Category: Movies

We all know that movies can change lives, in small ways and in big ways. But that change is often internal, and it’s hard to track exactly how we are affected. The documentary Life, Animated (which premiered at Sundance) is an absolutely wonderful documentary that perfectly captures how one autistic boy learned to communicate and engage with the world through Disney animated movies. It’s a triumphant and inspiring story, but it’s also a beautiful documentary that features many clips from Disney movies as well as original animation (by Mac Guff). The film is about Owen Suskind, following him as he moves into his own place for the first time in his life. His entire VHS collection of Disney movies is the very first thing he unpacks. ›››

Continue reading Sundance 2016: Animated Disney Films as Therapy in ‘Life, Animated’

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Sundance loves to find and premiere the next generation of horror films, and this is one of them. It’s very likely most people have never seen a ghost movie like this before, which is refreshing for the genre. Under the Shadow is a horror-thriller set in Tehran, Iran, about a mother and her daughter encountering eerie supernatural forces in their bombed out building. The only worthwhile comparison to make is that this film reminded me of The Babadook, another Sundance film (from 2014), with a plot involving tensions between a mother and her child, not to mention some very creepy things going on. Under the Shadow is frightening and captivating, and while it doesn’t have the most extensive mythology, it is a satisfying horror experience. ›››

Continue reading Sundance 2016: Frightening Iranian Ghost Horror ‘Under the Shadow’

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When you really think about it – film festivals are a bit crazy. They gather up 100+ films, show them all 3 or 4 times over the course of 10 days, invite thousands and thousands of movie fans to town, and most of us (at least many of my colleagues) watch as many of them as we can. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, we all get to tweet and discuss these films instantly, spreading the word about what’s good (or bad) to fellow film fans who are not in attendance. While everyone else around the world is going about their normal day jobs, thousands of us (various members of the press, industry, cinephiles and beyond) are packing in 3, 4, or 5, sometimes even 6 films every day. We’re desperate to see something that leaves us in awe. I adore festivals. ›››

Continue reading For the Love of Storytelling – Why I Can’t Stop Going to Film Festivals

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This sounds like it could be pretty good. After making Zero Dark Thirty, director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal were planning to make a movie about POW Bowe Bergdahl. They’ve been working on it but with changes in Bowe’s story and planned coverage in the upcoming second season of the podcast Serial (not to mention competing projects), they’ve decided to look for something else in the meantime. Deadline reports that Bigelow and Boal are next working on a film (currently untitled) that will be set around the race riots in Detroit in 1967. They’re already pushing forward on pre-production with plans to release in 2017. ›››

Continue reading Kathryn Bigelow & Mark Boal Making a Film on Detroit’s Race Riots

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Another day, another remake. The first official trailer for the remake of Eli Roth’s 2002 horror film Cabin Fever has arrived online. I don’t know why anyone felt it was necessary to remake this horror film, but they went for it anyway. Eli Roth actually executive produced this new version of his freaky horror hit, which is full of pretty people screaming and getting all bloody and chopped up. The cast includes Gage Golightly, Matthew Daddario, Nadine Crocker, Dustin Ingram, Samuel Davis, Louise Linton and Randy Schulman. Nothing I’m interested in seeing, but if you’re curious about this film, give this trailer a look. ›››

Continue reading Watch: First Trailer for New Remake of Eli Roth’s ‘Cabin Fever’ Horror

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This documentary is freakier than most horror movies. Tickled is not really a documentary about tickling, even though it is a documentary about tickling. Produced out of New Zealand, this entertaining and egaging documentary (co-directed by David Farrier and Dylan Reeve) follows Kiwi pop culture journalist David Farrier as he investigates a company that films professional tickling events. It all starts when he discovers a wacky video online of “competitive endurance tickling”, and attempts to contact the people behind it. Suddenly, David is tumbling down a rabbit hole of legal threats and insane discoveries as he attempts to get to the bottom of this. It becomes a doc about the abuse of money, and how power hungry some people are. ›››

Continue reading Sundance 2016: Down a Crazy Rabbit Hole in ‘Tickled’ Documentary

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“How did I get into this?!” EuropaCorp has unveiled a teaser trailer for a comedy called Nine Lives, which is a funky body switch film where Kevin Spacey ends up inside of a cat named Mr. Fuzzypants. The whole point is that Kevin Spacey plays a businessman who doesn’t care enough about his family, and when they end up getting a cat (from pet shop owner Christopher Walken) he is put inside the cat in order to learn a lesson about spending time with them. The cast includes Robbie Amell, Jennifer Garner, Teddy Sears and Cheryl Hines. This is just a teaser trailer (IMDb even claims they’re not done filming yet) and barely has any footage, but cat lovers (and fans of Kevin Spacey or Christopher Walken) will definitely flip for this. ›››

Continue reading Watch: Kevin Spacey Plays a Cat in First Trailer for Wacky ‘Nine Lives’

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“We can find our way home – we are descended from the mighty wolf. We have raw primal instincts that are moments away from leading us home.” Universal has released another brand new, full-length trailer for Illumination Entertainment’s upcoming animated movie The Secret Life of Pets, about what your pets do when you leave for work every day. We’ve already featured one official trailer for this previously as well as the holiday teaser, but this trailer dives more into the story and all of the characters/animals we’ll meet in this movie. The main voices include Louis C.K., Kevin Hart, Lake Bell, Ellie Kemper, Jenny Slate and Eric Stonestreet. This does look fun and I’m sure it’s going to be a big hit with audiences of all ages. ›››

Continue reading Another Full Trailer for Illumination’s Amusing ‘The Secret Life of Pets’

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There’s no doubt about it – this is a film you’re going to either love or hate. Swiss Army Man is one of the 2016 Sundance Film Festival’s most divisive films, with some of my fellow critics walking out before they could even finish it. The film is unquestionably unique, I’ve never seen anything like it, and while it starts out totally wacky everything clicked for me about 30 minutes in. The film opens with Paul Dano playing a man stuck on a deserted island trying to hang himself. But before he can do so, a dead body in a suit (played by Daniel Radcliffe) washes up on shore. Attempting to ignore it, the body begins to fart, then before you know it he’s riding this farting body like a jet ski back to land. I told you it’s wacky, but actually quite fun. ›››

Continue reading Sundance 2016: ‘Swiss Army Man’ is Wacky, Whimsical & Very Unique

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Now this film is a true classic! The BFI (British Film Institute) has announced a digitally restored re-release of Abel Gance’s 1920’s epic Napoleon, about the French conqueror. This project has been in the works for 50 years, with Academy Award-winning film historian Kevin Brownlow traveling the world collecting old prints of Gance’s Napoleon in order to piece together this fully-restored version. The silent film runs a full 5 1/2 hours in total, and is accompanied by a live orchestra score. Ever since the previous restoration in 2000, the film version has only been screened 4 times in the UK. This announcement from the BFI is only for a UK re-release so far, but we also expect it to show up over here soon, too. It will premiere in November of 2016. ›››

Continue reading Abel Gance’s ‘Napoleon’ is Getting a Restored Theatrical Re-Release

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