January 9, 2026
As I think back on the year that just ended, it’s hard not to focus on all of the wrong in the world, which seems to get “new circle of hell” worse week to week. When I started this blog back in 2019, I did so as a way to share my love of film, as well as exercise a different side of my brain (the creative side) than the one I used for the majority of my career (the analytical side). That’s still the case for me month to month, especially since I still use those spreadsheet skills for my volunteer work. Now I find my writing hobby (and my film hobby as an extension) has also been used to keep the “post-career” brain cells engaged, and (more and more) as a way to escape the depressing news we see each day. It’s important, of course, to stay informed and not bury your head in the sand, but when I find myself doomscrolling over the same headlines over and over again, I try to snap myself out of that rut and put on a movie from my ever-growing watchlist.
Fortunately, as we head into 2026, we have a lot to be thankful for as a family. Sure there were some tough events last year, but there were plenty of happy ones too. On the movie front, I continued to mix in a variety of genres in an effort to see new releases, continue on my journey of watching every nominee for Best Picture and Best Director, explore the filmographies of some of the great directors in Hollywood history, take deep dives for specific blog posts, and watch (or rewatch) films just for fun. My reading hobby has slipped recently, which I hope to rectify in the coming year, but I think my love of movies will always be my go-to for comfort when I need it.
This week’s blog post is part one of my look at the year in film, which will culminate in my favorite movies of 2025 in a few weeks. First, let’s start with a check-in on the state of the industry.
State of the Industry
Overall, 2025 was a pretty good year for the film industry, probably on par with 2023 and 2024. We had a lot of highs where expectations were exceeded for certain films, and some surprising lows, either critically or at the box-office. The studio / streaming dynamic seems to have settled into a pattern where we know what to expect each year from the major players. Granted, the box-office is still lower than the levels we saw before the pandemic and here’s an obvious newsflash – it’s not going back to those levels. And that might be just fine. Industries change all of the time. Studios can now make money from home rentals on demand, as well as physical media sales, which are making a comeback in the same trend we saw with vinyl music several years ago. And although the box-office business is lower than 2019, it’s still a multi-billion dollar industry. Those don’t go away overnight, despite the frequent refrain that “movies are dead,” just because people like to scroll on TikTok. Overall, I was feeling pretty good about the industry and the state of cinema until a headline sent shockwaves through Hollywood a few months ago.
The story of Warner Bros. Studios could take up several books if you want to understand the history of one of the founding studios of Hollywood. It has been bought and sold several times over and its most recent iteration was an ill-advised combination with Discovery Networks several years back. In 2025, the leadership of Warner Bros. Discovery decided to split itself into two companies. One would be the film and television studio (plus the very valuable HBO Max streaming service) and the second would be the cable television networks, including TBS, TNT, CNN, and several others. That second business still earns a lot of money each year, but it is in decline as the underlying cable television business loses subscribers each year. WBD was in the midst of planning their breakup when rumors began circulating that they would be willing to sell all or part of the business to an interested party.
Several weeks later, news broke that Netflix had agreed to buy the studio and streaming business, leaving the television networks to be spun off into a separate company. Hollywood freaked out, mostly because the streaming giant is seen as an interloper in the film and television business, who cares only about the number of minutes people are streaming their content, not necessarily the quality of that content. As someone who regularly bashes the original films of Netflix, this was quite depressing. Oh yeah, Netflix has famously said that movie theaters are not part of their strategy, which is why it’s nearly impossible to see a Netflix film in a theater. Even more depressing.
There was another suitor circling WBD and that was Paramount Pictures, recently acquired by David Ellison, son of Oracle founder Larry Ellison, who also happens to be one of the richest people in the world. Paramount not only owns the film and television studio, they also own CBS, which was the subject of a lawsuit by the perpetually-aggrieved dipshit-in-chief because one of their news programs hurt his feelings, or some bullshit like that. They caved and paid a fine (or bribe, depending on your perspective), which helped get Ellison’s acquisition of Paramount approved. Ellison is eager to get his hands on WBD (the studio, the streaming business, and all of the cable networks) to expand Paramount’s scale in order to effectively compete with Netflix and Disney. Hollywood also freaked out about this possibility as this combination would likely result in more industry job losses than the Netflix deal and, oh yeah, the head of the studio is a sycophant for Cheet-Oh Baby and would now have oversight for CNN. Fascism and media propaganda in a corporate marriage – what a country.
Anyway, the fate of WBD is still up in the air. Netflix will likely win the battle, get the deal approved by the government (through deal concessions, a lawsuit, a bribe, or some combination of all) and in about eighteen months, HBO Max may just be a tile on your Netflix home screen. As for theaters? The CEO of Netflix is playing nice and saying that they will continue to release Warner Bros. movies in theaters. When asked if that means only the ones that were agreed to already, whether directors will have any input on the decision, whether it will be a wide release or only a token small release, or if it will be a lengthy distribution window or only two weeks, the CEO repeatedly gives non-answer answers. I’m doubtful.
But that doesn’t mean “movies are dead.” There are still other studios that embrace theatrical releases – Universal, Disney, Paramount, Sony, Amazon/MGM, and even Apple, which financed F1, one of the biggest hits of 2025. And then there are the smaller studios that have very strong brands with both filmmakers and movie lovers – NEON, A24, and Mubi, just to name a few. As long as there are storytellers who are passionate about bringing their vision of a film to life, and audiences are willing to put their phone away for a few hours and succumb to the beauty of being entertained by the magic of what is on the big screen, movies aren’t going anywhere.
One last thought from someone who knows. In accepting a recent award for his performance in One Battle After Another, Leonardo DiCaprio said that Paul Thomas Anderson’s directorial decisions for the film were “out of a belief, a belief in scale and texture, and in the idea that movies are still meant to be experienced together in a theater. Right now, that belief matters more than ever. Original films are harder to make and harder to protect, but movies still matter. Not content, but cinema. Stories made by people meant to be shared in a dark room in a communal experience.” Couldn’t have put it better myself.
The 2025 Recap
I’ll be covering my favorite movies of 2025 over the next few weeks, but this week I’m going to discuss some honorable mention selections that either just missed out on my top 20 or I didn’t get a chance to cover yet. Or in the case of this first selection, one that didn’t come close to being one of my favorites, but I just couldn’t resist sharing my thoughts.
A Truly Baffling Film – Ella McKay
Since directing his 2019 masterpiece Once Upon a Time in Hollywood…, Quentin Tarantino has been waffling about his next picture. He flirted with an idea that was loosely connected to that movie, but scrapped it, giving the script to David Fincher for his next film. More on that in my 2026 preview coming soon. QT has been obsessed with this idea of making only ten movies and then hanging it up, so his next picture will be his (supposedly) last. His reasoning is that directors stay around too long and the quality of their pictures declines and he didn’t want that to be his legacy. Now, I would look at Martin Scorsese (83), Ridley Scott (88) and Steven Spielberg (79) as obvious counterarguments. Tarantino might respond by citing Megalopolis, the much-maligned, but interesting passion project from 86 year-old Francis Ford Coppola. Or he might offer up the newest film from 85 year-old James L. Brooks, which was unfortunately a big misfire.
Brooks has a strong, if not a lengthy, filmography. His feature debut, Terms of Endearment, won Best Picture and Best Director in 1983. His next effort, Broadcast News, is the textbook example of a perfect movie. Between 1994 and 2010, he directed only four films, which included a Best Picture nominee that won two acting Oscars (As Good as it Gets), a musical that was received so poorly in test screenings that the musical numbers were cut in the final edit (I’ll Do Anything) and two borderline disastrous romantic comedies (Spanglish and How Do You Know). Still, Disney greenlit his new film, Ella McKay, reportedly after Brooks agreed to produce a new Simpsons movie. Oh yeah, Brooks created The Simpsons and is the brains behind some of television’s most iconic series including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Lou Grant, and Taxi. The man is a legend, but he has certainly lost his fastball.
Ella McKay stars Emma Mackey as the title character, a Lieutenant Governor in a small state that is, for some reason, never identified, but likely Rhode Island. Her boss (the great Albert Brooks) resigns to accept a position in the new President’s cabinet (this takes place in 2009, so we’re talking Obama, not dipshit), so Ella becomes the state’s youngest governor. What transpires over the two hour runtime of this film is watching her deal with her new responsibilities, her pinhead husband, her estranged father (a totally miscast Woody Harrelson) who shows up unexpectedly, and her introverted brother, all while receiving advice from her aunt (Jamie Lee Curtis), who has been her support system since her mom died. Unfortunately, Brooks tells the story of Ella McKay with a script that feels right out of a 1980s movie, and not in a good way. Time after time the characters make baffling choices, with line readings that feel totally unrealistic. It’s a shame for Mackey, who is an actress I like a lot, and I hope she continues to get these types of opportunities to lead a movie. As for Mr. Brooks? Thank you Jim for your incredible contributions to the history of film and television, but perhaps Tarantino was right, at least in this case. Ella McKay is now playing in theaters.
A Richard Linklater Double Shot – Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague
Richard Linklater is one of our more talented writer-directors and too often his films are overlooked, probably because they are not big noisy blockbusters, or heavy awards favorites. He has a very strong filmography, including Dazed and Confused, Before Sunrise (and its two sequels), Boyhood, and 2023’s terrific Hit Man. This year Linklater graced us with two films, both of which I liked a lot and were very different stories.
Blue Moon takes place entirely in one night at a small bar where Lorenz Hart (Ethan Hawke in a performance that will likely earn him a Best Actor nomination) is nursing his wounded ego. His former songwriting partner (Richard Rogers) just joined up with Oscar Hammerstein to open their celebrated musical Oklahoma! (ever heard of it?) Hart fears he will be dumped by Rogers (and he’s right), so he is drowning his sorrows while discussing his career with various patrons at the bar. When Rogers and Hammerstein show up with their adoring fans in tow, the night gets more interesting. Blue Moon is a very “talkie” movie, meaning that not a lot happens except we get to see a number of interesting characters interacting with each other. That doesn’t take away from this very good film, because Hawke is outstanding as this nebbish man who wants sympathy from everyone, but acts like he doesn’t care what others think of him. Blue Moon is a wonderful combination of performance and script, brought to life by the talented Linklater. Blue Moon is now available to rent on demand.
In Nouvelle Vague, Linklater takes us inside the making of one of the defining movies in cinematic history, Jean Luc-Godard’s 1960 classic Breathless. That film was famous for its innovative style, ushering in the “French New Wave” era of cinema. I had never seen Breathless until I watched it last year, in advance of Linklater’s picture. I figured if I was going to have any idea what was going on in Nouvelle Vague, I better watch the film it’s based on beforehand. I have to be honest – I wasn’t enamored with Breathless. I think it’s just the type of movie that’s not for me, but I can understand and appreciate its impact on film history. That being said, I found Nouvelle Vague delightful, mostly because of the incredible way Linklater brought this story to the screen. He shot the movie in the exact same style of Breathless, with the beautiful black and white cinematography, editing style with jump cuts, and easygoing vibe that you felt watching Godard’s film. You immediately felt like you were part of the world while Breathless was being created. I’m also a sucker for a movie about making movies. This was one of the more innovative films of 2025 and I was impressed that Linklater took this project on, and actually pulled it off. Nouvelle Vague is now streaming on Netflix.
An Acting Showcase – The Testament of Ann Lee
If you are going to tell an unusual story, you might as well swing for the fences and create the type of film you typically don’t see. The Testament of Ann Lee is the true story of the woman who led the Shaker movement in the late 18th century. Amanda Seyfried plays the titular character in an audacious performance that requires a full commitment that few actors have the talent or courage to pull off. The journey of Ann Lee was far from easy, as she overcame tragedy in her personal life, a difficult marriage, and rejection from religious leaders who doubted her beliefs and claims of a divine connection to God. She created her own movement, fostered by a group of followers who joined her on the journey from England to America to establish their church.
Seyfried is one of my favorite actresses working today and has shown that she is far from the goofy member of the Mean Girls squad we saw over twenty years ago. She has shown over the years that she can be terrific in every kind of movie, whether it’s a musical (as the lead in two Mamma Mia films), a romantic comedy (Letters to Juliet) or her Oscar-nominated turn in David Fincher’s Mank. She’s also the best part of the trashy psychological thriller The Housemaid that is now playing in theaters. It’s campy and fun with plenty of twists to keep the audience entertained. It’s a bit of a knockoff Gone Girl, but if you don’t take it too seriously, it’s a good popcorn movie.
In The Testament of Ann Lee, Seyfried is called on to do so much to tell this story. She must convey the religious convictions of a woman who feels she has been called to a higher power, imploring her followers to join her. She suffers incredible heartbreak as she loses multiple children at a very young age. Oh, and this movie is kind of a musical. That’s right. Director Mona Fastvold chose to have Lee and her followers break out into song and dance in a number of scenes organized around their praying, which was conducted in an atypical manner. Most of the numbers worked, although a few were pretty clunky. I read in advance of seeing the movie that this was a wild storytelling choice made by the filmmakers, so I went in expecting anything. That being said, I can understand why some viewers might be turned off by the choices by Fastvold and her partner Brady Corbet. They co-wrote the film and previously collaborated on last year’s The Brutalist, which the couple also co-wrote, with Corbet handling directing duties. If the subject matter of this film interests you, and you aren’t turned off by some unconventional storytelling choices, the performance of Seyfried alone is worth your time. Look for The Testament of Ann Lee in theaters later this month.
A Sweet and Soulful Crowd-Pleaser – Song Sung Blue
I certainly didn’t have a true story about a couple who perform as a Neil Diamond tribute act on my Bingo card of movies I would love this year, but here we are. When I first saw the previews for Song Sung Blue a few months ago, my initial reaction was “Oh boy, this looks cheesy.” Then I learned that it was a true story and remembered that the two stars of the film are very talented. Hugh Jackman has plenty of experience as a showman, including starring in (ahem) the very successful musical The Greatest Showman. And after rewatching the 2000 masterpiece Almost Famous earlier this week, I was reminded that Kate Hudson is a damned good actress (and was robbed of a Best Supporting Actress Oscar that year.)
Jackman plays Mike Sardina, an aspiring musician stuck in the rut of impersonating other famous singers. One day, he meets fellow impersonator Claire (Hudson) and the two instantly hit it off. She convinces him to create a Neil Diamond tribute act, he convinces her to join him, and before you know it they have a cult following playing local bars across Wisconsin and fall in love.
There are a number of things going for Song Sung Blue that make it such a fun movie. First, the obvious – many wonderful tunes written by Diamond. Sure, you get the obvious hits, but there are some deep cuts too. Second, Jackman and Hudson are fabulous together, and have terrific chemistry, not to mention their top-notch singing skills. It takes serious acting chops to take on a role like this, and they commit to it fully. Yes, it’s a little schmaltzy at times, but I was won over by the story and the talented cast.
Now, there is a plot point that will be jarring to most viewers (there were audible gasps during my screening when the scene occurred), but I knew it was coming, as it was foolishly included in the (way too long) trailer. But that development adds a level of sincerity and beauty to this fun musical story. Also, as a longtime Pearl Jam fan, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the true story of Mike and Claire opening for the band at a show in Wisconsin. Fortunately, I learned of this fact before seeing the film, and caught the real-life clip online, so I wasn’t stunned when an actor showed up in the film playing Eddie Vedder. I have to say, he wasn’t that bad – it could have been a lot worse. And it was hard not to enjoy him singing along with Mike and Claire to Diamond’s terrific single Forever in Blue Jeans. If you are a fan of Diamond’s work (even a casual one), I highly recommend Song Sung Blue, now playing in theaters and available to rent on demand on January 13th.
A Winning Romantic Comedy – Eternity
A few months ago, I shared my thoughts on two terrific romantic comedies, The Threesome and Splitsville. One of the reasons I liked them so much is that they had unconventional plots, so you didn’t have to deal with the typical tropes you see in an everyday romcom. We were fortunate to get another unique romantic comedy late last year, with the release of Eternity, starring one of my favorite actresses, Elizabeth Olsen.
The premise of Eternity is a bit wacky, so bear with me. Olsen plays Joan, a woman who dies and when she gets to the afterlife, she learns that everyone must decide where they will spend their eternity. There are all sorts of options depending on your preference (pick a country, pick a locale, or whatever you feel like doing for the rest of time.) But there’s a catch – once you pick your destination, you can’t change your mind – you’re stuck there forever. There’s a further complication for our main character. She must decide if she will go to the same place as her husband of 65 years (played by Miles Teller), or her first husband (Callum Turner) who died in the Korean War shortly after they were married.
Does Joan spend eternity with her soulmate of 65 years or see what life would be like with the one that got away? That’s the dilemma our heroine faces and the world building created by director David Freyne (who also co-wrote the film) is wonderful. There are several amusing sequences that arise due entirely to the logic of the afterlife world. It helps that Joan and her husbands are advised by afterlife coordinators, including one played by Oscar-winner Da ‘Vine Joy Randolph (The Holdovers), who is terrific as always. Teller and Turner are pretty good as the pining husbands, but Olsen is the real reason to see this one – she’s terrific. If you are looking for an unconventional and winning romantic comedy, and can go with the flow of a goofy premise, check out Eternity, now available to rent on demand.
Big Jim Has Done It Again – Avatar: Fire and Ash
There are only certain things you can count on in life – death, taxes and James Cameron delivering a blockbuster movie to audiences. Yup, once again, Cameron has made a film that made over a billion dollars in less than two weeks, with no signs of slowing down. Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third of his planned five movie Avatar franchise, and is a direct follow up to 2022’s Avatar: The Way of Water. As everyone in Hollywood says, never doubt Big Jim.
Once again, we are back on the planet Pandora, with the Sully family (led by Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña) trying to protect their family and the planet from the evil humans looking to exploit their natural resources. If this sounds like the plot of the previous movie, you’d be forgiven for thinking that. Fire and Ash is not really a repeat of the second Avatar film, but some of the beats and themes definitely feel familiar. There is colonialism and evil capitalism, the importance of family, and the tribalism of the natives of Pandora. This time, Cameron introduces us to a new tribe, led by Varang (played by Oona Chaplin, granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, in a fantastic performance). This tribe has no time for the Sullys and partners up with the evil humans to take them down.
Now, when you sign up to spend over three hours in a theater with the world that James Cameron created, you accept certain facts. First, you’re not there for sparkling dialogue or brilliant acting. In Fire and Ash, those are good enough – not horrendous (although you will roll eyes a few times), but not groundbreaking. The story is good enough to carry what you are really there for. And that’s the spectacle that Cameron puts on the screen, particularly the action sequences and special effects that leave you wondering just how the hell he and his team did that. Funny you should ask.
If you are into the Avatar world, you simply must watch the two-part documentary Fire and Water: Making the Avatar Films, now streaming on Disney+. It is an amazing look at how Cameron and his team created new technologies to tell these stories using “performance capture,” which the director will repeatedly remind you is actual people performing these scenes with technology supplementing their work after the fact. These are not computers creating the emotions that these characters display. And you better not accuse Cameron of using AI to create his work.
As I finished my impressive (but exhausting) experience watching Fire and Ash in 3D at my local IMAX theater, I couldn’t help but be impressed with what Cameron built. I think this movie is incredible, but if you are not into these types of stories, it’s not for you. Much like the second film, it drags at points and you can feel the three hour runtime. There are times where it feels like we are circling way too many plot points and it just needs to get to the ending. That being said, if you like the spectacle of big-budget moviemaking with stories that are good (but probably familiar and clichéd), then it’s best to buy your ticket now to see Avatar: Fire and Ash, which is now playing in theaters.
That’s all for this week. I’ll be back next week with more of my favorite movies of 2025, including some wonderful documentaries that I highly recommend. Thanks for reading and if you would like to be notified about future posts, you can subscribe below.