Category: Movies

In a world of movies about popstars and how inspiring it is to make your dreams of fame and glory come true, Vox Lux gives us the exact opposite. The second feature film made by actor Brady Corbet (of The Childhood of a Leader), Vox Lux tells the story of a young girl who quickly becomes a mega-famous popstar after an odd beginning: she survives a horrible school shooting and sings with her sister at the memorial ceremony. The song goes viral, she gets discovered by a shady manager, the rest is history. I didn’t realize that Brady Corbet was such a genius, but my goodness this film is something else. It’s extremely smart and provocative and true and shameless in its expression of this truth. It’s so brutally honest and so accurate in what it says about society, that it’s going to seriously piss people off. Either they just don’t get it, or don’t understand it, or they don’t like seeing this much searing truth presented this way. But I think it’s brilliant. ›››

Continue Reading Venice 2018: Brady Corbet’s Intoxicating ‘Vox Lux’ is Bold & Brilliant

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“This is a search for answers.” Gravitas Ventures has released the official trailer for a documentary known The Bill Murray Stories, in full the title is The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man. This premiered at the SXSW Film Festival earlier this year, though it hasn’t stopped by too many other festivals. As the title suggests, the film is about the various random encounters that people have had with legendary actor Bill Murray. He’ll randomly show up at parties or birthdays or soccer matches, staying briefly before disappearing again. The film attempts to examine why and what’s going on and who Bill Murray really is, what makes him do this. It’s an intriguing look at the one-of-a-kind mind of a legend. ›››

Continue Reading Random Encounters: Trailer for ‘The Bill Murray Stories’ Documentary

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“Guys, we’re gonna play a festival!” Doppelgänger Releasing has debuted an official trailer for an “offbeat comedy” from Finland titled Heavy Trip, about a heavy metal rock band that goes on a wild road trip to Norway. Turo is stuck in a small village where the best thing in his life is being the lead vocalist for the amateur metal band Impaled Rektum. The only problem? He and his bandmates have practiced for 12 years without playing a single gig. They land a festival in Norway, and decide it’s now or never. They steal a van, a corpse, and even a new drummer in order to make their dreams a reality. Starring Johannes Holopainen, Minka Kuustonen, Ville Tiihonen (Hilska), Torstein Bjørklund, and Antti Heikkinen. Well what do you know, this actually looks very funny, the perfect way to make fun of this heavy metal band. Rock on. ›››

Continue Reading US Trailer for Metal Band, Road Trip Comedy ‘Heavy Trip’ from Finland

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The 75th Venice Film Festival wrapped up this weekend on the Lido, and the awards were handed out. The top prize at Venice is a Golden Lion (in honor of the iconic lion that is the symbol of the city) and it’s one of the greatest achievements in cinema, along with the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. This year’s big winner is Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma taking the Golden Lion, his epic new B&W drama that floats through Mexico in the 1970s, taking us back to his youth. This is also a big win for Netflix, which produced and will be releasing the film later this year. I was rooting for Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale to win, but it at least received a Special Jury Prize which makes me happy. The full list of Venezia 75 winners can be found below. ›››

Continue Reading Venice 2018: Alfonso Cuarón’s ‘Roma’ Wins the Golden Lion Award

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“I’m a survivor – my whole life has been like that.” Netflix has revealed an official trailer for a documentary titled Quincy, an inside look at the life and achievements of entertainment producer and the music legend Quincy Jones. “A unique force of nature in music and popular culture for 70 years, Jones has transcended musical and racial boundaries; his story is inextricably woven into the fabric of Black America. Beyond his own acclaim as a trumpeter, producer, conductor, composer and arranger, Jones’s inimitable gift to discover the biggest talents of the past half of the century is unprecedented. He has mentored and cultivated the careers of young talents, from Lesley Gore and Michael Jackson to Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith. With his boundless energy, Jones has also awakened many generations to the significance of humanitarian issues.” This looks like a wonderful and exciting look at the legend, and it will be available to watch later this month. ›››

Continue Reading Official Trailer for Netflix’s Doc ‘Quincy’ on Music Legend Quincy Jones

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This year at the 75th Venice Film Festival has been exhausting. It’s a challenge to keep up with all the 8:30AM morning screenings and 10:30PM evening screenings every day, but it’s not only that. There have been so many long films that it seems especially grueling. The length of films is a never-ending discussion, something that audiences have debated for decades. We all know the basic rules: no film can (or should) run for more than 3 hours, and no film should be shorter than 80 minutes (with the sweet spot usually being ~90 minutes, an hour and a half). It’s a different discussion in Hollywood than it is at film festivals, because at festivals many filmmakers tend to express themselves by not holding back, giving us as much footage as possible. Do we really need to watch so many 3 hour films? Are they really worth it? (Of course they are!) Don’t worry, there’s no definitive answer to this, but the thought has been on my mind over the past week. ›››

Continue Reading Venice 2018: Hours & Hours of Cinema – Why So Many Long Films?

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“I am sick of this game!” The first official trailer has launched for a creepy new sailing survival film titled simply The Boat, the feature directorial debut of producer Winston Azzopardi. Starring his brother Joe Azzopardi as the sailor, the film is about a captain who goes out to see and finds an abandoned vessel, but discovers there’s something mysterious going on. He ends up locked inside the head of a sailboat which is heading at full steam on autopilot. Where to? There’s only one way to find out. This looks creepy and very clever, a bit more than just another lost at sea sailing movie. This is premiering at Fantastic Fest later in the month, which is why this trailer has been released to build some buzz for its premiere there. Worth a watch. ›››

Continue Reading First Trailer for Horror-at-Sea Solo Sailor Survival Movie ‘The Boat’

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“Captain! We heard something happen to the Kursk?” An international trailer has debuted for a submarine thriller titled Kursk, telling the tragic true story of a Russian submarine stuck at the bottom of the ocean. The ship is deemed unsinkable but explosions on a test run leave it rendered useless, and instead of rescuing the remaining crew, the Russians left it there and wouldn’t do anything. Supposedly for political reasons, which is hopefully what this film gets into along with everything else. This harrowing English-language take on the Kursk story stars Matthias Schoenaerts, with Léa Seydoux, Colin Firth, Max von Sydow, Michael Nyqvist, August Diehl, Steven Waddington, and Matthias Schweighöfer. The film is set to have its premiere at the Toronto Film Festival this weekend, hence the new trailer, even though there’s no US release yet. This looks damn good, and unfortunately very sad, but I’m still looking forward to seeing it. ›››

Continue Reading Matthias Schoenaerts in First Full Trailer for Submarine Thriller ‘Kursk’

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“What is wrong with you?!” Neon has debuted the first official red band trailer for Harmony Korine’s latest film The Beach Bum, a spiritual sequel to Spring Breakers. And it looks just as crazy, if not even crazier, than that movie. The Beach Bum stars Matthew McConaughey as a rebellious stoner named Moondog who lives life by his own rules. McConaughey looks nuts in this, but the rest of the cast looks wacky insane too: Snoop Dogg, Isla Fisher, Stefania LaVie Owen, Martin Lawrence, Zac Efron, Jonah Hill. This kind of looks like it’s going to be awful, but it also looks like it’s going to be amazing? No idea when it’ll premiere, but the film is set to open in late March of next year. We’ll keep an eye out for more. Take a look. ›››

Continue Reading First Red Band Trailer for Harmony Korine’s New Film ‘The Beach Bum’

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“There comes a time when a man needs something more to hang his hat on.” IFC Films has released a full-length official trailer for Wildlife, the directorial debut of actor Paul Dano. The film first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year to great reviews, then went on to play at the Cannes Film Festival and is next showing at TIFF this week. Wildlife tells the story of a young husband and wife living in the 1960s in a small town in Montana, adapted from Richard Ford’s novel of the same name. Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal star, and Ed Oxenbould plays their teenage son. It’s a subtle film about family and the breakdown of this concept by following Mulligan as the housewife who realizes she needs to break free. The cast includes Bill Camp and Zoe Margaret Colletti. If you’ve been following festivals, you’ve likely seen the rave reviews of this all year. The film opens in theaters this October, take another look before then. ›››

Continue Reading Carey Mulligan & Jake Gyllenhaal in Official Trailer for Dano’s ‘Wildlife’

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