The Film Stage

The Black Sea Review: A Dynamic Lead Performance Drives Familiar Fish-Out-of-Water Story
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For most of its runtime, Crystal Moselle and Derrick B. Harden’s fish-out-of-water non-fiction hybrid The Black Sea teeters on the edge of being too cute. But Harden is the variable––the lead performer whose dynamic with both actors and non-actors skirts...
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Thessaloniki Review: When the Light Breaks Showcases a Dawn-to-Dusk Tragedy with Raw Depth
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Watching When the Light Breaks on a recent day in Thessaloniki, I spared a thought for anyone in the audience who might be wary of Gen-Z’s famed sensitivity. For a film built around a painful secret and an awful tragedy,...
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New to Streaming: Blitz, The Piano Lesson, Flipside, Alien: Romulus & More
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Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here. Alien: Romulus (Fede Alvarez) It’s a dire, inhospitable environment, wherein corporate interests can give...
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NYC Weekend Watch: Dirty Work, Shelley Duvall, Robert Frank & More
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NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. Roxy CinemaAn Adrian Lyne retrospective features Fatal Attraction, Jacob’s Ladder, Lolita, and Foxes on 35mm, while Bob Saget and Norm MacDonald’s seminal Dirty Work plays on a print Saturday. BAMA...
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Wicked: Part I Review: Wizard of Oz Prequel Is Stale as Blockbusters Can Be
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“Are people born wicked? Or do they have wickedness thrust upon them?” The conundrum of theodicy has long plagued humanity, just as it’s plagued the Ozians of Munchkinland. Like the source novel and Broadway musical, Jon M. Chu’s film adaptation...
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Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott Clash in First Teaser for Bring Them Down
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Premiering at TIFF earlier this year, Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott lead the gritty revenge thriller Bring Them Down. The directorial debut from Christopher Andrews has now been set for a February 7 release from MUBI and they’ve unveiled the...
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Alice Winocour to Direct Angelina Jolie in Stitches
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After almost a few decades starring in only a couple of films of note, Angelina Jolie seems to be entering a more promising era of her career. With Pablo Larraín’s Maria arriving this month, she’s unveiled her next role, teaming...
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Tatsuya Nakadai Goes on Cold-Blooded Mission in Exclusive Trailer for New Restoration of Hideo Gosha’s Cash Calls Hell
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An influence on the likes of Takashi Miike and Yoshiaki Kawajiri, director Hideo Gosha has often gone overlooked in the pantheon of Japanese directors, despite his samurai features Sword of the Beast and Three Outlaw Samurai getting the Criterion treatment....
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David Fincher’s Remastered Se7en Comes to IMAX to Kick Off 2025
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There are few films that can capture the forthcoming bad vibes of 2025 better than this one. Celebrating its 30th anniversary next year, David Fincher’s newly-remastered Se7en is returning to theaters. Set open theatrically worldwide with exclusive IMAX engagements in the U.S....
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Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson Find Pleasure in New Trailer for Babygirl
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Premiering with much fervor at Venice Film Festival, Halina Reijn’s Bodies Bodies Bodies follow-up Babygirl finds Nicole Kidman playing a high-powered CEO who puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much...
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