Favourite Films of 2025

Amongst my favourite films of the year are some which are mentioned quite a bit in the film discourse and others which have been ignored by the mainstream. Overall I felt 2025 was a great year for film with a lot of movies I loved which didn't quite make my final 10 because there was something special about this group of movies, something about each of them that resonated powerfully for me and will stick with me over the years. Despite coming close but not quite making it, films like Black Bag, Hedda, Eephus, Urchin, Blue Moon, Bring Her Back, The Wedding Banquet, Sentimental Value, Presence, Queens of the Dead, Peter Hujar's Day, The Plague, and Dust Bunny will all be films I enjoy revisiting from time to time. Blockbusters like Superman and Predator Badlands reminded me of the fun of the popcorn movie when they are done with a love for the material and a great deal of fun. But after careful consideration it was the following 10 films which most moved me in 2025. These are the films I know I will be rewatching again and again and remembering for years to come. 

The Baltimorons

The moving story behind the movie first pulled me in, but it was the mix of charm, humour, and clumsy romance that hooked me. I am often drawn to the Duplass sensibility and that in combination with breakout star Michael Strassner's force of personality and vulnerability make The Baltimorons a new holiday tradition for me. Two mismatched strangers, who have a lot going on in their personal lives, end up spending Christmas Eve together in this beautiful, funny, and sad story about connection. This is the sort of movie where I wouldn't change a thing. It surprised me, unsettled me, and made me smile that sort of bittersweet smile that comes with balancing loss with new hope. This is my style of rom-com and holiday film. 

Companion

Sadly Companion fell completely under the radar despite its smart and bitingly entertaining critique of possession in relationships. With its Black Mirror style story that continues to take you in different directions that you'd ever expect, this is the sort of movie best experienced knowing as little as possible. A strong cast, bold direction, and a smart script pull everything together. Genre conceits can be hard to pull off but for me Companion completely stuck the landing... and all the steps along the way. I truly loved the sense of hope embedded in the film. Despite its rather cynical story, Companion finds spaces for what real love can look like, what self love can look like, and has some of my favourite final moments of any film all year. 

40 Acres

I went into this film mostly blind and boy did I love what I saw. Sometimes it feels like post-apocalyptic films can be rote, but 40 Acres went to new places. Like the best genre films, this isn't about the setting or the struggle; it is about the relationships. 40 Acres is a story about the making of family, what pulls us together and apart. It goes without saying that Deadwyler is amazing (she does not disappoint), but I was blown away by the performance of Kataem O'Connor as well. Truly the whole cast is wonderful but these two together are spectacular. Deadwyler's eyes convey so much from the depths of rage and pain to the expanse of overwhelming love. 

Hamnet

I really didn't know what to expect from this fictional film based on some aspects of William Shakespeare's personal life. Writer O'Farrell's speculation on the death of the Bard's son and the inspiration for the most famous play of the English language turns into a beautiful, cathartic story in the hands of director Zhao. Hamnet is verdant and alive for a story about death, loss, and rebirth. Buckley and Mescal are both radiant here, both talented actors who are doing some of their best work. The history is irrelevant here, this is about human pain and resilience. It is about art. I was quite emotionally moved by the brief yet mesmerizing performance of Noah Jupe, who may have given the best Hamlet performance I have seen, or at least one of the most moving. 

It Was Just an Accident

Jafar Panahi's funny and heart breaking meditation on justice, revenge, and catharsis is everything all at once. It is hilarious, terrifying, terribly sad, and surprisingly redemptive. When a survivor of a torture prison recognizes the voice of one of his former captors, he takes them hostage himself. Along with some fellow former captives, he has to decide what to do with him. It Was Just an Accident is a film about our humanity, how to respond to atrocities, and what all of that says about us. It goes to some dark places and some truly hopeful ones as well. The story behind the film, shot guerilla style with permits and defying Iranian authorities to make and release the movie, makes Accident even more compelling of an achievement. 

The Long Walk

There are a number of Stephen King adaptations that are amongst my favourite films of all time and The Long Walk is joining that list. Surprisingly it was made by a film maker who had yet to make a film I liked. Yet Lawrence's approach to tackling what is a very un-cinematic story, turned out to be revelatory. This allegory, perhaps heavy handed in the hands of other film makers, managed to feel completely honest and raw. A big part of this is the cast. Hoffman and Jonsson are both young actors I've been watching for a while now but everyone here is incredible, including Plummer, Wang, Odjick (heck all the other walkers), are just so vulnerable. An exploration of masculinity and fascism that explodes into a powerful ending that exceeds what the source material offered. The Long Walk has haunted me since I saw it and will stay with me. 

Lurker

Marketed as a thriller with queer undertones, it was neither of those things, well, not as one would predict. Lurker isn't about physical danger. It's not a Single White Female style story. It's much more fascinating and unsettling than that. Lurker is about obsession, desperation, and how connection is built in unhealthy ways. The main characters are queer coded, but again, not as you expect. The story ends up being about heterosexual male obsession. Lurker flips the scripts on how narratives use references to point audiences in certain directions and takes us to far more interesting places. Leads, Pellerin and Madekwe are both amazing playing complex and difficult characters. Difficult characters appear to be my theme in 2025 and Lurker presents some of the most complicated. 

Sinners

The most I have aligned with the film discourse is with my love of Sinners. I believe this might be Coogler's strongest work... so far. I'd argue it might be Jordan's strongest work... so far. Whether that is the case or not is irrelevant because Sinners is the sort of film that reminds us just how magical cinema is. It is a complicated piece of work that is also a wildly entertaining and gripping movie. It both pays tribute to a genre while reinventing it completely. It is both conventionally scary and very inventive in the ways it gets under your skin. An ensemble piece, there are many wonderful performances in this film. At the end of the night, the final moments of this film have a rich emotional payoff that speaks directly to why I love movies and what the art form can do so well. 

Sorry, Baby

When I sat down to see Sorry, Baby I had no idea I would be watching one of my favourite films of the year. This film is at the same time deeply funny and devastatingly sad; its final moments wrecked me. This may be the most effective and accurate film about the experience of surviving sexual assault that I have seen. I loved how writer/director/star Victor made her choices. We get to see her. We never see the assault. Her character, and that character's pain, hope, and love is the centre of this story. I can't remember this impressive debut by a film maker in a very long time and I know Victor will be one I'll be watching as I can't wait to see what she will do next. 

Usually my favourite film of the year is a film that pushed me, that I struggled with, that I couldn't stop thinking about, that makes me question so much I thought I knew. In 2025 this was certainly the case. Like my favourite films of the past few years (Everything Everywhere All at Once, All of Us Strangers, and I Saw the TV Glow) my 2025 favourite film came out of nowhere and upended all my expectations. I love getting surprised in this way by cinema and it is films like that which keep me excited about my passion for film.

Twinless

The first time I saw Twinless I was shook. I didn't know what to think about it and it wouldn't leave my mind. Writer/director/star James Sweeney made such a raw and intricate film about difficult characters going through difficult situations and it struck a nerve in me I wasn't expecting. It is an extremely watchable film despite having morally challenging protagonists and an emotionally difficult story. Sweeney has made a film like no other this year with his bold, unapologetic energy, his explicit queerness, and a willingness to go places that might be a bit frightening to face.

I want to send out my applause to the following performances which were incredible to watch. I've already mentioned some of the great performances in the films listed above (Jesse Buckley, Michael Strassner, Danielle Deadwyler, Kataem O'Connor, Théodore Pellerin, Archie Madekwe, Eva Victor, Dylan O'Brien, the entire cast of The Long Walk) but to add to this list some of my favourite in 2025 were Ben Whishaw in Peter Hujar's Day, Frank Dillaine in Urchin, Ben Foster in Sharp Corner, Ethan Hawke in Blue Moon, Everett Blunck in The Plague, Tim Key in The Ballad of Wallis Island, Renate Reinsve in Sentimental Value, Tessa Thompson in Hedda, and  the incredible Tonatiuh in Kiss of the Spider Woman. 

Of the 289 new films I saw in 2025, these were the ones that meant the most to me. I love getting to share about cinema that I adore and 2025 was a year full of great movies. Bring on 2026!

Die My Love (2025)

Die My Love is an unapologetically angry film. It doesn't start from a place of perceived normalcy and then spiral into more and more rage. One of the first shots is of a burning forest. Die My Love posits domesticity as aggression and that our protagonist is already fighting for her life. Jennifer Lawrence plays a woman whose insanity is her only way out of the oppressive world she finds herself in. She refuses to act in the way she is expected and pushes back against the normal attempts those around her make to reach out. It is that normalcy that is attacking her and she refuses to participate. It is a fascinating character portrait of someone who simply won't participate in the unspoken rules that are choking her. 

Lawrence embraces the role, giving an unflinching performance. She asks us, with her performance, to consider whether her Grace is crazy at all or if she might be the solely sane person in her world. Pattinson plays Jackson as a lost boy who doesn't know what to do. He is playing the game he was taught to play and can't understand why Grace won't. The film slowly reveals that she was never interested in following those rules so why he expected her to fall in line makes little to no sense. His breakdown is quite less dramatic, but equally as tragic. 

Director Ramsay pulls no punches, jumping right into the madness and then sustaining it. Die My Love is an indictment of our culture's expectations for relationships and families. It offers no solutions and instead leaves us a little bereft in its nihilism. Lawrence and Ramsay commit to this and it can be a hard watch at times. But its gut punch is fascinating and the nerves it exposes are raw so be ready for it. 

Die My Love

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Robert Pattinson, Sissy Spacek, LaKeith Stanfield, Nick Nolte, Gabrielle Rose

Director: Lynne Ramsay

Writers:  Enda Walsh, Alice Birch, Lynne Ramsay

Universal Monsters - Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Of all the Universal Monsters movies, the Bride is my personal favourite. From a pure enjoyment level to the sheer artistry of it, Bride of Frankenstein is a masterpiece and stands the test of time. From the opening moments where a campy Lord Byron and doting Percy Shelley goad Mary Shelley into continuing her monstrous tale to new heights, Whale's film is a remarkably enjoyable and clever movie that remains one of the best sequels ever made. 

In some ways it exists as a second half of a whole story, continuing and completing the Frankenstein story, and in others it works on its own. The framing sequence brings us into the consciousness that this is a story we are being told, a moral lesson. Then there is a quick recap of the plot that has got us here. It can be read simply as prologue, as if this film's plot is the real tale, the heart of the story. And in many ways it should be. 

Whale takes stories and implications from Shelley's novel that were left out of his first film. These remain some of my favourite aspects of the legend (eg. the creature's friendship with the blind man, the question of whether Victor should make another creature). But he also adds his own flare to the story, adding the kitschy and decidedly evil Doctor Pretorius. Even more than the first, Bride explores humanity as the real monsters. 

Despite Whale and his long term partner denying his films carried any queer perspective, Many have read that subtext into the work of a director who was quite commonly open and out at the time. Some argue Whale has taken one of the few positive relationships in the novel, the blind man who accepts the creature, and the community's reaction to that connection and crafted it as an analogy for the rejection of queer relationships. The film is also a strong example of the use of camp in cinema. Perhaps Whale was just using the tools he had to make his film or perhaps his world views were melting into Shelley's story as well. 

There is a brief hint at feminist ideas also permeating the story. From the beginning Shelley is presented as masterful over the men in her life and the end shows us how men assume the woman will fill the role designed for her. She dies because she refuses. Whether or not Whale and Hurlbut intentionally included this or it was something that made its way into the film's text through osmosis, Bride has captured a flame of feminism over the decades. 

She has also captured audiences' imagination so much she continues to reappear in art. From Roddom's 1985 film The Bride to Lanthimos' film adaptation of Poor Things, to Gyllenhaal's 2026 film The Bride! the idea of a woman being made for a man's use has been a recurring theme. Shelley's novel suggests this idea but then backs away from it. Her Victor chooses not to bring the female creature to life. It was Whale who brought it to fruition and left us with the idea of the woman made by man who refused to be used. 

I love the Universal Monster movies and Bride of Frankenstein remains my all time favourite. It is a delightfully entertaining film that holds enough ideas within its story to make the experience so rich. 

Bride of Frankenstein

Starring: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Elsa Lanchester 

Director: James Whale

Writer: William Hurlbut

Song Sung Blue (2025)

Normally these sorts of "true" movies which tells some inspiring people's stories give me a bit of the icks as they tend to soften things up in a way that doesn't feel honest. Stories that show people loving life despite how hard they have it without ever critiquing how hard the world makes it for them, make me question their motives. Still, I kept getting pulled into Song Sung Blue's narrative even when it took some seriously questionable liberties with the real events, mostly because the cast just brings such a loving energy. The film, like one of it's centrepiece songs, Sweet Caroline, may be a bit cheesy but ends up being irresistible despite our better judgment. 

I do give most of this credit to the cast who are all wonderful. Jackman is in his theatre kid element here and Anderson really gets a chance to shine. But my money is on Hudson who reminds us that yes she did earn that Oscar nomination and does light up the screen. She never feels like she is acting, even when her accent feels a little on the nose. 

Still the film is a little clunky and long in moments. I do wish it was as interested in deconstructing the reasons why the Sardinas' had to struggle so much as it is with their resiliency no matter how inspiring that resiliency is. Still it is a mostly fun ride that does give its cast some real moments to shine.

Song Sung Blue

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Michael Imperioli, Ella Anderson, Mustafa Shakir, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi, King Princess, Hudson Hensley

Writer/Director: Craig Brewer

Goodbye June (2025)

I could list all the reasons I didn't think Goodby June, the directoral debut of Kate Winslet, a film written by her son, featuring an A-list cast, and set on Christmas, was very good, but screw that. It's Christmas and this film, while a little to chicken-soup-for-the-soul for my tastes, might be a nice melancholy watch for the holidays.

Goodbye June

Starring: Toni Collette, Johnny Flynn, Andrea Riseborough, Timothy Spall, Kate Winslet, Helen Mirren

Director: Kate Winslet

Writer: Joe Anders 

Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025)

There is a moment in the third act of Fire and Ash that really summed up the experience of watching the film for me. I'm going to spoil a moment so just skip to the next paragraph if you want to go in blind. There is a moment when Jake decides that letting his human foster child, Spider, live is too dangerous. He's developed the ability to breathe on Pandora and if the Sky People can study him they can learn how to replicate that and eventually take over, threatening the Na'vi. He takes him into the forest to execute him and the whole time we know he's not going to do it. He will decide he can't sacrifice the boy and that he is part of his family too. And we know this so strongly that there are no stakes.  Cameron commits to the bit so hard he drags out the scene for far too many beats and even fakes us out with Jake striking with his knife only to pull back revealing he didn't hurt Spider. The reveal comes as no surprise because it would have been completely against character for Jake to do it, and it wouldn't have fit the overall narrative. Throughout the sequence I was... well whatever the opposite of "on the edge of my seat" was. 

And most of Fire and Ash is like that. The movie plays out like we've seen it before and know what is going to happen. Perhaps because so much of Avatar 3 is repeating plot and set pieces that have been used in parts 1 and 2. I felt there were few moments I didn't know exactly what to expect. And as the credits began the story had resolved almost just as I would have predicted. 

Cameron's story telling in this series has been quite heavy handed. He hits us over the head with the moral to his story and his plot is out of a screenwriting instruction manual. I'm not sure you can point to a character that is more than two-dimensional throughout the series, nor one that has a character arc that doesn't feel text book. Avatar has never been about depth. 

What makes these films work is the spectacle. They are beautiful films to watch and even if the plot is simple there is enough of it to keep its runtime from lagging. Fire and Ash is no exception. So generally it was a fairly good time, even if, by the end, it all felt rather forgettable. Fire and Ash did make me begin to wonder if Cameron has run out of ideas for his epic series. Or perhaps maybe Avatar was never really about ideas. Maybe it was all form and little substance. Avatar reminds us of all the potential that blockbuster cinema can do technically, but not really what it can do narratively. 

For a film whose runtime is as long as it it, it ends rather suddenly. I know the intension has been for the series to continue so perhaps they didn't feel they needed a big finale. The final moments feel more like the end of a chapter than the end of a story. However Fire and Ash does raise the spectre of a well that has run dry. Is there much more story anyone is interested in at this point? I wouldn't count Cameron out. But more than before one feels the need to ask the question. 

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Kate Winslet, Oona Chaplin, Britain Dalton, Jack Champion,Trinity Jo-li Bliss, Bailey Bass, Cliff Curtis, Edie Falco, Jemaine Clament, Brendan Cowell, Jamie Flatters, Joel David Moore, Giovanni Ribisi, CCH Pounder, David Thewlis

Director: James Cameron

Writers: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, James Cameron

One Battle After Another (2025)

I know One Battle After Another was ordained on its release as one of the best films of the century (despite us not knowing what the next 75 years will bring) and is the chosen film to win all the Oscars and other awards that will line up to be bestowed this year. It features some talented actors giving rather competent and impressive performances over its epic runtime. Finally it is written and directed by a film maker deemed by film discourse to be one of the greatest white male directors working today. 

That's all fine. I admit One Battle After Another is a well crafted film made by people who know how to make movies. Art is subjective. People who like this film are just as right to like it as anyone who doesn't. When films like this come out I am reminded about just how personal the experience of enjoying films is because while I can appreciate intellectually why someone would enjoy this film, One Battle After Another just didn't come together for me in the way it does for the film bros. 

Early into the story, it is clear Anderson in interested (as he often is) in an irreverence that is popular in this style of film making but always takes me out of these films. Anderson's humour keeps himself and his audience at a distance from his subject. I struggle with this sort of film making approach at it makes it feel like we're "tool cool" to invest ourselves in the story's emotional core. We don't have to connect fully with the issues or characters and can be detached in a way that lets us remain above it all. This sort of style, which is quite popular amongst a certain part of cinema, makes it hard for me to invest myself in these stories. The film leans heavily into the humour and for me this is like a safeguard that means the audience can sit and laugh instead of having to truly wrestle with the story's implications. 

Some of what makes it not a total disappointment for me is how some of the cast overcomes this, specifically Chase Infiniti who feels (more than the higher profile male stars of this film) to be living into her role quite authentically and honestly. For me Penn and DiCaprio are playing caricatures whose dialogue often falls into stereotypes. But Infiniti brings a grounding to the story that invited me in. Hall often gets here too. But the film keeps trying to make everything light and breezy enough that we can have fun with topics that should be far more disconcerting than the movie makes them. 

Everything about One Battle After Another's story crosses into almost parody. From the revolutionaries to the fascists, everything is a cartoon version of real life to be laughed at, not to be feared, sympathized with, or despised. Whenever the film's villains are on screen, a rather lampoonish group of white supremacists, they are treated as a joke. Instead of being menacing and evil they are almost comic relief. Even their final act of terror is played in a sort of anti-climactic manner. The revolutionaries are often presented as laughable stereotypes as well, even if they are more likeable, they remain, rather unreal. Because it's all just pretend and never feels real, even down to all the silly names every character has. Again I think this is done so a certain audience can feel comfortable watching it instead of contending with it. 

I get why some of the themes this movie is wrapping its story around would be difficult for many and might take away from the fun. But for me it also took away from the emotional resonance and the connection I had to the tale. The final emotional moments did not feel earned for me. So while I get why someone would enjoy this film and I am in no way saying it's a bad movie (whatever that means) I am just saying it didn't work for me. And that's quite disappointing as there is a story here that I would probably respond to quite favourably if it were in the hands of a different director with a different style of film making. At its heart One Battle After Another is about our choices and their consequences, and what real family actually means. Normally I'd be eating this stuff up. But here I felt little nothing.

I will add that the movie's handling of black women characters made me uncomfortable but I'll leave that discussion to people better positioned to address those concers. 

One Battle After Another will likely be showered with awards and be named on all sorts of "best" lists. But I do wonder how many of its devotees will watch it over and over returning to its story and characters repeatedly, as it rings of the kind of film that people say they love but only ever watch once. 

One Battle After Another

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti, Alana Haim, Tony Goldwyn, Jena Malone

Writer/Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Marty Supreme (2025)

Chalamet has said outright that he wants to be "one of the greats" and doesn't hide that he is working to be considered one of the greatest actors of his generation. Well he's doing a smashing job so far. His Marty Supreme, a film he produced for himself, is a tour de force that showcases all his strengths and is perhaps one of the most acting performances of the year. He's incredible, taking up the whole screen most of the time with his pure charisma and talent. Marty is a character that must be a joy for an actor to dig their teeth into and Chalamet spares no expense.

The film for me is a bit more of a mixed bag. It is wildly entertaining. There are few moments of downtime. Safdie packs his film so full there is rarely a moment to breathe. But someone it worked better for me than others. The plot goes right up to the line of the absurd... and crosses over it with abandon. It will be a matter of taste whether the over the top details of the story grab you or take you out of the film. It was more of the latter for me but I still enjoyed myself most of the time and the film, which runs a little long, doesn't really drag. 

The film wastes some talent (Dresher deserved more time) and over exposes others (O'Leary is downright terrible, especially playing opposite Chalamet doing some of his career best work) but those who do get good screentime, like A'zion, Paltrow, Ferrara, and Kawaguchi, meet the star where he's at deliver. But no one is working harder than Timmy to really score here. 

I don't want to poo poo this too much cause Marty Supreme is generally a fun time. Perhaps the fact it doesn't take itself too seriously is a good thing. I found myself wishing the film wrestled with just how much of an asshole its central character is, but it never really resolves that, redeeming him at the end without him earning it. But the choice was made to have light fun with this and that mostly works. 

At the end when Marty collapses with sheer exhaustion and triumph, it felt like Chalamet was doing that for real. He knows he's that good. He knows he just won the game. And he gave it his all, leaving it all up there on the screen. 

Marty Supreme

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Odessa A'zion, Kevin O'Leary, Tyler Okonma, Abel Ferrara, Fran Drescher, Sandra Bernhard, Isaac Mizrahi, Penn Jillette, Koto Kawaguchi, David Mamet

Director: Josh Safdie

Writers: Ronald Bronstein, Josh Safdie

Oh. What. Fun. (2025)

Oh. What. Fun. is charming even for a formulaic holiday film and it features a cast that is far more A-list than a film like this deserves. Perhaps it is the cast that raises this movie to higher heights than one would expect. There are some scenes between Pfeiffer and Jones which make you forget you're watching what otherwise might be a forgettable holiday film. And that makes its rather predictable and rote story a bit more palatable. 

A tribute to moms and all they do to make the holidays special, Oh. What. Fun. goes pretty much just as you'd expect it to. As her family gathers for the holidays Pfeiffer's character works overtime to make the holidays special and it takes her going missing for them to appreciate all she does. But what makes Oh. What. Fun. watchable is just how many great moments there are with the cast. Brooks has a fun cameo and Chen is a delight in her few moments. And Pfeiffer lights up the screen.  

So while it may be a bit trite Oh. What. Fun. passes muster by filling it with such actors who take what they are doing seriously. 

Oh. What. Fun.

Starring: Michelle Pfeiffer, Felicity Jones, Chloë Grace Moretz, Denis Leary, Dominic Sessa, Jason Schwartzman, Danielle Brooks, Eva Longoria, Joan Chen, Devery Jacobs, Havana Rose Liu, Maude Apatow

Director:  Michael Showalter

Writers: Chandler Baker, Michael Showalter

Dust Bunny (2025)

Watching Dust Bunny reminded me of the first time I saw Amelie, or The Fisher King, or A Little Princess, films that explored the context of reality through a bold visual style and a blending of the fantastic into our real world. This is a sumptuous film that never loses sight of its core, broken people finding chosen family and through that survival. I'm a sucker for these themes... and for gorgeous films. That all paired with the wonderful pairing of Mikkelsen and Sloan made Dust Bunny, for me, a truly wonderful cinematic experience. 

Aurora is a young girl who is scared of the monster under her bed. She hires an assassin to kill it. And within this quite incredible story is, at its heart, a beautiful tale of connection, of processing the trauma we've suffered. Dust Bunny affected me more than I anticipated, giving me much to reflect on while always keeping its plot moving in beautifully entertaining ways. It marries humour and sadness quite perfectly, while also telling a compelling and action packed story in unexpected ways, so that right up to the end we are on the edge of our seat with our hearts on our sleeves. 

And Dust Bunny is incredible to watch. From the well integrated special effects to beautiful costuming, art direction, and design, Dust Bunny is a feast for the eyes. Fuller immerses us in his film, rich with golds and greens and bronzes which flow over us. We see the world the way Aurora sees it (Mikkelsen even vocalizes that at one point) and this makes it all the more real while simultaneously giving it the air of a dream or a fantasy. It pulls you in like the best stories should and doesn't let you look away. 

And at its heart Dust Bunny is the story of learning to live with our monsters and saving each other from them. It is a beautifully big movie with an intimate story at its core. I came out of it feeling my heart so full and happy for having seen it, a feeling I wish I had more often at the cinema. 

 

Dust Bunny

Starring: Mads Mikkelsen, Sophie Sloan, Sheila Atim, David Dastmalchian, Sigourney Weaver, Rebecca Henderson 

Writer: Bryan Fuller

Kill Bill The Whole Bloody Affair (2025)

For me Kill Bill has always been my favourite Tarantino film. For me his films range from the very enjoyable to the extremely overrated with this being the one I enjoy time and time again without exception. I have always understood them to be one film and always watched them as such. Hearing talk of the "whole bloody affair" cut together I knew it would be the ultimate way to watch what is easily one of the 21st century's greatest films and now that I have got to see it, I was correct. 

Sure the film has different tonal shifts and narrative structures between the first and second acts. That in itself isn't a reason for it to be two films. I very much appreciate a film whose arc can evolve through its narrative and can switch its focus so the story blooms so intricately. I've often pointed to Kill Bill as an example of how to do this quite masterfully. I feel like this is where Tarantino perfected this strategy in ways he had been experimenting before and polishing after. 

Seeing the full story play out together also highlights how Uma Thurman's performance here is one for the ages. Beatrix may be one of cinema's greatest characters and her masterful portrayal of her is so complex and powerful. For a film that leans into fun and absurdity, it embraces moments of real pathos and has an emotional depth that goes beyond what one would expect.
 
I also really appreciated how much this cut emphasizes the grandeur of  O-Ren Ishii, my second favourite character in this story. Instead of being the penultimate big bad, finishing chapter one, she is a major focus of the whole narrative. I've always loved the way the movie frames her, putting her as #1 while saving her battle for the first climax. The way this cut comes together felt even more of a showcase for her and I'm here for that. 

For me Kill Bill is a shockingly prescient tale of a woman triumphing over domestic violence. Beatrix stands up to her domestic partner's abuse and provides another path for her daughter to follow. She literally breaks Bill's heart at the end of the film. There is no masculine energy bloody battle. She makes a very different choice that both obtains justice for what has been perpetrated against her but does not continue the cycle of violence. 

The film's treatment of its women characters is quite different than the men. The female combatants respect each other in ways they do not with the men surrounding them. Even before the discourse of toxic masculinity, Kill Bill wrestled with this concept, filling the screen with misogynistic characters who do not fare well. We see characters like Bill and his "father figure" Esteban for the sad little men they are. While we see the struggle Hattori Hanzō goes through to become a good man again. Kill Bill's gender discourse is ahead of its time.

Seeing the film in this cut has brought all this together even more clearly than before. The changes are subtle and unobtrusive, but they make it an even better film than it was before. This is the way to experience Kill Bill and I hope we'll get as many opportunities to watch The Whole Bloody Affair as possible. 

Kill Bill The Whole Bloody Affair

Starring: Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen, Sonny Chiba, Julie Dreyfus, Chiaki Kuriyama, Gordon Liu, Michael Parks, David Carradine, Samuel L. Jackson

Writer/Director: Quintin Tarantino

Wake Up Dead Man

Wake Up Dead Man may be the most convoluted and intricately woven of all the "Knives Out" mysteries so far, and I mean that as a compliment. Writer/director Johnson has set a formula for his twisty series of whodunits. They must be unrealistically complex, critiquing American capitalist and classist structure, featuring a dream cast, and yet all come together so flawlessly its a wonder we didn't see it all along. His Benoit Blanc is not just a Poirot clone, he has his own eccentricities and characteristics, including a lovely sense of empathy and heart which is at the centre of these stories. Wake Up takes this to a new level and praise be fans are in for another wonderful ride. 

As a mystery Wake Up will keep you guessing until the end but like with Knives and Glass Onion, that's just a part of the joy of these films. It is also the characters and the lessons we learn along the way. O'Connor takes on the centre role that de Armas and Monáe did in the previous instalments. His story is a fascinating one playing a deeply drawn character with a satisfying journey to go on. He is surrounded by another batch of great characters played by a terrific cast of actors. 

For me, while I enjoyed the puzzle aspect of the film, I enjoyed how much Craig and Johnson focus on the character of Blanc and have developed him so wonderfully. I also really enjoy the themes being explored here around faith and corruption which I can't go into without spoiling things. In someways, Blanc was introduced to us in Knives Out as a clever, eccentric, fun character there to resolve for us the complexities of the social commentary Johnson wanted to tell with his (not so) little mystery. But he has grown over the following films into a fascinating character in himself, while remaining the foil to the flawed America his stories reveal so effectively. 

Wake Up Dead Man

Starring: Daniel Craig, Josh O'Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Mila Kunis, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny, Daryl McCormack, Thomas Haden Church, Jeffrey Wright, Bridgett Everett, Noah Segan, Joseph Gordon-Levitt 

Writer/Director: Rian Johnson

The Secret Agent/O Agente Secreto (2025)

There is a wonderful mix of nostalgia and melancholy to Filho's The Secret Agent, a film that ends up being about displacement and persecution. Moura captures a sense of tragic heroism in his lead character searching both for his past and future. But there are some narrative choices that were a bit jarring for me that made it not quite come together, despite some wonderfully empathic moments exploring the journey of those pushed out and to the edges. 

Filho's film is beautiful. Filmed in lovely pastel/sepia inspired tones which give the story a sense of being from another time. He crafts his story through a number of wonderful characters, from the somewhat cartoony corrupt police to the ragtag community and their benevolent matriarch and her wonderful oddness. This gives our hero a world to live in as his story plays out that is both rich story-wise but also full of emotional depth. There are moments of real power that stuck with me. 

Still, I struggled with certain ways Filho told his story. For example it was an odd choice to fram the story through modern researchers' eyes despite the fact they wouldn't have any way of having all the information we are shown and choosing not to introduce them until midway through. Following them from the beginning or revealing it all as their work at the end might have made sense but the sudden inserting of their presence midway just felt awkward. There is a strange fascination with a leg in a shark which the film later cartoonishly turns into a joke part way through and this took me out of the story as well as made me feel there was a bit of a homophobic tone to that sidebar. There is a quite jarring switch to violence in the film that doesn't feel consistent with the tone of the rest of the film, like it was tacked on. These weren't the only odd choices made in the story telling but they all together took away from the emotional impact of the rest of the film.

So for me The Secret Agent had its strengths and weaknesses. Moura and the raw emotional core were strengths. I liked how the film presented a rather less than optimistic ending, asking us to wrestle with the way these struggles don't always end up as heroic triumphs over evil and sometimes even become forgotten. But I also wished the film had found a way to integrate its different impulses in a way that worked more consistently. Still I know I will be reflecting on certain thoughts that is left behind for its audience and that in itself makes it worth watching. 

The Secret Agent

Starring: Wagner Moura, Udo Kier

Writer/Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho

F1 (2025)

F1 stands for Formula One (as everyone knows) and it applies to this movie in more ways than one. Not only does it centre on the car racing that goes by that name but it is also one of the most formula movies I have ever seen. It's been a while since I've sat through a film that feels like it is crafted in such a paint-by-numbers, recipe-for-success mode as F1 which is clearly dedicated to being the most people pleasing, take no risks, stick to the formula film of the year. 

And it works. The film has been a huge financial success, is very watchable and, as I said pleasing. It has a nice message, a nice story, nice characters, and reaches the story arc conclusions we all want when we go to the movies. It hits all the beats: underdog story, romance between beautiful people, mentor/mentee who dislike each other at first come together for success. Shockingly things go poorly at first until through perseverance our heroes succeed. This is the plot of every sports movie and here it is executed classically. 

Kosinski knows how to make mass market movies and he's done that. He focuses on his strong cast reminding us why Pitt is a true movie star and that Idris has a great future in film. He fills his screen with big epic sets and pulse pounding racing action. It is all very well done. I get why audiences like it. 

But that's where it sort of bored me a bit. It all just felt so familiar. I was never surprised, never wondering what would happen next. I just need something more than that in a movie, even when it is a "good" movie like this. It's a beautiful, well acted, action packed film that feels like everything I've seen before. 

On paper F1 is a really good movie. I just couldn't get myself excited anywhere in it. The cinematography is amazing, the editing is truly remarkable. The performances of its stars as well as the supporting cast (Condon, Bardem, all of them) are truly top notch. It's hard to find anything wrong with the film the film. In fact it could be used as an example of a very well made movie that clearly has resonated with audiences. It's just nothing new. It's not original. And in that, for me at least, meant it's not interesting. 

F1

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Tobias Menzies, Javier Bardem, Sarah Niles, Tobias Menzies

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Writer: Ehren Kruger

Jay Kelly (2025)

Baumbach's portrait of a star attempting to make sense of his life, the conflicts of his fame and his personal life, his relationships with family and staff, is about as cliched and predictable as you might expect. Filled with stars, even in cameo roles, the film feels like it's trying to say something but it gets watered down in its milquetoast dialogue and plot. The worst part, it's boring. I never cared about what happened. 

It's not that Jay Kelly's a bad movie. Its all fine. It's just so bland and so unimpressive. The script is pedestrian. While there are funny bits and there are charming moments, most of the it just feels so standard. I was never surprised or touched by anything in it. 

It's not that the performances are bad. This is a top notch cast and none of them are slumming it. Clooney himself is quite good even if it's clear he is just playing himself. "Do you know how hard it is to be yourself?" he says at one point, in a moment that is both meta and an attempt at being profound. And that's not the only meta reference in this film. Kelly's script doesn't give any of them enough to really work with that doesn't feel heavy handed. So they are all just fine in a movie that's about the same.  

And fine is fine. It's just not that interesting. Maybe it's all more interesting to the people who are in it than to the people watching. 

Jay Kelly

Starring: George Clooney, Adam Sandler, Laura Dern, Billy Crudup, Riley Keough, Grace Edwards, Jim Broadbent, Stacey Keach, Patrick Wilson, Greta Gerwig, Josh Hamilton, Emily Mortimer, Isla Fisher, Noah Baumbach

Director: Noah Baumbach

Writers: Emily Mortimer, Noah Baumbach

Hamnet (2025)

Hamnet kept exceeding my expectations. I was a bit skeptical of a romance about Will and Agnes centred around the death of their son but was impressed with how effectively the film handled its central characters falling in love and living into their relationship over time. I wasn't sure how affected I would be by the implications of seeing the play Hamlet as a reaction to a child's death. Yet the film managed to bring these ideas together so powerfully it was impossible not to be moved by it. Finally I did't expect to have a movie about loss, devastating loss, to be this affirming in the end. Everything about Hamnet was more than I expected. 

It is no doubt Oscar winning director Zhao makes beautiful movies but I have found her previous films a bit distant and reserved. Hamnet was not that. It was incredibly beautiful. Zhao fills her movie with a verdant beauty that connects her characters to the earth and environment in tangible ways. But there was nothing cold or removed. This film digs deep into emotional places, both painful and wonderful, in surprising fashion. 

Movie romance often feels prescriptive and cartoony. I love it when a film can make me feel its characters falling in love, and being in love as that grows. Despite Hamnet not spending too much of its time on that, the love story here is very real and visceral. I could feel the attraction between the characters and not due to some sort of thirsty scenes but because of how they connect. And as their lives move forward and pull them in different directions, their love remains something palpable throughout, even when strained to the maximum. 

But is is the way the film and story (from co-writerO'Farrell whose book this is based on) weave together the tales of the death of the boy Hamnet with the crafting of the play Hamlet. The clever casting of older Jupe brother Noah as an actor playing Hamlet and the younger Jupe brother Jacobi playing the doomed child helps us see and feel what Agnes is feeling. But it is Buckley who knocks this out of the park with one of the most incredible performances of 2025. Yes there are the Oscar baitey scenes around the death itself, and the subtle ways she handles the happier parts of the story, but it is the final moments where she most truly shines. Mescal isn't a slouch either. He enacts some of the famous play's lines so wonderfully (as if from the author himself) even the legendary soliloquy itself.    

It is the film's final moments that are so revelatory and remarkable. Zhao doesn't rush it, giving us time to take in the power of Hamlet's final act and sit with Agens and her grief within it. It is the sort of scene that is both devastating and uplifting and could have easily felt so disappointingly cliched. Yet it is a remarkable cinematic moment and gives us so much as the audience to sit with. 

Hamnet

Starring: Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, Emily Watson, Joe Alwyn, Jacobi Jupe, Noah Jupe

Director: Chloé Zhao

Writers: Maggie O'Farrell, Chloé Zhao

Zootopia 2 (2025)

Normally I am not a fan of sequels to big animated blockbusters. With the rare exception (Toy Story 3) they end up being corporate recycling of the same old ideas but with little to none of the inspirational magic that made the first one so good. Sorry not sorry but churning out an other Minion movie or telling another Shrek story has produced nothing but diminishing returns. The further adventures of Anna and Ilsa or even Moana have just left me cold. I had hopes Zootopia might have the unique sort of narrative structure that could lead to further sequels that didn't feel like cheap copies. The first film is remarkably clever mixing a mystery story and wonderfully developed characters with truly brilliant social commentary. It is detective stories that lend themselves to so well to franchises (there is always another case to solve). So could this be the magic formula for Disney to have lightning strike twice?

I'll start by saying 2 is not as great a movie as 1. But despite that it is quite entertaining, very watchable, filled with new great characters while bringing back some of the previous ones, and once again it's metaphors are on point. This time we tackle gentrification (and the ways that is often tied into xenophobia) in far more sophisticated ways than a film like this should have. So more than other recent Disney sequels Zootopia 2 feels like it justifies its existence and makes for a worth follow up. 

But it doesn't improve on the concept. It's mystery plot points are a little muddled and even simpler than the previous case. The new characters aren't as integrated with the old ones (who are mostly pushed to needless cameos) in very successful ways. It establishes a Zootopia formula when compared with the first (and every franchise needs that to some degree) but doesn't build that out expansively in a way that something like Toy Story 3 did. While the pacing and bread-crumb-laying was quite masterfully done in the first film, this one feels like it's purposefully dragging out the development of its plot so that it isn't wrapped up too quickly.  

But Zootopia 2 does develop the relationship between our main characters quite effectively, picking up from their previous equilibrium to take their relationship to the next level...no not like that. Their friendship and chosen family status is deepened in a lovely, moving way. Bateman and Goodwin continue to make their characters so interesting and likeable. It's hard not to want to see them solve all sort of mysteries. 

Despite this film not reaching the heights of its predecessor, it is the first Disney animated film I've wanted more of a follow up to in a long time. The end of Zootopia 2 teases a possible new story (stick around after the credits) and I'd be down for that. Maybe third time will be the charm and this could make for a pretty satisfying trilogy. 

Zootopia 2

Starring: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Andy Samberg, David Strathairn, Idris Elba, Shakira, Patrick Warburton, Nate Torrence, Bonnie Hunt, Don Lake,, Macauley Culkin, Brenda Song, Maurice LaMarche, Leah Latham, Raymond S. Persi, Tommy Chong, Tommy Lister Jr., Danny Trejo, John Lequizamo, June Squibb, Jenny Slate, Alan Tudyk, Yvette Nicole Brown, Ed Sheeran, Robert Irwin, Jean Reno, Dwayne Johnson, Josh Gad, Wilmer Valderrama, Rachel House

Directors: Jared Bush, Byron Howard

Writer: Jaren Bush

Wicked For Good (2025)

Dune Part Two, Kill Bill Part Two, The Two Towers, some could argue Superman II. These sorts of "sequels" aren't really sequels at all but truly the second part of one longer movie. They face different challenges as they cannot really exist on their own without the first film in the same way something like The Dark Knight, Skyfall, or even Mama Mia Here We Go Again can. Those are films with their own beginnings, middles, and ends, films that tell one coherent and separate story, no matter how connected it is to what came before. Wicked For Good, shot continuously with the Wicked film, is just the continuing of the same story. Perhaps it is most analogous to Quintin Tarantino's revenge saga which was also made as one complete movie before being split in two parts. And perhaps one day we'll have a complete epic Wicked film that edits these two films together like we do with Kill Bill. But for now we have For Good all on it's own and while I do worry it would be almost impossible to just sit down and watch this one without having ever seen the first film, for me For Good sticks the landing and provides a very entertaining and moving finale for this saga. 

We pick up soon after Elphaba defied gravity and leap right into the action. I think one of the biggest reasons for the success of these films has been the ambition of the film, to not just run through one plot point to the other but flesh-out the events, back stories, and fill each moment with real weight and pathos. Dividing Wicked into two has allowed this in a way that just wouldn't be possible in one film. We get to give the characters time to breath, the story time to play out, and the emotional core to come together. I really appreciated how the film helped massage some of the stage plays weaknesses this way. We get more of an understanding of plot points that are sort of glossed over, especially how it connects to the Wizard of Oz story. It all feels more organic than it had on stage. 

I loved that the film chose not to centre Dorothy or her story. While the overlapping plot points are laid out Dorothy and her mission are always kept at arm's length (literally at one point through a crack in the door) so we remember this is Elphaba and Glinda's story. Instead of following the yellow brick road we explore how the Tin Man and Scarecrow come to be because they are the relevant characters here. 

But overall what really makes it work is how much it sets out its metaphor. At its heart Wicked (as a novel, a stage musical, or as a film) is about the choices we make in the face of oppression, the way our different perspectives colour those choices, and how to find our road to integrity. What does it mean to be "good"? This film spends its time, and its two new songs, focusing on that question in a very effective and accessible way that isn't whitewashed or oversimplified. The metaphor of this take on the Oz stories is both wonderfully strong and clear while also being embedded in a very entertaining adventure. 

And For Good is damn entertaining. Again the bold choice to make it two film, gave the film makers the chance to truly go all out and make spectacle. This is blockbuster film making with an air of the golden age of cinema. I do love a film that can be both crowd pleasing popcorn entertainment and tell a great story with a non-superficial moral. I was also impressed with how it manages the other big challenge of adapting this particular musical, one whose second act isn't quite as "strong" from a big musical number, big excitement point of view. It instead chooses to focus on the emotional core of the story and give us our climax with a beautiful melancholy moment instead of a grand triumph. 

So for me Wicked does stick the landing. I know I'll never just watch For Good. But I'll likely never just watch Wicked Part One. They will always exist forever just as Wicked. 

Wicked For Good

Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, Colman Domingo

Director: Jon M. Chu

Writers: Winnie Holzman, Dana Fox

Sentimental Value/Affeksjonsverdi (2025)

I remember being taken off guard by just how much The Worst Person in the World affected me. I didn't know exactly what to make of it when I first saw it and over time it has just continued to find its way into my film memory. It can be hard for a film maker to follow up a breakthrough film like that, a film that brings them so much attention and acclaim, especially a film that holds up so well. So I was perhaps a bit cautious, although excited, about Sentimental Value, his first film since then, and a film which demonstrates Trier's (as well as cowriter, Vogt's) incredible promise as a film maker. 

Sentimental Value is an intricately woven and intimately perceptive portrait of a family, a father and two sisters, whose lives are intersecting through their art and their resentments. It would have been easy for this particular story to feel overdramatized and sensational but Trier and Vogt craft it in such a way that it feels so richly honest. The themes of estrangement and regret should feel so rote. It's not like they are themes we've never explored before. But there is such a freshness to this film's perspective that it felt like it was the first time I was watching a father-struggling-to-reconnect-with-his-adult-daughter story. 

Much of this has to do with the performances. Reinsve, Fanning, and Skarsgård are all incredible actors but they each give some of their best work here, especially the latter. This may be my favourite performance I've seen him give. The film draws some serious attention to its actors' performances. The film is about actors, and we see them "acting" at points in the movie. The film moves between the constructed world of performance and real reacting. There are moments we aren't sure which is which. To rise to this occasion as well as this case does is quite remarkable. 

What is amazing here is how well put together this film is. Every scene seems thought out to be placed and framed exactly as it is, feeding into the story and the emotional power because of how it is shot, edited, and set into the narrative. There is a self-consciousness to Sentimental Value which doesn't take you out of the story but has the opposite effect of bringing you into it deeper. 

While Sentimental Value has all the hallmarks of the sort of cinema a film studies class would want to pull apart, the film also never feels unwatchable. It is engrossing from frame one and tells an emotionally satisfying story that breaks you heart and soothes it a little. There is a lot of critical hype built up around this film and it is all deserved. But it is also a sweet, lovely little movie that will make you so glad you watched it. 

Sentimental Value

Starring: Renate Reinsve, Stellan Skarsgård, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, Elle Fanning, Anders Danielsen Lie, Cory Michael Smith

Director: Joachim Trier

Writers: Eskil Vogt, Joachim Trier

Train Dreams (2025)

Writers-directors Kwedar and Bentley have been making quiet yet emotionally powerful films together for a while now, switching off who directs while they co-write the films. The latest is the sumptuous and thoughtful Train Dreams, the story of a working man in the early 20th century watching the world change around him. For a movie that focuses on a man's interiority Train Dreams is gorgeously filmed, and visually rich. Bentley's instincts lean towards finding beauty wherever he can and Train Dreams is a beautiful film. 

A lot has been made of Edgertn's performance and that is deserved. His character is the strong silent type but he manages to do a lot without saying much. But there are breautiful supporting turns from the likes of Macy and Collins and others. Jones feels wasted a bit as her character doesn't have a lot to do. 

Train Dreams employs the device of a narrator, voice provided by Patton. This is a simple means of getting into our protagonist's head but it is extremely effective here. The most remarkable thing about this film is how strikingly visual it is while remaining very much about the thoughts and feelings of a quiet man. Adapting a novel which spends so much time inside the head on its character can be a difficult transition to the screen but Kwedar and Bentley have done it incredibly. 

Train Dreams ends up being a love letter to life itself, even when that life is hard and filled with loss and some love. 

Train Dreams

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Will Patton, Clifton Collins Jr., Kerry Condon, William H. Macy, Nathanial Arcand, Alfred Hsing, Paul Schneider  

Director: Clint Bentley

Writers: Greg Kwedar, Clint Bentley

Plainclothes (2025)

I'm always excited for the debut of a promising new film maker and Emmi is certainly in that category. His first feature, Plainclothes, features a tight and smart script and is filmed with a flair that is fascinating. He shows he is a true story teller, getting into the hearts and minds of his characters in an organic, natural way while also moving his story forward cleverly and, most importantly, with an eye for a compelling and satisfying narrative. 

Plainclothes explores closeted men (set in the 90s) and their connections. Yes this is somewhat well trod territory, may I even say tired, but Emmi finds a way to make it fresh and relevant. His main character is a cop whose job it is to entrap men who are "cruising" for public sex. Yet he finds himself drawn to one of his targets who also appears to have his own closeted issues. I think what made Plainclothes work for me narratively is how the film eschews most of the cliches of down-low men and instead reaches into the multifaceted pain of the closet. Emmi's strength here is how he paints robust portraits of both his main characters that make them feel more real and less like caricatures.

Emmi also impresses with his directoral style. He finds creative ways to be in the head of his protagonist and not just tell his story pedantically. He uses a bit of timeline jumps, which he handles effectively, but it is more in the way he finds perspective that I found so interesting. Visually Plainclothes is a beautiful watch and demands more of your attention than more by-the-book stories. 

Blyth and Tovey are both strong and create a good connection. Tovey really comes to life at the end of the story with a scene that helps flesh him out in ways that we aren't expecting. But it's Blyth who is the anchor for this throughout and gives a breakout performance.

For me the real star is Emmi who i hope is working on something new to follow this up as I am excited to see what he does next. 

Plainclothes

Starring: Tom Blyth, Russell Tovey 

Writer/Director: Carmen Emmi

Keeper (2025)

Clearly my tastes are different from the mainstream. I really didn't like Longlegs or The Monkey and I kinda enjoyed Keeper, a film that is almost universally disliked by the film bros. I liked it straightforward creepy story vibe. I liked that it was more visceral and emotional than plot forward. Perhaps the ending explained a little too much for my tastes but generally I left far more entertained and creeped out than I have at Perkins' other recent films. 

The story behind the making of Keeper is that it was thrown together as a way to keep a film crew working during the shutdown of another production. Keeper has a very small production vibe. Maslany and Sutherland bring a realness to their roles and the limited scope of the film keeps it all tight. It feels more like something you'd see at a midnight screening at a film festival than a release from a rising-star director. And perhaps that's why it resonated for me. 

As I said I wish Perkins kept the ending a bit more ambiguous and didn't hold our hands throughout an explanation but that's something he's guilty of generally in his films I've seen. Still, Keeper is just disquieting enough to be haunting. And it makes me more curious about a film maker that had kind of lost me.

Keeper

Starring: Tatiana Maslany, Rossif Sutherland

Director: Osgood Perkins

Writer: Nick Lepard