2025 was a year filled with some great movies. Unfortunately not everything I saw managed to leave a deep, memorable impression upon me. Here are a few films that just did not work for me:
"DIE MY LOVE"
First, let me state that I think Lynne Ramsay is one of our more provocative filmmakers working today, a compelling artist with an uncompromising vision which has regrettably lead to her having made only five feature films to date since her acclaimed debut, "Ratcatcher" back in 1999. The latest from Ramsay, "Die My Love", based on the novel by Ariana Harwicz, deals with a new mother who begins to suffer from postpartum depression and psychosis, has moments that are magnificently performed and visually stunning, thanks to the camerawork by Seamus McGarvey, reteaming for the first time with Ramsay since "We Need to Talk About Kevin". Yet this heavily stylized drama fails to generate much of an emotional connection. Jennifer Lawrence, in an amazingly raw and feral performance, plays Grace who we meet with her boyfriend, Jackson (Robert Pattinson) as they explore a rundown ranch in Montana that he inherited from an uncle. With Grace pregnant, they decide to move in to start their new life. As their relationship was happy and playful, it begins to change not long after their baby's birth. Grace's behavior becomes progressively more erratic, manic and highly unpredictable, deeply concerning Jackson and his recently widowed mother (Sissy Spacek). As we watch Grace spiral out of control, lost in mental collapse and the trauma of parenthood, it becomes more unbearable as we are never given a clear understanding of what exactly is happening to her. Unfortunately, "Die My Love" stays too much on the surface, never really digging deep enough to actually make us feel Grace's anguish, desires and pain.
"HONEY DON'T!"
In the second of their planned lesbian B-movie trilogy, director, Ethan Coen and co-writer, Tricia Cooke have delivered "Honey Don't!", another black comedy, this time involving a private investigator in Northern California trying to solve a series of mysterious deaths. I found this poorly conceived, joke deprived, comedic thriller in even worse shape than their last endeavor, "Drive-Away Dolls". Margaret Qualley returns to play Honey O'Donahue, a sexy detective in a tight skirt and click-clack heels. She gets wrapped up in this case when a potential client (Kara Petersen) contacted her, afraid and looking for help, and ends up murdered the next day. A local homicide detective (Charlie Day) is more interested in trying to get a date with Honey than investigating so she'll have to do the heavy lifting to figure out what happened. She's soon on the trail to the Four-Way Temple where the Reverend Drew Devlin (Chris Evans) is far more interested in bedding his female parishioners than leading them to salvation. More death, a French femme fatale (Lera Abova) and a horny police officer (Aubrey Plaza) all crosses Honey's path on the way to her trying to unravel this mystery. Slight and lazy in plot and style, "Honey Don't" is a repellent modern noir filled with unsavory characters and not nearly enough laughs to make this even remotely palatable.
"SNOW WHITE"
I, for one, am tired of the live-action versions of the Disney animated classics that the studio keeps forcing upon us. Each one tries to expand upon the beautiful simplicity of these cartoons, adding nothing creative or visually inspired and only offering pointless and inept recreations. The latest, "Snow White", based on Disney's first full-length animated feature film, might possibly be the worst of them all. Named for a snowstorm on the day of her birth, Snow White (played by Emilia Faucher as a child) is a princess born to the good King (Hadley Fraser) and Queen (Lorena Andrea) of an enchanted land. After the Queen dies from an illness, the King remarries a new Queen (a bland Gal Gadot) but he disappears following sailing off to fight in a conflict. The new Queen turns out to be a beauty obsessed, evil sorceress, allowing the kingdom to fall into financial ruin and forcing Snow White (now played by Rachel Zegler) to become a maid. The Queen, angered after she frees Jonathan (Andrew Burnap) who was imprisoned for stealing food and being named "the fairest of them all" by the Magic Mirror (voiced by Patrick Page), orders the huntsman (Ansu Kabia) to kill Snow White. Unable to commit the act, he has her flee into the forest. A frightened Snow White stumbles upon a seemingly abandoned cottage but the home actually belongs to seven "miners" (generated by CGI) who allow her to stay for her safety. This version, directed by Marc Webb, is an artless affair with dreary, banal visuals which includes unpleasantly creepy looking dwarfs. In an effort to give this German fairytale a modernized spin, the screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson has made an empowered Snow White who eventually fights back against the evil Queen. But having Jonathan to not be a prince yet awakens her from the spell of the poisoned apple with a kiss and then fights by Snow White's side just feels even more awkward. And since this is a musical, the new songs written by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul fail to enhance these dour proceedings yet thankfully they did use four of the beloved songs from the original film. Despite the silly claims that several of the controversies surrounding this film had derailed its potential success, "Snow White" managed to be awful and forgettable all on its own.
"THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10"
"The Woman in Cabin 10" is a polished looking, psychological thriller, directed by Simon Stone and Farhan Rana Rajpoot, that offers nothing we haven't seen before yet executed in a way that building a compelling mystery or offering some logical thrills are never considered. British investigative reporter, Laura Blacklock (Keira Knightley), who goes by "Lo", has been trying to recover following seeing one of her sources murdered and realizes the best way for her to truly mend is to get back to work. She's given a puff piece to write about a new charitable foundation by an ill, billionaire Anne Bullmer (Lisa Loven Kongsli) with a fundraising gala on her luxury yacht sailing to Norway. Also on board are Bullmer's husband, Richard (Guy Pearce), a gaggle of wealthy "friends" (which includes Kaya Scodelario, Daniel Ings and Hannah Waddingham) and Ben (David Ajala), Lo's former boyfriend who just happens to be a photographer for the Bullmers. One night, Lo is awakened by a woman's scream and sees someone go overboard from the cabin next door. After informing the crew, she's told that everyone on the ship is accounted for and there was no one assigned to that room. Lo insists, having personally spoken to this woman, but no one believes her. She begins her own investigation, leading to her becoming a target. This film is based on a book by Ruth Ware and the screenplay by Stone, Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse veers wildly from this source material with added action sequences and odd situations that only manages to create more confusion to this story. It's nice to see Knightley back in a leading film role but her time as well as the rest of the solid cast are completely wasted in this muddled whodunit. "The Woman in Cabin 10" is simply implausible from the stumbling beginning to the over-the-top, ridiculous ending.
With close of the 76th annual Berlin Film Festival, Ilker Çatak’s "Gelbe Briefe (Yellow Letters)" has won the top prize of Golden Bear for Best Film. The fifth feature film from the German-Turkish director following his Oscar-nominated "The Teachers' Lounge", "Yellow Letters" follows an actress and her arts professor husband in Turkey whose lives are upended due to political persecution by their authoritarian government. Grant Lee took Best Director for "Everybody Digs Bill Evans", the bio-drama about the legendary jazz pianist. Sandra Hüller received the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance for her role in "Rose", a period drama about a woman disguised as a male soldier and the Best Supporting Performance prize was shared by Anna Calder-Marshall and Tom Courtenay who co-star in "Queen at Sea" as a long-married couple who are struggling due to the wife's dementia.
Here are the winners of the 2026 Berlin Film Festival:
Golden Bear: "Gelbe Briefe (Yellow Letters)"
Best Director: Grant Gee, "Everybody Digs Bill Evans"
Silver Bear for Best Screenplay: Geneviève Dulude-de Celles, "Nina Roza"
Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize: "Salvation"
Silver Bear Jury Prize: "Queen At Sea"
Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance: Sandra Hüller, "Rose"
Silver Bear for Best Supporting Performance: Anna Calder-Marshall and Tom Courtenay, "Queen at Sea"
Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: "Yo (Love is a Rebellious Bird)"
The upheaval of cinema in general and the film industry as a whole unfortunately continued throughout the previous year. From theaters still struggling to get audiences into seats that were not for big-budgeted sequels or remakes to Netflix and Paramount in a nasty battle over trying to swallow another studio, Warner Bros. which, if either is successful, will leave one less movie company and definitely many more job losses and even fewer films making it into a local movie house. And don't even get me started on AI.
But being an optimist, I remain hopeful that the business will continue to thrive and flourish. My hopefulness is guided largely due to many of the types of films that found both critical praise and box-office glory in movie theaters in 2025: bold and stylish feature films that offered fresh perspectives and unexpected exhilarations that actually gave folks a compelling reason to leave the comfort of their homes. I believe this trend will continue and an even bigger year in film is on the horizon. So here is my opportunity to celebrate my favorite films of 2025, listed in alphabetical order:
"BUGONIA"
With their fourth collaboration together, "Bugonia", Emma Stone and director, Yorgos Lanthimos have created an outlandishly twisted yet profoundly clever pitch black comedy about a ruthless CEO kidnapped by two men who believe she is an alien. Stone plays Michelle Fuller, the head of the pharmaceutical conglomerate, Auxolith who likes to believe that she's enlightened yet passively maintains the standard toxic workplace environment. She is taken hostage by Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and his autistic cousin, Don (Aidan Delbis) with the sole purpose of getting her to admit that she's actually from another planet that is causing harm to Earth. Chained in their basement and routinely tortured, Teddy, a high-strung, conspiracy theorist, will not let up until he gets a confession. But as the days pass, Michelle, remaining cool and calm, begins to chip away at the confidence of their plan with Teddy becoming more unhinged and Don starting to question the situation they are in. Inspired by the 2003 South Korean film, "Save The Green Planet!" (which is expertly adapted by Will Tracy), Lanthimos uses mordant wit, uneasy quirkiness and shocking bursts of gory violence to propel his version of this story forward. The verbal dueling by Stone and Plemons, both doing peak work, is absolutely fascinating to watch. "Bugonia" has a lot to say, touching on environmental concerns, capitalism and big pharma to name the obvious ones, and brilliantly does it in a way that is provocative, oddly hilarious and very bleak.
"BLUE MOON"/"NOUVELLE VAGUE"
Richard Linklater managed to have made two great films released last year with both reflecting back on a couple of highly praised, creative talents: one at the very start of his prestigious career and the other in the unfortunate decline of the occupation he once thrived in.
"Blue Moon" looks back on one day (March 31, 1943 to be exact) in the life of Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke), a celebrated lyricist and one half of the popular songwriting team of stage and screen, Rodgers and Hart. After leaving the world premiere of the new musical, "Oklahoma!" early, Hart arrives to Sardi's restaurant where the afterparty will be held. With his heavy drinking somewhat in control, the chatty and sardonic Hart complains to the bartender (Bobby Cannavale) about the show, which he was supposed to help write with his creative partner, Richard Rodgers (Andrew Scott) but didn't believe in its potential, while trying to get a drink served to him. Rodgers put the musical together with a new lyricist, Oscar Hammerstein (Simon Delaney) which Hart resents, mostly because the show has received raves. During the party, Hart hopes he can coax his long-time partner into working on a revival or even a new musical together. Linklater and Hawke previously found great success with their "Before" trilogy of films which consisted of just conversations between a couple and "Blue Moon" expands upon this in their latest collaboration with a dialogue-driven, drama that is remarkably heartfelt and candid. Hawke, in one of his best screen performances, carries this film as the boisterous Hart holds court, having conversations filled with sparkling bon mots and delivering melodic monologues. Yet there is an overwhelming sadness that hangs over him that he's not completely able to conceal.
"Nouvelle Vague" (which translates to "new wave") tells the incredible story of how Jean-Luc Godard broke all the rules to make his first feature film, "Breathless". Godard (Guillaume Marbeck) was a film critic for the influential French magazine, Cahiers du Cinéma. Some of his fellow critics, Éric Rohmer (Côme Thieulin), Claude Chabrol (Antoine Besson) and François Truffaut (Adrien Rouyard) (with his directorial debut, "The 400 Blows" just making its premiere at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival) had moved into filmmaking and decides he's ready to create a movie too. Starting with a brief outline written by Truffaut, Godard sets about hiring his cast and crew. He finds former boxer, Jean-Paul Belmondo (Aubry Dullin) as his lead and convinces Hollywood starlet, Jean Seberg (Zoey Deutch), who was in Paris to promote her latest film, to join his project. Young, brash and with a healthy ego, Godard embraces a guerilla filmmaking style that ignores continuity, rewriting the script constantly or simply disregarding it altogether and having very short shooting days. Filmed in shimmering black and white by David Chambille and with a translated screenplay by Holly Gent and Vincent Palmo, "Nouvelle Vague" is almost entirely spoken in French, a language that Linklater does not speak. The Texan filmmaker has crafted a loving tribute to the French New Wave movement and particularly to Godard who inspired him to just go out and make his first movie anyway he could. An enchanting celebration of independent cinema, Linklater beautifully captures with "Nouvelle Vague" the importance of following and trusting your instincts in the name of creating art.
"EDDINGTON"
"Eddington" is the latest from the king of "emotional horror", Ari Aster. The writer/director continues his vividly surreal exploration into family trauma and psychological deterioration. This story takes place in the fictional small town of Eddington, New Mexico during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The local sheriff, Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) doesn't believe in the lockdown or mask mandate, feeling that it violates his rights. But many in the town disagrees with him including the Mayor, Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) who insists he follow the guidelines. Frustrated, the sheriff decides to run for mayor against Ted who is up for re-election. But Joe's unstable wife (Emma Stone) is not happy with his abrupt decision. Then the film takes a progressively weirder shift into darker territory involving Black Lives Matter protests, cultism, conspiracy theories, sexual abuse and cold-blooded murder. This is a lot to take in and much of it is intended to be very divisive. Yet Aster is in full control of "Eddington", audaciously creating tension and discomfort in this drama that's inspired and messy. There is no denying that Aster is a challenging filmmaker, tackling harrowing, difficult subjects in his now trademark offbeat style, that is clearly an acquired taste. But his brutally dour cinema is thought provoking and captivating with "Eddington" another interesting addition to Aster's oeuvre.
"FRANKENSTEIN"
I must admit I didn't think another cinematic rendering of Mary Shelley's gothic novel was really necessary. Yet in the masterful hands of Guillermo del Toro, "Frankenstein" is a dazzling visual spectacle, exquisitely presenting this illustrious horror tale in a manner that hasn't really been seen before. Told in two parts: first from the doctor's viewpoint and then from his creation's perspective. After his mother (Mia Goth) dies while giving birth to his younger brother when he was a child, Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) becomes a surgeon obsessed with trying to "cure" death through science. Expelled from college for attempting to reanimate corpses, Victor meets Henrich Harlander (Christoph Waltz), a wealthy merchant who witnessed the trial. Harlander offers him unlimited funding and a private location to continue his experiments but under one condition which he would disclose at a later date. With the help of his brother, William (Felix Kammerer), Victor advances by assembling a "man" using body parts from dead soldiers. On the day of the trial, Harlander reveals the condition which Victor promptly refuses and the merchant accidently dies trying to stop the experiment. The creature (Jacob Elordi) is successfully brought to life. Frustrated by a lack of intellectual abilities and fearful of its incredible strength, the doctor tries to destroy his creation. Unable to die, the creature runs away, hiding out on a family's farm. The blind grandfather (David Bradley) befriends the monster, teaching it how to speak and read. And then the creature decides to track down his "father". The director had long professed his desire of making his version of "Frankenstein" and this dream project is a relatively faithful adaptation that is beautifully rendered (with stellar camerawork by Dan Laustsen and breathtaking production design by Tamara Deverell and Shane Vieau), capably performed (with Goth also appearing as William's fiancé, Elizabeth who manages to comes between Frankenstein and his monster) and intoxicatingly entertaining.
"HEDDA"
"Hedda Gabler" was a play written by Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen back in 1891. And while it received negative feedback at the time of it's initial stage production, this drama about an aristocratic woman feeling trapped in her marriage who manipulates those around her has gone on to be considered a theatrical masterpiece and one of the great dramatic roles in theater. This play has been adapted for the screen several times since then and the latest, "Hedda" from writer/director, Nia DaCosta strikingly reimagines Ibsen's play into a thrilling contemporary drama elevated by commanding performances from Tessa Thompson and Nina Hoss. Set in 1950s England, the story opens with police interrogating Hedda Gabler Tesman (Thompson) following a shooting at her estate. We then flashback to the events leading up to this unfortunate mishap with Hedda preparing for a lavish party to help her new husband, George Tesman (Tom Bateman), a financially struggling academic hoping to secure a lucrative promotion from Professor Greenwood (Finbar Lynch). But Dr. Eileen Lovborg (Hoss) is also a rival for this position who has been invited to the party and, unbeknownst to George, is Hedda's former lover. While DaCosta's Hedda may still be a sly, bored newlywed who entered into a loveless marriage in pursuit of potential wealth but she is now a queer Black woman, still desperately holding a torch for her ex-lover and more than willing to destroy her if she can't have her. This creates fresh tension to this compelling drama with other notable changes include Thea (Imogen Poots), still a former classmate of Hedda's yet now a rival for Eileen's affections. "Hedda" is a vivid retelling that cleverly twists the emotional and psychological power struggles in this well-known classic with a modern sensibility that unexpectedly includes race, gender and sexuality.
"MARTY SUPREME"
For his first film after creatively splitting with his brother, Benny, Josh Safdie has taken us into the world of professional ping-pong with "Marty Supreme". Loosely based on the life of table tennis champion, Marty Reisman, Safdie and co-writer, Ronald Bronstein has concocted a frenzied, fictionalized account of his wild and outrageous exploits. In 1952 New York City, Marty Mauser (Timothée Chalamet) has set himself a goal to become the greatest table tennis player in the world. Unwilling to let a lack of funds stop him from heading to England to compete in the British Open, Marty borrows the money from his uncle's shoe store where he works. Staying at the player's barracks is not suitable for him so Marty cons his way into a room at the Ritz London where he meets former Hollywood actress, Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow). He talks his way into an affair with her and despite Kay being married to Milton Rockwell (Kevin O'Leary from the tv show, "Shark Tank") a wealthy executive of a pen company, that doesn't stop Marty from going to him for sponsorship. After losing against Koto Endo (Koto Kawaguchi), a deaf Japanese player in the finals, Rockwell offers Marty a chance for a rematch during an exhibition in Tokyo before the World Championships. But Marty refuses the deal after learning he would be expected to throw the game. With propulsive energy and an offbeat, unpredictable storyline, "Marty Supreme" takes you on a weird ride filled with quirky, comedic moments and shocking violence. As an emotionally detached, bamboozling grifter, there doesn't seem to be much to admire about this wannabe table tennis champ. Yet through the fully committed performance by Chalamet, he's able to make Marty not only irresistibly charismatic but you even find yourself rooting for him to somehow succeed with his endless schemes. "Marty Supreme" is a riveting character study (with galvanic appearances by a diverse group of performers that includes Odessa A'zion, Fran Drescher, Tyler Okonma or better known as musician, Tyler the Creator, fashion designer, Isaac Mizrahi and film director, Abel Ferrara) with a heightened narrative structure that boldly defies expectations.
"ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER"
Since his breakthrough with "Boogie Nights" back in 1997, Paul Thomas Anderson has continued to prove that he's one of the best contemporary filmmakers working today. With his tenth feature film as a writer and director, "One Battle After Another", Anderson (loosely adapting another Thomas Pynchon novel, "Vineland") has masterfully created a dark comedic action-thriller involving a former revolutionary forced back into combative battle when he and his teenage daughter are pursued by a venomous military officer. The story begins with meeting the members of a far-left military group, the French 75 lead by lovers, "Ghetto" Pat Calhoun (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Perfidia Beverly Hills (a dynamic Teyana Taylor). Their violent activities gains the attention of commanding officer, Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) who captures Perfidia and compromises her to provide him information about their group. A racist, race fetishist, Lockjaw also engages with her to abuse him sexually. Perfidia later gives birth to Bob's child but doesn't want to give up the thrill she gets fighting for revolution, abandoning him and their baby. Years later, Lockjaw, promoted to colonel, begins to track down the former members of the French 75 when Perfidia is forced to inform on them after being arrested again and goes into witness protection, eventually coming for Pat. After a warning, he's on the run with his daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti), getting assistance from her karate instructor and community activist, Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio del Toro). Sprawling with ideas, Anderson has cleverly assembled his film in a way that doesn't seem like it would work together. We have the long-standing fight between equity and injustice, counterculture rebellion, breathtaking car chase sequences, white nationalism and some screwball comedy antics thrown in for good measure. But at the heart of this film is a father and daughter love story. As they fight to stay alive, Pat and Willa, whose relationship has been strained largely due to him being stoned all the time, manages to find a deeper, closer connection. "One Battle After Another" succeeds because PTA maintains his subversive indie spirit while still achieving a mass appeal entertainment.
"SINNERS"
On the surface, "Sinners" might appear to be just another horror movie. But writer/director, Ryan Coogler had far more audacious on his mind, using the genre to address social and political themes inventively with a commanding visual style. After spending some time in Chicago associating with the Mob, the identical twins, Elijah "Smoke" and Elias "Stack" Moore (both impressively played by Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown in Mississippi with a plan. They are going to run their own business by opening a juke joint. They offer their young, musician cousin, Sammie (Miles Caton) a chance to perform there despite the warnings of his pastor father who rages about the sin of playing the blues. They track other friends to help including Annie (Wunmi Mosaku), Smoke's estranged wife and luring a local music legend, Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo) to also perform. But during their raucous opening night, they are paid a visit by three strangers: an Irish-immigrant vampire named Remmick (Jack O'Connell) and a racist married couple (Peter Dreimanis, Lola Kirke) he turned. They are musicians and want to be let inside but are turned away, with a strong sense that there is something off about them. Still lurking around, Stack's former girlfriend, Mary (Hailee Steinfeld), a White passing Black woman, goes out to investigate this group. She is bitten and after going back inside of the club, horrifying chaos and rampant bloodshed goes on through the night. Coogler explores in "Sinners" the long, complex history of racial oppression and the misappropriating of African-American artistry by viewing it through a vampiric theme and how music, particularly the blues, was used to help galvanize and heal through these dark times. But he never loses sight of this also being an entertainment, delivering blood-soaked frights and stirring musical numbers. With razor sharp imagery from cinematographer, Autumn Durald Arkapaw, a rousing musical score by Coogler's long-time collaborator, Ludwig Göransson and an excellent cast, "Sinners" is an innovative, groundbreaking horror drama that transcends through exceptional storytelling and authentic characterizations.
"TRAIN DREAMS"
Based on the novella by Denis Johnson, "Train Dreams", from director, Clint Bentley, artfully recounts the story of a quiet, working man, who doesn't do anything particularly special and copes with several tragedies during his life, in a way that is intimate, haunting and deeply moving. Told through genial narration by actor, Will Patton, we meet Robert Grainier (a sublime Joel Edgerton) who takes up railroad construction and seasonal logging work in Washington state. After seeing a Chinese laborer killed by his co-workers for no clear reason, Robert continues to be haunted by this memory. He witnesses other disturbing and deadly situations while working on these jobs. An orphan and later adopted by a family, Robert lived his life largely in isolation. But that changed after meeting Gladys (Felicity Jones) at church. They soon marry, build their home and have a child. Robert's work keeps him away from his family for months at a time, creating some tension between him and Gladys, which leads to a distressing situation when a wildfire sweeps through the area. Bentley and co-writer, Greg Kwedar has taken Johnson's story and skillfully crafted a meditative and impassioned drama, poetically offering insight into the human condition. "Train Dreams" is a tremendously graceful and understated masterwork (enhanced by the luminous camerawork of Adolpho Veloso) that lingers with you long after viewing the film.
Honorable Mentions: "Black Bag", "Friendship", "Caught Stealing", "A House of Dynamite", "Is This Thing On?", "K-Pop Hunters", "Lurker", "The Mastermind", "Mickey 17", "No Other Choice", "Sentimental Value", "Superman", "Thunderbolts*", "Twinless", "Weapons", "Zootopia 2"
The first major celebration of new world cinema is soon set to begin with the 76th Annual Berlin International Film Festival, running from February 12th through 22nd. The 2026 edition of Berlinale will open with the drama film, "No Good Men", the third feature by Afghan filmmaker, Shahrbanoo Sadat. Based on true events, the film follows Naru, (played by Sadat herself) who is the only female camerawoman at Kabul TV. Trapped in an unhappy marriage, she's convinced that there are no good men left in Afghanistan until she meets a married fellow reporter (Anwar Hashimi) and that option begins to shift.
Wim Wenders, the legendary German filmmaker, is this year's Jury President and will help lead in deciding which films will win prizes in the Main Competition. The fellow jurors will be Nepalese filmmaker, Min Bahadur Bham; South Korean actress, Bae Doona; Indian filmmaker, Shivendra Singh Dungarpur; American filmmaker, Reinaldo Marcus Green; Japanese filmmaker, Hikari and Polish producer, Ewa Puszczyńska. Some of the films in competition includes new works by Grant Gee ("Everybody Digs Bill Evans"), Beth de Araújo ("Josephine"), Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel ("The Loneliest Man in Town"), Geneviève Dulude-De Celles ("Nina Roza"), Karim Aïnouz ("Rosebush Pruning"), Lance Hammer ("Queen at Sea"), İlker Çatak ("Gelbe Briefe (Yellow Letters)") and Warwick Thornton ( Wolfram")
Out of Competition screenings will include two films that premiered at the recent Sundance Film Festival: "The Only Living Pickpocket in New York", a crime-thriller from actor/filmmaker, Noah Segan that stars, John Turturro and Padraic McKinley's "The Weight", a period drama that features Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe. "The Testament of Ann Lee" from Mona Fastvold, (that has already been released in the US) and Gore Verbinski's latest, "Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die" (which will reach US theaters on February 13th) will also be screened.
And Michelle Yeoh, the iconic Malaysian performer, will be the recipient of the Honorary Golden Bear for her extensive career in cinema that has spanned over forty years. "Everything Everywhere All at Once", the sci-fi comedy which the actress won the 2022 Oscar for Best Actress and the world premiere of "Sandiwara", a short film shot on an iPhone from Sean Baker which has Yeoh playing five different characters will both be screened in her honor.
Boots Riley dazzled with his feature film directorial debut, "Sorry To Bother You", a sci-fi, dark comedy, back in 2018. This critically acclaimed film told the story of a struggling, young African-American telemarketer (played by LaKeith Stanfield) who adopts a "white voice" to succeed at his job but soon discovers a sinister corporate scheme and forced to choose between continuing to enjoy the high life or join in with his fellow workers that are trying to unionize.
Now Riley has finally returned with his follow-up feature, "I Love Boosters", another absurdist black comedy. The teaser trailer reveals Keke Palmer who stars as the ringleader of a gang of fashion obsessed, shoplifters who target a ruthless style maven, played by Demi Moore. The rest of the impressive cast includes Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter and Don Cheadle.
"I Love Boosters" will make its world premiere as the opening film at the 2026 South by Southwest Film & TV Festival in March before reaching theaters in May.
"I Love Boosters" is due in US theaters on May 22, 2026
Where & When: Vista Theatre, Los Angeles, CA. January 6, 2026 3:50 PM
"Song Sung Blue", a good-natured biopic from writer/director, Craig Brewer, might be filled with the music of the popular, easy-listening songs by the singer and songwriter, Neil Diamond but the film is not directly about the soft-rock superstar. This drama is actually an endearing, fact-based, midwestern love story with the essence of the iconic pop singer planted firmly at its center. We watch as this couple encounters sweet romance, hard knocks, thrilling musical escapades and tragic events with the lively soundtrack of Diamond guiding, inspiring and financing them through their life moments.
Set in 1989 Milwaukee, Mike Sardina (Hugh Jackman) is a mechanic trying to pursue his dream of being a professional musician. Struggling to get paying gigs, he's called to fill in as the Hawaiian singer, Don Ho for an impersonator show during the Wisconsin State Fair. Refusing to perform as Ho and wanting to go on as himself under his stage name, "Lightning", he's promptly told to forget about it. On his way out, Mike comes across Claire (Kate Hudson) who is getting ready to go on stage as the late country music vocalist, Patsy Cline. They strike up some small talk with Claire suggesting he would be better suited to do Neil Diamond. After watching Claire perform, Mike is impressed by her talent and dazzled by her beauty.
Seeking Claire out to help him expand upon the idea she suggested, Mike wants to offer audiences more of an experience than just being a cover artist. With Claire to be his "Thunder" by performing with him in the act, they become "Lightning and Thunder", a Neil Diamond tribute band. And it doesn't take long for the professional collaboration merges into a romantic partnership between this newly formed couple. Mike and Claire bonded tightly over their shared vision of achieving musical success on their terms. But not only do they have to try and create a show worthy of the vast songbook by Diamond, the couple are trying to raise and blend together children from their previous failed marriages; Claire’s daughter Rachel (Ella Anderson) and son, Dayna (Hudson Henley) along with Mike’s daughter, Angelina (pop singer, King Princess).
Filling out the makeshift group with guitarist, Mark (Michael Imperioli), a former "Buddy Holly" impersonator, a horn section from a soul band Mike had played with and Tom (Jim Belushi), an old friend who serves as the tour manager, Lightning and Thunder hits the road performing around Wisconsin. The act has a rough start but soon word-of-mouth spreads as their audience begins to build. This leads to an incredible moment for Lightning and Thunder when they're asked to open for a local show by the grunge rockers, Pearl Jam with vocalist, Eddie Vedder (John Beckwith) even joining them for a song.
The events that occur in "Song Sung Blue" were covered in a 2008 documentary by Greg Kohs with the same title, winning the Jury and Audience Awards at the Slamdance Film Festival. After seeing the film and shocked that it received little exposure despite the award success, Brewer was eager to tell their unimaginable story, believing that this inspirational blue-collar tale needed to be revealed to an even wider audience. Yet the director had difficulty getting this film off the ground with studios not convinced that anyone would be interested in a struggling, middle-class, middle-aged couple trying to make it in as a cover band. Thankfully, Brewer persevered, eventually finding kindred spirits to back his project to create a warm, slightly cheesy yet deeply moving melodrama.
On the surface, the feelgood "Song Sung Blue" doesn't seem like something Brewer would be behind considering his previous somber features. But "Hustle & Flow", which deals with a Memphis pimp who dreams of becoming a rapper, and the pitch-black comedy, "Black Snake Moan" that has a Mississippi bluesman trying to cure a troubled woman of her wanton ways by holding her captive in his house does share in the filmmaker's desire in chronicling the underappreciated stories involving the marginalized and striving dreamers.
Beginning his career in musical theater in his native Australia, Jackman was then called to the stages of London and New York before his spirited, razzle-dazzling eventually attracted the attention of Hollywood. As Sardina, the actor plays to his strengths, using his natural charm and easygoing manner to reveal the aspiring musician, a Vietnam War veteran which the trauma of that experience lead to years of substance abuse before managing to overcome and achieve sobriety for twenty years. With his intense determination and maintaining a positive outlook, Mike is convinced that it's simply just a matter of time before he will hit the big time.
But his faith is only shaken during a tragedy that befalls Claire, a freak accident that physically alters her body. This leaves Claire understandably morose and embittered, with Mike unsure how to help her. Hudson, who was a staple of romantic-comedies in the early aughts, is a revelation as Claire, delivering an expressive performance that reveals that she has rarely been given the opportunity to really showcase all that she's capable of doing as an actor. There's no denying that the actress occasionally brings to mind her mother, Goldie Hawn on screen with them sharing similar tics and vocal inflections. But Hudson completely embodies Claire, perfectly capturing her radiant attitude and solid midwestern accent.
In the retelling of the Sardinas' undeniably incredible story, "Song Sung Blue" doesn't completely escape all of the predictability of the standard biopic. And while much of what we see in the recounting of their lives is supposed to be true, the film isn't always successful in making everything we witness believable. Yet Brewer was able to masterfully stabilize a fine balance between broad camp and heartfelt emotions, keeping the duo's lofty aspirations entertaining and compelling. "Song Sung Blue" is uplifted by the fully committed performances (with the musical numbers expertly done by the actors) and through the inspirational power of the music by Neil Diamond.
The Library of Congress has finally revealed their selections of the twenty-five movies added this year to the National Film Registry. Usually announced in December, which recognizes their artistic significance while helping to ensure their preservation for generations to come. These films, which must be at least ten years old, have been named because of their cultural, historic or aesthetic importance and with these selections brings the number of films in the registry to 925.
Some of the films selected include an animated adventure involving a family of super-heroes from Pixar, "The Incredibles"; two musicals that starred Bing Crosby, the holiday classic, "White Christmas" and "High Society", the musical remake of "The Philadelphia Story" with songs by Cole Porter and co-stars, Frank Sinatra and Grace Kelly; "The Big Chill", the comedy-drama about the reunion of college friends after the death of a classmate brings them together; an early silent film with an all-black cast, "Ten Nights in a Barroom"; two films that featured Denzel Washington: the Civil War drama, "Glory" which earned the actor his first Academy Award and "Philadelphia" which teamed him with Tom Hanks in a legal drama about an attorney suing his former law firm for discrimination over firing him for being a gay man with HIV; Amy Heckerling's quintessential coming-of-age comedy, "Clueless", loosely based on Jane Austen's novel, "Emma"; "Sparrows", a silent drama that starred one of the first movie stars, Mary Pickford that had become even more powerful at this point by moving into producing her films and "Inception", Christopher Nolan's twisty, sci-fi thriller that featured an all-star cast lead by Leonardo DiCaprio.
Turner Classic Movies will screen a selection of these inductees on March 19th with TCM host and film historian, Jacqueline Stewart, who also happens to be chair of the National Film Preservation Board, will introduce the films.
Here is the complete list of the recent entries into the 2025 National Film Registry:
"The Tramp and the Dog" (1896)
"The Oath of the Sword" (1914)
"The Maid of McMillan" (1916)
"The Lady" (1925)
"Sparrows" (1926)
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