Update: Busy, Busy, Busy!

Leading up to the October Horror Movie Countdown, concentration has fallen on getting as many reviews cranked out as possible before the flow gets dammed up a little bit by all the extracurricular screening. The next twenty-four hours will consist of formulating reviews for two lesser-known flicks (20 Years After and Before the Rains), one of which I've already seen over the last week. Furthermore, as one of my limited divergences into the videogame spectrum arises, the next Silent Hill installment hits the streets tomorrow -- Silent Hill: Homecoming. Exciting news!

In the meantime, here's a few interesting tidbits to glance over:

As mentioned in the "Burton's Wonderland" op-ed from a few days ago, Tim Burton has found his Mad Hatter and his Alice for a gothic reconstruction of Lewis Carrol's Alice in Wonderland. And, just as soon as the major casting announcements have hit the streets, the first shots of Mia Wasikowska as Alice have been revealed, via INF Daily. Whether these shots are test footage to construct color timing ideas and character establishment -- or the real deal -- are uncertain; what can be deciphered from the images is that Mia looks to be quite the striking visage of Alice.

Another interesting bit of info comes regarding director / actor Kenneth Branagh, famous for his exquisite Shakespearean Henry V and Hamlet adaptations. Is he in line to direct a new version of Macbeth? Nope. Antony and Cleopatra? Not even close. As per Variety, Branagh is in talks to concentrate his efforts on an adaptation of Marvel Comics' god-like character Thor. I have little experience with Thor -- the comic-book character -- but if Branagh hops on his game, he could probably sell Marvel on the idea of infusing more of the mythological paganism behind the character in his adaptation. If that'd be case, then Thor would have me excited.

And, to wrap things up, a second trailer for David Fincher's strange expose on reverse aging, titled The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, has been released. The feel from the trailers makes it come across kind of like "Fincher does Big Fish", or something of the like. He's a fantastic director, which makes his tug-of-war match with the production companies at-hand an intriguing element in the release of his bizarre fantasy film.