Cinema Snapshots: January 2025
What I watched last month...
Longtime readers know the drill by now: at the beginning of each month, I reflect on what I watched the prior month and provide a quick “snapshot” of my thoughts on those films. But I’m sorry to admit, I didn’t watch many new releases in January. I get it, this is a movie blog, and you’re here to read about my thoughts on movies! But unfortunately January is a famously dry period for new releases, too late in the awards cycle for Oscar contenders to be released, but too early in the year to attract many moviegoers.
That said, it was still a busy month! I voted in the North Carolina Film Critics Association’s 13th Annual Best in Cinema Awards, the Arts & Faith Ecumenical Jury — 2024 (you can read my write-ups there for Furiosa, The Bikeriders, and The Wild Robot), and The Vulture/NYMag Stunt Awards 2025 (winners will be announced on February 27).
I also had a blast rewatching some classic films last month with my wife during her winter break. We binged some of the Disney renaissance classics like The Little Mermaid and Aladdin, followed by their live-action remakes (if you’re ever looking for some real opinions on film, she has some steaming hot takes on the various versions of each).
We followed that up with an M. Night Shyamalan marathon, and I loved showing her Signs (she said it’s the scariest movie she’s ever seen and also the dumbest movie she’s ever seen) and The Sixth Sense (she didn’t know the plot twist and I loved seeing her realize it in real time).
But enough about me! Without further ado, here are my (brief) Cinema Snapshots for January 2025.
Presence
A family moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they’re not alone.
I’m a fan of director Steven Soderbergh, and a large part of my enjoyment is seeing his constant experimentation with new tools and tricks in film. I loved the wide lens he used in Presence, the camera movements truly feel like an ethereal POV, and the lighting is beautifully natural (but actually lit, unlike films that think natural lighting = you can’t see anything).
That said, the story was incredibly difficult to connect to. Filming from a ghost’s perspective is great, but if that’s your hook then it should central to the story, not incidental. I’m not complaining that Presence is more of a family drama than a horror film, but far too many scenes feel unnecessary, to the point where the family dynamics and the ghost’s place in it all don’t start developing properly until the final act. We’re simply given little reason to care about these characters, their relationships, or their motivations. That’s an admittedly difficult task with this format, but not impossible (just look at how successfully A Ghost Story does this).
I’d recommend the film if you’re interested in its unique setup and incredible production, but I can’t fully endorse its poorly fleshed out story and characters.
★★★☆☆
Interstellar
With our time on Earth coming to an end, a team of explorers undertakes the most important mission in human history: traveling beyond this galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars.
I was lucky enough to catch the Interstellar rerelease with my wife in a Dolby IMAX theater on my birthday, my first time seeing it on the big screen since it first came out in 2014.
It’s fascinating to witness a film’s reclamation in real time (it’s risen from a 3.8/5 to a 4.4/5 average rating on Letterboxd since release). For reasons I honestly can’t explain now, I was pretty underwhelmed by Interstellar when I first saw it. The film was somewhat of a departure for Nolan in its themes and drive, the 169 minute runtime was long by that day’s standards, and as a whole its reception likely suffered from the weighty expectations Nolan has faced ever since The Dark Knight.
But watching it now, everything just works so well. Technically speaking, the score has become a classic, the visual effects are still among the best I’ve ever seen, and Nolan’s first collaboration with Hoyte van Hoytema is an overwhelming cinematographic success.
But beyond the technical aspects, the emotional center remains Nolan’s best. I cried multiple times even on rewatch…Coop leaving Murph, Coop watching the years of messages, and, of course, the ending. Once you know where it’s all leading, you really see how love isn’t just a corny sentiment that Nolan is squeezing in - it’s the driving force behind the entire film.
★★★★★
Companion
A billionaire’s death sets off a chain of events for Iris and her friends during a weekend trip to his lakeside estate.
Companion is a thrilling and engaging genre film with something to say. The story is definitely on the nose (the script spells everything out to a fault), but the cast and crew just make it work. The crisp editing, the meaningful shot selections (close-ups that show us every minute emotion on the characters’ faces), the unusual instrumentation in the score; this a film that knows exactly what it wants to be and succeeds on practically every level.
Sophie Thatcher is a star in the making (I loved her in Heretic recently too), and Jack Quaid is such a compelling screen presence that seems to have found his niche. Fair warning to my readers, the film is rated R for strong language and some brief strong violence, but if you can get past that, you’re in for an incredible experience.
★★★★☆
Better Man
Better Man is based on the true story of the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and remarkable resurgence of British pop superstar Robbie Williams, one of the greatest entertainers of all time. It follows Robbie’s journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist – all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.
Better Man has received nearly universal praise, but I admittedly struggled to engage with the film. A formulaic music biopic starring a monkey is still a formulaic music biopic. All the story beats are exactly what we’ve come to expect from the genre, and the constant narration wobbles between cute and annoyingly unnecessary.
That said, I did at least appreciate the first-person honesty from Williams. We get to both see his flaws and hear about those flaws directly from his narration, an uncommon trait for a biopic in which the figure is directly involved in production. It’s self-aware, self-reflective, and less “sanitized” than other official biopics. And that’s to say nothing of the electric direction from Michael Gracie, who proves The Greatest Showman was no fluke. He continues to find new and exciting ways to stage and edit musical scenes, a clear highlight of the film.
Firmly not for me, but with brief moments that I truly enjoyed.
★★★☆☆
Always enjoy your insights. (Incidentally, "Signs" was the first movie I took my wife Paige to at the drive-in!) I still enjoy "The Sixth Sense" but its always more fun to watch it with someone who hasn't seen it. Thanks for the great reviews!