Tag Archives: 2025 Films

2025 Films, Hailee Steinfeld, Horror, Jack O'Connell, Li Jun Li, Michael B. Jordan, Miles Caton, Omar Benson Miller, Ryan Coogler, Wunmi Mosaku

Sinners-2025

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Sinners-2025

Director Ryan Coogler

Starring Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton

Scott’s Review #1,498

Reviewed October 31, 2025

Grade: B+

After hearing so much positivity about Sinners (2025), director Ryan Coogler’s latest film, which shifts from independent (Fruitvale Station, 2013) and Marvel (Black Panther, 2018) films to the horror genre, I excitedly waited months to see it.

Coogler shifts into a vein more like Jordan Peele, a contemporary director known for daring horror message offerings like Get Out (2017) and Us (2019).

While very good, it’s not the A+ daring, horrific, extravaganza  I was expecting. The tone is dark, mysterious, and compelling, but it takes an awfully long time to actually get going despite a looming expectation of bloody events to come.

Or maybe that’s because my expectations told me to await thrills and gore mixed with a powerful storyline.

Nonetheless, had I not listened to the buzz, I might have been more satisfied. Instead, I was impressed but not blown away.

Sinners reminded me very much of the HBO series True Blood (2008-2014), with its southern vampire fantasy/horror mix, but featuring an almost entirely black cast and a lot of music.

Set in 1932 in the Mississippi Delta, the film stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as twin brothers, ‘Smoke’ and ‘Stack’ Moore, one of whom is a criminal, who return to their hometown, where they confront a supernatural evil.

The brothers return from Chicago, where they have made an illegal fortune, and purchase a sawmill from a racist landowner to start a juke joint for the local Black community.

They reconnect with local friends and musicians, offering substantial amounts of money to help make opening night a grand experience.

Coogler wisely begins the film, which takes place over the course of a twenty-four-hour period, the morning after the thrilling Saturday night events, so we somewhat know something bad will happen.

Sammie Moore (Miles Caton), the brother’s cousin, staggers into his preacher father’s church during services, clutching his coveted guitar. He is an aspiring blues musician and is wounded.

Michael B. Jordan, clearly the star of the film and frequently in Coogler films, is an Oscar hopeful by portraying dual roles. With a good versus evil vibe, he may make the cut, given the differing personalities fleshed out in the parts.

While offering decent cinematography and a southern flavor that adds dimensions, it takes so long for much action to arrive that the payoff isn’t as satisfying as I’d like.

Sure, the last forty-five minutes work well as the dusk-to-dawn fight scenes, a workable whodunit of who’s a vampire and who isn’t a vampire, and hold your breath moments of which characters will unwittingly invite a vampire inside.

The last sequence is excellent when 1932 suddenly turns into the 1990s, and one character is still left alive. The film ends happily as the character realizes a pact made in the ghastly night years ago has allowed him to live.

A question repeatedly dangled before the audience’s noses like a carrot before a horse is whether we would give in to temptation and live forever as a vampire.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful never to age? I’ll admit to realizing the appeal.

The supporting characters, including Stack’s girlfriend, Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), the bouncer, Cornbread (Omar Benson Miller), and Smoke’s estranged wife, Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), deliver strong performances.

However, the southern accents occasionally feel overdone, but the lovely costumes never do.

Neither good nor bad, the characters don’t look genuine from the 1930s, and there is more inclusion (a Korean family in the deep south?) than in real life.

Still, the film works as a fantasy, right?

Coogler gets points for creativity and showcasing racism of the 1930s still exists today, but treads lightly on going full throttle with any message.

Instead, he shows that strong black characters can forge their own success in a racist world, accompanied by a toe-tapping melody and bluesy guitars.

Sinners (2025) crosses genres like horror, supernatural, fantasy, and musical, with some sexy scenes of blood and sex amid music. The creativity is there, but it’s a slow build.

2025 Films, Action, Alana Haim, Benicio del Toro, Chase Infiniti, Crime Thriller, Leonardo DiCaprio, Paul Thomas Anderson, Regina Hall, Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor, Thriller, Tony Goldwyn

One Battle After Another-2025

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One Battle After Another-2025

Director Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti

Scott’s Review #1,497

Reviewed October 20, 2025

Grade: A

In my opinion, one of the modern great directors, Paul Thomas Anderson has released One Battle After Another (2025), a film rich with thrills and relevance. Sought to be made for years, the film is inspired by the 1990 novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon with some narratives by Anderson peppered in.

Undoubtedly, Anderson was influenced by the current state of the United States in terms of immigration issues and tyrancy in the ICE (United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement) organization.

While immigration is not a new hot button issue, the inhumanity heaved onto ‘illegal immigrants’ and some US citizens is current as well as powerful.

Additionally, a frightening tone of racism and ‘white power’ is an underlying theme of the film contrasting covert hatred by a group of white supremisists with the humanity of revolutionaries who attack the political system.

Therefore, the film has an overwhelming modern feel.

Otherwise, the breakneck twists and turns and action make One Battle After Another the crown jewel in storytelling fun and an Anderson offering that could easily be added to his top 5 of all time.

Events follow an ex-revolutionary explosive device expert, “Ghetto” Pat Calhoun / “Rocketman” / Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is forced back into his former combative lifestyle when a corrupt military officer pursues him and his daughter.

With new identies, they had assumed they could live a peaceful life of tranquility but they were in for a rude awakening.

Set in present times, the film begins fifteen years before events later in the story but with a clear linkage. This ensures the audience is invested in the characters especially in the latter half as we get to know them better.

While DiCaprio can never deliver a bad performance and firmly grips the lead role as the intelligent yet comically clumbsy Bob, other actors shine making One Battle After Another an ensemble piece dripping with award worthy performances and hefty accolades.

DiCaprio improvises his way through the script with stutters and stammering enveloping his character with endearing qualities like forgetting a vital password or falling off a roof. Nonetheless, he possesses sentimenal and introspective moments towards his life and teenaged daughter, Willa Ferguson / Charlene Calhoun, played by Chase Infiniti.

Infiniti is tremendous in what is her breakout role playing a mixed race girl attempting to lead an everyday life while having to pay for the crimes and mistakes of her parents.

Playing confident, yet scared and vulnerable, Infiniti is quite the find. Is she destined to follow in her parents footsteps?

Teyana Taylor is brutally talented as she plays Perfidia Beverly Hills, a tough as nails, take no prisoner, kick ass young woman known to tease and humiliate her prey strictly for laughs.

Regina Hall and Benicio del Toro leverage their kind hearted and supportive characters with emotional flare and some needed humor especially on the part of del Toro.

The standout, however is Sean Penn. Giving a bravura performance as the hated and racist Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw, a military officer who pursues the French 75, he sneers and pouts, never playing the character over the top or for laughs.

He truly believes he comes from a superior race while bedding the women he despises.

A three-way highway car chase scene nearly rivals classic sequences in The French Connection (1971) and The Getaway (1972). As three separate drivers points of views are featured along a hilly highway with deadly results the audience is treated to rear view mirror and reaction shots.

I honestly did not know what would happen next and was delighted at the outcome.

Hopefully, as the years go by One Battle After Another (2025) will be remembered for embracing different genres and delivering a powerhouse final product. With great acting, editing, storytelling, and action the film has got it all.

Add in a timely message and you’ve got yourself a gem.

2025 Films, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Alfie Williams, Cillian Murphy, Danny Boyle, Edvin Ryding, Horror, Jack O'Connell, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes

28 Years Later-2025

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28 Years Later-2025

Director Danny Boyle

Starring Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Alfie Williams

Scott’s Review #1,496

Reviewed October 13, 2025

Grade: B

For loyal fans of the 28 Days Later film franchise, launched in 2002, 28 Years Later (2025) may be a disappointment.

Not what I expected, the film has less raw horror than its two predecessors, but it adds a deeper emotional connection, linking various characters together.

A family is introduced, which helps provide character depth. Apparently, 28 Years Later is the first of a new trilogy, which may leave the first two installments by the wayside.

Still, the film is uneven and meanders quite a bit until the final thirty minutes or so, when I felt more invested in the events.

This is surprising, given the participation of Academy Award-winning participants, including director Danny Boyle, writer Alex Garland, and actor Cillian Murphy, as Executive Producer. It also features the original cinematographer (Anthony Dod Mantle), so I’m surprised how little connection it has to the original.

A weak sub-plot featuring Sir Jimmy Crystal, the leader of the Jimmy Savile–inspired “Jimmy” cult, and a survivor of the original outbreak is the only connection.

It’s been almost three decades since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, and now, still in a heavily enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected.

One group of survivors lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily defended causeway.

When Spike (Alfie Williams), the twelve-year-old son of Jamie and Isla (Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Jodie Comer), leaves the island on a mission to find help for his ailing mum, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but also other survivors.

He encounters characters like “Samson”, a physically imposing Alpha leader of the infected, the odd Dr Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), a former doctor and survivor of the outbreak, and a pregnant infected woman.

Isla, who teeters in and out of sanity, is along for the ride.

Comer, known for the television series Killing Eve (2018-2022), has begun to forge her way into feature films and is the standout performer.

Isla suffers from a mentally debilitating disease, but it’s unclear what the issue is. She mostly lies in bed, sleeping or suffering from excruciating headaches. It’s not until the final act that Comer’s work is stellar.

When she becomes attached to a healthy newborn baby, her emotional connection to Spike and her memories of time spent with her father are linked.

These are the best scenes, and when Comer shines brightly. She is aided by the inclusion of Fiennes as the sympathetic doctor.

This proves that superior actors can make any film better as long as they infuse their talents into the script, which Comer and Fiennes do. They have tremendous chemistry during their limited scenes, offering humane and tender moments. Young Williams also does good work.

The cinematography is impressive. Lavish outdoorsy sequences in meadows or amidst a raging fire are lucid and colorful. An abandoned train set is dressed perfectly with dingy seats overgrown with plants and weeds. When the characters race through the aisles, there’s a realism to the scene.

The rest of the film has issues, especially weak subplots.

There’s a bit too much going on, so the result feels messy. Visions, memories, Jamie cheats on Isla while Spike watches, Spike pulls a knife on dad, the alpha is on the loose, a mysterious doctor, a fire, and other such additions are included.

Some work better than others.

A hunting expedition where Jamie teaches Spike to hunt is superfluous and clichéd. Doesn’t almost every post-apocalyptic film or television show feature someone showing someone else how to hunt?

The film also feels remarkably similar to television’s The Walking Dead or The Last of Us, suggesting that the filmmakers may have been riding a trend rather than creating their own original work.

Why make the father sympathetic, then non-sympathetic? Is it a way to enhance Isla’s and Spike’s bond?

The same occurs later when a kind Swedish soldier (Edvin Ryding) debuts, only to become unlikable minutes later. Is this to justify his head being torn from his body? An incredible scene by the way.

28 Years Later (2025) has some impressive story and technical tidbits, marginally giving it a recommendation for fans of the franchise. Otherwise, there isn’t enough quality content to entice new viewers.

2025 Films, Alden Ehrenreich, Amy Madigan, Austin Abrams, Benedict Wong, Cary Christopher, Horror, Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, June Diane Raphael, Justin Long, Toby Huss, Zach Cregger

Weapons-2025

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Weapons-2025

Director Zach Cregger

Starring Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Amy Madigan

Scott’s Review #1,495

Reviewed October 5, 2025

Grade: A

Zach Cregger, who made his directorial debut with Barbarian in 2022, may have made his way to the big leagues with Weapons (2025), a highly original film rumored to have a follow-up prequel in the works.

One of his characters, the wicked Aunt Gladys (Amy Madiagan), is already becoming a household name and a potential Halloween costume idea.

The fabulous combination of tone, mystery, and genuinely frightening moments makes Weapons an edge-of-your-seat experience.

And who doesn’t find the disappearance of children a perfect horror premise?

Furthermore, the inclusion of chapters dedicated to each central character does wonders to retain the intrigue. Each character has a connection to others, making each subsequent chapter enthralling as viewers realize the connections.

Weapons is one of the best horror films I’ve seen in recent years.

Cregger masterfully gets the film off to a suspenseful and foreboding start with a quiet narration by a child. The youngster explains how one night at exactly 2:17 am, seventeen children left the safety of their suburban Pennsylvania homes and fled into the night, missing without a trace.

All but one child from the same class is included.

Alex (Cary Christopher), who has a strange connection to Aunt Gladys, is mercifully spared.

The rest of the town is left wondering what is behind their disappearance as fingers start to point towards suspects, most notably Justine (Julia Garner), the classroom teacher with a troubled past.

The ensuing witch hunt involving Justine is terrific. We tag along with the haggard teacher to the liquor store as she buys vodka in preparation for a boozy night alone in her small house, hoping to escape her troubles.

Alone, in the dark, and in a small town is frightening enough, but when a mysterious person knocks on her door and vandalizes her car, we feel vulnerable along with the character.

But is Justine as innocent as she appears?

When her chapter ends, and other characters like cop Paul (Alden Ehrenreich), James (Austin Abrams), a homeless drug addict and burglar, and Archer (Josh Brolin), a construction contractor and the father of Matthew, one of the missing children, get their backstories, the dots start to connect.

Aunt Gladys doesn’t appear for quite a while except in sudden, eerie background shots, but when she does, she immediately takes over the film.

As Alex’s elderly aunt (or is she only posing?), she quickly becomes the main antagonist of the film. Recently arrived in town, she is clad in a short, curly, ginger wig, large amounts of red lipstick, blue eyeshadow, fake eyelashes, and fake eyebrows, all behind thick-framed, tinted sunglasses.

On the surface, she appears to be an odd, old eccentric woman, but jovial and good-natured.

I wonder if Cregger patterned her after Minnie, played by Ruth Gordon, the eccentric woman revealed to be a witch in the 1968 masterpiece Rosemary’s Baby?

In one terrific scene, we almost see a sympathetic side to Aunt Gladys. She explains to Alex that neither a hospital nor water will help her recover from her terminal illness. There is a glimpse of kindness and humanity in her eyes before we recall her intentions.

There are also periodic jumps that come out of nowhere. When kindly principal Marcus (Benedict Wong) suddenly behaves out of character, we are startled. An odd woman brandishing a knife stumbles out of a doorway and lumbers to a car, cutting the hair of Justine.

Why, we wonder?

Many scenes are shot from a long-view angle without dialogue, which adds to the tension.

The finale combines a chase scene to end all chase scenes, blending horror and comedy in a way that oddly works similarly to what The Substance did in 2024. This might be the new trend in modern horror films.

Solidly infusing classic horror elements with mystery and intrigue, Cregger provides an unsettling experience that feels fresh and original.

He served as director, producer, writer, and co-musical scorer, proving that having only one chef in the kitchen often works wonders for creativity and structure.

Weapons (2025) has deservedly received critical acclaim while enjoying box office success, solidifying Cregger’s name on the cinematic map.

2025 Films, Billy Campbell, Brandy Norwood, Chase Sui Wonders, Freddie Prinze Jr., Horror, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Jonah Hauer-King, Madelyn Cline, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Sarah Pidgeon, Slasher, Tyriq Withers

I Know What You Did Last Summer-2025

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I Know What You Did Last Summer-2025

Director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Starring Chase Sui Wonders, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Madelyn Cline

Scott’s Review #1,494

Reviewed October 3, 2025

Grade: B+

The 2025 I Know What You Did Last Summer offering is pure nostalgia for fans of mainstream 1990s horror flicks. Those who love film franchises like Scream (1996-present) and Final Destination (2000-present) will be pretty pleased.

I adored watching the film and traveling back to my youth, although I was startled by the revelation that the young cinema stars of the 1990s are now almost 50 years old.

I only knew that Jennifer Love-Hewitt was returning by way of coming attraction trailers. Still, I had no idea that Freddie Prinze Jr. and Sarah Michelle Gellar were also returning, which added to my viewing pleasure.

It felt like catching up with old friends you haven’t seen in nearly thirty years.

While not a sequel to the 1997 original, it feels fresh with its clever ideas, twists and turns, and whodunit sensibilities, adding a refreshing dose of feminism that is timely.

This can undoubtedly be due in large part to being directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, a female director who also co-wrote the screenplay.

Just like in 1997, when five friends inadvertently cause a deadly car accident, they cover up their involvement and make a pact to keep it a secret rather than face the consequences.

A year later, their past comes back to haunt them when one of the friends receives a threatening note, and they realize that someone knows what they did last summer.

As one by one the friends are stalked by a killer, they discover this has happened before, and they turn to two survivors of the legendary Southport Massacre of 1997 for help.

The most fun is the whodunit factor and trying to figure out who is the one donning a fisherman’s cloak and brandishing a hook to slice and dice their victims to ribbons.

Or does Robinson borrow a gimmick from the Scream films and make it two killers?

Of course, the victim of the original summer tragedy shares a link with the killers, and plenty of red herrings are in store, adding to the enjoyment.

The rulebook is slightly bent to allow for even more female empowerment than the original, wisely bringing Love-Hewitt’s Julie James back into the fold.

Now older, wiser, and tougher, and a college professor, she serves as a coach and mentor to Ava Brucks (Chase Sui Wonders), the leader of the new group of friends.

In a cool bit of inclusion, the character of Ava is bisexual, having a passionate bathroom encounter with a rocker chick while also having an ex-boyfriend, Milo (Jonah Hauer-King).

It’s also revealed that Julie and Ray Bronson (played by Prinze Jr.) were once married and have a tumultuous past. This is appealing to viewers familiar with the duo from the original film.

Putting the soap opera trimmings aside, the main highlight of I Know What You Did Last Summer is the accident during the first summer, the chase scenes, and the kill scenes, and the film wisely provides many of these.

When Teddy (Tyriq Withers) and Danica (Madelyn Cline) go to a dark graveyard to snoop for information, it doesn’t bode well for either when the fisherman lurks nearby.

These straightforward yet compelling sequences blend seamlessly with the finale aboard a yacht and later in a bar. The twists and turns, as well as the killer reveal, are well-written and character-themed, building on history and making sense.

I Know What You Did Last Summer (2025) successfully takes a stroll down memory lane while providing jumps, scares, and even a few laughs along the way.

2025 Films, Adam Stein, Brec Bassinger, Horror, Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Richard Harmon, Teo Briones, Tony Todd, Zach Lipovsky

Final Destination Bloodlines-2025

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Final Destination Bloodlines-2025

Director Zack Lipovsky, Adam Stein

Starring Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Brec Bassinger

Scott’s Review #1,489

Reviewed August 9, 2025

Grade: B+

Final Destination Bloodlines (2025) is the sixth installment in the Final Destination film franchise, but the first in fourteen years, making the film feel more like a relaunch than a retread.

I’ll gladly see any new (or old) chapters since I enjoy the once inventive premise, which is now familiar territory and part of the brand.

The plots are based on the idea of a small group of people who escape impending death after one visionary individual has a sudden premonition and warns them about a major disaster that is about to occur.

Of course, Death cannot be tricked for long.

After avoiding their deaths seen in the visions, the survivors are later killed one by one in bizarre accidents caused by an unseen force.

The unique deaths are the fun part.  From a garbage truck compactor, a malfunctioning MRI machine, and a deadly vending machine, the anticipation is in the killings and how they will be showcased.

Events begin in 1969, marking the best segment of Final Destination Bloodlines and one of the greatest in the series.

Young adults, Iris (Brec Bassinger) and Paul (Max Lloyd-Jones), embark on a lavish opening celebration of the Skyview, a high-rise restaurant tower that resembles the Seattle Space Needle. He awkwardly plans to propose, and she intends to reveal that she is pregnant.

The scene is shockingly tender and emotional since we immediately care about the couple, a pleasant surprise in the horror genre.

As the lovebirds sip champagne at the sophisticated bar, Iris is unsettled by the skyscraper’s lofty height and an unnerving feeling of dread and destruction as revelers hoot and holler on a glass dance floor.

Eventually, the tower collapses following a deadly chain reaction, killing everyone inside.

The Mad Men-style art direction and set design are magnificent and polished, adding worlds of style to the film. The pacing also works with appropriate tension throughout the extended sequence.

The action shifts to 2024, and a violent recurring nightmare plagues Stefani (Kaitlyn Santa Juana), revealed to be Iris’s granddaughter. She heads home to track down the one person who might be able to break the cycle and save the Reyes family from the grisly demise that inevitably awaits them.

The 2024 events are what you’d expect from the Final Destination films, and while decent, they don’t compare to the superior 1969 part.

The most fun is watching the cat-and-mouse setup of the presumed chain of events.

At the Reyes family barbeque, an accidental chunk of broken glass, a mislaid sharp rake, a fiery grill, and a torn trampoline are all possible death objects revealed as the family sips drinks and revels in outdoor activities and chatter.

Or are they merely red herrings?

The genius is forcing the audience to look around their own homes and decipher how many different objects could lead to their deaths.

Santa Juana is excellent at carrying the film, playing a relatable girl next door. Her likability keeps the audience invested in her as she attempts to break the cycle.

Other characters are more stock. The annoying tattoo artist cousin, the absentee mother looking for a second chance, and the uptight female cousin. They are all intended victims that Death will surely pluck.

They all play second fiddle to the bloody deaths, which are the main attraction.

Notably, a recurring character played by Tony Todd returns before the actor’s death, getting a lovely sendoff. His character’s appearance, in both 1969 and 2024, ties in deliciously with the history of the franchise.

Giving fresh breath to a formerly aging franchise, Final Destination Bloodlines (2025) is much better than expected. It adds charm and fulfillment, making it a treat for longtime fans of the past twenty-five years.

2025 Films, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Eli Craig, Horror, Katie Douglas, Kevin Durand, Slasher, Will Sasso

Clown in a Cornfield-2025

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Clown in a Cornfield-2025

Director Eli Craig

Starring Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams

Scott’s Review #1,488

Reviewed August 7, 2025

Grade: B+

Clown in a Cornfield (2025) is a surprisingly satisfying throwback to 1980s slasher horror films but with a modern twist.

The fun vibe creates an entertaining experience that doesn’t take itself too seriously, incorporating comic moments and blending twenty-first-century technology with traditional genre standards.

Additionally, a juicy and surprising same sex romance is revealed in the final stages of the film, when typically the crazed killer whodunit would be the featured main attraction.

The film feels vintage, containing killer clowns, a midwestern cornfield, and eerie townspeople. These one-time clichéd add-ons suddenly feel fresh with a younger audience in mind.

Middle-aged horror buffs can fondly recall 1980s gems like Children of the Corn (1984), which is reminiscent primarily.  There is something particularly unsettling about a rural plains area in the middle of nowhere and menacing figures emerging from a dusty cornfield late at night.

As with most creepy small-town horror films, there is a deadly secret harvesting amid the lonely, quiet nights.

In 1991, two fresh-faced teens sneak off into the nearby cornfield and are killed by the local mascot, Frendo the Clown.

Decades later, teenage Quinn Maybrook (Katie Douglas) and her father, Dr. Glenn Maybrook (Aaron Abrams), begrudgingly arrive in the quiet town of Kettle Springs, Missouri, after Quinn’s mother dies, hoping for a fresh start.

Quinn meets fellow students Cole (Carson MacCormac) and Rust (Vincent Muller), and they uncover a mystery surrounding the once-affluent small town that has fallen on hard times after the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down.

The adults warn Quinn to be wary of the high school cool kids, whom she quickly starts to hang out with. But is it the locals and Sheriff Dunne (Will Sasso) that Quinn and her father should be wary of? What is the symbolism of a haunting Baypen factory music box?

The screenwriters wisely, and fantastically, add a mix of humor to many sequences, which both counterbalance the bloodshed and provide laugh-out-loud, genuinely funny moments.

This mostly comes at the expense of two female supporting characters, Janet and an unnamed friend. After a series of pranks to initiate Quinn into their group, one girl assumes that a decapitated head belonging to her boyfriend is fake.

She giggles and juggles it between both her hands before she shrieks in horror at the realization that the head is real. Later, she trudges through the cornfield, complaining that she feels like she’s in a bad 1980s slasher movie.

The best kill comes when a buff, shirtless high school kid bench presses weights in his garage and is decapitated by Frendo. His head bounces into a laundry hamper, and the lid closes shut with exact precision.

I noticed a potent anti-nationalist message as the antagonists are portrayed as small-town, small-minded simpletons meant to represent the United States, the MAGA movement. They blame the teens for the town’s troubles and for ruining its public image.

In satisfying form, the teenagers make fools of the adults, except for Quinn’s father, who is one of the good guys and subsequently runs for mayor to rid the town of the dolts who currently control it.

The sexual preference of Quinn’s male crush is also a breath of fresh air in a genre that typically doesn’t stray too far from mainstream gender roles.

The 2020 novel of the same name, from which the film was adapted, might be superior, but Clown in a Cornfield (2025) is fun. It also proudly has one twist that I did not see coming, which has nothing to do with the deadly clowns.

2025 Films, Action, Allison Williams, Amie Donald, Aristotle Athari, Brian Jordan Alvarez, Gerard Johnstone, Ivanna Sakhno, James Wan, Jenna Davis, Science Fiction, Violet McGraw

M3GAN 2.0-2025

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M3GAN 2.0-2025

Director Gerard Johnstone

Starring Allison Williams, Violet McGraw

Scott’s Review #1,484

Reviewed July 6, 2025

Grade: C+

Shifting from science fiction/horror to science fiction/action, M3GAN 2.0 (2025) peppers in enough humor and witty quips from its barbie-like central robotic doll named M3GAN (Amie Donald/Jenna Davis) to keep things entertaining.

I expected more horror elements, which are sorely missing to its detriment. This is peculiar since the slasher elements of the first installment are what made it campy fun.

The story ultimately lost me due to erratic storytelling, preposterous moments, and events that were difficult to follow. Throw in some over-the-top acting, and, at best, M3GAN 2.0 delivers a popcorn summer entertainment classification.

M3GAN (2023) is much superior.

The second chapter follows M3GAN being reluctantly rebuilt by its roboticist and creator, Gemma (Allison Williams), to combat a humanoid military robot named AMELIA (Ivanna Sakhno), which was built using M3GAN’s technology and is attempting an AI takeover.

But, is M3GAN being manipulated?

Writer and director Gerard Johnstone swaps the original’s horror software for a more action-leaning approach that doesn’t prove to be an upgrade. Fight sequences and a car chase overtake any creepy moments.

However, he wisely keeps and even increases the number of quips delivered by the fiendish robot, and some are laugh-out-loud delightful with saucy expletives thrown around for good measure.

M3GAN primarily engages in banter with Gemma, easily pointing out her shortcomings while remaining a loyal friend and protector to Cady (Violet McGraw).

These are the fun moments, like when M3GAN admits that Gemma is reasonably attractive enough to lure a man to bed. Her sarcastic and slightly robotic voice worked perfectly, so I longed for more of these scenes.

The character of M3GAN is the main attraction. More mature and with a cute bob-like hairstyle, she is older and wiser but just as sinister. She has presumably progressed from a young adult ‘friend’ to a grown woman capable of superior thought process and calculating strategy.

The writing and motivations of the characters are overcomplicated and confusing.

Four different sets of potential villains are thrown into the complex mix. Christian Bradley, a cybersecurity expert whom Gemma meets on her book tour, Alton Appleton, a corrupt tech billionaire, the U.S. Army, and AMELIA.

It’s challenging to keep track of who the good guys are or who the bad guys are, and this includes the allegiance of M3GAN.

An attempt to highlight the dangers of AI to government and technology is a timely and vital message, and is weakly referenced.

Rather than making it a central part of the film, it is merely glossed over without anything to make that message resonate with the audience.

The hokey plot-driven story and kung-fu-like action sequences unfortunately outshine the more satisfying one-liners delivered by M3GAN.

Much of the acting is either alarmingly cartoonish or altogether wooden, mainly on the part of the villains (former) or young actor McGraw, who makes Cady too pouty and brooding.

Williams, most known for Get Out (2017), adequately carries the film while being upstaged by a robot.

M3GAN 2.0 (2025) is a ho-hum affair that may result in the termination of the young franchise unless Johnstone wises up and reverts to more comedy and more horror in a potential M3GAN 3.0 effort.

2025 Films, Cate Blanchett, Drama, Gustaf Skarsgård, Marisa Abela, Michael Fassbender, Naomie Harris, Pierce Brosnan, Regé-Jean Page, Steven Soderbergh, Thriller, Tom Burke

Black Bag-2025

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Black Bag-2025

Director Steven Soderbergh

Starring Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender

Scott’s Review #1,473

Reviewed March 30, 2025

Grade: B+

Steven Soderbergh offers Black Bag (2025), a taut spy thriller that is very slick and fast-paced. Wasting no time to lag or drag, he gets right down to the action in a quick one hour and thirty-four minute running time.

Stars Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender play British intelligence officers and husband and wife, George and Kathryn. His superior, Meacham (Gustaf Skarsgård), gives George one week to investigate the leak of a top-secret software program code-named Severus.

One of the five suspects is Kathryn.

Viewers familiar with Soderbergh’s films will recognize the familiarity of the tense electronic musical score by David Holmes, a frequent collaborator of Soderbergh. He scored the Oceans trilogy (2001-2007), which Black Bag resembles.

Those films, hits at the time, now feel less impactful, but Black Bag takes a similar style and envelops a modern, sophisticated London backdrop.

The immediate draw is Fassbender and Blanchett, who play exceptionally well opposite each other. Both stars light up the screen electrically, offering cat-and-mouse scenes that cackle with dry wit and sensuality.

George can always sense untruths and despises liars. As much as he loves Kathryn, he doubts her when he finds a movie ticket receipt in the trash for a film she claims never to have seen. But is she being set up?

The supporting characters are impressive, with Marisa Abela and Tom Burke as sparring partners and Clarissa and Freddie getting the meatier roles.

The best sequence is the riveting dinner sequence when George invites the four other suspects, all colleagues, to dinner. When he drugs their food to lower their inhibitions, he has them play a warped game of ‘Resolutions’ in which they make a resolution for the person to their right.

Since the other couples are each dating, this leads to revelations, squabbles, and a jealous stabbing.

Even in mainstream pictures, Soderbergh loves incorporating corporate work sequences and independent cinema/arthouse qualities. Propelled by the musical score, sometimes frenetic, there is a thrilling vibe even in quiet scenes.

He also loves closeup shots, which are especially important for Fassbender, Blanchett, and the dinner guests.

Nearly putting style over substance, the story, written by David Koepp, is complicated to follow. We assume that one of the dinner guests or Kathyrn’s boss, Arthur (Pierce Brosnan), is the rat, serving up a film whodunit.

Kathryn has access to a Zurich bank account containing ₤7 million in misdirected and unexplained funds, and there is something to do with a Russian operative who Kathryn flies to Zurich to meet.

The rest of the plot is gray, and after the film, I needed to read a synopsis to gain some understanding.

Small wonders that may have had little to do with the story impressed me. A simple scene in a crowded movie theater where Kathryn and George munch popcorn and flinch at scary scenes enhances the importance and joy one gets from watching a film in the movie theater.

The couple’s duplex London loft is pure magic to look at. As George prepares simmering food and quality wine in the vast kitchen with modern trimmings, their upstairs bedroom is equally enthralling with cosmopolitan furniture colors and just the right polish.

The couple is obviously worldly.

Black Bag (2025) is an entertaining film. Do not struggle to follow every nuance or story point, or you will be frustrated. Instead, sit back and enjoy the experience of a spy thriller with incredible music, sets, and stars.

2025 Films, Adam Scott, Camp, Christian Convery, Colin O'Brien, Comedy, Dark Comedy, Elijah Wood, Horror, Horror-Camp, Horror-Comedy, James Wan, Oz Perkins, Rohan Campbell, Sarah Levy, Stephen King, Tatiana Maslany, Theo James

The Monkey-2025

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The Monkey-2025

Director Oz Perkins

Starring Theo James, Christian Convery

Scott’s Review #1,471

Reviewed March 14, 2025

Grade: B

The Monkey (2025) is a macabre horror/comedy film based on a 1980 Stephen King short story.

The film is directed by Oz Perkins, son of legendary actor Anthony Perkins, forever famous for portraying Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho (1960).

He also wrote the screenplay proving that horror runs in his Hollywood royalty tinged blood.

Partnering with James Wan, who co-created the lethal Saw (2004-present) franchise, which The Monkey mostly resembles, adds experience and credibility to the project.

Deadly set pieces and dangling machinery just waiting to slice and dice willing victims to bits make the film a fun experience.

When twin brothers (Christian Convery/Theo James) find a mysterious wind-up monkey, a series of outrageous deaths tear their family apart, leaving them to live with their kooky aunt and uncle and ultimately estranged.

Twenty-five years later, after lying dormant, the devious monkey begins a new killing spree, forcing the siblings to reunite and confront the cursed toy.

For horror fans, the best part of The Monkey is the gruesome death scenes. Wan, well versed in eye gouging, decapitations, and torn limbs, must have inspired Perkins during the final cut.

Wonderfully wicked kills include a gorgeous bikini-clad female pool goer blown to bits, a busload of cheery cheerleaders decapitated, a shop owner disemboweled with a harpoon gun, a bowling ball decapitating another victim, and an unlikable victim being killed by a swarm of wasps.

The uproarious deaths are applaud-worthy because most of the victims are annoying or unsympathetic in some way. The audience delights in witnessing their endings in such gory fashion.

As the adult Hal/Bill Shelburn, Theo James carries the film as the charismatic, bookworm, Hal and the egotistical Bill. James, ridiculously handsome, looks even more adorable in glasses and shy awkwardness.

Hal attempts to reconnect with his son, Petey (Colin O’Brien), with whom he only spends one week per year. Rather than being an absent father, he strives to protect him from the terrible monkey.

Many supporting characters are played over the top and wacky, making the film a goofy horror/comedy. Elijah Wood appears as Ted Hammerman, Hal’s ex-wife’s new husband, while Adam Scott plays Hal’s and Bill’s absent father, with whom the monkey originated after a trip abroad.

As gory delicious as the blood and guts are, the story isn’t much of a highlight. The brother Bill is written as so much of an asshole that one wonders why Hal is so tolerant towards him.

The ending is predictable, and there is not much closure with the monkey. A half-assed explanation of whomever turns the key in the monkey’s back is immune from being killed or some such explanation didn’t wow me.

The film could be a Twilight Zone or horror series episode over a full-length production, running out of gas towards the end.

Oz Perkins is a rising director who creates a cruelly delightful film that feels like an independent production. Choosing to propel viewers into a gore fest over a scary film, The Monkey (2025) is a modest success.