Summer 2025 was the summer I answered the sweet siren song of the AMC A-List subscription. I haven’t been able to leave the movie theatre since. Seriously, they’ve glued me to the chairs.
As a wanna-be film critic and regular Letterboxd user, I like to think I have some idea as to what makes a movie good or, really, deeply bad. This column will hold my quick, not too in-depth reviews of recent movies if you want to know before you go, whether you’re looking at an Oscar winner or a dumpster fire.
September is one of the slowest months for movie releases. It falls, unfortunately, right in the middle of cheesy summer blockbusters and Oscar-baiting winter releases. Uncharacteristically, this September has been a hotbed for both refreshing films that are full of heart and shlocky but eye-catching romps.
The Roses Directed by Jay Roach
“I never thought watching a white man reclaim his power could be so moving.” – The Roses
Technically, The Roses was released at the very end of August, but it would be a disservice for me to gloss over this hilarious comedy. When most people think of their favorite lighthearted, actually funny comedies, they were all released more than 10 years ago. In the 2020s, the concept of a director creating a comedy that has the audience laughing for the full runtime is extremely foreign.
The fall-out-of-your-seat humor is unsurprising when you find out Jay Roach is the same man who directed all of the Austin Powers movies. Despite the patriotism coursing through my veins, my very American self thought the British humor was hilarious.
Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman playing an old, jaded, and aggressively British couple is something the world didn’t know it needed. Also, the performances from the supporting cast are outstanding, with the unlikely coupling of Kate McKinnon and Andy Samberg adding even more chaos to an already beautifully chaotic film.
The writing strikes a perfect balance between a 40-year-old man’s cringy interpretation of Gen-Z humor and incredibly crude and shocking British banter. It had me laughing hysterically until the explosive finale.
Him Directed by Justin Tipping
“This ain’t a f*cking game, man. This is everything! Do you want this? What are you willing to sacrifice?” – Him
Camp horror is so back. Brought to you by the mind of rising horror director Justin Tipping, Him is an unrealistic, out-of-the-box, and thoroughly entertaining commentary on the pure insanity that is professional football.
Tyriq Withers provided a stand-out performance as the male lead, Cameron Cade. He had moments of emotional poignancy along with comedic chemistry with the film’s cartoonish villain, Isaiah White, played by Marlon Wayans. Withers was able to bring the football experience he got from playing as a wide receiver at FSU in 2017, something that might’ve affected the similarity in team colors between “The Saviors” and the Seminoles.
Him is one of the few films produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkey Paw Productions that Peele himself didn’t direct. I believe that it’s because of this that Him has received extremely divisive reviews. This film is nothing like a Peele movie: it’s purposely campy with extremely on-the-nose imagery and dialogue.
Numerous reviews highlight the campiness as a drawback, emphasizing that the film’s many over-the-top moments come across as unintentionally humorous. However, this film didn’t attempt to say something that hadn’t already been said. Him can be likened to The Substance (2024) in this way; it uses very obvious, easy-to-read imagery and caricatures to illustrate common points of commentary surrounding gender performance.
I enjoyed Him a surprising amount, considering I walked into the theatre knowing it had a 2.5 rating on Letterboxd. This is because it reminded me of my favorite campy horror movies from the ’70s and ’80s; it has a confusing plot, obvious allegories, and super fun scenes of comic gore.
One Battle After Another Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
“Freedom is a funny thing, isn’t it? When you have it, you don’t appreciate it, and when you miss it, it’s gone.” – One Battle After Another
Early whispers in the cinephile community about Paul Thomas Anderson’s new movie had film bros already labeling it as the Best Picture for 2026. I hate to say it, but they might be right.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s performance was terrific, but it was overshadowed by the emotionally impactful Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti, and Regina Hall. Also, Sean Penn does a surprisingly convincing job of playing a mentally deranged white supremacist who’s desperate for the approval of other, similarly deranged, white supremacists.
This film surrounds a ragtag group of American revolutionaries who try to survive being targeted by a vengeful military officer in charge of an immigration detention facility. However, when you look past the tense action sequences and government conspiracy, One Battle After Another is about a father and daughter learning to trust each other in a scary world.
Anderson wrote these revolutionaries as deeply flawed individuals who found solace in reclaiming the power that the government had stolen from them and many others. It’s through these characters that Anderson captured the spirit of the American revolutionary. He portrayed the leading black female characters as embodiments of the various ways this revolutionary spirit manifests: independence, compassion, and fearlessness.
America has become a scary place for many different types of people, so I was happy to walk out of this film feeling hopeful for the future of this beautifully diverse country.
This September consisted of vastly tonally opposed films, which gave me an emotional rollercoaster of a theatre experience. There were also many less exciting films, but these listed stood out to me for better or for worse. Most of these films are still in theatres, so if you’re interested, check them out!
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