In-Review: February 2025
New podcasts, home video recommendations, and more
Movies are a great escape.
January was an opportunity to watch some movies that entertained me without being too heavy. I watched some goofy movies like Tremors and Heavenly Bodies but also took time to watch some blind spots from the late David Lynch. Movies like The Straight Story and The Elephant Man represent some of the best entry points to understanding Lynch and I’m glad I finally caught up with them.
There were also some TV shows I followed in January. I was pressured into watching the Kristen Bell Netflix show Nobody Wants This. It’s a romantic comedy where Bell is a romance podcast host who falls in love with a Rabbi (Adam Brody). It was cute and completely disposable; I had to keep reminding myself that I watched it. While it didn’t leave much of an impression on me, there are plenty of people who want to discuss the merits of the show and how its depiction of Judaism.
The other show I’ve been following is the second season of Severence, which returned after a three-year break. The show continues to be well-acted and incredibly interesting, but that first episode back was a little intense. Not exactly for the content on screen, but rather that I didn’t remember many of the subplots that made up the first season. I’m certainly not the only person who has noticed this problem in prestige television— these seasons, even without the strikes, take longer to make and are more expensive to produce. Gone are the days of a show ending in April and returning in September with another 22-episode season. No one wants to do homework to enjoy a show, even if they enjoyed it before. I’m sure that as I continue to watch the second season of Severence, those plotholes will continue to fill in. I only worry that this isn’t a sustainable model for television shows.
The first trailer for Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps came out the other day, and it looks fine. At least this time, they’ve assembled a likable cast to fill out the characters of Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). No, the bigger problem is that Marvel likely used A.I. to create their promotional posters. While they deny that any A.I. was used, it’s difficult to take them at their word. And before anyone asks what the big deal is about Disney using A.I. for their art, think about that for a second. The most prestigious animation house in the world would rather use computers than hire artists. The same company that gave us Steamboat Willie. This is a problem that isn’t going away, but it’s disheartening to see Disney take shortcuts when they could afford to be paying artists.
Here are the movies I caught up with in January:
As always, if you’d like to follow along on Letterboxd, my account can be found here.
Home Video Releases
Crossing Delancey
“Crossing Delancey is a strange choice for a 4K disc. It’s not exactly a stunner, and the budget of the movie was minuscule. But thank goodness Criterion made that decision. I would’ve overlooked a delightful romantic comedy that certainly deserves the attention.”
The 1988 feature, directed by Joan Micklin Silver, features Amy Irving as Izzy, a thirty-something bookseller who’s content living the single life. She’s romantically entangled with unavailable men, and she spends a lot of her time with her bubbie (Reizl Bozyk). Well, her bubbie wants her to be married and contacts a matchmaker. The only problem is that the match doesn’t exactly set Izzy’s world on fire—he sells pickles for a living. Izzy must discover what she truly wants out of life. Criterion is releasing the film as a single Blu-ray or a 4K+Blu-ray release.
Purchase Crossing Delancey from Criterion
Wicked
Back in the November review, I talked a little bit about the release of Wicked, and I enjoyed it. Much more than the stage musical. The home video release is packed with not only the theatrical release but also the sing-along version that was shown in theaters over the holidays. The release also includes 2 audio commentaries including one by director Jon M. Chu and a second commentary from stars Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande. There’s also a documentary on the making of the film and some deleted scenes. It’s a great package that I’m sure will make fans happy. While I wholeheartedly believe a complete box set featuring both movies will come out eventually, this release is worth it if you love the movie.
Purchase Wicked
Podcast
My co-host Evan Crean and I talked about our most anticipated movies of 2025.
In Episode 187, I had guest Matthew Jackson on to talk about the films of David Lynch. This is a good place to start if you’ve ever been interested in learning about the director.
Links
The 2025 Sundance Film Festival wrapped up last weekend. Outside of the films that arrived with distribution in place, these are the movies that were acquired at the festival. (Not included in the list is Peter Hujar’s Day which was just acquired by Sideshow and Janus Films.)
Two of the most buzzed-about movies from Sundance 2025 have both been acquired, but if you’d like to read more about them, RogerEbert.com has thoughts up on Sorry, Baby and Train Dreams.
The first trailer for Jurassic World Rebirth came out this morning (ahead of a presumed Super Bowl Ad spot). Gone are the theme parks, this looks like a a hybrid Tomb Raider/Monster Hunter type of movie. Maybe this is the direction Jurassic Park needs to go to remain relevant. At least it looks fun.
A lawmaker has proposed a bill that requires movie theaters to disclose how long the previews will be. This new article from Vulture explains why this might be a bad idea.
The most nominated movie at the Academy Awards is also the movie with the most problems. If you missed everything that has gone down with Emilia Perez and star Karla Sofia Gascon, this is a good way to catch up.