I liked the first half of 2025’s movie slate way better than the back half. It’s Fizzle Fall and Wimpy Winter. In descending order of interest: 

 

Sentimental Value (Joachim Trier, 2025): 4/5

Sensitive and literate script that slowly reveals itself, becoming increasingly richer and more layered. Stand-out moments are several scenes that seem to be happening to the main character but are revealed to be within performances—a way to take a step back and examine the moment while also highlighting the judgement that she feels from the “director watching” and the “shame for her own inadequacy” as the father-as-director says when describing… The crux of the drama, outlined beautifully in a monologue that eventually gets played out three times in three different ways. The dramas that are played out in the house stay in the house like trauma—just as the urge to suicide is passed from the grandmother to the father (surely) and then to daughter—and the “room where it all happened” gains great dramatic weight. Best ending of the year?

 

Good Boy (Ben Leonberg, 2025): 3.5/5

The horror elements are muddled. But the central conceit – that the protagonist is a dog – is exceptionally well executed and a good idea. There is some CGI and anthropomorphism. But overall, there’s a lot of great dog acting, and real dog behavior, which is new-feeling and fun to watch. Comparable to last year’s Flow.

 

Souleymane’s Story (Boris Lojkine, 2025): 3/5

On the minus side, it’s heavily indebted to the Dardennes. On the plus side, it’s heavily indebted to the Dardennes.

 

Rental Family (Hikari, 2025): 3/5

A bizarrely gormless performance from Brendan Frazier—he has “innocent sincerity” turned up to 11. On the minus side, it’s heavily indebted to the Hirokazu Kore-eda. On the plus side, it’s heavily indebted to the Hirokazu Kore-eda.

 

Wicked: For Good (Jon M. Chu, 2025): 3/5

I took a gummy, and watched this—and ended up liking it. No one is more surprised than me (having abhorred the experience of the second act when I saw the play the Pantages). Colorful, fun, and more coherent that part one.

 

* Anaconda (Tom Gormican, 2025): 3/5

Paper thin, and the comic timing is somewhat off—but swift and a fine night at the movies for the whole family. At this point, Jack Black is certainly Jack’s favorite actor. Black’s star has risen so far that here he somewhat convincingly plays the alpha to Paul Rudd’s (!) beta. 

 

Steve (Tim Mielants, 2025): 2.5/5

Cillian Murphy is terrific, but this anxiously empathetic story of a school for emotionally challenged teens too often feels like a senior thesis play at The London School for Overacting. Thank God it was only 90 minutes.

 

Jane Austin Wrecked My Life (Laura Piani, 2025): 2.5/5

A mid romance with a slightly annoying protagonist. Cliches abound, but it’s about someone who adores Jane Austen novels, so I guess it’s meta? Thank God it was only 90 minutes.

 

Megadoc (Mike Figgis, 2025): 2/5

Whatever you think about Megapolis, at least it’s eccentric—a quality that this documentary could use more of. Instead, there’s nothing that sets this above the average DVD extra feature. 

 

Dangerous Animals (Sean Byrne, 2025): 2/5

The characters and kills are colorful, but this is mostly a brutal and uninteresting woman-taken-captive-in-a-cage movie. The third act couldn’t (and didn’t) come fast enough. Would be into to seeing the protagonist and antagonist in a better movie.

 

Sinners, rw (Ryan Coogler, 2025): 2/5

I’m sweeping back the tide here, but this movie continues to not work for me. Broadly cartoonish Southern accents. Self-righteous contrast of “good” blues music (yuk!) with “bad” Irish jig music (also yuk). That scene where they interrogate at great length a guy who has been wandering around outside as to why he needs to be invited in AFTER they have seen a vampire munch up one of the twins and run away. Then they all just die anyway. AND after all the vampires and other characters are dead, the surviving twin deliberately manufactures a suicide mission to kill clan members (??) with a machine gun (???).

 

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t (Ruben Fleischer, 2025): 1.5/5

Every decision seems to have been made to play optimally in China—incredibly broad in terms of plot, characters, use of CGI, and acting/mugging. Jack liked it a lot—and for the same reason I liked The Sting when I saw it when I was his age: It’s fun to be tricked by a movie. As in The Sting, they are fooling a character on screen, but also the audience. When all is revealed, it feels like magic. Unfortunately, this one is more like The Stink.

 

Match (Danishka Esterhazy, 2025): 1.5/5

Some of the reveals are amusing, but this is mostly broad and uninteresting woman-taken-captive-in-a-cage movie. The third act couldn’t (and didn’t) come fast enough.

 

The Friend (David Siegel, Scott McGehee, 2025): 1.5/5

This one’s a real dog (yuk yuk). Plods along and lacks spark. Many, many cuts to the dog’s droll reaction to things.

 

The Rip (Joe Carnahan, 2026): 3/5

A well-told story about shifting loyalties among good cops and bad ones. Has some similarities to (slight spoiler) the above-mentioned The Sting. I have come to like (and to a certain extent respect) Matt Damon, but I was surprised how much I liked Affleck here. Are these guys getting better at acting after all these years?

 

Terms of Endearment, rw (James L. Brooks, 1983): 5/5

Absolutely expert middlebrow. Debra Winger was never better—she’s wonderfully relaxed and charming. Perhaps heresy, but is this MacLaine’s best performance? The only possible alternatives are The Apartment and Some Came Running. (Although I’ve never seen The Children’s Hour).

 

Great Expectations (Alfonso Cuarón, 1998): 3/5

Unconvincingly updates Dicken’s plot to the contemporary NYC art scene (but couldn’t they have gotten a semi-decent artist to create Ethan Hawke’s supposed canvases—what’s here is ludicrous). Leaves out some of my favorite bits from the book (like when Ms. Dinsmore and her rotting wedding dress goes up in flames), but it retains the book’s young-adult-ish naivete (not a compliment). Patrow is perfectly cast as someone so remote and poised that she could come from a box (compliment).