Ethan Vestby

Toronto

Journalist at The Film Stage

Writer at Freelance

You met me at the right time

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Articles

Paul Banks on Creating His First Film Score with Sister Midnight and His Enduring Love for Cinema

3 weeks ago | thefilmstage.com | Ethan Vestby

Ever since Turn on the Bright Lights debuted in the summer of 2002, Interpol frontman Paul Banks has been the epicenter of cool. Trying his hand at a variety of musical projects––from solo albums to instrumental experimentations to, even, collaborations with RZA––he’s never not been trying new things.
Black Tea Review: Abderrahmane Sissako Crafts a Low-Tempo Romance

1 month ago | thefilmstage.com | Ethan Vestby

Do you want someone to whisper into your ear or yell? In most cases, you’ll answer the former, but if the decibel level is at the point where you can barely hear––and might even be losing interest in what’s being said––you’ll reconsider. This is a succinct way of describing Black Tea, which maintains so low a tempo while having such an inevitable conclusion that you wonder what the intention, exactly, might’ve been.
Henry Johnson Review: The Abyss Stares Back in David Mamet’s Effective Prison Drama

1 month ago | thefilmstage.com | Ethan Vestby

The abyss stares back––that’s the overwhelming feeling of David Mamet’s new film Henry Johnson. It’s based on his play of the same name from 2023, and with both that date and Mamet’s recent public persona, one would probably have some assumptions about this story’s political bent. Watching the film, you’re reminded that we can come to some kind of mutual understanding with those on the other side.
NASCAR’s Current Superstars

1 month ago | msn.com | Ethan Vestby

Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
America's Most Important Archaeological Discoveries

2 months ago | flipboard.com | Ethan Vestby

American History Is Evidenced In All Of These There’s the America founded in 1776 and then the one that existed tens of thousands of years earlier. …
Warfare Review: An Odd Beast of a Combat Procedural

2 months ago | thefilmstage.com | Ethan Vestby

Warfare’s first images are from the ’80s aerobics-throwback music video for Eric Prydz’s “Call On Me” from 2004, an obnoxious-albeit-undeniable dancehall earworm that paired well with Madonna’s last great track, “Hung Up,” in terms of sound and iconography.
Henry Fonda for President Review: The Dying Dream of a Better America

2 months ago | thefilmstage.com | Ethan Vestby

The Academy Awards likely aren’t that important in the grand scheme of film history, but legendary actor Henry Fonda winning his first competitive Oscar merely five months before dying is perhaps one of those things that makes you think on a cosmic scale. Henry Fonda for President, coming at a moment when it seems like the whole American project is explicitly dying in front of our very eyes, probably isn’t afraid to make you lean that way.
The Woman in the Yard Review: Jaume Collet-Serra Makes a Scary, Intense Return to Horror

2 months ago | thefilmstage.com | Ethan Vestby

While horror films function as an important part of this writer’s interest in cinema, it’s been hard not to feel some growing personal contempt for the genre.
20 Things About Flying First Class Airlines Are Urging People To Take Advantage Of

2 months ago | msn.com | Ethan Vestby

Microsoft Cares About Your PrivacyMicrosoft and our third-party vendors use cookies to store and access information such as unique IDs to deliver, maintain and improve our services and ads. If you agree, MSN and Microsoft Bing will personalise the content and ads that you see. You can select ‘I Accept’ to consent to these uses or click on ‘Manage preferences’ to review your options and exercise your right to object to Legitimate Interest where used.
Bruno Dumont on The Empire, Star Wars, and the Maelstrom of Human Nature

Mar 6, 2025 | thefilmstage.com | Ethan Vestby

Initially considered the heir to Robert Bresson, Bruno Dumont shocked audiences in 2014 with the heel-turn of his Twin Peaks-inspired miniseries P’tit Quinquin, which (were it not television) would certainly earn the label of An Extremely Goofy Movie. His switch to incorporating laughs into the philosophical brew has produced works like the frenetic Joan of Arc musical Jeannette and bone-dry, Léa Seydoux-starring satire France.