Author: Alex Billington

"Do it again. This time so it doesn't suck." A remarkable proof-of-concept short film to show the incredible potential of the Unreal Engine. Of course this isn't the first animated short film to do this, but this one does stand out. Flite is a sci-fi hyper-realistic 3D animated short film created by VFX artist Tim Webber, who also happens to be CCO of the VFX studio known as Framestore in the UK. They've been hyping this up all year and it's finally online to watch. "Using state-of-the-art virtual production techniques comes one of the most technically impressive sci-fi shorts." Set in London 2053, a world champion hoverboarder finds herself imprisoned in a skyscraper by her obsessive manager. She engineers an ingenious high-rise escape but soon finds herself riding for her life. The film features Alba Baptista as Stevie, with Gethin Anthony, Daniel Lawrence Taylor, and Hayley Carmichael. This comes from an Oscar winning VFX house so it has that near-perfect look and feel. I love that this shows how much potential hoverboards really have in the future. Thanks to Short of ...

"You never know who they are going to shoot." Mubi has debuted the official US trailer for an acclaimed Chilean indie drama titled The Settlers, originally Los Colonos in Spanish. This premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, and also played at Toronto, New York, London, & Denver Film Fests. Described as a "visceral & visionary anti-Colonialist Western." Debut writer-director Felipe Gálvez asserts himself as a revelatory new cinematic voice with The Settlers, a searing and indelible take on the Western. A mixed-race Chilean rides south on an expedition led by MacLenan, a former Boer War English captain and Bill, an American mercenary, to fence off land granted to the Spanish landowner José Menéndez. Blending historical specificity with vivid visual style, the film creates a singular immersive vision, arresting in both content and form. Set against stunning mountain landscapes, Chile's Best International Feature Film entry to the 2024 Oscars is a visceral reckoning with national myth and the attendant violence. Starring Camilo Arancibia, Mark Stanley, and Benjamin Westfall. This looks damn good - it is definitely worth ...

"Why would a monk take our gun?" Roadside Attr. has unveiled the US trailer for the exceptional new film The Monk and The Gun made in the remote mountainous country of Bhutan by Bhutanese filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji (who was already nominated for an Oscar for his last film Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom). This premiered at the 2023 Telluride & Toronto Film Festivals and is also Bhutan's submission to the Oscars this year, of course. I had a chance to see the film and LOVED it. An elderly lama, recognizing that extraordinary change is about to sweep through his country as they are introducing democratic voting, is troubled by the possible outcomes. He instructs his young disciple Tashi to set forth into the kingdom and bring him two guns before the full moon to "set it right." His quest brings him into contact with a scheming American gun collector Ron, leading to a most unexpected ending. Starring Tandin Wangchuk, Kelsang Choejey, Harry Einhorn, Pema Zangmo Sherpa, and Deki Lhamo. I raved about this in my review, calling it ...

"What have you done?!" "You woke up the beast." IFC Films has revealed a new US trailer for the intense action film set mostly in Thailand titled Mayhem! (aka Farang), the latest creation from the French genre filmmaker Xavier Gens (of Frontier(s), The Divide, Cold Skin). The film already opened in France in June and premiered at the 2023 Neuchatel Fantastic Film Festival in the summer, now set for an early January release in the US. Sam is an exemplary inmate. A few months before his release from prison, he is diligently preparing for his reintegration. During a leave, his past catches up with him and an accident leaves him only one choice: escape. Five years later, after rebuilding his life in Thailand, he has founded the family he had always dreamed of. But Narong, the local godfather, forces him to plunge into delinquency again. When Sam wants to stop everything, Narong attacks his family... Now Sam will cross Thailand to take revenge on his executioner. Mayhem! stars Nassim Lyes, Olivier Gourmet, and Vithaya Pansringarm. This reminds me of the ...

"How's the intimacy between the two of you?" Prime Video has unveiled the first official trailer for the new series Mr. & Mrs. Smith, a modern re-invention of the spy comedy movie of the same name from 2005. This new version is created & produced by Donald Glover & Francesca Sloane, who have taken Simon Kinberg's original script and given it a fresh new spin for 2024. Two strangers land jobs with a spy agency that offers them a life of espionage, wealth, and travel. The catch: their new identities require them to be in an arranged marriage. Their cover story becomes even more complicated when they catch real feelings for each other. "What's riskier: espionage or marriage?" Ha ha. Donald Glover stars as Mr. John Smith, and Maya Erskine (the voice of the Blue Eye Samurai) as Mrs. Jane Smith, with an ensemble cast featuring Parker Posey, Wagner Moura, Michaela Coel, John Turturro, Paul Dano, Eiza González, Sarah Paulson, Alexander Skarsgård, Sharon Horgan, and Ron Perlman. Amazon is quite confident they have a hit new series on their hands, ...

"Dig it. Dig it deep, sir." Always a delight to find out John Waters' loved from this past year in film! One of our favorite "best of the year" lists that kicks off this time of the year is from filmmaker John Waters - his Top 10 favorite films in a list that is unlike any other. For 2023, Waters has chosen a rather intriguing mix of 10 favorite films, featuring Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer (yes for real!) and Ari Aster's Beau Is Afraid. His previous Top 10 list from 2022 included two François Ozon films on it, but this year there is no Ozon or Dupieux, though there are three other French films that he enjoyed for various kooky reasons. Highlights from 2023 include the excellent thriller Full Time, and Aki Kaurismäki's romantic comedy Fallen Leaves (which everyone else adores, too). After years of publishing this list with the magazine ArtForum, Waters has switched it up and sent it to Vulture instead. Peruse all of his Top 10 favorites from 2023 below. Waters includes a short one/two-sentence explanation with each pick, ...

"The existence of faith is ambiguous." Kino Lorber has revealed the official US trailer for an indie film from Vietnam titled Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, which won the Camera d'Or award at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival for Best First Film. Marking the feature directorial debut of Vietnamese filmmaker Thien An Pham, this premiered in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar at Cannes & played at many prestigious festivals throughout the year. It already opened in Vietnam in August. A man returns to his hometown, where he's haunted by past memories and desires. The film is three hours long and heralded by critics as a new voice in the "slow cinema" genre. "This enthralling debut from Vietnamese filmmaker Thien An Pham is a reverie on faith, loss, and nature expressed with uncommon invention and depth." As Thien battles with the existential question of what is worth living for, the film interrogates the persistence and complexity of faith, not only in the spiritual but in the delicate beauty of earthly existence. Starring Le Phong Vu, Nguyen Thinh, Vu Ngoc Manh, Nguyen Thi ...

"I'm not your prisoner. I'm here to negotiate." Oh yeah, don't mess with mama! Netflix has unveiled the full official trailer trailer for a new action comedy series titled The Brothers Sun, co-created by Brad Falchuk and Byron Wu. Available for streaming in January just after we land in 2024. The series follows Charles Sun, a Taipei gangster who's settled into a life as a ruthless killer, but must go to L.A. to protect his mother & younger brother after his father was shot by a mysterious assassin. Described as an action-packed comedy and family-drama, that is set between Taiwan and Los Angeles, about this family and all the crime they're caught up in. Justin Chien stars with Michelle Yeoh, Sam Song Li, Highdee Kuan, and Joon Lee. The cast also includes Alice Hewkin, Jon Xue Zhang, Jenny Yang, Madison Hu, and Rodney To. This looks hilarious! Just the right kind of trailer to get your attention and actually make you want to watch. Lots of action, lots of good humor, lots of cool characters. Should be a blast! A ...

"The hunt will never stop." Netflix has unveiled the main official trailer for a Korean mystery thriller event titled GyeongSeong Creature, which will be split into two parts. The series is set in Gyeongseong (which is the old name for Seoul) in 1945. In Seoul's grim era under colonial rule, an entrepreneur & sleuth fight for survival and face a monster born out of human greed. During Japanese rule over Korea, two young adults confront a strange creature and battle against it for survival. Starring Park Seo-jun and Han So-hee, with Claudia Kim (from Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), Kim Hae-sook, Cho Han-cheul, & Wi Ha-jun (from Squid Game). Gyeongseong Creature Part 1 debuts at the end of December, with Part 2 a few weeks later in early January. This full trailer still doesn't show any actual shots of the creature(s) in this, only hints (same as the teaser). There's tentacles and claws. It seems like more than just one creature, will they end up on the loose? How might they stop them? Many questions waiting to be answered ...

"I love you whether you like it or not." Neon has unveiled the first official trailer for the indie horror thriller from Norway titled Handling the Undead, marking the first narrative feature from Norwegian filmmaker Thea Hvistendahl. It was also announced today as part of the 2024 Sundance Film Festival line-up in the World Cinema Competition section. This dramatic horror-thriller takes place on a hot summer day in Oslo. The newly dead mysteriously awaken, and three families are thrown into chaos when their deceased loved ones come back to them. Who are they, and what do they want? What does this resurrection mean and are their loved ones back? (Probably not, but that's part of the mystery...) Adapted from the novel by the same writer who wrote the Let the Right One In book. Starring Renate Reinsve (from The Worst Person in the World), Bjørn Sundquist, Bente Børsum, Anders Danielsen Lie, Bahar Pars, and Inesa Dauksta. Yes this is high on my list of most anticipated films in 2024, and especially at Sundance - I'll be making this one a ...