This is old news, but I came across it today for the first time and thought it was worth sharing. Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness” provided the basis for Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, one of the director’s most intense projects he ever tackled. The behind-the-scenes exploits, which nearly killed the director and many of his crew, are chronicled in an impressive documentary called Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse. Now it seems that the source material is getting another film adaptation, but this time with a sci-fi slant. Read on for more.

ComingSoon has the synopsis for the film, which has the slightly altered title of Into Darkness:

APOCALYPSE 2388. Earth is on the brink of extinction. Legendary explorer KURTZ is sent on a desperate last bid mission to scout an unknown planet on the far side of the universe. A planet that may sustain human life.

But communication with Kurtz mysteriously ceases and rookie flight officer MARLOW is assigned the perilous task of completing the objective. Tracking Kurtz into the unknown he reaches it. A new earth. And a race of beings at the dawn of time.

But Kurtz has his own plans for the new world and man’s last hope for survival. And to achieve it he will take man to the only place that will protect paradise. Into darkness.

Peter Cornwell (The Haunting in Connecticut) is directing, and production is scheduled to be completed by 2013. Are you interested in seeing this classic story told with a science fiction perspective?

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Duncan Jones’ sophomore feature is a fast-paced, well-acted, and all around excellent look at multiple realities. Just don’t call it a time travel movie. I had high expectations, and Source Code met them all: it’s one of my favorite films of 2011 so far.

Jones stepped out of his father’s shadow with his feature debut back in 2009, the excellent Sam Rockwell science fiction film Moon. (Jones’ father is rock legend David Bowie, who has dabbled in film with performances in Labyrinth and The Prestige, among many others.) Here, he improves on Moon‘s budget by almost 30 million dollars, and puts every bit of that money on screen for us to see. The opening shots – beautiful aerial photography of Chicago – recall Chris Nolan’s breathtaking introduction to The Dark Knight. Jones is an artist on the rise, and definitely someone to keep an eye out for in regards to upcoming projects. He was up for the directing job on the new Superman film (a gig that eventually went to Zack Snyder), and has at least one other science fiction project lined up before he wants to move on to other genres.

Source Code is essentially Groundhog Day meets Deja Vu, an action thriller that utilizes time and repetition to great effect. The film follows Captain Colter Stevens (Jake Gyllenhaal) as he enters the Source Code, a new technology that allows him to take over the consciousness of the last eight minutes of another man’s life. This man is Sean Fentress, a teacher on a train that exploded outside of Chicago, killing everyone on board. Stevens’ mission is to relive these last eight minutes over and over again, learning more each time, until he can find the bomber and prevent a later attack that is scheduled to arrive back later in the day back in real time. That’s where Goodwin (Vera Farmiga) and Rutledge (Jeffrey Wright) are peering into cameras and speaking remotely to Stevens, giving him just enough information before whisking him back onto the train again, where he sits across from the beautiful Christina (Michelle Monaghan), Fentress’ potential love interest. It’s all a bit complicated, but that’s why I love this movie – it forces you to pay attention and actually makes you think a little bit.

It takes a special kind of director to make the same eight minutes interesting and avoid annoyance with the gimmick, but Jones pulls it off without a hitch and actually makes it look easy in the process. Movies like this also beg to be done properly, with all realities and storylines nicely wrapped up by the end; Jones doesn’t disappoint on this front, either. His effectiveness specifically reminds me of a few other movies I’ve seen: the Spanish thriller Timecrimes and Christopher Smith’s criminally underseen – and kind of brilliant – movie called Triangle, both of which I’d highly recommend if you’re into time travel movies, theoretical physics, or philosophy.

Every great movie begins with a great script, and this one is a coming out party for writer Ben Ripley. You may not expect the writer of Species III to be able to put together a coherent, kinetic, and fleshed out story, but previous credits can sometimes be deceiving. Remember, James Cameron’s first film was Piranha Part Two: The Spawning. Ripley manages to create an engaging story that keeps the audience guessing throughout the film; all of the pieces fall into place eventually, but I relished the slow reveal. Too often these days, films will put all their cards on the table too early, leaving the savvy audience member bored out of his or her mind for the remainder of the movie while the story sputters to the finish line. Here, Ripley does a great job of keeping us interested and slowly presenting us with more information about Stevens’ conditions and situation. Even during the parts of the movie NOT in the Source Code – the sections which allow the audience to catch our collective breath – we’re not entirely sure where (or when) Captain Stevens is until the climax of the film.

Gyllenhaal, an actor who has been pretty hit-or-miss in my opinion, does some excellent work in this movie. I’m sure this was a difficult project to work on as an actor, with most films (and I’m assuming this one) being shot out of sequence, so I’m sure there was an added layer of confusion as to how confused Stevens should be in any given shot. Apparently he was the one who championed Jones to direct this project, and the two worked well together. I wouldn’t be surprised if the two collaborated on many more things in the future. Michelle Monaghan, gorgeous and talented as always, turned on the charm in a role that unfortunately didn’t require much. She has such a great screen presence; she was one of my favorite actresses back in 2009 and that hasn’t changed in the years since. Vera Farmiga was quietly effective as Goodwin, a role unlike anything she’s ever done. But the glaring standout (in a HORRIBLE way) was Jeffrey Wright, who inexplicably affected his speech with the most ridiculous delivery he could fathom. How Duncan Jones could make such an otherwise spectacular film and yet allow this egregious distraction to persist is this movie’s greatest mystery.

I generally only mention a film’s score if it is particularly memorable or outstanding, and this one is both. The initial plan was for longtime Aronofsky collaborator Clint Mansell to compose Source Code‘s score, but he had to drop out due to a schedule conflict. Enter Chris P. Bacon, a man I’ve never heard of before, but a composer for which I will assuredly be keeping an ear open in the future. His blasts of triumphant spirit mixed with Zimmer-esque strings made for a winning combination, and I’m interested to listen to this score separate from the film and see if it is imminently listenable as some of the more popular scores of 2010. If I compile a list of my favorite scores of 2011, expect this to be on it.

If I could somehow pinpoint a formula for a movie I know I’d enjoy, Source Code would be it. It’s exactly what I want: a visually compelling, well-edited film with plenty of action, solid acting, a bit of romance, and a story that leaves you with something to think about as you walk out of the theater. Hey 2011 – more like this, please. Until next time…

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Last week, a rumor spread suggesting District 9 director and Peter Jackson protoge Neill Blomkamp might direct The Hobbit. But Blomkamp’s representatives tell Vulture that no one from Warner Bros. or MGM has even approached the director about the project at all.

They do, however, offer up the title of his newest sci-fi endeavor: Elysium. Hit the jump to find out what we know.

Vulture says Elysium is “an original sci-fi script of [Blomkamp's]” that is “set on another planet.” At Comic-Con last year, Slashfilm got some hints about the director’s next project and they line up well with the description of Elysium so far.

I’ve got one science fiction idea that I’m absolutely in love with, which I’m pretty sure is going to be my next film. 99% sure…It’s totally original, it’s my own story…It’s set on another planet, but it’s cool. It’s violent, very violent, and very unique hopefully. We’ll see.

It is science fiction and it has many sociopolitical ideas that interest me. Those ideas are wrapped up inside something that is like a Hollywood action film…The setting for the next film takes place 150 years from now.

Media Rights Capital is financing the project as well as giving the director ownership of the final product – quite the deal for a sophomore director. Blomkamp has stated that he’s not interested in big budget productions for fear of losing creative control, so that explains why he’s sticking near the 30-40 million dollar range and not jumping on The Hobbit bandwagon. Oh yeah, and that pesky little detail about MGM nearing bankruptcy probably has something to do with it as well.

As interesting as a Blomkamp-directed Hobbit might be, I think most of us can agree that we want to see this guy churning out ideas of his own and making films the way he wants to make them. With an up-and-coming talent like this, the last thing we (as an audience) wants is for him to burn out too early and for us to miss out on some potentially great films from a new voice in the filmmaking community.

What do you think about Elysium? Do you still think Blomkamp is the right guy for The Hobbit?

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Excuse the horrible pun – as a film blogger, I couldn’t resist. Heat Vision brings word that Channing Tatum (G.I. Joe, Step Up) is attached to Ion, a “sci-fi romantic epic” in the vein of Avatar. Hit the jump for more details.

You don’t have to be an industry analyst to see that science fiction films are experiencing a resurgence in Hollywood thanks to the record-breaking success of Avatar and the surprising Best Picture nomination of Neill Blomkamp’s District 9. Fox 2000 (an offshoot of 20th Century Fox) is close to grabbing the rights to a spec script by British writer Will Dunn called Ion, which “revolves around a man who travels to different Earths and dimensions in order to find his reincarnated lover.” Ridley and Tony Scott are lined up to produce, and while no paperwork has been signed yet, the studio hopes Tatum can be their next Sam Worthington.

Ion was floating around last year but didn’t generate much interest; now, multiple studios are circling the film and it looks like Fox 2000 is going to win out.

What do you think of the interdimensional travels of Channing Tatum? Do you think sci-fi is here to stay, or is it a passing trend?

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District 9 is the kind of science fiction we deserve. The main character is a spineless racist who is only really concerned with his own well-being and the love of his wife, the plot takes logical steps to elevate the situation towards an action-packed climax, but the whole ordeal grows out of a classic aliens-as-metaphor conceit.

Best of all, the flick doesn’t feel like it’s pulling any punches or taking any leaps of faith to trick you into liking it. It’s a bold debut film and, with the exception of Duncan Jones’ Moon, the only science fiction film that feels like it’s ready to join the family of classics without depending on becoming a box office smash over a few weeks. District 9 might be my favorite movie of the year thus far, and I don’t want to spoil the experience I had by blowing the film’s wad in plot description and details.

That being said…

Decades ago, an alien ship appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. It stopped and hovered until the inhabitants of Earth finally cut through its hull, revealing malnourished and starving aliens living in their own filth. It seems that the leadership of the race had died and the remaining aliens, dubbed “prawns” because of their lobster/grasshopper like appearance, we stranded here.

As part of a seemingly philanthropic gesture, the prawns were moved to District 9 in South Africa where they have lived until present day. District 9 has become a slum and the residents of Johannesburg are less than thrilled with their extraterrestrial neighbors. The aliens have brought weaponry, though it’s mostly been confiscated and cannot be operated by any non-alien due to DNA recognition technology that is beyond our understanding. What weapons are left are quickly gobbled up by Nigerian slum-lords who run District 9’s black market and crime syndicate (including prostitution, which – thank God – we never have to watch).

Finally, public uproar is heard and MNU, a faceless bureaucratic company combined with a Blackwater like militia, is charged with evicting the residents of District 9 and moving them to a new camp with a more organize, concentration camp feel. Put in charge of this operation is Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), a character who initially looks better suited to be guest-starring on the British incarnation of The Office than running this sort of large-scale, possibly illegal operation.

Wikus burns prawn babies and finds some illegal caches of weapons…and something else.

What happens to Wikus kicks the story off running and the fauxumentary look of the beginning of the film, complete with expert interviews, melts away so we can follow some amazing action set pieces and CGI aliens with hand-held, in the moment action beats. When everything finally simmers down, we get a coda in the documentary style, bookending an intimate experience with wide-world implications.

This is the debut film from Neill Blomkamp, the fine young gentleman who was all ready to direct the Halo movie before that fell apart (now that responsibility lies with Steven Spielberg), and it shows. The action is frenetic and full of tech, the camera is occasionally mounted to soldiers as they spin around corners, guns ready and some of the alien weaponry looks like a video game made manifest. I’m so sad Blomkamp says he won’t do Halo. His prepping for the movie shows, and his series of three Halo live-action shorts titled “Arms Race” have a lot of similar looking action to District 9.

Although it gets dangerously close to spoilers, I will only say that District 9 does leave room for a sequel, but I really hope no one thinks that’s a good idea. A $30 million dollar debut feature has been executed about as well as anyone could, and – like classic science fiction before it – all of our questions don’t need to be answered, they just need to be asked.

District 9 is amazing and because the joy of discovering it is part of the magic, this review is mediocre. Go see it when you can, then I would suggest THIS All Things Fan Girl article for your post-D9 reading.

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