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.

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