Author: Alex Billington

"I enjoy being in tune, with this natural world. It's infinitely entertaining and deeply mysterious." This doc produced by The Guardian is a must watch for anyone who loves the outdoors. The Winterkeeper is a 12-minute short film directed by Laurence Topham & David Levene. The film profiles a man who lives and works on one of America's most extraordinary national parks. Steven Fuller is a winter caretaker who has lived at Yellowstone for the past 50 years - longer than anyone. "Fuller and Yellowstone face an uncertain future, with the climate crisis threatening to forever change one of North America’s last great wildernesses." I'm in awe with how calm and soothing his voice is. I could listen to him talk all day about nature. "The one thing we can be certain of is that the Yellowstone we know is not the Yellowstone that our children and grandchildren will know... It's going to be a very different place." Such a profoundly sad sentiment. We need to do more, and take better care of our beautiful planet. And yes, that means ...

"You've got to take back control of your home!" Another year has come to an end, which means it's time to look back at the best films released over the last 12 months. Artist James Chapman, based in Manchester, UK, has just published his Top 25 (!!) Films of 2023 list on Twitter - by drawing a cute little illustration for each & every favorite film. I've been an avid follower of Chapman for a few years already (we also posted his illustrations for 2022 as well) and I am a big fan of his artistic style. He draws and colors images in a little notepad and includes the pens & markers in the shot every time. I just think it's so delightful to always see these unique illustration for all of these films. They make me smile every time. Many of these are my faves, too (Oppenheimer and Past Lives are in my Top 10). He created 25 drawings in total, and I've included the Top 12 films below to peruse. Click back over to his full Twitter post ...

"The cops may be able to trace us." "So what." Well Go USA has debuted another new official trailer for a Hong Kong action thriller film called I Did It May Way. That title seems to be an obvious reference to Frank Sinatra's classic song "My Way", though it isn't heard in the trailer or mentioned anywhere else, but it seems to connect with the bad guy's plot anyway. The film revolves around an undercover officer who goes up against the high-tech drug underworld of Hong Kong. Ho Sau, an undercover agent, has been working with Yau, a drug lord, for years, but his job and family are in trouble. The intense action thriller stars Andy Lau, Gordon Lam, Cya Liu, Eddie Peng, Kent Cheng, Philip Keung, with a special guest appearance by Simon Yam. This is an extraordinary violent trailer for what looks like an insanely violent HK film - my goodness. More people die in this 2 minutes of footage than do in most action films... Just crazy! Watch out. Here's the latest official trailers (+ posters) for Jason ...

"Free from the rat race. Free from the trappings of structure and stability, a mortgage, the respect of your parents. You chose this life, you chose freedom, you chose... you." Ahhh yes, the glory of being a freelancer. Or is it pain? Nowadays, a good bit of both, though leaning much more towards the latter. Freelancer is a hilarious 8-minute short film that debuted earlier in the year - worth a watch. It's directed by a filmmaking duo known as "Rosco 5" in London; written by and stars the 42-year-old British-Iranian actor / comedian Babak Ganjei - "who acts like a 25-year-old indie freelancer." He has to navigate single parenting, working under his own steam and the onset of middle age, and this is a guide to that "lifestyle." This is intended to be a pitch for a sitcom, but it also works perfectly as an under-10-minute short film that very precisely skewers the modern freelancer experience with a big helping of irony. "You've done the work, you have to get paid." Thanks to Short of the Week for the ...

"Let me fight beside you." The calm before the storm... 2024 is just around the corner, the New Year ready to welcome us whether we like it or not. In celebration of New Years and the begining of 2024, we're taking a quick look ahead at some of our Most Anticipated Movies of 2024. Hollywood is in a tumultuous time, coming out of two big strikes in 2023 not to mention myriad other issues related to streaming & storytelling & beyond. So they don't confirm release dates as far in advance as they used to. The December 2024 line-up is remarkable sparse right now, and plenty of other movies initially set for release in 2024 are just going into production due to the strikes preventing them from filming. The 2024 Release Schedule is always subject to changes and updates, as usual, but for now - these 10 exciting movies below should still arrive in theaters sometime next year. Plenty more to come as Hollywood reveals their surprises waiting in the wings. I tend to focus on sci-fi, since it's my ...

It's the end of 2023! Time to recap the year and drop your own Top 10 list, looking back through all of the films from this year. Here's another enjoyable countdown video to celebrate the year in cinema. UK-based movie lover Harvey John Perrie created a video of his "Top 10 Favourites" from 2023 in Cinema. This isn't the only 2023 recap video, with David Ehrlich's annual countdown due out in early January, as well as Sleepy Skunk's 2023 Movie Trailer Mashup (though not a countdown), Jed Wagman's 2023 Movie Mashup video, and Little White Lies' The 30 Best Films of 2023 video. It's always nice to see footage from all these movies while reviewing a Top 10 list, a reminder of how they look and feel. Some good underrated films are featured in Harvey's picks: Scrapper and Rye Lane and A Thousand and One are all worth a watch. Thanks to Letterboxd for the tip on this video. This "2023 in Cinema - Top 10 Favourites" video was created and edited by Harvey John Perrie, based in Glasgow, Scotland. You ...

"I'm part of something... You're not bigger or better than anything around you." Ski & snowboard season has kicked off, which means it's time to start making some plans if you want to catch powder days this year. Filmmaker Mattias Evangelista went home to Glacier, Washington to make this short documentary film about his brother, skier Micah Evangelista. It is a very poetic, pensive 5-minute ski movie about growing up in the Pacific Northwest and living in the shadow of Mt. Baker (see Google Maps). There's a resort right there called the Mount Baker Ski Area, which is where they filmed most of this. All of the footage was shot on film with Kodak stock. It's super grainy and beautiful, adding to the laid back, vintage feel of this. Even if you're not a skier, I think there's plenty to appreciate here - living a simple life, focusing on joyful moments. Thanks to Vimeo Staff Picks for the tip on this film being available to watch online. Brief intro from Vimeo: "In the depths of the Pacific Northwest, a skier reflects ...

"Would you like to go the cinema?" With only a few more days left at the end of 2023, many Best of the Year lists are dropping all over the web. The latest is from the film magazine Little White Lies' announcing their "30 Best Films of 2023" (in text here). LWL is based in and published in the UK, so their Top 30 is based on UK release dates, including one or two that counted as last year in the US (e.g. Return to Seoul was nominated at the Oscars). But the rest are all 2023 gems and many of them have already been receiving many awards & accolades. In addition to publishing a comprehensive article that includes write-ups on all 30 of their favorite films, they've also released a nice 10-minute long countdown video, mashing up footage from all of the films. I'm very happy to see Poor Things, Priscilla, Oppenheimer, Past Lives, Polite Society, How to Blow Up a Pipeline, & Fallen Leaves end up within the Top 20 - some of my faves, too. View below. Their ...

"I don't want to be that idiot anymore who misses out on life." Warner Bros Germany debuted an official trailer for a German movie opening February 2024 titled A Million Minutes, or Eine Million Minuten in German. It's based on the book "One Million Minutes: What My Daughter Taught Me About Time" from Wolf Küper, about his own experiences living a more healthier, sustainable life. The Küper family's life is turned upside down when their daughter Nina is diagnosed with a motor disorder. In search of a better way of life, they spend 694 days in Thailand & Iceland and discover a new world full of time for her and each family member. But social norms and the expectations of family members put their deceleration to the test. "One million minutes, 694 days, almost two years... The Küpers set off in search of a new, different way of life and discover anew every day: we only have every minute once." Starring Karoline Herfurth & Tom Schilling (from A Coffee in Berlin, Before the Fall) as the parents, with Pola Friedrichs ...

"Gee, Pee-wee, do you think you asked for enough?" There's not many new updates at this time of the year (the grey zone between Christmas & New Years) but this is a fun video to feature. Actor / comedian Paul Reubens passed away earlier in 2023 at the age of 70. In remembrance of his work, the Pee-wee Herman YT channel uploaded a pristine, 4K quality copy of his iconic Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special that aired on CBS in 1988. If you're not familiar with this X-Mas special, wondering why it's being brought up again, there's an entire Vulture article discussing its legacy within entertainment. "One of the strangest, most glorious, most improbable, most confident pieces of entertainment to appear on [TV]." Special guests include Frankie Avalon, Charo, The Del Rubio Triplets, Annette Funicello, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Whoopi Goldberg, Magic Johnson, Grace Jones, Little Richard, Joan Rivers, Dinah Shore, & Oprah Winfrey. Enjoy the laughs. Thanks to Kottke for the tip on this video. Full intro via YouTube: "'Pee-wee's Playhouse Christmas Special' as you've never seen it before — Beautifully restored, ...