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The first half of Takashi Miike's 1999 masterpiece Audition behaves like a melancholic, slightly clinical romantic drama. It details the quiet life of Shigeharu Aoyama (Ryo Ishibashi), a middle-aged documentary producer who lost his wife to cancer seven years prior. He lives a peaceful, rhythmic existence with his teenage son, Shigehiko, who gently suggests that it is time for his father to find a new companion. Aoyama agrees, but his return to the dating pool is not handled through conventional means. Instead, his close friend Yoshikawa, a slick feature film producer, suggests a bizarre and ethically dubious scheme. They will hold a mock casting call for a non-existent movie, allowing Aoyama to interview young women under the guise of finding a leading lady, while secretly searching for a perfect wife. This extended setup takes up almost an hour of screen time. Miike handles it with an unexpected, muted restraint that contrasts sharply with his reputation for gonzo, over-the-top v...

The legendary, bittersweet, and deeply soulful legacy of Gregg Allman is set to be explored like never before in the upcoming visionary music documentary, The Music of My Soul . Directed by James Keach, the film promises an intimate and profound look at the co-founder of the Allman Brothers Band, tracing his journey from a childhood shattered by tragedy to the pinnacle of American music history. Through a rich tapestry of archival recordings, electric performances, and candid, never-before-seen interviews, the documentary offers a definitive portrait of an artist whose life and songs mirrored his deepest struggles and ultimate salvation. A Life Forged in Tragedy and Triumph The Music of My Soul delves into the turbulent roots of Gregg Allman’s life, beginning with a childhood ruptured by his father’s murder. Out of that early darkness came a powerful musical awakening, deeply rooted in the blues he worshipped. Alongside his brother, Duane, Gregg would go on to form the Allman Brothers...

In the summer of 1991, Hollywood delivered a medieval epic that would define the era’s approach to the summer blockbuster. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, directed by Kevin Reynolds, arrived on a wave of massive hype, fueled by Kevin Costner's post-Oscars star power and a chart-topping power ballad by Bryan Adams. Looking back at the original 143-minute theatrical cut, the film remains a fascinating, deeply entertaining, and tonally bizarre artifact of 1990s studio filmmaking. It is a movie that succeeds not because it is a seamless masterpiece, but because its wild contradictions somehow fuse into pure cinematic joy. The plot follows a familiar trajectory but anchors it in a grittier, post-Crusades reality. Robin of Locksley escapes a brutal prison in Jerusalem alongside a Moorish warrior named Azeem. Upon returning to England, Robin finds his father murdered, his family estate ruined, and the local populace suffering under the tyrannical rule of the Sheriff of Nottingham. Fleeing ...

There is a moment early in Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie where Matt Johnson stands atop the absolute highest tip of the CN Tower antenna, buffeted by high winds, preparing to skydive into a packed Rogers Centre. The goal is simple, yet completely unhinged: parachute into a live Toronto Blue Jays game to announce that his two-man, instrument-free band is playing a gig at the Rivoli that night. They do not have a gig booked at the Rivoli. They do not even have songs written.   If you have followed director Matt Johnson and co-creator Jay McCarrol since their early web series days or their cult Viceland television show, you already know the vibe. If you are walking into this feature-length cinematic manifestation completely blind, you might feel like you have accidentally ingested a dangerous amount of caffeine and nostalgia. Distributed by NEON, this film is a magnificent, boundary-pushing triumph of independent comedy. It is a movie that defies the sterile, focus-grouped...

Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse captures the chaotic reality of creative obsession with raw authenticity. Originally released in 1991, this legendary documentary chronicles the near-fatal production of Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 masterpiece, Apocalypse Now. Armed with a camera and a hidden recorder, Eleanor Coppola captured the psychological unraveling of an auteur lost in the jungle, transforming a simple behind-the-scenes record into a profound study of artistic ruin. Now, a definitive three-disc box set from Lionsgate Limited rescues this classic and Eleanor’s broader filmography from obscurity, offering a comprehensive look at a family bound by cinema.

Punk rock icons NOFX are giving fans the ultimate career-spanning parting gift. Following the critical acclaim of their documentary film 40 Years of Fuckin’ Up—which premiered at SXSW and has already hit the San Francisco International Film Festival and Cannes Film Festival marketplace—the band has officially announced a massive companion release. 40 Years of Fuckin’ Up: Soundtrack + Score will arrive everywhere on August 28, 2026, as a deluxe double LP, celebrating four decades of ground-breaking, rule-breaking punk rock. The expansive release divides into two distinct musical journeys: a 15-song soundtrack and an 11-song original score. The score marks a bold creative leap for frontman Fat Mike, who composed the tracks alongside collaborator Matt Nasir and performed them with a full orchestra. Meanwhile, the soundtrack side is packed with rarities that diehards have been waiting for, including six unreleased recordings like "Secret Society (demo)," "On The Road (demo),...

  Welcome back to the Following Films Podcast. I’m Chris Maynard. Every once in a while, a movie comes along that refuses to fit into a neat little box. It doesn’t care about genres, and it certainly doesn't care about playing it safe. That’s exactly what writer-director Tyler Cornack has delivered with Mermaid. Released by Utopia, this film is a sun-drenched, deeply surreal piece of indie cinema centered on a desperate Florida man who discovers a wounded, reptilian mermaid and decides to shield her from a ruthless world. It’s bizarre, it’s beautiful, and it features a brilliant ensemble cast—including today's guest. You know him from massive blockbusters, definitive political satires, and decades of unforgettable character work in projects like Veep, Dave, and Transformers. In Mermaid, he steps into the frame to play Keith, a calculating, menacing figure who serves as a massive threat to our main characters. The phenomenal Kevin Dunn is on the show today. It’s a loose, insight...

The first season of Prime Video’s Fallout defied the historical curse of video game adaptations, achieving what many thought impossible by capturing the exact tonal tightrope of the franchise. Showrunners Graham Wagner and Geneva Robertson-Dworet perfectly balanced horrific, hyper-violent post-apocalyptic dread with a chipper, mid-century retro-futuristic dark comedy. Season 2 takes this established playground and aggressively ups the ante, moving the narrative cross-country from the irradiated ruins of Los Angeles to the iconic, sun-bleached dangers of the Mojave Wasteland and New Vegas. This sophomore outing is bigger, bloodier, and considerably more ambitious. Yet, as the show expands its world to juggle complex faction politics and staggering Pre-War lore, it faces a classic sequel dilemma of whether a series can maintain its tight character focus when the sandbox around it becomes this overcrowded. The answer is a resounding, if occasionally messy, yes. At the beating, irradiated ...

The Ghostface masking era enters its next physical chapter this summer. Submersive Media has officially announced that Scream 7, the latest installment in the iconic slasher franchise, is carving its path onto home video. Fans can add the film to their shelves on June 16th, with options including a standard 4K UHD, a highly anticipated Limited Edition 4K UHD Steelbook, and a standard DVD release. Following its theatrical run earlier this year, the film marks a significant milestone for the franchise, bringing original scribe Kevin Williamson behind the camera as director. Working from a screenplay by Williamson and Guy Busick, with a story by Busick and James Vanderbilt, Scream 7 pivots the narrative focus squarely back to the franchise's ultimate final girl, Sidney Prescott.   The story picks up with Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) attempting to maintain the quiet, protected family life she fought so hard to build, far away from the blood-soaked legacy of Woodsboro. That peac...