In 2024 I saw a grand total of 2 films. The first was an inebriated re-watch of Nick Cage’s myopic biopic, The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent. The second was the absolute pinnacle of modern cinema, Sonic The Hedgehog 3, seen in theaters with 3 of my closest friends.
Now obviously it’s all downhill from there, but I’m not letting that stop me. I hereby declare that 2025 is Da Year Of Da Movie. My goal is to watch 100 films in this calendar year, which is probably about as many as I’ve seen in my entire life up to this point.
The “Why” for this exercise is simple: I like movies. I’d go so far as to say that I like them a lot! But despite that, I’ve seen a comically small number of them. Also, currently I’m a fairly forgiving critic. I hold Shark Tale and The Menu in equally high regard and something feels off about that. So I’m planning to use this as an excuse to become a bit more of a discerning viewer of cinema as well.
“Okay cool. A dude in his late 20’s gets a hobby. Big deal. Why are you writing about it?” Fair question! I think an ongoing log of my thoughts as I go through this process will be fun for me to look back on in the future.
“Isn’t that what Letterboxd is for?” Yeah, but I like using that as an off the cuff, knee jerk reaction to movies. I throw a review on there within minutes of the credits finishing. These blogs are going to be my deeper, fully formed thoughts after taking time to let my opinions stew for a bit.
“Alright, but why am I reading this?” Honestly, that’s between you and God. Good luck in your search for answers!
The format for these is going to be a standard listicle of what I checked out last month, in ascending order of preference. That way I get to kick things off by dunking on something that’s way better than I’m giving it credit for, and end by gushing about whatever resonated with my weird little brain the most. Without further ado, it’s Da Year Of Da Movie: January Edition.
#6 – The Big Lebowski
This has got to be the worst possible movie for me to start things off with. Not only is it a universally beloved cult-classic, it has also generated enough memes that even if you haven’t seen it, you probably feel like you have. On top of that, I have startlingly little to say about it. It’s shot well, the performances are great, the script is tight, etc. What held it back for me is a simple and ugly truth: I just didn’t find it that funny.
Now don’t get me wrong, there were bits that I chuckled at. Philip Seymour Hoffman’s character is the best live-action depiction of Smithers from The Simpsons that I’ve ever seen. Our introduction to Jesus was great. The Dude getting the stencil of the Notepad drawing was absurd. But the large chunks of time between those highlights just didn’t do anything for me.
This almost certainly stems from having seen most of these jokes regurgitated online in decreasingly funny ways over the years. There’s only so many times I can hear somebody ask a room if they’re the only one that cares about the rules before it stops feeling rhetorical, and instead morphs into a bizarre query towards the universe itself. Everyone else finds this hilarious, why don’t I?
I’ve heard that it gets better on re-watch and I absolutely believe that. There’s a real sense density to every scene. But on an initial viewing it felt less like a story was being told to me, and more like one was being told near me. Maybe when I check this out again I’ll love it. Maybe I’ll hate it even more. Maybe you’ll hate me for that. But ultimately, that’s just your opinion, man.
#5 – John Wick
I know what this looks like. Putting these two at the bottom probably seems like the most obvious bait of all time, but I swear that I genuinely wasn’t huge on this either. The problem starts and ends with Keanu. There’s something about that man’s goofy-ass head that makes it impossible for me to take him seriously. His line delivery, his mannerisms, his aura, etc all scream “Breathtaking Cyberpunk Salesman”, rather than action hero. He never feels like a character in a movie, but instead an actor on a set.
To be clear, this is 10,000% a me problem. He’s doing great on a technical level. The choreography in the fight scenes is still impressive even a decade after release and Keanu fully committing to the performance is a big part of that. And really, if that’s all you’re here for you’re probably leaving happy. I just never stopped wanting there to be something around those fights to make me care about the world they’re happening in.
Wick is treated like a force of nature. A hurricane of violence that sputtered out over the mainland, but is beginning to surge forward again. You can’t stop it, only redirect its path. However, what’s the point of that redirection and avoidance when the land it’s ravaging is so damn boring? The initial motivation for his resurgence is great (pour one out for that dog), but after the 50th random goon that’s been unceremoniously shot in the head, it starts to feel less like a story and more like a toddler explaining how cool their favorite action figure is. And while I can see the charm, I also hate kids and would really like to never have to hear one speak again.
#4 – Baby Driver
We’re officially out of the, “Eh, it was fine” section of January, and into the “Films that will make dudes say “Hell Yeah”” section. Baby Driver was the first thing I saw in 2025, and somehow was able to serve as a solid follow up to Sonic at the end of last year. Much like America’s favorite blue Hog, this movie’s Gotta Go Fast. The entire film carries that same frenetic energy. The more I think about it, the more the parallels be come clear.
Baby is a perfect stand-in for Sonic. They’ve both been displaced from their parents due to horrific, life shattering accidents. They share the same love for speed, feeling the closest they ever feel to being truly alive when bolting through danger. Baby’s love interest, Debora, is clearly Tails. I know what you’re thinking, but hear me out. There’s an awkward yet lovable energy that’s common across the two of them. Plus I’ve read enough fan fiction to know that this pairing isn’t nearly as sacrilegious as some of the stuff that’s out there.
Jon Hamm’s character, Buddy is fascinating. He’s a reflection of Knuckles from Sonic 3 (the game, not the film). In that Genesis classic, he goes from being Sonic’s rival to his friend, whereas Buddy takes the opposite route. His transformation from a charismatic ally to the movie’s true antagonist is a brilliant reversal. The subversion is captivating!
Bats is clearly Shadow, Darling is Amy, and don’t even get me started on how obvious the connection is between Kevin Spacey’s character and Eggman. He’s literally named Doc, it’s been right in front of our eyes this entire time!
This is prequel to the Paramount movies that we truly deserve. 10/10, 5 stars on Letterboxd, no notes. On a serious note, I really liked Jon Hamm in this. Going to make it a point to check out more stuff with him in it going forward.
#3 – Gone Girl
Huge Disclaimer right up at the top of this one: I read the book first and absolutely adored it. I burned through the last 2 thirds of it in a single sitting, staying up until 4am on a weeknight knowing damn well that the next day was going to be miserable at work. And honestly, I regret absolutely nothing about that.
The story that’s being told in this movie is just inherently captivating. You slowly piece together how horrible Nick is before you’re blindsided by the twist in the middle and the outlandish resolution is a fun ride no matter how it’s told. The general misery that Gillian Flynn is so good at creating is translated perfectly here too. But rather than dwell on it as much as the novel does, that focus is instead shifted onto Nick and Amy. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike are both perfect for their roles. Affleck delivers the perfect mix of slime and charm, and Pike twists from sympathetic to loathsome at a beautiful pace.
That being said, some of the scenes and ideas that were cut out were a noticeable bummer. Both main characters’ sets of parents played a much larger role in the book and missing the developments that stemmed from that stood out to me. Neil Patrick Harris’ character wasn’t quite as sinister here either and his performance felt kinda wasted. But then again, his last scene still feels like a beautifully bloody exclamation point to his arc, so I can’t complain too much.
Since so much of the draw of this story is the mystery and the twist, I look back more fondly on burning through the book than sitting down for the movie. But still, you really can’t go wrong either way.
#2 Punch-Drunk Love
I knew very little about this movie before sitting down to watch it. I heard it was more serious than a standard Adam Sandler flick, but assumed it would still be firmly in the Rom-Com area. A fun little watch on a laid back Sunday afternoon.
I was literally sweating when the credits rolled. There’s so much tension, such palpable dread pulsating through the entire runtime. The score bleeds into the diegetic audio, with random bumps and clangs that trick you into thinking someone’s knocking on a door just out of frame. Scenes that could’ve been a footnote instead drag on for agonizingly long periods of time, often done in a single take. It’s completely suffocating.
Sandler is one of the only actors that could’ve pulled this off, and sometimes the reasons for that feel extremely meta. There are conversations where you can feel the exact ways that Happy Gilmore or Billy Madison would’ve bantered and quipped back and that highlights just how much of a void of charisma Barry is.
Your normal Sandler character gets away with being a complete jackass. The entire world rolls with his punches and everybody laughs off the horrible things he does. In Punch-Drunk Love, the entire universe refuses to “yes-and” the antics, instead staring him dead in the face and asking “What is wrong with you?”
And the best part is that there isn’t an answer. Just a mumbled excuse, whispered from behind bloody knuckles above a pile of broken glass. I loved this movie.
#1 – Presence
I saw Presence in theaters on a random Tuesday afternoon because my internet was out. Had I known about the premise or checked out a trailer, I probably would’ve skipped it entirely. Anything shot in a first-person perspective has a high chance of making me incredibly nauseous and I am a very big baby when it comes to horror as a genre. But the marketing really failed the movie here.
Presence isn’t a horror film. It’s a slice-of-life family drama, with the occasional spooky element happening to the characters, but not the viewer. This gives the movie so much room to breathe and explore the story it’s telling. I love the plot threads that are hinted at, but never fully revealed. It feels like watching home-movies off of VHS tapes you bought at a Goodwill, starring a family you don’t know. You’re with them for this brief moment in their lives, and there’s an infinite amount of backstory that you simply aren’t going to find out about. But just because you aren’t aware of the lore, doesn’t mean it’s not important.
There are so many small details that are accentuated by the perspective as well. The way the camera moves to avoid mirrors and the misdirection regarding a specific window are some of the main highlights, but there are a ton of others too. Hell, even the first shot of the entire movie is hinting at a payoff later.
I’ve been trying to dance around anything major up until now, but I do want to drop some absolutely massive spoilers here. The text for the Spoiler-y bits will be Blue. Please skip ahead to the large image of Jon Hamm if you’d like to avoid them.
One of the final scenes of this movie uses a few different licensed songs. The one that plays during the climax is Covet by Basement. I’ve been listening to Basement since shortly after high school, and Covet is easily my favorite song of theirs. Hearing it go from being played off of a cell phone at a low quality, to coming back in at full blast as Tyler tackles Ryan through the window was the most enthralled I have ever felt by a movie. Then, following that up with the final scene of the remaining family members moving out of the house, hearing Lucy Liu’s piercing shriek as Tyler is revealed in the mirror before floating out of the front door was astounding.
There are a ton of nits to pick in Presence if you really want to, but I won’t be the guy to do it. This movie resonated with me in a way that very few things have and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since I walked out of the theater. I cannot recommend it enough.
Alrighty then! This turned out way longer than I expected. I feel like the tone is all over the place, but I’m gonna leave it mostly unedited. I’ll get better at these write-ups as I go, but for now I’m leaving it here. Thanks for checking this out, and I’ll see you in March to talk about February. Spoiler alert, it’s gonna get sticky!
Flamoctapus 