Category: Movies

The best of the best – that you didn’t see last year. We have returned with another set of worth watching, underseen films from 2016. Back again is our annual list of the 19 Best Movies That You Didn’t See in 2016 (find all the past lists here: 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007). Featured below is a hand-picked, double-checked line-up of the best independent and/or mainstream films that were either quietly dumped, ignored by audiences, or not marketed well enough. There’s a mix of documentaries and features, all of them criminally underseen. So to give them some extra attention in the spotlight, and to support some of the finest filmmakers out there, here’s our best you didn’t see in 2016 recap. Full list below! ›››

Continue reading The 19 Best Movies That You Didn’t See in 2016 – Find & Watch These

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“I need you to guard the most precious treasure of the Empire.” Don’t miss out on this one, movie lovers. EuropaCorp has unveiled a trailer for a crazy new action film titled Warrior’s Gate, which is the latest feature co-written by Luc Besson & Robert Mark Kamen (of the Taken and Transporter series). Warrior’s Gate is about a teenager gamer living in California who is transported to China and learns to fight as a kung fu warrior, in order to save the princess (of course). It’s basically a twist on The Last Starfighter. This is a a co-production between France and China, which is an odd pairing, but it works. The cast includes Uriah Shelton as Jack, Mark Chao, Dave Bautista, Ni Ni, Francis Ng, and Sienna Guillory. This actually looks kind of cool, but also looks like it’s straight out of the back of a video rental store in the 90s. Have fun. ›››

Continue reading First Trailer for ‘Warrior’s Gate’ About a Video Gamer in Ancient China

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“There cannot be a single witness who survives to tell what happened here.” CJ Entertainment has released an impressive trailer for a war film titled Battleship Island, from director Ryoo Seung-wan. Set during the Japanese occupation of Korea in 1944, the film is about the 400+ Koreans that were conscripted into slave labor mining coal on an island known as “Battleship Island”. They attempt to band together and make an escape. The main cast includes Hwang Jung-min, So Ji-sub, Song Joong-ki and Lee Jung-hyun. This looks like another strong anti-Japanese film from Korea – between this and The Age of Shadows, some Korean films these days seem to have a strong anti-Japanese agenda. The final scene in this trailer with the candles looks chilling, and I must admit most of this footage is better than expected. I’m curious about this. ›››

Continue reading Teaser Trailer for Slave Labor War Film ‘Battleship Island’ from Korea

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“I must emphasize that everyone stay as still and as quiet as possible.” A trailer has debuted for an indie film premiering at the SXSW Film Festival this month. Titled Most Beautiful Island, the film follows an undocumented immigrant living in New York City (the “island” referenced in the title) trying to figure out how to make a life in the city. Spanish actress Ana Asensio stars, and she wrote and directed it as well. It’s described as “a chilling portrait of an undocumented young woman’s struggle for survival as she finds redemption from a tortured past in a dangerous game.” Along with the trailer there’s a poster designed by Mondo artist Jay Shaw below. This trailer starts out fairly good, but gets very weird and creepy by the end. ›››

Continue reading First Trailer for Ana Asensio’s ‘Most Beautiful Island’ Showing at SXSW

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“Who are they?” “There is something calling them all here…” Screen Media Films has debuted a brand new full-length trailer for the horror film The Void, which is a gnarly throwback to old school horror from the 80s with nasty practical effects, and gross gore galore. The Void is co-directed by Jeremy Gillespie & Steven Kostanski (both from Canadian filmmaking collective Astron-6), and is a mind-bending sci-fi horror thriller about a small town overrun by some “otherworldly threat”. The cast includes Aaron Poole, Ellen Wong, Kathleen Munroe, Kenneth Welsh, and Daniel Fathers. We featured two short 30-second teasers last month, and now have a full trailer below to entice horror hounds. I’ve heard this has some cool scenes, and of course some excellent practical effects, but the rest of it is apparently a mess. Still might be worth a look. ›››

Continue reading Watch: Full Trailer for Throwback Practical FX Horror Film ‘The Void’

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“Could you box for the camera? Look cruel.” Mubi has premiered an official US trailer for the Finnish film The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki, which critics have been raving about since it premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last year. The film won the Grand Jury prize in Un Certain Regard, and went on to play at a bunch of other film festivals. Jarkko Lahti stars as Olli Mäki, and the film tells the true story of the famous Finnish boxer who fought American featherweight world champion Davey Moore for the 1962 title. This was shot entirely on 16mm black & white film, which looks great. The full cast includes Oona Airola as his love interest Raija, plus Eero Milonoff, Joanna Haartti, Pia Andersson, and the real Olli Mäki in a cameo role. I’ve heard nothing but superb things about this, and I can’t wait to see it myself. ›››

Continue reading New Trailer for Finnish Film ‘The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki’

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“We’ve been calling these islands the ‘Wild Wild West’ with all things been going on around here.” FilmBuff has debuted a new official trailer for the film Live Cargo, from director Logan Sandler. Live Cargo stars Keith Stanfield and Dree Hemingway as a grieving couple who escape to an island in the Bahamas for some recuperation. However, they end up caught in a turf war between Roy, the island’s aging patriarch, and “Doughboy”, a dangerous human trafficker. The full cast includes Robert Wisdom, Sam Dillon, and Leonard Earl Howze. This looks like yet another intriguing tropical-island thriller, along with Isolation. I’m a fan of Keith Stanfield, and I like seeing B&W films, just not so sure this is worth watching. Take a look. ›››

Continue reading New Official Trailer for ‘Live Cargo’ Indie Film Starring Keith Stanfield

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This past weekend, Alamo Drafthouse and Kodak partnered to host the very first annual “Reel Film Day” to celebrate 35mm cinema (official website). To mark the occasion, numerous classic films were projected in 35mm at all of the various Drafthouse locations around the country. In celebration of 35mm and the glory of cinema, Drafthouse founder/CEO Tim League wrote a passionate essay on Indiewire to commemorate the first Reel Film Day. The full essay is titled “35mm Film Deserves Your Respect: Alamo Drafthouse Founder Tim League Makes the Case” and it’s a must read, not just because Tim is one of the smartest guys in this entire industry, but also because it’s such a wonderfully vibrant reminder of the true value of art and film. ›››

Continue reading Read Tim League’s Essay on Why 35mm Film Deserves Your Respect

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“She told me once that in her dreams, she would be running through this fog, like something was coming after her, chasing her. But she couldn’t outrun it…” Kick off your week with this intriguing horror short film from writer/director Minhal Baig (who also directed the film 1 Night). After Sophie is a proof-of-concept film about what happens when a documentary filmmaker investigating the story discovers that the details surrounding Sophie’s suicide are both disturbing and supernatural. This short film has some truly gorgeous cinematography and a mesmerizing score that pulls you into the story, making you wonder what happened without ever allowing us to interact directly with Sophie. Impressive work on this short, worth checking out. ›››

Continue reading Watch: Eerie Horror Short Film ‘After Sophie’ Directed by Minhal Baig

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“Nature made me a freak. Man made me a weapon. And God made it last too long.” Hugh Jackman has made nine appearances as the Wolverine over seventeen years. In that time, I don’t think we’ve really ever gotten to know who Wolverine is until Logan this year. It is Jackman’s definitive, and coincidentally final, performance as the feral mutant. It’s hard to realize that it took nine movies and nearly two decades to finally understand what drives this hulking, angry loner. However, let’s examine how Logan, even though it marks Hugh Jackman’s final time playing Wolverine, actually feels like the first real Wolverine movie yet. ›››

Continue reading Hugh Jackman’s Final Wolverine Movie Explores ‘Logan’ for First Time

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