News

UK shoegaze outfit Ride have announced their new album, Interplay, out March 29th via Witchita Recordings/Pias. As a preview, the band has shared the album’s lead single, “Peace Sign.” Stream it below.

Interplay will serve as Ride’s first album in five years and their third effort since the quartet’s 2015 reunion. Inspired by Tears for Fears, Talk Talk, and early U2, it was produced by the band and Richie Kennedy.

In a statement about the album, vocalist Andy Bell shared that while the making of Interplay took “a long time” with “many ups and downs; maybe the most of any Ride album,” it resulted in an effort that all four were proud of. “[Interplay] has seen us come through the process as a band in a good place, feeling able to shake off the past, and ready to celebrate the combined musical talents that brought us together in the first place.

Exclusive: William Fichtner (Hypnotic) has been set to star opposite Free Solo‘s Alex Honnold and his fellow climbing legends Brette Harrington (The Alpinist) and Adrian Ballinger (Edge of the Earth) in The Sound, an indie horror pic set in the adrenaline-filled world of big wall rock climbing.

Written and directed by Brendan Devane (The Canyonlands), the film currently in production in Nevada follows a group of climbers as they embark on the formidable challenge of conquering the Forbidden Wall, a perilous climb that has remained off-limits for years. What initially begins as an audacious expedition swiftly transforms into a harrowing battle for survival against a malevolent force that toys with their minds and tests their resilience.

Intel on the climbers’ roles hasn’t been disclosed, but Fichtner portrays Conner, a father who is faced with losing his son in the same way he lost his father at a young age.

Netflix may be cracking down on password sharing these days, but they still have some good content. Shockingly enough, they do offer more content than Stranger Things, so you can maybe keep your subscription service for now. There's a whole round of new movies getting ready to leave, and you should jump on them before they go.

We're here to talk about the best of the best, though. Plenty of garbage movies are leaving in addition to these few noteworthy ones, all leaving at the start of June. A benefit here is that most of these are pretty good crowd-pleasers. You can sit almost anyone in front of these films and they'll probably have a good time. Let's discuss.

Galaxy Quest (June 1)

Please watch this movie. If you like Star Trek, you'll love this movie as it almost passes for a Mel Brooks treatment of the subject matter. It's a comedy with a sci-fi flair,...

Preparing for an upcoming flight isn’t just limited to packing your clothes and toiletries — have you thought about how you’re going to keep yourself entertained? The idealist in all of us might say we’re gonna read that book we’ve been putting off, but depending on the length of your flight, that may be easier said than done. If it’s on the longer side, it can be easy to get distracted and start to really feel the minutes crawling by.

The good news is that in recent years,...

Without awaiting word on a date for the Golden Globe Awards or even if they will be proceeding on NBC (which is reportedly still in discussions with the HFPA), the Critics Choice Association today has not only staked their flag for the 28th Annual Critics Choice Awards, but also their 7th Documentary awards and a fast growing series of “Celebrations” focusing on Black, Latino and now Asian Pacific achievements in movies and television.

The 2023 Critics Choice Awards will be held Sunday January 15 at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, airing live on the CW. The date is associated with where the ceremony had traditionally been parked pre-pandemic. The 27th awards event, also at the Fairmont had to be moved to March of this year due to Covid concerns and featured a live hookup from the Savoy in London for those nominees who also were attending the BAFTA awards,...

Exclusive: Roadside Attractions has acquired North American rights to Peeter Rebane’s theatrical feature directorial debut, Firebird, with plans to release it exclusively in theaters on April 29.

Based on a true story that unfolded during the Cold War, Firebird is a love story set against the backdrop of a Soviet Air Force base in Estonia during late 1970s Communist rule. Sergey (Tom Prior), a soulful, young soldier who dreams of becoming an actor in Moscow, is counting the days until his military service ends. His life turns upside down when he locks eyes with Roman (Oleg Zagorodnii), an enigmatic ace fighter pilot newly assigned to his base.

Driven by their undeniable attraction, Sergey and Roman navigate the precarious line between love and friendship at a time when Soviet men in uniform caught having a sexual affair were met with the severest punishment. As their friendship grows into love, the men...

Alex Honnold, the world-renowned rock climber documented in the Oscar-winning film Free Solo, is up to some more death-defying adventures.

The two-part virtual reality documentary Alex Honnold: The Soloist VR, set for release March 3, follows the California native on solo ascents on two continents, “in some of the most remote and wildest locations possible.” The documentary from Jonathan Griffith Productions will be distributed on Oculus TV and available on Meta Quest VR headsets.

“The film is the result of two years of meticulous planning and crafting of the VR experience from Jonathan Griffith, the award-winning producer of Everest VR: Journey to the Top of the World,” noted a release. “In the film, Griffith employed the latest in high resolution 3D 360°… He purposefully kept the film as raw as possible to use the power of VR to bring the viewer into the scene in an authentic way.”

Griffith has gained considerable experience on mountain climbing films,...

Exclusive: Roadside Attractions and Vertical Entertainment have prevailed in a bidding war surrounding the Sundance thriller Emily the Criminal, starring and produced by Aubrey Plaza, claiming North American rights. They’ve slated the film for an exclusive theatrical release this year, with Redbox joining the partnership for home entertainment distribution.

John Patton Ford’s feature directorial debut follows Emily (Plaza), who is saddled with student debt and locked out of the job market due to a minor criminal record. Desperate for income, she takes a shady gig as a “dummy shopper,” buying goods with stolen credit cards supplied by a handsome and charismatic middleman named Youcef (Theo Rossi). Faced with a series of dead-end job interviews, Emily soon finds herself seduced by the quick cash and illicit thrills of black-market capitalism, and increasingly interested in her mentor Youcef. Together, they hatch a plan to bring...

The year is somehow already almost over! To celebrate another passage around the sun, Netflix is putting its best foot forward with its list of new releases for December 2021.

Netflix’s options of original series are quite vast and impressive this month. It starts early on with two finales: Lost in Space wraps up its story with a third and final season on Dec. 1 and is quickly followed by the last go-around for Spanish hit Money Heist. The blockbusters continue apace from there with The Witcher season 2 premiering on Dec. 17, Emily in Paris season 2 on Dec. 22, and Cobra Kai season 4 on Dec. 31 to close out the year.

Read more TV The Witcher Season 2 First Look Asks What Kind of Father Geralt Will Be By Michael Ahr TV How Will Money Heist End? By Gene Ching

It’s also a good month for movies on Netflix. Adam McKay’s satirical climate...

Netflix will close out the year by debuting its biggest awards contenders and popular series like Season 2 of “The Witcher” and Season 2 of “Emily in Paris.”

But the headline releases are on the film side. December 1 brings the streaming premiere of “The Power of the Dog,” Jane Campion’s Best Picture favorite starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, Jesse Plemons, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. On December 10, Netflix drops “The Unforgivable,” a new drama with former Best Actress winner Sandra Bullock. On December 24, it’s Adam McKay’s star-studded Best Picture hopeful “Don’t Look Up,” with Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Rob Morgan, Timothee Chalamet, Tyler Perry, Ariana Grande, and Mark Rylance. The streamer closes out 2021 with “The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut with Olivia Colman and Dakota Johnson.

Ahead, everything coming to Netflix in December 2021.

Coming Soon

Decoupled

Dec. 1

JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean...

Two of the most acclaimed climbing films of the year, Max Lowe’s “Torn” and The Alpinist, from Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen, have taken big awards at this year’s Kendal Mountain Film Festival, held in the U.K.’s Lake District.

Its hybrid edition proved once more a dazzling showcase of mountain and sports films whose subjects, themes and emotions went far beyond the adrenalin-rush thrills of reportage.

Awards for the festival’s main international film competition were unveiled Saturday night. A further category prize – the People’s Choice Award – awarded to Menna Wakeford “A Woman’s Place,” was announced at the end of the Festival, which wrapped Sunday.

“Torn” won the Festival’s top award, the Grand Prize. Seen at Telluride and directed by photographer and explorer Max Lowe, the feature takes an intimate look at Lowe’s own family, following the discovery of his father’s body on a Himalayan peak,...

The Critics Choice Association awarded “Summer of Soul” the top prize at the sixth annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards, which honors the best achievements in nonfiction released in theaters, on TV, or on major digital platforms. Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s look at the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival took home the most awards of any film, with five in total.

This year’s nominees were led by “Ascension” and “Summer of Soul,” two films by first-time documentarians. Each had six nominations. But “Ascension,” Jessica Kingdon’s look at the pursuit of the Chinese dream, failed to score any prizes November 14.

“Summer of Soul,” which won the top documentary prize and an Audience Award following its Sundance premiere earlier this year, won five of the six awards it was nominated for at the critics awards: Best Documentary Feature, Best First Documentary Feature, Best Editing, Best Archival Documentary, and Best Director, a prize Thompson...

The incredible six-week dominance of “Free Guy” (Disney/$5.99) atop Video on Demand charts should come to an end this week, with the just-announced arrival of “No Time to Die” (United Artists/$19.99) on PVOD Tuesday. Shawn Levy’s film’s lengthy run has come at a time of less competition, but its play — both initially at $19.99, then later at $5.99 — has clearly added a major bounty to Disney’s coffers after an over-$120 million domestic box office. We have no access to specifics, but with the higher return from VOD than theatrical, it’s possible the studio saw a higher return from this. Notably, this came after a 45-day theatrical window.

“Free Guy” returns to topping all charts, a streak interrupted last week when “The Addams Family 2” (United Artists/$19.99) took #1 at Vudu, which ranks by revenue, not transactions, as do Apple TV/iTunes and Google Play. That was a Halloween response,...

For the first time in quite a while, last weekend saw major new releases enter the Australian theatrical market, in the form of Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel and Aussie James Wan’s horror Malignant.

Yet neither could catch Marvel film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

While last weekend was technically the Disney title’s eighth in release, for Sydneysiders just emerging from lockdown, it is only the second weekend the film has been available.

Pent-up demand saw it collect $1.2 million, just a 20 per cent dip, moving to just shy of $13 million.

According to Numero, the top 20 titles mustered $3.3 million, up 7 per cent on the previous.

This coming weekend should see the market return to some semblance of normal for the first time since June, with cinemas in Melbourne and Canberra able to reopen from Friday.

However, most exhibitors don’t expect the box office to...

The Critics Choice Association has announced nominees for the sixth annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards.

The awards cover documentaries released in theaters, on TV and on major digital platforms. The awards gala takes place Nov. 14 in Brooklyn, N.Y.

“Ascension” and “Summer of Soul, both from first-time documentarians, led the nominations with six each. “Becoming Cousteau” and “The Rescue” both received five nods each.

“This has been and continues to be a fantastic year for documentary storytelling. And the number of first-time feature documentarians in the mix of nominees, alongside proven veterans, shows that nonfiction cinema continues to have a very bright future,” said Christopher Campbell, President of the Critics Choice Association Documentary Branch. “Our world, from its most amazing wonders to its greatest challenges, is being reflected back on the screen so immediately and creatively by today’s filmmakers, and it’s a tremendous honor for us to recognize all of their achievements.

Notably leading the pack of nominees revealed Monday for the sixth annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards are a pair of films from directors making their debut as documentarians. Ascension’s Jessica Kingdon and Summer of Soul’s Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson pulled off the impressive feat, with both films receiving six nods apiece. On their tails however are a pair of docus from Nat Geo with five nods each: The Rescue. whose directors Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi took the Oscar for their previous effort Free Solo; and Becoming Cousteau, whose director Liz Garbus is also a docu veteran with two Oscar nominations and two Emmys to her credit.

All will compete in the Best Documentary Feature and Best Director categories, with Thompson and Kingdon also facing off for Best First Documentary Feature along with such indie film giants as Todd Haynes and Edgar Wright.

The Critics Choice Association (Cca) has announced the nominees for the sixth annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards (Ccda). This year’s winners will be revealed at a gala on Sunday, November 14, 2021, in Brooklyn, NY. The awards honor the best achievements in nonfiction released in theaters, on TV, or on major digital platforms.

Both films by first-time documentarians, “Ascension” and “Summer of Soul” lead this year’s nominations with six each. “Ascension,” a look at the Chinese dream across social classes, is also up for Documentary Feature, Director (Jessica Kingdon), First Feature, Cinematography, Editing, and Score. Meanwhile, “Summer of Soul” is up for Documentary Feature, Best Director (Ahmir “Questlove’ Thompson), First Documentary, Editing, Archival Documentary, and Music Documentary.

“Becoming Cousteau” and “The Rescue” also picked up five nominations each.

Last year, “Dick Johnson Is Dead” took home the Cca’s top award for Best Documentary as well as the Best Director award for Kirsten Johnson.

It was a week of holdovers as Disney titles “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” and “Free Guy” continued their reign over the U.K. and Ireland box office.

“Shang-Chi” retained the top spot with a weekend gross of £2.32 million ($3.26 million) and has now has a cumulative total of £15.8 million in its third week of release, per numbers provided by Comscore.

“Free Guy” was the runner up with £677,000 and has collected £15.3 million in six weeks.

A pair of Universal titles brought up the third and fourth positions at the box office. “Respect” collected £377,395 in its second weekend for a cumulative total of £1.1 million while “Candyman,” took £323,350 over its fourth weekend for a total of £4.3 million.

Rounding off the top five was “Paw Patrol: The Movie” with £263,167 over its sixth weekend for a total of £7.6 million.

The summer hits continued to score at the box office. “Jungle Cruise” now has a total of £12.2 million,...

Focus Features landed another specialty success with The Card Counter, Paul Schrader’s biggest directorial opening in over 30 years since 1987’s Light of Day and with a likely No. 8 ranking at the North American box office this weekend.

The film – starring Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish, Tye Sheridan and Willem Dafoe — ran in 580 theatres in 119 DMAs for a three-day estimate of $1.1 million and a per theatre average of $1,890. It’s 86% Certified Fresh after festival premieres in Venice and Telluride.

That’s the second-highest specialty opening of the year after documentary Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, also from Focus, which opened at nearly $2 million in 927 theaters (and finaled at $5.2 million). The distributor’s Matt Damon-starrer Stillwater has also had a strong run.

Like most Focus releases, The Card Counter has a 17-day exclusive theatrical window. President of distribution Lisa Bunnell told Deadline that’s key. So is marketing a title...

This weekend’s box-office results justified Disney’s decision to provide theater-exclusive engagements for the remaining 2021 theatrical release schedule. Led by a very impressive second weekend for Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” as well as strong holds for “Free Guy” and “Jungle Cruise,” the studio commanded nearly 80 percent of domestic ticket sales.

“Shang-Chi” provided the bulk, taking in almost $36 million in its second weekend. That’s down only 53 percent from its opening. That’s even more impressive after opening on a holiday weekend with an elevated Sunday gross.

It’s a high-end hold, much better than the 68 percent second-week drop for “Black Widow.” It also compared very well among pre-Covid, non-“Avengers” Marvel entries: “Captain Marvel,” which opened at double the gross of “Shang-Chi,” fell 56 percent, while “Ant-Man and the Wasp” fell 61 percent.

For its first 10 days, “Shang-Chi” outperformed “Black Widow” over the same period by $9 million.

There is a tone shift midway through “The Alpinist,” subtle and unmistakable. Fellow mountain climbers have been singing the praises of Marc-André Leclerc throughout Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen’s riveting documentary. The 23-year-old Canadian was pulling off unheard of feats soloing peaks and older, wiser rock stars were taking notice, often with their proverbial jaws dropped. And then comes a faint downshift in the admiration to make room for concern. “I’m definitely concerned,” says one. “The place he’s in is such a special, finite place, such an incredibly risky place.”

For those of us who are even skittish on a stepladder, concern was there from the start of this portrait of an alpinist as a young man. The filmmakers come by their awe for Leclerc honestly. In addition to being climbers, they’ve documented a scraggly crew that, to the chagrin of the National Park Service, staked...

Paul Schrader’s The Card Counter moves from Venice into 579 theaters this weekend — the first in a welcome stream of specialty films from the Lido, Telluride and Toronto that could, perhaps maybe, buck up the struggling arthouse market this fall. The film is 90% certified fresh and hails from Focus Features, which presented one of the rare specialty hits of recent months, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain.

That film came out in mid-July before the Delta Variant reached full sweep. It was released on nearly double the number of screens.

The Card Counter stars Oscar Isaac, Tiffany Haddish and Tye Sheridan. William Tell (Isaac) a military interrogator haunted by his past just wants to play cards. But his spartan existence on the casino trail is shattered when he’s approached by Cirk (Sheridan), a vulnerable, angry young man seeking help to get revenge on a military colonel (Willem Dafoe). Tell...

Two documentaries about fallen mountain climbers were accepted into Telluride 2020. Only one held on for this year’s festival.

When last year’s Telluride festival was cancelled in July, the filmmakers behind “The Alpinist” and “Torn had to make a tough decision: should they find another festival to debut their respective films?

“Getting into Telluride was so exciting for us,” says Peter Mortimer, who had re-edited “The Alpinist” with Nick Rosen following the 2018 death of its protagonist, 23-year-old free solo climber Marc-André Leclerc, in an avalanche. “It’s like the holy grail, and Werner Herzog had watched the film and wanted to introduce us on stage after the screening, so when it got canceled, it was bad.”

Red Bull Media House and Sender Films, who produced “The Alpinist,” decided to steer clear of any virtual film festivals and hold the film until the “pandemic improved.” In July Roadside Attractions and...

“The Alpinist” is a harrowing but hopeful documentary about Marc-André Leclerc, a Canadian rock climber and alpinist that was considered one of the best. From directors Peter Mortimer and Nick Rosen, “The Alpinist” will be released in theaters on September 10th. I spoke with the filmmakers about the film, introducing Marc-André Leclerc to the

The post “The Alpinist” appeared first on Manny the Movie Guy.

Stop me if you’re heard this one: An upcoming documentary focuses on a socially awkward climber dedicated to the art of solo ascents on previously unconquered mountains and rock walls. The film, from a directing duo, depicts the art and precarious poetry of the lonely climb, without ever letting us forget the death-defying stakes, thanks in large part to the protagonist’s photogenic blond girlfriend, who can barely make eye contact with the camera when discussing her beau’s latest attempted feat.

Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s Oscar-winning Free Solo casts a long shadow over Peter Mortimer and ...