Category: Movies

“This will be over soon, gentlemen.” A24 has unveiled a new red band trailer for Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room, the violent punk rock thriller from the director of Blue Ruin that has played at Cannes, Sundance, TIFF and Deauville. Anton Yelchin stars along with Alia Shawkat, and they end up a secluded venue run by a gang of white power skinheads. Patrick Stewart stars as the leader of the gang, and he’s great in this. Imogen Poots, Mark Webber, Eric Edelstein and Macon Blair also star. We’ve been posting glowing reviews of this since last year, and it’s finally hitting theaters in a few months. This trailer reveals a bit too much of the film, including major reveals of the plot, but there’s more in the film worth seeing. Take a look. ›››

Continue reading Full Red Band Trailer for Jeremy Saulnier’s Punk Thriller ‘Green Room’

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This year’s Oscar race for Best Cinematography is really all about two of the finest cinematographers working today – Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki, and Roger Deakins. While the rest of the nominees are also very talented, it will be one of these two taking home the golden statue. As an avid photographer, I have an immense appreciation and respect for the art of cinematography. There were some truly gorgeous films in 2015, including The Revenant which was shot using only natural light. This video mash-up features some of the very best shots from all five of this year’s Best Cinematography nominees. It’s breathtaking to watch. ›››

Continue reading Watch: Mashup the 2016 Oscar Nominations for Best Cinematography

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You are humanity’s last stand. New Artists Alliance has debuted a trailer for the found footage horror film Pandemic, directed by John Suits. The film stars Rachel Nichols, Alfie Allen, Pat Healy, Missi Pyle and Mekhi Phifer. Taking advantage of the massive pop culture obsession with zombies, the film is about a “virus of epic proportions” that has taken over and turned most people into crazy, flesh-eating freaks. It’s seems like it’s a combination of Soderbergh’s Contagion and Breck Eisner’s The Crazies, and if that sounds like something you want to see, have at it. The action looks crazy & intense, though I’m not sure if I like the POV angle (too much like a video game). That shot of them tossing the shotgun was pretty cool. Fire this up. ›››

Continue reading First Trailer for Found Footage Horror ‘Pandemic’ with Rachel Nichols

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The 2016 Sundance Film Festival has finally come to an end and to put a wrap on things and finalize our nearly two weeks of coverage, it’s time to present our Best of the Fest list. This year it was only me (Alex) covering Sundance for FirstShowing, so I decided to simply reveal my own 5 favorite feature films and 5 favorite documentaries. There are always a couple of films that I didn’t have time to see (The Intervention, Eyes of My Mother) that seem to be getting great buzz, just can’t make it to everything. But I am very happy to say that I ended up seeing amazing films at Sundance this year that will be on my mind for a while. At least one (or maybe two) of these will end up on my Top 10 list at the end of the year. Let’s get right into it. ›››

Continue reading Sundance 2016: The Best of the Fest – 5 Features + 5 Documentaries

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“You’ve been gone too long, Alice. There are matters which cannot be neglected. Hurry…!” Disney has debuted their very vibrant TV spot for Alice Through the Looking Glass that will be airing during the Super Bowl this weekend. This sequel to Disney’s live-action Alice in Wonderland is directed by “Flight of the Conchords” veteran James Bobin, and the entire cast from the original returns. They even use the voice of the late Alan Rickman, who plays the Blue Caterpillar, which is a bit manipulative considering he just passed away a few weeks ago. Mia Wasikowska is back as Alice, along with Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Sacha Baron Cohen as Time, Michael Sheen voicing the White Rabbit, and Stephen Fry as the Cheshire Cat. I dig the shot of all the hanging clocks/watches. Fire this up. ›››

Continue reading See Disney’s Super Bowl TV Spot for ‘Alice Through the Looking Glass’

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Here we are at the bitter end once again. I don’t know how I did it, but I hit 34 films for my 10th year the Sundance Film Festival. Have I mentioned how much I love Sundance? Yes, I definitely have. The more films I get to see at Sundance, the better, as the festival sets the pace for the rest of the year, introducing the world to a selection of movies that will likely earn even more acclaim as 2016 continues on. I’ve heard some of my colleagues say this wasn’t a great year, but they’re wrong. Sundance 2016 was a great year, and I saw some amazing films. Maybe they didn’t see enough good films? Maybe they’re too picky? I don’t know. The Birth of a Nation and Manchester by the Sea will end up being two of the best films of the year, most critics will agree on that. But there are plenty other films I loved, and many more that I certainly enjoyed watching. ›››

Continue reading Sundance 2016: Looking Back at 34 Films in 9 Days in Snowy Park City

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“Newt Scamander only meant to stay in New York for a few hours…” Warner Bros has unveiled the first official featurette for the Harry Potter spin-off series Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, to compliment the first teaser trailer revealed in December. Oscar winner Eddie Redmayne stars as Newt Scamander, a magizoologist who ends letting loose a suitcase full of magical creatures in New York City in the 20s. This video features chats with Redmayne as well as stars Katherine Waterston, Alison Sudol, Dan Fogler, director David Yates, and producer David Heyman. This is a nice behind-the-scenes video giving us a better feel for this new J.K. Rowling-scripted film coming out in the fall. It’s lookin’ great so far. ›››

Continue reading Watch: First Featurette for ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’

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As the Sundance Film Festival was wrapping up with its awards in Utah, Hollywood was abuzz announcing the Screen Actors Guild Awards winners. The SAG Awards honor the greatest performances from 2015, as chosen by other actors which means this is one of the most definitive lists of the best performances. Actors know their profession better than anyone. This year, Leonardo DiCaprio took home his first SAG Award for The Revenant (after four nominations), and actress Brie Larson also won her first SAG Award for the film Room. Both of these films are nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars as well. Read on for the full list. ›››

Continue reading ‘Spotlight’, Leonardo DiCaprio & Brie Larson Win 2016 SAG Awards

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It’s not exactly easy to make light of and laugh at disabilities without coming across as insensitive, which is why this film is so unique. The Fundamentals of Caring (original Sundance title, as it has apparently been changed to The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving) stars Craig Roberts as a boy named Trevor with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who is confined to an electric wheelchair. He requires a caregiver who helps him do many basic tasks, though he always tends to scare them away because he’s blunt and loves playing sick jokes on them. The humor in this film is what makes it so entertaining to watch, since the script is otherwise full of too many easy cliches that prevent it from being much more than another good laugh. ›››

Continue reading Sundance 2016: Levity Makes ‘The Fundamentals of Caring’ a Winner

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The official awards for the 2016 Sundance Film Festival were announced tonight at a ceremony in Park City. We’ve been anxiously awaiting the results of the awards at Sundance, and now we know who won big – The Birth of a Nation, the powerful directional debut of actor Nate Parker (read my review). The film won both the Audience Award and the Grand Jury Prize, which has been the case at Sundance for the last four years (last year Me & Earl & the Dying Girl won both). In addition, the other Audience Awards were the docs Jim: The James Foley Story and Sonita, and the film First Girl I Loved. Read on for the full list. ›››

Continue reading Sundance 2016 Awards: ‘Birth of a Nation’ Wins Audience & Grand Jury

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