Author: Alex Billington

The complete list of nominees for the 96th Academy Awards, the most prestigious award in Hollywood, have been announced today (from Oscars.org). The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed the nominees via live broadcast. The nominations from 2023 are, as expected, an exhilarating collection of some of the best movies of the year. Poor Things and Oppenheimer scored the most nominations, ending up with nods in almost every single category. Two of my favorite films of the year - this is great news! The most interesting surprises: Napoleon and Anatomy of a Fall ending up with so many noms in various categories. I'm also happy to see Godzilla: Minus One sneaking in for Best VFX. What a list! The Academy chose a total of ten Best Picture nominees for 2023, including: Past Lives, Poor Things, The Zone of Interest, American Fiction, Anatomy of a Fall, and yes, Barbie. Without further ado, view the full list of 2023 nominees below. The 96th Academy Awards ceremony will be on Sunday, March 10th at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood - broadcast live ...

There is an outstanding documentary film that just premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival called Will & Harper, featuring the iconic actor / comedian Will Ferrell and his friend Harper Steele. It's a road trip film, following the two as they embark upon a journey across the United States of America, from New York City to California. However, this film is much more important that just a road trip story. Will learned that his good friend had recently transitioned into a woman, and he didn't quite know how to deal with the situation properly. So he proposed this idea to her and they decide to get a documentary film crew to follow them along as they talk and drive and have a good time. It turned out wonderful. It feels like Will & Harper is a watershed moment for trans visibility and allyship. It may actually cause real change. It's an emotionally honest, beautiful, authentic, uplifting film about two good friends learning to grow and explore themselves together. The audience gave this an instant standing ovation at the end ...

"Astronauts go through things they don't understand..." Apple TV has revealed an official trailer for a series called Constellation, described as an "action-packed space adventure [exploring] the dark edges of human psychology, and one woman's desperate quest to expose the truth about the hidden history of space travel." Well damn, okay! That sounds enticing for science fiction geeks / space nerds. Created and written by Peter Harness, Constellation stars Noomi Rapace as Jo – an astronaut who returns to Earth after a disaster in space – only to discover that key pieces of her life seem to be missing. It was filmed and produced mostly in Germany, and looks like yet another thrilling Apple TV+ sci-fi series surrounded by mystery. It's arriving for streaming in February in just a few more weeks. The series also stars Jonathan Banks, James D'Arcy, Julian Looman, William Catlett, Barbara Sukowa; introducing Rosie & Davina Coleman as Alice. It's funny they call this a "space adventure" yet so much of it is set down on Earth. Worth a watch anyway. Here's the first official trailer (+ ...

"You are a very hard man to find. No address, phone, office." Netflix has revealed a first look teaser trailer for a new series titled Ripley, arriving for in April this spring. It's a thrilling new black & white series based on Patricia Highsmith's bestselling Tom Ripley novels (the same novel turned into The Talented Mr. Ripley film from 1999). A grifter named Ripley living in 60s New York is hired by a wealthy man to begin a complex life of deceit, fraud & murder. Andrew Scott plays Tom Ripley. Dakota Fanning plays Marge Sherwood. Johnny Flynn plays Dickie Greenleaf. With Elliot Sumner, Maurizio Lombardi, Margherita Buy, with John Malkovich. All of this gorgeous cinematography is shot by the legendary DP Robert Elswit, best known for Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, Inherent Vice, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, King Richard, and many others. Ohhh yeah this is looking DAMN good! Stylish and sleek with plenty of intrigue. Here's the first look teaser trailer (+ poster) for Netflix's series Ripley, direct from Netflix's YouTube: Tom Ripley (Andrew Scott), a grifter scraping by in ...

"You enjoying your pie?" "All pie is good pie." Netflix has revealed a teaser trailer for Hit Man, the hugely loved new "hitman" comedy from Texas filmmaker Richard Linklater. This originally premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival last year, blowing the roof off in one of the most enthusiastic screenings I've ever been to (read my full review). It's also playing at Sundance this week. From Academy Award-nominated writer/director Richard Linklater, co-written and starring Glen Powell alongside Adria Arjona, comes Hit Man. Inspired by an unbelievable true story, a hit man meets his match in a client who steals his heart and ignites a powder keg of deception, delight, and mixed-up identities. Co-written by Linklater & Powell and inspired by a true story, it's a cleverly existential comedy about identity. Hit Man arrives on Netflix in June, even though it should be playing in theaters worldwide instead of going straight to streaming. The cast includes Austin Amelio, Retta, Sanjay Rao, and Evan Holtzman. Everyone loves this film! You will, too! This is a very short teaser trailer with barely ...

Are you really you? What makes you, you? The important existential questions of our time. Modern society has moved to the defensive belief that, of course everyone is themselves, of course you can't argue with that! How dare you question that! But – what if the things that you claim make you you, are not actually genuine? What if most people are actually living fake lives, trying to replicate and model some other person they look up to, instead of defining themselves authentically. This is the idea that this mesmerizing new film grapples with – in a fascinating, visually compelling, and unquestionably thought-provoking way. Love Me is one of the most innovative films I have seen so far in 2024 (while wading through the terrific Sundance 2024 selection). It's got a few flaws, and it doesn't dig deep enough into these questions and concepts, but it's still an ambitious, one-of-a-kind cinematic creation unlike anything I've encountered before. The premise: in the future after humanity is gone, a leftover "smart buoy" and a satellite orbiting Earth connect and fall in love. Love ...

"Greeting peasants!" Entertainment Film Distributors in the UK have unveiled an official trailer for an indie comedy called Seize Them!, made by NZ filmmaker Curtis Vowell. This is the first big lead role for actress Aimee Lou Wood (as a Queen!) following her excellent turn in Living recently. It's set for release in April in the UK, but has no other dates set yet. Dark Ages Britain where Queen Dagan is toppled by a revolution led by Humble Joan. The Queen becomes a fugitive in her own land, and must face hardship and danger as she embarks on a voyage to win back her throne. A "comedy road movie set in the dark ages" – with her new friends, a castle worker and a shit shoveler, she begins her quest for justice. In addition to Aimee Lou Wood, this stars Lolly Adefope, Nicola Coughlan, Paul Kaye, John Macmillan, with Jessica Hynes and Nick Frost. Great cast! This looks like goofy fun! It's all rather absurd, but that's the whole point. Right...? Here's the official UK trailer (+ poster) for Curtis Vowell's ...

As I settled into my first few screenings at Sundance, I'm overwhelmed by the emotions and memories and feelings I've had about this festival. I've been attending for 18 years – quite a long time considering I started this blog when I was only 20. It was a whole different festival back in 2007, my very first year, and much has changed since then. Sundance is celebrating its 40th Anniversary this year – much has changed since it first started as well. Sundance was founded in 1978 as the United States Film Festival (aka Utah/US Film Fest), started by Robert Redford and his company. The title was switched to Sundance in 1984, and this is the date they've chosen to designate this as the 40th anniversary. While the festival has been evolving and adapting and updating, there is one thing that has stayed the same after all these years - the films. I spend money year after year to fly over to Utah and attend Sundance because it's really all about the films. Good or bad, big or small, there's always ...

THE talk of the town at this year's festival is the Midnight horror film It's What's Inside. I was lucky to attend the world premiere of this indie horror film at a screening starting at 11PM Friday night at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and it blew the roof off of the theater. Everyone loved it. No one there had any idea what they were about to see. It was shot in secret, everything about it was kept a secret, no one will want to tell you the secret. Which makes it kind of hard to talk about... I can vaguely talk around the idea of it and why I love it, without revealing any of what actually happens in it. Even if you aren't someone who cares that much about spoilers, trust me/us/everyone on this – you'll want to see it without knowing anything about "what's inside of it" until the lights go down and the film begins. It's a thrilling, hilarious, clever, raucous, ingenious sci-fi horror comedy from filmmaker Greg Jardin. Wait until you find out what's in ...

Ready for takeoff. Apple TV+ has revealed a brand new featurette for the Masters of the Air series, which will be launching on Apple TV+ starting next week. This is looking incredible!! Very excited to dive right in. We already posted the main official trailer back in December, but with the debut next week they're giving it one final push. Once again produced by Steven Spielberg and Amblin, this 9-episode series tells the story of the airmen of World War II. Focusing specifically on the air men of the 100th Bomb Group (the "Bloody Hundredth") as they conduct many perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany and grapple with the frigid conditions, lack of oxygen, and sheer terror of combat conducted at 25,000 feet in the air. A new series from Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Gary Goetzman - the producers of Band of Brothers and The Pacific. During WWII, airmen risk their lives – a brotherhood forged by courage, loss, and triumph. The series features a stellar cast led by the Oscar nominee Austin Butler, Callum Turner, Anthony Boyle, and Nate ...