The Film Stage

Shu Qi Wraps Directorial Debut Girl for 2025 Completion
||
Let this be an object lesson for those fearing it’s to late to pursue their dreams: at the age of 50, Shu Qi––who, granted, is the iconic star of films by Hou Hsiao-hsien, Feng Xiaogang, Jiang Wen, Corey Yuen, and...
continue reading
October on the Criterion Channel Includes F/X Scares, Witches, Japanese Horror, Stephen King & More
||
The Criterion Channel’s at its best when October rolls around and consistently engages in the best horror programming of any streaming service. 2024 will bring more than a few iterations of their spooky programming: “Horror F/X” highlights the best effects-based...
continue reading
Cillian Murphy Returns in First Trailer for Small Things Like These
||
Premiering at Berlinale before his Oscar win for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer but now arriving many months after, Cillian Murphy will next be seen in Small Things Like These. Also starring Emily Watson, Michelle Fairley, and Eileen Walsh, Tim Mielants’ Berlinale...
continue reading
Masterful Japanese Noir Yokohama BJ Blues Receives New Trailer Ahead of December Rerelease
||
Rarely am I devoting column space (whatever that means in virtual realms) to individual home-video releases––at least if they’re not likely to receive a complementary theatrical run. But I’m unusually elated seeing a favorite discovery get the upgrade most would...
continue reading
The Criterion Collection’s December Lineup Includes No Country for Old Men on 4K, Sammo Hung & More
||
In the blink of an eye, Criterion’s 2024 is done. Though there’s still a cornucopia of discs awaiting arrival, we have a stem-stern view of this year’s line-up with today’s announcement of the December set. Entering the collection on sparkling...
continue reading
NYC Weekend Watch: A Different Man Influences, Johnnie To, Ingrid Caven & More
||
NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. BAMA Different Man director Aaron Schimberg has assembled an all-35mm retrospective of films that inspired his new feature, including work by Lynch, Lubitsch, Nicholas Ray, and Tsai; the 50th-anniversary restoration...
continue reading
New to Streaming: Red Rocket, Robot Dreams, Kneecap, Riddle of Fire & More
||
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. Civil War (Alex Garland) While bound to spark hundreds of think pieces, Alex Garland’s...
continue reading
Venice Review: Jerry Lewis’ The Day the Clown Cried Emerges in From Darkness to Light
||
“What if woody [sic] Allen had brain injury,” remarks the comic Adam Friedland in his rather direct Letterboxd review of Jerry Lewis’ The Ladies Man. Continuing a theme, Will Sloan also hails The Nutty Professor as a “profoundly strange object...
continue reading
Venice Review: Kevin Costner Is Going Strong With Horizon: An American Saga – Chapter 2
||
How blessed are we to have a whole six hours of Kevin Costner’s mythopoetic Horizon already make their way to (some) audiences, especially when this project has been on his wish list since 1988? I often try to demystify festival...
continue reading
TIFF Review: Joseph Kahn’s Ick is a Riotous, Satirical Take on the Creature Feature
||
The world is ending and nobody cares in Ick, Joseph Kahn’s latest genre offering after 2017’s Bodied and 2011’s Detention. Despite only making four features in 20 years, Kahn is ubiquitous in pop culture from his background in directing music...
continue reading