Welcome to this month’s Cinema Snapshots! 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. This was an interesting month for new releases! Two films I saw were live action remakes of existing materials and another four were sequels. As a result you’ll probably notice a lot of comparisons between these new films and their predecessors.
So without further ado, here are my Cinema Snapshots for May 2025.
Lilo & Stitch (2025)
The wildly funny and touching story of a lonely Hawaiian girl and the fugitive alien who helps to mend her broken family.
Taken on its own, 2025’s Lilo & Stitch is a cute, but mediocre film that feels as if it was made for Disney+ (it originally was). But when viewed as a reinterpretation of its animated counterpart, the film falls painfully flat. Sometimes it’s such a copy and paste effort that it feels redundant, but at other times it makes such fundamental changes to the animated film’s message and meaning that it seems to miss the point entirely. These feelings were only reinforced when my wife and I rewatched the 2002 original the following day.
I’m a bigger advocate than most for Disney’s live action remakes, but this one in particular just didn’t work for me.
★★☆☆☆
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Ethan Hunt and the IMF team continue their search for the terrifying AI known as the Entity — which has infiltrated intelligence networks all over the globe — with the world’s governments and a mysterious ghost from Ethan’s past on their trail. Joined by new allies and armed with the means to shut the Entity down for good, Hunt is in a race against time to prevent the world as we know it from changing forever.
The (supposed) final entry in Tom Cruise’s famous franchise, The Final Reckoning is an unusual film compared to its predecessors. It’s talky and self-serious for far too long, and lacks a lot of the effortless banter and situational comedy that makes former entries in the Mission: Impossible series shine. At times the film collapses under the weight of its own importance, trying to act as both a satisfying standalone adventure, but also as a culmination of and conclusion to Ethan Hunt’s story.
But then Tom Cruise hangs upside down on a biplane while the music swells and the camera swirls and all my complaints go out the window. And that’s no exaggeration. The set pieces in the film’s second half are jaw dropping, death-defying feats of filmmaking that nearly made me forget the film’s flaws.
I consider this one of the weaker Mission: Impossible films, but let’s face it: this series has been the pinnacle of action filmmaking for nearly 30 years, and even a weaker entry like this one is still worth a watch. I’m so in awe of specific aspects of The Final Reckoning that I couldn’t help but leave the theater with a smile on my face.
★★★☆☆
Final Destination: Bloodlines
Plagued by a violent recurring nightmare, college student Stefanie heads home to track down the one person who might be able to break the cycle and save her family from the grisly demise that inevitably awaits them all.
Final Destination: Bloodlines is a bit of a strange film for me to review. I’ve never seen a Final Destination film but decided to give this one a chance.
It’s fine. There’s some fun camerawork, good editing, and clever set pieces, but the bad dialogue and uneven performances really bring this one down. It’s also a little sillier than I expected! Maybe one of these days I’ll get around to watching the others.
★★☆☆☆
Thunderbolts*
After finding themselves ensnared in a death trap, seven disillusioned castoffs must embark on a dangerous mission that will force them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
Thunderbolts* feels like a return to form for Marvel. Not in a corporate, micro-managed quality control way, but in the sense that it has an identity. It’s willing to try new things, to be sincere, to be about something. Both the jokes and emotional moments landed, the ensemble cast was great together (led by the always reliable Florence Pugh), and Son Lux’s musical score was a unique and effective addition.
Now for the real test: can the MCU repeat and sustain this success, or was this a one-off success like we’ve periodically seen from Marvel post-Endgame?
★★★☆☆
Until Dawn
One year after her sister Melanie mysteriously disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they find themselves stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one…only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning of the same evening.
From Groundhog Day to Happy Death Day, time loop movies are always an enjoyable watch and interesting premise, and with Until Dawn being based on a video game and following that same time loop format, I was curious to check it out.
Unfortunately the film lacks the energy and excitement that makes this subgenre so enjoyable, utilizing the time loop format far less than expected (and in pretty uninteresting ways). When paired with a lackluster cast and rushed story, Until Dawn makes for both an unexciting and frustrating watch.
★★☆☆☆
The Legend of Ochi
In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.
Despite its strange premise and appearance, The Legend of Ochi is a surprisingly good film! The emotional journey of a child and a fantastical creature follows in the footsteps of films such as as E.T. The Extraterrestrial and How to Train Your Dragon while still leaving its own unique mark on the viewers.
Character development is a bit thin, but first-time director Isaiah Saxon understands what those classic films also understood: you need a fantastic musical score to sell the childlike wonder of such an experience. Shoutout to David Longstreth for providing that.
★★★☆☆
Friendship
A suburban dad falls hard for his charismatic new neighbor.
Friendship proved to be a difficult film for me to rate and review. I’m a big fan of Tim Robinson’s cringy and exaggerated humor, and that humor is on full display here. But it’s layered into a fairly serious, introspective, and oftentimes even mysterious film, and as a viewer I just wasn’t quite sure what to do with that.
Don’t get me wrong—these tonal clashes are 100% intentional by the filmmakers and the contrast is effective. I just didn’t like that clash, particularly the way it presented itself in the film’s score and editing.
★★☆☆☆
Another Simple Favor
Stephanie and Emily reunite on the beautiful island of Capri, Italy for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square.
I loved A Simple Favor when it released in 2018. Quirky, mysterious, and fun all at the same time, with a terrific pairing of leads in Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively. Unfortunately the straight-to-streaming sequel, Another Simple Favor, is a contender for worst of the year.
Frankly, it feels like the cast and crew were on autopilot. There is seemingly no thought behind any filmmaking decisions, Lively and Kendrick play parodies of themselves rather than their layered characters from the first film, and that’s to say nothing of the off-the-rails insanity of the story. Even as a free streaming option on Amazon Prime, I wouldn’t recommend this film.
★☆☆☆☆