Author: Alex Billington

"We are the descendants of free men and women who were enslaved." Human Pictures has revealed a first look festival trailer for a documentary film titled Igualada, premiering at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival kicking off this week in Utah. One highly anticipated world cinema doc film showing at Sundance this year. Black Colombian activist Francia Márquez transforms a derogatory term, "Igualada," into a symbol of rights defiance. Her presidential campaign inspires the entire nation, challenging societal norms. In one of Latin America’s most unequal countries, Márquez, a Black Colombian rural activist, challenges the status quo with a presidential campaign that reappropriates the term "Igualada" — someone who acts as if they deserve rights that supposedly don't correspond to them — and inspires a nation to dream. This looks like a rousing and inspiring story of just how hard it is to fight against incredible oppression, another fascinating tale of tenacity & ambition. Definitely one to keep an eye on, whether at Sundance or wherever else it shows up next. This film is also very similar to the excellent doc ...

"I did not intend to frighten you, skinny human. Do not be afraid..." Netflix has unveiled the full trailer for the film Spaceman, arriving to watch in March 2024. It's now set for a world premiere at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival in February. Directed by Swedish filmmaker Johan Renck, who's mostly been making music videos + TV since his feature debut Downloading Nancy back in 2008. Based on the true story of Jakub Procházka, raised in the Czech countryside, who becomes the country's first astronaut. But the film tells a different story. Six months into a solitary research mission, Jakub realizes that the marriage he left behind might not be waiting for him whenever he returns to Earth. Desperate to fix things with his wife, he is helped by a mysterious creature (a freaky huge space spider?!?!) hiding in the bowels of his ship. The sci-fi film stars Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, and Paul Dano, based on the novel "Spaceman of Bohemia", this also stars Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin, and Isabella Rossellini. Whoaaa. This looks super eerie and mysterious, ...

"I believe it's gonna be a masterpiece." Samuel Goldwyn Films has revealed a new official US trailer for the Korean meta comedy Cobweb, which initially premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival last year. Finally set for US release this February, also on VOD at the same time as in theaters. A new film from acclaimed Korean filmmaker Kim Jee-woon (The Good the Bad the Weird, I Saw the Devil, Age of Shadows), with a meta story about a filmmaker trying to make a masterpiece and realizing how hard that really is. The story is set in Seoul in 1970 and focuses on Kim, a director who is dissatisfied with the ending of his project entitled "Cobweb". Despite obstacles and interference from censorship authorities, disgruntled actors & producers, Kim is determined to rework the ending of his film in just two days, in hopes of making it a masterpiece. The main cast includes Song Kang-ho, Park Jeong-su, Im Soo-jung, Oh Jung-se, Jeon Yeo-been, and Krystal Jung. This received mostly positive reviews out of a Cannes - it's a tad too ...

"Welcome to the jungle." Netflix has revealed a first look teaser for The Gentlemen, a new streaming series from filmmaker Guy Ritchie arriving in March. Crime meets caviar! Meet the new class of criminals in The Gentlemen. A new British drama series inspired by the original 2019 film. Eddie Halstead inherits large estate from father, unaware it fronts Pearson's drug empire. With no crime experience, he must take over the operation or lose the estate. Ray Winstone stars as Bobby Glass, a career criminal from the East End of London who founded an industrial cannabis empire. The cast includes Theo James as The Duke of Halstead, Eddie, who finds himself embroiled in criminality after inheriting his father's estate, and Kaya Scodelario as Susie Glass, Bobby's effortlessly stylish & steely daughter who runs the empie's day-to-day business; Daniel Ings, Joely Richardson, Vinnie Jones, Giancarlo Esposito, Chanel Cresswell, Michael Vu, Max Beesley, Jasmine Blackborow, Harry Goodwins, Dar Salim, Pearce Quigley, Ruby Sear, and Peter Serafinowicz. A few quick intro in this teaser, but yeah it looks slick. Check it out. Here's the first ...

"Could you do a spiritual cleansing on me?" "I can't help you." An official trailer is out for a Mexican indie horror film titled Disappear Completely, the latest film from filmmaker Luis Javier Henaine (of Happy Times and Ready to Mingle). It premiered in 2022 at Fantastic Fest as a work-in-progress, and screened at the Morelia Film Festival, and it won a Bronze Skull at the Morbido Film Festival in Mexico. There's still no US release date set, but with an opening in Mexico this March there's a trailer to check out. After visiting a brutal crime scene, an ambitious and insensitive tabloid crime photographer falls victim to a mysterious illness that makes him lose, one by one, his five senses. He attempts to figure out what is going on and how stop this illness "before the world he knows disappears completely..." Starring Harold Torres as Santiago, with Tete Espinoza, Fermín Martínez, Vicky Araico, and Norma Reyna. Yeah htis looks really good, with some great cinematography and freaky atmosphere. A few "holy sh*t!" shots at the end - worth a ...

"Mr. Nelson - your music always made me move forward when I wanted to give up." Quiver Distr. has debuted the official US trailer for a funky German indie film titled Willie and Me, the feature directorial debut of German actress Eva Hassmann. It's written by, produced by, directed by, and stars Hassmann - clearly a personal passion project based on her own love for Willie Nelson and her culture shock of coming to America. Trapped in a stagnant marriage, German housewife Greta finds solace in Willie Nelson's music. When Nelson announces his farewell concert, she embarks on a journey to Las Vegas, leaving her husband behind, rediscovering her past.​ Hassmann plays Greta, with a fun supporting cast including Willie Nelson (of course!), Peter Bogdanovich, Darby Stanchfield, Blaine Gray, and Thure Riefenstein. Looks a bit rough around the edges, but that scrappy indie charm is what makes this so amusing. Check it out below. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Eva Haßmann's Willie and Me, direct from YouTube: In Willie and Me, Greta Weingarten (Hassmann) is a housewife who is trapped ...

"What you're doing is just. Never question that." National Geographic has unveiled a full trailer for their latest "Genius" offering called Genius: MLK/X, arriving for streaming at the start of February for Black History Month. The "Genius" series started in 2017 with a focus on Albert Einstein, and also profiled Pablo Picasso and Aretha Franklin, before this current season about these two prolific figures. It centers on the formative years, accomplishments, dueling philosophies and personal relationships of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X - played by Kelvin Harrison, Jr. and Aaron Pierre, respectively. Episodes will explore the moments between the monumental historical events we've come to know and shine a light on how each leader and those closest to them questioned their resolve and decisions as they navigated the rigors of balancing a public persona with a private life. While King & X met only once and often challenged each other's views, neither would have been as successful without the other. Sounds good! The cast includes Jayme Lawson, Weruche Opia, Gary Carr, Hubert Point-Du Jour, & Lennie James. ...

"You chased after a man you don't know?" Netflix has revealed the trailer for a Turkish film titled Ashes, also known as Kül in Turkish, or Ash when it was announced in 2022. Another local Turkish film from Netflix geared mainly for Turkish viewers. This intense erotic thriller depicts the story of a wealthy, married woman falling in love (in an affair) with a mysterious carpenter, which will lead to many conflicts. Starring Mehmet Günsür, Funda Eryiğit, Alperen Durmaz, and Gökçe Eyüboglu. The title of the film is also the name of the novel at the center of the plot. From an intoxicating fantasy to a dangerous affair, a wealthy married woman finds her life irreversibly shattered after picking up an unpublished novel. This looks like it gets intense - both with her fantasy romance with this carpenter guy, and with her husband who gets upset at her. Really feels like this was made by algorithms calculating what kind of story will be the most enticing. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Erdem Tepegöz's Ashes, direct from Netflix's YouTube: From an ...

"I've been looking for you for a very long time..." Nova Vento has revealed the official trailer for an indie film titled Adam the First, set for US release in limited theaters in February on Valentine's Day. It's the latest film from writer / director Irving Franco. The story follows Adam, who sets out on a cross-country adventure to track down a series of men who could be his estranged father, each one with a different life that could become his own. A few films have done this before. This one stars Oakes Fegley (the kid from Pete's Dragon and Wonderstuck) as Adam, along with Larry Pine, T.R. Knight, Eric Hanson, Kim Jackson Harris, and David Duchovny. The director explains: "In making Adam the First, I set out to tell a story that was universal and timeless yet deeply personal all at once. Adam meets many kinds of people on this epic journey. Each have their own unique lives and worldviews, yet all of them share a common humanity." Here's the official trailer (+ new poster) for Irving Franco's Adam the ...

"Whatever's inside you, just leave it alone." Well Go USA has revealed the official US teaser trailer for the sci-fi sequel Alienoid: The Return to the Future – Part 2 of this epic Korean production. We posted multiple trailers for the original Part 1 - Alienoid back in 2022 when it first opened in theaters in the US and in Korea. Filming originally began in March 2020. Both first & second part were filmed simultaneously for 13 months. Alien + Human: Part 2, as it's also known, will open in US theaters later in January this winter. This is the second part to Alienoid, which will center on ancient Taoists traveling through time and space in an effort to obtain the Divine Sword. After locating the Divine Blade, a shaman and a modern-day woman race through time to battle a powerful alien commander intent on destroying mankind in this sci-fi follow-up, Part 2 of Choi Dong-hoon's epic action series. Starring Ryu Jun-Yeol, Kim Tae-ri, and Kim Woo-Bin returning for this sequel. That is one big ass sword! This looks even ...