Author: Alex Billington

"Do you enjoy blocking the view?" Studiocanal Intl. has revealed an official trailer for a French romantic survival thriller called Suddenly, shortened from the original French title which translates to Suddenly Alone. It just opened earlier this December in France but there's still no US date confirmed - except it early next year. "Nothing can separate us." Based on the French-language novel Soudain Seuls, follows a couple that must fight for survival after they become stranded on an island which was supposed to be their dream journey. A new survival film by Thomas Bidegain, the acclaimed screenwriter of A Prophet and Rust and Bone, starring Gilles Lellouche and Mélanie Thierry. The two end up stranded on a deserted island of the coast of Chile and wake to discover their boat has disappeared. How will they make it through this? How will it change their relationship? Watch and find out. This looks like an emotionally thrilling survival story. Here's the full international trailer (+ poster) for Thomas Bidegain's Suddenly, direct from YouTube: Vincent & Laura are a passionate but volatile couple who embark ...

"I remember what's important and I make up the rest. That's what storytelling's all about." HBO unveiled an official trailer for the acclaimed documentary Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project, made by the two doc filmmakers Joe Brewster & Michèle Stephenson. This premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the top Grand Jury prize in its documentary section. This award-winning film travels through time & space to reveal the enduring influence of Nikki Giovanni, one of America's greatest living artists & social commentators. It reckons with the inevitable passing of time in a collision of memories, moments in American history, live readings, and visually unique depictions of Giovanni's poetry. Narrated by Taraji P. Henson. "Brewster & Stephenson's approach is imaginative and dreamlike, akin to the way Giovanni’s words are hair-raising in their power to summon unrealized ways of seeing." I watched this at Sundance and was also wowed by it, there's a unique cinematic feel that elevates her story and the message. It's really quite powerful - deserves to be seen by any intrigued viewer. It'll ...

"Something is lurking below the city." Well Go USA is releasing this Korean mystery horror thriller in the US on video starting soon this month. The Ghost Station, directed by Jeong Yong-ki, originally premiered at the 2022 Busan Film Festival last year. It already opened in Korea earlier in 2023, along with a few other countries in Asia, and an international premiere at FrightFest. What is it about? A public service worker at Oksu Station witnesses a shocking event & recruits his friend to help uncover the truth behind the station's mysterious happenings. The story follows Kim Na-yeong (played by Kim Bo-ra), a journalist struggling to craft any quality stories for a clickbait-infested gossip site. Upon hearing from her friend about a string of supposed suicides connected to Oksu subway station, Na-yeong begins to pull at a frightening thread that unravels a mystery far more insidious than initially expected... Starring Kim Bo-ra, Kim Jae-hyun, and Shin So-yul. This looks like early 2000s direct-to-video quality, but horror fans should take a look anyway. Here's the full international trailer (+ poster) for Jeong ...

"If you survived, you were just damn lucky." Netflix is playing a doc series called World War II: From the Frontlines, a look back at the harrowing days of WWII featuring freshly enhanced archival footage. This isn't the first time they've done this - Peter Jackson made the doc They Shall Not Grow Old about five years ago about The Great War, using enhanced & cleaned & colorized footage. This series is pretty much the same thing but with World War II. It takes a unique approach compared to other WWII documentaries as it involves perspectives of both Axis & Allied Powers. The six-episode docuseries comprehensively covers the war with diverse narration of firsthand experience. Enhanced archival footage, featuring voices of people all over the world, makes the storytelling of the global crisis a well-rounded portrayal. British actor John Boyega narrates the series, to add to this footage that was shot mostly by the soldiers themselves. Viewers will experience what it was like to face a kamikaze attack, run with a band of Resistance fighters, ride with GIs during the ...

"I'm not a serial killer, I'm somebody who solves a problem for somebody else." Yep. Netflix has debuted a 3-minute behind-the-scenes look at David Fincher's The Killer, his assassin thriller from this year that's now streaming on Netflix worldwide. Fincher is notoriously quiet about the behind-the-scenes, so it's nice to get any time with him as he talks about the process of making this. Even though the film has already been out for a month, after premiering at the Venice Film Festival in September, it's still part of the conversation this December during the awards season. The first video below comes from Netflix featuring Fincher himself discussing everything about making The Killer starring Michael Fassbender. The second video below is with his cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt for an interview where he explains the opening scenes and how they filmed it. The third video comes from a cinema equipment house called CVP, where they examine and discuss the cameras and cinemtoagraphy techniques that Fincher used to make The Killer, with tons of legit references. All three of them are worth a watch ...

"Tell me about the people who came to kill me." Paramount Movies has revealed the official trailer for an action thriller titled The Painter, made by the filmmaker / stunt coordinator Kimani Ray Smith. This is yet another one of these dull action movies being dumped right onto home video / VOD right away. An ex-CIA operative turned painter is thrown back into a dangerous world when a mysterious woman from his past resurfaces. Now exposed and targeted by a relentless killer and a rogue black ops program, he must rely on skills he thought he left behind in a high-stakes game of survival. Charlie Weber stars as Peter, with Jon Voight, Marie Avgeropoulos, Luisa d'Oliveira, Leah Gibson, and Madison Bailey. This looks like the most obvious & generic action plot ever, a must-save-a-girl-by-killing-everyone repeat and nothing else. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Kimani Ray Smith's The Painter, direct from YouTube: An ex-CIA operative turned painter (Charlie Weber) is thrown back into a dangerous world when a mysterious woman from his past resurfaces. Now exposed and targeted by a relentless ...

"Your dreams shall soon be true, but your nightmares will be, too." Amazon's Prime Video has revealed an official trailer for an adaptation of the "Dream a Little Dream" books called Silver. The full title is Silver and the Book of Dreams, and it is a German production in English for Prime Video - streaming on the service as of today, on December 8th. "Five friends, five dreams, five nightmares." Liv moves to London with her mother Ann and little sister Mia. She meets the mysterious Henry, who belongs to a secret circle that possesses the ability of "lucid dreaming", but their dream fulfillment will come with a high price. She and her band of dream-wanderers conduct a ritual to make their biggest dream come true, but it will demand the gravest sacrifice. Of course this perfect "dream" life will fall apart. This stars Jana McKinnon as Liv, with Rhys Mannion, Chaneil Kular, Josephine Blazier, Théo Augier Bonaventure, Efeosa Afolabi, Riva Krymalowski, and Nicolette Krebitz. This looks like a very cheesy made-for-TV movie - watch out. Here's the official trailer (+ ...

"You live in a hell, woman! Held hostage by children!" Magnolia Pictures has revealed an official trailer for an indie horror film titled The Seeding, the first horror feature from filmmaker Barnaby Clay. This originally premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival earlier this year, where they say it will keep viewers "on the edge of their seats." Set for a VOD release in January. When a hiker gets lost in the desert, a gang of feral children propelled by haunting legacies traps him in a sadistic fight for survival with a frightening endgame. "A slow-burning thriller from [the] prolific music video director, The Seeding is a stone-cold nightmare that confronts our fears of isolation and unchecked toxic masculinity headfirst." The Seeding stars Scott Haze and Kate Lyn Sheil. It was filmed on location in Kanab, Utah. This is a strange and disturbing trailer, with a lot of freaky things going on with these feral "stray" kids. Doesn't look like it is going to end well for him. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for Barnaby Clay's The Seeding, direct ...

"Mess with a tiger, you get the claws!" Paramount Animation has revealed the first look teaser trailer for an animated action movie titled The Tiger's Apprentice, adapted from the same book series. The animated project has been in development for years, and after finally starting production in 2020, the studio decided to cancel the theatrical release and instead send it directly to streaming on Paramount+. Which is a shame because this looks worthy of being seen in theater! Tom Lee, a Chinese-American boy, after the death of his grandmother, discovers he is part of a lineage of magical protectors known as the Guardians. With guidance from a mythical tiger named Hu, Tom trains up to take on Loo, a force that is as powerful as a Guardian but with evil intentions to use magic to destroy humanity. The Tiger's Apprentice stars Henry Golding as Mr. Hu and Brandon Soo Hoo as Tom, with Lucy Liu, Bowen Yang, Jo Koy, Sherry Cola, Leah Lewis, Sandra Oh, and Michelle Yeoh. Not a lot of footage in this first teaser, but enough to ...

"How'd he convince you to do this?" Vertical has revealed an official trailer for a mystery crime thriller film called Breakwater, made by a North Carolina native filmmaker named James Rowe. It premiered at the 2023 Cinequest Film Festival and also stopped by the SCAD Savannah Film Festival a few months ago. "On North Carolina's Outer Banks, those left after the tourist season have known this strip of sand their entire lives—or washed ashore here with nowhere else to go." A young ex-con risks his newfound freedom to help track down the estranged daughter of a fellow inmate, and unknowingly brings a devil from her past straight to her doorstep. It obviously has a few twists and turns in it. The film stars Darren Mann as Dovey, along with Dermot Mulroney, Mena Suvari, Alyssa Goss, and Sonja Sohn. This has been quickly set for a December release in a few weeks on VOD, and it actually looks solid. Some eerie, mysterious vibes going on. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for James Rowe's Breakwater, direct from Vertical's YouTube: Breakwater stars Darren Mann ...