The Film Stage

As Martin Scorsese once said, “Music and cinema fit together naturally. Because there’s a kind of intrinsic musicality to the way moving images work when they’re put together. It’s been said that cinema and music are very close as art forms,...

There is an inspired moment in the middle of Ella McCay, written and directed by the great James L. Brooks, in which the titular Ella (Emma Mackey) enters her first-ever cabinet meeting as the newly-appointed governor. It’s not been three...

For our most comprehensive year-end feature, we’re providing a cumulative look at The Film Stage’s favorite films of 2025. We’ve asked contributors to compile ten-best lists with five honorable mentions––many of those personal selections will be shared in coming weeks...

Welcome to The B-Side! Here we talk about movie directors! Not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones that they made in between. Today we celebrate filmmaker James L. Brooks! His new movie Ella...

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. 7 Walks with Mark Brown (Vincent Barré, Pierre Creton) Directed by life partners Pierre...

NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. Japan SocietyAn imported print of Yukio Mishima’s Patriotism screens alongside Koji Wakamatsu’s The Woman Who Wanted to Die on Friday. Film ForumHitchcock & Herrmann begins; Animal Crackers plays this Sunday. Museum of...

With an awards season and year-end lists that tend to favor films that have been released in the last few months, many things can go overlooked. For our yearly feature highlighting the 50 best titles you might have missed––arriving before...

Our year-end coverage continues with a look at the best performances on film of 2025. Rather than divide categories into supporting or lead or by gender, we’ve written about our 30 favorites, period. (Well: a few more, if you add...

If you read the headline of this review and are shocked that this is the first time you’re hearing that not only did Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet direct a movie, but it’s being released right now and in two weeks...

Note: This review was originally published as part of our 2025 Cannes coverage. Resurrection opens in theaters on December 12. Few filmmakers with just two features under their belt can amass the passionate, cinephilic following of Bi Gan. His blend...