Author: Alex Billington

"When kindness can cost you your life, it becomes like a miracle." Lionsgate has released another brand new 2024 release trailer for the movie White Bird, formerly known as White Bird: A Wonder Story. A sort of "spin-off" from the Wonder movie with Jacob Tremblay & Julia Roberts. Based on the graphic novel, it's a harrowing WWII survival story. The movie is about a boy named Julian who meets his French grandmother, who shares her story: how she, a young Jewish girl, was hidden by a family in a Nazi-occupied French village during World War II; how the boy she and her classmates once shunned became her savior and best friend. From Marc Forster (the director of Finding Neverland and Christopher Robin) White Bird, like Wonder before it, is an emotional story about how empathy for others can make a difference in the world. Starring Helen Mirren, Gillian Anderson, Bryce Gheisar, Ariella Glaser, & Orlando Schwerdt. Strangely this movie has now been delayed for a full two years - originally set for 2022, then for August 2023, finally now for ...

"Careful what you draw." Another chilling new horror short under 5 minutes has launched online, proving that you can pull off some good scares in just a few minutes. The Drawing is the latest horror short made by filmmaker Jay Salahi - who also released the feature film Northwood Pie last year and the hilariously awesome microwave horror short called Ding... You're Dead earlier this year (it's also worth a watch). The Drawing short has been playing at festivals all year, ending up with the Audience Award at HorrorHaus and winning 1st Place at the Spooky Film Festival. An artist is haunted by a figure from her drawing - starring Annika Foster & Destiny Mounce. Salahi says he was flexing his muscles as a filmmaker trying to make a short "driven mostly by visuals, practicing suspense and tension, not re-using any angles and packing as many little organic horror beats as possible in under 3 minutes." Yeah it's freaky good - view the film below. Thanks to Jay on Twitter for reaching out with a tip on this one. Brief intro ...

"I am your eyes in the sky, and the bringer of doom." The Avenue has revealed their official trailer for a jingoistic action thriller called Land of Bad, which is a pretty catchy title for this one. It's set to open in theaters in February - the latest film made by talented filmmaker Will Eubank, of The Signal, Underwater, and Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin. "When sh*t goes down in the jungle, there's one team for the job." When a Delta Force team is ambushed in enemy territory, a rookie officer played by the other brother Liam Hemsworth refuses to abandon them. Their only hope lies with an Air Force drone pilot as the eyes in the sky during a brutal 48-hour battle for survival in the jungle. Russell Crowe co-stars as the drone pilot, with Luke Hemsworth, Ricky Whittle, Milo Ventimiglia, Daniel MacPherson, Gunner Wright, and Lincoln Lewis. This doesn't look that bad, better than most action films being churned out these days, though it is a bit strange to see them go full pro-drone. Whatever it takes to ...

"This marriage... is starting off on the wrong foot." Voltage Pictures has unveiled the trailer for Beautiful Wedding, the follow-up sequel to the romantic comedy Beautiful Disaster - which just opened earlier this year. Yes, they've already got the sequel lined up and ready to go. Picking up where Beautiful Disaster left off, Abby and Travis wake up after a crazy night in Vegas as accidental newlyweds and travel to Mexico for a wild, weird honeymoon – but are they in for another disaster? Adapted from the book "A Beautiful Wedding" by Jamie McGuire. In this absurd travel comedy, Dylan Sprouse and Virginia Gardner return as "Trabby" - the ensemble cast includes Austin North, Libe Barer, Steven Bauer, Alex Aiono, Neil Bishop, Micky Dartford, Jack Hesketh, Declan Laird, Rob Estes & Kyle Richards. Have a good time down in Mexico. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Roger Kumble's Beautiful Wedding, direct from YouTube: Picking up where Beautiful Disaster left off, Abby and Travis (Virginia Gardner and Dylan Sprouse) wake up after a crazy night in Vegas as accidental newlyweds. With ...

"I never thought music would be my destiny." Music Box Films has revealed a brand new US trailer for the documentary film titled Ennio, a biopic doc about the legendary Italian film composer Ennio Morricone. This was in the works for years already, but it was only finished after Ennio passed away in late 2020. The film premiered a few years ago at the 2021 Venice Film Festival, opening in Europe in 2022. It's now finally set for a release in the US in February 2024, nearly 3 years after its premiere. A portrait of one of the most popular and prolific film composers of the twentieth century, Ennio celebrates the life and legacy of Ennio Morricone, featuring never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with many filmmakers & musicians including Hans Zimmer, John Williams, Quentin Tarantino, Clint Eastwood, and others. I actually saw this in Venice in 2021 in its original 3-hour form, and it's packed with interviews, conversations, insight into what made Ennio so special, and candid moments with him during interviews. It's an absolute must watch film if you ...

"Only an ass would defend a goat!" Pathe in France has revealed an official trailer for a new French comedy called This Is The Goat!, which is the fun English title of the original Les Chèvres (which translates to simply The Goats). Here's the pitch: Did you know that in 17th-century France, animals could be judged for committing crimes? In 1644, a goat is accused of murder... A failing lawyer in France decides to take on the case of defending young, innocent Josette, wrongfully accused of murder - only to realize later that Josette is actually a goat. Caught in the trap, he can't back down, being already the one who never saved a single one of his clients, he doesn't want to become the one who can't even save a goat! This time, he must win... by whatever means necessary. A film by Fred Cavayé, starring Dany Boon, Jérôme Commandeur, Claire Chust, Alexandre Desrousseaux, Grégory Gadebois, and Marie-Anne Chazel. It seems a bit like a Broken Lizard comedy if they were French - same kind of jokes and ridiculous ...

"Not a moment goes by where I'm not thinking about what I've done." Prime Video has revealed the first full trailer for the new series Expats, created by the talented filmmaker Lulu Wang (her latest since her hit film The Farewell). Expats is an upcoming American drama streaming television series created by Wang based on the 2016 novel "The Expatriates" by Janice Y. K. Lee that is set to stream on Prime Video starting in January. It follows "the vibrant lives of a close-knit expatriate community: where affluence is celebrated, friendships are intense but knowingly temporary, and personal lives, deaths and marriages are played out publicly—then retold with glee." It's a story about the many lives of expats living in other countries (mainly in Hong Kong) - starring Nicole Kidman as Margaret, Ji-young Yoo as Mercy, Jack Huston as David Starr, Sarayu Blue as Hilary Starr, Brian Tee as Clarke, and Flora Chan as Olive. Oh my yes, this looks absolutely ravishing, a beautiful & emotionally honest look at the complex lives of these people in this city. Here's the first ...

"An intergalactic odyssey of love, ambition, and self-discovery." Netflix has revealed a first look teaser for a new film titled Spaceman, a surprise release coming up in March 2024. It's a new film directed by Swedish filmmaker Johan Renck, who's mostly been making music videos + TV since his feature debut Downloading Nancy 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 from the beginning of time he finds hiding in the bowels of his ship. The sci-fi film stars Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, and Paul Dano, directed by Johan Renck, based on the novel "Spaceman of Bohemia", this also stars Kunal Nayyar, Lena Olin, and Isabella Rossellini. Only two shots in this teaser - but I'm intrigued to see more ...

"We need to talk about it. Because talking about death will help us to live together better." A fascinating, must watch animated short film made in London called Dying for Beginners, created by the filmmaker / illustrator Emily Downe. It's just over 4 minutes and it's a remarkably soothing watch despite the topic at hand. The intro: "Talking about death has become a bit of a taboo, but in this film, palatine care physician Dr Kathryn Mannix gently de-mystifies the process of dying. I hope it's helpful." The acclaimed author, speaker and former palliative care physician Dr Kathryn Mannix has spent her medical career working with people who have incurable, advanced illnesses. She is on a mission to reclaim the public's understanding of dying. This film hopes to really begin the conversation and keep it going - you can find out more about her research & writings on her official site. The animation is so simple and comforting, and works well with this. Thanks to Vimeo Staff Picks for the tip on this short film debuting online. Brief intro via Vimeo: ...

"Don't swim alone." Universal Pictures + Blumhouse have debuted a fun new 60-second promo "featurette" for the supernatural thriller titled Night Swim (watch the latest official trailer here). Atomic Monster and Blumhouse, producers of M3GAN, high dive into the deep end of horror with the new supernatural thriller, Night Swim. Produced by James Wan and Jason Blum, this horror film is a feature length adaptation of the 2014 short film about a woman swimming in her pool at night terrorized by an evil spirit. In this version, the story follows a former pro baseball player who ends his career with a degenerative illness and retires to his fancy home with a nice pool. But something is in that pool... Starring Wyatt Russell, Kerry Condon, Amélie Hoeferle, and Gavin Warren. This video plays up scares by having the cast & crew discuss their intentions and just how scary it is to have something grab you in a pool at night. The director's stated intent with this movie: to ruin the swimming pool forever. You'll never want to swim again after this ...