Category: Movies

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” –Maya Angelou. The official “tagline” (or motto or whatever it is) for the 2018 Sundance Film Festival is: “The Story Lives in You.” This line of text is emblazoned upon all the banners, and shows up during the opening intro video before every single screening at the festival. At first I thought it was just a nice tagline, but after seeing over 30+ films here, I realize it’s the very central theme of the festival. Almost every film I’ve seen has something to do with telling a very personal, intimate story. Yes, every film has a story to tell, that’s what filmmaking is all about. But the more films I see here, the more I realize there is something unique about telling a personal story, expressing what’s inside of you and your own experiences, and turning that into cinematic art. It’s inspiring. ›››

Continue Reading The Many Personal Stories Being Told in the Films at Sundance 2018

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“This is our lifeline!” Cinedigm has released another new trailer for a survival thriller titled The Chamber, which first premiered at the Horror Channel FrightFest in 2017. We actually featured a trailer for this one year ago, but it’s just now finally getting a release in February. The film is about a Special Ops team that takes a small submersible craft (read: submarine) beneath the Yellow Sea off the coast of North Korea. Some things go wrong, and they end up trapped underwater in a tiny “chamber” – hence the title. The cast includes Charlotte Salt, Johannes Kuhnke, Christian Hillborg, and Elliot Levey. I’m still not really too sure what to make of this, and the release delay seems like a sign it isn’t that great. But you never know. Dive in. ›››

Continue Reading New Trailer for Trapped Thriller ‘The Chamber’ with Johannes Kuhnke

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It’s such a good feeling to walk in and see a film and discover something so wonderful and heartwarming and original. And I’m so happy that filmmaker Jason Reitman is back at his best again. Tully is director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody’s latest collaboration (following Juno and Young Adult). It just premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival as a last-minute addition to the festival, and I loved it. This is Cody’s best screenplay since Juno, hands down. It has such a lovely mix of genuine sweetness and good-hearted humor, balanced in equal measure and brought to life with a light touch by Reitman and his crew. It’s a film about how sometimes you can’t always take on everything in life by yourself, but there is more hidden within it that you have to see to discover yourself. Great films require this personal experience. ›››

Continue Reading Sundance 2018: Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody’s ‘Tully’ is Wonderful

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What a film. There are always new films made every year set in one place, as the contained thriller concept is always appealing and offers a certain amount of storytelling possibility and creativity. The Guilty, a film from Denmark, made by director Gustav Möller, is the latest contained thriller offering playing at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and it’s incredible. Set entirely inside of an emergency phone line call center, the film is about a police officer assigned to the phones one night, and one of the incidents he responds to when a frightened woman calls in. The lead performance by Jakob Cedergren is phenomenal, worthy of awards recognition, since it carries the entire film and is the only real acting (aside from the voices on the phone) that provides audiences the ability to feel the emotions and concerns and worries of this pained man. ›››

Continue Reading Sundance 2018: Möller’s ‘The Guilty’ is a Gripping, Contained Thriller

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“Come on girls!” Universal UK has debuted a new international trailer for the highly anticipated musical sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, which was a smash success when the original movie opened in 2012. Told through the music of ABBA, the story is about a woman trying to figure out who her real father is. This is sort of a prequel, telling the story of how the three dads came into Donna’s life. Lily James stars in this new one, as the younger Donna, Meryl Streep’s character from the first. The huge cast stars Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski, Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård, Dominic Cooper, Andy Garcia, Julie Walters, Cher, Jeremy Irvine, Alexa Davies, Naoko Mori, and Hugh Skinner. This seems like it’s going to be a delightfully happy, totally joyful, entertaining movie. ›››

Continue Reading Official UK Trailer for Musical Sequel ‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’

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The countdown is on! We’re now 39 days away from the Academy Awards ceremony, where we’ll see if Three Billboards or The Shape of Water or maybe even Get Out wins the top prize in Hollywood. With the nominations revealed earlier this week (you can view the full list here), our friend Louis Plamondon aka “Sleepy Skunk” has put together a supercut video made exclusively for Cineplex recapping all of the major nominees. I’m very glad they included all of the Best Foreign Language Films in this as well, as they deserve the recognition, too. My #1 favorite film of 2017 was Call Me By Your Name and I am overjoyed that it was nominated for Best Picture, but I’m happy with all the others, too. This should be an exciting Oscars show. ›››

Continue Reading Watch This: Lovely Supercut of the 2018 Academy Award Nominees

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“You’re right to be scared.” IFC Films has unveiled the first official trailer for an indie horror film titled The Cured, from writer/director David Freyne. This is kind of a horror drama, more than straight horror, as it’s set in a time “after” the zombie apocalypse hits and they’ve invented a cure. The plot involves a man who has been cured of the zombie disease be reintegrated back into the world, but those who are cured are shunned and mocked in society. He also still has all of his memories of when he did eat people, which causes a few other issues. Ellen Page stars with Sam Keeley, Tom Vaughan-Lawlor, Paula Malcomson, Stuart Graham, and Peter Campion . As cool as the concept for this is, the film is bad. I saw it at the Sitges Film Festival and did not like it at all, but that’s just my own opinion. Check it out below if you’re still interested. ›››

Continue Reading Ellen Page in First Trailer for Post-Zombie Apocalypse Film ‘The Cured’

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Who knew a film about putting together puzzles would be this adorable? Puzzle is the second feature film from veteran producer-turned-filmmaker Marc Turtletaub (Gods Behaving Badly), and it’s just perfect. Going in to see this at the Sundance Film Festival, I was curious to find out what a film about a woman who discovers she’s good at putting together puzzles would be about. I’m happy to report that it’s an absolute delight. Puzzle is a charming, understated, quiet little film that will melt your heart, and make you laugh, and give you a warm, fuzzy feeling. The whole time I was watching this film, I had that warm, gushy feeling inside my chest, like you’re falling in love with someone. It’s thanks to the wonderful lead performance by Kelly Macdonald and the story, which is about a woman learning to be herself and do whatever she wants. ›››

Continue Reading Sundance 2018: Kelly Macdonald is Delightful in Turtletaub’s ‘Puzzle’

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“We’re going to need more violence.” How is that actually a line in the movie? Universal has unveiled a second official trailer for the sci-fi sequel Pacific Rim: Uprising, the action packed kaiju vs giant robots sequel following-up Guillermo del Toro’s movie a few years ago. Del Toro produced and help write the story, but is letting Steven S. DeKnight direct. This sequel picks right up after the first movie, following John Boyega as Jake Pentecost, the son of Idris Elba’s character Stacker Pentecost. The movie’s full ensemble cast also includes Adria Arjona, Scott Eastwood, Tian Jing, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, Rinko Kikuchi, Dustin Clare, Levi Meaden, Daniel Feuerriegel, Karan Brar, and Jin Zhang. This looks like it might be entertaining, barely. I’m not really into this that much, even with Boyega kicking kaiju ass. ›››

Continue Reading Second Trailer for ‘Pacific Rim: Uprising’ Sequel Starring John Boyega

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“I can’t go on, and I can’t go home… so where else is there?” StudioCanal UK has revealed a new 60-second trailer for the indie drama The Mercy, which tells the story of a humble man who takes an unfinished boat on a race around the world for an adventure. We posted the first UK trailer last fall and it looks mildly enjoyable, with some inspirational moments. This film tells the triumphant, inspiring, incredible true story of Donald Crowhurst, an amateur sailor who decided to take on the task of competing in the 1968 Golden Globe Race – sailing around the world solo. Colin Firth stars as Crowhurts, and the cast includes Rachel Weisz as his wife Clare, along with David Thewlis, Jonathan Bailey, Tim Downie, Andrew Buchan, Genevieve Gaunt, Adrian Schiller. I’m not really into this one too much, but it might be worth a look. ›››

Continue Reading New 60-Second Trailer for ‘The Mercy’ with Colin Firth & Rachel Weisz

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