Author: Alex Billington

"Animals don't get too hung up on reason - they just keep killing." IFC Films has debuted the full official trailer for a brutal Canadian horror film titled In a Violent Nature, arriving in theaters this May. It first premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year to rave reviews praising it as something new. Described as "a fearless roll of the dice... gushes exquisite gore and reimagines the slasher structure with newfound originality." The gimmick for this one is that it's all from the POV of the killer - following him as he goes around slashing. This iconic new horror tracks an undead, ravenous zombie creature as it makes its way through a secluded forest. Starring Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Cameron Love, Reece Presley, Liam Leone, Charlotte Creaghan, Lea Rose Sebastianis, and Sam Roulston. Okay sure, this is not entirely POV, but the cameras stays focused on the killer Johnny, and doesn't focus on his victims like most slashers do. This looks insane! For horror fans only - don't miss this when it opens in theaters this ...

"Run!!" The xenomorphs are back! 20th Century Studios has revealed an awesome first look teaser trailer for the highly anticipated new solo Alien film - officially titled Alien: Romulus. Produced by Ridley Scott, and directed by Uruguayan horror mastermind Fede Alvarez, this is taking the franchise back to its roots with one crew on one ship. Set between the events of Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986), the story follow a group of young people on a derelict space station, who find themselves in a confrontation with the most terrifying life form in the universe. Starring Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux, Spike Fearn, and Aileen Wu. This is only a very quick 60-second teaser, but I've seen more than enough footage already to say - hell yes, this is going to be GOOD. Don't show me anymore! I'm ready to watch this in theaters now! Yes it looks very similar to the original Alien, but I'm totally fine with that. Fire it up below. Here's the first teaser trailer (+ poster) for Fede Alvarez's Alien: Romulus, direct from YouTube: The ...

"This is an epic story of cosmic proportions!" Universal has revealed another full 3-minute trailer for The Fall Guy, opening at the start of May to kick off this year's summer movie season. Ryan Gosling stars as "The Fall Guy" – he's a stuntman, and like everyone else working in the stunt community, he gets blown up, shot, crashed, thrown through windows and dropped from the highest of heights, all for our entertainment. And now, fresh off an almost career-ending accident, this working-class hero has to track down a missing movie star, solve a conspiracy and try to win back the love of his life while still doing his day job. A hilarious, hard-driving, all-star apex-action thriller film + love letter to action movies and the hard-working, under-appreciated crew of people who make them. The Fall Guy also stars Emily Blunt as "The Director", with Winston Duke, Hannah Waddingham, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Teresa Palmer, Lee Majors, Ben Knight, and Stephanie Hsu. Based on early reviews and all the crazy fun footage in this (the Super Bowl spot is also good), it's ...

One more video recap to enjoy as a last look back at the movies of 2023. Vietnamese film critic Nguyên Lê has revealed his Cinema Montage 2023 video, featuring a look at his Top 25 Best Films from last year (+ 2 extras). Oppenheimer won the Academy Award for Best Picture a few weeks ago, ending the 2023 awards season. Though that doesn't mean we can't still continue to celebrate all the great movies from last year. His video features many of my personal 2023 favorites as well, including: A Thousand and One, American Fiction, Godzilla: Minus One, Past Lives, Perfect Days, The Promised Land, and The Taste of Things. Plus other underrated gems like Polite Society, Sleep, Monster, Knock at the Cabin, Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell, and Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. The video comes in under 3 minutes and is a wonderfully short and sweet reminder of all the beauty cinema offers us every year. Enjoy. Thanks to Nguyên Lê on Twitter for the tip on this video. This Cinema Montage 2023 video is created and ...

"What I'm really drawn to in this film is theme of: revenger becoming an avenger." Let's rock!! Universal has debuted a promo featurette for Monkey Man, the badass action movie from Dev Patel. It's directed by Patel, and produced by Jordan Peele and his company Monkeypaw. The first trailer dropped in earlier in the year, it just premiered at the SXSW Film Festival to rave reviews, and hits theaters worldwide in April. Acclaimed British actor Dev Patel achieves an astonishing, tour-de-force feature directing debut with an action thriller about one man's quest for vengeance against the corrupt leaders who killed his mother and continue to systemically victimize the poor & powerless. Packed with thrilling & spectacular fight and chase scenes, Monkey Man is inspired by the legend of Hanuman. The cast includes Sharlto Copley, Sobhita Dhulipala, Pitobash, Vipin Sharma, Ashwini Kalsekar, Makarand Deshpande, Adithi Kalkunte, Sikandar Kher. This featurette includes Jordan Peele talking about how much this movie blew him away and how watching it in theaters kicks ass. Cannot wait for it! So excited! The hype is through the ...

"I will never not be myself for nobody." Is that some wisdom... or a threat? There's nothing like an awkward brunch with someone you don't like. Indie filmmaker Jim Cummings has unveiled his brand new short film called The Last Bunch online - it's available to watch now. The 11-minute short just premiered at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival earlier this month, and he's launched it on the web without any delay after the fest. The short is about two couple getting brunch at a nice restaurant in Los Angeles, and their conversation gets more and more awkward as it goes on. Starring Bridge Stuart, Dustin Hahn, Taylor Misiak, Julia Bales, Hailey Rose, and Max Fillss. It's best to enjoy this film without knowing anything about where this conversation is going or what will be going down at this lovely brunch. This short quite similar to Julia Bales' short Followers, also about awkward moments. That line about "being thirsty" really does sum it up. Thanks to Jimmy C. on Twitter for the note about this debuting online. Brief intro to the ...

"We torture our students." Film Movement has revealed an official trailer for a documentary film titled Art Talent Show, a peculiar creation from the two Czech filmmakers Tomás Bojar & Adéla Komrzý. This first premiered at the 2022 Karlovy Vary Film Festival in Czechia, and it also stopped by the IDFA, Docs Against Gravity, and True/False Film Festivals last year as well. In the vein of Frederick Wiseman's work, Art Talent Show offers insightful commentary on the intergenerational cultural dissonance surrounding contemporary topics like identity politics and social justice in relation to art and its practice. A "documentary less about art or talent than about the Sisyphean task of assessing one and nurturing the other", the filmmakers take a sensitive and ultimately light-hearted approach to the examination of art school admission (to the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague). The film wonders: "How do you assess artistic talent? And what role can art play in today's world?" A layered, observational documentary which presents a portrait of an institution and a light generational statement in one. Seems like it gets crazy! ...

"I really wish I had done this sooner... As I get older, I'm a little more braver." This wholesome and honest short film features a heartfelt conversation turned into beautiful animation. My Parent, Neal is a 8-min short doc created by filmmaker Hannah Saidiner as a CalArts thesis project. It premiered in late 2021 / early 2022 and is available online now. Created for The New Yorker (here's the article), the film is about Hannah's conversation with her father - discussing his late-in-life transition to become who they really are. For most of his life, Neal, a man with a beard and tattoos now, was known as Nina, a schoolteacher and self-described 'mama' to two kids. Hannah explains: "Beginning on our shared birthday, my dad has always been a big and wonderful presence in my life - I'm so happy I get to share him, his story, and our relationship with the world through this film." I would like to see this doc with the real footage, but I like how intimate & personal it is, and all the animation ...

"Fans haven't just fallen in love with the band's songs, they've fallen in love with the band." 4Digital Media has revealed an official trailer for an indie romance film / musical titled The Brink Of, from filmmaker Patrick Meaney. This already premiered at a few regional film festivals recently, winning Audience Awards at the Golden State and Vero Beach Film Festivals. Indie pop due Lena and James are rising artists whose emotional songs connect with listeners and leave fans wondering if the two are more than just bandmates. Working on their first album leads them to reflect on how deep their relationship really runs, as they work through many challenges. Starring Nicolette Norgaard as Lena & Tim Hoffmann as James, along with Mina Tobias, Sara Silva, Athena Demos, and Daniel Kim. You can listen to a few songs from the film here. Described as similar in vibes to Once, A Star Is Born, Normal People, and Before Sunrise. Though also reminds of Begin Again and Song to Song - plenty of good films about musicians falling in love. Take a ...

Watch out for this Spidey. There's a new fan film in the works launching soon titled The Spider, described as a "horror take on Spider-Man." Not to be confused with the other two actual spider horror films opening soon - Sting and Infested. Written and directed by Andy Chen, an up-and-coming young filmmaker who goes under the name "Locust Garden" on social media, the short film features a legit cast. Chandler Riggs (seen in "The Walking Dead" & "A Million Little Things") stars as Spider-Man, along with Caylee Cowan, Matthew Vorce, Kyra Gardner, Holgie Forrester, Carl Addicott, David Rice, Andrew Hernon, Kealani Kitaura, Ronan Arthur & Ben Thomas. With a score by Alexander Taylor. It is an entirely fan-made, non-profit film inspired by Spider-Man. Our pals over at Live for Film also point out that there is actually a "fully mutated Man-Spider" from the comics, and this short also seems similar to the Truth In Journalism Venom fan film from 2013. Some cool shots in this quick teaser - from the looks of it he's going to go full The ...