Brad Pitt returns to Spanish billboards with a dash of action and dark humor in the comedy Bullet Train, where he clashes with Sandra Bullock for a lively weekend. The film also signals a return to early 20th-century storytelling in two new projects, The Photographer of Monte Verità and Maria Chapdelaine, while adding another title, A Samurai Hero: The Legend of Hank.
Action, trains, killers, dark humor and Brad Pitt in Bullet Train
Directed by David Leitch, the co‑creator behind Deadpool 2 and a familiar collaborator of Pitt from Fight Club, Ocean’s Eleven, and Troy, Bullet Train stars Pitt on the cover of Spanish billboards. The film follows a group of hitmen who stride onto a single high‑speed ride from Tokyo to Kyoto, their paths entwined by chance and fate in a fast‑paced, blackly comic thriller.
Based on Kotaro Isaka’s 2010 Japanese novel Maria Beetle, the story centers on the character Ladybug, a poised yet unlucky assassin navigating a chaotic itinerary to recover a briefcase aboard a bullet train. The premise blends sleek action with a modern Japanese landscape, as each traveler carries a plan that may collide with another.
Joining Pitt are Sandra Bullock, Maria Beetle’s ensemble cast, Joey King, Zazie Beetz, Karen Fukuhara, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Michael Shannon, among others. While some critics noted concerns about the cast’s nationality distribution, Isaka contributed to the screenplay to emphasize the universal nature of the characters and their ambitions.
First fiction about the libertarian commune of Monte Veritá
Swiss filmmaker Stefan Jäger presents the debut fiction about Monte Veritá, a libertarian enclave rooted in the early 1900s within Ticino. The project frames a world where young people from around the globe—think Isadora Duncan and Herman Hesse—lived with rare freedom in a landscape shaped by nature and imagination. Flower Power serves as a precursor to the hippie movement that would follow.
In The Photographer of Monte Veritá, Kornelija Naraks crafts a narrative through the eyes of Hanna, a young bourgeois mother who copes with persistent anxiety and mystery about her own fate. Otto Gross, a physician who treats Hanna, guides her toward the Monte Veritá sanatorium, a place promised to offer healing through a blend of natural beauty and disciplined devotion to craft, and her dream of becoming a photographer.
Mel Brooks’ idea for A Samurai Hero: The Legend of Hank
Three animation directors behind iconic titles like The Lion King, Kung Fu Panda, and Big Hero 6 collaborate on the animated comedy A Samurai Hero: The Legend of Hank. The project draws inspiration from Mel Brooks’s classic humor and features a memorable voice cast in its original version.
Oscar winner Chris Bailey leads, with Mark Koetsier and Rob Minkoff guiding the team, joined by Paul Stodolny and Rob Silvestri on the screenplay, and Brooks contributing to the production. The creative team totals seven authors.
The story follows Hank, a weary hound who arrives in a town governed by cats. Facing a looming plot to erase the town from the map, Hank becomes the unlikely hero. A cautious teacher agrees to train him, and Hank embraces a samurai persona to defend his feline neighbors against the villain who threatens their home.
Maria Chapdelaine, rural life in cold Canada a century ago
Quebecois filmmaker Sebastien Pilote writes and directs a new adaptation of The Country Story of Spotless Frozen Photography, transforming Louis Hémon’s 1913 novel Maria Chapdelaine into a modern screen story. The original work has endured through generations and has become a world‑wide bestseller with millions of copies in print.
The film presents the stark beauty of Canadian winters and the harsh realities of rural life in 1910. It follows Maria Chapdelaine, a seventeen-year-old who, along with her hardworking family, pursues the dream of a father who seeks good land and a future shaped by steadfast labor. The narrative honors the tradition of homesteading while exploring the emotional cost of distant homes and living off the land. Maria balances the affections of three suitors as the family steadily navigates a world defined by resilience and the land’s demands.
Thirteen Lives is a team’s true rescue from a flooded cave
Ron Howard directs this account of a real life rescue. Starring Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton and Tom Bateman, the film recounts the international effort to rescue a Thai youth soccer team trapped in the Tham Luang cave during a sudden flood. The world watched as thousands of volunteers and divers embarked on the perilous operation, testing the limits of courage and collaboration in a human story of endurance.
The film highlights the skilled teamwork and relentless resolve that defined the mission, underscoring the extraordinary spirit that guided every decision. It streamed online exclusively via Prime Video, bringing a definitive telling of these remarkable events to a wide audience.
And Chance, a family premiere on Apple TV+
Chance arrives on Apple TV+ as a family‑oriented animated feature directed by Peggy Holmes, with a script by Kiel Murray. Produced by Skydance Animation, John Lasseter, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and David Eisenmann, the project tells the story of Sam Greenfield, the unluckiest person in the world. When he discovers a hidden Land of Fortune, he tries to spread good luck to friends while navigating the magical creatures that inhabit this uncharted realm.
The film blends whimsy with a gentle message about luck, kindness, and the surprises that come from helping others. It invites audiences to imagine a world where chance hinges on courage and a little magical help.