Author: Alex Billington

"Open your eyes, and look clearly at what's going on around you..." Searchlight Pictures has just unveiled another official trailer for Kinds of Kindness, the brand new Yorgos Lanthimos film arriving this summer to watch. It just premiered at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival a few weeks ago, where Jesse Plemons won the Best Actor award at the end of the fest (here's our review). This triptych film features three medium-length stories in one long feature (that runs almost 3 hours in total). As his follow-up to the Oscar-winning Poor Things, Kinds of Kindness is described as an anthology film with three segments - following a man without choice who tries to take control of his own life; a policeman who is alarmed that his wife who was missing-at-sea has returned; and a woman determined to find a specific someone with a special ability. The exquisite ensemble cast in this: Emma Stone, Jesse Plemons, Willem Dafoe, Margaret Qualley, Hong Chau, Joe Alwyn, Mamoudou Athie, Hunter Schafer, and Krystal Alayne Chambers. Yes it's as weird and wacky and strange as you ...

"It's a game called, 'Find What's Wrong With This Shot.'" Here is another must watch new video about the current state of the VFX industry in cinema. It's a 20 minute video essay created by Crafthive called "VFX r u ok? Why It Feels Like the End of VFX." The creators take a cold, hard look at what's happening with visual effects (aka CGI and/or VFX) and all of the problems right now, from creative executives to financial struggles to bad filmmakers, and everything else going on. They explain that nowadays VFX has been turned into a commodity, they're "more artisan than artists" now, which isn't a good thing. Yes they even touch on A.I., crypto, Marvel, and all these other dangerous topics. It's not looking good... If you're wondering why, this is a great place to start. This video is also a nice complement to the 'No CGI' is Really Just Invisible CGI video essay series that debuted last year. The Phil Tippett quote they include in this (8:55) is fantastic. I'm glad they're talking about all this and ...

"I used to think the case is over when it's cracked, and the culprit's arrested... But later I realized cases never end." CMC Pictures has unveiled an official trailer for a revenge thriller from China titled Hovering Blade, formerly known as either Hesitation Blade or Blade of Hesitation as well. It just opened in China a few weeks ago, and also opens in US theaters this June. "If a teenager who has committed a heinous crime can be given a second chance to reform, then how can my deceased child be saved?" After his daughter is raped and murdered by a group of underage individuals, single father Li Changfeng resolutely embarks on the path of revenge. During this journey, he becomes entangled in a deadly cat-and-mouse game with both the perpetrators and the police. The pursuit of justice and vengeance collide as emotions clash with the law in the ultimate showdown. Starring Xi Qi, Jingchun Wang, Qianyuan Wang, Youhao Zhang, Shuang Wu, and Alan Aruna. This has so much anguished yelling in it! And it seems brutal, especially when the ...

"This is the best you could come up with? Leave me here with our baby while you chase oil?" Good Deed Entertainment has posted a new trailer for the 2017 film titled Boomtown, about a family going to work in the oil fields. This originally premiered at the 2017 Nashville Film Festival and we posted a trailer back then for its initial release in the fall of that year. For some reason, 7 years later it's getting another VOD release in 2024. A young father and husband looks towards the oil fields for a better life for him and his family. But will the fast money and glamour detour his agenda? Along the way he encounters the trials and tribulations shared by thousands of Americans every year as they stake their claim to the American Dream. Boomtown stars Tyler Riggs as JT, along with Rachel Brosnahan, Boyd Holbrook, Dwight Yoakam, Jocelin Donahue. Not sure why this has another trailer out now, it doesn't look any better than it did back in 2017. Here's the new 2024 official trailer (+ poster) for ...

"All that crazy, hardcore training you made me - thanks to that I'm still alive." You don't say! So maybe training pays off? 101 Films has revealed an official trailer for Jade, an action thriller arriving on VOD this summer. Another of these dime-a-dozen junk action movies being dumped out on streaming and VOD at home. It's from the same stuntman filmmaker as Hard Home and Air Force One Down (ugh). Jade follows a woman who comes between a powerful businessman and a gang leader in their search for a hard drive that could damage the operations of Interpol. The woman is required to use her unique set of skills to retrieve the drive and stay alive. Introducing Shaina West starring as Jade, with an ensemble including Mickey Rourke, Mark Dacascos, Katherine McNamara, Keith Jardine, Steven Michael Quezada, and Chris Bruno. This doesn't seem as bad as Bamford's other action films, but it doesn't look any good either. Here's the two official trailers (+ poster) for James Bamford's film Jade, direct from YouTube: Jade presents the story of a woman who comes ...

"Give all the grace you got." Here's another experiential animated music video to enjoy. Los Angeles-based Chinese animator Danski Tang created this music video for the band called Sis and their new track "Bow To Your Wilderness". For those that aren't familiar with this musician already, Sis is the singer and the multi-instrumentalist Jenny Gillespie Mason - and her latest album is releasing soon called "Vibhuti." This mesmerizing music video for one song features a human running around in various psychedelic landscapes and abstract depictions of nature. (The backgrounds are all painted by an artist named Erwinson Lemus.) As usual, I enjoy featuring these animated music videos because they're so extraordinarily creative, exploring existential feelings and concepts that most music videos could never even dream of exploring. Dive right in. Thanks to Vimeo Staff Picks for the tip on this music video short film. Brief intro from Vimeo: "Music video for song 'Bow to Your Wilderness' by Sis." No other description is available. This animated music video is created and directed and animated by filmmaker Danski Tang based in Los Angeles ...

"Fremaux knows his films, his festival, his audience. His taste is exceptional." (–Roger Ebert's notes from Cannes 2009.) At the start of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival two weeks ago, I announced a special giveaway of four signed copies of Matt Singer's book called Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever. Now that the festival has ended, it's time for a quick recap and a thank you to all those who crossed paths with me this year in Cannes. This 2024 giveaway was a follow-up to my 2019 giveaway, when I originally handed out 10 copies of Ebert's Cannes diary book called Two Weeks in the Midday Sun. This time the books were signed by the author, making them even more unique as a gift. Of course, I wanted to connect them to Roger Ebert again, and Matt's book is fantastic - recalling his history as a legendary film critic. All it took to win was finding me at a screening and saying the name of one film – The Brown Bunny. I had an amazing time chatting ...

"Unmatched for suspense and spectacle!" The Jokers distribution in France have debuted a new trailer for the 4K re-release honoring the 70th Anniversary of this all-timer B&W action classic from Japan. Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai first opened in Japan in 1954 and also played at the 1954 Venice Film Festival. To celebrate this year's 70th anniversary, the 2024 Cannes Film Festival just hosted a special screening of this brand new 4K restoration. Hence why this new French trailer is out now. They add that Seven Samurai is "one of the most renowned films in the history of Japanese cinema. We decided to restore this film in 4K using the latest technology at TOHO Archives Co., Ltd. [for the] 70th anniversary of its initial theatrical release in Japan." The tranquility of a small Japanese village is disturbed by repeated attacks by a band of looters. Seven masterless samurai agree to defend the helpless peasants in this seminal classic. This stars Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, and Keiko Tsushima. The film is already available on Criterion Blu-ray and always replays in theaters, but ...

Meet Oraz! Last year while on the film festival circuit, I met a young film critic named Oraz Kereibayev. We quickly became friends, hanging out at the Venice and Berlin Film Festivals. Oraz is from Kazakhstan, a big country in Central Asia located just below Russia and above Uzbekistan & China. Most know Kazakhstan from Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat movies, though of course that's a very deplorable caricature of the country and the people from there. I'm a big fan of Oraz, I'm lucky to call him my friend, and overjoyed that he has become a part of the international film critic community covering film festivals all year long. He decided to make the trek to the 2024 Cannes Film Festival - his first time ever attending this prestigious cinema event. Before the fest ended, I met up with Oraz and interviewed him to talk about who he is, the films he loves, and his experiences at Cannes. I've been going to Cannes for 14 years already, and I also love showing newcomers the ropes and listening to them chat ...

"What are you waiting for, kid, get on!!" Cloudrise Pictures has unveiled two teaser trailers for an animated feature film titled The Worlds Divide, the impressive new creation from a Canadian animation filmmaker named Denver Jackson. It's premiering soon at the 2024 Annecy Film Festival for animation in France this summer, in the Annecy Presents section. The Worlds Divide is an animated fantasy / action-adventure set in the world of Esluna. Young Natomi is suddenly transported from a war-torn world to a magical world abundant with vegetation. Guided by a stuffed bear, she must unravel the secrets of her father and escape the sinister Queen hunting her down. In order to get her father back, Natomi must unlock mysterious clues hidden by her father, evade the Royal Magistrate, and uncover the mysteries of her power with the ultimate consequence of deciding her father's fate. This looks like a very good time! Featuring the voices of Breanna Pearl, Phillip Sacramento, Max Lindsey, Andrew Lander, & Chelsea Krause. The first footage in these teasers kicks ass - similar to Avatar: The Last ...