Venice 2026: Ellen Burstyn is a Delight in 'Place to Be' Road Trip Film

A woman and her bird go on adventure to New York City and back. One of the oddest films included within the 2026 Venice Film Festival line-up is this enjoyable road trip comedy called Place to Be, made by the Hungarian filmmaker Kornél Mundruczó. This is actually his second feature film premiering in 2026 – he also directed At the Sea from Berlinale earlier this year (read my review of that one). Thankfully this one is much better, and much more uplifting, which is the kind of cinematic balm we could use right now. It's also much more conventional, and much more formulaic, but that doesn't mean it isn't mostly entertaining as well. Place to Be is a road trip movie about an elderly woman, played by the exceptional Ellen Burstyn, who ends up running away with a pigeon that flies in through her window. Along the way she connects with an alcoholic divorced dad and learns about the sport of pigeon racing while rediscovering the world anew. Something exciting to praise: this has one of the best bird character performances I've ever seen in any film. // Continue Reading ›

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Final US Trailer for Almodovar's 'Bitter Christmas' Film About a Writer

"I cannot concentrate. I can only write what's in front of me." Sony Pictures Classics has revealed their full official US trailer for the film Bitter Christmas, the latest Pedro Almodóvar film, finally out in theaters this fall. It already debtued in Spain back in March to mixed reviews. Then it premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival also to mixed reviews. Not really the an exciting new Almodovar flick. During a long December holiday weekend, a woman, whose mother died recently, throws herself into more work as a form of escape. Her relentless pace is interrupted when a panic attack forces her to take a break. She travels to Lanzarote with her friend Patricia while her partner stays in Madrid. In 2026, a filmmaker turns her story into a script, blurring the lines between reality, fiction, and people closest to him. Starring Bárbara Lennie, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Aitana Sánchez-Gijón, Victoria Luengo (also in The Beloved), Patrick Criado, Milena Smit, Quim Gutiérrez, Rossy de Palma, Carmen Machi, & Gloria Muñoz. We already featured the original Spanish trailer for this earlier in the year. It's a meta story about Almodovar writing his scripts and it gets a bit strange. If you're interested, give it a look before it arrives in US cinemas starting in November. // Continue Reading ›

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Football Stars on WWII Frontlines in 'The Mosquito Bowl' Movie Teaser

"Everybody off the boat! Go go go!" 🏈 Netflix has revealed the teaser trailer for The Mosquito Bowl, a WWII action thriller movie that's not entirely about the war – it's about American Football. Based on a true story, of course, from 1944. The latest action movie directed by Peter Berg, following his American Primeval series just last year. Based on a remarkable true story (covered in this book), following the attack on Pearl Harbor, four of America's top college football stars set their fame aside to enlist in the US Marines. As the nation geared up for total war, one branch of the service dominated the aspirations of college football stars: the United States Marine Corps. Which is why, on Christmas Eve of 1944, when the 4th and 29th Marine regiments found themselves in the middle of the Pacific Ocean training for what would ultimately be the bloodiest battle of the war ― the invasion of Okinawa ― their ranks included one of the greatest pools of football talent ever assembled: Former All Americans, captains from Wisconsin, Brown & Notre Dame, and 20 others. With Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson, Tom Francis, Brent Comer, and Dominic Bogart. This looks like it's a heavy mix between intense war scenes & intense football scenes. // Continue Reading ›

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New Trailer for 'Donnie Darko' 25th Anniversary Re-Release This Fall

"I can show you the way..." Fathom Entertainment has unveiled a new trailer for the 25th Anniversary re-release screenings of the all-timer sci-fi classic Donnie Darko - returning theaters in October. This is one of my favorite indie sci-fi creations, which initially premiered at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival some 25 years ago. Richard Kelly's masterpiece is still iconic all these years later. After barely escaping a bizarre accident involving a jet engine following onto his house, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in an evil rabbit suit who convinces him to commit a series of crimes. Starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Donnie Darko, Jena Malone, Drew Barrymore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Mary McDonnell, Katharine Ross, Patrick Swayze, Noah Wyle, and Seth Rogen in his film debut. This special anniversary also includes an exclusive introduction with writer & director Richard Kelly exploring the film’s enduring legacy, how it entranced audiences for decades, and why it remains one of the defining cult classics of the new millennium. Kelly also finished a brand new book: "The Philosophy of Time Travel: The Epic Sequel to Donnie Darko." Releasing this fall right around the same time as these new screenings. Is DD one of your all-time faves, too? // Continue Reading ›

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Venice 2026: Florian Zeller's 'Bunker' is a Nonsensical, Cliche Misfire

So is this movie about an architect being hired to build a bunker? Or is this movie about a marriage on the rocks? Or can it be about both of these narratives – and still be interesting? If only it was actually rational and real, maybe, but this is a major disappointment. It should not come as a surprise that the new Florian Zeller film titled Bunker does not actually take place in, depict, show, or really discuss the bunker concept that it's "about." Fine, so be it, that's not the point. It mainly takes place inside of one big, gorgeous home in London where 2 wealthy upper class Spanish parents and their 2 kids live in while working in the city. The metaphor is extremely obvious and entirely cliche – this is their "bunker" and the narrative is supposed to be mirroring their concerns about a bunker job offer with their actual inability to understand their own fears about their own bunker home. And their marriage. Or something like that? Whatever is going on this film, it's a complete mess & laughably bad. Florian Zeller's Bunker is his worst film yet. It's extremely frustrating because the premise is intriguing, but none of what occurs in this entire film is remotely realistic or rational. // Continue Reading ›

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Terrific Trailer for 'Straight Circle' - 2 Enemy Soldiers Surrealist Comedy

"What we're doing means something." Joint Venture has revealed the official trailer for an indie surrealist comedy called Straight Circle, created by filmmaker Oscar Hudson. This premiered one year ago at the 2025 Venice Film Festival where it also won the Venice Critics' Week Grand Prize. I'm so glad this is finally getting released in theaters this fall! I've never seen anything like this! Extremely creative and clever, and amusing in its fascinating narrative involving these two "enemies". Even Bong Joon-ho is a big fan of it! He is quoted in this trailer! A disorienting nightmare gradually takes hold of two enemy soldiers stationed on a lonely desert border in this mind-bending picture. Hudson has crafted a surreal and absurdist satire about the arbitrary nature of borders and the shared humanity underlying nationalistic division. This is a film of sensory excess, where unhinged violence bleeds right into bizarre horror. Starring real-life brothers Elliott & Luke Tittensor in this wildly imaginative satire about what happens when borders drawn in the sand start to blur. Also featuring Neil Maskell as the goat herder. I'm a big fan of this! Still thinking about it a year later. Highly recommend it for anyone brave enough to dive into brand new, one-of-a-kind cinema. // Continue Reading ›

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First Teaser for Alex Gibney's 4-Hour 'Musk' Documentary About Elon

"He's a man who has lost his mind." Bleecker Street has revealed the first official trailer for the powerful new documentary film titled simply Musk, about the uber-wealthy tech giant Elon Musk. The second new doc creation this year from the master doc filmmaker Alex Gibney, Musk is premiering at the 2026 Venice Film Festival now hence this new teaser trailer dropping just before the debut screening (his other one from this year is Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie at Sundance 2026). It's finished and already ready for a theatrical release coming up later this month. Gibney's latest is a full-on, 4-hour long journalistic doc that is split into two parts with an intermission. "An incisive look behind the legend of Elon Musk, the wealthiest, and most unchecked, man on the planet." Yep. Gibney shows himself to be a master at exposing the dark truths behind the façade of public personas to demonstrate how power corrupts, and how absolute power corrupts absolutely. Maybe you already know all of what this doc explains, maybe not, as it spans his entire career across all of companies examining how much BS this guy is selling all the time. It's up to you to watch & learn the truth about him! Gibney is going for the complete "unmasked" real story with this one. // Continue Reading ›

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