Author: Alex Billington

"So where's the evidence?" Umbrella Ent. has revealed the official trailer for a docu-drama film titled The Speedway Murders, an intriguing true crime project from Australia. This is an Australian production but is about an American murder, capitalizing on the true crime craze (especially in America). It premiered at the 2023 Adelaide Film Festival last year, and is playing at the New Zealand Film Festival this year but no other release dates are set yet. The Speedway Murders is based on the unsolved murders that claimed the lives of four teens working in a burger restaurant in 1978. Discover one of the United States' most baffling unsolved cases of 4 young employees kidnapped and brutally slain following the Friday night closing shift at a burger restaurant known as Burger Chef in Speedway, Indiana in 1978. The film is a gripping, poignant, and visually striking true-crime story from first-time filmmakers Luke Rynderman & Adam Kamien, with an extensive recreation in it starring actors as the teens working at the burger place. Legit! This seems like such a crazy true crime case, ...

"A valentine to British cinema's greatest dreamers." This one is for all the die-hard cinephiles! Mubi has unveiled the official trailer for the cinema history documentary film called Made in England: The Films of Powell & Pressburger, made by filmmaker David Hinton. This originally premiered at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival earlier this year, and it's next screening at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival in NYC coming up this June. The doc is narrated and presented by Martin Scorsese, who explores the history of these two famous filmmakers: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, known for their beloved films including Black Narcissus, The Red Shoes, A Matter of Life and Death, A Canterbury Tale, and Gone to Earth. It is "a love letter to one of cinema's greatest partnerships." Drawing on a rich array of archive material, Scorsese explores in full the collaboration between the Englishman Powell and Hungarian Pressburger who thrived in the face of adversity during World War II but were eventually brought low by the film industry of the 1950s. This is a mesmerizing look back at cinema ...

"I'm too romantic. Love should be simple." Music Box Films has revealed an official US trailer for an indie romantic comedy called The Nature of Love from Quebec. This French-language Canadian comedy first premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival last year, and is just now getting a summer debut in limited US theaters. The original title is Simple comme Sylvain in French, or Simple as Sylvain, referring to the man she falls for in this film. Sophia's life is turned upside down when she meets Sylvain. She's from a wealthy family, while Sylvain comes from a large family of manual workers. Sophia questions her own values after abandoning herself to her great romantic impulses – she enjoys sleeping with Sylvain much more following 10 years of marriage and can't stop. So what comes next for her? Starring Magalie Lépine-Blondeau as Sophia and Pierre-Yves Cardinal as Sylvain, plus Monia Chokri, Francis-William Rhéaume, Steve Laplante, Marie-Ginette Guay, Micheline Lanctôt, and Guillaume Laurin. I wrote a positive review of this last year, though others seem to enjoy it while some really dislike ...

"I was just trying to take care of her." Vertical has revealed the trailer for an indie dramedy film titled Late Bloomers, marking the feature directorial debut of director Lisa Steen. This initially premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival last year, and it played at the Sarasota, Seattle, Memphis, Philadelphia, Palm Springs Film Fests as well. Louise is a 28-year-old Brooklynite adrift in life, who now finds herself grappling with her identity as a musician. She ends up in the hospital after drunkenly breaking her hip. An encounter with a cranky elderly Polish woman who speaks no English that's in the same room as her in the physical therapy ward leads to a job caring for her. Neither likes it, but it's time to grow up. As they navigate their begrudging relationship, they confront the realities of aging, forcing Louise to consider her own journey into adulthood. Karen Gillan co-stars with Malgorzata Zajaczkowska (aka Margaret Sophie Stein) as Antonina, plus Jermaine Fowler, Kevin Nealon, & Talia Balsam. This seems amusing and heartfelt, it's worth a look. Here's the official trailer ...

"I have a life that I have to get back to..." Studiocanal UK has debuted their trailer for The Outrun, which premiered at both the 2024 Sundance & Berlin Film Festivals earlier this year. This acclaimed film is based on Amy Liptrot's bestselling memoir, telling the story of an alcoholic woman who returns to her homeland - the remote Orkney Islands located off the northern coast of Scotland at the very top of the UK. After living life on the edge in London, Rona attempts to come to terms with her troubled past. She returns to the wild beauty of Scotland's Orkney Islands (where she grew up) hoping to heal. Starring Saoirse Ronan as Rona in one of her best performances yet. The Outrun is a searingly honest drama about addiction, survival and the power of nature to restore life and renew hope, set in the wild northern Orkney islands. This is one of my favorite films of 2024 so far (here's my full review), it'll likely be on my Top 10 at the end of the year. It also ...

"The Unhoped For." Les Films du Losange in France has revealed a first look trailer (with English text) for the latest unique Leos Carax film titled It's Not Me. This just premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival and opens in France this June. The 41-minute biopic short doc film is a "self-portrait of the director and his oeuvre, revisiting in free-form more than 40 years of the author's filmography." This autobiography takes a look back at all of his films and his work, and examines politics over time and the art-form of cinema. The intro: "For an exhibition, that in the end never took place, the Pompidou Museum asked the filmmaker to reply, in pictures, to the question: Where are you at, Leos Carax? He attempts an answer – full of questions. About himself and 'his' world: I don't know, but if I did, I'd reply that..." C'est pas moi or It's Not Me. With Denis Lavant, Kateryna Yuspina, Loreta Juodkaite, Anna-Isabel Siefken, Nastya Golubeva Carax, and Petr Anevskii, plus Bianca Maddaluno. Not much footage yet, but enough to ...

"What do you mean, like, everything?" Would you freak out if your entire internet history and data archives were leaked online? How bad would it be? This very awkward, very dark comedy short called See Saw is about that happening. See Saw is an 11-minute short film written and directed by filmmaker Matt Porter. He's made tons of other shorts and a feature before this, but cooked up this one to make everyone feel extra paranoid about their online presence and potential hacks / leaks. Lock down all your data, folks! And make sure if it ever does leak, your life isn't ruined. Though perhaps it's inevitable nowadays? This stars David Brown as Glenn Harriston and Sierra Katow as his girlfriend. Matt reminds everyone: "put a post-it over your webcam and enjoy!" Is it wrong if I wanted to see exactly what from all his data was going viral? Ha ha. Thanks to Short of the Week for the tip on this short debuting online. Here's the very brief intro to the film from YouTube: "Glenn wakes up to discover that ...

"We have to see loneliness as a threat to our health security." Abramorama has debuted the full trailer for a documentary film titled Join or Die, which is a rather ominous title for a doc. This important film centers on America's civic unraveling through the journey of scientist Robert Putnam (aka Bob), whose research on the decline in American community lights a path out of our democracy's present crisis. It first premiered at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival last year, playing at the Boston, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Tallgrass, Tuscon, and Denver Film Festivals as well. Putnam is a renowned social scientist and the Malkin Research Professor of Public Policy at Harvard University. He describes this as a "film about why you should join a club... and why the fate of America depends on it." It is an examination of how the decline in community connections could hold the answers to our democracy's present crisis. Americans are getting more and more lonely, and less connected, and that's affecting our social & mental health and much more. It sounds like a must watch. Here's ...

"What was it all for...?" Well Go USA has revealed a new trailer for another intense war movie titled Before Dawn, an Australian production made by Australian filmmaker Jordon Prince-Wright. Not to be confused with Werner Herzog's classic Rescue Dawn (the story of Dieter Dengler). After first opening Down Under in April, this hits VOD in the US in July. Before Dawn is the journey of fictional Western Australia outback kid Jim Collins and his battalion on the Western Front during World War I. He joins up eager to fight, only to discover the brutal realities of trench warfare. Of course. Starring Levi Miller (from A Wrinkle in Time) as Jim, with Travis Jeffery, Myles Pollard, Tim Franklin, Jordan Dulieu, introducing Peter Sullivan, with Ed Oxenbould & Stephen Peacocke. How many of these "war is hell" movies do they need to make? This is really All Quiet on the Western Front or 1917 all over again, but not nearly as good as either of those. Here's the official trailer (+ posters) for Jordon Prince-Wright's film Before Dawn, direct from YouTube: After leaving ...

"Don't let her get away! This Wicked Witch..." It's time for a LEGO remix that defies gravity! Universal has debuted a fully LEGO version of the magical official trailer for Jon M. Chu's Wicked movie, which will be opening in theaters everywhere in November. After two decades as one of the most beloved and enduring musicals on the stage, Wicked makes its long-awaited journey to the big screen as a spectacular, generation-defining cinematic event this holiday season. Directed by filmmaker Jon M. Chu (of Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights), Wicked is the first chapter of a two-part immersive, cultural celebration. Cynthia Erivo stars as Elphaba Thropp, a young woman with green skin who eventually becomes the Wicked Witch of the West. Ariana Grande co-stars as Glinda, with Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Bronwyn James, Keala Settle, plus Jeff Goldblum as the legendary Wizard of Oz. It's always fun to see a LEGO version of a trailer, but it is literally a shot-for-shot CGI LEGO edit of the trailer footage. It just doesn't have that ...