MILK.

Looks like Bela Tarr is completely out of Gus Van Sant's system. GSV, as he shall be referred to from now on, spent the better part of the last decade trying to earn back his indie cred after directing Good Will Hunting, the Psycho remake, and Finding Forrester, by focusing on making long films with long takes about not-so-long lives. With those projects completely behind him, it looks like GSV is just about ready to return to mainstream Classical Hollywood Cinema with Milk, his soon to be released biopic about Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to serve in public office.

I have to say, the movie looks damn good on many levels. GVS was able to cast the perennially angsty Sean Penn, the recently resurrected Josh Brolin, indie cred magnet Diego Luna, and jailbait magnet James Franco plus Harris Savides is lighting the whole soiree. A well-lit ensemble cast in a movie depicting the tragic death of a historical figure may sound like utter Oscar bait, but with GVS on the canvas chair keeping the saccharine levels low, I'm sure that this will definitely be one of the films to watch in 2008.