Author: Alex Billington

"God, I hate this planet." Here we go! Liosngate has revealed the first official trailer for Borderlands, a video game adaptation that has been in the works for a long time. This actually filmed back in 2021 and has been delayed from release until this year - now set for an August opening. Dropping it into that late summer action movie release spot. Based on the popular video game series set on the abandoned fictional planet of Pandora – where people search for a mysterious relic. "The fate of the universe could be in their hands but they'll be fighting for something more: each other." Directed by Eli Roth, this sci-fi action movie stars Cate Blanchett as Lilith, Kevin Hart as Roland, Jack Black as Claptrap, Jamie Lee Curtis as Dr. Patricia Tannis, Ariana Greenblatt as Tiny Tina, Florian Munteanu as Krieg, with Haley Bennett, Edgar Ramírez, Bobby Lee, Olivier Richters, Janina Gavankar, Cheyenne Jackson, and Gina Gershon as Mad Moxxi. This seems like Lionsgate said, "hey can you make a Guardians of the Galaxy movie but with the Borderlands ...

"I am not the one who is getting married! She is!" Netflix has unveiled a fun trailer for a romantic comedy called Irish Wish, the next Lindsay Lohan romcom from the streaming studio after Falling for Christmas in 2022. When the love of Maddie's life gets engaged to her best friend, she puts her feelings aside to be a bridesmaid at their wedding in Ireland. Actor Ed Speleers explains: "This world, this sphere of filmmaking comes very naturally for [Lindsay Lohan]. She has a great approach to the work and is very much in tune with her comedic bones. This was my first out and out rom-com, and to team up with Lindsay and film in the stunning Republic of Ireland felt like the perfect way to venture into this genre." Lindsay Lohan stars with Ed Speleers, Alexander Vlahos, Ayesha Curry, Elizabeth Tan, Jacinta Mulcahy, and Jane Seymour. Once again, it looks like some Hallmark Channel rubbish, but hey some folks really enjoy these. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Janeen Damian's Irish Wish, direct from Netflix's YouTube: When the ...

"I think this is good for me... I think I'm gonna go out and live life. Live life to the fullest..." Cartilage Films has unveiled an official trailer for an indie comedy titled Free Time, marking the feature directorial debut of indie filmmaker Ryan Martin Brown. This first premiered at the 2023 Indy Film Fest last year, with stops at the Boston, Montclair, and Nashville Film Festivals as well. Led by Colin Burgess and featuring a wide ensemble of New York's funniest performers, Ryan's debut feature is an uproarious comedy — filmed on location in the midst of America's "Great Resignation" — about the search for meaning in the modern world. Approaching the end of his twenties and his relative youth, a man decides to quit his cushy desk job and "embrace life" - only to realize he has no idea what to do with this newfound freedom. Also starring Rajat Suresh, Holmes, James Webb, Eric Yates, Jessie Pinnick, & Rebecca Bulnes. Looks like good fun. Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Ryan Martin Brown's Free Time, direct from YouTube: Drew ...

"Even my therapist is fed up." Magnolia Pictures has revealed an official trailer for an indie comedy titled Lousy Carter, the latest indie film from auteur filmmaker Bob Byington (Somebody Up There Likes Me, Infinity Baby, Frances Ferguson). This originally premiered at the 2023 Locarno Film Festival last year, and it also played at the Philadelphia and Montclair Film Festivals. The film stars Oppenheimer's stand out actor David Krumholtz in a lead role as a very "lousy" guy at a university who is suddenly told he has six months left to live. So he goes off on everyone around him. Man-baby Lousy Carter struggles to complete his animated Nabokov adaptation, teaches a graduate seminar on Gatsby, and sleeps with his best friend's wife. He has six months to live. The film also features comedy all-stars Martin Starr, Olivia Thirlby, Jocelyn DeBoer, Macon Blair, and Stephen Root. This opens in March in theaters and on VOD for everyone to enjoy. This filmmaker seems like an acquired taste, but it's Krumholtz being funny which makes me curious. Here's the official trailer (+ posters) ...

Every month there's another headline: Netflix buys that great film that everyone loved watching together for an excessive amount of money. Everyone loves to grumble about the headline, and talk about the film when this news hits, but will they actually watch it whenever it's released on Netflix? Will Netflix even (properly) promote it? Will they even tell their ~260 million subscribers worldwide about the film when they debut it streaming on their platform? Why does Netflix love buying these great theatrical films and dumping them streaming without any fanfare or celebration or anything at all that connects with the audience experience? Why do care so little for the actual audience? I'm so tired of this routine. I'm not so foolish as to tell Netflix to change their ways – apparently they have no interest in this anyway. Instead, I think it's up to filmmakers to realize that it isn't a good idea to sell your movie to Netflix anymore - no matter how much money they want to throw at you. Choose a reputable theatrical distributor first, then let ...

"I don't know where this all will lead... But one thing I do know is – this is just the beginning." Netflix has debuted one final official trailer for their live-action take on the Avatar: The Last Airbender series. It's the best trailer yet! With tons of promising footage - because this series will launch on Netflix in just a few days from now. A reimagining of the beloved series following Aang, the young Avatar, as he learns to master the four elements (Water, Earth, Fire, Air) to restore balance to a world threatened by the terrifying Fire Nation. The four nations once lived in harmony, with the Avatar, master of all four elements, keeping peace between them. Together with his friends Sokka & Katara, Aang embarks on an action-packed quest to take his rightful place as the next Avatar. The original creators Michael Dante DiMartino & Bryan Konietzko are only back as writers. The cast features: Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kiawentiio as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka, Dallas Liu as Zuko, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee as Iroh, Daniel Dae Kim ...

"If we find amazing locations, the science fiction elements will grow out of them." The VFX masters at ILM have released a series of videos about the behind-the-series of The Creator, the spectacular sci-fi movie by Gareth Edwards released lat year. The movie is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (and Best Sound), and all of the VFX studios have been promoting their work with new videos these past few weeks. For The Creator, ILM has released a series of breakdowns, along with a full-on conversation with all those involved, including on set supervisors and the ILM wizards at the studio in San Fran. ILM Originals & Director Chris Hawkinson bring you an inside look at the filmmakers and artists that brought The Creator to the big screen. It's fascinating to hear them explain all the work that went into making this movie look so good - "shots that would normally take months to do were happening in a few days." We also featured Weta Workshop's video on The Creator making the props & weapons right here. ...

"We never enter a prisoner's cell alone!" Cinetic has unveiled a initial festival promo trailer for a new Danish dramatic thriller titled Sons, the latest from Danish filmmaker Gustav Möller. This is his second feature following the acclaimed film The Guilty, that film set entirely in a 9-1-1 dispatcher's office which first premiered at Sundance 2018 (and was remade into the film with Jake Gyllenhaal). Sons is premiering at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival in the Main Competition section, which means it might be one to watch for. Sons stars Sidse Babett Knudsen as an Idealistic prison officer Eva Hansen, who faces the dilemma of her life when a young man she knows from before is transferred to her prison. Also starring Sebastian Bull, Dar Salim, Marina Bouras, and Olaf Johannessen. Looks crazy intense! Obviously the mystery is about her connection to this person (is it her son?) and what's going on with him & her. Very interesting... I'm curious. Here's the first promo trailer (+ poster) for Gustav Möller's Sons, direct from Cinetic's YouTube: Intro from Berlinale: "The idealistic prison guard ...

"You don't know what side they're fighting for..." This looks scary. A24 has unveiled the second trailer for Alex Garland's Civil War, his next new action thriller movie arriving in theaters this April. This trailer confirms - we really don't need this movie right now. This is the fourth film Garland has directed, following Ex Machina, Annihilation, and Men. The actual plot is still being kept a secret but it's obvious what is going on here - mainly that it's about a civil war in a near-future America. The excellent ensemble cast for Garland's Civil War film features Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Karl Glusman, Sonoya Mizuno, Jonica T. Gibbs, Jess Matney, plus Jesse Plemons. I really think this is a misguided, harmful movie that is glorifying the action that will happen in a civil war rather than being a movie trying to stop America from going this direction. I doubt it will actually change anyone's minds either. Sadly this does not look good. As usual, that's just my own take... What do you think? Here's the ...

"Someone needs to swim for help." Studiocanal has revealed an official UK trailer for a shark horror movie titled Something in the Water, made by a VFX artist turned filmmaker named Hayley Easton Street. It's set for release in the UK in July this summer, though no US date confirmed yet. This all-female production is written by, directed by, produced by, and stars nothing but women. Awesome! "This summer, fear will find new depths." The survival thriller follows a group of five girlfriends who must fight for their lives in open water after a dream wedding transformed into a nightmare. Starring Hiftu Quasem, Lauren Lyle, Natalie Mitson, Nicole Rieko Setsuko, and Ellouise Shakespeare-Hart, as a group of friends on a holiday gone very wrong. It's always the same story in these shark movies, something goes wrong while out on the water. But this still looks pretty good! They'll never stop making more shark horror movies, will they? Here's the official trailer (+ poster) for Hayley Easton Street's Something in the Water, from YouTube: An idyllic destination wedding turns into a battle for ...