"It felt like... I was visited." "I can feel life growing inside me." Sky TV has revealed an official trailer for an intriguing new sci-fi series debuting this summer called The Midwich Cuckoos. This is the kind of sci-fi we'll post about even if it is more TV. The film is an exciting modern-day reimagining of John Wyndham's science fiction classic novel first published in 1957. A small fictional village in England named Midwich is completely subdued by an alien presence for an entire day. Upon waking, it is discovered that numerous women in the town are pregnant. As the children of the phenomenon grow, it becomes clear they are not of this world. Sounds similar to that Icelandic series Katla recently, but with British sensibilities instead. This show stars Keeley Hawes, Max Beesley, Synnove Karlsen, Indica Watson, Alec Nicholls, Kimia Lamour, Natalia Harris, and Lara Rossi. Those kids looks super creepy! I'm scared of this one already. https://onfs.net/3r5ehiK

"Whoever told you that I am old?! Look at me!" Blue Fox Ent. has released the trailer for the documentary film titled I Am Here, made by filmmaker Jordy Sank. Ella is not your average 98-year-old. Her magnetic personality makes her past even more surprising. Follow this spirited South African Holocaust survivor as she reveals her astonishing life journey and unwavering appreciation of life. This first premiered last year and is arriving in US theaters this March. A life-affirming documentary that celebrates the remarkable life of Ella Blumenthal. One of the oldest living survivors of the Holocaust, Ella celebrates her 98th birthday, where she reveals to close friends and family profound memories of her incredible survival in a way she has never done before. Told through a mixture of dynamic 2D animation and documentary footage. It looks like a remarkable film with an important story that must be captured forever and told to every new generation. https://onfs.net/3IG7Vfu

"I'm not making this up! And I'm not seeing things that aren't there..." Crystal Creek Media has debuted an official trailer for a cheesy family adventure movie called Dinosaur Cove, from the same director behind A Horse Called Bear, Courageous Love, Christmas Coupon, and Skydog previously. Reeling from the recent loss of his mother, Riley Harrison claims that he has seen a real dinosaur, to which his dad Wyatt and love interest Dr. Starr quickly write off. But the nefarious creators responsible for the creature and its release try to recover it and capture young Riley before the public finds out about their diabolical dino plans. The film stars Brayden Eaton, Jared Withrow, Holly Houk, Addilyn Houk, James Pilachowski, Emily Buckner, Ray Morgis, and Mo El-Zaatari. It looks like the kind of movie you want to avoid at all costs, unless you have kids obsessed with dinosaurs. There's only one good shot of this Pterodactyl in here anyway. https://onfs.net/3KVWG4S

Time to go see the world! Our friends at the website Short of the Week remind us that "short film is where innovative storytelling is born." And this is one of those shorts that will impress everyone! Ties is a short film made by a Russian animator / filmmaker named Dina Velikovskaya who now lives in Berlin. She has used various methods and special materials for her animated projects in the past, but this time she decided to experiment with 3D printing. What's it about? A young woman leaves home and sets off to see the world. But the parent–daughter relationship is so strong that, in the end, these ties become destructive. The film is made using the plastic material many 3D printers utilize, which she molds into various shapes to create the characters and scenes. Not only is it visually innovative, the story is quite moving, too. This short really is a wonderful creation, and hopefully it'll bring extra attention to Dina while she continues to make more films. https://onfs.net/3KSCrVG

Fight the power!! One of the best documentary films premiering at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival is a story of an Indigenous tribe in the Amazon rainforest. The film is called The Territory, and it's made by an up-and-coming filmmaker named Alex Pritz, making his first feature, and it's produced by none other than Darren Aronofsky and his company Protozoa Pictures. The film features some of my favorite scenes in any doc film at the festival, following these people around their territory as they defend their land from non-Native invaders. The film very diligently and very empathetically establishes a dual narrative, and also very carefully uses the right words to describe how these Natives are being attacked by dangerous outsiders. I only caught up with this film late in the festival, after watching nearly 50 other films, and it still completely rocked me. Powerful filmmaking combined with a powerful must-tell story makes for an unforgettable film. https://onfs.net/32GcAip

"You know you're on your way up... when they slap a target on your back." Showtime has revealed the full official trailer for their series Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber, launching streaming this February. Yet another dramatization of a tech business and all their craziness, following so many other new series like WeCrashed, too. Super Pumped: The Battle for Uber is the first installment of the Super Pumped anthology series in which each new season will explore a story that rocked the business world to its core and changed culture. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Kyle Chandler, and Uma Thurman star in the true story behind the meteoric rise and fall of Uber founder, Travis Kalanick. With the help of a VC and board member Arianna Huffington, Kalanick forges the fledgling start-up into a multi-billion-dollar colossus. But every surge comes with a price. Also starring Kerry Bishé, Jon Bass, Babak Tafti, Bridgett Gao-Hollitt, and Elisabeth Shue. Yeah this looks pretty good so far, always fun to see Gordon-Levitt gettin' wild on that startup hype. https://onfs.net/35uLdst

The official awards for the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, usually held in Park City, Utah every January, were announced this evening with a small ceremony held on social media. The festival continued on with an at-home online event after the in-person show in Utah was cancelled. Nonetheless, there were many great films to discover at the festival this year. Sundance gives Jury Awards and it also gives out Audience Awards, voted on by any and every viewer after they watch the film. The prizes this year are a completely surprising, eclectic mix of interesting films all around. None of what I was expecting, except for Cha Cha Real Smooth, but I'm glad to see the jury going with their gut(s) anyway. As always, if any of these films interest you, we hope you note them down and take the time to watch as soon as you can. All 2022 winners are listed below. https://onfs.net/35uWzwF

"What does one do with a superpower you're not sure you can trust?" Microsoft / Ambiln have debuted the full official trailer for the new live-action Halo series, which launches on Paramount+ in March. Developed by Amblin Television, Microsoft Studios, and Showtime Networks; it's showrun by Steven Kane (creator of "The Last Ship", producer on "The Closer" and "American Dad!"). The series' massive ensemble cast features Pablo Schreiber as Master Chief, and Jen Taylor as Cortana, plus Natascha McElhone, Yerin Ha, Bokeem Woodbine, Shabana Azmi, Olive Gray, Charlie Murphy, Kate Kennedy, Bentley Kalu, Natasha Culzac, Danny Sapani, and Ryan McParland. The original Halo game launched for Xbox in 2001, with many sequels along the way. Aliens threaten humanity in an epic 26th-century showdown. This definitely still looks like The Mandalorian but within the Halo universe, that's all fine if it works well. Not exactly the best footage, but better looking than most video game adaptations. Find the Halo, win the war. https://onfs.net/3IOLwNd

"50 years I've been waiting for this night... just to see him again." Netflix has fired up the gnarly official trailer for their new Texas Chain Saw Massacre film. It's officially titled Texas Chainsaw Massacre and will be streaming on Netflix starting this February. After nearly 50 years of hiding, Leatherface returns to terrorize a group of idealistic young friends that accidentally disrupt his carefully shielded world in a remote Texas town. Much like last year's Ghostbusters, this skips everything else and it plays as a direct sequel to Tobe Hooper's original 1974 Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Leatherface only gets angry when people come home. This sequel stars Elsie Fisher, Sarah Yarkin, Mark Burnham, Moe Dunford, Olwen Fouéré, Alice Krige, Jacob Latimore, Nell Hudson, Jessica Allain, Sam Douglas, William Hope, Jolyon Coy. Damn this looks brutal! The bus scene is going to be insane. Lots of blood and gore in here - watch out. https://onfs.net/3GdN01R

"Why did you betray your people?" IFC Films has revealed a new trailer for an indie from Palestine titled Huda's Salon, which premiered at last year's Toronto Film Festival. It also played at other festivals last year including Philadelphia, Busan, Woodstock, Miami, and AFI Fest. Based on real events, Huda's Salon is a timely political drama about two women who find themselves in a dangerous and complex web of betrayal. While both of them navigate how far their loyalties will go—to family and country—Abu-Assad masterfully orchestrates the tensions into a crescendo. The film stars Ali Suliman, Maisa Abd Elhadi, Manal Awad, Kamel El Basha, Samer Bisharat, and Omar Abu Amer. This received some rave reviews from critics, saying the film is a "combination of moral quandary and ticking clock peril." It seem worth a watch. https://onfs.net/3Hg5sbq

"Don't go looking at anybody but me." A festival promo trailer has been revealed for this German film The Forger, premiering at the 2022 Berlin Film Festival in just a few weeks playing in the Special Gala section. Based on a true story, German filmmaker Maggie Peren's new film centers on 21-year-old Cioma Schönhaus, a Jewish person living in Berlin in the 1940s. His very existence is threatened by the Nazis, but he won't let anyone take away his zest for life, especially not the Nazis. So he decides to "hide in plain sight" using the identity of a marine officer he creates, throwing himself into the city's nightlife. By day he makes fake IDs to save the lives of others, but it gets riskier and riskier. The filmmaker says this is "the story of a person who rebels against stigmatization. The regime of terror is present, but we do not offer the Nazis a platform. We see them through Cioma's eyes as we see everything through his eyes." That's a much better hook for this than the official synopsis. This stars Louis Hofmann (from "Dark)" as Cioma, Jonathan Berlin, Luna Wedler, Nina Gummich, Marc Limpach, André Jung, and Yotam Ishay. Hopefully this will be good. https://onfs.net/3rbS2aW

"Do you promise to stay with me forever?" Netflix has revealed an official trailer for a Dutch film titled My Best Friend Anne Frank, apparently the first ever Dutch movie made about Anne Frank, despite the fact that she lived there for most of her life. Based on the real-life friendship between Anne Frank and Hannah Goslar, from Nazi-occupied Amsterdam to their harrowing reunion in a concentration camp. This is labeled as "live-action" to differentiate it from the animated film that debuted last year called Where Is Anne Frank, also about Anne Frank and her imaginary best friend. This Dutch film follows Anne all the way to the camps where she eventually dies in early 1945. Starring Aiko Beemsterboer as Anne, Josephine Arendsen as Hannah, with Roeland Fernhout, Lottie Hellingman, Björn Freiberg, Hans Peterson, and Stefan de Walle. This adaptation looks more educational than anything, but it might still be a worthwhile watch. https://onfs.net/3B0Fp61

"Whoever opens my tomb shall unleash an invader more terrible than I." Whoa, what! This is a must watch 9-min short. More mashups like this, please! YouTube creator Devin Graham, aka "devinsupertramp", has created a kick ass fan-film. It's an action short film called Uncharted vs Tomb Raider vs Indiana Jones and that's also exactly what it is. These three adventure heroes cross paths in Uzbekistan, where this was filmed, on the hunt for a special item found inside a tomb. Starring Braxton McAllister as Nathan Drake, Michaela McAllister as Lara Croft, and Corbett McAllister as Indiana Jones. This is not some hack job mashup, this is an actual live-action film with people performing real stunts in real locations. And it's so much fun to watch! This is a blast. Stream it to your TV from YouTube, turn the volume up, and enjoy. https://onfs.net/3rfKXpH

Hidden in the "Kids" section at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival is this kooky, cheesy, fun kids movie called Maika from Vietnam. I don't even know how or why the festival decided to include this movie, because it's barely good enough to be considered a TV movie, but it does slide right into the so-bad-it's-good territory a few times. As ridiculous and impractical as this movie is, it's honestly so likable and so charming. One geeky Vietnamese kid gets caught up in an adventure with an alien girl who helps him save the day and take out some bullies. I can't help but admit it's harmless "kids movie" fun and I'm glad I watched it; goofy cinema but worth it. For all the really bad scenes in this, there are some really wonderful scenes that balance things out. It's an entertaining, earnest sci-fi story with some truly mediocre VFX with its heart in the right place. https://onfs.net/3HksMot

"Remember boys - be nice!" Paramount + Saban Films have debuted an official trailer for an indie vigilante thriller titled Asking For It, which is arriving in March on VOD. This originally premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year, but we haven't heard much buzz bout it, in fact we haven't heard anything about it at all before now. But it still looks badass! When a small town waitress is sexually assaulted after a date with her old friend, she befriends a mysterious stranger who introducers her to an all femme gang. Together they strive to take down a society overpowered by corrupt men and seek the ultimate revenge while getting their own version of justice. The ensemble cast features Kiersey Clemons, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexandra Shipp, Ezra Miller, Radha Mitchell, Gabourey Sidibe, and Luke Hemsworth. Hell yes!! This looks like a gnarly bring-it-on, don't-fuck-with-these-ladies vengeance flick that will definitely rattle some cages. https://onfs.net/3s7GGUB

"I wish I had a real memory." "What do you mean?" A24 has unveiled the official trailer for After Yang, the newest film from the acclaimed filmmaker known as "Kogonada", who made quite an impression with his feature debut Columbus from a few years ago. After Yang premiered at last year's Cannes Film Festival to some rave reviews (here's mine) and it also just played at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival this month. Set in the near future, a family reckons with questions of love, connection, and loss after their A.I. helper unexpectedly breaks down. Yang is the name of the android, and when they take him in for repair they learn there's much more to him than they thought. The film stars Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Justin H. Min, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, and Haley Lu Richardson. One of the best sci-fi films to see this year, one of my favorites from Cannes. I've seen it twice now and it's as wonderful as ever. Have a look. https://onfs.net/3GmFlhI

"Can't believe we didn't think this part all the way through." Amazon has revealed a second trailer for the romantic comedy I Want You Back, arriving on Prime Video just in time for Valentine's Day this month. They're really hoping that people will choose to watch this for their Valentine's Day date night, but I'm not so sure. Here's the entirely unoriginal concept: Newly dumped thirty-somethings Peter and Emma team up to sabotage their exes' new relationships and win them back for good. Jenny Slate and Charlie Day co-star, with an ensemble cast including Gina Rodriguez, Manny Jacinto, Scott Eastwood, Isabel May, Jami Gertz, Clark Backo, and Dylan Gelula. The first trailer launched back in December, and this new trailer isn't that much better. There's not that many funny moments at all, and the rest of it seems so bland. https://onfs.net/3gbAoxM

"The trick is... play the man, not the hand..." But does that also apply to real life and not just poker? 20th Century Studios has revealed an official trailer for a thriller titled No Exit, an intense thriller adapted from Taylor Adams' 2017 novel of the same name. This film will be debuting direct-to-streaming on Hulu this February. During a blizzard and stranded at an isolated rest stop Visitor's Center up in the mountains, a college student discovers a kidnapped child hidden in a car belonging to one of the people inside. This sets her "on a terrifying life-or-death struggle to discover who among them is the kidnapper." Starring Havana Rose Liu, Danny Ramirez, David Rysdahl, Dale Dickey, Mila Harris, and Dennis Haysbert. This film reminds me of Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, about a group of strangers who gather in a snow storm but everyone is not who they say they are. Looks like it gets intense at some point, too! Check this out below. https://onfs.net/3scBJdn

"You reminded me of me when I was your age... I wasted a lot of time being angry." FilmRise has finally unveiled the trailer for this fun coming-of-age indie film called Marvelous and the Black Hole, which originally premiered at last year's Sundance Film Festival. It was one of my faves of last year's fest, and it's opening in select theaters this April after more than a year of waiting. A teenage delinquent teams up with a surly children's party magician to navigate her dysfunctional family and inner demons. Miya Cech stars as Sammy, an angsty teen who gets into all kinds of trouble. But that changes when she meets Margot, played tenderly by Rhea Perlman, a magician who teaches her the power of magic. The cast also includes Keith Powell, Leonardo Nam, and Paulina Lule. I wrote a glowing review of this last year – it's a delightful "film filled with charm and confidence and honesty." I recommend catching it when this releases in spring. https://onfs.net/3444FMC

"I was not expecting to have all these feelings..." Screen Media has revealed an official trailer for a romance film titled A Week in Paradise, made by a French producer / filmmaker named Philippe Martinez. This is arriving in theaters next week - also timed for Valentine's Day if anyone is interested. An international film star's world collapses when her film director husband is outed by the paparazzi as having a baby with his new young leading lady. Seeking solace and healing, she escapes to a Caribbean boutique hotel resort. After some much-needed recovery, she meets the resort's charming chef and begins to imagine a new life just as her old one comes barging in. This one stars Malin Ackerman, Connie Nielsen, Philip Winchester, and Jack Donnelly. This looks really light and lovely, not too heavy despite all the break up emotions. And extremely pretty with all the perfect shots of paradise and beaches and wine every night and so on. Dive in. https://onfs.net/3gbZ6OB

"I didn't come all this way just to sing." Gravitas Ventures has debuted the official trailer for I'll Find You, a WWII romantic thriller formerly known as Music, War and Love. This one originally premiered back in 2019 at numerous film festivals, and it's finally getting a VOD release this year. Inspired by true stories of Polish musicians from the 1930 & 1940s. Two young lovers, Robert (Leo Suter), a talented Catholic opera singer and Rachel (Adelaide Clemens), a Jewish violin virtuoso, dream of one day performing together at legendary Carnegie Hall. When they're torn apart by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, Robert vows to find Rachel, no matter what, taking him all the way into Germany. Also starring Stellan Skarsgard, Stephen Dorff, Connie Nielsen, Ursula Parker, Sebastian Croft, and Toby Sebastian. This reminds me of so many other films set during WWII, including The Song of Names most recently also about a Polish violinist. This looks like a heartbreaking story, though the trailer seems to give away almost everything that happens. https://onfs.net/3ghmREY