SXSW Review: Kyle Mooney’s Unhinged Directorial Debut Y2K Parties Like It’s 1999
A disaster horror comedy that’s equal parts Can’t Hardly Wait and Idle Hands, Kyle Mooney’s directorial debut Y2K is often hilariously sincere in its depiction...
John Fink
SXSW Review: MoviePass, MovieCrash is a Comprehensive but Dry Exploration of a Glorious Year of Moviegoing
It is possible that one day an excellent narrative feature in the vein of The Big Short, BlackBerry, Dumb Money or Margin Call will be made about MoviePass, a ...
Sundance Review: Soundtrack to a Coup d’État is a Vibrant, Complex, and Jazz-Infused Political Essay
It was Mark Twain who said, “History doesn’t repeat itself but it often rhymes,” which is one way of approaching Belgian filmmaker and multimedia artist Johan ...
Sundance Review: Sujo is a Visceral Tale About Growing Up in Your Father’s Shadow
A film about growing up in your father’s shadow that mostly (and unexpectedly) examines the role of women as community pillars and violence interrupters, Sujo ...
Sundance Review: Luther: Never Too Much is a Captivating Yet Minor Portrait of a Major Talent
Filled with wonderful musical performances exploring the 30-year career of Luther Vandross, Dawn Porter’s sweeping biographical documentary Luther: Never Too M...
Sundance Review: Girls Will Be Girls is an Observant, Restrained Himalayas-Set Coming-of-Age Drama
In a voicemail to a crush two years her senior, Mira (Preeti Panigrahi) wonders if her feelings are “puppy love maybe it’s big dog love." Directed by Shuchi T...
Sundance Review: Daughters is an Insightful, Emotional Portrait of Brief Reunions
A striking film that evokes a wave of emotions, Natalie Rae and Angela Patton’s Daughters is another picture––à la Rudy Valdez’s The Sentence, Garrett Bradley’...
Sundance Review: In a Violent Nature Lurks in the Woods Without Advancing Slasher Tropes
A slow-cinema spin on well-burnished tropes, In a Violent Nature largely strips the artifice of the slasher formula, which dictates a deformed man must hunt do...
Sundance Review: Eno is an Ever-Changing, Generative Experience Exploring a Legendary Artist
Editor's note: Following the publishing of our review, we received word from Brenden Dawes, who developed the generative system used by the filmmakers of Eno,...
John Fink’s Top 10 Films of 2023
Following The Film Stage's collective top 50 films of 2023, as part of our year-end coverage, our contributors are sharing their personal top 10 lists.
The ...
John Fink
John Fink is a New York City area-based critic, filmmaker, educator and curator. He currently serves as the Artistic Director of the Buffalo International Film Festival.