The Film Stage

Likely the burden of precedent never lifts from M. Night Shyamalan, whose name became noun, adjective, and verb more-or-less the moment The Sixth Sense landed with shockwaves a quarter-century ago. As certain narratives about his career (twist endings, Newsweek covers)...

It wouldn’t have been Sundance without at least a handful of coming-of-age stories. Sean Wang’s audience award winner Dìdi (弟弟) proves that, with a new perspective, there are still emotions to be mined from a tried-and-true formula. Exploring the everyday life of...

As the summer movie season comes to a close, August brings a shockingly stacked slate of offerings, topped by a film that is sure to age like a fine classic in years to come. Elsewhere we have accomplished debuts, action...

After just wrapping production a few months ago, Pedro Almodóvar is already putting the finishing touches on his next feature. Following Venice Film Festival’s announcement of a world premiere for The Room Next Door, starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton,...

Let’s talk about the pandemic for a moment. No, not the COVID-19 Pandemic. The pandemic that, 100 years ago, killed millions and shuttered the United States for a time: the Great Flu of 1918. The virus infected roughly one-third of...

Ahead of its world premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival, The Code announced itself with several red flags. Set during the Coronavirus pandemic in 2021 with a synopsis throwing around terms like “cancel culture,” it stars Dasha Nekrasova and Peter...

Five years after his surrealist comedy Relaxer, and over a decade since his breakout Buzzard, Joel Potrykus is back with Vulcanizadora. For those familiar with Potrykus’ work, his fifth feature continues the singular, rebellious style he and his film band...

One of the greatest filmmaking partnerships to grace the industry is getting its deserved due in a new documentary. Directed by Stephen Soucy and featuring Dame Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Hugh Grant, Vanessa Redgrave, Rupert Graves, and James Wilby,...

The apartment complexes making up what used to be Kowloon Walled City effectively sealed it off from the rest of Hong Kong. Soi Cheang’s Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In imagines Kowloon as a kind of steampunk ghetto controlled by...

The return of the Alien franchise isn’t the only space adventure of August. Mikael Håfström, director of the Oscar-nominated Evil and 1408, is headed deep in our galaxy with Slingshot. Led by Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne, Emily Beecham, Tomer Kapon,...