Eddington (2025)

written and directed by Ari Aster

It seems like lately films have a lot to say, judging from the likes of overstuffed narratives such as Oppenheimer (2023), Poor Things (2023), Civil War (2024), Sinners (2025), and now Eddington, which throws you into a New Mexico town circa 2020 and somehow manages to include COVID-19, Black Lives Matter protests, Antifa, conspiracy theories, capitalism, social media anxiety, corporate opportunism, and much more. In fact, writer/director Ari Aster stirs the pot in so many directions that I nearly got whiplash. Is it any good? Hard to say with so much going on and a tone that, much like Civil War, occasionally crosses into satire but doesn’t quite get there. I still found it interesting, particularly during a second half that has a couple of unexpected twists and a well-staged climactic shootout. An acquired taste for sure.

Rating: **½

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

written by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer

from a story by Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, and Kat Wood

based on the comic books by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

directed by Matt Shakman

The darker 2015 Fox adaptation of the beloved comic book foursome was a dreary mess, but I’ll be honest, I’m not sure this newer take from Marvel is any better. If anything, it’s equally lifeless, from the bland retro-futuristic aesthetic to the forced earnest tone devoid of tension or character chemistry. Just like Superman, another 2025 superhero dud which tried to replicate a time when comic book films were more innocent and optimistic, The Fantastic Four: First Steps may have its heart in the right place… but why couldn’t it also be, well, fun?

Rating: **

Frankenstein (2025)

based on the novel Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley

written and directed by Guillermo del Toro

I’ll continue my unpopular opinions (maybe that’s what I should’ve named this blog) with the assertion that filmmaker Guillermo del Toro is wildly overrated. Sure, he seems like a really cool dude who loves movies, and in particular the kinds that I also hold near and dear to my heart: Horror, fantasy, and sci-fi. But in general, most of his stuff just doesn’t seem to click with me. Case in point, this umpteenth adaptation of the revered novel by Mary Shelley, which somehow exists in a dull, detached vacuum that never quite catches fire.

You’d think del Toro, a director obsessed with monsters, would be the perfect fit for this Gothic tale of a scientist (Oscar Isaac) who creates a man (Jacob Elordi) out of harvested body parts. But Frankenstein is tonally disjointed (the whole “romantic” subplot is bizarre, to say the least), cheap-looking (despite a $120 million budget, the whole thing feels flat), and strangely uninvolving. Where’s the pathos, the menace, the hubris? I’m sure del Toro thinks it’s all right there on the screen, but damn if I didn’t completely forget about Frankenstein a few hours after I’d seen it.

Rating: **

Happy Death Day (2017)

written by Scott Lodbell

directed by Christopher Landon

A horror flick about a young woman (Jessica Rothe) stuck in a time loop where a vicious killer murders her every day? Sign me up. Playing like a high-concept mashup of Groundhog Day (1993) and Scream (1996), Happy Death Day blends sci-fi and slasher with comedic gusto, even if it sometimes struggles to maintain the balance. Still, at a time when most movies make me feel like I’m stuck in a time loop, it’s a refreshing little horror pic.

Rating: **½

살인의 추억 (Memories of Murder – 2003)

written by Bong Joon Ho and Shim Sung-bo

based on the play Come to See Me by Kim Kwang-lim

directed by Bong Joon Ho

I’ve seen two previous films by writer/director Bong Joon Ho (2006’s The Host and 2019’s Parasite), and although I’ve enjoyed them, I didn’t quite think they were anything special. 살인의 추억 (English Title: Memories of Murder) is another story, an engrossing murder mystery based on a real serial killer investigation that shocked South Korea in the late 80s/early 90s. As usual with Joon Ho, there’s also dark humor and social commentary, this time involving governmental incompetence, police brutality, and even the military dictatorship of Chun Doo-hwan. But this time it effectively coalesces together into a bleak, haunting drama, particularly since it ends unresolved. Go watch.

Rating: ***

Mr. Scorsese (2025)

directed by Rebecca Miller

 To anyone who follows this blog or my sister site Cinesthesia, it should be pretty apparent that Martin Scorsese is one of my favorite filmmakers. This five-part documentary series follows his life and career in full detail: His childhood growing up in Little Italy, his passion for cinema, his obsessions, artistic collaborations, relationships, and everything in between. If you’re a fan, it’s a delight, and if you’re just a casual watcher, you’ll still learn a lot about the man whose output includes Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990), and plenty more.

At one point, Scorsese says, “Who are we? Are we intrinsically good or evil? This is the struggle. And I struggle with it all the time.” We’re lucky he’s decided to capture that struggle over twenty-six films… and hopefully many more.

Rating: ***

The Order (2024)

written by Zach Baylin

based on the book The Silent Brotherhood by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt

directed by Justin Kurzel

This looked intriguing to me because the trailer made it seem like a 70s-style thriller. Yet this based-on-a-true-story tale of an FBI agent (Jude Law) trying to capture a white supremacist ring is pretty lackluster – weak characters, vague direction, and action sequences that just don’t connect, despite the threat of neo-Nazi assholes still being relevant today. I’m clearly in the minority once again, since The Order has tons of positive reviews. Watch and judge for yourself.

Rating: **

The Sixth Sense (1999)

written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan

I watched The Sixth Sense in a Colorado multiplex in 1999, and remember looking at my friend Raúl during the now-legendary plot twist. We were both speechless – hell, the whole theater was. Fast forward twenty-six years later to 2025, as I showed it to my son and wondered if it still held up in its clever disguising of the fact that Bruce Willis’ lead character has been dead the whole time. And it does, to the point that my kid, who at thirteen already knows plenty of movie tropes and tricks from his cinephile dad, was also caught by surprise.

It’s to the credit of writer/director M. Night Shyamalan that The Sixth Sense works so well, despite a couple of clunky moments and recycled ideas. The script is interesting (boy who can see ghosts is desperately trying to connect with someone who’ll believe him), the acting solid (Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette are great as the boy and his frustrated mother), and the editing by Andrew Mondshein flawless, as he and Shyamalan give you just enough to make you believe Willis is alive and well. This is still Shyamalan’s best picture overall.

Rating: ***

Terrifer (2016)

written and directed by Damien Leone

A silly low-budget slasher about a killer dressed in a clown suit who goes around gorily disposing of people on Halloween night. There are some effective practical effects here and there, and writer/director Damien Leone occasionally goes for a dark humor vibe, but all in all this is as obvious as any other 80s horror B-movie you’ve seen before. I’d rather watch Halloween (1978) again.

Rating: **

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025)

written and directed by Rian Johnson

Wake Up Dead Man, the third film in the Knives Out series, brings us another whodunit for master detective Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) to crack. But as he is called in to investigate the death of a small-town Monsignor (Josh Brolin) at the hands of one (or more) of his flock, writer/director Rian Johnson strangely forgets a key element of his two prior movies: Fun. At more than two hours, Wake Up Dead Man is a bit of a slog, with an uninteresting murder, paper-thin characters, and a more solemn demeanor than Knives Out (2019) and Glass Onion (2022). Hope the next one brings back the charm.

Rating: **

Weapons (2025)

written and directed by Zach Cregger

I wasn’t impressed by writer/director Zach Cregger’s previous horror film Barbarian (2022), so I approached Weapons with trepidation. Cregger again tries to do too much here, mashing together mystery (vanished schoolchildren), horror (a witch is behind it), and stabs at character humor (just watch) in a nonlinear stew that’s not as smart as he thinks it is. It also doesn’t make a lick of sense. However, points for unusually strong acting and a what-the-fuck gonzo ending that made me cringe and laugh at the same time.

Rating: **½

Carlos I. Cuevas