criticarter

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (29/???)

Paddington in Peru (2025) Dougal Wilson – (4/5)

Can we get rid of Wonka so Paul King and Sally Hawkins can come back and fix this? Thankfully, the heart of the film (joy of found family) is still there, and Whishaw is engaging as always in the titular role, but so much of what made the first two top-tier all-ages entertainment is gone.

These guys were nowhere to be found, presumably because there's no fish-out-of-water element anymore.

Tons of great cameos from famous Brits as always, but they decided to make Hayley Atwell an American, because...reasons?

The antagonist is kind of a mashup of Kidman's and Grant's characters from the prior two, which comes across as a bit lazy, but (especially for a first-time feature filmmaker) a lot of impressive stuff still manages to happen in spite of its flaws.

(Sorry I couldn't find a US poster with the correct February release date.)

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (28/???)

McVeigh (2025) Mike Ott – (1/5)

85 minutes of dragging lead-up to The Event that would make you think the co-writer/director sympathizes with a horrible historical figure (with Nichols seemingly dragged along against his will despite his need to care for a pregnant child bride) and then a whirlwind of news footage of Ruby Ridge, Waco, and Oklahoma City slammed together before the credits roll. If you can tell me why it exists, you're a better person than I am.

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (27/???)

Captain America: Brave New World (2025) Julius Onah – (3/5)

If you have an MCU movie clocking in under two hours, it may be a sign there's too much editing going on. Also, you can't have a big third act reveal shown in the TRAILERS. If you care so little about your art, find a distractingly small person to both play an ex-Black Widow and the frailest president imaginable.

Wait, all that happened AND Giancarlo Esposito got hired to play another stock villain role (with bad Spanish) he's been eating out on since 2009? Hope these characters somehow end up beloved like Steve did somehow. Otherwise, Doomsday won't have quite the impact that Infinity War did.

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (26/???)

Memoir of a Snail (2024) Adam Elliot – (5/5)

This is a beautiful film about overcoming trauma that deserves to with the Oscar this year, if only to prove the importance of making adult-targeted animation that exists in a difference plane than Seth MacFarlane and his gratuitous ilk.

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (25/???)

Erin Brockovich (2000) Steven Soderbergh – (4/5)

Bits haven't aged well in the past quarter century (plus a few more years since it all took place), and Eckhart's biker character is plot-superfluous (especially since his real life equivalent was Jorge, not George) and more than a bit laughable with the clean-cut image he's subsequently cultivated, but about halfway through, I was convinced that Roberts deserved her win (as did the film for its other nominations in the four big categories). Also, great cameo by the real Brockovich early on playing a server named Julia!

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (24/???)

Inside Out 2 (2024) Kelsey Mann – (4.5/5)

It's essentially an expanded version of the original, but that's just how good the original was. Four new cost members make things a bit crowded (only Maya Hawke as Anxiety gets substantial dialogue, and Paul Walter Hauser only ends up with a single line), and I was a bit disappointed to learn that in this case, Kelsey's a man's name; remarkable anyone who wasn't with Pixar from day one gets to make a debut feature film with them. Considering the subsequent box office, here's hoping any future Pixar sequels bring back the full cast with proper raises.

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (23/???)

Wallace and Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl (2024) Merlin Crossingham & Nick Park – (3.5/5)

After 35 years, Park et al are still out here doing the thing (and after the last feature won the Oscar on top of three animated short wins and two short nominations), it's hard to argue that the effort is worthwhile. You'll completely forget after 10 minutes that Wallace has a new voice actor, and it was nice to see a little ACAB snuck through the censors somehow. It's also got the second-least dialogue of the nominees this year after Flow, thanks to Gromit and Feathers McGraw.

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (22/???)

Flow (2024) Gints Zilbalodis – (4/5)

Telling a story with no dialogue while still having "characters" that have personalities is a tremendous battle, and Zilbalodis and the co-writers pulled it off in spades. Things kind of go off the rails in the third act; I honestly couldn't tell you everything that happens despite giving this 100% of my focus (no human noises means the phone goes away). I also made two attempts to watch this late at night and failed, so I'm recommending Max (if you have it) on the largest screen possible if you give this one a shot between now and March 2nd.

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (21/???)

Heretic (2024) Scott Beck & Bryan Woods – (4.5/5)

THIS is the horror film of last year that needs to be up for all the awards. Solid script grounded by Grant (though East and Thatcher hold their own when the time comes) which ultimately manages to be significantly better than it was marketed. A few moments here and there that stretch suspension of disbelief, but would have easily made my top 10 had I seen it in time.

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (20/???)

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024) Jeff Fowler – (2.5/5)

Three men collaborated on a screenplay that ultimately has no real sense of stakes and no real answers about why we brought back and doubled down on the worst part of the franchise. Can we just let it die and develop some original IP to satiate these actors?

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (19/???)

The Apprentice (2024) Ali Abbasi – (4/5)

Stan and Strong are great, but the film lacks subtlety and includes some attempts at humanity that feel terribly out of place given the tone and aesthetic of every other moment.

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (18/???)

Babygirl (2024) Halina Reijn – (2.5/5)

Talk to your romantic partner about...things. Also, I have a hard time suspending my disbelief that Kidman would ever want to do these things, particular with a stranger young enough to be her son. Maybe one day we'll get a genderswapped Secretary, but this one falls a little short.

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (17/???)

Snack Shack (2024) Adam Rehmeier – (4/5)

I totally get why this is up Kevin Smith's alley: youths causing a ton of trouble in '90s smalltown America. Despite the Ram Bergman seal of approval and Gabriel Labelle continuing to give 110% onscreen (even when he's half of the oldest-looking 14 year olds ever), the film isn't without its flaws:

classic misconceptions cleared up by one conversation

big third act moment that'll blindside you, tonally and otherwise

cigarettes and booze aplenty appearing without explanation

the occasional anachronism (though not even the biggest budgets manage to get those 100% right)

If you want a "summer vibes" movie, you could definitely do worse than this, particularly for those on the young side of Generation X.

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (16/???)

Thelma (2024) Josh Margolin – (4.5/5)

June Squibb has 100 IMDb credits going back to 1985 and it took all this time before she nailed a lead role at age 94. She absolutely nails it; never thought elderly Mission: Impossible could be this good. It's phenomenal for a debut feature film (the cast alone is surprisingly well-known), but not even the late Roundtree manages to overshadow her. What spirit!

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (15/???)

A Different Man (2024) Aaron Schimberg – (5/5)

I honestly don't want to say much about this beyond encouraging people to go in blindly, but Schimberg has done something wonderful on so many fronts here. Stan is a great lead (but I'm glad he's being recognized for The Apprentice instead) and Pearson gets treated like Just A Guy, which I'm not sure I've ever seen in media. Go back and hit up Under the Skin and Chained for Life after seeing this one if you haven't already; Pearson deserves his flowers, so I'm hoping this page changes a bit.

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (14/???)

Nosferatu (2024) Robert Eggers – (3.5/5)

Skarsgard's vocal performance, Dafoe in general, and the selective use of grayscale work tremendously well in this film. Attempting to supplant the universal look of Orlok for the past century in the name of Eastern European nobility accuracy, Brits (and an American) pretending like we all think they're German, and an extra 30-40 minutes compared to the three (at least) other adaptations under this name are big points off.

[criticarter]

Films Watched in 2025 - (13/???)

In the Summers (2024) Alessandra Lacorazza – (3/5)

Bigger on tone than it is plot, this debut feature centers on four summers (over several years and three sets of actors) of visitation a father has with his two children following a court-involved divorce. It hits just about all the places you'd expect it to, though he manages to not be completely terrible near the end in the one way you might most expect him to, so at least there's that.

Batgirl and Supergirl are both in this, if that gives you any idea what happens to a career when a mishandled tentpole doesn't launch you to the A-list as intended.