Author: Alex Billington

"What kind of American are you? You don't know?" Now that it's playing in theaters, Civil War is one of these movies where everyone must have a very strong Opinion™ about and make sure everyone else hears it. Every moviegoer just HAS to chime in and join the discussion. So here I am throwing my hat into the ring, so to say, with my own critical thoughts. Does it matter? Will anyone care? I doubt it, but of course I've got something to say about this movie. We all do. I'm joining the chorus in continuing to emphasize that I really believe Civil War is an empty movie and that's not a good thing. Aside from the apolitical narrative of "we're going to follow these supposedly objective war photographers" there's really nothing else new or interesting or unique it's saying about war. It is just another bland war movie, regurgitating every last war movie trope but setting in America this time. Thus the pertinent question becomes, "why?" Why set it in America? What is it saying about America's might-really-happen next ...

"You're like a fluffy piece of cotton candy with legs!" Netflix has revealed an official trailer for Thelma the Unicorn, an animated musical comedy from filmmakers Jared Hess (of Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre, Gentlemen Broncos) & Lynn Wang. Made by Mikros Animation and Netflix Animation, along with Buzzfeed Studios, Matchbox Hero, Scholastic Entertainment. Thelma is a small-time pony who dreams of becoming a glamorous music star. In a moment of fate, Thelma is transformed into a unicorn and she instantly rises to global stardom, but this new life of fame comes at a cost. This animated comedy stars singer / songwriter Brittany Howard as the voice of Thelma, along with Will Forte, Jemaine Clement, Edi Patterson, Maliaka Mitchell, Ally Dixon, Fred Armisen, Zach Galifianakis, and Jon Heder. This looks way, way too similar to the Sing series of movies, with singing animals competing in competitions. Though I do like the plot in this being inspired by being fake (on social media) and how she must learn to be her real self. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Jared Hess & ...

"Don't stop dancing." Lionsgate has revealed an official US trailer for horror thriller from Indonesia titled Dancing Village: The Curse Begins, from filmmaker Kimo Stamboel, one half of The Mo Brothers. It's set for release later in April after first opening last week in Indonesia and other South East Asia countries. This village still holds many mysteries... Piece by piece the mystery is revealed, including the terror of the most feared entity, namely, Badarawuhi. A group of students want to do KKN and meet elders. After living in the village for days, one by one the students experience unexpected events. It turns out Mila was chosen by the snake demon to be a dancer in his world. Mila's spirit is trapped in another world, while her body is helpless. Will she become the new "Dawuh", a cursed soul forced to dance for the rest of her life? Starring Aulia Sarah, Maudy Effrosina, Jourdy Pranata, M. Iqbal Sulaiman, Ardit Erwandha, Claresta Taufan, Diding Boneng, & Aming Sugandhi. This has some creepy images in a horror tale about dance. Official US trailer (+ ...

"It will be the end of a corrupt system!" There's a new Indonesian action thriller arriving to watch soon on VOD in the US titled 13 Bombs in Jakarta, also known as simply 13 Bombs. This intense thriller first premiered and opened in Indonesia last year, and recently played at the 2024 Rotterdam Film Festival a few months ago. A government organization races against time to uncover and stop the mastermind behind the placement of 13 bombs in Jakarta before the city falls into chaos. IFFR adds this intriguing detail: "Loosely inspired by the biggest financial fraud in Indonesian history, Angga Dwimas Sasongko’s smart, taut action thriller 13 Bombs revolves around the promises and treacheries of digital currencies. The narrative weaves together three points of view: those of the entrepreneurs, the bureau, & the militants themselves, who come across not as dramatic abstractions, but full-fledged characters with rational, even humanist motivations." 13 Bombs stars Rio Dewanto as Arok, with Putri Ayudya, Chicco Kurniawan, Ardhito Pramono, Ganindra Bimo, Lutesha, Muhammad Khan, Rukman Rosadi, & Niken Anjani. Take a look below. Here's the ...

"Is he somebody I can trust?" Disney+ in Korea and Hulu in the US (and Star elsewhere around the world) have just premiered another sneaky sci-fi series from Korea titled Blood Free. The original Korean title is actually Dominant Species, but had to drop that for the English title. A former bodyguard is recruited to protect the CEO of a lab-grown meat company who's also a survivor of an attack that changed his own life. Humans have consumed animal meat for millions of years. BF, a bio-technology company that started the era of artificially cultured meat, dominates the market, and people who doubt the BF CEO's actions begin to appear one after another, both inside & outside. The series tells of a world of superior genes & viruses where all food is consumed in the form of a pill. Following those who harbor suspicions on the whereabouts of the CEO of BF, who recently hired a new bodyguard. Starring Ju Ji-hoon, Han Hyo-joo, Lee Hee-joon, Lee Moo-saeng, Park Ji-yeon, Kim Sang-ho, Yi Seo, & Eom Hyo-seop. The series just ...

"This will be a weekend of light, love, and oneness." Get ready for a bonkers horror comedy arriving on 4/20 weekend. We missed this trailer when it first dropped a few weeks ago, but there's still time to catch up with it. Hanky Panky is a zany no-budget indie comedy made by filmmakers Lindsey Haun & Nick Roth, who were inspired by Wet Hot American Summer and Caddyshack. This is to be filed under the "Puppets & Blood" horror subgenre. A man and his sentient napkin friend save the world from a dark evil top-hat in a cabin deep in the Utah mountains, and also learn to love. Seth Green plays (or just voices?) the top-hat, and the cast includes Jacob DeMonte-Finn, Ashley Holliday Tavares, Christina Laskay, Anthony Rutowicz, Clare Grant, Azure Parsons, and Toby Bryan. The filmmakers explain they had "literally no budget, nobody got paid, everyone chipped in for food and drugs, and we all cooperatively own the film now. We shot it on a camera our team won... It was crazy. Everyone went a little bit crazy. ...

"I let it roll, I let it ride, I let it go, I let it slide right by." Sony Pictures has debuted an amusing music video for The Garfield Movie, and since it kind of counts as another trailer (it's all footage from the movie) we're posting it below. The Garfield Movie is made by Sony Animation and Mark Dindal, the filmmaker who also directed The Emperor's New Groove and Chicken Little. The plot features Garfield reuniting with his long-lost father, a scruffy street cat, then ending up involved in a high-stakes heist with him (and Odie). Chris Pratt stars as the voice of the sarcastic, lasagna-loving tabby, alongside the voices of Samuel L. Jackson as his father Vic, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein, Bowen Yang, and Ving Rhames. The cute teaser trailer debuted last year, and the official trailer arrived a month ago. This track features the musicians Keith Urban and Snoop Dogg singing / rapping about letting bad feelings go, or something like that. Wish they'd made a song about lasagna or cheese instead of ...

"Enter our Miniwood world!!" Click play and have fun with this Hollywood tribute. A design studio based in Athens, Greece called Yeti Pictures has debuted a 74-second long animated short film called Miniwood. This was created by the studio in their spare time as a way to promote their work and honor their favorite movies from growing up. "It's always hard to find spare time between commercial work to make these short films happen but team projects are what keeps Yeti moving forward and keeps our passion for animation alive." Directed by Yeti's Tony Zagoraios, famous scenes from these movies are recreated in their "miniworld style," with miniature characters that are direct references to action figures or toys. It features homages to classics including Jurassic Park, The Exorcist, King Kong, The Addams Family, Kill Bill: Vol. 1, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and RoboCop. I'd watch vignettes like this for 100 more movies! Every one is enjoyable. Thanks to Vimeo Staff Picks for the tip on this fun short now available online. Full intro via Vimeo: "Hello motion people!! When we were ...

"We've decided that we need to make a change." AGC Studios + Catchlight Studios have revealed an official UK trailer for a kooky time travel comedy about a family called The Present, opening first in the UK in May this summer. Strangely his has no US date set yet, despite being a US film that should be on streaming by now. A brilliant boy discovers that he can manipulate time using a family heirloom - an old grandfather clock. He soon team up his siblings in returning to the time of their parents' separation from their in hopes of changing the outcome and stopping them from divorcing. Oh boy, this sounds a bit awkward. Actors Isla Fisher & Greg Kinnear star as the parents, with a cast including Ryan Guzman, Shay Rudolph, Amir Talai, Alphonso McAuley, Easton Rocket Sweda, Sarah Jane MacKay, & Mason Shea Joyce, with Eric Tiede. This looks really cheesy, like something made-for-TV to debut at primetime in the early 2000s. Here's the official UK trailer (+ UK quad poster) for Christian Ditter's The Present, from YouTube: With an ...

"You're just never satisfied because you know, like, there's someone else right next to you going harder." Utopia has revealed an official trailer for a documentary film titled Trilogy: New Wave, a surfing movie about three rising surf stars. Set for release in September on VOD and in theaters later this summer. More than a decade has passed since the original Trilogy (2007), a classic surf film directed by Taylor Steele, was released. Since then, surfing has transitioned from countercultural pastime to mainstream sport worldwide. Trilogy: New Wave examines this evolution with a new lens, offering an unexpected perspective of surfing's present. Three elite surfers travel to eight remote destinations searching for pristine waves and an escape from the stress of competition. This film follows Ethan Ewing, Griffin Colapinto, & Seth Moniz as they balance their careers with a desire to rediscover the joy of surfing, free from contest scores. From pastime to mainstream sport, Trilogy: New Wave charts a fresh take on surfing's present. This looks like it would pair well with the OG classic surf doc The Endless Summer ...