Tag: 2025

Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) | REVIEW

A hulking Predator in PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS — PHOTO: DISNEY.

Directed by Dan Trachtenberg — Screenplay by Micho Robert Rutare.

With 2022’s Prey, 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg proved himself capable of shepherding the Predator franchise and steering it in a new and exciting direction. Now, in 2025, Trachtenberg’s next moves with the iconic sci-fi horror action film series are coming our way. This November, his second live-action Predator-film, Predator: Badlands, is set to premiere theatrically, but if you’re jonesing for more Trachtenberg-Predator goodness right now, then you’ll be happy to know that Disney+/Hulu just released a brand new Predator from Trachtenberg that is unlike anything you’ve ever seen from this franchise, given the fact that it is actually a fully animated film. That may not sound like the ideal way to tell these stories, but, in actuality, Trachtenberg has, with Predator: Killer of Killers, used the medium to pull off some genuine wish-fulfillment Predator movie moments that are exactly as out there and as gory as you could possibly like.

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From the World of John Wick: Ballerina (2025) | REVIEW

Ana de Armas as Eve in Ballerina. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Lionsgate

Directed by Len Wiseman — Screenplay by Shay Hatten.

Only a select few action films of the last ten to fifteen years have become the household name and critical success story that John Wick is. Multiple effective sequels later (as well as an apparently only so-so spin-off miniseries titled The Continental), and now we have the first spin-off film in the franchise. With the clumsily titled From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, the shepherds of the franchise hope to build another film series within the same universe without having to always rely on the presence of the assassin played by Keanu Reeves. At the same time, the film’s title and marketing, which have emphasized the fact that Reeves makes an appearance, still use Wick as a crutch. Admittedly, it does seem slightly desperate, but, in 2025, at a point in time when even Disney can’t rely on a Captain America movie without Chris Evans to make money, a built-in audience is key when launching something quasi-new on the big screen. Those willing to take a chance on Ballerina will be treated to a film that has some of the thrills of the Wick films, but which, however, also struggles in notable areas.

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Mountainhead (2025) | REVIEW

Cory Michael Smith, Steve Carell, Ramy Youssef, and Jason Schwartzman in MOUNTAINHEAD — PHOTO: HBO / Macall Polay.

Directed by Jesse Armstrong — Screenplay by Jesse Armstrong.

How do you follow up the wild success of audience and critic-favorite Succession, which earned its creator, Jesse Armstrong, four Emmys (one for each season) for writing? Jesse Armstrong opted for an HBO film, Mountainhead, that, although not explicitly connected to the universe of Succession, feels somewhat related to the corporate, capitalist, and inheritance satire that put him on the map globally. However, though it occasionally does capture the right feeling of that show, Mountainhead doesn’t quite manage to say anything new.

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Fountain of Youth (2025) | REVIEW

John Krasinski, Domhnall Gleeson, and Natalie Portman in “Fountain of Youth,” now streaming on Apple TV+.

Directed by Guy Ritchie — Screenplay by James Vanderbilt.

Guy Ritchie’s Fountain of Youth follows siblings Luke (played by John Krasinski) and Charlotte Purdue (played by Natalie Portman) as they eventually team up to go on an adventure to find — yep, you guessed it — the fountain of youth. While Charlotte works as a museum curator in London, Luke steals paintings to complete a job for Owen Carver (played by Domhnall Gleeson), a billionaire who is searching for the fountain of youth to prevent his own death from a terminal illness. Luke and Charlotte’s paths cross when he steals a painting from the museum where she works, resulting in her losing her job. When one thing leads to another, she reluctantly joins their mission, while Interpol, as well as a secret society dedicated to protecting the fountain, is chasing them.

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Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025) | REVIEW

Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt hanging on to an airborne upside-down yellow biplane in MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING — PHOTO: Paramount Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Christopher McQuarrie — Screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie and Erik Jendresen.

When Mission: Impossible first took the leap from being a 1960s and 1970s TV series to being a cinematic franchise capable of rivalling both the most iconic spy thriller films and action extravaganzas in 1996, it was Tom Cruise’s first film as a producer. Now, 29 years later, Cruise has become Hollywood’s biggest movie star, and the film series is supposedly (if the marketing and promotion are to be believed) about to conclude with the aptly titled Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the eighth film in the series. The film features both some of the best sequences in the entire film series, but also one of the messiest opening acts of any of the films.

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The Last of Us – “Convergence” | REVIEW

Bella Ramsey in THE LAST OF US: CONVERGENCE — PHOTO: Liane Hentscher / HBO.

This is a recap and review of the seventh and final episode of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect spoilers for season 1 and game 1 (and the episode itself, of course), but also some references to and comments about the second game (though without spoilers).

In the seventh and final episode of the second season — titled Convergencee — Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) and Jesse (played by Young Mazino) search the streets of Seattle for Tommy (played by Gabriel Luna. However, when Ellie sees something in the distance, she parts ways with her friend. Convergence was written by Neil Druckmann, Halley Gross, and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and directed by Nina Lopez-Corrado (Supernatural; Mayor of Kingstown).

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The Last of Us – “The Price” | REVIEW

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in THE LAST OF US: THE PRICE — PHOTO: Liane Hentscher / HBO.

This is a recap and review of the sixth episode of the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us. Expect spoilers for season 1 and game 1 (and the episode itself, of course), but also some references to and comments about the second game (though without spoilers).

In the sixth and penultimate episode of the second season — titled The Price — we get multiple flashbacks to various birthdays, as we see how the Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) dynamic and relationship changed over the years in Jackson. The Price was written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl), Halley Gross, and Neil Druckmann, and directed by Neil Druckmann, the co-creator of the games.

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Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025) | REVIEW

Trailer title card — PHOTO: Netflix (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Matt Palmer — Screenplay by Matt Palmer and Donald McLeary.

In 2021, Netflix pleased horror fans with the nostalgic horror-slasher trilogy of films, adapting R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series from director Leigh Janiak. Janiak’s films all had clear style, grisly horror sequences, and well-done references to their cinematic inspirations. They were all quite solid films that got their hooks into a certain audience, and it put Fear Street on the map for Netflix. So much so that I had, honestly, been looking forward to seeing how Netflix would follow up the relatively successful trilogy. Four years later (and, notably, without Leigh Janiak in the director’s chair), we now finally have that next step. Fear Street: Prom Queen also tries to be a nostalgic slasher flick, but it fails in most departments and, frustratingly, fumbles the goodwill that the first three films had earned.

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Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025) | REVIEW

Tony Todd in FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein — Screenplay by Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor.

It was only a matter of time before the recent trend of legacy sequels, including in horror, would make its way to the Final Destination franchise, which burst onto the scene with James Wong’s iconic 2000 entry but stalled after Steven Quale’s Final Destination 5 in 2011. Now the horror movie franchise, which is built around a Rube Goldberg machine-esque chain reaction focus on Death’s design as a direct result of someone having cheated death, has been resurrected a quarter of a century after the release of the original film. I’ll admit that I was concerned that the inevitable legacy sequel would just be a quick cash grab, but I’m happy to report that it’s, in actuality, one of the sharpest films in the entire series. It’s clear from the first scene to the last that this was made by filmmakers who have a lot of love for these films and who understood fully what makes these films tick.

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A Complete Unknown (2024) | REVIEW

Edward Norton and Timothée Chalamet in A COMPLETE UNKNOWN. Photo by Macall Polay, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.

Directed by James Mangold (LOGAN; Ford v Ferrari) — Screenplay by James Mangold and Jay Cocks.

Set in the early-to-mid 1960s, James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown follows a young musician named Bob Dylan (played by Timothée Chalamet) who, in a New Jersey hospital, meets his music idol, Woody Guthrie (played by Scoot McNairy), who is suffering from Huntington’s disease. Dylan impresses Woody and fellow musician Pete Seeger (played by Edward Norton) with a song dedicated to Guthrie, and, as a result, Seeger invites Dylan to stay in his home. As the two become fast friends, Seeger starts to introduce Dylan to the folk music scene, and soon, he becomes the target of the industry. Although Dylan makes a name for himself with folk music and protest songs, he gradually starts to struggle with being considered solely as a folk musician.

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