Author: Alex Billington

"Use film if you can." 🎞️ Letterboxd has debuted a promo video featuring the acclaimed director of Anora, Sean Baker, visiting a film processing facility in Los Angeles to check the quality of newly struck prints. This the kind of marketing I dig! Anora just opened in US theaters last weekend and will be expanding to more cities soon - and some special locations will be showing it in 35mm. This video features Letterboxd's host Flynn Slicker interviewing filmmaker Baker while he visits FotoKem, a famous film processing house based in Burbank (originally founded in 1963!). Anora was also shot on 35mm using Arricam LT cameras, processed into a digital negative by Kodak Film Lab. It's nice to see them going back and letting it screen on film in at least a few theaters. Of course, Brady Corbet's The Brutalist will also be getting a full-on 35mm & 70mm film release coming up in December this fall. I am a cinema geek that loves getting into this kind of stuff, the technical details of how to make and print and prepare film stock for projection. I also enjoy any videos about projectionists and the few projection rooms that still have […]

"What did you do to me?!" "Just a special relaxant to make things easier on both of us..." Ready for this?! Netflix has unveiled a quick second trailer for the real-time horror film Don't Move, which is produced by maestro Sam Raimi. This 85-minute forest thriller will debut on Netflix later this week. A woman alone in the forests of Big Sur must escape a serial killer with just 20 minutes left before her body fully shuts down. She is injected with a paralyzing medicine and must stumble, crawl, and pull her way out of hell. This seems insanely scary! Directors Brian Netto and Adam Schindler state: "Every sequence we're like, 'OK, how do we make it tougher on her? How do you paint yourself into a corner? And then how do you get yourself out of that?'" Kelsey Asbille stars as Iris, in what should be a star-making role, with Finn Wittrock, Moray Treadwell, and Daniel Francis. There's some shots in here that make me think it's going to be going a lot longer than 20 minutes, as she hides in water and other places. I'm very curious to see how they pull this off. Here's the second trailer […]

"To listen is to accept." Netflix has revealed the main official trailer for the big 2024 film Emilia Pérez, a musical about a Mexican cartel leader becoming a woman. It's the latest film from award-winning French filmmaker Jacques Audiard (A Prophet, Rust & Bone, Dheepan, Sisters Brothers), and it premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival earlier this year where it won Jury Prize & Best Actress prizes. We already posted the French trailer a few months ago and the US teaser as well. Talented lawyer Rita receives an unexpected offer... She has to help a feared cartel boss retire from his business and disappear forever by becoming the woman he's always dreamed of being. It's set mostly in Mexico City, following the story of Rita and Manitas – and what happens after he switches to a she. The film stars Zoe Saldaña, Karla Sofía Gascón, Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, Edgar Ramírez, Mark Ivanir. I am a big fan of this film! I raved about it in my review from Cannes - you've never seen anything like it before. I'm ...

"I spent all my money to make the movie..." Some of you may have heard of this film before, some of you maybe not. But now it's screening again with a glorious 4K re-release thanks to Mubi – this interview might convince you to watch. Tarsem's film The Fall is considered a masterpiece by some critics, a flop by others, though it is being given a chance to shine again 18 years later with this restoration. The Fall 4K "Restored Cut" originally premiered at the 2024 Locarno Film Festival a few months ago, and just debuted streaming on Mubi. During the premiere, Letterboxd caught up with filmmaker Tarsem Singh and asked him to read some of the recent Letterboxd reviews raving about the film. The result is this extra fascinating 8-minute video where Tarsem goes on and on telling amazing stories about the film and the process and how hard it was to make & distribute. One of my favorite stories is how David Fincher & Spike Jonze agreed to put their names on it for free to help the ...

"Get proof. Or die trying." 👻 Level Film has revealed the trailer for a Canadian indie horror comedy called Don't F**K With Ghosts, another found footage supernatural thriller with some zany performances. This indie film from Canada is set for a release in Canadian cinemas this October, though unsure if that includes US theaters, too. Convinced they've found the next paranormal phenomenon, Adam and Stu embark on a journey to document a real haunted house and the alleged ghosts that live within it. Starring comedians Stu Stone & Adam Rodness (who wrote & directed & produced) along with Tony Nappo & Josh Cruddas. This reminds me of 2022's horror comedy called Deadstream, also with a similarly wacky concept of a guy not believing in ghosts, going to a house to disprove it for his streaming channel only to get F'd up. This film looks like just as much fun with a few freaky twists up its sleeves, too. The haunting is about to begin! Enjoy. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Stuart Stone's Don't F**K With Ghosts, direct from YouTube: Filmmaking ...

"If now is not the time to grieve, I don't know what to tell you." Searchlight Pictures has debuted the full official trailer for A Real Pain, an award-winning indie film from the 2024 Sundance Film Festival written and directed by (and also starring) actor Jesse Eisenberg. It's one of the best films you'll watch all year. Mismatched cousins David & Benji reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The trip takes a turn when the odd-couple's tensions resurface against the backdrop of their family history. Sundance adds: "Eisenberg's intimate, resonant script complements the tension and humor of the two very different cousins’ tumultuous road trip with a sensitively drawn reckoning of the legacy of World War II among the survivors of survivors." Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin as cousins, with Will Sharpe, Jennifer Grey, Kurt Egyiawan, Liza Sadovy, Daniel Oreskes. One of my favorite films out of Sundance this year, and it won the screenplay award at the end of the fest. Everyone else at Sundance seemed to love it, too. A Real Pain ...

"There's something in this house... We can't stay here, we gotta get out." Lionsgate has revealed the official trailer for a new horror thriller titled Cellar Door, arriving to watch starting in November. This one seems to be less horror, more thriller, as the official synopsis only calls it a "suspenseful thriller" and it's not even opening during October's horror month anyway. Looking for a fresh start after a miscarriage, a couple find themselves being gifted a massive home of their dreams with one caveat – they must never open the cellar door. But, why? Whether they can live without knowing what's down there triggers shocking consequences. Set in Portland, Oregon. "As time passes, the couple realizes that old houses are indeed like people...they all have their deep, dark secrets." Starring Jordana Brewster, Scott Speedman, Addison Timlin, Chris Conner, Katie O'Grady, Randy Sean Schulman, and Laurence Fishburne. This does look scary, but I don't think there's a monster in that cellar. Or is there? Or maybe some ghosts? Only one way to find out... Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Vaughn ...

"It isn't just about jazz, it is jazz." Ready for a journey back in time? Kino Lorber has debuted an official US trailer for the acclaimed musical documentary film titled Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat, made by Belgian filmmaker Johan Grimonprez. It's finally set for a US release in limited theaters starting this November. The film is an entrancing look back at a major moment in global politics during the 1960s, intertwining music history & pop culture with these events. Jazz & decolonization are entwined in this historical rollercoaster that led musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach to crash the UN Security Council in protest against the murder of Patrice Lumumba (Wiki). After Lumumba was killed in 1961, the US State Department swings into action by sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup in the country. This features excerpts from My Country, Africa by Andrée Blouin (narrated by Marie Daulne aka Zap Mama), Congo Inc. by In Koli Jean Bofane, To Katanga & Back by Conor Cruise O’Brien (narrated by Patrick Cruise O’Brien), ...

"Something's happening in that part of the lake..." What kind of strangeness is this? Max has debuted the full official trailer for the horror thriller film Caddo Lake, inspired by the real Caddo Lake that rests on the border of Texas and Louisiana. This chilling supernatural mystery film will be arriving for streaming on Max in early October during the horror season. Might be worth a look. "What happened here will always be a part of you." From producer M. Night Shyamalan and writer-directors Celine Held & Logan George. When an 8-year-old girl disappears on the mysterious and sprawling Caddo Lake, a series of past deaths and other disappearances begin to link together, altering a broken family's history forever. Starring Dylan O’Brien and Eliza Scanlen, with Diana Hopper, Caroline Falk, Sam Hennings, Eric Lange, and Lauren Ambrose. This actually looks pretty good, better than most direct-to-streaming horror flicks. Still reminds me of Annihilation with this invisible zone in the woods that he stumbles into – but what does it all mean? Here's the full trailer (+ poster) for Logan George & ...

"At a certain point, sex, drugs, & rock 'n roll wasn't enough – war was the ultimate drug." Greenwich Ent. has revealed an official trailer for a compelling documentary titled Never Look Away, telling the story of renowned camerawoman Margaret Moth. Most people will not recognize her and aren't familiar with her name, but the footage she shot is as important as ever. Never Look Away is a biopic doc telling the life story of Moth and her exceptional courage to always head right into war zones rather than walk away from them. Swashbuckling CNN combat camerawoman, Margaret Moth, risks it all to put the viewer inside the conflict. When a fateful injury gets in the way of her appetite for danger and adrenaline, Moth must find the strength to carry on. There was another 2009 doc about her already called Fearless: The Margaret Moth Story. This new one is the first film directed by the New Zealand actress Lucy Lawless, as she wanted to tell the story of Moth, also originally from New Zealand. A superb doc about the ...