Category: Movies

“We just need to make sure that nobody knows until everybody knows.” First things first, please stay safe. Stay home. Keep your distance from others. Support the health care workers and service workers and food workers who are all still putting themselves in harms way to keep the world turning. It’s tough times… For everyone. Pretty much every cinema around the world has shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and Hollywood has responded by shifting many upcoming releases to digital / VOD offerings. Our focus here at FirstShowing has been, and will always be, the theatrical experience. Many of us miss going to the cinema. And with time, hopefully things will return to normal and the cinemas will re-open. Until then, we’re doing our best to keep the website going including regularly updating the release schedule. It’s our way to survive. ›››

Continue Reading Keeping the Release Schedule Updated During This Global Pandemic

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“We’re stranded and alone out here in the middle of nowhere…” Lionsgate has released an official trailer for an indie survival thriller titled Outback, which leans more towards horror thriller than adventure drama. Down Under for an adventure-filled vacation to rekindle their romance, a young American couple quickly finds themselves stranded in the unforgiving Australian outback. This is one of those concepts that seems so simple and obvious, you wonder why it hasn’t been done before. But of course it has (e.g. Tracks), and yet here we are. Starring Brendan Donoghue, Lauren Lofberg, and Taylor Wiese. This looks horrifying, especially because it’s all the dangerous animals that are worse than anything else. The snakes! Watch out. ›››

Continue Reading Two Tourists Stranded in Trailer for Australian Survival Film ‘Outback’

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“In some ways, we’re exactly where we were.” HBO has released an official trailer for a documentary titled Autism: The Sequel, which is (as the title indicates) a sequel to the Emmy-award winning documentary Autism: The Musical from 2007. This new film picks up again with these same people, now adults, and takes another look at their lives and their struggles. The original doc film introduces five autistic children as they work together to create and perform a live musical production. From the same director, Autism: The Sequel weaves together present-day interviews with footage of the subjects and their families shot 12 years ago. The challenges with adulthood are entirely different, of course. The main subjects include Elaine Hall, Adam, Henry, Lexi, Neal, and Wyatt. The doc is premiering on HBO at the end of this month. Have a look. ›››

Continue Reading Official Trailer for ‘Autism: The Sequel’ Doc Following-Up Years Later

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“You have to admire its simplicity. It’s one billionth our size and it’s beating us.” Grab this latest podcast episode for a live discussion about the 1995 virus outbreak action thriller Outbreak, directed by Wolfgang Petersen. With the coronavirus pandemic on everyone’s minds, we revisited one of our favorite virus movies – Outbreak starring Dustin Hoffman & Rene Russo. Both of us grew up watching this movie, so we decided to have a chat about why it’s so good. In addition to commenting on the state of cinema at the moment and our hope that we’ll be able to get this virus under control and open the theaters again soon. Friends Alex Billington (@firstshowing) and Mike Eisenberg (@Eisentower30) team up to bring you a podcast with in-depth discussion, analysis, and interviews about the latest movies, and some old ones too. Tune in below. ›››

Continue Reading The First Word Podcast – Revisiting Wolfgang Petersen’s ‘Outbreak’

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“My department was tasked with coaxing them into conversation with humankind. Our primary method is: torture.” If plants are alive, can we communicate with them? That’s the question at the core of this funky, funny short film. The official title of the short is Assholes, which might be a good title, but it’s not an easy one to mention without someone raising an eye-brow at it. From up-and-coming filmmaker Jonny Look, the mockumentary short stars Linas Phillips as Dr. Albert, a scientist who is testing out various methods of torture in hopes of getting houseplants to respond and communicate with humans. The small cast also includes Kyle Mizuno, Will Hines, Ashleigh Hairston, and Sam Buchanan. As totally wacky as this entire short is, it’s a hilariously well-made film that explores some household humor that hasn’t been fully mined yet. Plants do have consciousness, of course! Perhaps we can try to treat them better after all of this? ›››

Continue Reading Watch: Jonny Look’s Comedy Short Tries to Communicate with Plants

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“When you’re a girl, you got the whole world telling you what to do with your body.” Amazon Studios has unveiled a new teaser trailer “first look clip” for the film Selah and the Spades, marking the directorial debut of up-and-coming filmmaker Tayarisha Poe. This originally premiered at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival last year, and it also stopped by AFI Fest in the fall. Getting a digital release this spring on Amazon Prime. The film is set at a wealthy private school, which is run by five student factions operating incognito. The main story focuses on Selah, who runs the faction known as the “Spades”, and her trials and tribulations when a provocative new student named Paloma challenges her for the throne one year. This stars Lovie Simone as Selah, along with Celeste O’Connor, Jharrel Jerome, Gina Torres, Jesse Williams, and Ana Mulvoy Ten. It’s going to end up becoming a cult classic, so keep an eye out for this on Amazon soon. ›››

Continue Reading New Teaser Trailer for ‘Selah and the Spades’ Starring Lovie Simone

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“I hardly recognize this country anymore…” Peccadillo Pictures has unveiled the first official trailer for an indie drama titled Monsoon, the latest feature from Cambodian-British filmmaker Hong Khaou (also of Lilting previously). This premiered at last year’s Karlovy Vary Film Festival, and also played at the Athens and London Film Festivals. Henry Golding stars as Kit, a British-Vietnamese man, who returns to Saigon for the first time in over 30 years, after fleeing during the Vietnam-American War. Monsoon is described as “a rich and poignant reflection on the struggle for identity in a place where the past weighs heavily on the present.” The cast also includes Parker Sawyers, David Tran, and Molly Harris. This looks absolutely gorgeous, not only visually but also as deeply intimate storytelling about finding your place in this big world. ›››

Continue Reading First UK Trailer for Vietnamese Drama ‘Monsoon’ with Henry Golding

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“He is not allowed in this house!” Gravitas Ventures has debuted the official trailer for an indie dramedy titled Blush, which is the new name for the film that premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival under the original title Imaginary Order. From writer/director Debra Eisenstadt, this is the story of the sexual, psychological, and moral unraveling of an obsessive-compulsive suburban mom. Comedian/actress Wendi McLendon-Covey stars as Cathy, a mother and wife who has given up her career to be the perfect stay-at-home mom, but as her daughter begins to push her away and her husband seems to no longer connect with her, she becomes enthralled and involved with the messy lives of a neighboring family, causing the order in her life to collapse. Also starring Christine Woods, Max Burkholder, Steve Little, Catherine Curtin, Kate Alberts, and Graham Sibley. This all seems a bit too obvious and cliche to stand out. Have a look. ›››

Continue Reading Wendi McLendon-Covey Unravels in Trailer for Indie Dramedy ‘Blush’

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“A man cannot outrun his destiny.” IFC Films has released one more trailer, the official US trailer, for the Australian crime drama True History of the Kelly Gang. This is the third trailer for the film, confirming that the US will finally get a chance to see this film at the end of April. True History of the Kelly Gang is a re-envisioning of the tall tale of an Australian bush-ranger named Ned Kelly and his gang as they flee from the authorities during the 1870s. “Youth and tragedy collide in the Kelly Gang, and at the beating heart of this tale is the fractured and powerful love story between a mother and a son.” Starring George MacKay (from 1917) as Ned Kelly, Essie Davis as his mother Ellen Kelly, plus Russell Crowe, Nicholas Hoult, Thomasin McKenzie, Sean Keenan, Earl Cave, Orlando Schwerdt, and Charlie Hunnam. Critics have been raving about this since it debuted at TIFF last year, saying “it really does the Kelly legend justice.” ›››

Continue Reading Final US Trailer for ‘True History of the Kelly Gang’ with George MacKay

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“If a setback occurs, we can intercede. However, the greater the relief the bigger shall be your token.” The Collector is a short film by Brazilian filmmaker Marcus Alqueres – formerly from the VFX industry now a filmmaker, who also made the other shorts Flying Man and Crittus we’ve featured before. This is about a drug dealer who turns to an unusual company for help with a problem. That’s about as much of an intro as necessary, the rest you’ll discover while watching. There’s a touch of supernatural in this that makes all the difference, plus the unsettling atmosphere of the whole short makes it a chilling watch. Starring Stefano Capuzzi Lapietra as Pepe, Nathália Boga as Julie, and Plínio Soares as “Pai”. Alqueres is a one-man-show, writing & directed & producing in addition to working as cinematographer and co-editor on the short. ›››

Continue Reading Watch: Creepy Horror Short Film ‘The Collector’ by Marcus Alqueres

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