Category: Movies

“What makes you think I can do this?!” In honor of the Annecy Film Festival for animation this week, I’m featuring a few animated short films that are worth watching. This one is titled Spell of the West, made by CalArts student Sam Lane. She made this as her third year film in the Experimental Animation program, and it’s a fun film that’s really about saving our environment and our planet. This is a super weird short, yet oddly enchanting and mysterious. I dig her visual style and the backdrops are exceptional. The voices could be improved, but considering this is a student short it’s quite impressive. Watch when you have a moment. ›››

Continue Reading Watch: Wacky, Weird Animated Short ‘Spell of the West’ from Sam Lane

Powered by WPeMatico

“The Devil doesn’t have to hide. He roams freely amongst us…” IFC Midnight has debuted an official trailer for an Irish horror film titled The Devil’s Doorway, which played at the Seattle Film Festival earlier this summer. The film is the feature directorial debut of Aislinn Clarke, and tells the story of two priests who uncover something horrific. In 1960, Father Riley and Father Thornton are sent to investigate a miracle in an Irish home for unwed mothers only to discover that one of the residents is possessed by the devil. The cast of The Devil’s Doorway includes Lalor Roddy, Ciaran Flynn, Helena Bereen, and Lauren Coe. The grainy 8mm cinematography style is spooky, but I’m not sure there’s anything more to this film than any other possession / exorcism horror before it. If this kind of horror is your thing, then take a look below. ›››

Continue Reading New US Trailer for Irish Possession Horror Film ‘The Devil’s Doorway’

Powered by WPeMatico

I’m back in France! Only one month after the Cannes Film Festival, I have returned to France for another film festival – Annecy. For years I’d heard about Annecy, but for years I thought it was a festival only for animators and industry insiders and people who work on the films. Last year I learned that it’s actually just another film festival, like any other, and that anyone can attend and see films. So I decided to make my first trip down to Annecy this year and check it out. For those that don’t know, the “Festival International du Film d’Animation d’Annecy” is a fest dedicated to animation – all kinds of animation. They show short films, feature films, works in progress, and they host workshops, events, discussions, signings and more. It’s basically Comic-Con for animation nerds – and they flock to this tiny town every year to geek out for a week. ›››

Continue Reading Time to Get Animated – It’s My First Time at the Annecy Film Festival

Powered by WPeMatico

“One week clean! Then a whole lifetime…” Netflix has released an official trailer for a documentary titled Recovery Boys, the latest from filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon (Lincoln County Massacre, Hollow: An Interactive Documentary, 11/8/16). This just premiered at the Hot Docs festival last month, and will be available on Netflix at the end of this month. “In the heart of America’s opioid epidemic, four men attempt to reinvent their lives and reenter society sober after years of drug abuse.” The doc film is an “intimate look at the strength, brotherhood, and courage that it takes to overcome addiction and lays bare the internal conflict of recovery and the external hurdles of an unforgiving society.” The opioid epidemic is a hot topic in American society right now, and these real stories are important because they actually provide a bit of hope and optimism in a world that doesn’t seem to have much of that recently. This looks like it’s worth watching. ›››

Continue Reading Official Trailer for Netflix Doc ‘Recovery Boys’ About Life After Drugs

Powered by WPeMatico

We are well into the 2018 summer movie season, and it’s a good time to step away from the extraordinary heroes, superhuman villains, and dangerous technology that generally make up the blockbuster fare seeing release. Instead we’ll be discussing Upgrade, a film about, well, an extraordinary hero, some superhuman villains, and dangerous technology but on a shoestring budget by comparison with the gigantic franchises inundating multiplexes. As if the cost of a film has no bearing on quality (spoiler: it never does), Upgrade is an absolute blast of an action/sci-fi picture, an uproariously entertaining experience that delivers break-neck excitement and morbid humor with a heaping dose of caution. In a nutshell, it’s the perfect, and a welcome, experience for fans of blockbuster films who are looking for something outside the franchise box. ›››

Continue Reading Review: Leigh Whannell’s ‘Upgrade’ Is a Kick-Ass Experience Through & Through

Powered by WPeMatico

“There’s something evil in this house…” Focus Features has debuted the first official trailer for The Little Stranger, the latest film from director Lenny Abrahamson (Frank, Room). This suspense horror is set in the 1940s, where a country doctor encounters a family “haunted by something more ominous than a dying way of life.” The film definitely has a creepy vibe to it, but this trailer plays more like a period-piece mystery thriller. Domhnall Gleeson stars as Dr. Faraday (with an impressive mustache to boot), and the full cast includes Ruth Wilson, Charlotte Rampling, Will Poulter, Anna Madeley, Kate Phillips, Josh Dylan, Camilla Arfwedson, and Amy Marston. I dig how luscious and detailed the whole film looks, from the scenery and sets to the cinematography by DP Ole Bratt Birkeland, and the lovely music. I’m not that frightened by anything in this trailer, but I’m very curious about it and I want to see more. Take a look. ›››

Continue Reading First Trailer for ‘The Little Stranger’ from Director Lenny Abrahamson

Powered by WPeMatico

“Whatever that was, it wudn’t baseball!” Gravitas Ventures has released the first official trailer for an indie comedy titled Benched, formerly known as Rounding Third while in production. This awkward, amusing comedy is about two little league baseball coach dads assigned to the same team who have to figure out how to work together, and train their team to win. This is one of those uplifting, feel-good, cheerful indie films about how enemies can become friends if you just learn to work together. John C. McGinley and Garret Dillahunt star, along with Jlynn Johnson, Graham Schneider, Keith Jamal Evans, Brogan Hall, Carter Wallace, Brennon Olsen, Brayden Chunn, Drake Light, and Caleb Coffey. This looks about as cheesy and as charming as you’re expecting, but maybe this is just what a few of us really need right now. ›››

Continue Reading Official Trailer for Indie Comedy ‘Benched’ About Baseball Coach Dads

Powered by WPeMatico

“You know what we call it?” A teaser trailer has debuted online for a film titled Friday’s Child, the latest feature from filmmaker A.J. Edwards, who worked for Terrence Malick as his editor before jumping into making his own films. Tye Sheridan stars as young drifter Richie, fresh out of foster care, trying to figure out what to do with himself. He ends up on the streets involved in petty crime and meets two other people: Joan, played by Imogen Poots, and Swim, played by Caleb Landry Jones. The film’s cast also includes Jeffrey Wright and Brett Butler. This looks like a very artsy, powerfully intimate film with some very intense cinematography by DP Jeff Bierman. The score in this trailer is superb, and the footage will pull you in – for whatever you may find in here. This is a good palette cleanser from all the recent Hollywood trailers. ›››

Continue Reading Tye Sheridan in a Teaser Trailer for A.J. Edwards’ Film ‘Friday’s Child’

Powered by WPeMatico

“Why are you here?” “I had a run in with a space alien.” 20th Century Fox has debuted a new TV trailer, a 60-second spot, for Shane Black’s new The Predator movie. We only just got the very first teaser trailer for this a month ago, and it’s scheduled for release in September, so it’s good to see some more new footage here. The big reveal in this is that there’s a second Predator that appears out of nowhere at the end. What in the hell…? The ensemble cast is lead by Jacob Tremblay, who “accidentally triggers” their return to Earth again, along with Sterling K. Brown, Yvonne Strahovski, Olivia Munn, Lochlyn Munro, Thomas Jane, Boyd Holbrook, Jake Busey, Keegan-Michael Key, Niall Matter, Trevante Rhodes (from Moonlight), plus Edward James Olmos. Looks good. You might want to check this out – it’s a cool reveal. ›››

Continue Reading New TV Trailer for Shane Black’s ‘The Predator’ Has a Bit More Footage

Powered by WPeMatico

“There are risks, but we have every intention of coming back.” Universal has unveiled the first official trailer for Damien Chazelle’s highly anticipated next film, titled First Man, a look at the life of astronaut Neil Armstrong leading up to his voyage on Apollo 11 and first steps on the moon in July of 1969. Ryan Gosling (from Chazelle’s La La Land) stars as Armstrong, and the full cast includes Claire Foy as his wife Janet, along with Pablo Schreiber, Kyle Chandler, Ciarán Hinds, Ethan Embry, Jason Clarke, Brian d’Arcy James, Corey Stoll, Christopher Abbott, Patrick Fugit, Shea Whigham, and Lukas Haas. The film features sequences shot on IMAX cameras, as well as scenes shot on film, mixing different camera styles. Chazelle explains: “we wanted to tell the story about one of the most epic accomplishments in human history, but root it very much in the intimate and the day to day details of what it was actually like.” ›››

Continue Reading Gosling as Neil Armstrong in First Full Trailer for Chazelle’s ‘First Man’

Powered by WPeMatico