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Michael Frank

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

Michael Frank is a freelance film critic and journalist based in Brooklyn. He's a contributor to The Film Stage, The Spool, and Paste Magazine, and has bylines in RogerEbert, Polygon, The Playlist, and AwardsWatch. Twitter: @peachfuzzcritic

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (2025) 98% EDIT “The directors aim to craft a world that emphasizes the wonder existing in every corner of the world. And that’s what makes Little Amélie so warm and tender. ” – The Film Stage Nov 7, 2025 Full Review Gavagai (2025) EDIT “Köhler’s feature contains threads upon threads of commentary, wrapped in four languages and meta storytelling. His unwillingness to provide clarity for these characters serves as a strength and a weakness.” – The Film Stage Oct 8, 2025 Full Review It's Dorothy! (2025) EDIT “It’s Dorothy! tracks Dorothy from Garland through every iteration, through each actor to portray the role, through her growing and changing cultural impact. More than anything, it’s a documentary about joy. ” – The Film Stage Jun 18, 2025 Full Review The Scout (2025) 93% EDIT “The film becomes lived-in, leaning towards the monotony of this job rather than the perceived glamour and excitement of working in film and television” – The Film Stage Jun 14, 2025 Full Review On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (2024) 100% A- EDIT “Nyoni’s film becomes a mixture of rage and tackling of Zambian burial rites, a clear-eyed look at the impossibility of these situations for the abused, the affected, the broken.” – The Film Stage Oct 22, 2024 Full Review TWST - Things We Said Today (2024) C+ EDIT “With the Beatles still reverberating through collective culture, TWST / Things We Said Today contains enough of their power to sustain this film’s entirety.” – The Film Stage Oct 14, 2024 Full Review The Friend (2024) 84% B- EDIT “It’s the type of film my parents would love––something shown on a cable network on a Sunday afternoon, easy to watch with just enough substance to make the audience feel something reminiscent of sadness. That’s a compliment, though.” – The Film Stage Oct 4, 2024 Full Review Emergent City (2024) 100% B- EDIT “It’s not a new tale, but one that contains resonance for New Yorkers, for any member of a small community, and for those who lose control over the land they call home. ” – The Film Stage Jun 14, 2024 Full Review The Iron Claw (2023) 89% A- EDIT “The emotional thrum of the Von Erichs’ tragedies swells until it cannot be stopped. Wave after wave of brokenness depicted on screen, Durkin’s third feature excels in showing the inner fight of passed-down manhood and a father’s unyielding impact. ” – The Film Stage Dec 30, 2023 Full Review Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain (2023) 42% C+ EDIT “The first act of the Paul Briganti-directed feature succeeds in large part to this easygoing dynamic. Once the story stretches, the thinness of its premise shows through and writing goes from loose to sloppy, charming to grating.” – The Film Stage Nov 17, 2023 Full Review Beyond Utopia (2023) 100% A- EDIT “The film haunts its viewers, giving a glimpse into a rarely seen culture and an unseen journey that results in only life-giving or life-taking outcomes. Beyond Utopia is a must-see historical and human document. ” – The Film Stage Oct 31, 2023 Full Review In Our Day (2023) 100% B- EDIT “In Our Day remains straightforward in its filmmaking, attaining depth through dialogue designed to cause the viewer to think about the value and meaning of the art they consume––among other things, the film itself. ” – The Film Stage Oct 10, 2023 Full Review Foe (2023) 24% C- EDIT “A mess of concepts, issues, and messages, an amalgamation of errors in tone and story.” – The Film Stage Oct 1, 2023 Full Review A Haunting in Venice (2023) 76% EDIT “The mystery-horror film captures something that Branagh’s other adaptations were missing.” – The Spool Sep 14, 2023 Full Review You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah (2023) 91% EDIT “[Sunny Sandler] fills the screen with a bright charm and a comedic ability that must run in the family.” – The Spool Aug 25, 2023 Full Review Sightseers (2012) 86% EDIT “The film is quirky, offbeat, and funny in its casualness with death. ” – The Spool Aug 10, 2023 Full Review Meg 2: The Trench (2023) 27% C EDIT “Meg 2: The Trench oscillates between its B-movie sensibilities and a self-seriousness unnecessary for this subgenre.” – The Film Stage Aug 4, 2023 Full Review Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) 95% B EDIT “It doesn’t want or need to be about more than four brothers trying to go to high school, and its larger metaphors about society and culture are unnecessary missteps.” – The Film Stage Aug 2, 2023 Full Review Biosphere (2022) 80% EDIT “For fans of the Duplass Brothers’ style of movie-making, stripped-down, talky dramas with a singular premise, Biosphere will work, even if it requires more of an imagination than their usual fare.” – The Spool Jul 12, 2023 Full Review The Out-Laws (2023) 22% EDIT “The Out-Laws, a diversion at most, is streaming purgatory incarnate. It isn't a movie to be devoured in one viewing, nor necessarily finished at all.” – The Spool Jul 10, 2023 Full Review Revoir Paris (2022) 94% EDIT “[A] film unlike anything else this year.” – The Spool Jun 28, 2023 Full Review Transition (2023) 100% B- EDIT “Bryon deserves the focus, yet the film never paints any broader strokes. Transition works because of that one person, but it cannot climb any further under these limitations. ” – The Film Stage Jun 23, 2023 Full Review LaRoy, Texas (2023) 98% B- EDIT “Letting Steve Zahn run wild and elevating him into the spotlight when necessary, it becomes the talented actor’s film, a showcase for the flair and feeling he can imbue into a story.” – The Film Stage Jun 22, 2023 Full Review To Catch a Killer (2023) 53% EDIT “Szifron’s unable to put personality, verve, or distinction into To Catch a Killer.  ” – The Spool Apr 21, 2023 Full Review Luther: The Fallen Sun (2023) 67% EDIT “[Elba] smolders his way through 129 minutes, remaining the series’ greatest asset.” – The Spool Mar 8, 2023 Full Review
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