2025 Movies

This has been the year of books for me, so I have been a lot slower with films than usual. 

Loved:

Sinners: I can't say anything about this film that hasn't already been said.

It Was Just An Accident: This is exactly my kind of movie. The drama. The morality questions. The weirdly humorous moments that kind of make you feel like you shouldn't be laughing at such a serious film. The thoughtful ending. A true five star.

Bugonia: I feel like this was finally a return to Classic Lanthimos and I hope it continues (Poor Things was uneven and The Favourite was good but it felt like anyone could have made it). It was weird and funny and had something to say about society. I was here for the ride.

Train Dreams: I read the book last year and was surprised how much I liked it. The movie does the book justice and even expands the narrative a bit, particularly his marriage and friendships. The mood was exactly right. 

If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You: The most stressful movie I've seen since Uncut Gems.   

Hedda: A queer 1950s adaption of Hedda Garbler? Sign me up. Loved the acting, the cinematography, direction, music, costumes, but I didn't totally love the final act. I liked the cyclical nature of the very end, but something felt missing. Maybe it's just been a long time since I read the original play.

Frankenstein: Not sure if I was supposed to be a sobbing mess at the end of this film but I was. As always, Del Toro's vibes are impeccable. 

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery: As long as they keep making them, I'll keep watching them. I love mysteries with social commentary but instead of class, this time we get religion and morality.

Mr. Nobody Against Putin: Considering the wake of the Navalny documentary, I hope this guy is okay. Considering my own job as a teacher, this feels like a terrifying warning.

Merrily We Roll Along: Cheating a little since I actually saw this in person, but as a musical person who doesn't really like Sondheim much, and this is a weak Sondheim show, this is a fantastic production. Perfect casting. You almost forget the things about the story that don't really work.

Really Liked:

Hamnet: This was borderline loved for me. Really the film is carried by Jessie Buckley and that killer ending although I can't deny that there was something very personally satisfying about the interpretation of Agnes Shakespeare as a witchy girl in the Elizabethan era.

Sentimental Value: Every Joachim Trier movie for me is good but doesn't really do much for me. They are always competent, always full of feelings, but I always walk away from them thinking that they were not particularly memorable. 

Wicked: For Good: Obviously this wasn't going to be as good as the first one for original story reasons, but the thing that actually knocked it down was the pacing. The second act flips the script so much and has so much going on, but the film was constantly slowing down and speeding up so weirdly. They added two new songs, neither of which added anything, but spent very little time trying to explain the dynamic shifts that you just had to go with. I still cried at the end, but it could have been better.

The Long Walk: The problem with a dystopia like this is that you immediately start liking people, knowing that they are going to die. In spite of this, the ending was perfect and satisfying. Mark Hamil is here to chew all the scenery, which could have been a bit too unserious but the film is so dark that it kind of balances out. By the way, Collie was my favorite and I'm happy that he went out the way he did.

Together: This is actually my favorite kind of horror film because it has such a clear and utterly wack commentary on real life. I will be single forever, and I'm happy with that.

The Naked Gun: Sure, with comedy there are bound to be jokes that don't hit, but I laughed a lot. This film really played to Liam Neeson and Pam Anderson's comedic strengths. I had a good time.

K-Pop Demon Hunters: This was fun! I was kind of surprised by how fun it was! I actually teared up. And the music slapped. I really should download the soundtrack instead of being embarrassed about it.

Sorry, Baby: So apparently I gave this 4 stars but also totally forget that I saw it so maybe I should bump it down? I had to reread the plot summary after noticing that the lead actress looked familiar. I mean, I apparently liked it, but didn't find it overly memorable.

Predators: This documentary about To Catch A Predator really, really didn't ask the questions I was hoping it would. It does delve a little into the morality of what was being done with the show and with it's imitators, why people like it, and the personal connections that drive people to go into these things (usually being abused themselves and seeking retribution). I was hoping it would go even further with the idea of what to do about non-offending pedophiles and if the tactics these people use are actually making things worse instead of harm reduction, the ethics behind true crime, etc. Weirdly, this almost should have been a docuseries.

Liked:

Mountainhead: I mean, due to my love of Succession, I will follow Jesse Armstrong whenever he makes movies about rich assholes. I thought the movie was fun and terrifying in the same way that watching the episode of Succession where they call the election is fun and terrifying. Too real in many ways but enjoyable to watch. There was just something about it that didn't quite come together for me.

Kiss of The Spider Woman: Perhaps it's hard for me to view this movie objectively because I love the 1985 movie, it's a favorite, but also I am not completely sold on the musical version of this story either. I like that they kept the musical elements contained to the film-within-the-film, but I still felt like it lacked the impact of the original because of all the tonal shifts. I also feel like the way they changed the film-within-the-film to be so directly connected to the themes was kind of trivializing, but I guess musicals do that a lot with their original stories. I liked the cast at least and remaking it now means they were able to be more straightforward with the trans themes and actually set it in Argentina like it should be.

Superman: I doubt I will ever see another superhero movie that I'll ever rank in "really liked" but I appreciate the existence of this movie a lot. It's such a real take on the Superman character. I really enjoyed the topical nature of the issues, how Clark is the king of millennial cringe, and the chemistry between him and Lois.

Weapons: This was a pretty solid, and pretty weird, horror movie although for some reason it really didn't end up being what I thought it would be? I guess I was confused by all the people saying, "Kids are scary!" It's not the kids that are the problem, but it is kind of a journey to the reveal. It's kind of 75% mystery and 25% horror.

Relay: It's a pretty intriguing crime film, but the ending was kind of incomprehensible with a bunch of twists at the final hour. The premise is interesting though and I love Riz Ahmed so, it's okay.

Mickey 17: It was fun but kind of unmemorable considering Bong Joon Ho's filmography. 

Okay:

Materialists: I'm so conflicted about this movie. There were a lot of things I liked about it, but also there were parts that felt really sloppy, so sloppy I had to downgrade it. I actually liked how much this film bluntly portrayed modern dating culture and the message, while expectedly sappy, was completely fine. I think I really hated the idea though that romantic love defines an individual so much. The whole subplot with Sophie should have done more too; it had such a heavy twist but with no real fall out. The ending, while supporting the theme, didn't feel built up to in the way it should have been either. Chris Evans was barely there enough for me to root for him. Honestly, good ideas that needed a lot more drafting.

The Shrouds: So many people were calling this Cronenberg's return to form and I just don't buy it. He hasn't made anything that I've loved since Eastern Promises, my actual favorite movie of his. This movie should have been an easy win for me: it's about death, grieving, and weird funeral industry stuff in the age of tech. The problem I had with this was the problem I've had with all post EP films: the pacing and themes. The pacing is wonky and the themes are all over the place; they are definitely in your face but they don't unfold well. I'm disappointed but not surprised.

Eddington: I'm going to need Ari Aster to go back to horror movies. Unhinged Joaquin Phoenix is just not doing it for me. While the plot was tighter than Beau Is Afraid, I found it lacking the style. Also I think the premise just really isn't the kind of thing I want to see right now given the state of the world. It just annoyed me without saying anything new.

Friendship: I still don't really know what this was. Tim Robinson hits for me sometimes, for sure, but I don't even understand what this movie was trying to do after the first half, which I liked. I can only ask, what was that?

Didn't Like:

War Of The Worlds: A perfect Bad Movie Night watch. 

Unfinished:

One Battle After Another: I got a half hour in before deciding I really don't need or want to see another film about America as a war zone when it literally is. Especially when it's over 2.5 hours. I don't even like Paul Thomas Anderson really.