Author: Alex Billington

"When children love you, they do it with all of their hearts." Apple TV has unveiled an official trailer for a cute new adaptation of the beloved classic The Velveteen Rabbit, a story originally written by Margery Williams. This 44-min short film is rated TV-G and is meant for kids of all ages to enjoy this holiday season. Based on the treasured children's book by Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit celebrates the magic of unconditional love. When William receives a new favorite toy for Christmas, he discovers a lifelong friend and unlocks a world of magic. Starring Phoenix Laroche as William, and a voice cast with Alex Lawther as the Velveteen Rabbit, Helena Bonham Carter as Wise Horse, Nicola Coughlan as Playroom Fairy, Bethany Antonia, Lois Chimimba, Paterson Joseph, Clive Rowe, Nathaniel Parker, Samantha Colley as Mother. A classic storybook tale of friendship & adventure. The film features animated segments in addition to the live-action story with the boy. Reminds me of Toy Story with all the toys "coming to life." Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Apple TV+'s The ...

There's a wonderful little indie distributor based in NYC called Zeitgeist Films, founded in 1988. If you're a die-hard cinephile, you probably already recognize the name. They've supported amazing filmmakers and little films that deserve to be seen in US art house cinemas. From their website, they explain Zeitgeist as: "Distributed over 200 of the finest independent films from the U.S. and around the world including the early works of Todd Haynes, Christopher Nolan, François Ozon, Laura Poitras, Atom Egoyan and the Quay Brothers. Their catalog has also included films from the world's most outstanding filmmakers: Agnes Varda, Guy Maddin, Olivier Assayas, Jia Zhang-ke, Abbas Kiarostami, Derek Jarman, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Peter Greenaway, Philippe Garrel, Yvonne Rainer, Jan Svankmajer, Margarethe Von Trotta, Andrei Zyvagintsev and Raoul Peck." To celebrate their 35th anniversary, Metrograph is hosting screenings of some of their finest gems. "We're particularly looking forward to reuniting with some of our filmmakers who will join us to share their works, some newly restored in 4K DCP & others in archival 35mm prints." Take a look below. Here's the official trailer ...

"Breathe it in and you're dead." Netflix has revealed an official trailer for a thrilling true story mini-series from Netflix India called The Railway Men, about the 1984 Bhopal chemical plant disaster. This will be streaming on Netflix worldwide later in November. A tale of the unsung heroes, whose sacrifice & resilience saved thousands of lives, on a night that changed Bhopal forever. This seems like India's Chernobyl disaster, and the series looks a lot like Craig Mazin's Chernobyl series, focusing on the people who put their own lives in danger trying to deal with this horror and save the lives of anyone they can. A story of extraordinary heroism demonstrated by the employees of the Indian Railways in Bhopal. These individuals rose against all odds to save their fellow citizens on the night of December 2nd, 1984, battling an invisible enemy in the air. The ensemble cast is lead by R Madhavan, KK Menon, Divyenndu, and Babil Khan. What a harrowing trailer. This series has some style to it, and looks like it will be a seriously gripping & ...

"You're like James Bond in a minivan?" Apple TV has revealed an official trailer for The Family Plan, a big action comedy from the streaming network heading directly to streaming in December at the end of the year. No theatrical release for this one. How's this for a story we've seen so many times before that they're rehashing once again: A former top assassin living incognito as a suburban dad must take his unsuspecting family on the run when his past catches up to him. Isn't this similar to Taken or True Lies all over again? Determined to protect his family — while treating them to the vacation of a lifetime — Dan must put his long-dormant skills into action, without revealing his true identity. Mark Wahlberg stars with Michelle Monaghan, Zoe Colletti, Van Crosby, Saïd Taghmaoui, Maggie Q, and Ciarán Hinds as the lead bad guy. Of course this looks super cheesy, but the baby kinda looks hilarious. Don't know how they got that performance out of him?! Seems like another Vegas road trip comedy more than assassin thriller ...

"It's impossible." "It just hasn't been done before." Can they pull it off? Netflix has revealed the first trailer for a new heist action comedy called Lift, coming to Netflix to watch in January 2024 early next year. This trailer just debuted during a big NFL game, which means Netflix is trying to make this one of their next big hits. Does it really have that potential? An international heist crew, led by Cyrus Whitaker, race to lift $500 million in gold from a passenger plane while flying at 40,000 feet. It's from the same director as The Italian Job remake and Law Abiding Citizen, F. Gary Gray, so it might actually be pretty cool to see them pull this off. Kevin Hart stars as Cyrus, with Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vincent D'Onofrio, Úrsula Corberó, Billy Magnussen, Jacob Batalon, Viveik Kalra, Yun Jee Kim, Burn Gorman, Paul Anderson, as well as Jean Reno and Sam Worthington. This heist seems like a pretty big job - involving a whole other plane swooping in, and a safe to crack, and lots of other heist ...

"It's the devil coming to get you." A festival trailer has debuted for this indie thriller titled Light Falls, the latest feature film directed by the Greek cinematographer Phedon Papamichael. It's premiering soon at the 2023 Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia (aka PÖFF) as a world premiere in the Critics' Picks Competition section. Most film fans will recognize Papamichael from his acclaimed work as a DP on movies like Poison Ivy, Cool Runnings, Phenomenon, Patch Adams, Sideways, 3:10 to Yuma, The Descendants, The Monuments Men, Ford v Ferrari, and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny recently. His new film is described as "an outstanding analysis of the divided world we live in." A young lesbian couple is vacationing on a Greek island and they decide to explore an abandoned hotel. An accident and a clash of different worlds set off a spiral of violence and revenge. Starring model Elensio as Clara with Nini Nebieridze, Silvio Goskova, Juxhin Plovishti, and Jurgen Marku. This is just about to premiere in Talllinn, so there's no other release dates yet as ...

Another need another dose of Oppenheimer before the year's over? Good news! Christopher Nolan's highly acclaimed movie is playing again in select IMAX theaters for one extra week - starting today, November 3rd. Nolan's Oppenheimer is one of this year's best movies, an exhilarating theatrical experience that has already had a massive impact worldwide with record-breaking box office, proving big screen storytelling can still draw big audiences. Universal Pictures is hoping it can cross over into $1 billion worldwide by letting it play a bit longer (it's currently at $947M). Starring Cillian Murphy as the "Father of the Atomic Bomb", scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer, this three-hour long movie takes us on a journey from his early years through the Manhattan Project and after, when they unfairly took away his security clearance. Oppenheimer will show in select IMAX theaters, including 6 exclusive IMAX 70mm film locations – for one more week (via IMAX). It's one of the best experiences of the year - return for another round of cinematic magnificence.

"This guy did something special every single Sunday." NFL Films + Prime Video have revealed the main official trailer for the sports documentary Bye Bye Barry, arriving for streaming later in November. Not just another sports doc, this is a story about the mystery of one of the greatest athletes in American football history. When NFL superstar Barry Sanders vanished at the height of his career, he left the NFL world in shock. He was in his prime, chasing the all-time rushing record, when he boarded a flight to England and never stepped foot on the field again. 24 years later Barry retraces his steps through the streets of London to finally confront the mystery. "We've all watched his highlights and wished he had played longer in the NFL, and wondered why he really retired so abruptly. We are thrilled to look back at his extraordinary career and get to better understand one of the biggest icons of the sport," states Prime Video. While this still one big NFL promotion, it does look like a fascinating "let's reveal the truth" ...

"She is a rebel now." A festival promo trailer has debuted for a Turkish indie sci-fi film called Once Upon a Time in the Future: 2121, which is still showing on the fest circuit now after premiering last year. It's actually a major achievement - this is the first sci-fi feature film made by a woman in Turkey, and it's also apparently Turkey's first sustainable film. Set in the future when Earth is uninhabitable due to climate crisis & famine. The few survivors form colonies and live in underground blocks. According to "The Scarcity Laws" of the Young Administration which controls this system, old generations must be destroyed in exchange for new lives. The life of a family that lives in one of the blocks is changed by a new baby they are expecting. A fascinating modern Turkish mashup between Silo and Logan's Run - or so it seems. Starring Selen Öztürk, Çagdas Onur Öztürk, Sukeyna Kiliç, and Ayseniil Samlioglu. This does look like a witty & clever take on the stuck-underground sci-fi concept, with some Turkish sensibilities that make ...

"Stay away from my friends, my theater, and my neighborhood." Shout has debuted the official trailer for an indie action comedy titled Showdown at the Grand, from filmmaker Orson Oblowitz. This trailer has been out for a few weeks, but we're just catching up with it – looks like some harmless fun. It's an 80s action movie homage with a big battle at a vintage cinema. A proud movie theater owner honors action star turned recluse "Claude Luc Hallyday" with a retrospective of his illustrious career but when real estate developers show up to ruin the party, the two new friends must fight off corporate greed in the name of art. Showdown stars Terrence Howard, John Savage, Amanda Righetti, Piper Curda, and Swedish badass Dolph Lundgren as Claude Luc Hallyday. Looks like an entertaining tribute to movies they don't make anymore, and the way theaters used to be. Though it's also fairly cheesy & cliche, but perhaps that's part of the charm. Here's the official trailer (+ two posters) for Orson Oblowitz's Showdown at the Grand, from YouTube: Proud movie theater owner ...