Apocalypse Mal

297 watched, loads of blind spots but also loads of potential great films I’ve got in my future

24. Red Rooms - Not as successful as its reputation would suggest but its not a bad film. Pushes the right buttons as a modern thriller investigating the intersection of true crime obsessives.

23. The Smashing Machine (2025) - Empty. I fail to find any justification for why I should tell anyone to watch this.

22. Kokuho - Well, hmm, its a lot of movie. Lets you into the world of Kabuki, the frustration of an outsider, and finding success in such a trying profession. Endlessly captivating even when its just not great at times? Very glad I could see it regardless of feeling like its messy.

Remember that movie Tag? Incredible waste of time and zero laughs. ZERO. A guy next to me was on his phone for most of the movie. I didn’t even care, it was such a bad experience.

Girls Trip

21. Send Help - bwahaha sicko Sam Raimi having a blast with Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien. Movie is kinda guilty of looking like it was shot in a local exotic plant garden. But its such a fun ride! Good times.

20. Good Boy (2025) - Totally dull gimmick of a movie. Dog was fine. I feel like my dog could have acted circles around Indy. Sorry but my dog is a genius!!

19. Wuthering Heights (1939) - A captivating adaptation with great design and solid drama. Laurence Olivier terrific, though I grew to enjoy Merle Oberon more as the film went on. I’m not sure its memorable but I’m glad I watched this.

18. The Moment - More amusing than successful. But I loved Charli in this. She’s very aware of what needs to be conveyed and easily slips into this alt version of herself. The disaster director played by Alexander Skarsgard feels undercooked, though the intent is admirable. Its fine, good for fans.

17. Song Sung Blue (2025) - Lots of cinematic touches to expand on the real life subjects. Not all are fully successful. However, there’s a genuine charm to the film through its cast. The performance moments are totally captivating and entertaining. Kate Hudson never lays it on thick, she’s great.

16. Arco - A beautiful, hypnotic futuristic journey of a child’s dance with the unknown whilst leaving the confines of home. The ease of this film and its world fully captivated me. Ending hit me like a ton of bricks.

Lmao relatable

to save the film. Shades of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolfe’s disaster evening.

15. The Wife (1995) - The wackiness of Wallace Shawn barging in to his therapist on a chilly Vermont winter night, sounds like a punchline. His wife Karen Young dials up the intensity with her demands and paranoia. The beginning is very hard to enjoy. Its last act is great but it feels a little late

14. Peter Hujar’s Day - a hangout picture like no other. A bit too limited for general audiences, yet the stillness in conversation and thoughts is a world all its own. Nice film. Killer apartment.

13. Together (2025) - almost worked for me, but I’m left with a nagging feeling like the tone could have been sharper and the writing stronger. Nevertheless, it made me howl a couple times. Thats a good thing.

12. Diane Warren: Relentless - Give Diane the Oscar!!! You know what, she’s a wacky, talented person and I give her props. Fluff but good fluff.

11. Dead Man’s Wire - this is a solid production, good performance by Bill Skarsgard. Very strong period details. The editing kinda drags near the final act but I had a good time. A great time for January.

Five way tie!

No phones in Sinners, but good films are good!

10. No Other Choice - guess you have no other choice than to see this one, har har. Sharp, playful commentary on employment and hardship, family and culture. A stronger entry from Park Chan-Wook, with dazzling photography, staging, and performances. I’d watch this one again.

9. Zootopia 2 - I find a lot of the detail annoying. There’s just too much here for my brain. Why are there so many goddamn references in this movie for adults? I dunno. I didn’t hate it, its fun, I bet it totally rules if you’re five years old, but why so much?!!

8. Naked in New York - Terrible. Apparently most folks who have watched/logged this on letterboxd only checked it out because Ralph Macchio plays a character that is bisexual. I hope they enjoyed his one scene because this is a vapid, uninteresting waste of time otherwise.

7. Heaven Knows What - the slice-of-life junkie in NY picture has been done many times before. The Safdie’s take on the subject here is very raw and troubling, though all together feels like their own distinct take. Arielle Holmes is very good.

6. Bugonia - I told myself I would not watch this but curiosity got me. How are his movies getting worse? Badly scripted. Empty film with shock value that bores. I’m done. At least it looked good.

5. The Dutchman - An adaptation of Amiri Baraka’s play, this will definitely throw some audiences off. While I wasn’t totally convinced, I found a lot of the editing and production choices fascinating. Andre Holland is great. Kate Mara is messy. Meta for better or worse, I was mixed and entertained.

4. The Mastermind (2025) - Josh O’Connor is a delightful bum. I’d give him a buck for the bus. Probably dug the ending itself the most as he ran away from his problems, still wanting to be a family man despite all his actions being so destructive. Good film.

3. Pop Aye - one man, one elephant, one journey. A modern man reminisces of his youth and acquires his long lost elephant. Story too dry and predictable, looks alright, but you know where this is going at every turn.

2. She’s Having a Baby - Baby imminent though its 90% a film about Kevin Bacon’s Jake being an insecure child. Satire, sure. A bunch of laughs. If someone told me this movie wasn’t funny, I wouldn’t argue. There are glimpses of artistry in the film that I found fascinating.