Category: Movies

“Your whole life can be swallowed up…” Sony Pictures Classics has debuted a new official US trailer for the film Final Portrait, which was one of my favorites from last year’s Berlin Film Festival. Glad it’s finally hitting US theaters soon. The film stars Geoffrey Rush as accomplished Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti, an eccentric painter and sculptor who lived in Paris for the the last years of his life. The story is all about his friendship with an American journalist named James Lord, played by Armie Hammer, who visited in the 1960s. Giacometti asked Lord to sit down for a portrait, to be finished in only a few days, but it ends up going on and on for months – his final portrait. This also stars Clémence Poésy and Tony Shalhoub. I wrote in my review from last year’s Berlinale: “Rush gives such an outstanding performance, it’s compelling and thoroughly enjoyable to watch him.” I still recommend giving this one a watch when you can, it’s good. ›››

Continue Reading Geoffrey Rush & Armie Hammer in Official US Trailer for ‘Final Portrait’

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“You no longer exist.” Magnolia Pictures has debuted a new US trailer for the upcoming theatrical release of Arnaud Desplechin’s Ismael’s Ghost, which was the opening night film at last year’s Cannes Film Festival. Despite this honor, the film received mostly mediocre reviews and it’s nothing special. It stars Mathieu Amalric as a filmmaker named Ismael, who is just about to begin shooting his next feature. However, his long lost former lover suddenly shows up out of nowhere, freaking him out, sending him into a mental “tailspin”. Marion Cotillard plays his former lover, and Charlotte Gainsbourg plays his current lover, who also freaks out. The cast also includes Louis Garrel, Alba Rohrwacher, Hippolyte Girardot, and Samir Guesmi. I saw this in Cannes and forgot about it fairly quickly, even though I really do like the cast. ›››

Continue Reading Official US Trailer for ‘Ismael’s Ghosts’ Starring Cotillard & Gainsbourg

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“Best thing to do in any situation – is do what you want to do.” The Orchard has debuted the first official trailer for an indie drama titled Kings, the latest feature from acclaimed Turkish filmmaker Deniz Gamze Ergüven (of the film Mustang previously – which you should watch ASAP if you haven’t seen it yet). Set in Los Angeles in 1992 right before the infamous L.A. riots erupted, the film is about a family in South Central. Halle Berry stars as the mom, with Daniel Craig, and a full cast including Issac Ryan Brown, Lamar Johnson, Kaalan “KR” Walker, and Rachel Hilson. This film already premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year, and arrives in limited theaters this April. It looks like an engaging, heartfelt drama with some very emotional moments. This seems like a good double feature with Justin Chon’s Gook. Take a look. ›››

Continue Reading Halle Berry & Daniel Craig in First Official Trailer for L.A. Drama ‘Kings’

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There’s another new film this year telling a thrilling story told entirely through computer screens. This one is titled Profile, and it’s directed by Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov (Night Watch, Wanted, Ben-Hur), who also produced the other computer screen film Search (which first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and I wrote a glowing review of here). Profile tells a completely different story than Search – it’s about a journalist from London who tries to connect with an ISIS recruiter online for a story about how ISIS recruiters use the internet to lure women. Surprise, surprise, she ends up getting in way too deep and essentially falls for the same tricks and traps that the other women did. It’s a captivating thriller about technology, for sure, but it’s still a bit gimmicky and a bit manipulative, and not as good as it really could be. ›››

Continue Reading Berlinale 2018: Bekmambetov’s ‘Profile’ is a Cautionary Internet Tale

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“Sound is not just a layer we put on top of the storytelling, it is the storytelling.” ABC News has unveiled a trailer for a new short documentary titled The Force of Sound, a behind-the-scenes look at sound design in Star Wars – specifically focusing on Rian Johnson’s Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which is nominated for Sound Mixing and Sound Editing at the Academy Awards. The film takes viewers inside Skywalker Ranch to learn about how they craft all of the remarkable sounds in the Star Wars movies, from the lightsabers to BB-8 to the animals and creatures and everything else. The documentary is available to stream online for free starting today, Tuesday, so if you want to watch it after catching this trailer you don’t have to wait at all. ›››

Continue Reading ‘The Force of Sound’ Doc Trailer About the Sound Design in ‘Star Wars’

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Hot on the heels of its premiere in-competition at the Berlin Film Festival this weekend, a trailer has arrived for the new film by German filmmaker Christian Petzold (Jerichow, Barbara, Phoenix) titled Transit. This film is set in modern times even though the story is actually based in WWII, with various people trying to escape from France on ships to America or Mexico. Franz Rogowski stars a man fleeing Germany, who ends up stuck in Marseille, encountering others trying to escape and get out of Europe, they all need transit papers for safe passage. The full cast includes Paula Beer, Godehard Giese, Lilien Batman, Maryam Zaree, Barbara Auer, and Matthias Brandt. I saw this at Berlinale and it’s a great film, commenting on contemporary issues with immigration through a story from WWII – read my full review here. Watch below. ›››

Continue Reading First International Trailer for Christian Petzold’s ‘Transit’ from Berlinale

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“You can’t raise kids like caged animals!” Vertical Entertainment has debuted an official trailer for an indie comedy titled Birthmarked, about the trials and tribulations and craziness of parenting. From Canadian director Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais, this stars Toni Collette and Matthew Goode as two scientists who decided to give up their work and become parents (for research). The main concept is that, being scientists, they set out to raise three genetically different children into becoming a genius, an artist and a pacifist. But years later, they realize that despite their best efforts, their children are simply “average” and really nothing special. The cast includes Michael Smiley, Suzanne Clement, Fionnula Flanagan, Jordan Poole, Megan O’Kelly, and Anton Gillis-Adelman. This looks a bit awkward and amusing, worth checking out. ›››

Continue Reading Toni Collette & Matthew Goode in First Trailer for Indie ‘Birthmarked’

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One of the darkest days in Norway’s modern history is July 22nd, 2011. On this day, a lone-wolf, ring-wing extremist terrorist attacked government buildings in Oslo with bombs and then went to an island near the city and shot over 200 children and teens camping there, killing 68 of them. The film Utøya 22 July, also titled simply U: July 22, is a cinematic recreation of this day on the island and it’s utterly harrowing. I sat through the film’s first press screening in the morning at the Berlin Film Festival and it’s so intense at times, I was literally sick to my stomach. It’s an immersive, exhausting experience that follows one young woman in one 72-minute long-take shot as she scurries around the island, desperately trying to stay alive and find her sister. It stays focused entirely on her and puts viewers right there in the middle of it as it’s happening. ›››

Continue Reading Berlinale 2018: Norway’s ‘Utøya 22 July’ Film is Harrowing, Horrifying

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“The world is changing. Soon there will only be the conquered and the conquerors. You are a good man, with a good heart. And it’s hard for a good man to be a King.” Our fourth episode of The First Word podcast is a recap and analysis of Marvel’s Black Panther, directed by the very talented Ryan Coogler. Friends Alex Billington (@firstshowing) and Mike Eisenberg (@Eisentower30) team up to bring you a podcast providing in-depth discussion, analysis, and interviews about the latest movies, and some old ones too. For this episode, we brought on our friend and film critic Amon Warmann (@awarmann) based in London for a full-on discussion about Black Panther and how awesome it is. At the end of the episode, we chat about our favorite Marvel movies so far and where we think they’ll head next after this. Listen in below. ›››

Continue Reading The First Word Podcast – ‘Black Panther’ + Marvel, feat Amon Warmann

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“This movie will excite more than just the kaiju fans.” Warner Bros Japan has released an official Japanese trailer for the upcoming video game adaptation Rampage, starring the always-badass Dwayne Johnson. We recently posted the second official US trailer for this action movie just last week, but it’s cool to see the new Japanese trailer, which comes with a fun intro from Johnson talking about kaiju (seriously). The title in Japanese is actually Rampage: Big Big Brawl, and I like that this trailer is only 60 seconds of pure action non-stop from start to finish. Short and sweet, gets right to it. The full cast of Rampage includes Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Malin Akerman, Joe Manganiello, Naomie Harris, Marley Shelton, Jake Lacy, Breanne Hill, Jack Quaid, Joey Thurmond, and P.J. Byrne. There’s not much of a plot to talk about, because it’s mostly just about giant monsters smashing up a city and humans trying to stop them. Fire it up. ›››

Continue Reading Smashing New Japanese ‘Rampage’ Trailer Featuring Dwayne Johnson

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