By Len Weiler
Many of the 2025 movies reviewed on this site over the past year were only available theatrically when the reviews first appeared here. I know many of our readers are not inclined any more to get out to the cinema for any number of reasons: kids, cost, covid, infirmities, traffic, or whatever. The good news is that all of these movies are now available digitally – to purchase, to rent or, in some cases to watch for “free” with a subscription to certain streaming sites. So, this update is intended to remind you of those movies and let you know how to watch them at home.
Here are the titles we are recapping today:
Jane Austen Wrecked My LifeF1MaterialistsIt’s Never Over, Jeff BuckleyThe Naked GunSupermanBlue MoonNouvelle Vague (aka New Wave)Springsteen: Deliver Me From NowhereIt Was Just An Accident
In addition, let me remind you of Larry Lee’s piece from July discussing his selection of the best films from the first half of the year: The 2025 Half Oscars™… and more good stuff, featuring not only his top-10 list, but recommendations for a dozen other films that didn’t make the cut for one reason or another. Here’s a LINK.
(To read our complete review of any movie listed here, click on the film title below.)
Jane Austen Wrecked My Life (2025) Now available on Netflix (free with subscription), and rentable on Amazon, AppleTV, Google Play, and other platforms
From our 5/21/25 review: “Formerly a Hollywood mainstay, romantic comedies have become a rarity – their consistent decline evident since at least the turn of the 21st century. Take 2024 for instance. Of the 100 top-grossing motion pictures last year, just two were rom-coms: Anyone But You in 35th place and Fly Me to the Moon in 67th place. … But that does not mean we consumers wouldn’t enjoy more quality rom-coms. I sure would! Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is a step in the right direction. … [It] is a sweet, witty, charming little movie. … This one will not win any awards for best motion picture of the year, but it will certainly be on my list for most appealing. It is a little gem.”
From our 7/2/25 review: F1 (the movie), by the talented director Joseph Kosinski [Top Gun Maverick (2022)], "stars the inimitable Brad Pitt as the central character. It’s about a seemingly washed up auto-racer, Sonny Hayes, trying to make a comeback. Most of it takes place in the highest level of racing: international Formula One (F1) competition. Please don’t quit reading just because you don’t give a shit about auto-racing. Neither do I. But F1 is one of the most thrilling cinematic experiences I’ve had in years, and it’s likely to feel the same for you.” I admit that I saw this one at a sonically enhanced movie theater, and it might be less thrilling at home, but according to a few friends who have watched F1 on their TVs, it’s still quite excellent in that environment. Turn up the volume for the racing scenes or listen on headphones.
From our 7/21/25 review: “Materialists is the new movie written and directed by Celine Song, whose debut feature film Past Lives (2023) was a critical smash - nominated for two Oscars (including Best Picture) winner of numerous other film festival awards. … Billed as a romantic comedy, Materialists’ aim is closer to social satire: a take-down of current conceptions and attitudes about dating and mating. … Here's the set-up: Lucy (Dakota Johnson) works as a matchmaker for a high-end dating agency. Lucy herself is single and is resigned she’ll remain in that condition. Once upon a time, she was in love with John (Chris Evans). Although still fond of him, she - like many of her clients - could never settle for someone (like John) who is not financially secure. Then one day Lucy meets Harry (Pedro Pascal), a guy who IS wealthy as well as charming, sophisticated and sincere. Are we headed into a love triangle here? Johnson, Evans and Pascal are called stars because they shine.”
From our 8/4/25 review: “[This] is a new documentary film by Amy Berg about the musician Jeff Buckley. Buckley, who died in 1997, was admired as a remarkably gifted singer, as well as for his lyrically imaginative, emotionally evocative songwriting. He is, however, best known today for his terrific rendition of the Leonard Cohen song Hallelujah, included on his album Grace in 1994. While this did not become a megahit during Buckley’s lifetime, it is now generally considered the benchmark rendition of Hallelujah and frequently cited as one of the greatest recorded tracks of all time. … Meanwhile, the album Grace, initially a modest seller, went on to sell over two million copies. Those who knew Buckley and many who saw or heard him in the mid-90s thought he was going to be a superstar. He was in the process of recording a second album at the time of his premature death. He was just thirty years old.” Despite some quibbles with the filmmaking style, It’s Never Over earned an overall Notes On Films grade of B+.
From our 8/9/25 review: “In case you were wondering whatever happened to the zany, madcap, laugh-a-minute comedies made popular in the 1980s by movies like Airplane! (1980), you need wonder no more. They are back – or perhaps I should say one of them is back. I am referring, of course, to the reboot of the original police spoof The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! which appeared in 1988 and spawned two sequels. Playing against type as Frank Drebin, Jr. in the new The Naked Gun, Liam Neeson, not known for comedy - and certainly not for silly, turns out to be great at it.” Moreover, “over the course of this 85-minute mini-masterpiece, Neeson is such a good actor that he brings to what could have been a purely cardboard caricature a bit of humanity. A little bit, but still.” Also starring Pamela Anderson as the beautiful sister of a man whose recent death is treated as suicide, but which she claims is a homicide. She and Drebin hit it off, comically of course.
From our 8/28/25 review: “The new reboot of the Superman franchise – called, simply enough, Superman – is a pretty doggone good movie in the context of superhero films: fun to watch, action packed, with high technical production values, excellent cinematography, and – increasingly unusual for the genre - an uplifting emphasis on positive values and the common good. Truth, Justice and the American Way indeed! 32-year-old David Corenswet (in his first big starring role) looks good in cape and costume and does a fine job as Superman. The villain of the piece, Superman’s arch enemy, Lex Luthor, has been played by many notables in the past, but Nicolas Hoult here might just be the best of the lot. … When compared to the cynical superhero fare of recent years, a movie about a superhero with heart, whose goal in life is to fight crime and save lives is a good thing, it seems to me."
From our 10/17/25 review: "Blue Moon is a wonderful new film, both melancholy and brightly witty, about the last days of the brilliant lyricist, Lorenz Hart. It’s a chamber piece, taking place over one evening, almost entirely at the fabled New York theater district hangout Sardi’s. It’s beautifully directed by the great Richard Linklater … and stars the inimitable Ethan Hawke in a brilliant performance, along with a terrific supporting cast including Bobby Cannavale, Margaret Qualley, Andrew Scott and Patrick Kennedy. I can’t say enough good things about Ethan Hawke’s performance as Hart. I’ve never seen him better, and I’ve seen a LOT of his work. But this is Hawke as you’ve never seen him before. This small movie is one of the best of the year. A real gem.
From our 10/24/25 review: “If you are reading this, you probably love the movies. And if you love the movies, I’ll bet you love watching movies about the movies. … Nouvelle Vague [the 2nd new feature of the season by director Richard Linklater] - about the creation and filming of Jean-Luc Godard’s ground-breaking French New Wave movie Breathless - is a filmic confection for film lovers, taking us back to an exciting moment in film history when, by some accounts, everything changed. … The movie not only teaches about the New Wave but itself mimics many aspects of New Wave filmmaking: filmed in black-and-white, the movie contains jump cuts, quick editing, naturalistic acting and location shooting. … This was clearly a labor of love for the director. That Linklater, who is from Texas, made a movie largely in French, is all the more amazing.”
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere (2025) Now available to rent - at premium prices (~$19.99) on Amazon, AppleTV and many other platforms. When more ordinary pricing will begin or when the movie will appear on subscription services is not yet known.
From our 10/28/25 review: “I really enjoyed the movie. [But] this is not – I repeat, not – a concert film. Yes, there are depictions of Springsteen singing Springsteen songs in the picture - all of which are performed by the actor playing him, Jeremy Allen White. Most of these are … contemplative moments with Springsteen in his bedroom, composing. There IS a little rock’n’roll though. For example, the film opens at the conclusion of Springsteen’s The River tour, as Bruce [White] belts out Born to Run to an appreciative audience. But the movie is primarily about a major depressive period in Springsteen’s life - the “nowhere” of the film’s title - just as he was becoming a big star. [This] turns out to be an engaging, intriguing, thought-provoking, well-made saga featuring some excellent performances, notably from Jeremy Strong as Springsteen’s manager/friend. [And] a remarkable performance – musically and dramatically - by Jeremy Allen White, who transforms himself to look and sound quite like 35-year-old Bruce Springsteen, an accomplishment that reminds me of Timothee Chalamet’s take as young Bob Dylan in last year’s A Complete Unknown."
It Was Just An Accident (2025) Now rentable on Amazon, AppleTV, Google Play, and other platforms.
Thanks Len. Very helpful.
ReplyDelete