Film Arcade.net is back with it's coverage of the 2013 Fantasia Festival, which happens starts on July 18th - August 7th in Montreal, Canada.

New Line Cinema recently released stills for their upcoming release for "The Conjuring", which takes place during this years festival. The film is the latest from director James Wan (Saw, Insidious)stars Vera Farmiga (Bates Motel, The Departed), Patrick Wilson (Insidious, Watchmen), Ron Livingston (Office Space) and Lili Taylor (Hemlock Grove).

"The Conjuring" will be at the festival on 7/18 at 9:30 PM at the Imperial Theatre. Can't make it to Fantasia Fest, the film will open in theaters on 7/19.

For more information on this film, you can visit the film's official website at: http://www.theconjuring-movie.com

Plot Synopsis:

Before there was Amityville, there was Harrisville. Based on a true story, “The Conjuring” tells the horrifying tale of how world renowned paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren were called upon to help a family terrorized by a dark presence in a secluded farmhouse. Forced to confront a powerful demonic entity, the Warrens find themselves caught in the most terrifying case of their lives.

Image Entertainment recently announced that their upcoming release "Goats" will be making its debut on Blu-Ray and DVD. The film starring Golden Globe® winner David Duchovny (“The X-Files”, “Californication”), Oscar® nominated actress Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Up in the Air), Emmy winner Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”), Golden Globe® winner Keri Russell (“Felicity”), Golden Globe nominee Justin Kirk (“Weeds”) and Graham Phillips (“The Good Wife”) will be hitting stores on September 11th.

Special Features on the Blu-Ray and DVD include Moments: The Making of GOATS, The Mailman’s Lament, Home Movies ,Deleted Scenes ant the film's official trailer

Press Release

On September 11th, Image Entertainment brings you Goats, a poignant and hilarious film that reverses the coming of age formula, creating a beautifully honest portrayal of life with its rough edges, awkward moments and non-endings. Starring Golden Globe® winner David Duchovny (“The X-Files”, “Californication”), Oscar® nominated actress Vera Farmiga (The Departed, Up in the Air), Emmy winner Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”), Golden Globe® winner Keri Russell (“Felicity”), Golden Globe nominee Justin Kirk (“Weeds”) and Graham Phillips (“The Good Wife”) in a breakout role, Goats comes to Blu-ray™ for an SRP of $29.97 and DVD for an SRP of $27.97. Pre-book is August 14th.

The film, from the producers of The Kids Are All Right, is based on a novel by Mark Jude Poirier and directed by Christopher Neil. The all-star cast also includes Justin Kirk (“Angels in America,” “Weeds,” “Animal Practice”), Anthony Anderson (“Law & Order,” “Guys with Kids”) and Dakota Johnson (“Ben and Kate”, 21 Jump Street).

At 15 years old, Ellis (Graham Phillips) is the most adult member of his eccentric family. His mom (Vera Farmiga) is a New Age hippie that spends all of her time working on self-help rituals with her hustler boyfriend (Justin Kirk). His dad (Ty Burrell) left home years ago and is more focused on his new wife (Keri Russell) and family. And then there’s Goat Man (David Duchovny), the goat-herding sage who has lived in their pool house since Ellis was a child, teaching him the meaning of stability, commitment, and expanding one's mind.

When Ellis decides to leave Tucson to go to the same East Coast prep school that his father went to, he easily assimilates to his new environment - even gaining the attention of a local girl (Dakota Johnson). But as he re-connects with his estranged father, he finds Goat Man’s influence and his life out West thrown into stark contrast.

The best way to describe “Source Code?” It’s “Groundhog Day” meets “Quantum Leap.” It stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Captain Colter Stevens, an army helicopter pilot who suddenly finds himself on a mission to find a bomber who blew up a Chicago bound train and killed everyone onboard. The movie’s title refers to a special program that allows him to enter the body of one of the passengers on that train for the last eight minutes of their life. So basically, this is “Groundhog Day” with a much, much shorter time schedule.

This is a great concept for a movie as we all have those moments that are as painful as they are unforgettable. Whether we admit or not, we keep playing them back in our minds over and over again, changing the outcome to something that is more pleasing to our ego and sense of well being. Even though it does us no good to dwell on the past, we fall into those patterns when our present isn’t all that great, and our future is more uncertain than we would like it to be. Through the breakthroughs of science, Jake gets to relive a moment that (while not his own) allows him to change things even if it’s in an alternate reality.

Of course, we can replay a moment from our lives to where we can no longer remember what was real or what was not. This movie explores that as well, making one believe that if our lives were predestined, they won’t be anymore thanks to science!

“Source Code” is director Duncan Jones’ follow up to “Moon” which itself was one of the very best movies of 2009. Like “Moon,” its main character is caught up in a situation not entirely of his making, but which becomes clear as the plot rolls along. Like Jake’s character, we are making discoveries about who he is along with him, and we will probably not like all the answers we find.

From the outset, this movie looks to be a whodunit, but that ceases to be the case before the story reaches its midpoint. Besides, it’s pretty easy to figure out who the bomber is, and it’s only a matter of time before Jake confronts that person to learn their true intentions. In actuality, it’s about a man caught up in a situation that he has no control over, and of how he gets that control back in a way no one can predict.

Jake Gyllenhaal remains one of the most dependable actors in movies today, and he doesn’t let the audience down in this one. In many ways, his performance is not too different from others he’s given in recent years, so there’s not much new to what he does here. All the same, he’s very good, so why complain? Jake engages us emotionally in his character’s struggle as, like him, we don’t know how we got into this and we are desperate to get answers.

Duncan does great work in making each visit to the same eight minutes unique from the others Jake gets unwillingly subjected to. “Source Code” could have been redundant as hell, and certain moments and actions are repeated ad nauseam throughout, but each eight minute period has a different theme or construction to it. There are various people Jake has to meet, and there are other things for him to take advantage of in the little time he has to work with. Jake’s character also pulls out the rug from under us to where once the bomber is found, he finds there is still work to do.

Aside from Jake, “Source Code” also features other strong performances like the one from Vera Farmiga who was so great in “The Departed” and “Up In The Air.” Her character of Captain Colleen Goodwin at first looks to be Jake’s embattled conscience, but it’s really the other way around. Vera is great in taking a typical military stock character and giving her a heart and soul that strongly informs the decisions her character later makes.

Also in the film is Jeffrey Wright who plays the creator of Source Code, Dr. Rutledge. This could have been a simple obsessive doctor, one mad with power, or one that is overly cruel. Somehow, Jeffrey succeeds in making Rutledge something of an enigma to where you’re not quite sure what to make of him. He may not be a mad scientist, but he’s also not the warm kind either.

And of course we have the infinitely lovely Michelle Monaghan here as Christina Warren, girlfriend to the man Jake’s character inhabits. Whether its “Mission: Impossible 3,” “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,” or “Gone Baby Gone,” she always has a wonderful presence about her, and her smile brightens our mood every time we see it. And like many actresses I tend to have a crush on, she is already married (darn).

Is “Source Code” an original movie? Probably not, but it sure feels like it compared to most movies today which, if they’re not remakes, are simply not so subtle reflections of last year’s biggest hits. You could even say that there is a bit of “Inception” in this story as it involves searching through the mind of another person. But it’s a pointless argument because not much of anything is original these days. It becomes a quest to take elements from other movies or stories and make them your own, and Duncan has succeeded in doing that here.

Duncan Jones is quickly becoming one of the most inventive directors in movies today, and I am eager to see where he goes from here. While “Source Code” is a bit confusing at times, and I didn’t quite buy the movie’s concluding act, it’s an enthralling mystery with a good dose of exciting action. Hopefully Hollywood studios will start taking the time in being more openly inventive instead of joust regurgitating the past.

Still, it would be nice to change some of the more painful moments from our past so that we can look at ourselves in a kinder light. While it is best to make peace and forgive ourselves for our foolish trespasses, science is always catching up with us. Just you wait!

* * * ½ out of * * * *

A life without many if any emotional attachments seems like an appealing lifestyle to many, especially for those who are ever so career minded. To not have to worry about kids because you don’t have any, and to not get involved in serious relationships with others leaves you with a lot of open room to breathe in. But what happens when something comes along to break the façade of this lifestyle to pieces? Will you be able to handle it without reverting to your old ways? Will it make you realize just how lonely a person you are to where you have no idea of how to allievate the permanent state of solitude you’re stuck in? One thing’s for sure, this kind of life is not meant to last forever, and a rude awakening is out there waiting to pounce all over you. Hugh Grant got to play a character who lived this kind of like in one of his best films, “About A Boy.” Now we have George Clooney living that kind of life in Jason Reitman’s brilliant new movie, “Up In The Air.”

Based on the 2001 novel by Walter Kim, Clooney stars as Ryan Bingham, a man whose job is to travel all over the country to corporate offices to layoff employees. Companies hire people like Ryan so that the bosses of these employees can squirm their way out of this responsibility (pussies). His job is not all that different from those military officers or police officers who have the unwanted assignment of telling families that their husbands, wives or long lost relatives have died. While Ryan is not informing anyone of a dead family member, the people on the receiving end don’t really react all that differently. Still, he sees his job as a service as he tries to get them to see that this is not the end, but simply the beginning of a new life for them (easy for him to say). In addition, he also conducts conferences where he talks about “emptying the backpack” of attachments and things you don’t really need. Hence, the backpack is clearly symbolic of his life at this point for there is not much of anything in it.

The perks of this unappealing job? It does allow him to travel on airplanes for over 300 days out of the year. He does have a puny one-bedroom back in Omaha, Nebraska, but he is barely there. Truth is that the airports and airplanes are his real home, so his address truly is up in the air. But he really has the same problem that those who are seriously addicted to social networking websites like Facebook or Twitter have; they have a serious fear of human contact. They say that they don’t want a lot of personal attachments in life, but it speaks of some deeper fear that they may not be aware of right away.

This could very well be the best performance of George Clooney’s career, and he has given a lot of great performances (and I don’t just mean this holiday season). His performances in “Syriana” and “Michael Clayton” show how good he is at playing the world weary man who has seen just about everything, but who still has some will left to change his circumstances. From a distance, this almost seems like a walk in the park for Clooney as we see him in the trailers flashing that famous grin that he does every five minutes. But he brings a real depth to a really well written character, and despite the fact that he plays a man none of us would want to meet ever, George makes Ryan Bingham likable and very sympathetic.

Bingham ends up capturing the attention of another corporate employee who spends more time in the air than in the office, Alex Goran. Alex is played by Vera Farmiga, and she is as great in the role as she is seriously sexy! The first scene between these two reminded me so much of that scene in “Jaws” where Robert Shaw and Richard Dreyfuss compare their scars; they show off all these executive cards and credit cards they have earned from travelling so much and for staying in the same hotels (god forbid they lose any customers). The chemistry between Clooney and Farmiga is instant and sells us on their budding relationship almost immediately. You want these two to end up together. They are essentially the same kind of person, although Vera puts it in another way:

“I’m like you with a vagina.”

Of course, there is a third wheel to balance things out in the movie and give a little more perspective on things. That third wheel is Natalie Keener, a recent graduate from Cornell University who has a lot of smarts but also has much to learn about the real world. Natalie is played by Anna Kendrick who you may remember from “Twilight,” the movie my friends despise with an intense passion. She is wonderful here as she prepares Bingham and the other corporate lackeys for a new way of firing employees; they will do it online from the comfort of their own offices. So basically, it makes a depressing piece of business all the more colder. It also threatens Bingham’s way of life as he lives to be on a plane instead of his tiny dump of an apartment (you’d figure he could afford better).

With this development comes the road movie part of “Up In The Air” as Bingham takes Kendrick to different cities all over the country to show her how he does his job, and of how the use of computers will take away from it (not to mention his frequent flier miles). Anna does brilliant work taking her character from being confident yet naïve to vulnerable and sad. None of the education she got at a top rate university could ever have prepared her for the unpredictability of a job that is never easy no matter how it’s done. Seeing her address a corporate meeting to her doing a drunken karaoke rendition of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” should give you an idea of the range of her role.

Watching Clooney instruct Kendrick on how to pack her suitcase and leave stuff out she needs is hilarious as it reminds me of my parents constantly begging me to put everything in one suitcase when traveling. This way, I won’t have to check any luggage in. I don’t know about you, but I get so sick and tired of hauling a suitcase all over the place when I have my messenger bag to worry about already. Who packed this suitcase anyway? Oh wait a minute…

With “Up In The Air,” writer/director Jason Reitman hits his third home run as a filmmaker, and he firmly establishes himself as one of the best damn thing to happen to motion pictures right now. While this should have been apparent from the start with “Thank You For Smoking” and even more so with “Juno,” it is made abundantly clear here that he has a firm hold on the vision he has for each movie he makes. Jason even makes this movie even more authentic in regards to our current state of high unemployment by casting real people who have actually lost their jobs. It brings a lot more reality to a movie and reminds us of how unfair life can be despite doing the best job possible. Jason also does not sell out the movie with a false ending where everything is wrapped up neatly. Each character is on their separate journey, but their final destinations remain unknown to them.

Reitman also populates the movie with other great actors who make as strong an imprint on the film as the leads do. Jason Bateman plays Bingham’s boss, Craig Gregory, and this role is the flipside of the manager he played recently in “Extract.” It turns out that Bateman can be charming in one role and utterly smarmy in another with no problem. Amy Morton is also really good as Ryan’s estranged sister Kara, a woman suffering through her own midlife crises that her brother makes it look like he is getting through with no problem. Melanie Lynskey (great in both “The Informant!” and “Away We Go”) is a wonderful presence as Julie, Ryan’s younger sister who is about to get married. I was also surprised to see Danny McBride (“Tropic Thunder” and “Pineapple Express”) here in a slightly more dramatic role as Julie’s soon-to-be husband, Jim Miller. Danny definitely has some funny moments, but he really sells himself well here as a man who is not sure if he’s doing the right thing or not.

I also have to give a lot of credit to a couple of actors who make the most of their respective cameos. Zach Galifianakis, having almost completely walked away with “The Hangover,” gives this movie one of its funniest moments as Steve, one of many fired employees that Bingham has had to face. Looking at the things Zach’s character could have done had he been fired by his cowardly boss was hysterical. Then you have J.K. Simmons, one of this year’s best used character actors thanks to his work in “Extract” and “Jennifer’s Body” among other films. As Bob, J.K. gives his suddenly jobless character a morbid sense of humor as he manages to contain himself in his understandably pissed off state. When George Clooney ends up making Bob see that this is not an end but a beginning, Simmons takes his character from depressed to somewhat aroused with possibilities he thought were long lost to him. He is onscreen for only a couple of minutes, but J.K. Simmons infuses his role with a dry sense of humor that makes his performance so memorably great.

That’s one of the things I really loved about “Up In The Air;” the characters are very complex even if they’re not onscreen for very long. We may have the stereotypical traits of each character nailed into our heads, but they keep revealing different parts of their personalities that we didn’t see coming. Once we have these characters figured out, another layer is revealed which affects their relationships with one another as well as the dynamics between them. I would love it if more movies allowed to have more multi-faceted characters in them instead of just succumbing to one-dimensional freaks who exist to annoy the hell out of you (but enough of “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” already!).

“Up In The Air” will definitely be on my list of the best movies of 2009. It is funny and moving, and endlessly entertaining. With this film, George Clooney completes what has truly been a great holiday season for him along with “The Men Who Stare At Goats” and “The Fantastic Mr. Fox.” It even has a cameo by Young MC singing his biggest hit “Bust a Move.” I have say that he has put on a lot of weight since the late 80’s. I should talk though…

**** out of ****