Movies I saw in 2025

This edition of my yearly list marks the first time I’ve moved my movie reviews onto a Substack. For those new to my reviews, I’ve been doing this every year since 1993 and eventually I’ll see if I can’t move all my movie lists from the last 32 years over here to Substack. That way readers will have full access to my many years of compiling movie lists - for reference or streaming ideas. Or just to get a sense of my rather individualized taste in movies :-)

Update: All 33 years worth of my movie reviews are now available here on substack!

A brief history: Back in 1993 I started compiling a numerical ranking of the best (and worst) films I saw in that year. Somewhere along the line, I began writing short reviews of each movie I saw within a few days of seeing it. I keep all the reviews until the end of the year, and then rank and rate with 1 - 4 stars.

In addition to movies released in the year the list gets published, I also list movies from the previous year. Often, the most notable films of a given year are released in December in select markets, and don’t see the light of day for the rest of us until the following year. So, in addition to 2025 films, you’ll see all the 2024 releases I saw during this year. I was traveling in Egypt, Spain and France for much of November and December, so many year-end 2025 movies won’t show up here until next year’s list.

Occasionally I catch a movie from further back in time — one I haven’t had a chance to see yet, but finally got around to seeing. I rarely list a movie I am seeing for a second time, only ‘new to me’ movies — but occasionally I make an exception, in the case where I haven’t seen the movie for quite a long time so its almost ‘new’ to me when I see it now. That said:

Not many movies have called out to me as ‘have to see’ this year but I nonetheless stream things of interest when they appear on one of the streaming services. Every so often, for ‘big’ films that cry out for a big screen, I occasionally go out to a movie theatre. Since moving to Portland in the last year, I haven’t developed a regular theatre-going habit. I think many of us have lost that in the post-covid / streaming world we now live in.

So are movies as good as ever? According to publications like the New Yorker and New York Times this was a ‘great’ year for films. However their list of best films has many films I’ve A) Never heard of, and B) will never show at local cinemas, or even streaming services. I guess it’s a great year for movies if you live in New York City and have access to every art-house film that plays. For those of us who mostly visit the multiplex or Netflix, the pickings are much thinner. Nonetheless, I did manage to see 48 films of one sort of another this year, somewhat less than my norm but more typical of these days. In any case here’s my thoughts about those films I saw during 2025.

2025 Movies (20)

*** ½ One Battle After Another - This was a tough movie to get a handle on coming in cold with no way of knowing what it was about. It’s only after seeing it, and some reflection, that I am able to grasp the scope of this epic, genre-defying film. I guess I should expect no less from Paul Thomas Anderson, who is back in mouth-dropping form that harkens back to his days with terrific films like Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and There Will Be Blood. This is that rare film that is probably best appreciated on a second viewing. I may choose to watch this one again now that it’s streaming. (But as I say, I rarely see a movie twice, preferring to see something I haven’t already seen).

This lengthy film is an electrifying overload of action thriller set in a not completely unfamiliar world where people of color are held in concentration-camp like detention centers, and rebel forces fight the powers that be that are part of a white-supremacy movement. But it’s also a meditation on the disparate pulls of revolutionary justice versus parenting. And did I mention it’s a snarky comedy as well? It’s a lot of characters to keep track of and it positions revolution and violence hand in hand with sexual thrill. Leonardo Di Caprio is at the center of the film as a rebel turned parent turned stoner who is drawn back into the fight out of desperation.

I Was lucky enough to see this one in 70mm, where the sheer scope of the movie is at times overwhelming. I personally found Jonny Greenwood’s extremely edgy score almost a character in the film, though I found it often drowned out the dialog making it difficult in the first Act to know what the heck was going on. Sean Penn is almost unrecognizable as the ruthless Col. Lockjaw, but does the remarkable job of avoiding caricature in this role of a relentless officer in charge of stopping the rebels and hunting down his adversaries.

There’s a number of exciting set pieces, not least of which is a 3-car chase in the roller-coaster-like roads in the desert, and its never clear where all the action is going to end. Overall it’s a comically hellish look into a future that feels like it’s nearly here.

*** ½ - Bugonia - Emma Stone continues her collaboration as lead actress and muse for Yorgos Lanthimo, a filmmaker whose work always challenges the intellect and one’s emotions. This one is more straightforward than most of his work - an arresting thriller in which two deranged conspiracy theorists kidnap a powerful female CEO. believing her to be an alien intent on destroying the earth. Emma Stone is solid, strong and intelligent as she brings her corporate leadership and negotiating skills to bear while trying to reason with her deranged captors. The standout performance here though is a wired, manic Jesse Plemons in his most intense performance to date. The screenplay is terrific and the soundtrack foreboding and startling, the filmmaking intense. Totally gripping in the cat and mouse interplay between captive and captor.

*** F1 - Ok… read no further if you don’t want spoilers, but….

Unconventional, arrogant, risk-taking, yet charming driver played by Brad Pitt? Check. Rival much younger team mate - also arrogant and threatened? Check. Team owner willing to hire Brad Pitt to hopefully save his team’s season despite everyone’s skepticism. Check. Corporate interests trying to sabotage team for their own gain? Check. Attractive female team lead designer who would never ever get involved with one of her drivers but does in fact wind up sleeping with him. Check. Check. Despite impossible odds, Brad Pitt wins the race. (Well, I won’t spoil it for you, but uh, check). There’s a reason the film’s title is Formula 1. There does seem to be a formula at work in the screenplay here.

OK, that aside, Pitt is indeed charming, you can’t hope for rooting that it will all work out and the evil corporate guy will be foiled (and yes, check again). But the racing sequences are very exciting — It’s big screen video game stuff with a pounding rock / synth soundtrack (heck - it even starts with Led Zeppelin,) and it’s simply impossible not to be drawn into the excitement and the thrills of Grand Prix racing writ large. Good popcorn munching stuff!

*** Sinners - Ryan Coogler swings for the fences but ends up with a ground ball double in this ambitious, yet somewhat disconnected genre mashup of racial inequity and vampire horror. The first hour or so establishes the arrival of twin brothers Smoke and Stack who arrive flush with money from their Chicago work with Al Capone with the intent of setting up the ultimate juke joint in their home town in the Jim Crow south. They round up local talent to staff their joint, including a cousin who is an authentic blues man in the manner of Robert Johnson (who as we know, sold his soul to the devil to learn the blues). His blues seems to attract the attention of some Irish folk musicians who covet his songs, and turn out to be vampires. In the second half of the film, we get gore, action, dread and violence that is akin to George Romero and Dawn of the Dead. The action stuff is shot with kinetic energy and blood aplenty - its no holds bar horror stuff and brings much needed energy to a film that had been proceeding quietly (and sometimes tenderly).

Ultimately its hard to know whether the film is about these brothers, or their bluesman cousin, or the fact that the devil and violence is the only way blacks in the South can survive the racism of bigoted whites, but it doesn’t quite tie together as tightly as I expect was intended. The fact that the movie has 2 or 3 endings reinforces the fact it doesn’t quite know what it about. Nonetheless, for horror fans, the second half certainly delivers, and its synthesis of race issues to western gothic is a fresh mix.

*** 28 Years Later - Director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland team up again for a sequel to their zombie movie “28 Days Later”, with a fresh new story of life in England 28 years after the rage virus infected people and turned them into flesh-eating zombies. England is now cut off from the rest of the world to prevent the spread of virus. The fast-zombies have further evolved into Alpha Zombies that are somewhat intelligent, super strong, and even more resistant to death. It’s also a coming of age tale of a boy who seeks to find a cure for his sick mother even though it means venturing out in search of the last remaining doctor. It’s dark and sickenly bleak, but sustains a steady tone of fear and dread. The ending is a bit of a let-down (in that it opens the door for yet another sequel) but perhaps it’s just to say that life goes on. The focus here is less on horror and more on the family life in this grim landscape. More of a zombie art film than a horror film, but effective in that regard. It’s nice to see some ambition in this genre, and this has high production values and a sure hand in its direction.

***Ballerina - an extension of the John Wicks franchise, set in the same world but focused on a young girl who becomes a professional assassin. Like its Wick forebears, this contains some great action choreography and kick-ass fighting. Keanu Reeves does make an appearance as John Wick, but the story revolves around Ana De Armas as Eve, as she seeks revenge (what else?) The overall mythology of Wick-World is getting tired - but director Len Wiseman still delivers great action sequences that make this an enjoyable thriller.

***Nobody 2 - This sequel to the unlikely action pic “Nobody,” once again stars Bob Odenkirk as an unlikely action hero able to take on hordes of bad ass villains with his brother and father, and now, even his wife and family. Set largely at an amusement park / water park that strangely is the headquarters for a monstrous crime cartel (seems likely doesn’t it?), it plays a bit as a high-voltage action version of National Lampoon’s vacation. Yes, armed thugs are crawling everywhere over this old-timey vacation paradise. Sharon Stone chews a lot of scenery as a psychotic, ruthless crime lord and bullets and explosions fly. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, but ignore credibility and enjoy the carnage of the slow-building volcano of action.

*** Superman - The D.C. Universe may be saved now that James Gunn is leading them and injecting a sense of fun into the otherwise broody world that DC had become. This Superman movie is the best in a long time that isn’t 100% reverential and super-serious. The screenplay cleverly plays on contemporary issues, like fears of ‘aliens’, and has a Lex Luther who actually embodies the sort of evil we see in the world today. The addition of Krypto the Superdog is fun and the appearance of other DC characters are used wisely and bring variety to the story (though the strange reinvention of Green Lantern as a self-important wise-guy is strange). Hadn’t expected to see Metamorpho (is that what he is called?) an old DC character who hasn’t been in any movies up to now (as far as I know). There’s enough challenges for Superman to battle and it’s good to see him fighting through a lot of problems and getting to the triumph in the end. There’s also some nice callbacks to traditional Superman movie stuff (the flying hug/kiss with Lois Lane, and occasional use of the original music theme). All in all, it’s still just a Superman movie, but perhaps the first since the original that felt like a good movie overall.

***Fantastic Four - First Steps: Not exactly Fantastic but at least stylish. Set in an alternate earth, the production team and director has the opportunity to give this reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise a kind of retro, 60s futuristic cool which at least gives this latest Marvel movie some panache. The screenplay downplays the action and focuses on the family aspect of Marvel’s most famous foursome. For a planet facing calamity (in the wake of Galactus planning to devour the earth), the populace reacts pretty calmly, and the city is quickly cleared of most of its population when the gigantic Galactus comes stomping across the city in search of Reed and Sue Storm’s infant. Nice special effects here and a grand sense of scale. As for the superpowers of the foursome, Sue Storm aka the invisible girl (woman) seems the most powerful, and Mr. Fantastic Reed Richard’s barely uses his stretching powers at all. Ebon Moss Bachrach (of TV’s “”The Bear”) does a nice job voicing the CGI Thing, and Pedro Pascal exhibits nice gravitas as brainy Reed Richards. My main misgiving about the movie was a general over-seriousness and a lack of fun and wit that characterizes the best super hero movies. But this is a far better shot at the difficult property than the prior misfires.

** 1/2 Mission Impossible - the Final Reckoning - Given how much I enjoyed the last two Impossible Missions, I was somewhat disappointed with this overplotted, flashback-heavy, Mission Implausible. The stakes were just jacked up too high, the trillion to one odds necessary to succeed stretched any sense of human scale out of proportion, and way too much complicated plot. Wasn’t even sure who half the people in the film were. Multiple bad guys? The first hour was way too talky as they tried to tied all the films in the franchise together. Honestly, who cares, other than the script writers? But ultimately the final act gave us a corker of a stunt laden action sequence which after all is why we came to see if Tom Cruise could still do it (with the help of thousands of CGI artists, of course). Still not clear how so many characters who seem to have died somehow survived (didn’t Benji die in the tunnel? Guess not!). Didn’t we last see Tom Cruise (who was told there was only one parachute and the bad guy had it), nonetheless open a parachute which then caught fire sending him hurtling to earth — and yet (sorry folks, spoilers here), he is on the ground with an unburnt parachute. This movie moved from secret agent stuff to almost a Marvel movie in terms of the invulnerability of its heroes. OK, Luther died. (Not Superman’s Luther, but Impossible Mission Luther). Or did he? We never saw him blow up — and then three other people survived a blast even though we were told they had only ten seconds to get to the door - seemingly impossible - and we didn’t see them run — but there they all were — alive! Impossible! Anyway, a bit a let down for me compared to the previous films — but still worth a good summer popcorn munch.

** ½ Thunderbolts* — The asterisks here refers to the secondary title (or was it the retitle) as The New Avengers. Essentially what’s happened here is that having destroyed most of the original Avengers (and the A-level actors who were playing them), Marvel is building new teams of super-heroes who can all team up in an upcoming 2026 Avengers film. I expect in 2026 we’ll see Sam Wilson’s Avengers (he, Captain America’s replacement), and this team, with the Black Widow’s sister (Florence Pugh) and another Captain America, John Walker, at odds over who is and isn’t the Avengers… and even the Fantastic Four’s arrival is foreshadowed in one of the film’s post-credit scenes.

So what do we have here? An OK, not great, superhero team romp with lesser known actors playing lesser known Marvel superheroes. Julia Louise Dreyfus is the evil one here, and a character named “Bob” is the wild card who may be a new most-powerful of all character named Sentry, and/or his evil twin Void. Yeah, its all a bit much with all this MCU world-building, but we get some decent fight scenes, better than usual acting for superhero fare from Florence Pugh, and overall a slightly better effort than than many of the recent marvel films, though its nowhere on a par with the original films in phases I of the Marvel Universe. Personally, it’s gonna take a lot to make these marvel and DC movies feel fresh and exciting again.

** ½ Becoming Led Zeppelin - Documentary chronicling the phenomena of Led Zeppelin. A very white-washed account of the bands history, totally side-stepping their legendary horrific behavior and ego, but featuring wonderful performance footage. The band members tell their story, and remember it fondly. Certainly not the full story of the band, but its great to see the concert footage.

** ½ Mickey 17 - Director Bong Joon Ho follows up his Oscar-winning ‘Parasite’ with this satirical sci-fi flick that begins with an interesting premise: Robert Pattinson plays a dorkish unskilled worker who volunteers as an ‘expendable’ to go aboard and space mission to colonize a new planet. As an expendable, he is selected as a human guinea pig who will die frequently, each time replaced by a clone of his former body and mind (though oddly, not his personality). Mickey 17 is the 17th iteration of his life, and is saved from yet another death by a race of alien furballs with giant teeth. Things get complicated when he’s assumed dead and Mickey 18 is created, violating an ethical rule that there shouldn’t be multiples of one person.

Mark Ruffallo plays an over the top egotistical bad guy, who is probably meant to be reflective of a well known narcisistic politician, who wants their new world to be populated only by ‘smart’ white people like himself. While the sci-fi premise is fun, the social satire falls a bit flat. The various elements of the movie just never cohere into a satisfying whole. Sometimes its even a bit embarrassing how silly it all gets including a ménage a trois with a love interest, massive piles of furball aliens, and silly way-too-broad performances by Ruffallo and Toni Colette who plays his vain lady Macbeth-like wife. Overall, just a bit too uneven to be satisfying.

**½ - The Accountant 2 - Didn’t see the first one, but stumbled on this one on a plane. Ben Affleck seems a strange choice to pay a sort of autistic action hero, and I suspect this all would make more sense if I’d seen the original. Almost no time is devoted to telling us who this guy is and who he works for, the assumption being you already knew this. Anyway, a passable thriller, though the good guys here seem awfully capable at taking care of business.

** ½ Mountainhead - Jesse Armstrong, who brought us the terrific show, Succession, treds some of the same waters with this much broader satire of 4 reprehensible Silicon Valley moguls who get together at a stunning retreat in the mountains. It’s lots of high-minded, intellectual talk, with seething resentment and competitiveness, and their casual disregard for the world they are ruining with their misinformation AI and social media is taken to broad extremes. The acting here is very good, but its largely one note broad satire that gets stretched a bit thin by the end. In fact, there was hardly an ending at all, but rather, things just wound down and ended. It did offer a few laughs and smiles, but the satire was awfully broad.

** ½ - The Naked Gun - Liam Neeson’s gravelly gravitas doesn’t quite have the dumb-faced appeal of Leslie Nielsen in the originals of the series - but they try here to pick up the silly tone of those original movies, and its kind of refreshing in its anything-for-a-laugh scattershot parody. If you like dumb, there is plenty to enjoy here. But I still prefer the originals.

** ½ - Spinal Tap 2 - The End Continues - only the continuing affection for the original Tap movie provides any real enjoyment in this weak retread. Much like rock bands that are shadows of themselves as they take those final tours, the jokes here are diminishing returns, and even many of the songs are reprises of the clever originals like Big Bottom. Still, you can enjoy seeing this game troupe of players trot their characters out one last time. A strangely sad epilogue in wake of the tragic murder of Rob Reiner.

** ½ - A Quiet Place - Day One — A new beginning for the franchise about the killer aliens who find their victims whenever they make a sound. It takes place in New York City on the day when the aliens first arrive, giving it a different palette than the original and its sequel which focused on one family struggling to survive. Lupita Nyong’o brings a quiet humanity as a woman with terminal cancer trapped in the midst of an alien invasion. Lots of alien stalking and bug-creatures aplenty — but personally I found the central premise a bit hard to swallow — somehow all the people in Manhattan are to escape by a few boats in the city, and in scant hours the island is mostly deserted. Sam, who knows she is going to die anyway, mainly wants to survive so she can get to Harlem and get pizza. She also has a cat that manages to survive all the chaos. The movie works well enough as a creepy scare-fest with its jolt scares and suspense - but strains credibility as well.

*½ Captain America: Brave New World - a rather ho-hum entry in the Marvel Universe. The new Captain America (the former Falcon played by Anthony Mackie)) doesn’t have the same All American vibe as Chris Evans in the original. The character just doesn’t feel the same. And a ‘flying’ Captain America just doesn’t feel right. The second string of Marvel Universe movies lacks the verve of the original films. The screenplay is somewhat convoluted and routine. Found it hard to get involved in this storyline. And Harrison Ford seems miscast here. And his sidekick, redwing (now the new falcon) is totally lacking in charisma or interest.

* The Pickup - A dismal script for an action comedy that is weak on action and delivers little or no comedy. the unlikely pairing of Pete Davidson and Eddie Murphy was, I suspect, meant to bring SNL nostalgia and laughs - but Murphy, in particular, seems to be sleepwalking through this. Pete Davidson mugs continuously and isn’t the least bit funny either. Was this really released? (I saw it on a plane).

2024 Movies (19)

*** ½ Juror #2 - A courtroom legal thriller of the sort one doesn’t see made for theatrical release anymore. Clint Eastwood’s lean direction keeps things moving in an interesting variation on the themes of the American Justice system, ethics, and conscience. While moments do strain credibility, overall it presents personal, moral dilemmas that force you to ask “what would I do in that situation?” The sharp screenplay doesn’t choose sides and leaves each viewer to decide what they think will happen and/or should happen.

*** Anora - An original and often times arresting drama with comic elements. Focused a hectic couple of weeks in the life of a sex worker / stripper who winds up with a surprise offer of marriage by the son of a Russian oligarch. The first hour is a whirlwind of clubbing, music, drugs and sex, and the second hour transitions into a comic sort of mob movie as the Russians seek to get the marriage annulled. Mikey Madison gives a fierce, brave performance with no holds barred. The movie goes to unexpected places while avoiding the cliches of the various genres it delves into (it has roots in “Pretty Woman” and Scorsese’s “After Hours” among other previous films). It’s ambiguous ending leaves one thinking about the film long after the credits end. A surprising Oscar win.

*** The Brutalist - One has to admire the ambition of this epic film. It harkens back to the roadshow movies of the past, that were an entire evening out. The movie is complete with an overture, a built in intermission, and innovative and startling cinematography. The script, which documents the life of an immigrant architect, is so filled with odd twists and turns that while watching I assumed this was the story of an actual person. It turns out to be entirely fictionalized, which speaks to the veracity of the script, also co-written by the director. Adrian Brody does some of the best acting in his career, rich in emotion and fervor. The second act of the film feels somewhat rushed, with various plot points seemingly missing. I guess the director ultimately felt he couldn’t go much further than the already 3 hours, 35 minutes without turning his film into a mini-series. Its art versus commerce and immigrant versus prejudice themes make the movie more than interesting enough to support its lengthy run time. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore. Except when they do, as in this case.

*** A Real Pain - A subtle and poignant road trip brings two cousins, once as close as brothers, together and yet apart, as they visit their heritage by taking a Jewish heritage tour in Poland. Jesse Eisenberg wrote and directed the film, which is taut and polished, avoiding maudlin sentiment while showing the impact the holocaust had on these two later-generation non-practicing Jews, and the attraction / discomfort of their mismatched energies and lives. Kieran Kulkin does a terrific job with the complex character — both the life of the party and a constant challenge. His glib friendliness and energy coexisting with a soul abandoned of any purpose. It’s poignant and understated, comic without ever being patronizing, and subtly unsettling.

*** The Substance - Outrageous body horror in the manner of David Cronenberg but with a Hollywood value system as its thematic core. Demi Moore plays a once prominent starlet whose fame is fading, despite her Jane Fonda-like exercise television show. When her lecherous producer Harvey (no subtlety here in the naming conventions), played extremely broadly by an unrecognizable Dennis Quaid, fires her on her 50th birthday with a desire to replace her with some sexy young newcomer, she hears of a mysterious procedure involved ‘the substance’ that will split her into two selves, giving birth to a younger, better, vibrant version of herself named Sue. The Substance comes with a lot of rules to manage the two versions of herself, and Sue, enjoying her newfound currency as an emerging, sexy, star, begins breaking the rules leading to horrific consequences.

The movie is wildly over the top, with gore aplenty, tons of nudity, and buckets and buckets of blood, recalling crazed horror-fests like Videodrome and Renaimator, with a touch of Carrie thrown in for good measure. The satirical tone of the film makes the excess feel comic rather than horrific, which I imagine was the director’s intent. The movie doesn’t quite know when to end, and goes on and on a bit with wild visual effects, but ultimately ends with a symbol of Hollywood and its commentary on the limited value we place on past-their-prime starlets who ultimately lose their sparkle. Casting Moore in the lead role brings the message home with a vengeance, and her oscar nomination is as much for her being game enough to appear in this, along with her spirited performance.

*** A Better Man - A musical biopic of the life of British pop-star Robbie Williams (not very well known in the U.S… but a big star in the U.K.) — first as part of a boy band “take that” - and later as a controversial solo artist). In many ways, a standard musician bio-pic (working class childhood, low self esteem, drugs, etc), but in this movie Robbie is played by a chimpanzee! (Digital). A very strange and daring choice, that works far better than it sounds on paper. The effects work is very good, with an amazing amount of emotion expressed through the chimp (which ages, etc as the story goes on). The dance sequences are quite stunning as well, with a lot of interesting choices in psychological sequences reflecting Robbie/Chimp’s self-image and fears. Surprisingly effective.

*** A complete unknown — Musician/Artist bio-pics are a murky path to tred. They are mostly reverential, cradle to grave stories with or without flashbacks, packed with compressed ‘greatest hits’ moments. I was sadly disappointed with Bohemian Rhapsody and Rocketman, despite loving the music. So, I mean it as high praise when I say I rather enjoyed the Dylan biopic, A complete Unknown, if mainly because it avoided a lot of the lionizing traps other movies of this sort wade in. It’s more generous with the music (often playing more than montage clips of songs), and the fact that the actors are actually performing them (rather than lip-synching and miming the instruments), lends an authenticity that is engaging. Timothee Chalamet captures the sulk and self-absorption of Dylan and the inward gaze of his music (though he sings a bit better than Dylan in my opinion), but I was particularly struck by how well Edward Norton captured the stage presence of Pete Seeger, and how beautifully Monica Barbaro captured the lilt and soprano of Joan Baez’s voice. Granted the storyline here plays somewhat loose with the facts and makes Dylan a bit more sympathetic than I suspect he was in life for those around him, but overall the drama worked well and it made a good story. It only covers 4 years of Dylan’s story, though Dylan continues to be the subject of many films so we’ve not seen the last of him on the silver screen I imagine.

***Flow - Winner of the academy award for best animated film, Flow does indeed have beautiful animation. The movement and animation of the film’s animal characters wonderfully captures the personality and behavior of the cat, dog, and other animals. In its lack of dialog, it has a sort of hypnotic, dream-like quality - portraying what appears to be some sort of apocalypse of a world overrun by water. The adventures of the animal characters is engaging, but the film also is a bit overlong and eventually becomes a bit confused as to what ultimately happens. In the end, it appears the water has receded and a whale mutation is left beached on land as the other animals look at themselves in a pond. A bit of head scratching finish to what was otherwise a beautiful meditation on survival and cooperation.

***The Wild Robot - Beautifully animated with a cute and warm story of a lost robot that becomes an accidental parent. A great family film that has rewards for all ages.

*** Emilia Perez - A fresh and contemporary theme in an interestingly constructed movie - a melodrama, nearly operatic, on the tragic challenges of a person who seeks to live as their true self, through a sex change operation. This, all told through a drug cartel criminal story line, as the title character seeks to change her life in all ways, and yet faces the consequences when it comes to being able to stay with her family who do not know of her change of identity. Interesting intermingling of spanish and english, as in this case, by a french film-maker. Enjoyable? I’m not sure. But engaging, certainly.

** ½ Furiosa - Great cinematography, and amazing vistas of wastelands and deserts - but a plot that is quite confusing to follow. Yes, the stunts are terrific and all the cool steampunk cars, trucks and motorcycles are exciting to look at - but the various warring factions were hard to keep track of, and it wasn’t always clear on whose side Furiosa was on, so it was hard to know who to root for or what was at stake. Probably best on the big screen with thundering sound (I saw it on my large screen TV). Visually stunning but lacked the grip of a good story, and at some level seemed to go just on and on. One Mad Max film too many I think

**½ - Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice - This somewhat unnecessary sequel seems just a way to extend the franchise (now that the first film is kind of a cult classic and there is even a Broadway musical). That said, its still kind of fun seeing Michael Keaton playing it way over the top, and Tim Burton’s visual style is always enjoyable. The plot? Can barely remember it and didn’t care much at the time.

** 1/2 Wallace & Gromit - Vengeance Most Fowl - I always love the detail and charm of Aardman’s W&G movies, but this one left me a little short of satisfaction. Perhaps its because nothing new was brought to this film - with the usual characters in a familiar plot line. Charming as ever, but without the freshness of something new.

** ½ Inside Out 2 - while it was always a clever concept (the inner workings of the brain of a child, with her various emotions played by different cute characters named Joy, anger, sadness, etc), this sequel doesn’t have anything new to add to the concept — other than now Riley is a teenager, has reached puberty, and new emotions are taking over control of her — anxiety, shyness, etc. As always, Pixar’s background animation is wonderful, and they are able to bring subtle emotional expression to every animated figure — but these ‘emotion’ characters, by design I guess, are very one-dimensional and its hard to get the true emotional impact the earlier Pixar movies had. Somehow the Disney-fication of Pixar has smoothed out its cutting edge that made the films touching for both children AND adults.

**1/2 Challengers - a sexually charged love triangle set in the world of professional tennis. I wish it was more interesting overall, but it has erotic energy, and the filming of tennis is imaginative in its many angles and perspectives. Some amazing camera work to capture the many tennis scenes. On the other hand, the film’s structure, with constant flashback and bouncing through various time periods in the relationship of the three characters left me a bit confused at times. I also don’t think I could believe that after spitting on someone you’d want to passionately kiss them. Yikes.

**½ Wicked (Part 1) - This movie is probably a delight if you’re a fan of the musical its based on, but less so if, like me, the musical only struck you as so-so. Here we have an amped up, bloated version of the stage musical, with just the first act represented, and clocking in at 2 hours and 40 minutes. The story line benefits from the intimacy of the screen, but overall the lackluster score only has a couple of memorable tunes (a third good tune is in the second act, which will be in the second film released, I guess, a year from now). The choreography is rather routine, and the design is ok, but nothing special. I did however enjoy the performance of Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum in secondary roles.

** ½ - My Old Ass - This movie has a clever premise — a mushroom induced visit to an 18 year old by her 39 year old self. What wisdom / advice / insight would her older self have to give her younger self. Unfortunately the premise isn’t used for much. The only advice she has for her younger self (despite repeated conversations), is ‘don’t get involved with anyone named Chad”. So now the entire movie hinges on why this girl should avoid Chat (who of course quickly turns up, and is sweet and cute as a button). We essentially then get a cute ‘falling in love’ film with a bit of mystery attached. Just not enough here to recommend the movie despite some sweet performances, but even the love story is kind of run-of-the-mill. Seems this premise could have come in much more interesting directions.

** ½ - Dune 2 - despite some terrific visual effects and great cinematography, the plot of this extra-long epic was near incomprehensible. I read the book many years ago, but following this battle between warring factions in the movie became a bit tedious. It was altogether too serious and self-important. All the sand and clannish battles was reminiscent of Furiosa (and for that matter, Shogun, the miniseries, albeit without sand), so many I’m just worn out on epic battles between warring dynasties.

** Saturday Night — this supposed recreation of the 90 minutes prior to the first airing of Saturday Night felt rather contrived. Actors are doing a general imitation of the known and lesser known personalities involved in the show, its not enough to see someone doing a John Belushi impersonation, as well as a boyish Lorne Michaels recreation, to make this interesting. And the high level of chaos and cluelessness and clowning around and melodramatic pressure cooker atmosphere feels contrived even though its playing with all the well documented facts of the writers, skits, guest stars, nonetheless feels contrived. Their is an aura of artificiality that just feels constructed to create drama. Having just watched four of the documentary specials that were created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of SNL, which were compelling and dramatic without amping up the intensity artificially — this just felt pushed and inauthentic.

Movies from Earlier Years (10)

*** ½ The Straight Story (1999) - I probably did see this 1999 film back in that year, but enough time has gone by that it seems new again. Especially worth viewing now with David Lynch no longer with us. It’s unique amongst his films in that the lynchian strangeness of most of his work is absent here — and yet his almost meditative, dreamlike touch is evident throughout. The story here, of a 73 year old with diminished physicality, who feels compelled to visit his brother who has just had a stroke, and, no longer able to drive, and requiring two canes to walk, sets forth on a riding lawnmower to traverse the state of Iowa into Wisconsin. The film is both poignant and patient, and particularly touching in its quiet portrayal of aging midwesterners. Ironic to view here at the senior living community I’m here, Richard Farnsworth plays the 73-old, and most of the folks at this viewing see him as a younger man :-). It gave me some pause and reflection, viewing it now, at 72 years old myself. (I was only 46 when it originally came out. The movie however is timeless, and extremely touching for its simple dignity.

*** ½ Passing Strange - (2009) - Spike Lee filmed the last three performances of the interestingly theatrical Broadway musical Passing Strange. It’s quite an atypical Broadway show written by a singer/songwriter/musician from Los Angeles named Stew who had formed the L.A. Indy band “The Negro Problem”. The show is an autobiographical memoir of how a young, black man strove to become a musical artist as he grappled with his black identity. Full of ironic humor and with a very crack pop score that’s instantly irresistible (at least to my ears), I would have loved to see this onstage. Luckily Spike Lee preserved it as it appeared on stage, rather than trying to readapt it in a more traditional film. He captures the energy of the performances while never losing sight of the fact that its a staged performance, and the audience is present and part of the film. I wish more shows were captured and preserved with this much care.

*** ½ Young Frankenstein - (1974). 51 years out this pitch-perfect homage to Hammer horror movies is a textbook example of how to do parody right. Lovingly recreating the look and feel of the original, Gene Wilder gives an amazing performance showing just the right style, both reverent yet hilariously overblown in its seriousness. Throw in great comic performances by Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, and an irreplaceable Clovis Leachman and you have a comedy classic. By today’s standards, the comic rape may no longer play with a young audience, but if you turn the other cheek, the joke is still there. Mel Brooks in his prime!

*** Get Shorty (1995) This movie holds up remarkably well 30 years later. A terrific cast: John Travolta when he was still cool, Dennis Farina doing what he does best (tough guy), and the always wonderful Delroy Lindo. Throw in Rene Russo, Danny Devito (somewhat oddly miscast other than being short - but hey, he was one of the producers of the movie), and what looked like a cameo from Bette Midler (?). The script is taut and the movie is both funny/ironic, and just generally a good time. Gangsters go to Hollywood. What’s not to like? Based on Elmore Leonard’s book.

***Waitress - The Musical - I never had the chance to see this successful Broadway musical on stage, so I welcomed the chance to see this filmed version of the live stage performance. I so prefer this approach to ‘adapting’ a stage musical for the screen. (Loved “Passing Strange”, was underwhelmed by the adaption of “Wicked”). Multiple cameras provide a close-up view of the on-stage action, but you can also see the staging and get a sense of the audience reaction. The musical, an unlikely success given its source material was the film “Waitress’ - a story about a women who bakes pies in a cafe in part, to escape the day to day realities of her abusive marriage. And yet, it adapted well as a musical thanks to clever staging and set design (the artistic staff was a rare all-woman team), and some charming performances. Here, Sara Bareilles who wrote the songs for the show plays the lead role. She is appealing and lovely, though I would have perhaps wanted to see the original Broadway star who made the musical such a success when it originally was produced. Granted the ending feels rushed and ignores the reality of the likely violence that will follow from her husband who she says she is leaving, but it still works as a charmer in its golden pie aura.

*** 39 Steps - (1935) — 90 years later this comic thriller still plays rather well. Amazingly, I’d never seen this before. Interesting how early Hitchcock like this has such comic overtones — or is it funny only because what used to be suspenseful now has a different feel to it. Still.. it has a clever sense of mystery to it and a few interesting set pieces, with a mysterious dame getting murdered and sending the suave leading man on the run to uncover a spy plot. The ending comes about abruptly with little denouement, but it still is fun to watch.

*** Esio Trot (2015) I was completely unaware of this little charmer of a movie (perhaps it was made for TV, possibly in England, I’m unsure), but it was an unexpected pleasure. Based on a novel by Roald Dahl, it has a wonderful cast: Dustin Hoffman, Judi Dench and James Corden being the principal players here. The screenplay by Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Four Weddings and a Funeral), cleverly finds a way to bring the books narrator voice into the story, and the less you know about this the more unexpectedly charming I think it is. A romantic fable of a sort.

*** About Time (2013) - A Richard Curtis rom-com about a young man, whose father reveals a family secret: the male members of the family can travel back in time and change their history. The hero of the film Tim, played with nerdy charm by Domnhall Gleason, uses this ‘gift’ to win a girl (a very charming and appealing Rachel McAdams), and to create a loving, idyllic life for himself. It’s a charmer, with some good laughs (an uproarious wedding scene), and ultimately becomes a touching and deeply felt film about the special bond between a son and his father. The always wonderful Bill Nighy delivers another lovely performance.

*** Waking Ned Devine (1998) - Irish films always seem to have eccentric and endearing characters, and this one, like many others, has a cast of lovely old Irish actors. Blessed with a cute plot and lovely scenery, this tale of a lottery won in a small Irish village by a man who dies from the shock of it, is compact and winning.

• Death on the Nile (2022)- These film adaptions of Agatha Christie novels featured “all star” casts have become a bloody boor. We watched this while we were traveling on the Nile and other than recognizing some of the location shooting we were bored by this badly plotted adaption that didn’t even follow the book. Kenneth Brannagh should abandon making these movies and playing a pompous version of Hercule Poirot.