The Film Stage

It’s that frenzied time of year as each country puts forth its pick for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards; the decision is always striking when the selection is for a directorial debut, showing utmost confidence in an emerging...

Capturing the city of angels like few other writers, The Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential author James Ellroy is the subject of the latest documentary from director Francesco Zippel (Friedkin Uncut). Ellroy vs. L.A. features an exclusive interview and archival...

Note: This review was originally published as part of our 2025 Cannes coverage. It Was Just an Accident is now in theaters. If you were handed over the man who destroyed your life and those of countless others––a psychopath who...

Telling an authentic, politically charged story from a child’s perspective can be a challenge. For tales set during a period like WWII, a lifelong combination of school lessons and pop culture ensures an instant familiarity for audiences, allowing films to...

Jan Komasa’s Anniversary should be in the running for least-subtle movie of the year. It should also be in the running for most terrifying. This ruthlessly effective thriller rarely beats around the bush with what it’s trying to say, nor...

Note: This review was originally published as part of our 2025 Telluride coverage. Ballad of a Small Player is now in theaters and arrives on Netflix on October 29. In Ballad of a Small Player, we are given the gift...

A world premiere at the esteemed True/False Film Festival this year, as well as award-winning stops at Hot Docs, Margaret Mead Film Festival, and more, Sasha Wortzel’s River of Grass is an ode to Florida’s Everglades. The documentary explores the...

For fans of Sam Raimi in horror-thriller mode, the starvation has been real. In the nearly two decades since 2009’s Drag Me to Hell, the Evil Dead director has spent his talents in the worlds of Oz and the Marvel...

The third of four films starring Josh O’Connor to get a fall release, Max Walker-Silverman’s A Love Song follow-up Rebuilding premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and will now arrive on November 14 from Bleecker Street. Here’s...

To international viewers, Bad Apples will play like a conventional dark comedy about a schoolteacher pushed too far by a student; to Brits, it’s a scorched Earth takedown of a state education system that has failed millions of children, any...