"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

"Hopefully we win and we don't have to work regular jobs no more." An official trailer has launched for a music documentary called Blues on Beale, made by filmmaker Larry Lancit. Filmed entirely in the Blues clubs on famed Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee (Google Maps), this doc captures the people, the soul, and music of the 36th International Blues Challenge, an annual event organized and staged by The Blues Foundation. Experience 5 days of rocking, crowd pumping Blues competition packed with passion, music, and suspense. Discover the people who keep The Blues alive and the powerful international impact of America's musical gift to the world. Big ambitions. Bigger hearts. Better world. The doc interviews a lot of the musicians and discusses the local scene in Memphis as well. This actually sounds like a great time, not only listening to all of them talk about their passion for Blues music, but listening to all the bands play, too. https://onfs.net/3L5sQuO

"Are you an angel?" Check out this trailer remake for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, put together by video editor Nelson Carvajal. This new version focuses on the relationship between Anakin & Padme, in comparison to the relationship between Alana & Gary in PTA's Licorice Pizza. "This age gap controversy had me thinking about a similar scenario," Nelson explains in his intro. "Anakin is very much a child and Padmé is an adult. No sexual line is ever crossed. Yet because it is a prequel and we know their eventual romantic fate, the age gap is very underlined. But does that make the movie immoral? I don't think so either." He's cleverly pushing back against the moral police from the film criticism world, who've been getting louder & louder the last few years. So why not add the Licorice Pizza trailer music with this footage? https://onfs.net/3L2obtl

"I don't know what I've been doing with my life all these years." It's time to start living! I finally watched the Akira Kurosawa classic Ikiru (from 1952) just last year, and of course it's wonderful. I had no idea that the film was getting a remake for its 70th anniversary, and I didn't even realize this new film is that remake until I caught others chatting about it during the festival. Living just premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and it is indeed a remake of Ikiru, with multiple references in the opening credits to Kurosawa and the film's original writers - Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, and Hideo Oguni. South African director Oliver Hermanus worked with Japanese writer Kazuo Ishiguro (!!) to adapt and update the 1952 script, and create this new film set in London instead of Japan. And I am very happy to report this is one of those rare remakes that is as good as the original. Critics have been raving about it, and yes it deserves the praise. https://onfs.net/3L5YmJ8

"Gangster movies are dead." You won't be able to refuse this offer! Paramount has unveiled a teaser trailer for their new streaming series arriving April on Paramount+ called The Offer. This 10-episode series tells the behind-the-scenes story of Francis Ford Coppola's iconic mafia masterpiece The Godfather - released in 1972. It's based on Oscar-winning producer Albert S. Ruddy's extraordinary, never-revealed experiences of making the movie. He was hired by the studio for the adaptation because "executives were impressed with his interview and because he was known for bringing his films in under budget." Starring Miles Teller as Albert S. Ruddy, Matthew Goode as Robert Evans, Juno Temple as Bettye McCartt, Giovanni Ribisi as Joe Colombo, Dan Fogler as Francis Ford Coppola, Burn Gorman as Charles Bluhdorn, Patrick Gallo as Mario Puzo, Justin Chambers as Marlon Brando, and Colin Hanks as Barry Lapidus. This sounds like a blast already! Who doesn't love a good series poking fun at making Hollywood movies in the 70s. Rock on. https://onfs.net/34uSqsh

"I know you're scared... but I made a promise and I intend to keep it." Saban Films has revealed an official trailer for The Girl on the Mountain, a survival thriller from filmmaker Matt Sconce shot in the Sierra Nevadas. The film is opening in select theaters and on VOD starting this March for anyone interested. When a reclusive backwoodsman finds a mute little girl named Aria wandering alone in the forest, he must protect her from the forces determined to end her life. When the girl tells Jack of her past, he learns that evil people are out hunting her. Confronted with this knowledge, he must decide if he will fight the coming danger or retreat into his world of isolation. The director adds his thoughts: "The Girl on the Mountain is the powerful and poignant story of the human experience of love, grief, brokenness and healing." The film stars Daniel O'Reilly, Makenzie Sconce, Megan Elizabeth Barker, Rease Etzler, Ryan Kos, and D.T. Carney. It reminds me of something like Cliffhanger, with very bad men going into the wilderness to find someone. https://onfs.net/34sScla

"What threatened us with catastrophe... turned out to be our salvation." Well Go USA has revealed a new US trailer for an intriguing space travel sci-fi thriller titled Project Gemini, which is technically a Russian film but shot in English. It's arriving on VOD in March in the US, skipping theaters, after first opening in Russia this January. Set in the distant future, the film is about a space mission sent to terraform a distant planet. However, the mission encounters something strange that has its own plan for the planet. They don't know what it is. "Unfortunately, they’ll soon learn that something truly unimaginable has been out there watching, lying in wait for the unwary human scouts." The film's ensemble cast includes Egor Koreshkov, Alyona Konstantinova, Dmitry Frid, Nikita Dyuvbanov, Lisa Martinez, Kostya Samoukov, Petr Romanov, and Viktor Potapeshkin. This looks cool! I'm always down for more sci-fi, especially when they go big with epic shots like in this trailer. No idea if it'll be any good! But I'm certainly curious about it. https://onfs.net/3AR52pD

"I am ashamed to admit it... but sometimes I think that they are punishing us for going on strike." The Cinema Guild has unveiled an official trailer for an indie experimental documentary film titled A Night of Knowing Nothing, the feature debut of Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia. The film won the "Golden Eye" Award in the Directors' Fortnight at last year's Cannes Film Festival, with the jury saying: "We were all won over by a film with a strong artistic vision, which combines the personal and the political in a hypnotic way. For a first film, that makes it even more amazing." Through fictional love letters found in a cupboard at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), we meet L, a film student writing to her estranged lover while he is away, returning to his home village. Gradually we're immersed in the drastic changes taking place in the lives of young people across the country as they take to the streets to protest widespread discrimination. I'm curious to see how her story connects with the resistance theme at the core of this trailer. Have a look. https://onfs.net/3rjsxEH

"Now that you're saved, we can be sisters." 1091 Pictures has revealed an official trailer for an indie horror thriller about a cult titled Hell is Empty, made by filmmaker Joe Shaffer. This one is arriving on VOD in March. A self-styled messiah initiates a teenage runaway into his cult of sister-wives, upsetting the delicate balance of their community fixated on sin and salvation. As the family descends into violence, two of the women plot a daring escape. Hell is Empty stars Spencer Peppet, Nia Farrell, Travis Mitchell, Laura Resinger, Aya, Meredith Antoian, and Liam Ouweleen. There's way too many cult movies recently, but I guess it's part of the zeitgeist considering the crazy times we're living in with lots of people losing their minds. This seems like a direct-to-video remake of this cult horror The Other Lamb. Doesn't look that good. https://onfs.net/3rom63m

"They have, essentially, ignored the family's of the victims." Netflix has revealed a trailer for a provocative and chilling new documentary film titled Downfall: The Case Against Boeing, which just premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival a week ago. Following the premiere it's set to being streaming on Netflix in February. Critics have said this is the kind of film that will make you afraid of flying Boeing ever again, if everything in the news hasn't already made you concerned. It's executive produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. Sundance's intro: the film is a "comprehensive investigation into the crashes of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302. Families of the victims relate the human cost of these tragedies, while aviation experts and former Boeing employees reveal what went wrong at the company, offering damning evidence of lies, negligence, and cover-up." It "serves as a searing indictment of a once-principled company corrupted by the influence of Wall Street to prioritize profits above all else." We need to stop this mentality. https://onfs.net/3upXqZZ

"This film is etched on my heart." LevelFIlm in Canada has unveiled the first official trailer for a Canadian indie feature film titled Scarborough, which first premiered at last year's Toronto Film Festival to some effusive reviews. Three kids in a low-income neighbourhood find friendship and community in an unlikely place. This "life-affirming drama" is based on the critically-acclaimed novel of the same name by Catherine Hernandez. It's a remarkably powerful and moving film about connection, about the "collective refusal to be fractured by individual challenges and instead be brought together through kindness and solidarity." TIFF adds: "the directors' exacting attention to detail frames the vibrant, rapidly changing neighbourhood with a universality and compassion that makes the film strikingly humanistic." It stars Liam Diaz, Essence Fox, Anna Claire Beitel, Felix Jedi Ingram Isaac, Ellie Posadas, and Cherish Violet Blood. It's one of the best Canadian films from TIFF last year and it's worth a watch. We're waiting for any US release details. https://onfs.net/3ujXbj0

"I think I'm always tormented by guilt." Utopia has revealed a brand new official US trailer for the intimate documentary film Jane By Charlotte, which originally premiered at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival last summer. It's opening in the US starting in March coming soon. The film is the directorial debut of renowned actress Charlotte Gainsbourg, which "charts her complex relationship with her actress and singer mother Jane Birkin." Produced by Nolita Cinema and Deadly Valentine, along with Mathieu Ageron as a producer. "Gainsbourg looks at her mother Jane Birkin in a way she never did, overcoming a sense of reserve. Using a camera lens, they expose themselves to each other, begin to step back, leaving space for a mother-daughter relationship." This received mixed reviews out of Cannes (I did not care for it at all) but it is a unique film in the way Birkin and Gainsbourg open up as mother and daughter, discussing fascinating subjects of all kinds. https://onfs.net/3HAxuyo