Watched on Tuesday January 21, 2025.

Tender, emotional and exceptionally-funny. Culkin steals and owns every single scene he’s in. Went in knowing next to nothing and thoroughly-enjoyed this one.

A grim and dreary Clandestine nightmare. Eggers’ ability to encapsulate these time periods and blend them with his inspired and refreshing take on the genre, makes them such a delicious watch, and this is a great example of such. Easily the most frightening contribution to his filmography yet.

Loved the concept and direction of the movie, but wish they leaned a bit harder into the insanity. Regardless, found this to be quite gripping and Jolie absolutely devours her role.

One of the better airport thrillers I’ve seen! Pacing was well-kept, the thrills never died for me, and hearing Nick Wilde’s voice for two hours is an added plus as well.

An aimless musical thriller that doesn’t really work well in either genre. The songs are not great, and the thriller portion is essentially four or five films shoehorned together with a guise of being smarter and more progressive with its main plotline, but back-hands itself with some thinly-veiled bits that are vaguely racist, xenophobic and tone-deaf.

Very cute return back into Aardman’s world of these two silly inventors, and although it isn’t my favorite adventure from them, it provides enough thrills and laughs to remain a “smashing” sequel to the saga. Feathers McGraw is the easy highlight.

Philomena Cunk returns for another witty, hilarious and legitimately-insightful documentary special on human existence, religion, existentialism and beyond. The humor does run a bit stale after a bit, but it is ultimately still a goofy and unserious time.

Visually-striking but emotionally-inept, Mufasa returns to the world of hyper-realistic lions, and with an unnecessary tale and a script that makes bad fanfic look good, it is a misfire of the highest order.

Impeccably-animated, but man, with this being the sixth installment, this franchise has very-much overstayed its welcome. Also absolutely forgot to watch DM3 before this but that’s beside the point.

An engrossing and gripping modern religious drama that had me hooked way more than anticipated. Everyone does a fantastic job in this and has some of the best cinematography I’ve seen the entire year. Well done!

Certainly get what it’s getting at, but its execution definitely sent this the wrong way for me. With it being one part an introspective and primal view of motherhood, and the other a semi-psychological thriller/comedy, it’s disjointed, strange and not very well-balanced, but it has enough moments to sink your teeth into, despite this.

With a runtime of nearly 2.5 hours and next-to-nothing to deliver but dull sequences and non-sequitur musical numbers (none of which adding anything worthwhile to the progression of the film), Folie à Deux is something you sadly can’t help but laugh at.

It’s exactly how you think it is, and to be honest, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Too silly for its own good but it’s fun enough to keep you hooked for the ride.

Watched on Saturday December 14, 2024.

A braggadocious and self-righteous victory lap that is so ridiculously unbalanced and blindsides itself by jarringly becoming a gospel special and a concert film.. Messy, misguided and completely arrogant.

Pairing live action with the logic/physics of slapstick old-school cartoon comedy, it pairs into a nostalgic and absolutely-gut-busting good time. Such a surprise, easily one of the funniest films I’ve seen all year.

Really appreciated how the film looks/feels, as well with what it’s trying to say, but if you are not into this movie, it is the cinematic equivalent of watching paint dry. It’s mundane unabridged scenes help to plus-up the film’s sincerity and realism, even if it is its biggest flaw ultimately.

A ridiculous and disastrous Christmas film that is certainly a different feel than the original, but I gotta say, it works for me way more! Very charming, very funny and absolutely unhinged. Great stuff.

A silly & sultry musical comedy special that is just tongue-in-cheek enough to set itself apart, even if its charm is a tad unbalanced.

Such a colorful, magical and monumental bit of filmmaking. Not much I can say aside from how great of a film this is for that time in history. Heightened my appreciation for it after seeing Wicked!

Really enjoyed what was being done between the two selves, especially towards the end, but it left a lot to be desired in its middle when it became a coming-of-age film and left this unique quirk essentially out of the film up until its conclusion. Interesting concept, but really under-utilized.

A chaotic and unexpected wild ride that adds Tokyo Grandfathers to the strange list of “weird unconventional Christmas movies.” A wild band of bums and a “gift from God” sets the trio on an absolutely insane wild goose chase thru Tokyo. Probably my least favorite of Kon’s work but still really enjoyed it!

Went in knowing next-to-nothing and left absolutely hooked. Filled to the brim with creativity, magic and absolute unadulterated-imagination, Wicked is a powerful and cinematic marvel that, upon first watch, is not perfect, but man if it isn’t an absolutely blast. Erivo delivers one of the best vocal performances of the year.

Improved greatly upon rewatch. Doesn’t answer all questions but in a good way. A mind-bending crime thriller that is so itself and strongly-unique, it stands strongly on its own as its own identity. The ending is a bit silly.

Very gorgeously-animated and surprisingly-emotional. Definitely a heavy watch at 8am on a Thursday morning but I really enjoyed this nonetheless, and it fits a lot of feeling and heart within its less-than-hour runtime.

Watched on Thursday November 28, 2024.

Watched on Thursday November 28, 2024.

A tragic and emotional melodrama that is plused by its strong main leads as well as its depressing subject matter. Very surprisingly, enjoyed this one quite a bit!

Watched on Sunday November 17, 2024.

Powerful and emotional road trip documentary centered on love, friendship and the hardships with coming to change with oneself, especially in regard to one’s gender or orientation. Great film, absolutely needed for our time in history currently. Truly a surprise & delight for me.

Deadpool & Wolverine I went into a little skeptical due to my distaste for the previous films due to their vulgarity and ham-fisted approach at meta-comedy, and although a lot of this is still prevalent, the franchise-blending, emotional angles and the chemistry between the two heroes certainly makes this hit different and it’s a fun ride.

A very enjoyable concert film that is infectiously-enigmatic with its bratty teen break-up barnburners and heart-shattering ballads. Chappell randomly showing up was a plus too!

Watched on Wednesday November 6, 2024.

Watched on Wednesday November 6, 2024.

Enjoyed this one very much! Surprised to find that it was Kendrick’s directorial debut as well. The non-linear storytelling works/hurts in multiple ways, but I found myself enjoying this one quite a bit.

Watched on Sunday November 3, 2024.

Easily the messiest and most-meandering of the entries so far, and despite the lack of heart and whimsy that fuel these films and fill them with practically-literal magic, there’s enough entertaining antics to keep things interesting.

Sean Baker blows it out of the water once again with not only one of the most entertaining, hilarious and chaotic films out there this year, but Eydelshteyn is wonderfully-enigmatic and Madison gives a performance of a lifetime that is as sharp, catty and electric as the role absolutely needed and she nails it. A few lulls and is a little longer than needed, but an achievement nonetheless.

A beautiful and emotional allegory on motherhood, and an even greater feat in modern animation, The Wild Robot is a gorgeous and powerful bit of storytelling that is not only one of the greatest and most-impressive flicks of the year, but also an absolutely achievement from DreamWorks. Sensational.

Providing some of the best scares/laughs of the year, and bolstered by a terrifying and powerful performance by Scott, Smile 2 is a huge surprise and pluses-up the original in nearly every single way, even if there’s a few gripes I still have overall.

Certainly more goofy than thoughtfully-made or smart, but has more than a few fun moments that kept my attention, even if it is ultimately dull and overstays its welcome far too soon into the full film.

Watched on Tuesday October 22, 2024.

Leone’s third installment to this dark slasher saga doubles-down on its bleakness, ruthlessness and brutality. A mean-spirited and sadistic slasher that truly is held by no reigns and leaves no one safe. Lavera has outdone herself and provides her best performance yet!

Watched on Thursday October 10, 2024.

Another dive into Riley’s mind ends up being a strong companion to the original film! The new ensemble of characters, and the tricky topic of puberty, pairs well to create a smart yet entertaining introspective view on one’s self, emotions and memories. Surprised me to say the least, had a great time!

The husk of a cool, refreshing film that sets itself up to say everything but ultimately says nothing. Mashed Luhrmann visuals with Shaksperian dramas which promises a lot but backhands you with absolute absurdity that stops you in your tracks every time consistently. Not nearly as appalling as reviews led me to belief, but not too far off. A potentially smart movie that tries way to hard to voice that.

As gut-busting as it was gut-wrenching, The Substance is easily one of (if not, my fav) surprises this year. Sharp pacing, a sledgehammer-blunt plot and gore for days. Long live weirdo cinema! Moore kills, Qualley crushes and Quaid is nasty. Rarely do films shock/gross me out as this accomplished.

Watched on Friday September 27, 2024.

This is easily one of the most fun films I’ve seen to date, and you can tell that every soul involved had an absolutely blast. Fantastic child performances (Cosgrove especially) and an unhinged and ridiculously-rockin’ role from Black.