Dream House
Directed by Jim Sheridan
Written by David Loucka
Starring Daniel Craig, Naomi Watts, Rachel Weisz, Marton Csokas, Claire Geare, Taylor Geare, Elias Koteas
Release Date: September 30, 2011

Jim Sheridan‘s Dream House is a distorting and turning journey of mind-bending proportions, taking elements of popular horror fiction and re-energizing them as 21st century psychological thriller fares. Featuring Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz, it takes some unexpected detours, complete with some commendable performances.

(A side note: Before I do continue though, let me preface the rest of this review with the fact that I did not see any trailers for Dream House before seeing the film. I’ve been told that Morgan Creek films blew it by including some significant plot revelations in the trailer, so I went into the film fresh – so if you’re interested in seeing this movie, avoid all the trailers!)

At one time or another, you’ve probably seen one of the paintings that various people in a position of power have had commissioned of themselves. One particularly notable portrait out there is that of the Russian general, which someone has taken to an extremely entertaining new level.

George Dawe, an English portrait artist who has painted 329 portraits of Russian generals, uses a digital copy of his work as a basis to add his friends, family, and some celebrities into the paintings using Photoshop.

So far he’s done a bunch of celebrities, and most of them look amazing. If we didn’t know who these people were, you wouldn’t think twice about whether most of them were a legit Russian general or not. Some look a little off such as Sean Connery, for example, who looks as though he’s just passed gas in a room full of people, and is pleased that none of them can figure out who it was.

Continue on below now to check out the pictures, and to the source link for even more.

The first full trailer for the upcoming David Fincher-directed remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has been released today. You can watch the trailer below this article.

Running nearly four minutes, the new trailer mixes the extravagant visuals (a Fincher specialty) we first glimpsed in the teaser trailer that was “leaked” several months ago with a stronger emphasis on the film’s story and the character of Lisbeth Salander, played in the remake by Rooney Mara (The Social Network). The central mystery of the story is laid out nicely without spoiling any important information.

In recent months David Fincher‘s upcoming remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has been an enigmatic figure in the film world, from the release of a controversial poster that featured star Daniel Craig (playing disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist) with his arm around a topless Rooney Mara (assuming the key role of haunted hacker Lisbeth Salander from Noomi Rapace) to the leaking of a very brief teaser trailer that presented an onslaught of images set to a propulsive cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Immigrant Song” recorded by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

Late last year it was announced that Reznor would be reteaming with English musician (and producer of four NIN albums, among others) Atticus Ross, who he had successfully collaborated with on the score for Fincher’s critically-acclaimed box office hit The Social Network, to provide the score for the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo remake. Now, Sony Pictures has released a 7-minute sample of Reznor and Ross’ score at the film’s official website; you can listen to it below this article in the embedded YouTube video.

“Pockets on Shrek, Rockets on deck
Tell me what’s next, alien sex
I’ma disrobe you, than I’mma probe you
See I abducted you, so I tell ya what to do
I tell ya what to do, what to do, what to do”
-Those Kanye West “rhymes” from ET

Despite the geektastic union of James Bond and Indiana Jones sharing the same 40 feet of screen for the very first time, Cowboys & Aliens remains, after a distractedly puzzling 2 hours, a study of “˜Oh, what could/should have been’. You leave as the credits roll not necessarily dissatisfied, but with the niggling feeling that, considering the pedigree of those involved in front of and behind the camera, this movie should be a lot better than it is.

In terms of Steven Spielberg-produced alien invasion flicks, C&A is leagues better than June’s 80’s nostalgia theme restaurant Super 8. It appears that 1880s evil aliens have a lot more going for it than 1980s weepy bitch aliens.

However, if the thought of seeing Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford together is just too enticing, then by all means go. Just make sure your expectations are roped nicely in check, for though the names Spielberg, producer Ron Howard, Lost‘s Damon Lindelof contributing to the screenplay, and Iron Man director Jon Favreau may lead you to expect genre transcendence, you may just have to be satisfied by the very averageness of the production.

Time for some SPOILER TALK! Below are SPOILERS for Cowboys & Aliens. Free free to add your thoughts in the Comments section.