ThaShining is an avid film watcher. ThaShining likes films!
ThaShining is a man who loves a good story, great characters, and great dialogue.
I also like long walks on the beach, a good conversation, and a nice meal but that's a different subject all together.
So being a fan of Film (I love you so much FIlm!), I thought it would be nice to share a list of "non-blockbuster" titles that just might be winners this year!


The first film we have is

Moon

Moon is a film by Duncan Jones (son of famous singer David Bowie) and stars Sam Rockwell (one of my favorite actors), and Kevin Spacey (in voice only) . Moon takes place, well..........on the moon. Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is an Astronaut/Miner excavating a precious resource (Helium 3) that is believed to reverse Earth's energy crisis. For the past 3 years he has called home a moon base named Selene. Where he has been isolated from humanity. The only company he has is a robot assistant named Gerty (Voiced by Kevin Spacey). With only two weeks left for his contract and returning home, some strange occurrences begin to happen.

The film looks very interesting. This is Duncan Jones first feature film and from all the early buzz it has been getting from critics; I'm thinking this is gonna be a great success. Time will tell.





Next up we have

Pandorum

Pandorum is a film about two astronauts (Dennis Quaid & Ben Foster) who awaken from a hyper-sleep chamber aboard an abandoned ship. They can't remember who they are, where they came from, and why they are on the ship. The younger of the two (Foster) finds a way out of the chamber, while the elder (Quaid) stays behind for radio support. The more they delve deeper into the ship, the more they uncover.

I don't know why, but this film reminds me of Event Horizon for some reason.
When I found out who was the producer (Paul W.S. Anderson director of said film) then I realized why.
The director of this piece is Christian Alvart (Antibodies). Hopefully, if it's not a piece of s**t, they feel a franchise can be made out of this. I doubt it.






Død snø or Dead Snow

Norwegian film "Dead Snow" is about a group of Medical students who go to a cabin in the mountains for easter vacation. In the cabin, they locate a trunk of gold which belonged to the Nazi's. Upon finding this, they revive the corpses of said Nazi's with deadly results.

Now I'm a big Zombie fan (when it's done right) and when I read this, I started laughing my ass off!
From the looks of the trailer, this could be pretty good. It has been getting some buzz these past couple of weeks and looks to be another classic Zombie film. The film is directed by Tommy Wirkola. A man who directed a film called Kill Buljo (a parody movie of Kill Bill).



Next up

Gamer

Gamer is a film about a new MMO called "Slayers". It is the number one game in the world. It's a violent, bloody game where the object is to stay alive. The only problem with this video game is, the characters in the game are real people!  Simon (Logan Lerman) controls Kable (Gerard Butler), the on-line champion of the game. Together they join forces to expose the maker of the game, Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall! IT'S DEXTER! IT'S DEXTER!).

When I seen the trailer for this I was blown away! The premise is reminiscent of Smash TV, The Running Man, and Manhunt. I personally cannot wait for this to come out! It looks bad-ass! On March, 31 2009, it was announced that the movie's title had been renamed to Citizen Game. A couple of weeks later it was renamed to "Gamer".
And here's the kicker........It's made by the Dynamic duo that made..........wait for it.............wait for it................THE CRANK SERIES!
Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor are the directors and writers. Geniuses!



And finally we have
District 9

District 9 is the story of Aliens coming to earth. More specifically, South Africa.
Upon arrival they are assigned to a specific area and forced to work. They governed by a section of the government called the MNU (Multi-National United) who seek to utilize the alien technologies.

Viral marketing for this movie has been intense. There have been obscure posters and websites popping up asking "Non-Humans" to register. The team behind this is the same team who just might produce the Halo film series.
In other words this is a Peter Jackson produced film. Neill Blomkamp will direct this film. Blomkamp is best known for the 3 short Halo films that came out 2 years ago in succession with Halo 3. If Blomkamp and Jackson can make this film a hit, we will see Halo on the horizon.

For the trailer copy link
http://www.apple.com/trailers/sony_pictures/district9/