Jan 1 - 12 2025
The Usual Suspects, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Flow, Stalker, Rebel Ridge
- The Usual Suspects [1995] - 85
Starting off the year with a 90’s classic, The Usual Suspects still holds up not only within its genre 30 years later, but even as one I’ve seen before and remember fondly. One of the highlightable cases of an all-star cast allowing each to shine the brighter, rather than casting shadows or competing for screen time, both Brian Singer and Christopher McQuarrie show their administrative chops with this early work that’s lead into many films we all still recognize. If you haven’t seen this and are in the mood for a solid mystery, throw this on and don’t forget that, “The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.”
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse [2023] - 93
A sequel to 2018’s Into the Spider-Verse, Miles Morales and friends finally re-grace the screen in all the spectacle, creativity, intelligence, and depth that they brought the first time around… with some new tricks and names to boot. At the time, Into was one of the most amazing digital films I’d ever watched — both in terms of the way it utilized its medium and told its story — and I was skeptical that a sequel could possibly top it or bring the sense of awe that the first engendered. With a rating of 93… it may be obvious that my skepticism was unneeded, but it’s worth mentioning that the level to which Across upped the ante has somehow, once again, made most other animated films seem like wildly brandished sticks against the fine swordplay of the Spider-verse. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this film, but it was very interesting watching it with a group of newcomers and having them all react with the same word: “Wow”.
- Flow [2024] - 90
Latvian duo, Gints Zilbalodis and Matiss Kaza, have brought something truly special into the world with their wonderfully quiet [and somehow very tense] adventure story about a group of disparate animals doing their best to survive some sort of great flood, Flow. Flow was made entirely using Blender, a free and open-source program which, regardless of the film’s many other accolades, is a feat any of us that have ever used a free digital tool can appreciate. While its visual presentation and mode of storytelling may rub some people the wrong way, Flow is a film that rewards somewhat open-minded viewing with a full and enriching cornucopia of ideas and experiences. Certainly not one that I’d fault anyone for not being into, I appreciate a lot of what this film did and I absolutely cannot wait for whatever these two do next.
- Stalker [1979] - 58
A science fiction/ philosophy classic, Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 Stalker has a lot to say, is visually striking and modern almost 50-years later… and also needed an editor in the absolute worst way. This is one of those movies better remembered than experienced as, at 163-minutes long, it simply spends too much time between it’s quotable moments to be worth its semi-trippy slog. It’s too bad really, because what it has to say is actually really meaningful and interesting [also frighteningly prescient in some ways], it’s just that, similar to the characters in the film, you have to somehow survive the zone around its message before you get there. I’d love to see this picked up and remade; both to be more succinct, but also to be closer to the book it’s based on, Roadside Picnic, which, if you’ve never read it, is absolutely excellent. As is, I’m glad that this off-kilter adaptation brought the attention it did to the genre, but I wish I could have heralded this landmark piece as something worth visiting here in 2025.
- Rebel Ridge [2024] - 78
Rebel Ridge, as one of my friends put it, is “one of those paperback novel movies… Not going to win awards, but worthwhile when good,” and I can’t think of many more succinct ways to put it. If you like things like Jack Reacher, Tom Clancy’s [insert your favorite title here], or anything that has spies, rebels, or corrupt justice getting the finger, Rebel Ridge may just become your favorite movie of the year. If you don’t like those things… you’re still likely to enjoy this, as it manages to be both the best of its genre and a more-than-decent film all its own. Easily the best film in Jeremy Saulnier’s bio, Rebel Ridge is not without its sillier moments, but there’s a sincerity and calm to the production that manages to drive you past them without too much hemming and hawing. Shocking enough is that anything even vaguely watchable came out of the same mind that brought us Green Room, but tack on fun, engaging, and easily recommendable? I’d have told you it couldn’t happen.
