Category: Movies

“Life isn’t about toys… it’s about mistakes.” FilmBuff has released a trailer for a weird indie film titled The Arbalest, a quirky romantic drama starring Mike Brune. It’s about an inventor of the world’s greatest toy (called the Kalt Cube) who reflects through flashbacks on his obsession with a woman who hates him. The cast includes Tallie Medel, Matthew Stanton and Felice Heather Monteith. One review describes: “If David Lynch and Wes Anderson had a cinematic baby, it might look something like The Arbalest.” It won the top prize at this year’s SXSW Film Festival, and looks like it has some twisted but amusing aspects to it. There’s all kinds of weird touches, including the production name: “A Fake Wood Wallpaper Film.” Check it. ›››

Continue reading Official Trailer for SXSW 2016 Grand Jury Prize Winner ‘The Arbalest’

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“I’m love, and I’m the fabric of life.” Warner Bros has revealed a second trailer for David Frankel’s new film Collateral Beauty, starring Will Smith as an executive in New York City struggling to recover from the loss of a child. As seen in the first trailer, Smith’s way of coping is to write letters to “love, time, death”, but then he begins to encounter these concepts as real people, kind of like a twist on A Christmas Carol. The full cast includes Edward Norton, Keira Knightley, Michael Pena, Naomie Harris, Jacob Latimore, Kate Winslet and Helen Mirren. I still prefer the first trailer, but this looks like a powerful and uplifting story of hope. It seems the title refers to finding beauty in everyone and everything, even in your own pain. ›››

Continue reading Second Trailer for David Frankel’s ‘Collateral Beauty’ with Will Smith

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“‘What to do with the rest of our lives?’ is now the question.” Music Box has debuted a new trailer for the film The Brand New Testament from Belgium, directed by filmmaker Jaco Van Dormael who last made Mr. Nobody. His new film is religious parody about a man in Brussels who is apparently God – as played by Benoît Poelvoorde. He lives with his family and the story focuses on his ten-year-old daughter Ea, played by Pili Groyne, who decides to text everyone in the world with their date of death. The full cast includes Catherine Deneuve, François Damiens, Yolande Moreau, Laura Verlinden and Serge Larivière. There’s some really wacky scenes in this, but I like the concept and it seems like a totally one-of-a-kind film. ›››

Continue reading Catherine Deneuve in Official Trailer for ‘The Brand New Testament’

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Time to meet the Shinjuku Swan. A full Japanese trailer has debuted for Sion Sono’s latest film, Shinjuku Swan II, a sequel to his first adaptation of a manga about an adult entertainment scout named Tatsuhiko Shiratori. Sion Sono is one of Japan’s best directors working today, behind films like Love Exposure, Why Don’t You Play in Hell? and Tokyo Tribe, though this film series hasn’t picked up any US distribution yet. Shinjuku Swan II stars Gou Ayano, Alice Hirose, Kippei Shiina, Yusuke Iseya, Motoki Fukami, Nobuaki Kaneko, Yu Yamada, Hideo Nakano, as well as Tadanobu Asano as the rival scout CEO that Tatsuhiko goes up against. This looks like some of Sono’s most commercial work, but might still be fun. ›››

Continue reading Full Trailer for Sion Sono’s Manga Adaptation Sequel ‘Shinjuku Swan II’

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“Forget about everything else… just go.” An official trailer has debuted for the indie film Till We Meet Again, a relationship drama about a couple that gets into a fight and separates while traveling in Thailand. The film is made by a Thai filmmaker named Bank Tangjaitrong, who studied in the US, and is making his debut. This is the first time I’ve heard about this film (via Indiewire) but it sounds quite unique. Starring Johan Matton and Linnea Larsdotter as Erik and Joanna, the film cuts between the thier past life in New York and their trip in Thailand. The cast includes Emrhys Cooper, Astrea Campbell-Cobb and Vithaya Pansingram. The looks like a very lovely yet emotionally devastating drama about life and love. ›››

Continue reading Official Trailer for Thailand Relationship Drama ‘Till We Meet Again’

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Another impressive animated short film to feature today. Witness is a CGI animated short made by three filmmakers from the L’école Georges Méliès art school in France – Alexandre Berger, Christ Ibovy and Hugo Rizzon. The film tells another dialogue-free story of a man trying to track down the murderer of his wife. I like the twist in this, and I like the visuals – it’s a dark and unsettling story that’s told with clear and concise storytelling techniques. This film follows the outstanding short Borrowed Time, as another example of animation being used to tell a much darker and more emotional story than typically expected. See below. ›››

Continue reading Watch: Animated Short Film ‘Witness’ About Tracking Down a Killer

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“You must take care of the others.” Kino Lorber has revealed an official US trailer for the film titled Golden Kingdom, a narrative feature shot entirely in the Asian country of Myanmar (also known as Burma) by an American filmmaker named Brian Perkins. The film features non-actors and “bridges spirit, cinema, and traditional Burmese storytelling to open a view onto an unseen world.” The story is about four young monks who are left alone in their remote monastery in northern Myanmar. Perkins has traveled extensively around Asia and India, establishing relationships in the monasteries and villages of Burma. This looks like a one-of-a-kind film, truly capturing the beauty of the country and the peacefulness of Buddhism. Worth watching. ›››

Continue reading Watch: Official US Trailer for ‘Golden Kingdom’ Film Made in Myanmar

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“The Assassins believe that above all else, mankind should have free will.” 20th Century Fox has put out another new featurette for the Assassin’s Creed movie, examining the “Creed Mythology” in an attempt to explain some of the context behind the story and what we’re seeing. We know that Michael Fassbender plays Callum Lynch, an imprisoned man who is forced into an experimental sci-fi program that allows him to go back in time as his ancestor, Aguilar, in 15th Century Spain. The story is actually about the Assassins vs the Templars, who have “been at war for centuries.” Marion Cotillard seems to be on the other side, as one of the Templars, who want to control humanity. This actually looks damn good, I’m quite curious to see. ›››

Continue reading New Featurette for ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Examines the Creed Mythology

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“I suggest you play the game.” IFC Midnight has debuted a trailer for the indie horror titled Beyond the Gates, a throwback to VHS and specifically VCR games, where you play a board game that comes with a VHS tape. Directed by Jackson Stewart, the film is about two brothers who come across an old VHS board game while cleaning out their missing dad’s video rental store. They decided to play it one last time and get sucked into a game they can’t escape. Starring Graham Skipper, Chase Williamson, Brea Grant, and real life horror actress Barbara Crampton as the host of the VHS game. I caught this film at a festival a few months ago and enjoyed it, saying it’s “goofy, rather harmless, and super low-budget” but fun. Pop it in. ›››

Continue reading New Trailer for VHS Throwback Indie Horror Film ‘Beyond the Gates’

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“And where did your voyage take you to today, my Lord?” The Orchard has released a full theatrical trailer for an indie film titled Hunter Gatherer, the feature debut of Josh Locy, which won the Best Actor Jury Prize at the SXSW Film Festival. Andre Royo (who won the SXSW award) stars as Ashley, a middle-aged man who emerges from a 3-year stint in prison, with a great amount of optimism and hope. He heads home to learn that girlfriend and family have completely forgotten about him. Also starring George Sample III, Kellee Stewart and Ashley Wilkerson; and executive produced by David Gordon Green. It’s described as a “bittersweet, darkly comic tale of seeking out one’s destiny — but discovering an unexpected fate along the way.” This looks like it might be an underrated gem, worth checking out for the performances at least. ›››

Continue reading First Trailer for SXSW Best Actor Winner Indie Film ‘Hunter Gatherer’

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