This month I saw both my favorite and least favorite movies of 2025 so far: the clever horror-thriller Weapons and the Ice Cube-helmed, screenlife War of the Worlds.
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
United States of America | 1969 | 120m | English
An unintentionally appropriate movie to kick off my 12-hour endurance flight back from China.
I think this movie is legitimately great, especially in the acting. The “race” scenes in particular were harrowing. But I don’t really like that the most cynical character is the one “proven right” by the end. I get what this movie is saying about labor, capitalism, and American work culture, and I think it makes its points cleverly and effectively. But I just don’t ultimately share the supremely blackpilled, r/antiwork worldview of the story. Unlike Hanoi Jane’s character, for example, I think there is inherently a “point” to children and the continuation of human life. This movie is great but unduly pessimistic.
Anyway, please make sure Mr. Beast doesn’t watch this.
War of the Worlds
United States of America | 2025 | 91m | English
I was so intrigued by the catastrophic reviews it has been getting that I had to watch screenlife War of the Worlds staring Ice Cube. Despite a number of unintentionally funny moments, yeah, it really is as bad as everyone says. It’s also exhausting to watch because of the constant digital zooms and pans, but mostly because of how mind-numbingly dumb it all is. Any slack I may have been tempted to give it due to the laughs (the Amazon gift card scene is wild) vanishes thanks to the heroic portrayal of surveillance totalitarianism, which makes this movie not just awful but immorally awful.
2001: A Space Odyssey
United Kingdom, United States of America | 1968 | 149m | English, Russian
This was a necessary rewatch after I finished reading Space Odyssey, a book all about the making of this film. I had all sorts of new details to look out for, and I even sat through the credits to spot the names I recognized from the book.
There is a lot that I admire about 2001: A Space Odyssey. It truly is unlike any other movie out there, even though so many films have taken inspiration from it since its release so many decades ago. Visually it is spectacular and narratively it is about as ambitious as any story could possibly be, and it becomes richer the longer you have to ponder it and the more times you see the film. I also love the tense, atonal music (more than the classical parts of the soundtrack), and I think the Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite segment is endlessly rewatchable.
That all being said, there is no denying that this film is slow. Maybe that’s all purposeful, to depict an age where space travel is so advanced as to be mundane, but I really don’t think the movie had to be quite this slow or—ok, I’m gonna say it—boring. There could have been more life to many of the scenes: take, for instance, the unemotional reaction that Dave Bowman has when he looks out the window and sees his colleague hurtling through space. Why no panic or surprise? Is the movie really best served by depicting him as a completely emotionally neutered uber-professional in that moment? The dialogue, too, especially during the Haywood Floyd segment, really has no reason to be so painfully mundane. I would have been fine with shortening that whole part so we could get like 10 minutes more of the monkeys 🐒 ⬛️
The Island Closest to Heaven
Japan | 1984 | 103m | Japanese
Nobuhiko Obayashi directs this wistful, dreamy story of youthful romance and longing, though you might be forgiven for thinking at times that this is one long travel commercial for New Caledonia. (I spotted a thanks to the government of the small island nation frontloaded at the end credits—along with Air France, of all things.)
The story is about a teen girl who visits New Caledonia shortly after the passing of her father, who described the island to her as the site of “the island closest to heaven.” Along the way she crosses paths with a chatty Japanese girl a couple of years her senior, a grown man who pursues a questionable albeit ultimately benign romantic relationship with her, and a local boy—this time closer to her own age—who dreams of visiting Japan one day despite being Japanese himself. You won’t find the psychedelic zaniness of House here, but you will find gorgeous cinematography, lush music, and a charming, heartfelt story. I really dug this, though I can imagine others with less of a soft spot for Obayashi and 80s Japanese aesthetics finding the movie somewhat uneventful.
The Editor
Canada | 2014 | 95m | English
For a movie called The Editor, it must be pointed out how disorienting the editing in this film is. But maybe that’s the point; the whole thing is meant to be a parody of giallo movies, which are notable for their bizarre, mercurial plots. At least that’s what the filmmakers said at the screening I went to. I admittedly haven’t seen very many giallos, so there’s a chance that I could have gotten a lot more out of this movie had I watched more of those sleazy, violent Italian films so that I could pick up on all the allusions which I assume are there. (I recognized the Videodrome references at least!)
I am not usually one to award points to movies where the point is to be bad on purpose—it always feels to me like some sort of rhetorical shield the filmmakers can put up and go, “No, the joke’s on you! We’re parodying bad movies so it’s supposed to suck.” And then you’re left with no grounds to criticize the film. Alright, I guess The Editor isn’t all bad. There are some legitimately ambitious stunts here given the low budget and “it’s better to beg for forgiveness than ask permission” attitude of the filmmaking. There were a number of silly moments that made me chuckle, the gore is effectively gruesome, the music is way better than it has any right to be for a movie like this, and the gratuitous nudity is… well, what it is. I just think that one probably needs to do a fair deal of giallo-watching homework before seeing this parody so that when the incoherent editing gives you whiplash, you regard it with a knowing smile rather than the feeling that this movie is ass. I mean, it is ass, but that’s the point, get it? Haha(?)
The Gate
Canada, United States of America | 1987 | 86m | English
The Gate is an 80s horror movie for kids—meaning that most of the scary things that happen speak to the fears of children: coming home to find your house empty, being attacked by your parents or friends, seeing your beloved family dog… well, I’ll stop myself there. All I know is that if I had seen this movie under age 10 or so, all the stuff with Angus would probably have really upset me!
Instead, watching this as an adult who was more interested in seeing this because it was being projected on 35mm than because of any kind of nostalgic attachment to this film, I found a macabre hilarity in the callous way the dog was treated, and let out a loud, quality pfft or two at unexpected slurs dropped by the young protagonists and the teen friends of the older sister character during their hilarious verbal spats. The 80s were a different time, man.
Do I recommend The Gate? I mean… no, not really. It really takes its time to get going and the details of the goofy, shallow plot will probably be out of my memory by tomorrow morning. There are some neat practical effects (I said “neat,” not “convincing”), but I think Spielberg did a much better job making movies of this ilk during this time period. However, The Gate might serve as an adequate… gateway… for parents who want to ease their horror-movie-curious children into the genre without diving straight into heavier fare.
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
United Kingdom, United States of America | 1975 | 100m | English, German
Super strange and all over the place, but I can see how some people could really love this. Not totally my thing but I can admire its originality, audacity, and charm. Tim Curry oozes charisma. I watched it at home on my own on an iPhone screen so I imagine I haven’t gotten the real experience yet until I see it in a rowdy theater. (Low-key, I think Phantom of the Paradise is better, though.)
3 Women
United States of America | 1977 | 124m | English
Sorry, but it fell apart for me in that ending. I exhibited a great deal of patience with this slow, uneventful film, only to be left scratching my head when the credits appeared. I wish I could see what everyone else sees in this movie. I see it get compared to Mulholland Drive, which is apt because that movie, too, left me feeling like I had wasted my time.
Also—and this is undoubtedly my own issue—but Sissy Spacek chewing gum loudly in the last scene grated on my ears so badly that I had to turn off the volume and rely on captions. 20 minutes after that scene ended and my blood pressure is still elevated. I don’t know, it triggered something deep in me. I’m not lying when I say maybe I would have scored this higher if not for the loud, sustained gum chewing. It took a bad, confusing ending and turned it into my personal hell. I’m, like, actually pissed at this movie now.
Other Movies I Saw This Month
- Hard Boiled (1992) [4/5]
- Outlanders (1986) [2/5]
- Weapons (2025) [5/5]
- Bag (2001) [2/5]
- Short Cuts (1993) [3.5/5]
- Piranha (1978) [2.5/5]
- Chowboys: An American Folktale (2018) [2.5/5]
- His Motorbike, Her Island (1986) [5/5]
- Deadly Eyes (1982) [3/5]
- The Player (1992) [5/5]
Best Movies I Saw This Month
- Weapons
- The Player
- The Island Closest to Heaven
Worst Movies I Saw This Month
- War of the Worlds
Josh Anderson 