› High Ground Aust. Western
› Visar Morina's Exile Drama
› Abel Ferrara's Siberia Film
› Russia's Why Don't You Die
› Chuck Berry Documentary
› Jackman in Bad Education
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› Cedric Cheung-Lau on Mtns
› Alex Winter on Making Docs
› Aust. Filmmaker Jennifer Kent
› Shadow Director Zhang Yimou
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› The Invisible Man (Feb 28)
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Berlinale 2020: Riz Ahmed Raps & Reflects on Life in 'Mogul Mowgli'
This film is one of the finest discoveries at the 2020 Berlin Film Festival. Mogul Mowgli is an outstanding gem of a film, made authentically by genuine artists giving it their all. It's a remarkable relief to come across a film so surprising yet so entirely refreshing and engaging, an unforgettable experience to watch, and I can't help but rave about it when this happens. Mogul Mowgli is one of my favorite surprises at Berlinale this year. A few of my colleagues mentioned it as a film on their schedule and I looked it up, saw that it stars Riz Ahmed as a rapper, and decided to give it a look. I have high hopes that the film will find an audience outside of the film festival circuit, and connect with many people. It doesn't matter where you come from or what religion you follow, this film is about an artist wanting it all struggling with the painful realities of life.
› Posted 2 hours ago in Berlinale, Review | Comments
First Trailer for Australian Western 'High Ground' Starring Simon Baker
"What have you bloody done?" Madman Films has unveiled a teaser trailer for the anticipated Australian action western High Ground, which is premiering at the Berlin Film Festival this month. Set in the 1930s, High Ground is inspired by true events, telling the story of a policeman in Northern Australia and the local aboriginals he attempts to befriend. After a terrible massacre leaves many dead without justice, years later he is forced to return and confront the same aboriginals when they start attacking outposts. Described as "a frontier western about colonial violence and misunderstandings that deeply resonates in today's Australia – and indeed all over the world – the film explores the nature of loyalty and the ability to distinguish freely between right and wrong, in opposition to the dogmas of the age in which you live." This co-stars Simon Baker and Jacob Junior Nayinggul, with Jack Thompson, Callan Mulvey, Witiyana Marika, and Caren Pistorius. This isn't the best teaser, but it does setup the stakes and the key characters in this film.
› Posted 3 hours ago in To Watch, Trailer | Comments
Misel Maticevic & Sandra Hüller in First Trailer for German Film 'Exile'
"Where are you from again?" The Match Factory has debuted the first official promo trailer for the indie drama Exile, also titled just Exil. This is a German film produced and made in Germany, but it's directed by a Kosovan filmmaker named Visar Morina. The film just premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, and is playing at the Berlin Film Festival now, seeking international distribution at the market. The sweltering (literally) drama is about a Kosovan man who now works as a chemical engineer in Germany. He starts to feel discriminated and bullied at work, plunging him into an identity crisis. Starring Misel Maticevic and Sandra Hüller, along with Rainer Bock, Thomas Mraz, Flonja Kodheli, Stephan Grossmann, and Nicole Marischka. It's a complex, fascinating examination of how biased perspectives can warp the truth.
› Posted 5 hours ago in Indies, To Watch, Trailer | Comments
Berlinale 2020: Kelly Reichardt's Film 'First Cow' is the Bakers' Delight
I would really, really like an oily biscuit with honey and a touch of cinnamon after finishing this film. Please. First Cow is the latest feature made by American filmmaker Kelly Reichardt (of Old Joy, Meek's Cutoff, Night Moves). After initially premiering at the Telluride & New York Film Festivals last fall, it has made an appearance at the Berlin Film Festival this year showing as a European premiere in the main competition section. Set at the beginning of the 19th century in the rural Northwest (mainly in Oregon), the film is about a friendship and successful local business started by two lonely misfits. It's not just a film about a cow, it's not just a film about friends, and it's not just a film about the Northwest frontier. It has so much depth and heart and humility, an entirely wonderful film. I think I loved it, to be fully honest, which even surprises me.
› Posted February 23 in Berlinale, Review | Comments
First Full Trailer for Abel Ferrara's 'Siberia' Film Starring Willem Dafoe
"Your soul is outside of you and you must claim it." The Match Factory has unveiled the first official promo trailer for the film Siberia, premiering at the Berlin Film Festival this week. This is the latest feature made by acclaimed filmmaker Abel Ferrara (Ms .45, China Girl, 4:44 Last Day on Earth, Tommaso) and stars Willem Dafoe. The short description says it's "an exploration into the language of dreams." Dafoe plays Clint, a damaged man who has retreated to a wintry remote mountain cabin where he hopes to find serenity. He runs a modest cafe where the rare traveler or native of the region visits. But even in his relative isolation he cannot find peace nor escape. On a fateful evening, to confront himself, he begins a journey by dogsled to the world he once knew. He travels through dreams, memory and imagination in an attempt to find his true nature. Sounds enthralling? This is certainly a very dreamy, mesmerizing trailer. Not so sure about this film.
› Posted February 23 in Indies, To Watch, Trailer | Comments
Official Trailer for Mad Russian Dark Comedy 'Why Don't You Just Die!'
"It might be because of the work I do, but I pay close attention to my daughter's friends." Arrow Films has unleashed an official trailer for a super-violent, dark comedy from Russia called (for the UK/US release) Why Don't You Just Die!. The original title in Russian translates directly to Dad, Die - a bit too short. It's the feature directorial debut of a filmmaker named Kirill Sokolov. "Shades of early Tarantino, Edgar Wright and Sam Raimi abound in this violent, stylish and riotously entertaining slice of family life, Moscow style, described as 'a splatterpunk action comedy drenched in gleefully dark Russian humor.'" Sounds good? Andrei, a detective and the world's most horrible father, brings together a terrible group of people in his apartment: his resentful actress daughter, an angry thug, and a cheated cop. Each one has a reason to want revenge. The film stars Aleksandr Kuznetsov, Vitaliy Khaev, and Evgeniya Kregzhde. Check this out.
› Posted February 23 in Indies, To Watch, Trailer | Comments
Berlinale 2020: 'Minamata' Reminds of the Power of Photojournalism
It is always important to shine a light on stories that remind us of the power of journalism. Not only about all the hard-working, courageous people committed to reporting the stories, but also about the impact it can have on the world. It also goes without saying that photojournalism is just as powerful, if not even moreso sometimes. One image can change the world. This is the ultimate value of this particular film, and the true story it tells. Minamata tells the story of renowned American photographer W. Eugene Smith, who went to Japan in the early 1970s to photograph the inhabitants of a small town being poisoned by a careless, greedy chemical corporation that had a dangerous factory there. It's a very moving, earnest film about the power of photography and the tenacity of journalists. And it won me over big time, unleashing all kinds of emotions.
› Posted February 22 in Berlinale, Review | Comments
Official Trailer for 'Chuck Berry' Documentary About the Rock 'n Roller
"He was the most important guitarist in rock history." MVD Entertainment has revealed the first official trailer for an authorized, official documentary on the legendary rock 'n roll musician Chuck Berry, titled simply Chuck Berry. Berry's 60th birthday concert and the drama surrounding it were captured in Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll, but until now, Berry's life has never before been covered on screen. With Chuck Berry, award-winning music doc filmmaker Jon Brewer (B.B. King: On the Road), lends new insight to the man known as the bedrock of rock 'n roll. Several rock legends reflect on what Berry meant to them, along with exclusive access to Mrs. Berry and his family. The film features Gene Simmons, Alice Cooper, Joe Perry, Steven Van Zandt, Nils Lofgren, George Thorogood, Joe Bonamassa, Nile Rodgers, Johnny Rivers, Themetta Berry, Charles Berry Jr, Ingrid Berry, Marshall Chess, Joe Edwards and more. Check out the trailer below.
› Posted February 21 in Documentaries, To Watch, Trailer | Comments
Teaser Trailer for School Scandal 'Bad Education' with Hugh Jackman
"I have been doing some digging. I'm… concerned… with what I found." HBO has unveiled a teaser trailer for the film Bad Education, which received rave reviews out of the Toronto Film Festival last fall. The film is a fictionalized version of the true story of the single largest public school embezzlement scandal in history - about schools on Long Island. You can read more about it in this NY Magazine article. Hugh Jackman stars as Frank Tassone, the superintendent caught up in an embezzling scheme involving him and a few of his employees. The cast includes Allison Janney, Ray Romano, Geraldine Viswanathan, Kathrine Narducci, and Alex Wolff. This looks extremely good, oh damn I can't wait to see it. Everyone was talking about this at TIFF last year, and it certainly seems worthy of all that buzz, at least from this first look teaser.
› Posted February 21 in To Watch, Trailer | Comments
Superb Full Trailer for Baltimore Dirt Bike Gang Film 'Charm City Kings'
"Don't need you, don't need anybody… but me!" Sony Pictures Classics has debuted the exciting full-length official trailer fro Charm City Kings, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last month. The film is a feature adaptation of the acclaimed documentary 12 O'Clock Boys, which originally premiered in 2013, and opened in theaters in 2014. The film is about a 14-year-old boy named Mouse who joins a notorious dirt bike gang in Baltimore. Sundance describes this as an "electric feature that pulses with teen gusto, thumping hip-hop, and amazing bike tricks. Soto directs an astonishingly talented cast to create a narrative bursting with pitch-perfect performances and intoxicating emotion." Starring Jahi Di'Allo Winston as Mouse, plus Meek Mill, Will Catlett, Teyonah Parris, Donielle Tremaine Hansley, and Kezii Curtis. A superb trailer for a film I've heard nothing but good things about! Everyone is saying Jahi as Mouse is the real deal.
› Posted February 21 in Indies, To Watch, Trailer | Comments
Berlinale Enters a New Era Kicking Off the 70th Edition of the Festival
Willkommen in Berlin! The 70th Berlin Film Festival, also known as Berlinale, has kicked off this week in Berlin, Germany in the center of the city at Potsdamer Platz. This year's festival takes place a few weeks later than usual (instead of back-to-back with Sundance), so they can put some distance between the festival and the Academy Awards yet still sneak in before February ends. This is my seventh year in a row covering this festival, and now that I live in Berlin, it's my "hometown" festival that I get to attend while going home to my own apartment every evening. It's also a pivotal year for Berlinale - not only is it the 70th edition, it's the first festival with a brand new set of co-directors running things - Mariette Rissenbeek & Carlo Chatrian.
› Posted February 21 in Berlinale, Editorial | Comments
Jeffrey Dean Morgan in First Trailer for Thriller 'The Postcard Killings'
"You've got exactly four days to prevent a murder." RLJE Films has unveiled an official trailer for a serial killer thriller titled The Postcard Killings, adapted from the bestselling book of the same name. A New York City detective investigates the death of his daughter, who was murdered while on her honeymoon in London; he recruits the help of a Scandinavian journalist when other couples throughout Europe suffer a similar fate. His investigation leads him to discover a serial killer imitating art, and announcing his arrival in different cities with a postcard. Jeffery Dean Morgan stars in this along with Famke Janssen, Cush Jumbo, Joachim Król, Steven Mackintosh, and Dennis O'Hare. This looks considerably better than expected, but also looks like most other serial killer mystery thrillers. "It all makes horrible twisted sense…"
› Posted February 21 in To Watch, Trailer | Comments
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