismatic intellectual (Philip Seymour Hoffman) who hatches a faith-based organization that begins to catch on in America in 1952 called The Cause. The core dynamic centers on the relationship between The Master and Freddie Sutton...an aimless twenty-something drifter and alcoholic who eventually becomes the leader's loyal lieutenant. As the faith begins to gain a fervent following, Freddie finds himself questioning the belief system he has embraced, and his mentor.

You may recognise that 'The Master' seems analogous to another historical individual, in the same sense that Elron Hu may have been in PKD's The Turning Wheel...

This one looks like a lot of mind-fracking Grail-like fun: Inception, by Christopher Nolan (the guy behind Memento, The Prestige, and The Dark Knight):

The plot looks to be based around a kind of 'lucid dreaming' technology - a very cool topic, and coincidentally one which will be addressed in an upcoming book to be released by Daily Grail Publishing (but more on that at a later date) - and I'd imagine Matrix-like questions as to what is actually 'real' (e.g. some lucid dreamers get stuck in 'dream loops' where they keep 'waking' into another dream which they think is reality).

As is usual these days, there's also been a viral publicity campaign which you might like to check out, if you have far more time than I do...

Inception is due out on July 16 this year.

Listen to most of comedian Bill Hicks' material and it's hard to believe that it's nearly two decades old - every year it just seems to get more and more relevant, what with institutional corruption and the continual push for a dumbed-down, impotent public. Which makes it all the more tragic that he's not around to maintain the rage and challenge the status quo (Hicks died in 1994 from pancreatic cancer, aged 32). His legacy though will live on, especially with new documentary movies such as American: The Bill Hicks Story:

Three years in the making, AMERICAN: The Bill Hicks Story brings the tale of one of modern culture’s most iconic heroes to the big screen.

Much more than a comedian, Bill Hicks was and still is an inspiration to millions. His timeless comedy tackled the contradictions of America and modern life head on. But his unique gift was to tease apart the essence of religion, the dangers of unbridled government power and the double standards inherent in much of modern society, using nothing but his hilarious ideas and the uncompromising observational style that continues to resonate with successive generations.

Like many who have a strong sense of their place in history, Hicks left a large unseen legacy; his collection of video recordings and hundreds of photographs and these became the starting point for this feature-length animated documentary.

...Bill’s story is told by the 10 people who knew him best; his family and closest friends who recount the twists & turns of his life with a freshness that hasn’t faded in 15 years. From Kevin Booth, Bill’s talented lifelong friend to the Outlaw Comics who introduced Bill into their heady world of drugs & alcohol, to photographer David Johndrow who perceptively captures some of the most revelatory moments of Bill’s life, each speaker is a compelling narrator who still carries a piece of Bill with them and, woven together, they bring a palpable sense of Bill’s presence to the screen.

Here's the official trailer (warning - NSFW language in there):

For more information about the film visit the offical site. You might also want to view this extended excerpt from the film (9 mins).

Because putting Pixar and The Twilight Zone in a blender together is always going to be full of win:

More information here.

Pixar rock. Pixar rock even harder when they do spoofs on Spielberg and other standards of the UFO/paranormal genre:

Check out Pixar's YouTube channel for more fun viewing and behind the scenes stuff. And don't miss Lifted, another Pixar film having fun with the alien abduction meme.

Best movie of the year for me. Hands down. Go watch it in a local cinema, or pick it up on DVD/BluRay (details beneath the trailer). Sam Rockwell in Duncan Jones' Moon:

It's one of those (unfortunately rare) movies that combine a brilliant storyline with a quality actor and tasteful directing/editing. And the soundtrack - part of which you can hear in the trailer - sets the vibe perfectly. All for a fraction of the cost of most 'blockbusters'.

Moon is now out on DVD and BluRay in the UK. The BluRay version is multi-region (despite what Amazon UK says), so US readers can purchase it if they can't wait for the January 12 release in the States:

• Amazon UK: BluRay or DVD (available now)
• Amazon US: BluRay or DVD (pre-order for Jan 12 release)

Two other things worth noting for those that have already seen the film and loved it: Props from the film are currently being auctioned on eBay (Gerty's already gone, but there's a few things still left). And if you thought Sam Rockwell's performance was first-rate (considering he is almost the only on-screen actor for the whole film), you can join the push to have him nominated for an Oscar.

The official trailer for The Men Who Stare at Goats (adapted from Jon Ronson's book of the same title) has been released. The movie stars George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges and Kevin Spacey, and takes a farcical look at the training of American 'psychic warriors' based on the human potential movement, parapsychology research and various other 'New Age' topics:

The trailer portrays a few well-known incidents, including the 'goat-staring' of the title, as well as General 'Bert' Stubblebine's walking 'through' a wall. Would be good to get some comment from individuals who actually were a part of all this history, as I know a few are readers of The Daily Grail - might be eye-opening.

The movie will be released on November 6 - better quality trailers can be viewed at Apple.com.