The Film Stage

A parody of dialectical materialism (you’ll understand what this means when you see the film), superficial economies, and the cult of fast fashion, I Love Boosters—the second feature from rapper, activist, and filmmaker Boots Riley—proves a spirited and hilarious comedy in its first two acts before falling back on action-comedy tropes in its finale. Perhaps […]

The post SXSW Review: I Love Boosters Finds Boots Riley Again Taking Dead Aim at Capitalism in Zany Comedy first appeared on The Film Stage.

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. Anniversary (Jan Komasa) 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 […]

The post New to Streaming: Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die, The Testament of Ann Lee, Ghost Elephants & More first appeared on The Film Stage.

Welcome to The B-Side, from The Film Stage. Here we usually talk about movie stars and not the movies that made them famous or kept them famous, but the ones they made in between. Today, however, we talk about Oscar movies (!), or better yet, movies that remind us of Oscar movies! Conor and I […]

The post The Academy Award Categories That No Longer Exist first appeared on The Film Stage.

Taking one of the longest breaks of his career, it’s been four years since Steven Spielberg’s last feature, The Fabelmans, but he’s thankfully returning this summer. Going back to the realm of extraterrestrial sci-fi after Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and War of the Worlds, the legendary director will explore alien contact with Disclosure Day. […]

The post Steven Spielberg Makes Contact in New Trailer for Disclosure Day first appeared on The Film Stage.

Note: This review was originally published as part of our 2026 Sundance coverage. The film opens in theaters on March 13. undertone (stylized all-lowercase) writer-director Ian Tuason staged his debut feature entirely in his Toronto childhood home with only two on-screen actors, with the other performances playing out in audio form only. After a Fantasia […]

The post Undertone Review: Heavy on Dread, Light on Ideas first appeared on The Film Stage.

After premiering in competition at the Sundance Film Festival last year, Katarina Zhu’s directorial debut Bunnylovr was picked up Utopia for a theatrical release beginning April 10. Starring Zhu alongside Rachel Sennott, Austin Amelio, Perry Yung, and Jack Kilmer, the first trailer and poster have now arrived. Here’s the synopsis: “A drifting, Chinese-American cam girl, struggles […]

The post Bunnylovr Trailer: Katarina Zhu’s Directorial Debut Captures a Character Study of a Cam Girl first appeared on The Film Stage.

It’s hard to believe it’s already been nearly a decade since the release of Zama, but Lucrecia Martel is finally back with her next feature and first feature-length documentary, Our Land (Nuestra Tierra). A deep-dive look into the murder of indigenous Argentine activist Javier Chocobar, the Venice, TIFF, and NYFF selection will now arrive this May. Ahead […]

The post Lucrecia Martel Returns with Trailer for Our Land (Nuestra Tierra), Arriving This May first appeared on The Film Stage.

After showcasing work from the likes of Chantal Akerman, Pedro Almodóvar, Bi Gan, Bong Joon Ho, Charles Burnett, Terence Davies, Guillermo del Toro, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Jia Zhangke, Spike Lee, Lee Chang-dong, Richard Linklater, Julia Loktev, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Christopher Nolan, Kelly Reichardt, RaMell Ross, Céline Sciamma, Albert Serra, Jane Schoenbrun, Steven Spielberg, Joachim […]

The post New Directors/New Films 2026 Lineup Unveiled first appeared on The Film Stage.

It is not without possibility that John C. Lilly was so strange, complex, and plainly fascinating a figure that it took two of the most adventurous working filmmakers (and one of our premiere actors) to capture him. Shortly after the much-heralded Invention, Courtney Stephens debuted John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office, an archival-heavy […]

The post Chloë Sevigny Narrates an Incomparable Life In Exclusive Trailer for Michael Almereyda and Courtney Stephens’ John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office first appeared on The Film Stage.

The seemingly bottomless career of Kiyoshi Kurosawa has reached new depths. While the Ryusuke Hamaguchi-penned Wife of a Spy proved his slow, creeping form well-suited to another era, he’s only now—after 45 years of filmmaking and an even-greater number of features—depicting Japan’s feudal era with Kokurojo: The Samurai and the Prisoner, a drawing-room mystery starring […]

The post New Trailer for Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Kokurojo: The Samurai and the Prisoner and Chime / Serpent’s Path Double Feature first appeared on The Film Stage.