By Glenn Kay
For the Sun
The year has come and gone, leaving another large collection of feature films in its wake. Once again, it seems like many were sequels and remakes, but there were a few good franchise tentpoles and plenty of interesting new material. So, it’s time for this reviewer to go over some of the pictures that made a significant impression.
For those who enjoy spectacle, the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash will deliver the goods. Admittedly, if the previous chapters didn’t grab you, then this lengthy effort won’t change your opinion. But those hoping for a big, dazzling film epic won’t be disappointed.
The 3D techniques being employed are more immersive than ever on the big screen and the film delivers stunning action scenes that might even top the previous chapter. In this follow-up, human colonizers attempt diabolical new methods to take over the planet of Pandora, with the Na’vi and other indigenous lifeforms doing their best to fight back. If you can, see the movie in 3D on the biggest screen possible.
Another holiday arrival is the drama Song Sung Blue with Kate Hudson and Hugh Jackman. Based on a true story, it follows two Milwaukee impersonators who form a Neil Diamond tribute band. Had these events not actually occurred, one would accuse the movie of going to melodramatic extremes in its depiction of the hardships these characters face. But the tale is generally accurate, and Hudson and Jackman (who also sing the tunes themselves) are so charming and engaging that it should impress even those who don’t necessarily care for the musician’s melodies.
Speaking of movies with music, Sinners was a fun horror picture and box office smash that gave a new spin on the vampire genre. Set in a Mississippi juke joint, there are great tunes, costumes and wonderful photography. It is a bit overlong (with one ending too many), but otherwise effectively presents audiences with plenty of chills and thrills. This is in addition to an impressive lead performance from Michael B. Jordan who seamlessly plays twin brothers that share the screen and talk to each other for a significant portion of the running time.
As much as I enjoyed that horror film, The Long Walk made an even deeper impact on me. Based on an early Stephen King story, this grim feature pulls no punches.
Set in a disturbingly convincing authoritarian America, it depicts a group of young men participating in a brutal and deadly competition.
The cast is incredible as they go from challengers to friends and begin revealing their histories as to why they felt compelled to participate in the challenge. If you can stomach it, the movie will stick with you.
Another heavy, distressing yet effective drama is Hamnet, which focuses on Agnes Shakespeare, wife of famous playwright William Shakespeare. This story is a fictional take on the events that inspired the creation of Hamlet, one of the writer’s most famous plays. It’s a tragic story that deals with the character’s relationship and grieving process after enduring a horrific tragedy.
If I were to critique the picture, it does tie up its story up rather cleanly, but benefits from an incredible performance from Jessie Buckley (who is a likely front runner in the Best Actress race at the Academy Awards). She manages to convey a wide variety of emotion and eventual clarity during the final act that is remarkable to behold.
Moving over to a more entertaining thriller, Black Bag made an impression early in the year. It involves a British spy working for the National Cyber Security Center. He is informed by superiors that someone in close contact with him is a mole who may be stealing secrets and selling them.
The protagonist is given the names of five suspects and told to use his skills of manipulation to discover the guilty party.
But one of the suspects happens to be his own wife. This fast-paced and witty effort is suspenseful and is helped by an amazing cast that includes Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett.
Those who want to see something sweet and heartwarming could do much worse than to check out Rental Family with Brendan Frasier. The star plays a struggling actor in Japan who accepts an unusual position. Clients hire him to perform simulations of important events and personal relationships. The lead learns about Japanese culture in the process, discovering there is a social stigma attached to seeking help from a psychologist. His job helps them find a socially acceptable way to address various stigmas. Of course, the lead also realizes there can be complications after becoming emotionally involved with clients. It’s a gentle, amusing and sensitively portrayed comedy/drama with an original premise that leaves a lasting effect on the viewer.
Next are a couple of divisive efforts (at least with some other critics I know). Jay Kelly features George Clooney as an actor taking stock of his career, along with the cost of fame and success on personal relationships.
Viewers see the occasionally selfish star try to grapple with past relationships that have soured, and the movie benefits from never presenting the lead and other characters in a simple, black-and-white manner.
All of them are flawed, trying to make sense of the decisions they’ve made over decades together. The heart of the film is the relationship between the performer and his manager, played brilliantly by Adam Sandler, which comes to an effectively emotional close.
Train Dreams is a period drama detailing decades in the life of a logger. Joel Edgerton plays a man with little knowledge of his past, who ends up working in railroad construction. It’s a tough and dangerous career, with the worker witnessing many moments of heart-wrenching calamity. As he ages, the man tries to understand the events of his life and what they all meant. Unlike other dramas and, much like the details of a normal person like you or me, this picture doesn’t offer any easy answers or closure for its lead. This tactic has frustrated some, but for me it forces one to ponder big existential questions. The lead performance is remarkable and the film’s cinematography is stunning, with staggering natural images that will linger for years to come.
Marty Supreme is an impressive period effort about a man determined to be a world-famous ping-pong player. The movie’s concept sounds a bit out-there, but the end result is a compellingly wild romp that follows a passionate but severely flawed individual getting in over his head with petty crimes in order to accomplish his ultimate goal.
The fact that he doesn’t care about anything or anyone but his mission would make him completely unlikeable in most pictures, but this wild, high-energy effort benefits from a charismatic cast, including Timothee Chalamet as the title character.
Earlier in the year, I raved about One Battle After Another and still feel that way to this day. This is another sprawling epic from Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, There Will Be Blood) about an ex-revolutionary hiding off the grid who must reappear when soldiers begin hunting for him and his teenage daughter.
The pacing never lets up, the story takes unexpected turns, the characters are memorable, and the photography (particularly during the climax) is wonderful. Additionally, the movie has an important message. And while the extremist villains are intimidating, there is a sharp sense of humor on display that expertly showcases them as hypocrites, and even pathetic in their desperation to accomplish their own vision for the country.
Additionally, this was an excellent year for international movies. If you do get the chance, It Was Just an Accident, Sentimental Value, The Secret Agent and No Other Choice are another trio of notable efforts worth checking out.
As far as other notable pictures, I did greatly enjoy the science-fiction satire Mickey 17, and while I still don’t fully understand all the “Chicken Jockey” shenanigans that took place at movie theaters, I will admit to enjoying plenty of chuckles during the amusingly oddball A Minecraft Movie.
And that was 2025. Here’s hoping 2026 makes just as big, if not an even bigger, impression at the cinema.
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