Author: Alex Billington

"Nobody's gonna publish this." "I just want to rub their noses in it." MGM has unveiled another trailer for American Fiction, the highly acclaimed featured directorial debut of writer Cord Jefferson. This is one of the best films of the year - it's on my Top 10 of 2023 and has been winning awards all over since premiering at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival a few months ago. Author Thelonious "Monk" Ellison is peeved because his latest offering hasn't caught fire with publishers, while a tome called We's Lives in Da Ghetto by Sintara Golden hits the bestseller lists, leaving Monk seething. It's a critical, satirical commentary on our culture's obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes. Starring Jeffrey Wright as Monk, Tracee Ellis Ross, Issa Rae, Keith David, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Sterling K. Brown. I love this film! It's a bit romance, a bit family drama, with tons of humor and cunning satire about how culture is going these days. Easily one of Jeffrey Wright's best performances - a must watch this December. Now playing in ...

"Please keep me from giving birth to a chicken." Kino Lorber has revealed a new trailer for a 4K restoration of this 1990s indie film called Household Saints, made by NYC-native filmmaker Nancy Savoca. This originally premiered at the 1993 Toronto Film Festival, and it screened again at this year's New York Film Festival for its 30th anniversary. Adapted from Francine Prose's novel of the same name, it's an unsettling drama about three generations of Italian-American women struggling to get by in post-WWII New York's Little Italy. Kino Lorber and Milestone Films are proud to present a new 4K restoration of Nancy Savoca's Household Saints, featuring a cast inclduing Tracey Ullman, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lili Taylor, Judith Malina, and Michael Imperioli. The film has been digitally restored and remastered by Lightbox Film Center at University of the Arts (Philadelphia) in collaboration with Milestone Films with support from Ron and Suzanne Naples. Described as a "a unique voice in 1990s NYC independent filmmaking" - have a look. Here's the 4K restoration trailer (+ original poster) for Nancy Savoca's Household Saints, from YouTube: Based on ...

"You ain't built like them." Netflix has revealed the official trailer for The Kitchen, a sci-fi thriller marking the feature directorial debut of acclaimed British actor Daniel Kaluuya. He co-directs this with British filmmaker (and architect) Kibwe Tavares, with a release set for January streaming worldwide on Netflix. This originally premiered at the Closing Night film at the 2023 London Film Festival a few months ago. A story of fatherhood and love for the community... Every city has a Kitchen. In a dystopian London, the gap between rich and poor has been stretched to its limits. Izi's close to escaping The Kitchen, one of London’s last remaining housing estates. But when young Benji enters his life, he faces some hard decisions. In future London where all social housing has been eliminated, Izi & Benji fight to navigate the world as residents of a community that refuses to abandon their home. The film stars Kane Robinson + introducing Jedaiah Bannerman as Izi & Benji, with Hope Ikpoku Jr, Ian Wright, BackRoad Gee, Cristale, Teija Kabs, and Demmy Ladipo. This is a ...

"This isn't a job anymore... it's turned into a war." Saban has revealed an official trailer for Hellhound, an action thriller from Thailand made by an American filmmaker named Joshua Dixon originally from Texas. This will be getting a VOD release directly in January for anyone who wants to watch this. Otherwise, just skip it, you won't miss much. Ready to leave his profession behind, Loreno, an assassin, lends help to an old friend, Cetan, and taking one last job in Thailand seeking out a local kingpin. A judgment lapse violently crosses paths with an old colleague Paul. Louis Mandylor stars in this new action thriller - ...

"This is my house and I'm not selling it!" Greenwich Entertainment has revealed an official US trailer for an indie drama from the country of Jordan called Inshallah a Boy, the acclaimed feature directorial debut of Jordanian filmmaker Amjad Al Rasheed. It first premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival in the Critics' Week sidebar, also playing at the TIFF, London, Montclair, Thessaloniki, Stockholm Film Fests. Inshallah a Boy (which translates to "God willing a boy") is about Jordan's inheritance culture under which women are pressured to relinquish their rights to any property to male relatives. A widow named Nawal pretends to be pregnant with a son in order to save her daughter and home from a relative exploiting Jordan's patriarchal inheritance laws. It is also Jordan's official submission for Best International Film at the Academy Awards this year. Mouna Hawa stars as Nawal, joined by Haitham Omari, Yumna Marwan, Salwa Nakkara, Mohammad Al Jizawi, Eslam Al-Awadi, and Celina Rabab'a. Reviews are all positive so far, saying that it features "gorgeous cinematography and an incredible performance from Mouna Hawa." Worth ...

"They won't fear it until they understand it." With the awards season in full swing now, Universal Pictures is putting all of their weight behind one of 2023's top contenders: Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. It might just go all the way and win Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and a bunch of other Oscars. As part of their awards season promo, they've released a series of 2-minute behind-the-scenes featurettes for all of the various categories: costumes, cinematography, production design, directing, score, editing, hair & make-up, VFX, and every other technical aspect. All 10 of the main videos are available to watch below. I am also completely with Oppenheimer, it's on my Top 10 of 2023 (list here), and I'm happy to give it as much support as I can in hopes that it'll rightfully win some awards. I also suggest reading this excellent article by A.A. Dowd called "Oppenheimer was the movie of 2023" for even more context to why it's Oppie's year. If there's one category I believe it must win – I truly believe Ludwig Göransson's is one ...

"I'm not letting you do this. I'm not letting you take this from me." Falling Forward Films has revealed an official trailer for an indie psychological thriller titled Some Other Woman, the latest film directed by the actor Joel David Moore (most well known as Norm in the Avatar movies). He directed a few other feature films before this, including Hide and Seek in 2021. This originally premiered at the 2023 Mammoth Film Festival earlier this year, and will be out in theaters in January 2024 for a limited release. The film follows a woman whisked away to a tropical island by her husband's work. As the months turn to years and unable to leave the island, she finds her life slowly taken over by another woman, piece by piece. Some Other Woman stars Amanda Crew, Tom Felton, Ashley Greene, Joel David Moore, Brooke Lyons, plus former NBA star Rick Fox. This definitely looks a bit creepy but not very memorable with fairly derivative concept. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Joel David Moore's Some Other Woman, direct from YouTube: Some ...

"You make the holidays." Always take a moment to bring some happiness to any who might need it. Enjoy this wonderful holiday short film called Fuzzy Feelings, made as a promotion for Apple by an agency and animation studio. It's actually quite heartfelt and wholesome, not obnoxious or heavy-handed at all. Fuzzy Feelings is a short film made by director Lucia Aniello for Apple's ad agency TBWA\Media Arts Lab. It's set in London and follows a woman who is creating her own stop-motion animated short film (on an iPhone and Macbook, of course) in her spare time while dealing with a grumpy boss at work. "Sometimes, seeing things through a new lens can make all the difference." Set to the song "Isn't It a Pity” by George Harrison. I was really taken by this short, it's so humble and charming and doesn't even feature any dialogue either. The stop-motion side is animated by the studio Passion Pictures. Worth a watch - it's not even 4 minutes long. Thanks to Vimeo Staff Picks for the tip on this short film available online. ...

"This is bigger than you think." Netflix has revealed an official trailer for a German race-against-the-clock thriller called Sixty Minutes (oder 60 Minuten auf Deutsch), arriving in January for streaming on Netflix. 60 Minutes is an action-packed race against time. Leading actor and multi-talent Emilio Sakraya lets his fists fly as mixed martial arts fighter Octavio. MMA fighter Octavio has one hour to make it to his daughter's birthday party across Berlin or he'll lose custody forever. To reach her in time he turns down an important fight, which puts him in a dangerous position with some even more dangerous people. Of course. Suddenly Octavio isn't only trapped in a ruthless race against time but also a chase through the entire city that pushes him to his limits. Also starring Dennis Mojen, Marie Mouroum, Paul Wollin, Aristo Luis, Morik Heydo, and Florian Schmidtke. This reminds me a lot of the Berlin classic Run Lola Run, a modern "but what if a MMA guy instead" Netflix remix. Unfortunately it looks bad, cheesier than it should be - watch out. Here's the official ...

"I'm gonna make you all kings of this new world." Lionsgate has revealed the official trailer for a western thriller film titled The Night They Came Home, made by producer / editor Paul G. Volk. This is set for a VOD release in January during the usual dumping season at the beginning of each year. A frontier lawman partners with an Indian detective to hunt down a ruthless band of teenage criminals with vengeance on their minds. Danny Trejo stars as one of the main characters in The Night They Came Home, an action-packed western based on the savage crime spree of the Rufus Buck Gang, outlaws hell-bent on revenge. Inspired by a true story from the frontier days of the American West. Directed by Paul G. Volk and also starring Brian Austin Green, Robert Carradine, Charlie Townsend, & Tim Abell. This looks made-for-TV quality. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Paul G. Volk's The Night They Came Home, from YouTube: Inspired by true events, The Night They Came Home chronicles the ruthless exploits of the Rufus Buck Gang, a group ...