Rodeo Review: Lola Quivoron’s Motocross Drama Stalls Out
It’s as well-worn a trope as any in the coming-of-age genre: the elusive, underground subculture that draws in a young protagonist, whose discovery of this wor...
Alistair Ryder
Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre Review: A Mildly Diverting Spy Mystery from Guy Ritchie
Guy Ritchie’s trajectory from distinctive pop-auteur to journeyman director-for-hire has been fascinating to witness. Making his name in the late 'nineties'90s...
The Five Devils Review: A Transfixing Time-Travel Tale About Familial Bonds
The most visceral films are often described as sensory experiences. But how can a visual medium translate the sensations of smell without the aid of a John Wat...
Alistair Ryder’s Top 10 Films of 2022
Following The Film Stage's collective top 50 films of 2022, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.
As w...
BFI London Review: Inland Finds Mark Rylance Lost in a Surreal, Unsatisfying Puzzle Box
The mark of any successful directorial debut is whether you can find the makings of a distinctive authorial voice underneath various layers of homage to the ob...
BFI London Review: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio Might Be the Finest Adaptation Yet of the Carlo Collodi Classic
Carlo Collodi’s The Adventures of Pinocchio is widely understood as an easily accessible coming-of-age metaphor—peeling back our childlike wonderment at the wo...
BFI London Review: My Father’s Dragon Marks Cartoon Saloon’s First Disappointment
The films of Cartoon Saloon have an inherently folkloric quality, often feeling like tales that have been passed down through centuries—even if they are boldly...
Ticket to Paradise Review: George Clooney and Julia Roberts Coast in Lazy Rom-Com
2022 has been the year of the big-screen romantic comedy resurgence. But while audiences may have been reminded of the joys of the high-concept, star-driven ge...
Sundance Review: All That Breathes Takes a Powerful Cinematic Approach to Capture Climate Change
There’s no scarcity of documentaries on climate change; at the most recent Cannes Film Festival there was even a new program strand entitled “Cinema for the Cl...
Finch Review: Tom Hanks Gets His Chappie in Inconsistent Yet Charming Sci-Fi Drama
Listen closely while watching Finch and you can almost hear a studio exec's elevator pitch. It’s certainly apparent in every single frame of the film, almost t...
Alistair Ryder
Alistair is a freelance film and culture writer from Northern England, who has written for the BFI, Vice, GQ, and more. You can find him on Twitter @YesItsAlistair, although if you are allergic to bad puns, maybe think twice before smashing that follow button.