Her; Poses interesting questions about modern relationships, dealing w/divorce & break ups, & how initial attraction morphs into something different as time together passes. All this portrayed by great acting, and a rather myopic view of artificial technology, makes for a thought provoking film; B

Hoppers; Story, message and entertainment blend in the same Pixar manner we’ve cherished for three decades now. The 30th film comes in just below the studio’s legacy best, but right on par with some of its greatest hits. Fun and silly while still grounded in emotional reality, it’s pure enjoyment; A

Black Bag; The economy of Soderbergh strikes gold once again. A taut thriller, stage play style experience, expertly acted by a fine cast. The spy world is given a domestic slant to great effect and high tension. Sold as having more action, it’s really the mind games bringing the excitement; A-

GOAT; A zillion sports story tropes delivered w/fresh paint, tunes & animal types. The chaotic animation will make the same old story beats go down easier, w/fun in jokes, sight gags and solid voice acting. Made for the small balls, but with enough to enjoy for the adults, an easy crowd pleaser; B+

Cinema Paradiso; A love letter to the communal town square that’s at the heart of small town film theatres. Told through loving enduring relationships btwn generations & the journey of their lifetimes. When clips of a life tell a story of love and what forms our lives, it is heartrending joyous; A-

Marty Supreme; A wild romp filled w/erratic unsympathetic characters, spearheaded by Chalamet’s full throttle performance in the title role. Bolstered by a great supporting cast, save for Paltrow, continuing her knack of sucking in great movies. Shocking, unapologetic moments abound & entertain; A-

Materialists; Works best as a dark comedy when it’s speaking deadpan about sociopathic behaviour in an American Psycho way. But when it comes to the rom com angle, Johnson’s woodenness doesn’t convey anything appealing to either leading man. Still, Celine Song knows how to direct dialogue; B

The Mission; Spectacular filming of the brutal dichotomy of colonial powers valuing South American indigenous peoples and territory for their subjugation to religion and exploitation of labour. The efforts to depict the scope and scale are unfortunately not given to the writing of the script; B+

The list has arrived. Between the Golden Globes and the Oscars, the top 10 Best and 5 Worst films of the year are narrowed down for your disagreement. Give it a read, share your opinion, and enjoy our shared love of cinema. kireel.blogspot.com/2025/12/the-...

TRON: Ares; Maintains cool aesthetic lighting and killer soundtrack that makes the franchise appealing in the first place. New plot angles are interesting enough to fill a full two hours and Lee is a great leading actor to root for. Unfortunate casting of Leto detracts but it’s still watchable; B-

Play It Again, Sam; A tale of two reactions. One, an appreciation for the clever turn of phrase inherent in the comedic writing. The other, a disgust for overblown pathetic attempts at physical comedy by the repulsive Allen, along with some jokes that have not aged well, thankfully. Skippable; D+

KPop Demon Hunters; Sony Animation does it again, imbuing a culture’s core elements into every frame. It captures the joy and excitement of KPop through its characters and design, while opening it up to everyone to enthral in the dynamic songs and illustrations. It’s infectiously fun; A-

One Battle After Another; Kinetic, thrilling action has never looked so good. Penn embodies his character with tremendous physical work, while Leo’s portrayal is a scrambled mind written all over his face. Del Toro, Taylor, Hall and Infiniti elevate it all. A rare combination of an auteur action; A

Roofman; Ripped from real life robber romance that would be difficult to believe if it weren’t true. Having Channing Tatum portray the charming criminal certainly doesn’t hurt the story & becoming emotionally invested. Not a happy tale, but an interesting one to watch unfold via a stacked cast; B+

A Very Jonas Christmas Movie; It’s hard to not enjoy the JoJo Bros. when they know they’re the joke. Their fame, music, family is all up for spoofs in what they clearly know is a ridiculous movie to be making. Cinema, this is definitely not, but a silly little passage of time around the holidays; B-

Wake Up Dead Man; 3rd instalment delivers on everything expected; intriguing mystery, clever dialogue handled by exceptional actors, levity that hits in the film & as commentary on our real world. Changes of setting + characters makes this an evergreen delight, a fresh energy to a solid formula; A

The Seed of the Sacred Fig; Though it feels like little happening, first half sinks into your psyche so that by the time it gets out of hand, you’re invested. Some motivations remain unclear, but the reality conveyed by the cast make it an intense experience. Long run time passes by w/o notice; A-

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair; 1st time viewing this format, elicits a different response. Original split worked as two clear tonal differences btwn films felt pronounced. Viewed as one, the climactic scene of Vol. 1 loses some juice, as the Bride still has more to avenge in the same film; A+

Zootopia 2; Surprise of the first film’s cleverness no longer a factor, the sequel explores the characters deeper and introduces some fun new ones, to a little less effect. Still solid voice cast performances fuel the momentum and story wraps up rather tidy with conflicts easily overcome; B+

Being Eddie; A rather pedestrian run through of Murphy’s greatest hits (and a few misses) is an enjoyable watch, more so for the joy of revisiting hilarious moments of his stellar career, rather than any revelatory takes on his life’s work. A sanctioned retrospective that’s more quaint than raw; B

Ka Whawhai Tonu; An epic tale that allows audiences to enter via the perspective of young children, surviving through the onslaught of colonial violence. The backdrop may be huge, but the characters are real and personal, giving the battle action a grounded dramatic realism. Well crafted film; A-

Kōkā; A relentlessly sad story that manages to uplift in the moments of shared struggle between the unlikely pairing thrust together by dire circumstances. The odd dynamic can be cringe to watch in the most manic moments, but there’s a beauty to the lives lived in common spiritual understanding; B+

Wicked: For Good; Similar to its source material, this 2nd act fails to enthral like the 1st, despite continued inspiring musical performances. The direction seems less interested in giving us spectacle & grandeur, opting for dark close ups & gloomy two shots. It feels like the magic fizzled out; B-

Under the Sea 3D; An entire world comes alive right in front of our faces, giving sights unseen from the ocean floor, depth & beauty instilling vast wonderment. Even w/comedic narration by Jim Carrey and an environmental message, it never loses focus that the ocean’s majesty is a sight to behold; A

Becoming Led Zeppelin; There’s not much insight shared about the evolution of Zeppelin, as the film fails to convey the magic of its legendary riffs. It comes off pedestrianly ordinary, for music that moves like no other. The film wraps up way ahead of what we want to hear, hoping for a follow up;B-

Little Shop of Horrors; An insane amount of talent combine to lovingly craft a fitting version of a bizarre off-Broadway B-movie love story. Oz at the helm, enlisting the genius duo of Ashman & Menken, stuffing comedic greats in bit roles doesn’t diminish the sweet tale of two lovers. Cult gold; B+

Death of a Unicorn; A wild premise thinly executed, quickly veers into horror when greater themes and angles could be explored. Still, the ensemble is incredible and play off each other fantastically well. A trailer that intrigues but ends up half baked, with some great moments, lines and sights; B

Memento; A mind shifting experience for the audience, put in the conceit the main character lives through, readjusting our readings of scenes every 5 minutes. The extremely talented cast sell the film noir roots, acting seedy while sewing uncertainty of their true intentions. Brilliant editing; A+

The Commitments; A solid romp that revolves around the moments lived by these disparate characters thrown together, driven to deliver the great music of what became an iconic soundtrack. Thoroughly enjoyable, yet mildly depressing, as the music uplifts the sad train wreck of the lives on display; B+

Frankenstein; An absolutely gorgeous rendering of the classic tale. One of those rare films where every single shot is a frame worthy capture of glorious production & camera execution. Bolstered by an exquisite score and powerful performances, this film is a juggernaut, albeit sweet in its themes; A

Jurassic World Rebirth; Like Jaws, essentially B-movies done well, this instalment of Dinosaurs come to dinner can’t decide between family or scientists in peril, so does both. Uses water danger to a greater degree. Still doesn’t have much to offer beyond the original. Solid, standard frights; B-

Mario; Viewing this in its horrible English language dub makes it seem like Mario’s Elijah Wood lookalike brother Simon is a crazy, deranged person with fantasies in his head. The scenery is nice but the scenes are oddly cut and amount to one bizarre moment after another. Strange heap of garbage; D

All the President’s Men; Seems almost tame and quaint by today’s standards but thrills through the use of dynamic framing, stellar acting and stark realism. A lot of type and talk manages to maintain momentum by the mesmerizing star power of Hoffman and Redford and great costars. A true classic; A-

A River Runs Through It; Quiet, albeit boring meditation on life, family, growth, and its parallels to fly fishing & fighting against or flowing w/(one’s) nature. Spectacular scenery and nature vistas lovingly captured, give cinematic treatment to a book that seems mostly better read than viewed; C

Jaws; Excellent filmmaking pairs w/fantastic character acting to elevate what is a thread bare B-movie plot. Brass orchestration strikes more fear and suspense than a giant rubber prop with teeth, resulting in some clever shots and spooky jump scares. The humour peppered throughout lands nicely; A-

The 400 Blows; Kinetic filmmaking captures misguided youth and an energy of Paris in beautiful black and white. The young lead captivates from his first transgression, winning over the audience as his life’s influences and disappointments come clearer. Moments will stick in your mind forever; A

Highest to Lowest; Another tight wire act by Spike & Denzel, serving up an amazing performance in a stylishly tense morality play. The shots of New York in newly minted opulent or more worn down locales are stunning and parallel the film’s themes. Confounding at times, but ultimately entertaining; B

Blue Valentine; Falling in love with Ryan Gosling isn’t that hard but seeing him and Williams fall out of love is heart wrenchingly powerfully expressed in this intimate, realistic pastiche of life. Intercutting across moments of time lends intrigue to the amazing performances. A true hidden gem; A-

My Beautiful Laundrette; Raw glimpse into Thatcher era immigrant experience along w/what would have been at the time, groundbreaking gay representation. Seeing a young Daniel Day Lewis displaying undeniable screen presence is a bit jolting, as the tone & execution shifts wildly, yet effectively; B+

Prince: Sign ‘o’ the Times; Goofy attempts to string barely a narrative across stellar live performances looks and sounds phenomenal in IMAX close to 40 years later. A clear reminder of the powerfully dynamic troupe of musicians Prince spotlighted alongside him while delivering iconic rock shows; A

The Cameraman; Another classic from Buster Keaton, showcasing his skills thoroughly with gags galore and hard hitting emotional beats. Starts off as a rom com and ramps up the stunts, surprises and thrills as it progresses. Scenes point directly towards inspiringTom Cruise, Rowan Atkinson & more; A+

The Bad Guys 2; Fun little film that utilizes its great voice cast to power the quirky characters through animated hi-jinx. Revisiting the group for a sequel roots it with built-in love and concern for the characters, raising the emotional stakes a bit more right off the bat. Well animated fun; B

The Naked Gun; Does a great job mirroring the tone & gags of the OG series, but doesn’t quite feel as laugh per minute as the originals. Neeson & Anderson work well as leads, playing it straight amongst insanity. Some crazy stretches pay off for big laughs. Nice to have this comedy style revived; B

Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events; Stellar production work brings the first three books alive in a delightfully sinister fashion. Carrey wickedly embodies the Olaf character and his various disguises. The orphan trio are game to go head to head w/Carrey, fabulously spot on casting; A

Happy Gilmore 2; Light on laughs, relying on nostalgic moments & golfer cameos to elicit a reaction. It seems designed to provide the Sandler family w/acting experience (they’re actually not bad) and give his pals some funny moments. The return of Shooter is wildly over the top, as it should be; C-

The Fantastic Four: First Steps; Exquisite production design paints a fabulous world, more idealistic than any Earth we’ve known, situating the FF family in a story centred on their relationships. This allows the great cast’s acting to provide the explosiveness more so than the superhero action; A-

BLACKPINK: The Movie; A Covid lockdown era gift to fans while the world slowed, this time capsule documentary celebrating 5 years is enjoyable despite it seemingly thrown together in haste. The four superstars each get their moment to shine, while remaining spectacular as a group. For fans only; B

Clue; A classic that hits great today, because its comedy is rooted in the timelessness of witty writing, broad slapstick physical comedy, and a perfectly balanced tone between hijinks and murder mystery. The cast is a murderer’s row of comedy greats, led by an energetic charismatic Curry; A+

Z-O-M-B-I-E-S 4: Dawn of the Vampires; Why make original films when Disney can trot out more tropes to give very talented performers a platform safe in franchise security? Milo & Meg will 4ever be the best duo, so having them hand off the reins is hard 2 knock. Unnecessary yet slightly enjoyable; C+

Superman; Exquisite casting of major roles creates a Superman story driven by character and defining attributes. Side characters serve the story well bringing levity and pathos. Hoult’s Luthor is sinisterly ripped from the headlines as the film tackles world issues in the kindest way imaginable; A-