Author: Alex Billington

"I just try to remain a good solider. I mean – a good soldier of cinema." Shout Studios has revealed their own official US trailer for the documentary film Werner Herzog - Radical Dreamer, a loving portrait and amusing profile of the iconic German filmmaker. In this film, Werner Herzog reveals extraordinary anecdotes about the filmmaking process. With interviews, archival footage and never-before-seen excerpts. Many other celebrity guests also join in this film discussing the unique cinema magic of Herzog. "It is the only full access documentary on the iconic filmmaking pioneer that is Werner Herzog. This isn't just another Hollywood biopic. It's a rare and unmatched look into Werner's life and creative process." After premiering at the 2022 Telluride Film Festival last year and opening earlier in Europe already, it's finally heading to US theaters this fall. "He is a film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director best known for his unusual filmmaking process." Get an inside look with Radical Dreamer. This doc is a much more abstract take on his life, which is to be expected when ...

"Why would come here to see me if you disagree so passionately with my views?" Sony Pictures Classics has unveiled a first look teaser trailer for a film titled Freud's Last Session, directed by filmmaker Matt Brown, based on Mark St. Germain's play of the same name. The film is premiering at AFI Fest in LA this weekend, hence this trailer out now, and it will sneak into the awards season debuting in select theaters in December at the end of the year. On the eve of WWII, two of the greatest minds of the 20th Century, author C.S. Lewis and psychologist Sigmund Freud, converge for their own personal battle over the existence of God, each with opposing views. Freud's Last Session interweaves the lives of Freud & Lewis, past, present, and through fantasy, bursting from the confines of Freud's study on a dynamic journey. Starring Anthony Hopkins as Freud, Matthew Goode as Lewis, with Liv Lisa Fries and Jodi Balfour. The film explores questions facing all of us; in history a moment that echoes current conflicts, seeks to understand ...

"Where are their parents?" "They fled." Utopia has revealed the trailer for an indie drama titled Drift, the third feature film from acclaimed Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen, following his features Ilo Ilo and Wet Season previously. This premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year to some mixed and positive reviews. Jacqueline, a young refugee from Africa, lands alone and penniless on a Greek island, where she tries first to survive and then to cope with her past. While gathering her strength, she begins a friendship with a rootless tour-guide also working on the isalnd and together they find the resilience to forge ahead. "Jacqueline must face the ghosts that haunt her—or tip into full-blown madness." The very talented Cynthia Erivo stars as Jacqueline, with Alia Shawkat, Ibrahima Ba, Honor Swinton Byrne, Zainab Jah, and Vincent Vermignon. This trailer also features the song "It Would Be" written & sung by Cynthia Erivo & Laura Mvula. A quietly powerful film about finding yourself anew when you no longer have a home. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Anthony Chen's ...

"The paradox of going back [in time] is to have to succumb, once again, to that sense of yourself as totally inconsequential. So why on earth would I go back?" HBO has unveiled an official trailer for a documentary film titled You Were My First Boyfriend, directed and produced by Cecilia Aldarondo (“Memories of a Penitent Heart”, “Landfall”) and co-directed by Sarah Enid Hagey. This premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival this year, and it will be out to watch on HBO / Max streaming soon this November. "What if you could rewrite your adolescence?" is the predominant thought. You Were My First Boyfriend is a hybrid doc film that embarks on a fantastical quest to reconcile one woman's tortured teen years by revisiting her most formative and cringeworthy experiences. As she describes in this trailer, it's an attempt at an "exorcism" of the horrors of her time growing up, and the memories that still haunt her. I do find this all a bit strange, but I'm intrigued by the filmmaking as a way of dealing with all of ...

"They train their whole lives..." Greenwich Ent. has revealed an official trailer for a documentary film called Pianoforte, made by Polish filmmaker Jakub Piatek. This initially premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, where it received a warm reception during the fest. The film is a fly-on-the-wall profile of young pianists taking part in the legendary International Chopin Piano Competition (in Poland). A unique chance of a lifetime, portrayed from backstage and set to Chopin's music. The world's most talented young pianists compete in this prestigious competition, known as the place where the greatest pianists are rewarded and immortalized, held every five years in Warsaw. The film presents a rare behind the scenes look at the triumphant highs and crushing lows of competition. It is both a testament to the remarkable power of music and an intimate coming-of-age portrait. It's a captivating journey into this world most of us aren't familiar with, following this batch of young competitors through the most stressful time of their lives. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Jakub Piatek's doc Pianoforte, direct ...

Film Unlimited in Hong Kong has revealed the first look teaser trailer for a new HK action film called Rob N Roll, from filmmaker Albert Mak. This is set to open in Hong Kong cinemas in January 2024, though no other international dates have been announced. Hong Kong pop star Aaron Kwok plays the lead character - a bucktoothed professional wrestler and robber who plans a major heist. The heist goes haywire when he meets two disillusioned middle-aged men. Gordon Lam co-stars as a taxi driver who unintentionally foils the heist, along with his friend played by Richie Jen. The trio ends up on the run from the cops and other criminals out to find them. The film's cast also includes Maggie Cheung Ho-yee, Nancy Wu, Lam Suet, Leung Chung-hang, and Calvert Fu. This is a quick teaser with just a few glimpses of the action to whet our appetites. It doesn't look so bad, the two bumbling guys who get caught up in all of this look like good fun. No English subtitles yet, but it's easy to get ...

"You're in Norway now, okay? Nothing bad ever happens here." 🇳🇴 🎅 Until the Americans show up! Ha ha. Vertigo Releasing has unveiled a full official trailer for this holiday horror comedy There's Something in the Barn, from Norwegian filmmaker Magnus Martens. It's opening in the UK in December, which is the right time for it, though still no US date set yet. An American family fulfills their dream of moving back after inheriting a remote cabin in the mountains of Norway. However, when they arrive they find there's an angry elf living in the barn. And he doesn't like to be disturbed, especially at Christmas... Another mad crazy fun follow-up to Christmas horror classics Jalmari Helander's Rare Exports / Mike Dougherty's Krampus. This stars Martin Starr, Amrita Acharia, Zoe Winter-Hansen, and Townes Bunner. I had a chance to watch this in Sitges, and it's sorta fun, but also super dumb (making fun of these Americans more than offering up any good horror mayhem). The angry elves are super gnarly, that's about it. Check it out below. Here's the full official ...

"I love people so much that it... it's hard for me to be alone." Netflix has revealed the main official trailer for Bradley Cooper's latest film Maestro, starring Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan. This premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival and it also played at NYFF and London this fall. Maestro is a "towering love story" chronicling the lifelong relationship between Leonard Bernstein and Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. A love letter to life and art, Maestro at its core is an emotionally epic portrayal of family and love. Co-written by, produced by, directed by, and starring Cooper, this movie is very much a love letter to the beloved American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, and humanitarian. Cooper & Mulligan star with Matt Bomer, Maya Hawke, Sarah Silverman, Josh Hamilton, Scott Ellis, Gideon Glick, Sam Nivola, Alexa Swinton, and Miriam Shor. This is a ravishing trailer, capturing the grandiosity of his genius as a composer / conductor, and sharing some of the best moments from the film (my full review). Even if the film isn't one of my favorites of ...

"Treat yourself to a Happy Halloween." A Marvel Halloween, anyone? This Halloween, visit the darkest corners of the Marvel Universe. Marvel Studios has released a fun promo trailer for Halloween featuring footage from their more darker, horrifying scenes from their many movies / shows. Everything shown in here is already available to watch on Disney+ worldwide. In addition to the re-release of Werewolf by Night in Color this year, Marvel is trying to hype their "horror" offerings (the few they have) for your Halloween weekend viewing. This plays like a supercut made up of clips from their darkest & scariest moments - from movies like Ant-Man, Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Loki, Moon Knight, Shang-Chi, Thor: The Dark World, WandaVision, and of course Werewolf by Night. If you haven't watched one of these yet, now is a good time to catch up. If you have, maybe rewatch one of your favorites? Or just choose a horror movie. Here's the new promo trailer "Treat Yourself to a Marvel Studios Halloween", via Marvel's YouTube: Intro from Marvel: Looking for monsters, magic, and ...

"If my purpose in life is to kill, I think I'll make some rules." Hulu has unveiled an official trailer for an Irish crime comedy series called Obituary, created by the Irish writer Ray Lawlor from a small West of Ireland town. It'll be out to watch streaming in the US this November. Obituary is a dark comedy in which a small town newspaper falls into hard times and 24-year-old Obituarist Elvira Clancy learns she'll now be paid per obituary. When deaths trickle to a halt and her work dries up, she soon discovers that by murdering the residents of her small town, she will not only earn more money but also discover an untapped bloodlust. Her plans are shaken when she falls for the new crime reporter. "This is a fun, darkly twisted drama that proudly allows me to transport some of the wit and characters I encounter every day in my hometown of Castlebar into the living rooms of the Irish people," Lawlor explains. Siobhán Cullen stars as Elvira, with Michael Smiley, Ronan Raftery, Danielle Galligan, David Ganly, ...