20 favorites so far this year:

"Film has this magical side where you can 'resuscitate' people and make them alive again." Carla Simón talks with @jpraup.bsky.social about concluding her family trilogy with #Romería, being inspired by Antonioni, and working with Hélène Louvart:

Thank you Daniel! And thank you Tribecca!

The Sandra Hüller-narrated #Underland, opening in theaters today, takes a compelling if straightforward excavation into the depths of our planet. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's review:

This year's wave of exceptional Canadian cinema continues with Chloé Robichaud’s #TwoWomen, a playful, raucous, and wholly heartfelt sex comedy. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's Critic's Pick review as the Sundance selection opens in U.S. theaters:

Jane Schoenbrun, Steven Spielberg, Lucrecia Martel, Gregg Araki, Christopher Nolan, Mark Jenkin, Boots Riley, Carla Simón, David Robert Mitchell, Yeon Sang-ho, Ildikó Enyedi & more! @thefilmstage.com's summer movie preview, featuring zero sequels, reboots, and superheroes, is here.

Folks I think we’re making a movie. Anyone who still wants to come in for a point of the sale can still do so, or really join the production in any capacity. We are still open for business.

"It’s a movie about an older woman who wants to fly, but in the end she discovers she can fly even higher than she imagined." #TheBlueTrail director Gabriel Mascaro talks with @jpraup.bsky.social about crafting his Berlinale winner, opening Friday:

Petra Volpe’s #LateShift is a work of high intensity and acute resonance, even if it lacks a certain personality by design. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's review:

"This time I used the method that Disney was using since Snow White." Sylvain Chomet talks with @jpraup.bsky.social about crafting his first film in 15 years:

Kai Stänicke's Trial of Hein takes a Dogville-esque approach to exploring identity and memory. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's Berlinale review:

"We shoot so, so much footage, but the real discipline is that we then cut 95% of it out." Matt Johnson talks with @jpraup.bsky.social about setting the bar for action and comedy this year wiht Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie:

#Crocodile captures the endlessly resourceful, creative spirit of a group of Nigerian filmmakers, though it feels like an imprecise first draft of a much larger tale yet to be fully told. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's Berlinale review:

Scripted with the meticulous patience of a Cristian Mungiu or Nuri Bilge Ceylan film, Visar Morina’s Sundance winner Shame and Money is a pressure-cooker of a drama about the crushing demands of capitalism. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's Critic's Pick review: thefilmstage.com/sundance-rev...

Walter Thompson-Hernández’s Sundance premiere If I Go Will They Miss Me searches for the divine in everyday life. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's review:

Zi at least demonstrates Kogonada hasn’t lost his filmmaking mojo, crafting a movie that may seem more personal to him than most viewers. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's Sundance review:

Simón Mesa Soto’s A Poet finds unexpected poetry in the jagged, pained misery of dashed dreams and misinterpreted, career-ending good intentions. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's review as the Cannes winner arrives in U.S. theaters:

Can heartily recommend The Lake, One in a Million, Night Nurse, Who Killed Alex Odeh?, Barbara Forever, Time and Water, Nuisance Bear, Kikuyu Land, and Jaripeo.

Perspective is everything in Beth de Araújo’s #Josephine, a stomach-churning drama focused on the loss of innocence and the ill-equipped guidance—both parental and bureaucratic—that can compound enduring trauma. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's Sundance review:

We can thank production designer Florencia Martin for the inclusion of Modelos, a few small beers, etc. in One Battle After Another, and more revealed in a wonderful chat:

This is a lovely movie!

Abby Ellis’ thrilling, terrifying documentary The Lake captures the mission to defuse an environmental nuclear bomb. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's Critic's Pick review of the Sundance premiere: thefilmstage.com/sundance-rev...

The Sundance premiere One in a Million tells an epic saga of exile and assimilation, examining how perceived liberty doesn’t always mean true independence. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's review:

Sundance kicks off on a strong note with The Lake, which understands that the most exceptional, impactful environmental docs are about direct human action on a micro scale.

I've seen over 40 films premiering at 2026 Sundance. Here's my picks for what to see, many of which are available online:

"It was scary at first because Paul [Thomas Anderson] wanted all the actors to do their own stunts." Stunt coordinator Brian Machleit breaks down crafting the action of One Battle After Another with @jpraup.bsky.social:

Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke’s debut A Useful Ghost is a strange, tranquil, humorous exploration of the conundrums that would emerge were ghosts an accepted occurrence in everyday life. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's review as the Cannes winner opens in theaters: thefilmstage.com/cannes-revie...

On a special podcast episode, we discuss the best films of 2025 and the most-anticipated movies of 2026. Listen to @jpraup.bsky.social, @codonnell.bsky.social & Nick Newman's discussion:

Albert Birney's OBEX, opening Friday, is an earnest, even poignant look at how entertainment can provide a sense of comfort for the most lonely souls. Read @jpraup.bsky.social's review:

Saying goodbye to 2025 by counting down my favorite movie posters for US releases over at the @thefilmstage.com. #posterizedpropaganda

2025 Films I Saw, Best to Worst boxd.it/zstB8

Calling all U.S. distributors: please pick up these movies!

Looking for a movie to watch this holiday? Here's 50 great choices from 2025:

The Film Stage's 2025 year-in-review is here! Catch up on our most-read reviews, interviews, features, news, trailers, and more this year:

One Battle After Another, The Shrouds, and The Mastermind are among our editor-in-chief @jpraup.bsky.social's top 10 films of 2025:

Happy holidays! I wrote about my favorite films and first-viewings of the year:

2026 in cinema: Hamaguchi, Jane Schoenbrun, Lee Chang-dong, Mike Leigh, Albert Serra, James Gray, Annie Baker, Spielberg, Almodóvar, Shyamalan, John Wilson, Stephen Cone, Valeska Grisebach, Cristian Mungiu, Nolan, Fincher, 𝘮𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 Terrence Malick and Frank Ocean, and so much more. Read our preview!

Before @thefilmstage.com's 100 most-anticipated films of 2026 feature drops, here are the films coming next year we can heartily recommend:

"What Josh got from Timothée is, for me, mind-blowing. I forgot about all his other performances after this." Darius Khondji talks to @jpraup.bsky.social about crafting the cinematography of #MartySupreme, his prolific year, and why cinema will never die:

My rule every year is that I end my GOTY catch up as soon as Film Stage drops it’s top 50. Now it is movie time. No one ask me to play a video game for like 3 weeks thanks.

AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH gets freaky and dark and weird. My review for @thefilmstage.com

Enjoyed chatting with @oneblakeminute.bsky.social about Kelly Reichardt's brilliant The Mastermind!

This is, like, my platonic ideal of a top whatever list.

Saturday bump for my buddy Ella #filmsky

Adore this truly stellar list! Thank you to all our contributors year-round for providing eloquent appreciations for all 50 selections. I wrote about Carson Lund's timeless hangout movie Eephus.

Before our top 50 films of 2025 arrives, here are the gems mostly left out of the year-end conversation. Highly recommend Who by Fire, Souleymane's Story, The Sparrow in the Chimney, Vulcanizadora, Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass & Invention!

My favorite docs of 2025: 10. Apocalypse in the Tropics 9. Henry Fonda for President 8. Predators 7. Mr. Scorsese 6. Videoheaven 5. Cover-Up 4. The Perfect Neighbor 3. My Undesirable Friends: Part I – Last Air in Moscow 2. Afternoons of Solitude 1. BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions

Some insufficient, drive-by thoughts on MARTY SUPREME, one of the funnest and funniest movies of the year. Was happy with it not being “about” much, but then it reveals its hand at the last minute and everything snaps into place…

Great to see The Magic Hours included in @thefilmstage.com Holiday gift guide. Impeccable taste thefilmstage.com/the-film-sta...

A great year for feature debuts! My top 5: 5. Urchin (Harris Dickinson) 4. Sorry, Baby (Eva Victor) 3. Familiar Touch (Sarah Friedland) 2. Eephus (Carson Lund) 1. BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions (Kahlil Joseph)