Author: Alex Billington

"The man downstairs." Here we go again - another strange cryptic teaser full of haunting text to decipher. What does it all mean?! Neon has revealed one more erie teaser trailer for Longlegs, set to open in theaters nationwide starting this July. We've featured the other cryptic teasers before as well as the incredible first official trailer for this film a few months ago. FBI Agent Lee Harker is assigned to an unsolved serial killer case that takes unexpected turns, revealing eerie evidence of the occult. Harker soon discovers a personal connection to the killer and must stop him before he strikes again. Longlegs is the latest film from director Oz Perkins (of The Blackcoat's Daughter, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, Gretel & Hansel). The horror film stars Maika Monroe as Lee Harker, Nicolas Cage, Alicia Witt, Blair Underwood, and Dakota Daulby. All of this red text in here is a clue that needs to be deciphered – along with the text written on the page in one shot. One of the best marketing campaigns ...

Who's at the door? Tokyo Theater Nikkatsu has revealed a chilling 30-second teaser trailer for a new horror film titled Cloud, set for release in September in Japan later this year. It's one of three (!!) brand new films from prolific Japanese filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa due out in 2024. He also has another one Chime and yet another French one called Le chemin du serpent (or Path of the Snake) in post already. The tile Cloud is a reference to the digital space known as the cloud, as it's a peculiar horror story about how hatred spreads online. Yoshii suddenly becomes a "target" when he hears a voice saying "I'll kill this guy" while looking at an online screen. A man wearing a mask then appears at his door. What happens next? This stars Masaki Suda, Kotone Furukawa, Daikan Okudaira, Okayama Amane, Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Masataka Kubota. Even with only 30 seconds so far, there's some awesome shots in this that horror fans will flip for. The mask guy showing up everywhere is unsettling, along with all the strange shots in ...

"I want to transform society. This is just the beginning." Apple TV has revealed an official trailer for a mini-series titled The Big Cigar, set to launch streaming this summer on Apple TV+. An unbelievable story of revolution through the eyes of a legend: Huey P. Newton. Based on an article by Joshuah Bearman, the same writer who wrote about the Argo story. The Black Panther Party, a fake movie production, and a nationwide manhunt. Chronicles the manhunt for Huey P. Newton, the founder of the Black Panther Party, who seeks the help of film producer Bert Schneider (also behind Easy Rider) as he tries to escape to Cuba. This stars André Holland as Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton, with the first two episodes directed & executive produced by multi-award winner Don Cheadle. The six-episode drama chronicles the story of Black Panther leader Huey P. Newton's escape, based on the monumental, eponymous magazine article. Also starring Tiffany Boone, Alessandro Nivola, Marc Menchaca, and P.J. Byrne. It looks a lot like Argo, though about Newton going to Cuba instead, bouncing ...

"Fear is the path to the dark side..." Time to return to that galaxy far, far away. 20th Century has revealed a brand new trailer for the 25th anniversary re-release of Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace in theaters this May. This highly anticipated prequel in the Star Wars series opened in the summer of 1999, some 25 years ago, and the hype was through the roof. I remember waiting in line just to get tickets, and all the mania waiting for it to open. Then everyone went to see it and did not like it. Now all these years later, is it time for a re-appraisal? In The Phantom Menace, two Jedi escape a hostile blockade and come across a young boy who may bring balance to the Force, but the long dormant Sith resurface to claim their original glory. We're introduced to Anakin, Jar Jar, Qui Gon, Amidala, Shmi, Valorum, and many others in this sci-fi spectacle. Starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Daniels, Kenny Baker, Pernilla August, & Frank ...

"The world ends in 15 days. They have 14 days to finish their movie." Lights, camera – action! Good Deed Ent. has revealed an official trailer for the indie comedy film titled The Last Movie Ever Made, made by Arizona-based filmmaker Nathan Blackwell. It originally premiered at the 2023 Phoenix Film Festival and it also played at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival last year. With the world about to end, Marshall convinces a group of friends and strangers to help finish the sci-fi movie he abandoned in high school. He must quickly rekindle old relationships, forge new ones, and lock down some decent equipment (and some costumes) if he has any hope of completing the long-lost epic. Fun times! Starring Adam Rini, Megan Hughes Rini, Craig Curtis, Dallas Teat, & Logan Blackwell. A nice meta riff on what it's like to be a filmmaker with the constant desire to create something amazing. This is stuffed with kooky, low budget charm - check it out. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Nathan Blackwell's The Last Movie Ever Made, from YouTube: When Marshall (starring ...

"It's completely secluded. You can skate with no shame here." How many people tried skateboarding when they were a kid? And how many gave up quickly after trying? Has this kind of "giving up" mentality come to haunt you the rest of your life? What is worth giving up and what isn't? How to decide? So many existential questions come to mind while watching this fun short film. Learning to Skateboard at 40 is a new short (under 8 minutes!!) made by filmmaker Alex Goddard from Brighton. It's not really a documentary, per se, it's more of an amusing narrative film reflecting on life and getting older and not giving up. Starring Alex Goddard, Chris Sav, Barney Taylor, Lucy Jordan. This is one of those shorts you have to click [play] on and trust you'll be off on an unforgettable adventure. This adventure is, uh, well - trying to skate at 40 years old. Thanks to Vimeo Staff Picks for the tip on this one. Brief intro to this short from Vimeo: "Alex decides to learn how to Skateboard." That's it. ...

"It will double the size of your heart." Oh yes it will! Neon has finally unveiled the official US trailer for the beloved animated film Robot Dreams, made by director Pablo Berger, which first premiered at the 2023 Cannes and Annecy Film Festivals. The film snuck in and ended up getting nominated for Best Animated Film at the 2024 Academy Awards (after a small qualifying theatrical release in the US last fall). Neon has finally scheduled Robot Dreams to open in US theaters on May 31st - so if you've been waiting to watch it, not too much longer now. A story about friendship, its importance, and its fragility. The wonderful dialogue-free film is based on the popular graphic novel by Sara Varon, about the adventures and misfortunes of Dog and Robot in New York City during the '80s. Dog is lonely so he orders a Robot companion, but then Robot gets stuck in the sand at the beach one day. I wrote a glowing review of this out of Cannes and I'm happy to keep mentioning it so more ...

"Are you having a good time?" Amazon MGM Studios has revealed the first official trailer for Blink Twice, a mystery thriller marking the feature directorial debut of actress Zoë Kravitz. She's co-writing & directing in collaboration with another writer from the "High Fidelity" series she starred on recently. It's opening in theaters in August. "This summer, make some memories." Naomi Ackie stars as Frida is a young waitress in Los Angeles who has her eye on tech entrepreneur Slater King. On a dream vacation to his private island, strange things start to happen. Frida will have to uncover the truth if she wants to make it out alive. Uh oh... Co-starring Channing Tatum as Slater, along with Christian Slater, Simon Rex, Adria Arjona, Kyle MacLachlan, Haley Joel Osment, Geena Davis, and Alia Shawkat. At first glance, this reminds me of Don't Worry Darling with many similarities, but it also seems like it has some nefarious twists in the vein of Spiderhead, which is also set on an island. It definitely seems like a creepy place to be! What do you ...

"I am a film director, and I work with a visual language, with a visual medium. And I try to make virtue of the use of this visual medium. And I try to make sure what I do speaks the language of cinema." –Luca Guadagnino. His latest film Challengers (final trailer here) is finally landing in theaters for everyone to enjoy this week. In celebration of this release, the UK movie magazine Little White Lies and video editor Luís Azevedo have created a supercut highlighting "The Colors Of Luca Guadagnino." It's a quick video at just 2-1/2 minutes featuring shots from almost all of his films, showing how he works his way through hot and cold colors depending on the mood. No matter what, his film always have vivid colors. Guadagnino's exceptional filmography includes: The Protagonists (1999), Melissa P. (2005), I Am Love (2009), A Bigger Splash (2015), Call Me By Your Name (2017), Suspiria (2018), Bones and All (2022), and Challengers (2024) as well as Queer (2024) next. That deep red scene in Suspiria is totally unforgettable. "To be a ...

"Is your America and my America the same place? Has it ever been?" Netflix has revealed an official trailer for the documentary film titled Power, the latest from acclaimed doc filmmaker Yance Ford - who was nominated for an Academy Award in 2018. This premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and it also played at the CPH:DOX, Full Frame, and Hot Docs Film Festivals after the premiere. Driven to contain threats to social order, American policing has exploded in scope and scale over hundreds of years. Now, it can be described by one word: power. The film offers a visceral, immersive journey to demonstrate how we’ve arrived at this moment in history, from the slave patrols of the 1700s and first publicly funded police departments of the 1800s to the uprisings of the 1960s & 2020s. Part essay, part interview, and part archival collage, Power uses historical materials to illustrate our contemporary realities, examining urgent questions about a growing and largely unchecked authority — who is policed, who is protected, who gets to decide, and ...