The Thin Red Line (1998) marks the triumphant return of American film maker Terrence Malick’s return after a twenty year hiatus from the studio system. Anyone who was anyone in Hollywood circles jumped on the production of the film, even if it was just a brief walk on role. In fact, many A -list talents like Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Bill Pullman, Leonardo Dicaprio, Brad Pitt, Peter Berg, Dermot Mulroney, Edward Burns, William Baldwin, Edward Norton, Matthew McConaughey, Nicolas Cage, and Johnny Depp were very interested in joining the cast or were either cut from the film due to editing and budget constraints.

Malick was best known for two films in the 1970s which were Badlands (1973) and Days of Heaven (1978) which were renowned for their breathtaking cinematography and for Malick’s ability to capture magnificent exterior shots much like John Ford’s sweeping westerns Stagecoach (1939), and The Searchers (1956). The beautiful cinematography of the film is credited to John Toll who is an absolute genius.

Malick wrote the screenplay based on author James Jones 1962 novel which chronicles his experiences during the campaign. Pvt. Fife (Brody) is actually Jones who serves as the main character in the book, yet in the film is reduced to a minor character.

The film stars some of Hollywood’s most celebrated actors such as Sean Penn (1st Sgt. Edward Welsh), Adrien Brody (Pvt. Geoffrey Fife), Jim Caviezel (Pvt. Robert Witt), Ben Chaplin (Pvt. John Bell), George Clooney (Capt. Charles Bosche), John Cusack (Capt. John Graff), John Savage (Sgt. McCron), John Travolta (Brig. Gen. Quintard), Arie Vereen (Pfc. Charlie Dale), Kirk Acevedo (Pvt. Tella), Mark Boone Junior (Pvt. Peale), Woody Harrelson (Sgt. Keck), Elias Koteas (Capt. James Staros), Tim Blake Nelson (Pvt. Tills), John C. Reilly (Sgt. Storm), and Nick Nolte (Lt. Col. Gordon Tall).

Like everyone  else, I was  upset when I heard that they were going to remake the beloved Swedish vampire film Let The Right One In.

However, let it be said that this is one of the most beautiful, poignant, and moving films of the year.

Director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield) maintains the look and feel of the movie by bathing the frequent nighttime scenes in blue hones.  The crisp snowscape is now set in New Mexico, but the apartment courtyard where the two principals initially meet is nearly identical to the original.

Chronically bullied Owen (Kodi Smit-McGhee) notices a young girl and her father who have moved into his complex.  Over the course of several nights, he strikes up a friendship with the mysterious girl, bonding over a mutual love of puzzles and games.

She is guarded at first, but eventually warms up to Owen.  However, it is quickly apparent that she is no ordinary child.  She walks barefoot in the snow, by choice.  She shuns the daytime hours, and her relationship with her “father” appears a bit more sinister as time goes by.

By Shannon Hood and Jane Almirall

Each day we will provide you with capsule reviews and impressions of the films we see at Fantastic Fest, along with any activities or interviews we attend.  Complete reviews and interviews can be found on the site in upcoming weeks.

Day one of fantastic fest we hit the ground running and went straight from the airport to pick up our press badges.  We managed to cram in three screenings for the day, starting at 4pm.  Not too shabby.

Screening: Stone. Directed by John Curran and starring Edward Norton, Robert De Niro, Frances Conroy, and Milla Jovovich.  Summary: A convicted arsonist (Norton) looks to manipulate a parole officer (De Niro) into a plan to secure his parole by placing his beautiful wife (Jovovich)  in the lawman’s path.

Jane’s thoughts:  This was an unusual experience for me.  I was half expecting this to play out like a thriller-but instead I watched a slow (but evenly paced) meditative, existential character study.

The performances were great, but I can’t say I enjoyed the film (to its credit,we discussed it a great deal afterwards.)

The characters in Stone never quite feel like actual people, rather they represent certain characteristics of humanity.  Their stories slowly unfold to reveal that in the end, we are back at the beginning and haven’t moved an inch.

At the risk of repeating myself too much I will again express my love for a film festival in Austin, TX known as Fantastic Fest. It features some of the best and most innovative programming and events of any festival I’ve been to and is also a whole lot of fun. So naturally, whenever there’s news from the fest, as their is today, I’m going to share it.

With that in mind comes today’s news. Fantastic Fest has announced its opening night film and, drum roll please, that film is the vampire thriller Let Me In. The film, directed by Cloverfield‘s Matt Reeves, stars Chloe Moretz, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Elias Koteas and Richard Jenkins, tells the story of an alienated boy named Owen (Smit-McPhee) who spies on the other residents of his apartment complex. His only friend is his new neighbor, a young girl (Moretz) who lives with her silent father (Jenkins) and who turns out not to be at all what she seems.

The film will screen following a red carpet event and kick off the fest on Thursday, September 23rd at The Paramount Theater in Austin. Knowing the fest as I do this seems like a perfect film to kick things off. Sure, some people may not be into this upcoming remake of the terrific Let the Right One In but as a fan of Reeves’ earlier work on Cloverfield and after having seen some info about this new film, I’m convinced this was a great way to go.

Fantastic Fest runs from September 23-30 in Austin, Texas. Check out the full press release after the jump.

Previously, we brought you an extended trailer for director Michael Winterbottom’s upcoming film The Killer Inside Me. Sadly, as we found out later, it wasn’t the “official’ release and was subsiquently removed from the Internets. That was unfortunate because the trailer, and the movie, looked quite interesting.

Fortunately, the studio has now seen fit to release the trailer “officially” into the wild and, of course, we’ve got it for you right here. This trailer isn’t all that different from the previous one and still features the film’s stars Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson and Jessica Alba doing what they do best. It also has a great look and intriguing premise. However, it doesn’t go quite a far as the last one did and is obviously more for general consumption. I’m sure we’ll see a “Red Band” version of this soon enough.

In case you’ve forgotten what the film is about, its based on the novel by Jim Thompson, who also wrote the novels The Grifters and The Getaway, and features Affleck as Sheriff Lou Ford who, on the surface, is an upstanding citizen and upholds the law. But underneath, Ford hides a dark secret that leads him to places he may not want to go but feels compelled to explore.

The Killer Inside Me also features Bill Pulman, Simon Baker, Ned Beatty and Elias Koteas. It hits theaters and On Demand June 18th. Check out the trailer and a larger version of the poster after the jump.