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Films Watched in 2025 - (10/???)

Wicked: Part I (2024) Jon M. Chu – (2.5/5)

Cynthia Erivo carries this on her shoulders (despite coming across several years older than her co-lead); I guess the production design and costumes aren't half bad either. I've got a lot of issues that I'm sure can be sourced to Maguire and Schwartz, but there's plenty you can hold the film adaptation accountable for, like Grande's Chenoweth impression (made all the more egregious when the original actresses show up), lack of subtlety in the anti-bigotry/fascism messages, and constant reminders that it's Wizard of Oz adjacent (slippers, a rainbow, "gulch" instead of "glitch) despite all the liberties it takes. I'd also knock the Goldblum performance, but I don't think anyone has hired him to not act like himself in a long time.

Oh, and the stage musical is 2 hours and 45 minutes long, but this film (which accounts for solely act one) is 2 hours and 40 minutes (if you include the ten minutes of credits). HOW?!

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Films Watched in 2025 - (9/???)

My Old Ass (2024) Megan Park – (4.5/5)

Plaza and Stella are some phenomenal co-leads and do a great job telling a story I've genuinely never seen before; I've heard nothing but great things about Park's debut feature as well, considering the complex subject matter. Unfortunately, the penultimate scene breaks the logic of the film in such a way that I have to call it short of perfect, but definitely a must-watch from last year I wish I had seen sooner.

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Films Watched in 2025 - (8/???)

Anora (2024) Sean Baker – (3.5/5)

Eight movies deep in his career and it's hard to debate that Baker has chops. Madison does a great job leading the cast (with no significant faces, as has been the case for his era since Tangerine). Now, if someone wants to explain what that last scene was all about, I might be willing to bump it up another half point or so.

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Films Watched in 2025 - (7/???)

Seeking Mavis Beacon (2024) Jazmin Jones – (3/5)

While it meanders a bit here and there and can be visually busy at times (even putting aside the Windows XP background on a Mac OS layout), I'm not going to sit here and claim I could have made anything better at that age (or even now), particularly lacking the seemingly endless funds for certain elements of the tale.

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Films Watched in 2025 - (6/???)

The Substance (2024) Coralie Fargeat – (3/5)

I'm not a body horror person, so I can't recommend this, but I also can't recommend against it. This film clearly has Things to Say about ageism, the male gaze (every man in this acts like an utter buffoon), cosmetic procedures, etc, but my druthers wouldn't say those things in the way Fargeat and her talented crew chose. Congrats to Moore for finally winning a major award after all these years, particularly since I don't know how anyone on set for the filming of the final 20-45 minutes wasn't scarred for life as a result.

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Films Watched in 2025 - (5/???)

The Wild Robot (2024) Chris Sanders – (4/5)

Have we all already seen a beautifully animated film set on the coast where a robot that sometimes resembles a lighthouse learns to act beyond its programming in order to protect small creatures that it cares about? Welcome to 25 years ago! That said, this seems to be the best DreamWorks animated film (particularly in the post-Shrek, fart-joke/pop culture reference-laden era), and they didn't even promote the stacked voice cast beyond the lead; the two most prominent characters in the film voiced by Brits give nigh-flawless American accents, which is always a point in my book, even when there are two other Brits in the cast whose authentic voices you'd never want to waste, in-universe confusion be damned.

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Films Watched in 2025 - (4/???)

Conclave (2024) Edward Berger – (4/5)

A literal explosion is about the third most exciting thing that happens in a film about electing the pope (that also happens to be beautifully shot and filled with great performances by an overwhelmingly white and male cast).

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Films Watched in 2025 - (3/???)

Wolfs (2024) Jon Watts – (4/5)

Perfect example of a concept/script that's good enough, then you cast the movie perfectly with people that have established platonic chemistry (as well as the phenomenal supporting roles) to take it to the next level. It's a real shame that that despite the leads producing the film and taking pay cuts to ensure a theatrical release that Apple still pulled the plug so the originally planned sequel fell through.

(The bad grammar in the title is apparently a Pulp Fiction thing, just so you know.)

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Films Watched in 2025 - (2/???)

We Live in Time (2024) John Crowley – (3.5/5)

It's always great to have a post-superhero reunion with the director who gave you your feature debut, and the chemistry between Pugh and Garfield is undeniable, but the nonlinear editing gimmick of the film undercuts a great deal of possible tension as well as making certain moments just plain confusing.

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Films Watched in 2025 - (1/???)

A Real Pain (2024) Jesse Eisenberg – (4.5/5)

It's amazing that Eisenberg pulled off a feat that runs the emotional gamut for only his second feature (though he also has four plays under his belt). With some help from producer Emma Stone, he also managed to cast Kieran Culkin without seeing any of his prior film work, who will likely add an Oscar nomination to his hypothetical awards pile later this month (despite being raised Catholic).

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Films Watched in 2024 - (67/???)

Juror #2 (2024) Clint Eastwood – (2/5)

Clint Eastwood's final film features a sneak peek at Hoult's Lex Luthor voice...and that's about the high point. You could probably watch Rashomon and 12 Angry Men at the same time and more or less get the gist of what happens here, aside from a couple extra subplots and only Toni Collette making any effort to actually sound like she's from Georgia.

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Films Watched in 2024 - (66/???)

Venom: the Last Dance (2024) Kelly Marcel – (1.5/5)

I have so many questions right now. How do you get this to be your directorial debut? Why are there mid- and post-credit scenes despite this being marketed solidly as the end of a trilogy? Why was there a dance sequence? Why did we recast an actor from the first two films to play a different character whose face we never see? Spoilers ahead.

Why did we get no backstory on all those symbiotes who showed up for the finale? How come we're introducing a Big Bad who never directly interacts with the protagonist (and has no way to do so when credits roll)? Why did Venom get a goodbye song a la Paul Walker in Fast and Furious like he was played by a real person who died during the shoot?

Sony needs to give everything besides Spiderverse back to Marvel so it can be fixed in a decade or so.

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Films Watched in 2024 - (65/???)

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) Wes Ball – (3/5)

The first 30 minutes could more or less be lost with no detriment to the film as a whole, and the real plot doesn't even kick in until the hour mark. Wētā Workshop continues to impress with photorealistic apes, but taking the story away from original Caesar seems to have made it harder to connect with the new ape society, despite their falconry and fishing ability. While Serkis isn't directly in the mix anymore, I hope he stays on to train the new folks as long as they continue to milk this franchise (which based on the box office will happen based on the cliffhanger-adjacent ending).

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Films Watched in 2024 - (64/???)

Red One (2024) Jake Kasdan – (2/5)

One point each for the raw charisma that Evans brings to every project and another terrific turn as Claus by Simmons (though Klaus on Netflix is the only one I'd recommend as annual viewing). Kroll's possession scene goes too over-the-top, the film splits the difference between going full Christmas and genuine worldbuilding on a larger scale, but the biggest flaw is Johnson calling in all the favors on his latest blatant attempt to make the world love him again, with a performance that just doesn't cut the mustard.

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Films Watched in 2024 - (63/???)

Don't Move (2024) Adam Schingler & Brian Netto – (1/5)

Don't movie your Netflix-operating device anywhere near this one. It's your classic cheaply-made horror film filled with logic holes; it's a wonder Raimi and Sarandos signed off on this being a good idea. It does make sense that a woman pretending to be indigenous would end up in a project like this, though.

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Films Watched in 2024 - (62/???)

Saturday Night (2024) Jason Reitman – (4/5)

It's a little overstuffed at times trying to give arcs to cast members on top of the overall "can Lorne wrangle the rascals and pull off a show?" plot, but the frenetic pace and cinematography paired with near-ideal casting is more than enough to forgive any minor timeline shifts in the early days of the show. That poor Jim Henson...

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Films Watched in 2024 - (61/???)

I Used to Be Funny (2024) Ally Pankiw – (3.5/5)

Sennott (who I mistakenly originally thought also wrote and directed this) is an undeniable powerhouse, and Jason Jones does a great job playing against the well-established type he showed the world in 11 seasons of The Daily Show. While some Americans may take issue with justice being accomplished (to a degree) by our friends north of the border, my biggest issue was the story being told nonchronologically (to the point where two scenes give the impression our protagonist got a time machine somehow). It's okay to have the beginning at the beginning and the end at the end as long as the middle gets the job done.