Author: Alex Billington

How does one person make change? What does it take? How brave must they be, how much courage does it take, how much resistance will they encounter, how will they overcome the push-back, how long will it take to enact real change? These questions are answered in this outstanding documentary film from Japan titled Black Box Diaries. This film is, unfortunately, about a sexual assault, but it's also about much more than that – it's about battling an archaic system and outdated laws and misogyny and everything else bad that comes with patriarchal societies. In my humble opinion, I think this is one of the best #MeToo films ever made. For many reasons that go beyond just showing the #MeToo movement from the inside, from one of the women leading it. Black Box Diaries is an exceptional film that is as emotional & invigorating as it is fascinating & frustrating to watch. How can anyone be against her? How can so many people not understand what she's really fighting for? No matter what, her story matters. It will make a ...

"A saint's gotta be a sinner first, don't he?" Samuel Goldwyn Films has revealed a new official trailer for the hitman action thriller called In the Land of Saints and Sinners, made by producer / director Robert Lorenz. This originally premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival last year in the Orizzonti Extra section (watch the first trailer). In the land of saints and sinners, some sins can't be buried. Liam Neeson stars as Finbar, eager to leave his dark past behind. Set in Ireland in the 1970s, ready to leave his dark past behind, Finbar Murphy leads a quiet life in the remote coastal town of Glencolmcille, far from the political violence that grips the rest of the country. But when a menacing crew of terrorists arrive, led by a ruthless woman named Doirean, Finbar is drawn into an increasingly vicious game of cat and mouse, forcing him to choose between exposing his secret identity or defending his friends and neighbors. The main cast also includes Kerry Condon, Jack Gleeson, Colm Meaney, Ciarán Hinds, and Sarah Greene. This ...

"Some people think of a time in a straight line... they're wrong..." K Street Pictures has revealed an official trailer for an indie psychological thriller titled Altered Reality, from filmmaker / cinematographer Don E. FauntLeRoy. Despite an intriguing cast, this looks as bad as they come. Another spin on a miracle drug that gives special powers, which just reminds me of that Limitless movie. Oliver's life transforms when gifted a not-yet-existing miracle drug. Riches, unscrupulous pacts, and morphing of past & present create an altered reality, in this gripping tale of redemption & choices. Altered Reality is directed by Don E. FauntLeRoy and written by Charles Agron, who also produces and stars in this film. The cast includes Tobin Bell, Charles Agron, Alyona Khmara, and Krista Dane Hoffman, with Edward Asner and Lance Henriksen. Aside from some terrible mixing in this trailer, it's hard to make any sense of whatever is going on in here. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Don E. FauntLeRoy's Altered Reality, direct from YouTube: When Oliver Cook (Charles Agron) visits Spring Manor, a mysteriously odd caretaker ...

"It was that night I discovered that most things you consider evil or wicked are simply lonely, and lacking in the social niceties." One of my personal favorite Tim Burton movies is Big Fish, the 2003 story of a man and his father and a fish. Among many other creatures. The legendary Stan Winston and his team at Stan Winston Studio were once again hired by Tim Burton to create a handful of special effects for Big Fish (we also posted their video on creating The Penguin for Burton's Batman Returns). As everyone knows, Winston is one of the best in the business, and his work is always exciting to see. The S.W. School of Character Arts website has posted another interesting making of look at their behind-the-scenes process, featuring many photos & videos of their creature creations. The video covers the werewolf, the lion, Helena Bonham Carter's Swamp Witch, and the titular Big Fish from the end, plus a few other glimpses. This takes me way back as I remember being obsessed with this movie, watching it many times. ...

"You're mistaking dreams for memories..." "These aren't dreams." Lionsgate has debuted an official trailer for the film State of Consciousness, a mysterious psychological thriller from filmmaker Marcus Stokes. This already premiered at a film festival in Italy a few years ago and was released in Italy last year, though is only now opening in the US - starting in March for those curious. Nightmares & reality are indistinguishable to Stephen when he is forced to take medication for a psychological disorder he doesn't have. To regain his sanity and get back to his normal life, he sets out to escape from the institution he has been trapped in. As usual, he begins to realize­ the truth is more frightening than anything he could imagine. Directed by Marcus Stokes, this stars Emile Hirsch as Stephen, Tatjana Nardone, Kesia Elwin, Robin Mugnani, David Wurawa, and Michael E. Rodgers. Yet another Matrix rip-off stuffed into a psychological thriller? Okay. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Marcus Stokes' State of Consciousness, direct from YouTube: Where do you turn when your nightmares become reality? Stephen and ...

"It's time you owned up to these letters!" Sony Pictures Classics has revealed a new official US trailer for a British comedy called Wicked Little Letters, described as a "scandalously sweary" film from filmmaker Thea Sharrock (Me Before You and The One & Only Ivan). This premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival last year, and now has US release dates set - in NY & LA on March 29th and nationwide on April 5th this spring. Small town. Big mystery. Bad language. When people in Littlehampton - including conservative local Edith - begin to receive letters full of hilariously harsh profanities, rowdy Irish migrant Rose is charged with the crime. Suspecting something is amiss, the town's women investigate. Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley star as Edith and Rose, respectively, with Timothy Spall, Gemma Jones, Lolly Adefope, and Anjana Vasan. This does look hilarious! Reviews from TIFF praise the film saying: "The central pairing of Buckley and Colman is clearly the swear-off of the century, like a home-counties rumble in the jungle, but Wicked Little Letters has just as much ...

Want to watch movies online for free? Give this fun experiment a shot! Though it may not be the usual HD experience you're used to. MSCHF recently launched a digital ASCII Theater online. ASCII is text-based visuals and images – using symbols and letters to create designs and objects, or in this case, entire frames of a movie. This radical NYC art collective has just launched a whole new website located at ascii.theater with instructions on how to stream and watch movies on your computer. Entirely free! All you need to do is open up your terminal on Mac (or cmd.exe on PC) and drop in the short line of code they provide, and it'll play right there in front of your eyes. Voila! There's no sound, of course, but there are subtitles. And the quality isn't great. And you can't control much. But hey you can watch the whole movie anyway! This is a clever web experiment and I dig the concept, even if it isn't really practical. Right now you can watch Barbie, though they'll switch to Hereditary ...

"Don't be afraid to fly." Sony Pictures Classics has revealed the main official trailer for an acclaimed film titled We Grown Now, set in Chicago in the 1990s. This is the third feature film created and directed by filmmaker Minhal Baig, best known for her Sundance gem Hala from 2019. We Grown Now premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival last year, and it also stopped by AFI Fest in the fall. Two young boys, best friends Malik and Eric, discover the joys and hardships of growing up in the sprawling Cabrini-Green public housing complex in 1992 Chicago. Starring Blake Cameron James, Gian Knight Ramirez, S. Epatha Merkerson, Avery Holliday, and Ora Jones, along with Lil Rel Howery and Jurnee Smollett. This received rave reviews from TIFF, with critics saying it's a "unassuming character study set to poetic rhythms makes for an empathetic study of Black life, full of resolve." Watch out for this one - it looks very very, good. Here's the main official trailer (+ poster) for Minhal Baig's We Grown Now, direct from SPC's YouTube: In 1992 Chicago, as ...

Talented British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor returned to the 2024 Sundance Film Festival with this second feature film. After premiering his first film The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind at Sundance in 2019, Ejiofor brought his second film Rob Peace to the festival in the Utah mountains. It's an inspirational, engaging dramatic thriller based on a true story about a young African-American man who made it into Yale and was on the rise in the field of science. His name is Rob Peace, yes his real name is Robert Peace, that's not just a Hollywood title for this film about an intelligent man from New Jersey who went out to make real change in the world by taking care of his own community. It's a well-made film about injustice and family ties and the cycle of violence in Black communities in America. There's a few generic tropes but the emotional core is so strong I was moved anyway. Ejiofor has improved with his second film and this one should go on to have a great life beyond the festival. It deserves ...

"Many of our young people, they're searching for their place in the world. They want to be seen." Hulu has revealed an official trailer for one of their Black History Month offerings in February - a documentary film titled Sacred Soil: The Piney Woods School Story, about one of America's oldest historically Black boarding schools. Directed by J.J. Anderson, this film is a co-production with Andscape, which is Disney and ESPN's Black-led division. It will be out to watch on Hulu later in February. Sacred Soil: The Piney Woods School Story explores the intersection of childhood and adulthood through the eyes of young, Black high school youth from around the world as they work beyond society's imposed limitations to achieve a top-notch education at America's oldest African-American boarding school. The President of Piney Woods gave this comment: "We are deeply grateful to J.J. Anderson and Andscape for bringing the Piney Woods story to audiences in such a powerful way. For 115 years, our work has consistently pursued a mission to prepare future leaders by empowering learners – head, hands, and ...