PREVIEW: Crude Awakenings (2026 Film) - Starring Django Chan-Reeves

Preview by Jon Donnis

The oil industry has long provided fertile ground for stories about greed, corruption and the price of ambition, and Crude Awakenings looks set to take a sharply satirical approach to the subject.

Directed by Omri Dayan, this British drama follows ambitious PR strategist Ava Rice, played by Django Chan-Reeves, who lands a potentially career-changing position at a notorious energy conglomerate. The promise of wealth and professional success proves difficult to resist, but her new role soon forces her to confront the moral compromises that come with it.

Ava's world takes a disturbing turn when a mysterious sickness begins spreading throughout the firm. What initially appears to be the perfect opportunity begins to expose a much darker reality, leaving Ava caught between her ambitions, her conscience and concerns for her own health.

Chan-Reeves, known for The End of the F***ing World and Industry, leads a cast that also includes Gary Fannin and Doug Colling. Together, they inhabit a corporate world where appearances matter, ambition comes at a cost and doing the right thing may prove considerably harder than turning a blind eye.

With its combination of environmental concerns, corporate corruption and dark wit, Crude Awakenings looks to offer more than a straightforward warning about the oil industry. At its centre is a character faced with a deeply personal choice over just how much she is willing to sacrifice for success.

Crude Awakenings arrives on digital on 24 August from Reel2Reel Films.

Apple TV

https://apple.co/4gqItgB

PREVIEW: 49 Miles More (2026 Film) - Starring Reece Henderson and Gregory Fung

Preview by Jon Donnis

Oliver Cox’s refreshing British buddy comedy 49 Miles More is heading to UK digital on 17 August, courtesy of Reel2Reel Films, bringing a warm-hearted story of friendship, growing up and the unexpected adventures that can come from life going completely off course.

Starring Reece Henderson (Lure) and Gregory Fung (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), the film is described as a love letter to coming-of-age classics and the enduring friendships that help us through life’s more difficult moments.

The story follows Max (Henderson), an unlucky insurance salesman, and his fun-loving best friend Doug (Fung) as they set off for their university reunion. Their journey takes an unexpected turn when their car breaks down in the middle of nowhere, leaving the chalk-and-cheese pair with little choice but to continue their journey on foot.

What follows is a gruelling 49-mile trek that puts their friendship to the test. With bad detours, questionable decisions and plenty of obstacles standing in their way, the pair are forced to rely on each other as they attempt to reach their destination.

At its heart, 49 Miles More looks set to be a character-driven comedy about the sometimes messy transition into adulthood. Max and Doug may not have much in common, but their friendship has endured, and their unexpected adventure gives them the chance to reflect on where life has taken them and whether growing up really means growing apart.

With its combination of British humour, friendship and a long-distance journey that neither man could have planned for, 49 Miles More could offer an entertaining and relatable take on the buddy comedy when it arrives on UK digital this August.

49 Miles More is on UK digital 17 August from Reel2Reel Films

Apple TV - https://apple.co/4xBZ6wK

PREVIEW: Fall to the Top (2026 Film) - Starring Paul Chuckle

Preview by Jon Donnis

Paul Chuckle is set to surprise audiences in Peter Hirst’s gritty new British crime thriller Fall to the Top, arriving on digital on 8 June courtesy of Reel2Reel Films. Fresh from receiving his MBE for charitable work earlier this week, the much-loved children’s TV figure makes a sharp shift in tone, stepping into a far darker world of crime and consequence.

In a striking departure from his comedy roots, Chuckle plays ‘The Jackal’, a ruthless hitman and master manipulator. The character is described as someone who psychologically torments his victims, pushing them into madness before their brutal end. It is a role that places him firmly in the shadows of London’s criminal underworld, far removed from the light-hearted image that made him a household name.

The story follows frustrated slacker Mickey, played by Stephen Reilly, who is pulled into a violent world of drugs, power struggles and corruption. As he fights his way up through the ranks, his growing arrogance begins to take hold, feeding paranoia and instability. His path eventually crosses with the notorious Jackal, a meeting that forces him to confront the harsh reality that weakness has no place in the city’s deadly drug trade.

Fall to the Top leans into a bleak and tense vision of ambition gone wrong, with Mickey’s rise and psychological decline sitting at the centre of its narrative. The film is out now on Digital from Reel2Reel Films.

Available on Prime Video at https://amzn.to/4euX22U

PREVIEW: DON Q (2025 FIlm) - Armand Assante Leads Mafia Comedy with a Twist

Preview by Jon Donnis

Armand Assante, the Emmy®-winning actor celebrated for roles in Gotti, American Gangster and The Odyssey, returns to the screen in Don Q, an award-winning crime comedy arriving on UK digital 15 September from Reel2Reel Films. Directed by Claudio Bellante, the film takes the legendary story of Don Quixote and reimagines it through the eyes of a man lost in mafia fantasies.

Assante stars as Al Quinto, a long-time resident of Little Italy who has fed off decades of delusion. In his mind he is no longer just Al but Don Q, a powerful mob boss destined to restore his neighbourhood to its former glory. With a mix of charm, bravado and madness, he sets out on a self-styled crusade, accompanied by imaginary criminal allies only he can see.

His sister Antonia, played by Saundra Santiago (Miami Vice, The Guiding Light), grows increasingly worried about his fragile grip on reality. Her concerns prove valid when the line between imagination and truth blurs. The return of ruthless ex-con Rocco, played by Chuck Zito (Carlito's Way, Oz), pulls Al into a turf war that transforms his delusions into something deadly real.

The supporting cast is packed with mob-movie pedigree. Federico Castelluccio (The Sopranos, El Cantante) and Vincent Pastore (The Sopranos, Revolver) bring grit and authenticity, while the clash of loyalty, betrayal and ambition drives the story into darker territory. As Al finds himself surrounded by enemies, tested by a new protégé and threatened from within his own circle, he faces the ultimate question. Will he crack under the weight of his fantasy, or finally become the Don he always believed himself to be?

With its mix of humour, violence and heartfelt drama, Don Q plays as both a love letter to classic mafia cinema and a clever twist on a literary legend. Assante's commanding performance anchors a film that balances nostalgia with fresh energy, offering a crime tale as funny as it is dangerous.

Don Q arrives on UK digital 15 September from Reel2Reel Films.

PREVIEW: All The Lost Ones (2025 Film) - Brings Post-Civil War Tension to UK Digital this September

Preview by Jon Donnis

A second American Civil War. A world battered by climate collapse. Out of this bleak vision comes All the Lost Ones, a tense and morally charged thriller landing on UK digital this September from Reel2Reel Films.

Directed by Mackenzie Donaldson, best known for producing Orphan Black and Snowpiercer, the film plunges viewers into a landscape where survival is as fragile as the scorched earth beneath it. Jasmine Mathews (The Tomorrow War, The Man from Toronto) leads the cast as Nia, a young woman whose pregnancy forces her to confront impossible choices in a society that has already lost its way.

The story follows Nia and her boyfriend Ethan, played by Douglas Smith (Don't Worry Darling, Big Little Lies), who are hiding on the fringes of the Bruce Peninsula while a brutal militia called the Conservancy tightens its grip on the nation. With her sister Penny (Vinessa Antoine, Ginny & Georgia, Grey's Anatomy) at her side, Nia is torn between surrendering to the regime or risking everything on a perilous escape. Their only hope lies in the faint possibility of finding The Extremists, a resistance force whispered about in rumours but never proven real.

As the militia closes in, All the Lost Ones raises unsettling questions about what kind of world is worth fighting for, and how far someone will go to protect the next generation. With Lochlyn Munro (Riverdale, Scary Movie) adding to a strong ensemble, the film blends dystopian intensity with human vulnerability.

This is not just another post-apocalyptic thriller. It is a sobering reflection of the times, holding a mirror to today's fractured world while asking audiences to imagine the cost of doing nothing.

All the Lost Ones arrives on UK digital platforms 1 September, courtesy of Reel2Reel Films.

Apple TV - https://apple.co/4mq6qX5