Author: Alex Billington

"Sometimes to survive we must become more than we were programmed to be." Universal + DreamWorks Animation have unveiled the first official trailer for The Wild Robot, their next big animated movie. It's arriving in theaters in September later this year, but with Kung Fu Panda 4 opening this week, the trailer is out to play in front of that. After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot called Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island. To survive the harsh environment, Roz bonds with the island's animals and cares for an orphaned baby goose. A powerful story (based on the books) about the discovery of self, a thrilling examination of the bridge between technology and nature and a moving exploration of what it means to be alive and connected to all living things, The Wild Robot is written & directed by three-time Oscar nominee Chris Sanders—of How to Train Your Dragon, The Croods, and Disney's Lilo & Stitch. Starring Lupita Nyong'o as robot Roz; Pedro Pascal as fox Fink; Catherine O'Hara as opossum Pinktail; Bill Nighy as goose Longneck; Kit Connor as ...

"Should we really be doing that? Shouldn't you just stop now?" Blue Finch Films has revealed a fantastic festival teaser trailer for a new film titled Birdeater, an Australian indie horror flick marking the feature directorial debut of filmmakers Jack Clark & Jim Weir. It first premiered at the 2023 Sydney Film Festival last year and won the Audience Award for Australian Narrative Feature there. And it's playing at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival coming up this March. Birdeater is an unsettling horror thriller that "represents a visually striking and daring debut from this Australian duo." A bride-to-be is invited to her fiancé's bachelor party, but when uncomfortable details of their relationship are exposed, the night takes a feral turn. Vague yet compelling. The film stars Shabana Azeez, Mackenzie Fearnley, Ben Hunter, Jack Bannister, Clementine Anderson, Alfie Gledhill, Harley Wilson, and Caroline McQuade. Oh damn. Yeah this looks quite good, even from only 30 seconds of footage. I'm quite curious to find out what's going on here... Here's the first teaser trailer for Jack Clark & Jim Weir's Birdeater, direct from ...

"Are there any risks of brain damage?" Metronic Films has unveiled an official trailer for an indie sci-fi film from Italy titled The Complex Forms, marking the feature directorial debut of up-and-coming filmmaker Fabio D'Orta. This first premiered at the 2023 Torino Film Festival, before playing at the 2024 Slamdance Film Festival in Utah in January. It's playing at Fantasporto 2024 in Portugal next this month. Thanks to Screen Anarchy, there's a trailer out for it and it's worth a look. This strange, peculiar fantasy sci-fi drama is about an ancient villa where people have the opportunity to go "solve their fate" by selling their bodies to a mysterious entity. The director explains that "the film that is both sober and excessive, where the sobriety and austerity of the unity of space coexist with the wonder and fantasy coming from an elsewhere, which has always been there, beyond the threshold of our perception." Starring David Richard White, Michele Venni, Cesare Bonomelli, & Enzo Solazzi. Looks like some philosophical sci-fi with a gnarly monster. Here's the first official trailer (+ poster) for ...

"This is a guy who's doing this for his own glory." Screen Daily has revealed the first promo trailer for a new documentary film titled Phantoms of the Sierra Madre, not to be confused with the renowned 1931 classic film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre. The doc will be premiering at the CPH:DOX Film Festival in Copenhagen this month, which is why this trailer is out now for its unveiling soon. The film follows Danish screenwriter Lars K. Andersen as he follows his childhood hero Norwegian explorer Helge Ingstad, who in 1937 went on an expedition to Mexico to search for a lost Apache tribe. "Three men embark on a boyhood dream of a Western adventure in search of a lost Apache tribe in Mexico, but end up in a very different place than they had planned. A thought-provoking film about being out of place - and about realising it along the way." For anyone confused about why a Norwegian director is making a film about Native Americans, not to worry, this film addresses exactly that - and it ...

"I don't trust him. He's a liar. It's his profession." Netflix has revealed the full official trailer for their new series Ripley, arriving in April to watch soon. It's a mysterious and sneaky new black & white adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's bestselling Tom Ripley novels (the same novel turned into The Talented Mr. Ripley film from 1999). A grifter named Ripley living in 60s New York is hired by a wealthy man to go to Italy to find his son - which begins a complex life of deceit, fraud & even murder. Andrew Scott plays Tom Ripley. Dakota Fanning plays Marge Sherwood. Johnny Flynn plays Dickie Greenleaf. With Elliot Sumner, Maurizio Lombardi, Margherita Buy, with John Malkovich. All of this cinematography is shot by the legendary DP Robert Elswit, best known for also shooting Magnolia, There Will Be Blood, Inherent Vice, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, King Richard. Created by Academy Award-winning writer Steven Zaillian. This is looking way, way better than anyone is expecting - not only the slick B&W style, but also Andrew Scott leading the way, and ...

"It isn't vengeance, it's justice." Pathe in France has revealed a first look teaser trailer for yet another new Alexandre Dumas adaptation, following the immensely successful The Three Musketeers - Part I & Part II movies recently. Their new take on The Count of Monte-Cristo is written & directed by the two writers who just adapted The Three Musketeers recently, though this time they're also directing. A new adaptation of the famous novel by Dumas, about a man who gets revenge after being unfairly imprisoned. It has been adapted many times before, most notably in 2002 with Jim Caviezel & Guy Pearce; in 1975 with Richard Chamberlain & Trevor Howard; and the original classic in 1934 with Robert Donat & Elissa Landi. There's also another new Italian-French TV series version of Monte Cristo in the works, but it looks like this film will be out before that is. A film by Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de La Patellière, with Pierre Niney as Edmond, Anaïs Demoustier as Mercédès, Bastien Bouillon, Anamaria Vartolomei, with Laurent Lafitte, & Julien De Saint Jean. This ...

"We could finally sell the flat... so you can start packing your stuff." Another excellent animated short film to feature and add to our ever-growing database of excellent shorts. Bye Little Block! (or Pá, kis panelom! in Hungarian) is an animated short made by a Hungarian filmmaker named Éva Darabos, currently based in Budapest. She explains: "It's about a surreal farewell to my beloved blockhouse area where I grew up. The quirky atmosphere and all of the characters of this typically Central/Eastern European neighborhood always inspired me." The film was originally created as a graduation project for the filmmaker, and played at many festivals over the last few years. Now it's finally online for everyone! There's so many quirky characters and wacky designs and hilarious scenes in this. It's a fascinating tribute to the kind of extra colorful characters you find in residential blocks in a city. The film won Best Animated Short at a few festivals, and played at Rooftop Films NYC, Interfilm Berlin, Animasivo Mexico City, Sottodicotto Festival, and many others. Enjoy. Thanks to Vimeo Staff Picks for the ...

"We wanted to be a band that stood for something!" "Our story is of success." Abramorama has revealed an official trailer for Getting It Back: The Story of Cymande, a UK music documentary finally getting released this year. It originally premiered back in 2022 at the SXSW Film Festival and London Film Festival, and is getting a proper UK and US theatrical debut this year coinciding with the band Cymande going back on tour. A music doc about a band you've probably never heard of! But won't ever forget after watching this. "They are the unsung heroes whose message of peace, love and funk sailed beyond Britain's shores and helped shape music for five decades. Long after they stopped playing, the music played on, so they returned to play some more." In support of the film, Cymande will go on a worldwide tour in 2024 and is currently working on new music to be released this year as well. Glad they're back! "We are delighted to be partnering up with Abramorama to bring the film to a global audience... They ...

"It kinda just sounds like you're making up science." Strap in for some high school multiverse chaos! Hulu has revealed an official trailer for a comedy series titled Davey & Jonesie's Locker, produced by both Prime Video & Hulu. It's ready to launch for streaming later in March. Veronika Slowikowska stars as Davey and Jaelynn Thora Brooks as Jonesie - best friends. The two feel out of step with their peers and the banal backdrops of their high school. When they discover their locker is actually a portal to a Multiverse, they set off on new adventures. Alas, these adventures are set in alternate versions of their high school, with offbeat iterations of their classmates. The cast also includes Dan Beirne as disgraced quantum physicist turned science teacher, Mr. Schneider, who plays a key role; along with Emily Piggford, Nikko Angelo Hinayo, Kevin Lauta Osea, Erika Swayze, and showrunner Evany Rosen as the school's principal. After the hoopla of Everything Everywhere All at Once, it was inevitable they'd create a wacky sitcom high school comedy involving multiverses. Thankfully this does ...