Category: Movies

The Independent Spirit Awards are an annual award given in the name of independent film, featuring all of the indie films which deserve the honor and recognition that they usually don’t receive – celebrating their 35th year. The 2020 winners of the Spirit Awards were announced Saturday before the Oscars at a ceremony in Santa Monica. The two main winners: Lulu Wang’s The Farewell, taking home the top prize, and Uncut Gems, which won Best Director(s) & Editing, along with Adam Sandler nabbing the prize for Best Male Lead. The rest of the nominees from 2019 included many stellar films that got snubbed by other award shows, a much better selection than the Academy Awards. These are always a nice counter-balance to the Oscars, especially with Uncut and Farewell leading the way. Read on for the list of Indie Spirits results. ›››

Continue Reading ‘The Farewell’ & ‘Uncut Gems’ Big Winners at 2020 Indie Spirit Awards

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The official awards for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival were announced this weekend at a ceremony in Park City, Utah. We’ve all been curious to see who’s taking home awards at Sundance this year, and now we know – it’s one of the most talked about of the fest. Finally, a real winner this year! The big Audience Award winners are: Minari, about a Korean-American family that movies to rural Arkansas to try and start a farm; Crip Camp, a documentary about a summer camp started in the 70s for disabled teenagers; and I Carry You With Me, about a chef leaving behind his lover to try and make a life in NYC. Other winners include filmmakers like Kirsten Johnson, Josephine Decker, Radha Blank, and Edson Oda. View the winners below. ›››

Continue Reading ‘Minari’ Wins Both Grand Jury & Audience Award at Sundance 2020

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“Collecting is about the hunt.” Greenwich Ent. has released the official US trailer for The Booksellers, a documentary made by D.W. Young that first premiered at the New York Film Festival last year. The film is a behind-the-scenes look at New York City’s rare book world. “Antiquarian booksellers are part scholar, part detective and part businessperson, and their personalities and knowledge are as broad as the material they handle. They also play an underappreciated yet essential role in preserving history. [D.W. Young’s film] The Booksellers takes viewers inside their small but fascinating world, populated by an assortment of obsessives, intellects, eccentrics and dreamers.” This looks like an especially charming and geeky trip into the world of books. “For anyone who loves books, bookstores and the written word, D.W. Young’s entrancing insider’s entree into the charmingly esoteric world of book collecting and selling will be hard to put down.” Jump in. ›››

Continue Reading Official Trailer for Doc ‘The Booksellers’ About NYC’s Rare Bookstores

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Sometimes a friendship can change the world. Ironbark is a film that doesn’t really fit into the Sundance Film Festival, but that doesn’t really matter. It’s not the typical independent, quirky, contemporary work of cinema that you’d expect to see in Park City in January. But it’s still a damn good film. Perhaps even better than many of the other films playing at Sundance that aren’t as taut and intriguing and moving as this one. Ironbark is based on a true story, a 60s espionage thriller the same vein as Bridge of Spies about how an unlikely international friendship between two people saved the world. It’s a fantastic film, better than I was expecting considering it’s just about two spies, and it seriously moved me – I was almost in tears by the end. ›››

Continue Reading Sundance 2020: Espionage True Story ‘Ironbark’ is a Moving Thriller

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Step aside zombies and ghosts, haunted hair is going to be all the rage in 2020. And I’m not talking about The Ring. The immensely talented writer / director Justin Simien is back at the Sundance Film Festival with his second feature film (following his directorial debut Dear White People premiering at the festival in 2014). His new film is called Bad Hair, a major horror moment introducing us to a new horror concept – haunted hair weaves. The film goes all out with that haunted hair concept, perhaps indulging a bit too much, but nonetheless this still feels like a landmark film in the horror genre. It definitely will not be for everyone, because not all of us have had to deal with nappy hair, but that’s also exactly why this film rules. It’s original and creative and clever and specific, and introduces us to Elle Lorraine as Anna and her haunted weaves. ›››

Continue Reading Sundance 2020: Justin Simien’s Haunted Hair Horror Film ‘Bad Hair’

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“Leave me alone, please!” The Cinema Guild has unveiled an official US trailer for the acclaimed German indie drama titled I Was at Home, But… (with ellipses officially / translated from Ich War Zuhause, Aber in German). This premiered at the Berlin Film Festival last year, and stopped by numerous other prestigious festivals including Hong Kong, Melbourne, San Sebastián, Toronto, New York, Chicago, and Vienna. This complicated family drama set in Berlin “tells the story of Astrid, a forty-something mother of two, struggling to regain her balance in the wake of her husband’s death…” Her son disappeared for a week and now that he has returned, he faces trouble at school and his toe requires amputation. As new questions confront Astrid from every angle, even simple activities like buying a bicycle or engaging with a work of art, are fraught with unexpected challenges. Starring Maren Eggert as Astrid, Jakob Lassalle as her son. For cinephiles only. ›››

Continue Reading Maren Eggert in German Drama ‘I Was at Home, But’ Official Trailer

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“Enough is enough! I’m not going to take it anymore.” Gravitas has unveiled an official trailer for an indie documentary titled Tread, telling the story of the infamous “Killdozer” incident that took place in Granby, Colorado in 2004. Pushed to his breaking point, a master welder in a small town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains quietly fortifies a bulldozer with 30 tons of concrete and steel and heads out to destroy those he believes have wronged him. Though it was armed with three high-powered firearms, no one but the driver was killed – after the police confronted him. His name was Marvin Heemeyer. Tread explores the polarizing perspectives on this man, his motives, and what drove him to the breaking point. This premiered at the SXSW Film Festival and will be out to watch at the end of February. I have to admit this certainly intrigues me, another “true crime story” with much more going on than what’s seen on the surface. Take a look below. ›››

Continue Reading First Full Trailer for ‘Tread’ Documentary About Colorado’s ‘Killdozer’

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“When you’re hurting’, where do you go lookin’?” Samuel Goldwyn Film has released an official US trailer for indie romantic comedy Top End Wedding, an Australian film that premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival. This “heartwarming, feel-good comedy” is set against the spectacular natural beauty of the Northern Territory. The story follows a newly engaged couple, Lauren and Ned. They are in love, and they have just ten days to find her mother who has gone AWOL somewhere in the remote far north of Australia, in order to reunite her parents and pull off their dream wedding. Starring Miranda Tapsell (from The Sapphires) & Gwilym Lee (from Bohemian Rhapsody) as the two lovers, plus Huw Higginson, Ursula Yovich, Elaine Crombie, Shari Sebbens, Kerry Fox, and Dalara Williams. Looks charming and fun. ›››

Continue Reading One More Trailer for Australian Romantic Comedy ‘Top End Wedding’

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“If you kill me, she dies too.” Well Go USA has debuted an official US trailer for Jiang Ziya, another new epic animated Chinese action fantasy film (see: Ne Zha) with demons and gods and fights galore. Thankfully they’re bringing this one to US theaters in February, same time as in China, to give everyone a chance to see it. Atop the ruins of war, top commander Jiang Ziya is given the task to banish the Nine-tailed Fox Demon who threatens all mortals’ very existence. When he discovers the Nine-tailed Fox’s life linked to the soul of an innocent girl, he is faced with a challenging decision – follow the will of heaven or find his own path to righteousness. Featuring the voices of Zheng Xi as Jiang Ziya, Yang Ning, Yan Meme, Ji Guanlin, and Jiang Guangtao. This looks pretty damn cool, let’s hope there is a good story to go along with the visuals. ›››

Continue Reading Full US Trailer for Chinese Animated Action Fantasy Epic ‘Jiang Ziya’

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“That’s when everything I knew… shattered.” Netflix has launched the first official trailer for Tyler Perry’s new film, his first with the streaming studio, titled A Fall From Grace. This will be available at the end of this month, which is Netflix’s usual surprise when a trailer drops. Described as “an electrifying thriller,” the film is about a woman who is restored by a new romance after being disheartened since her ex-husband’s affair. When Grace learns secrets about her new husband, though, her vulnerable side turns violent. Crystal Fox stars as Grace, and the full cast includes Phylicia Rashad, Bresha Webb, Mehcad Brooks, Cicely Tyson, and of course, Tyler Perry. Looks like an upsetting thriller, hopefully with a few good twists in there. ›››

Continue Reading Crystal Fox in Official Trailer for Romance-Thriller ‘A Fall From Grace’

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