I used to think Julia Stiles was the next big thing. That was back when she seemed to star in every Shakespeare update around (10 Things I Hate About You; Almereyda's Hamlet; O). Then she somehow became better remembered as "Nicky", the deer-in-headlights character from The Bourne Identity and its sequels. Sure her part increased through the series, but all I can think of is that line, "I can send Nicky to do that, for Chrissakes." Now, I associate her with any role that's so easy even she could do it. Which certainly seems to apply with a movie in which she's just been cast, Cry of the Owl. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Stiles is replacing Sara Polley in the thriller, which makes me wonder if maybe the part is too simple for the now-very-respected Polley. "They can send 'Nicky' to do that, for Chrissakes," the actress must have thought.

Cry of the Owl is based on a novel by Patricia Highsmith (author of The Talented Mr. Ripley, which starred Bourne co-star Matt Damon) and was previously adapted by Claude Chabrol. This version will be helmed by Jamie Thraves, who directed my favorite Radiohead video, "Just", as well as videos for Blur ("Charmless Man") and Coldplay ("Scientist"; "God Put a Smile Upon Your Face"). The movie co-stars Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum) as a new guy in town who Stiles' character falls for. Problem is, he's also stalking her. Scott Speedman (who was probably looking forward to working again with Polley, his My Life Without Me co-star) plays her ex, who plots revenge for being dumped. The movie begins shooting in Toronto next week.

To be fair to Stiles, I have to admit that coming from Highsmith, Cry of the Owl may not be just another stalker thriller. Also, she has been delivering fine performances in little-seen movies like A Little Trip to Heaven and Edmond -- never mind that she also starred in The Omen remake. She's also just made her directorial debut with the short Raving and she's set to star in an adaptation of The Bell Jar. Perhaps one of these days I'll have something new, and more favorable, to associate her with.

Good news for fans of Icelandic cinema: IFC has picked up the cop thriller Jar City in what is apparently the first buy of this year's Toronto International Film Festival. (Variety calls it the "first official buy"; The Hollywood Reporter calls it "one of the first sales." The point is, the fest only started yesterday and already the cash registers are ka-chinging.)

Peter Martin told us last week about the film's fast-rising profile. It's Iceland's highest-grossing film of all time, and it won the Grand Prix competition at the Karlovy Vary fest in July. It picked up more steam when it played at Telluride last week. Based on a novel, it is the fourth film from writer/director Baltasar Kormakur, and the fourth to play at Toronto. I saw (and adored) his first two, 101 Reykjavik and The Sea; the third one, A Little Trip to Heaven, which I have not seen, was filmed in English and starred Forest Whitaker and Julia Stiles.

Kormakur returns to his native tongue in Jar City, which focuses on two connected plots. In one, a man tries to determine how his daughter could have contracted a rare genetic disease that no one in his family has ever had; in the other, a cop looks for a murderer. They cross paths; mysteries unfold; thrillarity ensues. IFC's First Take division will distribute the film theatrically in North America. No word yet on when that will be, or how much IFC paid for it.

Picking what films you want to see based on the Sundance catalogue is challenging. Frankly, I pick what films to see largely based on what people are talking about in the press room (the volunteers are a great source of information). The catalogue is written from a fans' perspective. In fact, it's written by the Sundance selection committee, so it's even more than a fans' perspective--it's the opinion of someone who pushed to have the film in the festival above thousands of other films. It makes sense that they would be glowing.

At the start of Sundance you're really picking films based on the talent, the director, the title, and the photo--that's the truth. It's impossible to know which first time directors will breakout, that's the majic of Sundance and that magic occurs over five days. No one would ever have selected Napoleon Dynamite as something they "had to see" based on the catalogue, for example.

That being said, here are my seven in no particular order.

All Aboard: Rosie's Family Cruise

Wow, a documentary about Rosie at Sundance--that's got legs (at the very least to base a drinking game on). The film was one of three films that still had tickets availble to the public today. The other two were the Shorts Selection and TBD. When your film is neck and neck with "TBD" on the available ticket list you know something is up. This film has camp written all over it, but who knows... I'll try and keep an open mind.

(more after the jump)