Michael Frank

Lena Dunham’s Sharp Stick, her first feature since 2010’s Tiny Furniture, finds the writer-director again taking big swings with mixed results. Set in Los Angeles, as Dunham herself moved to the West Coast in 2020, the sex-filled comedy / drama follows Sarah Jo (Kristine Froseth), a 26-year-old virgin who begins an affair with Josh (Jon Bernthal), hunky father of the child she babysits. Once she starts having sex she cannot stop, determined to cross every sexual act and scenario off her const...

With their latest feature together, DIY sci-fi directors Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead continue to make the low-budget thrillers that have gained them a dedicated fan base. Exploring the cults, phenomena, or time travel concepts that break brains and inspire documentaries, the actors take on the challenge of filling up most roles in a production, constantly highlighting their shared love of going out and making films with their friends. They champion this DIY style, stretching thin budgets...

Dual, the third feature from writer/director Riley Stearns, follows a young woman named Sarah (Karen Gillan), who opts to be replaced with a “double” after finding out she’s terminally ill. With a deadpan delivery and a dry sense of humor, the film and its characters navigate this alternate world, one that requires a duel to the death in Sarah’s unique situation. Sarah must learn to become violent, accept brutality into her personality, resetting herself in a way.
Stearns’ newest draws clear ...

Chilean filmmaker Francisca Alegria’s The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future opens on pensive shots of the river and its inhabitants, most of whom are dead. As the dying and already passed fish sing a song of sadness, a woman, motorcycle helmet in tow, rises from the water. She walks aimlessly, hopping on a local bus and appearing outside a story, scaring her ex-husband into enough anxiety to land him in the hospital. The next 90 minutes of Alegria’s meditative drama exist largely in silence...

The characters in Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s films shouldn’t be in these situations. They’re out of their depth, caught up on a conspiracy, a cult, or an idea that’s far beyond their grasp. Something in the Dirt doesn’t change that narrative, instead doubling down on the absurd, conspiratorial situations that the filmmakers create, only for their lead actors to be swallowed up by the bigness of what they uncover. Once again using the DIY model, Benson and Moorhead co-direct and co-sta...

In The Mission, unwavering faith is a requirement. For the four young missionaries followed by director Tania Anderson, Finland becomes their two-year home, a temporary church with one goal: convert as many as they can. The missionary program of the Church of Latter-day Saints, filmed by a non-Mormon for the first time, takes on the persona of these four stewards. Seen in a positive (or at least objective) light with Anderson’s film, the program pushes these 18-year-olds onto another plane of...

Extended from the award-winning short of the same name, Jim Archer’s offbeat comedy Brian and Charles is borne of love and friendship. A sweet tale about a lonely inventor, the film (written by stars David Earl and Chris Hayward) leans on the earnest and the genuine. Whatever its issues reaching the already-short 90-minute runtime, it’s a delight: a happy-go-lucky story about found family, or in this case a created one.
Shot in mockumentary style, Brian and Charles follows Brian (Earl), a bea...

Amy Poehler’s chronological, comprehensive documentary debut Lucy and Desi attempts to give the entire story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Covering the couple from their early childhoods through their deaths, it spends the majority of its time on their working and personal partnership. A documentary enveloped in reverence, it gives two complete biographical entries, sparing mystery and opting for admiration.
Talking heads and old tapes guide the documentary, with comedians Carol Burnett and...

There are about 180 Uru-eu-wau-wau people left in the Brazilian Amazon. This community lives off the land, protecting the Amazon from deforestation, constant threats of violence, and an expanding base of anti-Indigenous sentiment, streaming from the far-right emboldened by President Jair Bolsonaro. Over three years, filmmaker Alex Pritz spent time with these native Brazilians for The Territory, a collaborative, vérité documentary that’s both engaging and terrifying. Pritz even hands over the ...

Dual, Riley Stearns’ third feature following Faults and The Art of Self-Defense, establishes its endgame within the first five minutes. Opening on a split football field with two small sets of audiences in its bleachers, the dark comedy watches as two young men, doppelgängers, fight to the death under lights and TV cameras usually set for a high school state championship game. The double wins, killing his original form, setting the table for the following 95-minute story.
Stearns, critically ...

For their 2022 edition, the Sundance Film Festival has once again adapted to the ever-shifting pandemic landscape. Having recently scrapping their in-person plans, they’ve shifted to a virtual-only lineup that will begin this Thursday and last through January 30, offering the first glimpse at the year in cinema.
We’ll have extensive coverage from the festival (which one can follow here or on Twitter). Before reviews arrive, we’re highlighting the premieres that should be on your radar. If you...

Adam Leon’s films look at New York City with a street-side view. His characters, through his first three features, wander the neighborhoods of the Lower East Side, or the Bronx, or the West Village with little cash and minor control of their situation. From the SXSW Grand Jury Winner Gimme the Loot (2012) to Netflix’s hangout romantic dramedy Tramps (2016), Leon makes films depicting different parts of the city he grew up in, the interactions that go unnoticed and overlooked, the people that ...

“A cinematographer is a visual psychiatrist–moving an audience through a movie […] making them think the way you want them to think, painting pictures in the dark,” said the late, great Gordon Willis. As we continue our year-end coverage, one aspect we must highlight is, indeed, cinematography. From talented newcomers to seasoned professionals, we’ve rounded up the examples that have most impressed us this year. Check out our rundown below.
About Endlessness (Gergely Pálos)
Working with close...

Our year-end coverage continues with a look at the best performances of 2021. Rather than divide categories into supporting or lead or by gender, we’ve written about our 35 favorites, period. (Well: a few more, if you add a grouping we couldn’t leave out.) Check our countdown below and start watching the ones you’ve missed here.
35. Katia Pascariu (Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn)
Katia Pascariu’s Emi, a teacher with a circulating home sex tape, is full of defiance. She walks around her Romani...

For our most comprehensive year-end feature we’re providing a cumulative look at The Film Stage’s favorite films of 2021. We’ve asked contributors to compile ten-best lists with five honorable mentions—a selection of those personal lists will be shared in coming days—and from tallied votes has a top 50 been assembled.
So: without further ado, check out our rundown of 2021 below, our ongoing year-end coverage here (including where to stream many of the below picks), and return in the coming we...