Bonus Episode – Rob is joined by Drs. Anj and Chris Lewis to review the movies we saw in 2025.
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Great discussion gents! I heard of many films I didn’t know existed, and also have several recommendations to check out.
We of course saw the three big super hero films (Superman, FF, Thunderbolts). All of them were really entertaining for my money, and each had something important to say, which was a nice bonus. We also saw Sinners (thanks for the HoF shoutout) and Del Toro’s Frankenstein on the big screen. Loved Sinners, and while Frankenstein isn’t going to replace my beloved Universal films (the first two) or Hammer (the first one), I think I’d place it at #3 in Shelly adaptations now. I wanted to see Weapons but didn’t get around to it in the theater, but watched it on HBO Max and was really engrossed by it. Worthy of all the hype.
We saw the insanely popular Lilo & Stitch live-action remake. It was cute, but could have just went to Disney Plus. Zootopia 2 was excellent though, way better than expected. I understand why it’s breaking records. The day after Christmas we saw Song Sung Blue with Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson. Highly recommended. Heartwarming, and unexpectedly heartbreaking!
For the classics we were lucky enough to see Psycho at a local theater showing Hitchcock films around Halloween. And at the nearby drive-in they paired Carpenter’s Christine with one of my all-time favorites, Smokey and the Bandit.
I’m probably forgetting a few, but those are the standouts.
Ah, thanks Chris. It’s always fun to chat with Rob and Anj, and we all had long lists of movies we wanted to talk about.
Given that we all have the superhero films at heart, there was a good spread of movies between the three of us and not too much duplication; glad there were a few in the mix that were new to you! Come join us on Letterboxd!
Enjoyed this retrospective, except Wake Up Dead Man, which I skipped because I still plan to stream that soon. My theatrical viewings never recovered from COVID, plus the people who go to theaters these days are filthy animals. We left a showing of Black Phone 2 after about 45 minutes because my gal couldn’t concentrate between the two young child constantly asking attention-seeking quasi-questions a row behind us, alongside the people crunching and crinkling through a full-sized bag of chips. And then there was the row of teens talking to each other in full voice over the movie, plus virtually every one actually stayed quiet being on their phones. Anyway, we went back right before it left theaters, and I really enjoyed it– far more than my gal. It was such a bundle of nostalgic ’80s horror influences, without just being a pastiche, and I was in for the lead siblings’ grappling with emotional trauma. Plus, the various low res film stocks totally drew me in to the dream states and a liminal quality of horror that was touted in other, crappier movies that didn’t pay it off nearly as well.
Anyway, I need the theatrical experience because I’m terrible about making time to watch movies at home, and I can’t stand my gal’s inability to ever sit through an entire viewing without multiple pauses/breaks/phone time. Most of my movie trips were disappointing super-hero movies for podcasting purposes. Brave New World, Thunderbolts, Superman, and Fantastic Four all landed in that mid-territory to varying degrees. The only super-hero thing that we both enjoyed was The Toxic Avenger. It’s just a gross-out gas with a surprising amount of heart, and Peter Dinklage (and his latex-bearing double) did an excellent job. The flick also punches way above its weight class on supporting cast, with surprisingly solid practical effects. It deserved better.
My gal in theory loves Wes Anderson, with The Royal Tenenbaums and The Darjeeling Limited being two of her favorite movies. Neither Rushmore nor Royal Tenenbaums worked for me, so my opinion of Anderson didn’t turn around until The Fantastic Mr. Fox, which was delightful. For some reason, Pekita never had any interest in Moonrise Kingdom, so I’ve never seen it all, but like the bits and pieces caught on cable. The Grand Budapest Hotel though was brilliant, bowling us both over, and the only Anderson film that I may prefer to Mr. Fox. Isle of Dogs sure was a dog, and maybe racist? I liked The French Dispatch better than Pekita, but its an anthology that gets worse with each segment, so we’ve never watched it at home. Asteroid City was a hoot, and maybe the longest sustained laugh I’ve ever heard from my gal. We’ve watched most of the Netflix shorts, which were okay. I agree that The Phoenician Scheme descends into self-parody, and even though Anderson is perhaps overly reliant on the same company or performers in similar roles, stepping outside that makes every casting choice here feel incorrect. It had carryover from French Dispatch in the worst ways, but it’s a better movie, I guess.
Weapons was fun. It didn’t blow back my hair the way it did for most, and I doubt I’ll watch it again, but I didn’t hate it like Barbarian. There’s some memorable iconography, certainly. I feel like its a moral failing that I’ve missed both Ethan Coen movies starring Margaret Qualley. I love both, and they had great trailers, but I’ve made no forward motion on that. We caught Predator: Badlands for a podcast that I still haven’t gotten around to, but we quite enjoyed it, for the reheated Marvel Phase 2 that it is.
On streaming, I caught a good chunk of Final Destination Bloodlines, which started strong, but lost my interest. Predator: Killer of Killers felt like watching a collection of video game cut scenes. I didn’t watch KPop Demon Hunters, but I heard the songs from a couple rooms away, and didn’t hear a single. I got 45 minutes into One Battle After Another on HBO Max and it felt like the movie was only just starting, and yet I didn’t want to spend any more time with these people. Everyone keeps raving about it, so I guess I’ll try again, but I don’t care for any of these actors or characters, plus I run mostly cold on PTA. We finished Frankenstein in two sessions. Some nice visuals, but too long, and by the end it felt like fan fiction. The acting was overwrought in a way that felt less heightened/operatic and more like they were trying to pull the weight of a shallow and overly blunt comic book narrative.
None of the documentaries we caught are on the Wikipedia entry I’m using as a guide. I cried along with everyone else over the John Candy one. Billy Joel is simply not interesting enough to carry a 5+ hour doc, and by the end he felt more like a stereotype than I figured when I went in. The Pee-Wee Herman one better held my attention for 3-4 hours, but I was never a fan, and there were serious concerns about the man that remain unresolved. The Charlie Sheen doc was a guilty pleasure, but I’m much more confident that he did some truly evil stuff after viewing it. Felt like he was copping to what we already knew to sell “truthiness” that distracts from stuff that would be harder to reckon with.
I also caught a lot of horror flicks on Shudder that didn’t make this Wiki list. 2017’s Let the Corpses Tan was highly stylized but unsatisfying. The same directing couple did Reflection in a Dead Diamond last year, which is even more visually mesmerizing, and more intriguing with its premise of Italian James Bond but Mulholland Drive. Speaking of which, Anj and Siskoid got me to watch 1981’s Possession, which feels like a Rosetta Stone for everything David Lynch did from Blue Velvet on. Thought about that one a lot for a week or two, and will revisit. The Ugly Stepsister was feminist torture porn that did not enrich my life.
I saw Sinners nominated in most Oscar categories, and I hope it wins every one. That one melted my brain and my heart. Everyone speaks highly of it, and I still think it’s being underestimated. As a white dude, I don’t feel qualified to analyze it as deeply as I want to, but I see depths untouched in any of the many commentaries I’ve look to in hopes of greater clarity and/or confirmation of my own reading. Yeah yeah– predatory record publishers, culture appropriation, duuurrrr. What about the renunciation of Black church respectability politics, questions about the value and relevance of Christianity to those of African descent, and maybe a call for open conflict against White Supremacist structures that only respond to force? Or is it just me? Regardless, I weep when we see the last of Annie, my heart sours during the musical history lesson, I rage with the clatter of a tommy gun, and I’m crushed by the counting of the till. Transcendent cinema– one of the finest journeys I’ve taken via celluloid. I just wish I could have caught a true IMAX showing.
Nice episode, very interesting discussion. Thanks for the recommendations like Mickey 17 which I’d missed and will check out. My top 2 this year were repertoire – one you’ve probably seen and one maybe you haven’t. First was Being There (dir Hal Ashby) with Peter Sellers, from 1979 but I hadn’t seen it til now. What a fantastic film. Sellers gives an emotional understated performance. The kind of film that makes you want for something better in the world. Has a surprising, magical realist ending. And along the lines of movies that make you feel something, I saw Lady Killer (Gueule d’Amour, dir Jean Gremillon) from 1937 with Jean Gabin and wow. Gabin gives a gut-punch portrayal of his character’s arc from being on top of the world to crashing to the ground. He’s so visceral, it’s really incredible to watch, with a femme fatale who almost matches him, and a climax that will unnerve you.
I’ll give another cheer for Brief Encounter and for the Judit Polgar documentary. How would any of us like to be the best at something in the last thousand years? Polgar is, demonstrably, in chess. Highest rated woman ever, only woman to make the world top 10 (number 8), only one to play in the tournament (semi-finals) that determines who plays for the world championship. So good that she refused to play in women’s tournaments and only played against the men, and had great success against them. Here she is beating Magnus Carlsen, the highest rated player ever, in a fast-timed game. And this years after she retired and stopped studying chess!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvbZCRid5CY
PS Very funny when you asked the doctors if they’d ever done a face transplant a la Franju 🙂