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Maybe a bit early for a recap thread, but here are a few things that I saw in 2025 but am still thinking about. Now, just because I am thinking about it, doesn't mean it was good, but I am still thinking about it.

Sinners
Who knew remaking From Dusk Till Dawn in the Deep South in 1932 could be so full of meaning and depth! So much meaning and subtext hidden in plain sight in this film. I can not wait to see it the Director's Commentary on this one. If you have not seen it, you should go see it.

Andor
I swore off Star Wars media a long time ago, and have not watched any of it since The Last Jedi. I reluctantly watched it after getting too many recommendations from other folks that I trusted. Damn, I am glad I did. This was a Star War movie that was not just contradictory content, it had a lot to say...... so much to say. I watched the end of the Ghorman arc the day the Marines and Guard were sent to LA. This resonated with me and you should go watch it right now.

Thunderbolts
Marvel phase 4 has been trash..... but this was good. Super good. Plus, I really liked what it had to say about Mental Health and made taking care of yourself a heroic act. Something that can not be done alone. So fethin' good. Go watch it.

Captain America 4
What the hell happened here. I am thinking about this because of what this movie could have been. It was right there, just sitting there. Yet, Disney backed out and was afraid to pull the trigger on what could have been another masterpiece of subtext and meaning in an America being rocked by division. Ultimately, the chickened out and the movie suffers greatly for it. Weaksauce, but I can not stop thinking about what might have been. A failure of cowardice.

One Battle After Another
The setting is chilling, but ultimately is just a chase movie. The main protagonist in Leo is too boring and does nothing. The main antagonist is horrifying in his clownishness, but no less terrifyingly real. This could have been better, but it did not shy away from what American Dystopia looks like. Ultimately, an ambitious failure.


Of course, I watched a lot of other stuff, but none of it really stuck with me beyond content and entertainment.

How about you? What movies, TV, music, album, media, etc. has stuck with you from this year so far?

I’m with you on Sinners, Thunderbolts and Andor. I haven’t thought about Captain America 4 since the day after I saw it.

I almost took my family to see OBAA, until I read in a review about some of the sexually charged situations I wouldn’t want to watch with my teenager. Unfortunately, I never got another chance, and the filmbro hype around it turned me off. However, your review has revitalized my interest, as I love an ambitious failure.

Superman
I loved seeing a movie with a hopeful, good hearted character to aspire to. Reminds me of an old Dakka member’s sig about how we need our superheroes to remind us of who we wanted to be. I missed that kind of earnest belief in something good. It really is the real punk rock.

Weapons
I loved the character work, the examination of grief and trauma (which were not the real monster of the film. That was the Boomers and/or alcoholism), and the humor. I still think about the masterfully executed stakeout scene and of course the bonkers ending.

Life of Chuck
The beginning part hit hard with some standout performances, giving a renewed appreciation for David Dastmalchian and Matthew Lillard. The busking/dancing scene made a big impression on me as one of those “this is cinema” scenes that deserve to be seen on the big screen, like the two song scenes from Sinners.

Bugonia
The ending for sure will linger in my mind for a while. I’ll be thinking of the performances and the score all through Oscar season. Also, the film has the best diegetic use of a Green Day song I’ve seen, so I’m sure I’ll be chuckling whenever it comes on the radio.


Is this a thread for movies released in 2025, or can we discuss older movies we’ve first seen in 2025?

Sinner, Andor, Thunderbolts. All bloody good things. Also Skellington Crew, which straddled the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025.

Bring Her Back

One of the most genuinely unsettling horror movies I’ve seen. I remain impressed at how it juggled tropes without being a mess.

Weapons

A glorious movie. A bit confusing as first, and ripe for a prequel. The ending is magnificent, if divisive.

Superman

RIP Edgy McEdgelord Superman. We’re back to a much more enjoyable and compelling character. Lex Luthor was superb though.

I’ll be back with more no doubt, but that’s the low hanging fruit out the way.

Superman definitely resonated with me. Kind of exactly what I needed and something I've watched a few times over. Got me to go back and watch Creature Commandos which is far more cynical but still quite good.

Sinners continues Coogler's run of excellent films in which no one really discusses the subtext which kind of does the whole thing a disservice but also overhypes things for a lot of people.

Didn't get to the theater for Marvel, but caught Cap 4 and Thunderbolts on D+. The latter is a far better film that really needed stronger films around it to compare against to reach its full potential. Cap 4 is definitely a bit of wasted potential on a lot of fronts. It's not terrible but doesn't come together like it should.

Andor was of course, excellent and honestly makes most everything else look foolish by comparison.

On the anime front, the Demon Slayer movie was almost exhausting but definitely impressive. DanDaDan has remained one my favorite stories ever but continues a bit off last year. Gachiakuta is pretty standard Shonen stuff, but has some stand out character designs and urban vibes that makes it stand out. The one that will probably stick with you though is Takopi's Original Sin which is just an unrelentingly hard watch.

A good year for games with excellent gameplay. Bananza and the new Ninja Gaiden have been fantastic gameplay, but its pretty hard to overlook how great Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Of everything on the list it probably stands as the thing that most dominated my headspace this year.

It was the year of fire (Snow White)
The year of destruction (Fantastic 4)
The year we took back what was ours (Andor)

It was the year of rebirth (Superman)
The year of great sadness (The Electric State)
The year of pain (Section 31)
And the year of joy (Thunderbolts)

It was a new age (Frankenstein)
It was the end of history (Captain America 4)
It was the year everything changed (Sinners)

The year is 2025
The place: Babylon 5 DakkaDakka



https://archive.org/details/Babylon5Season4IntroHD

This is the first year I've really watched horror stuff beyond Aliens and the Predator films.

Nosferatu
First horror of the year and despite the annoying pair beside me, I loved this film. I thought the cast was great (especially the rats, all trained thespians BTW), the look and visuals were stunning, and the behind the scenes info I learned after just made it so much better. Nicholas Hoult getting chased by wolves for real just to make that scene look better is the highlight. My one problem is Orlocks tache because it made him look like Waluigi and there were times when he showed up that my brain just activated "Waaah!!" sound effects.

Bring Her Back
Proper freaky, messed up film. Very good but made me feel physically ill half the time which I suppose is the point of it all.

Sinners
I watched no trailers and saw no teasers, so when Paddy Mayne from SAS: Rogue Heroes shows up as a vampire I was legitimately surprised. Excellent film and I'm still mad I missed seeing it again in the cinema while it was out.

The Space Marine Secret Level episode.

Don’t really recall the others. But that one was superb. The animators absolutely nailed the precision of Marines. There’s violence aplenty, yet the Boys In Blue have a perfect economy of movement as befits their skill and strength.

Sinners

Went from really liking it, to really disliking it after some thought. Watched it 3 times to figure out why. Its a finely made movie all around and I can understand the love folk have for it, but it falls apart hard once the vampires are let in at the end.

Bring Her Back

Went from really disliking it, to really loving it after some thought. Well as much as you can love a movie as dark, sad and twisted as this. My initial review had this as a poor sophmore effort from Danny and Michael Phillipou, who had probably had the best horror movie of 2022 in Talk To Me, but in hindsight, I think this movie was a clear elevation in their game.

Cursed Waters: Creature of Lake Okanagan

Just recently viewed this on Prime. My childhood love and fascination for all cryptid bs remains strong well into adulthood somehow, even into the era of high quality cameras in the hands of damn near every living human in the Western Hemisphere. I’ve been thinking about it a lot since viewing. Mainly just being more mad at myself than this ‘documentary’ thats pretty much a by the numbers cryptid search that I’ve probably seen a million variations of.

Task

Crime and family drama from both sides of the cops/robbers spectrum. A stellar limited series from HBO Max. Every aspect of this story was exceptional in my opinion.

Tires Season 2

The type of humor thats right up my alley, performed by some of my favorite stand up comics. Its one of those things that gets better/funnier when you find someone else that enjoys it and you both have a joint laugh about it.

There’s definitely more that I forgot about, or can’t remember if it was a 2025 release.

Weapons

Just recently saw this. Pretty good horror, can definitely understand if it didn’t float everyones boat, as it wasn’t the movie a lot of folks thought they were getting. I thought it was equal parts sad/funny/scary. I lament the fact that it was something of a “rush job/fast tracked” production, so I do think it could have been better in many ways with more TLC.

What I saw: the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked

What I am thinking about: angelheaded hipsters burning for the ancient heavenly connection to the starry dynamo in the machinery of night

So far the only things that've really stood out for me this year are:

The good: Andor s2, Sinners, & Del Torros Frankenstien.

The bad: Succession s1 - its not [b]bad[i], as in quality wise, but it just completely failed to interest/entertain me. That to me is worse than even the terrible B movies (or Ancient Aliens) I watch on Prime....

Everybody has already covered my standout for 2025, Bring Her Back. I think this will sit with me for a while, in the same way Saint Maud did in 2019.

Another standout for me was Good Boy - a story told from the PoV of a dog (who deserves all the awards). I am not going to call it a horror movie, but I don't want to give away spoilers.

Controversially, I though Weapons to be massively overrated.

This might also be recency bias but House of Dynamite still has me thinking about it.