TRON: Ares (2025)

So after the last TRON film didn’t lead to anything. Disney decided to wait 15 years because…..well just because i suppose. The story follows Julian Dillinger (Evan Peters) who runs Dillinger Systems with his mother Elisabeth (played by Gillian Anderson) as they are trying to bring the weapons from the grid but the problem is that they can’t last more than 29 minutes, meanwhile Encom run by Eve (Greta Lee) has managed it with the aim of trying to solve world hunger and Ares who is a Dillinger soldier suddenly wants to be a real boy.

First the positives, the visual effects are stunning. I just loved the colour schemes and the chase sequence with Aries and Eve trying to escape was stunning to watch. That is the only time in history that the words Jared Leto and stunning have been used seriously in the same sentence.  I thought that bringing back the original TRON effects was a smart choice and a nice bit of nostalgia.  I also thought that the score was pretty good. Not quite on the same level as what Daft Punk did but still pretty good. 

One day there will be a Jared Leto performance that makes me re-evaluate him as an actor but this film isn’t that one. This isn’t the worst Leto performance (I’m looking at your Suicide Squad). It took a long time for me to warm to Eve Kim but I think that is more down to the writing than Greta Lee’s performance. Evan Peters is fine as Julian Dillinger who is the grandson of Ed Dillinger (David Warner from the first film). The only issue is that there isn’t anything really to the character apart from being a bad guy. Gillian Anderson was fine although her character's purpose felt a bit weak. Her first couple of scenes felt like she was trying to mimic Margaret Thatcher and then that changed so I wonder if there was some discussion behind the scenes. Jodie Turner-Smith was my favourite part about the performances. She made that role much better than it would have been with someone else. She felt like the proper menace to Aries but it's just a shame that she was carrying the film on her back and getting little support. Jeff Bridges pops up for 10 minutes to mumble his way through the film. We are way past the point of where Jeff Bridges needs to have subtitles put up on the screen for his films otherwise it's just mumblecore. 

The overall issue with this film is that it doesn't feel like there is any point to it. Don't get me wrong I love being in that world but there didn’t feel like the world needed a new TRON film. The thing is that they set things up for a sequel that will most likely not happen because I can’t see this doing mega business at the cinema. The sequel-bait tease is that Julian is going to be the new Sark and that might give the character something to make him seem like a credible threat but it will for a sequel that doesnt happen cause Disney will wait too long and hit the reset button again. Feels like a wasted opportunity.

Good Boy (2025)

Original ideas are very rare nowadays. Good Boy was a mystery screening at my cinema and the set up of this film  was that it was a horror film but from the perspective of the dog.  The film follows Indy who along with his owner move to an isolated house in the middle of the woods and as you can imagine things go wrong.

I thought that Indy was adorable and did wonder whether a lot or some of his performance was achieved with CGI or AI but it looks like it was 100% genuine and the IMDB says the film took 3 years to film which if true explains why the film was only 73 minutes. Dogs are always going to be adorable and easy to like in film or television but the way that the film makes you root for Indy is quite impressive and when he comes across the skeleton of the previous dog it was such a sad moment. His owner Todd is suffering from a lung issue and he appears to being taken over by the mysterious shadowy figure and at the end is seems to be suggested that the shadowy figure has taken Todd into the darkness and ended his life seemed a bit random because the downside of just having Todd on his own for 90% of the time means that we don't get things explained and I am not talking about a full detailed exposition scene but just something to tie things together. The character of Vera is pretty much useless as she doesn't seem to do anything except pester Todd and then appear at the end to rescue Indy.  I was literally amazed when the cinema lights went up at the end of the film cause I was expecting a final scene but there wasn't and I must admit that it did feel like 

Whilst the film doesn't win any awards for originality when it comes to story structure it does win originality awards for the fact that Indy is the focus of the film. We never see the faces of the humans apart from brief shots or when there is something obstructing the view. It did remind me (in a good way) of a Tom & Jerry cartoon when you would never see above the humans knees and so we were in the world of Tom & Jerry and the adults/humans were not really the main focus. 

I thought overall that Good Boy was a good horror film and a lot better than the premise suggested. The novelty of filming things from the dogs POV or level was used well and the director resisted the urge to break away from that and have a traditional scene with the humans. 

HIM (2025)

HIM is a Jordan Peele produced horror which sees Tyrian Withers play Cam who is given the chance to train with his childhood hero Isiah (played by Marlon Wayans). Cam suffers a brain injury and so it is a sort of last chance type thing. The thing about Cam is that he seems like a nice guy who wants to do well for his family and to honour his deceased father but as the film progresses it becomes clear that this bootcamp will require to go above and beyond what is expected if he wants to be the new G.O.A.T.

I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed with this film. It seemed like it was being pitched as Whiplash with some occult thrown in for good measure. Strange things happen in this film just for the sake of it so ultimately this is a slightly disappointing film. It is one that has some good points but it wouldn’t have taken much to make it one of the best horror films of 2025.

That’s not to say that there aren’t things to like. I thought that Marlon Wayans stole the show. I haven’t been the biggest fan of his and felt like he didn't have a good performance in him but this film proved me wrong. It was clear that he was not what he appeared to be and Wayans seemed to be enjoying playing this type of character and showing the world he has range. I also thought that Tyriq Withers. Last time I saw him was in the ‘I Knew What You Did Last Summer’ rehash and this is by far the stronger performance. The change that he goes through is subtle and even at the end you still end up rooting for him.

The final scene is what redeems the whole thing for me. I think because it felt like the closest the film came to something making sense happening although for some it might have come too late. The idea of a football owner being in league with the devil and trying to get someone to sell their soul for fame and fortune is potentially a bit cliched but at least it was something that made sense in a film that seemed to be style over substance. I think sticking ‘from producer Jordan Peele’ was to try and get people who liked his other stuff to come a see this film cause otherwise it might struggle although I still think that it's going to struggle because people may not want to spend 100 minutes watching a film about football.

The Smashing Machine (2025)

 The Smashing Machine tells the story of MMA fighter Mark Kerr. I’ll be honest I didn’t know the story or particularly interested but the idea of Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson transforming himself was something that got me interested. The story takes place between 1997 and 2000 when he is already a fighter and we follow Kerr as he tries to win some Pride event in Japan.

The story isn’t that interesting which is a major problem in a biopic. He has a drug problem, tries to kick it and win a competition whilst having issues with his girlfriend. There have been better stories to tell and I wonder what it was about this that people thought was worth making a story about. The other issue with Dawn played by Emily Blunt. I like Emily Blunt and think she’s a very good actress but I did not like Dawn because she just seemed to be there to start an argument with Mark. This seemed to be the pattern in the film that they would be ok, have an argument and then a little while later would be ok again. The last we see of her is when she is wheeled off in a police car on the way to seek treatment after trying to kill herself. Blunt makes the role better than it otherwise would have been but it was hard to like the character.

The film works purely because of Dwayne Johnson. This isn’t the sort of role we are used to seeing him in but it was a surprisingly restrained performance we saw from him which unfortunately does have ‘Oscar Bait’ written all over it. Whether we will be talking about it in February or March of next year is a mystery but it definitely worth talking about. The thing about Mark is that he seems to be a nice if flawed person. Another thing that was good about this film were the fighting scenes. They seemed like the fighters were have the hell beaten out of them. They are edited together to make them seem like MMA fights are quite entertaining even though the idea of the fights sounds barbaric to some. 

Overall this film is little bit underwhelming. It is worth seeing just for Dwayne Johnson although there is probably a more interesting documentary or series about this guy that you be able to find because despite the great performance from him and the incredible fights, there is something lacking to make this a great film and will probably fail in its Oscar bait plan.

Radiohead X Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror (2025)

Radiohead X Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror takes the 1922 classic which is a blatant Dracula rip off and mixes it with two Radiohead albums (KID A and Amnesiac). This intrigued me because of the idea of taking something from 100 years ago and mixing it with music not related to it in any way. 

As for the story itself, I enjoyed it. I saw it for the first time a couple of years ago and I don't know if it was because it was on the big screen or it was because of the music but I thought the story was just as good as ever. I think that this film’s version of Nosferatu is iconic and works for this film but I prefer the 2025 Robert Eggers version. The film did try and inject some colour into the film with weird bits of red and blue in an attempt to emphasise the evil???

The choice of using Radiohead didn’t work for me. It felt like they pressed play on their Radiohead Spotify playlist and left the film running. The songs didn’t have any connection to what was going on and there would be a gap between songs and yet things would still be happening. I think that you could probably use Radiohead’s back catalogue and put them together to fit better with the pace of the film. Also I don’t know if it was the cinema I was in but the volume was way too loud and it felt like my ears were going to start bleeding. To be fair my cinema is probably nearly 40 years old so it does need a major upgrade.

Overall I thought that this experiment didn’t quite work but I am glad that I went to see it on the big screen. It did make me think that you could give this film to Alexandre Desplat or Michael Giacchino or someone else to produce a more appropriate score for this film. I suppose the Robin Carolan score for the Robert Eggers version is the closest we will probably ever get. There is supposedly a R.E.M X Buster Keaton’s Sherlock Jr coming out in 2026 and I want to see that to see if this experiment has any future or whether we need to put this sort of thing to bed.

One Battle After Another (2025)

 The film follows Bob (Leonardo Di Caprio) who was part of a freedom fighting group known as the French 75 when his girlfriend disappears after being arrested and leaves his with their baby. 16 years later, the baby is now grown up and Bob is a wasted loser. The Colonel that was after them is again after them.

I have to admit that I haven't seen that many PTA films (this being my third) but this is my favourite film of his. Firstly the fact that the film doesn't rush itself and takes its time letting things play out. I was genuinely worried when I saw that the film was over two and a half hours long but to be honest I thought the runtime was perfect. I was never bored and it never felt like they padded things out or were rushing to get to the end. 

The casting is really good. Leonardo Di Caprio gives another solid performance and each time he shows how good he is I am reminded that this is the same Leonardo Di Caprio that was not very good in Romeo and Juliet and The Beach. It’s one of his better performances because its understated just still feels important. Chase Infiniti is a huge discovery and does very well surrounded by Oscar winning actors. Her best scenes are when she is with Sean Penn. She is trying to be strong in the face of Penn’s creepy Lockjaw. 

Sean Penn is the real star of this film. Every second that he was on screen made me feel like I wanted to take a shower. Just the fact that he is after Bob and Willa is enough to make him a villain in the film but the idea that he wants to wipe his daughter out because he wants to join some KKK-type club but they wouldn’t haven’t him in if he told the truth but there is 

The cinematography is very nice. The last 20-25 minutes take place on one long winding road with the desert either side and yet Michael Bauman makes it look quite nice. Johnny Greenwood’s score is something that I have heard good things about and it works for this film but I don’t think that its the best of the year.

I really liked this film. A lot of people are saying that this is their favourite film of the year and whilst its in my top 3, it doesnt make it to top spot although I can see why. When people say there are no original ideas in cinema anymore then we can show them films like this

The Lost Bus (2025)

 The Lost Bus was a film I knew pretty much nothing about. Normally this is the sort of film that I would have waited to see it on streaming, however when I discovered that Paul Greengrass was directing it then I changed my mind because I knew that there was a good chance that this was going to be spectacular. It made sense since he directed two of the best of the Jason Bourne films (as well as the final one). The plot is that Matthew McConaughey plays Kevin who is a school bus driver who after the fire starts is tasked with taking some students to a drop off point along with their teacher Mary played by America Ferrera. For most of the film, the action centres around Kevin and Mary as they try and do what seems impossible.

The plot is straightforward and what makes the film work as well as it does is that it has the intensity that it needs to and the sort that is common in Greengrass’ other films such as United 93 and 22 July. 

If I had an issue with the film is that the shakey cam is really bad. I dont think that I have seen shakey cam this bad since Monkey Man. I understand that in most of his films. When there is daylight then it works because at least you can see what is happening and so you know how to react. When its dark then there is nothing for me to connect with and there was one scene where people were running around and so there were people and then flames and lights and at one point I couldn’t see anything even though there were things happening. That is it as far as the criticisms go because the film works due to keeping things simple and letting the chemistry between McConaughey and Ferrera drive the story (pardon the pun). It is Kevin’s story so McConaughey is technically the lead but when Ferrara enters the story it feels like they are both equal and to be fair to the kids they also help make this feel tense and you are happy when they manage to escape the smoke.

On the subject of the smoke, the constant shots of smoke and fire and people coughing just kept making me go for my drink and that is a sign of good storytelling. There was a good 40-45 minutes that were totally gripping and it seemed like the scenes where we were out with the fire Marshall’s and the bus depot were there to give us a breather for a few minutes. I also liked the shots where we were flying through the air like we were the fire almost seeing it from its point of view. There were moments mainly at the end where it felt like wheepy melodrama but I felt like the film had earnt this right because of everything that had happened. It did feel like the whole business of Kevin and his son could probably have been left out but I suppose when you are telling a true story or a story based on true events then sometimes you have to leave the less than minor details in. 

The Lost Bus was a gamble for me but I am happy to report that this gamble paid off. In the hands of a lesser director then this wouldn’t have had the impact and we might have been left with a story that got bogged down in special effects and characters that weren’t well written but thankfully we got the best of everything. Not sure whether its better on the big screen but I didn’t mind spending my money on a Saturday morning.