Sinners (2025) Review

Title: Sinners
Year: 2025
Director: Ryan Coogler
Country: US
Language: English

After a long hiatus from the movie theatre, the word-of-mouth buzz around Ryan Coogler’s Sinners was enough to draw me back. Drawing inspiration from Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), Coogler delivers a bold, genre-blending film that fuses action, horror, and drama—while also functioning as a compelling period piece. Sinners not only stands out as one of the rare vampire films that’s genuinely entertaining, but it also brims with sharp, subversive commentary that elevates it beyond its genre trappings.

Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers (both played by Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.

From a visual perspective, Sinners is a stunning film. The cinematography leans into rich, moody palettes that give the film a gothic vibe, while also staying true to the film's historical setting. the lighting is used masterfully - whether to show us dimly lit interiors or sun drenched plains - it emphasizes both horror and humanity. The film's pacing is deliberate - it takes a while to get to the horror element of the picture - but the building of suspense and intrigue certainly enhances the experience of Sinners. 

Coogler deepens Sinners’ visual and thematic resonance by using music as a powerful, omnipresent force throughout the film. The vampires weaponize haunting Irish folk songs, their eerie harmonies used to unsettle and intimidate. In contrast, Sammie and Delta Sim channel the soul of the Southern Black experience through the blues—playing with such raw, aching authenticity that it feels timeless, "so true it can pierce the veil between life and death." In one unforgettable sequence, Coogler orchestrates a layered audiovisual polyphony where performers, dances, and rhythms from across centuries converge. It’s a breathtaking moment—part spiritual, part surreal—that lingers long after the credits roll.

Sinners is a remarkable, entertaining, feature that works as surface-level horror and a deep criticism of colonialism, religion, community, fellowship, freedom, racism - and more. Coogler takes a tired genre, and delivers a thoughtful spectacle that is certainly worthy of many accolades. 

Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning (2025) Review

Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning
Year: 2025
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Country: US
Language: English

Social media has made actors far too accessible to the public. Once distant, almost mythic figures, actors are now constantly "online" — posting personal content, engaging directly with fans, and sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses of their lives. The mystery is gone. The larger-than-life movie star is now a rare phenomenon, preserved only in a select few.

Tom Cruise — Scientology aside — is one of those few. He embodies the classic star power that makes any film he touches feel like a major event. Mission: Impossible: Dead Reckoning was a must-see the moment it was announced, simply because of his involvement. He doesn’t just star in movies; he turns them into spectacles.

Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and the IMF team continue their search for the terrifying AI known as the Entity - which has infiltrated intelligence networks all over the globe - with the world's governments and a mysterious ghost from Ethan's past on their trail. 

For this - perhaps last- entry in the Mission Impossible franchise, director Christopher McQuarrie blends plot points and characters from over thirty years, giving them added weight by adding their storylines into this one. Even though Hunt's character has faced seemingly impossible circumstances before - this film seeks to out-impossible all of them, by having a $400 million big-budget & "end of the world" stakes at the heart of the story. 

Dead Reckoning takes its time to find its footing, but once it does, the film delivers jaw-dropping action sequences that will leave you squirming in your seat, asking, "How on earth will Ethan Hunt survive this?!" Part of the enduring thrill of Mission: Impossible is watching the odds stack impossibly high against Cruise, only to witness him claw his way out with sheer determination (and some mind-blowing stunts). The title Dead Reckoning adds a layer of uncertainty and tension — I found myself genuinely wondering if this could be the end of Ethan Hunt. 

I had a very fun time with Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning. If this is the last MI then the franchise went out on a very high note. The stunt work, effects, and cinematography are all impressive. This film makes me want to re-watch the others. Perhaps I'll do a marathon when this comes to streaming. 

In Defense of Snow White (2025)

Title: In Defense of Snow White (2025)

Over the decades, Disney has tried to remake their first ever feature animated motion picture Snow White & The Seven Dwarfs (1937), but found screenwriting challenges in trying to modernize the nearly century old material. Disney executives weren't sure how to handle potentially sensitive material, such as the handling of the dwarves, but they were determined to figure things out, especially considering their live action remakes were raking in billions.

One of the earliest controversies from Snow White (2025) stems from Peter Dinklage, who said that the story was an insult, "fucking backwards". He thought the film, if it cast real dwarves, would reinforce negative stereotypes and be a detriment to the community. Disney, ever so careful of their image, decided to agree & made the characters CGI instead.

The controversy didn't let up however, as a leaked photo from the set surfaced. It showed seven people, of diverse heights & ethnicities, in a field. Conservatives had a field day with this, with one right-wing website making an article with the headline EXCLUSIVE: Snow White and the Seven … Politically-Correct Companions? There were sooo many people talking about how the dwarves were woke, dei, liberal (insert random buzzword) and it turns out this image was of different characters who were also in the movie, also there were eight of them, but the fake outrage sites cropped the photo for clicks.

The next controversy is in regards to the casting. A mixed race woman, Rachel Zegler (West Side Story) was cast as a character whose skin was described as "white as snow" in the original fairytale from 1812. Again, conservatives doofuses (doofi?) ran with the fake outrage this caused. "THeY CaN't ChAnGe HiStOrY." Bro, it's 2025. We live in a world where an all-black musical about real-life white guy Alexander Hamilton won a Tony for Best Musical. The origin of her name is explained in the film. She is called Snow White because - in this adaptation- she was born during a blizzard. 

Rachel Zegler is a very talented actress who proved, with Speilberg's West Side Story, that she is a great singer as well. Zegler has the image & grace of a sweet, kind, caring person. She is exactly the person you'd cast as Snow White. 

I think there is an argument to be made that instead of race-swapping roles (ex. Hailey Berry in Little Mermaid), Disney should be making more stories about POC. Moana, Coco, and Raya are great recent examples of successful stories representing a variety of people. The people creating fake backlash against Snow White aren't going to argue for more diverse representation however.

Then there are memes comparing Gal Godot & Rachel Zegler, typically with the caption "Why would the queen be jealous of her looks?". Apart from the undeniable fact that Zegler is an attractive lady, the "fairest of them all" part is clearly about Snow White's inner beauty. Fair as in "impartial and just, without favoritism or discrimination". Do conservatives have any media literacy!? This movie was made for children. Even children can understand what the movie is getting at when the mirror says she is the "fairest of them all."

The film itself is not my cup of tea, but I'm a dude in my thirties and I'm clearly not the target audience. I'm not really a fan of the original animated film, and I'm not going to be one of those dude bros who is going to pretend I read fairytales from the 1800's. Fifteenth Century Chaucer or gtfo. I need a Disney remake of Canterbury Tales please!

I'm just writing to say the fake outrage over Snow White (2025) is a bit much. It is a fairly inoffensive film - apart from Godot's acting - that young girls will enjoy because Disney musicals can be a fun time when you're that age. Whistle While You Work is a fun song. The film is no better, and no worse, than the other Disney live-Action remakes. 

The Florida Project (2017) Review

 Title: The Florida Project
Year: 2017
Director: Sean Baker
Country: US
Language: English

After Sean Baker's Anora won 5 Oscars at the 97th Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Editing, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Original Screenplay) I decided to check out Baker's other works. On Best Pick Podcast, one of the co-hosts said that The Florida Project, was his better film, so I viewed that next. Baker's interest in exploring marginalized communities is very well highlighted in The Florida Project. I was very impressed by it - this film should have been very big during the 2017 Oscars. 

In this, a single mother (Bria Vinaite) and the manager (Willem Dafoe) of a roadside motel do their utmost to maintain the innocence of a six-year-old girl's (Brooklynn Prince) life.

The Florida Project depicts the "hidden homeless" of society - people who do not live in the streets, but lack stable housing. These cheap long-term motels, which do actually exist in the United States, are a constant source of stress for those who live in them due to the stress of housing insecurity. The social stratification in society - where economic and social resources are unevenly distributed - is very apparent in the setting of this film as the "hidden homeless" live on the outskirts of Disney World. There is clearly a divide between the poor locals & wealthy tourists, a conflict which comes up numerous times throughout its run-time. 

The title of the film has a double meaning. Walt Disney initially called Disneyworld "The Florida Project" as it was being built & "projects" typically refers to housing in low-income urban neighborhoods. Baker has these ideas clash & what we end up seeing is a remarkable film about childhood poverty & the failures of institutions. Baker also suggests that social policies may hinder those in marginalized communities and that the stigma of being poor may keep those in the lower class from progressing in society. 

The Florida Project is a really smart, well crafted, film that had me deep in introspection long after the film ended. I think, considering the current political climate - where billionaires who don't pay taxes are saying that the poor are "parasites"- we should cherish a work like this & frequently re-watch it to humble ourselves. 

Anora (2024) Review

 Title: Anora
Year: 2024
Director: Sean Baker
Country: US
Language: English

At the 97th Academy Awards, Sean Baker's Anora won five Oscars. These were Best Picture, Best Editing, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. It was a very well liked film prior to the Oscars, having won Palm D'or at Cannes, but it wasn't really considered a front-runner until a few weeks prior to the show. I'm pretty happy that such a low budget movie won such a prestigious award. Made for $6 million, Baker proves that great storytelling can surpass big budget spectacles. 

In Anora, a young escort from Brooklyn (Mikey Madison) meets and impulsively marries the son (Mark Eydelshteyn) of a Russian oligarch Once the news reaches Russia, her fairy tale is threatened as his parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.

Written, Directed, and Co-Produced by Sean Baker, Anora is a film with relentless energy. Despite it being 2hr 30min, it feels like a film with half that run-time as we go from Cinderella fairytale to Slapstick comedy to meaningful reflection on capitalism & class division. Baker really pulls us into Anora's world - giving us an empathetic glimpse of a life of a sex worker on the fringes of society. We relate to her because we are the same working class trying to not be exploited by the careless 1%.

We also empathize with the hired goons, Igor (Yura Borisov) and Nick (Paul Weissmann), who are men also exploited by capitalism & have to disrupt Anora's marriage as part of their job. They are fairly non-violent, which adds to the escalating tension & funny-as-hell slapstick that permeates the middle of the film. They have to restrain Anora, while getting beaten up by her. This results in a broken nose, falls through the table. It feels very much like a Three Stooges routine. 

I was very impressed by Anora. it had me interested in Sean Baker's other works like The Florida Project (2017). Baker does a great job at highlighting marginalized people & bringing awareness to people who are lower class. After watching the film, I had a lot of thoughts regarding class, gender and how we can improve society for people like Anora. Baker has made an important film that, hopefully, will be regarded as a classic in the future. 

Every Best Picture Ranked (Best to Worst)

 Title: Every "Best Picture" Ranked (Best to Worst)

The 97th Academy Awards have come and gone. We have a new "Best Picture" in Sean Baker's Anora. I thought Conclave would win, but I'm happy to be wrong. Anora was a great film, that was equal parts comedy and tearjerker. In 2024 I made it a goal to watch EVERY Best Picture Winner. Sometimes this goal was easy, like watching Hitchock's Rebecca (1940), and sometimes it was a brutal slog, like having to watch Cimarron (1931). At the time I didn't do a Best Picture ranking, but with Anora's win I feel like finally writing one. So here it is: 

1. All About Eve (1950)
2. Casablanca (1942)
3. Schindler's List (1993)
4. Moonlight (2016)
5. West Side Story (1961)
6. How Green Was My Valley (1941)
7. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
8. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
9. The Apartment (1960)
10. The Godfather (1972)
11. The Godfather Part II (1974)
12. Mrs. Miniver (1942)
13. On the Waterfront (1954)
14. No Country for Old Men (2007)
15. Gone With the Wind (1939)
16. Parasite (2019)
17. Rebecca (1940)
18. Oliver! (1968)
    
19. Silence of the Lambs (1991)
20. My Fair Lady (1964)
21. Amadeus (1984)
22. An American in Paris (1951)
    
    
    
    
23. Hamlet (1948)
24. Tom Jones (1963)
25. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
26. The Departed (2006)
27. The Sound of Music (1965)
28. It Happened One Night (1934)
29. From Here to Eternity (1953)
30. Titanic (1997)
    
31. The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
    
32. Return of the King (2003)
33. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
    
34. Anora (2024)
35. Unforgiven (1992)
36. Ordinary People (1980)
37. A Man for All Seasons (1966)
38. Annie Hall (1977)
39. Terms of Endearment (1983)
40. Marty (1955)
41. Rocky (1976)
42. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
43. Chariots of Fire (1981)
44. Chicago (2003)
    
    
    
    
45. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
46. The Deer Hunter (1978)
    
47. Braveheart (1995)
48. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
49. Oppenheimer (2023)
50. The Great Zeigfeld (1936)
51. Grand Hotel (1932)
52. 12 Years a Slave (2014)
53. Gladiator (2000)
54. The Lost Weekend (1945)
55. Nomadland (2020)
56. You Can't Take it With You (1938)
57. Gigi (1958)
    
    
    
    
58. The Sting (1973)
59. Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
60. Spotlight (2015)
61. The French Connection (1971)
62. Wings (1927) 
63. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
64. Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
65. Forrest Gump (1994)
    
66. The Last Emperor (1987)
    
67. The Artist (2011)
68. American Beauty (1999)
69. Shakespeare in Love (1998)
70. The English Patient (1996)
71. Going My Way (1944)
    
    
    
    
72. Coda (2021)
73. The Broadway Melody (1929)
74. Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
75. The Shape of Water (2017)
76. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
    
77. Ben Hur (1959)
78. The Hurt Locker (2009)
79. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
80. Birdman (2014)
81. Argo (2012)
82. Rain Man (1988)
83. The King's Speech (2010)
84. Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
85. A Beautiful Mind (2001)
86. Platoon (1988)
87. Patton (1970)
88. Gandhi (1982)
89. All the King's Men (1949)
90. Out of Africa (1985)
91. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952) 
92. Dances with Wolves (1990)
93. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
94. Green Book (2018)
95. Crash (2005) 
96. Cavalcade (1933)
97. Cimarron (1931)

Junior (1994) Review

Title: Junior
Year: 1994
Director: Ivan Reitman
Country: US
Language: English

I watched Junior (1994) when I was far too young. This movie was recurring nightmare fuel for an impressionable 6 year old boy, who thought the plot was real. "Boys can get pregnant!?". My anxiety went through the roof as I struggled to understand basic anatomy & was convinced I could get myself pregnant at any moment. "How do babies even get made!?" After a few weeks of trying to protect myself from whatever made boys pregnant, "Does eating apples cause it!?" I went to my parents who informed me of some pretty basic common knowledge.

As part of a fertility research project, a male scientist (Arnold Schwarzenegger) agrees to carry a pregnancy in his own body

Even in 2024, I'm quite baffled by that a film - where Arnold Schwarzenegger gets pregnant - was greenlit and financed at all. How did so many people think this would work!? In the 90's he was at the height of his popularity as an action star; Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) was a critical and commercial hit. It takes a tremendous amount of courage to say "how about in the next film I get pregnant?" The most shocking part is that it works as a concept & proves to be a fairly entertaining - albeit sometimes terrifying- film. 

In Roger Ebert's review, he says that actors should be envious of Schwarzenegger's range, and I certainly agree with that sentiment. Arnold can be vicious (Terminator), funny (Kindergarden Cop) and somehow sweet (Junior) without losing his aura of being a marketable action star. Junior will have you on a different emotional journey depending on when in your life you watch it. Over the decades I've found it sweet, disgusting, creepy, absurd, funny and just about every emotion you can think of. I don't know if I hate the film or am fond of it. 

Sometimes I find the "acting like a pregnant woman" humor sexist and off-putting, while other times I think it's hilarious because of the way Schwarzenegger expresses himself. It's juvenile humour that, (sort of?) rises, above by making a statement about how hard it is to grow a kid inside you. I don't know where this would land with audiences in the 2020's. For now I'll say, watch it with reservation. 

Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) Review

Title: Cheaper by the Dozen
Year: 2003
Director: Shawn Levy
Country: US
Language: English

Cheaper by the Dozen was a 1940's bestseller, written by two of the twelve children of a real man named Frank Gilbreth. He applied his job as an assembly line improver at home, breaking down the family home into simple elements and then assigning specific tasks to his children. For many, he proved that raising 12 children was as easy as raising two. That may have worked for the "father knows best". Leave it to Beaver era of family, but would it still be as easy in the 21st Century? Steve Martin would find out!

With his wife (Bonnie Hunt) on a book tour, Tom Baker (Steve Martin) finds his life turned upside down when he agrees to care for his twelve children while simultaneously also coaching his new football team.

Over 50 years later, the 1940s father figure is viewed as an outdated, chauvinistic relic of the past. A faithful portrayal of Gilbreth would have felt out of place for audiences in 2003. Instead, early 2000s Hollywood took a different approach—depicting the Cheaper by the Dozen father not as an authoritative patriarch, but as an incompetent, hapless fool. However, even this version of fatherhood has not aged well. In 2025, this trope is equally outdated, reinforcing sexist ideas that a household inevitably falls into chaos without a mother’s presence.

Cheaper by the Dozen is a manic, chaotic film with various Home Alone-esque shenanigans. It tries very hard to be funny, but much of the humor doesn't land & it can feel like a tedious watch at times. You'd think the pacing would be relentless - and sometimes it is- but some of the film is also painfully slow. This stop & go momentum can be quite annoying. 

Although each character feels like their own distinct person, they do not add a lot of depth to the story & ultimately, except for Steve Martin & Hilary Duff, there is very little character development. I feel like Cheaper by the Dozen might have worked for 2003, Roger Ebert liked it at the time, but would be despised if made today. Steve Martin's best work was well behind him by that time. 

10 Best Films of 2024

Title: 10 Best Films of 2024

Admittedly, I didn't watch a lot of films that came out in 2024. I almost didn't have enough films to make a top 10 list for. I'm missing The Brutalist, Nosferatu, A Complete Unknown etc. but I hope to watch them in time for the Oscars. I'm not sure if this year will be fondly remembered in film history considering all the flops (Kraven, Madame Web, Venom 3, Joker 2) that came out this year.  

The was one definite standout film for me in 2024 and that was Wicked. I'm not a huge fan of Wizard of Oz, despite my love for Judy Garland, so I was hesitant to check it out, but when I did I was absolutely floored by its brilliance. It left me in a mess of tears and popped corn. Since then, I've been constantly singing Defying Gravity and looking up Ariana Grande Tik-Toks. Here is my top ten of 2024. 

1. Wicked

2. Dune: Part Two

3. One Hundred Years of Solitude

4. Anora

5. Hundreds of Beavers

6. Conclave

7. The Beast

8. Challengers

9.  The Iron Claw

10. Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World

Hundreds of Beavers (2024) Review

Title: Hundreds of Beavers
Year: 2024
Director: Mike Cheslik 
Country: US
Language: English

In an era where Cinema has become increasingly less subtle in the messages each film wants to convey, it's nice to get a back-to-basics Silent Era slapstick comedy that has no agenda, other than to be absolutely hilarious. No, Hundreds of Beavers is not a raunchy 80's comedy, it is Looney Tunes meets Chaplin meets Monty Python. It is an energetic, imaginative, mythical film that is completely distinctive from any other film you will see this year. 

In this 19th century, supernatural winter epic, a drunken applejack salesman (Ryland Tews) must go from zero to hero and become North America's greatest fur trapper by defeating hundreds of beavers.

What is thrilling about Hundreds of Beavers, is the film's willingness to be creative and innovative; establishing its own rules in order to subvert audience expectations. The film does a tremendous job at setting up jokes, building up the suspense, and then paying it off. Every scene felt filled to the brim with humor, which made the overall story more compelling to watch.

This is an independent film with a shoestring budget, but it looks better than films made by a major Hollywood studio. Its sound design, score, set design and editing were notably impressive. Hundreds of Beavers is a very detailed film that looks like it required an enormous amount of storyboarding and pre-production planning to achieve. 

Some audiences may find Hundreds of Beavers repetitive, but I found myself captivated by the story and intrigued by its Road Runner-esque logic. I love the silent-era clowns and I will happily indulge in a film that pays homage to them. If you liked Gold Rush (1925), you'll love this.