Author: Alex Billington

"The year's breakout film." Is it really? Mubi has unveiled another official trailer for the British party film titled How to Have Sex, now opening in US theaters in February. Marking the feature directorial debut of cinematographer Molly Manning Walker, this premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival where it won the top prize in the Un Certain Regard section. It has made stops at other fests with a European debut on Mubi this fall. Three British teen girls go on a rites-of-passage holiday – drinking, clubbing, hooking up, in what should be the best summer of their lives. But it turns into a cautionary tale about the pressures of sex, consent, and self-discovery. More of a film about how not to have sex, which is the whole point. Breakout star Mia McKenna-Bruce plays Tara, starring with Samuel Bottomly, Lara Peake, Shaun Thomas, and newcomers Enva Lewis and Laura Ambler. The film is also part of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival line-up just announced today, playing in the "Spotlight" section with other films from last year. Have a look. Here's the ...

"If you really wanna win a game, stop pushing away your team." Amazon + MGM have debuted the trailer for a sports comedy called The Underdoggs, featuring Snoop Dogg hence the title. This is being dumped on streaming after originally being set for a theatrical release in January, after delays from release dates in 2023. That should tell you everything you need to know about the quality of this. The Underdoggs follows Jaycen "Two Js" Jennings, a washed-up former pro football star, who hits rock bottom and is sentenced to community service coaching an unruly pee-wee football team in his hometown. During the course of this, he may just turn his life around and rediscover his love of the game in the process. So this is just Mighty Ducks again? Of course it is, how dare Hollywood come up with an original idea! Snoop Dogg stars as "Two Js" along with Tika Sumpter, Andrew Schulz, Mike Epps, & George Lopez. This looks really, really bad. Here's the official red band trailer (+ poster) for Charles Stone III's The Underdoggs, from YouTube: When ...

"I'm sorry you're having to deal with that, but I'm allowed to feel things, too." Netflix has unveiled the official trailer for an indie dramedy titled Good Grief, marking the feature directorial debut of the comedic actor / writer Dan Levy (aka Daniel Levy). Best known for his starring role on the hit TV series "Schitt's Creek", Levy wrote and directed and produced this film, and also stars in it. An artist grieving the loss of his famous writer husband takes his two best friends on a trip to Europe where they unpack messy secrets and hard truths. When his husband Oliver unexpectedly dies, Marc's world shatters, which ends up sending him and his two best friends, Sophie and Thomas, on a soul-searching trip to Paris that reveals some hard truths they each needed to face. The ensemble cast includes Levy along with Ruth Negga, Himesh Patel, Celia Imrie, David Bradley, Arnaud Valois, Emma Corrin, Kaitlyn Dever, and Luke Evans. This looks like so many other films about grief and how hard is it to overcome, however this one is ...

"I don't always feel like the most reliable source..." Gravitas posted the official trailer for this indie horror creation called Soft Liquid Center, made by a filmmaking duo called "Perry Home Video". It premiered at a few fests earlier this year, including at the RiverRun & Chattanooga Film Festivals, with a VOD release set for this month. A recently single woman moves out on her own, but her newfound relief soon curdles as alarming, inexplicable events turn her home into a house of horrors filled with a controlling force. Reviews are praising its uniqueness: "If you're willing to give yourself to Soft Liquid Center, you'll be rewarded with a deeply haunting tale whose vibe and oppressive atmosphere will chill you to the bone." Starring Steph Holmbo, who co-wrote the script based on her own experiences, along with Paul Michel, Alex Palkovic, Mercedez Prince Davis, Michael Isaacs, Tom Gleason, and Rachel Turner. This is a seriously eerie and mysterious trailer that doesn't give away much at all, but will get your attention anyway. Worth a peek. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) ...

"Did you just ask if I was having fun?!" Hulu has unveiled an official trailer for an indie comedy called Self Reliance, marking the feature film directorial debut of American actor Jake Johnson. Johnson wrote & directed this, and also stars in it as the man who gets caught up in a crazy "game show". This first premiered earlier in the year at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival, and will hit streaming on Hulu in January soon. When a man is offered a million dollars to play a game in which hunters try to kill him, he thinks he has found the perfect loophole: they can only attack when he's alone. His only problem is that none of his friends or family believe the game is real. The full cast features Johnson with Anna Kendrick, Andy Samberg, Natalie Morales, Christopher Lloyd, Wayne Brady, GaTa, Emily Hampshire, Mary Holland, and Boban Marjanović. This is a pretty bold and clever concept to play with in a movie, the idea behind it seemingly inspired by couples and how everyone needs to be with ...

"The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power." Control your own destiny. We have officially launched our 2025 Release Schedule page (being added to the button bar once we land safely in the New Year), featuring listings throughout the year 2025 now that we're days away from sliding into 2024. This is our annual release update, to keep everyone informed about release dates in 2024 and 2025 looking ahead. We always launch the next calendar at the end of each year, and only update the release schedules two years out as it gets seriously sketchy beyond that. (Who knows what lies ahead for Hollywood...?) Back in 2021, we announced that schedules now include complete listings of VOD/streaming releases, with a clear indicator of which films will be opening in theaters versus streaming or VOD. We continue to focus on and highlight theatrical releases above all, with the original theatrical opening being the main date listed on the calendars. For all the latest release dates for upcoming movies, visit our FirstShowing calendars for: 2024 and 2025. With Hollywood still ...

"We didn't know anything about this business, but it didn't matter at all. It was too easy." Oh yeah, that sounds sketchy. Netflix has revealed an official trailer for a documentary film called Bitconned, an inside look at the story of one of the first cryptocurrency fraud schemes. Once again it brings up the question: is it a cautionary tale about cryptocurrency, or is actually a cautionary tale about greed and capitalism and how crime actually pays in America? You'll have to watch to find out! Netflix's intro explains: "In this fast-paced, debaucherous documentary from doc director Bryan Storkel (producer of The Legend of Cocaine Island, and director of The Pez Outlaw), Ray Trapani himself guides viewers through the ups and downs of his dramatic journey, alongside his family, former friends, and the journalist who exposed Centra Tech as the first high-profile fraud case of the crypto era." This has vibes of The Wolf of Wall Street, though about crypto and how easy it is to get away with scams like this these days. Seems a bit wild letting him ...

"You fell in love with them... now experience them on the biggest screen possible." It's official! Disney has announced that the three beloved Pixar movies made & released during the pandemic directly to streaming (on Disney+) will get proper theatrical releases in early 2024. This is a surprise from the Mouse House, especially considering they don't seem overly confident in Pixar anymore, with many of Disney's animated release not doing well in theaters. Fans have been complaining for years, and word is many workers at Pixar also complained about missing out on theatrical releases. "Disney & Pixar's Soul, Turning Red, and Luca are coming to theaters in 2024!" These three excellent Pixar movies are getting release starting on January 12th (Soul with the short film Burrow), February 9th (Turning Red with the short film Kitbull), March 22nd (Luca with the classic short film For the Birds). These are three of Pixar's best in years (yes it's true), and they've also got Inside Out 2 coming to theaters in June 2024. I will go see them! Each one is delightful. Here's the ...

"Sometimes I feel that I became a musician by accident." Mubi has unveiled a trailer for a documentary film titled A Tiger in Paradise, which is a "visual journey into the mind of internationally acclaimed musician José González and a deep dive into the creative, sharp and fragile mind behind the music." This first premiered at the CPH:DOX Film Festival earlier this year, and will be out to watch this month streaming on Mubi. González is from Sweden and the film is a Swedish production directed by a Swedish filmmaker. "A surreal and darkly humorous journey into the uniquely creative mind of José González. From the production company behind Triangle of Sadness, discover the depths of the mind of internationally acclaimed musician José González. Between gentle music, philosophical musings and surreal visuals, González reflects on his life and career 20 years after the release of his debut album Veneer." This looks like a mesmerizing film that is not just another generic biopic, it's more of a cinematic voyage through González's life and into his mind. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) ...