Welcome to this month's edition of Review Roundup, and what a month it has been! I've been watching many things both old and new this July, and I've had many thoughts that have made their way into various pieces of writing. In fact, it's been so packed that I couldn't narrow it down to just the five or so best reviews of the month here, so we'd better get started with rounding them all up!
THROWBACK: Spaceballs (Mel Brooks, 1987) - reviewed 02/07/2025
"Ah, the simpler days of cinema, back when sincerity was the rule and irony was the exception, before the rise of postmodernism properly took its toll and complicated everything, not entirely for the worse of course but not necessarily for the better either. There’s something quite nice about the now archaic-feeling rigidity of on the one hand having films with a clear desire to tell stories that took themselves seriously and had something meaningful to say, and on the other having parodies and other more ironic pieces operating in their own corner of the medium in response to such. Nowadays, it feels like everything is self-referential and overly conscious of its own essence, something that can so easily be exploited as a cheap form of cleverness to deflect otherwise valid criticism, and it’s a real shame. At least in the mainstream world, I now find myself more struck by films that don’t adhere to that cynically knowing nature, with recent films such as Top Gun: Maverick, Twisters, and the latest Mission: Impossible films all being noteworthy for how they aspire to be nothing more than, well, simply what they are. They don’t call attention to themselves or have their stars nudge and wink their way through every scene, they feel like sincerely crafted films that recognise where the appeal of the genres they belong to actually lies and optimise their execution of such without having to obnoxiously signpost their act of doing so to supposedly seem more clever or subversive. I really don’t like how I’m here praising films for doing what should really be a bare minimum, but that’s just the world we live in now. I say all this because, when sincerity is the rule, it only makes parodies like Spaceballs all the more enjoyable, because all the subversive, often comedic, ways of unpacking a film’s essence can be saved for what they bring to the table. As someone who loves the original Star Wars trilogy, I found this such a hilarious and well judged satirical spin on those films. It is a bit stilted at times but the goofy twists it applies to the elements we all know and love were extremely delightful, and much like the very films it parodies, thrive off of how simple they are. It’s not sophisticated satire, but there’s a charm to the lack of sophistication. It’s so refreshing from a modern perspective, as given the aforementioned complicated postmodern cinematic world of today, the way this film seems to reduce the aesthetics of parody to its essence just makes it all the more entertaining. I really hope we can move back to a place where films like this can reaffirm their position as reactionary to a more commonplace sense of sincerity, and with Spaceballs 2 on the way, hopefully audiences will realise how much better a cinematic landscape that is. Until then, I guess I’ll just be stuck feeling like I’m surrounded by assholes…" 8/10
THROWBACK: Rosita (Ernst Lubitsch, 1923) - reviewed 09/07/2025
"From Berlin to Hollywood with a bang! I don’t know why I’d expect anything less of Ernst Lubitsch, who is quickly becoming one of my all time favourite filmmakers. I’ve really enjoyed his early German silent offerings, and on continuing through his filmography, I thought I’d take a slightly chronological approach instead of jumping straight to his most popular works, most of which I realise are late career outings for him. What’s interesting about Rosita is just how cohesive it is with much of Lubitsch’s prior films, where despite the different national context and the likely overbearing influence of star Mary Pickford, the film sees him continue to develop his thematic interests and leave a clear authorial stamp on the final project. I don’t know how, but it has only just occurred to me how significant the theme of gender roles is to Lubitsch’s films, as it can be registered in almost all he’d made up to this point. I Don’t Want to be a Man, The Doll, and Anna Boleyn would be the most obvious instances, but it’s still of some relevance in things like Sumurun and The Wildcat too. In particular, he clearly likes placing the viewer in the perspective of women faced with navigating some kind of restrictive order in the world around them, often in a very unorthodox or absurdist manner that is not only funny, but also somewhat acerbic in terms of making a statement. Here, there’s plenty of playful Lubitsch humour derived from such elements as Rosita’s blind marriage or the heightened ways in which she reacts to the privileged lifestyle that she’s brought into, but much of it also rings completely true in terms of exploring such areas as objectification and the misogyny held by powerful men. From a present perspective, it’s not the most incisive commentary or deconstruction, but there’s definitely something admirable about how it articulates these sentiments in spite of their simplicity. I haven’t really appreciated Lubitsch’s style and approach for this aspect before, as up to now it’s mostly just been something I’ve regarded for its thorough extraction of meaning from nothing but the visuals at hand (which crucially helped me overcome my initial reservations about silent cinema), so it’s nice to discover that there’s more to enjoy about it beyond what lies on an aesthetic level. It’s no surprise that he’d go on to be a prolific director of screwball comedies, which are obviously renowned for toying with gender roles, as well as other romance-oriented pieces, so it will be interesting to see how this aspect of Lubitsch’s oeuvre continues to develop over time as I watch more of his stuff. Beyond that, though, Rosita is also a terrific watch for all the reasons any other Lubitsch production would be. It’s not as formally elaborate or exciting as The Doll or The Wildcat, but it does see a lot of his usual hallmarks such as a fair amount of organised chaos and delightfully over the top behaviour from the actors within. This is the first feature film of Pickford’s that I’ve seen, and as further evidence of Lubitsch’s thoughtful presentations of female characters go, her performance demonstrates how he continues to characterise women in a way that allows the performers in question to do more than exercise the usual ‘it’ girl traits associated with actresses of this era. Following the likes of Ossi Oswalda and Pola Negri, Pickford is similarly given so much to do here, displaying such striking facial expressions and having an especially dynamic sense of physicality elsewhere, thus her presence on-screen is endlessly wonderful. Sadly, the version I watched was far from the best quality, so some of the nuances about her acting was lost on me, but I nonetheless felt just how much life she was able to bring to this role. Even so, I found out that this film was lost for a long time after Pickford deemed it a lesser work of hers, so the fact that I could watch it at all is really quite fortunate. And, well, if something this good was considered one of her weaker outings, golly gosh am I excited to see her other films! In fact, I’m also excited to see what else Lubitsch has done! There aren’t many directors I’ve been left with a particularly powerful urge to keep exploring upon being exposed to some of what they’ve made, but when it comes to this guy, I’m extremely curious to keep going, and the fact that I feel this way despite not having even made it to his most acclaimed output yet is quite remarkable. The Lubitsch touch is quite an infectious thing, and it’s a pleasure to discover that it’s just as strong on the other side of the world as it was in the place in which it originated!" 8/10
THROWBACK: Superman (Richard Donner, 1978) - reviewed 11/07/2025
"I’ve never really understood the appeal of Superman as a character. Despite the iconicity, he’s always just felt like one of the blandest superheroes, with all the generic characteristics you could imagine and honestly quite a dull array of frankly overly powerful abilities. As a result, I’ve never really gone out of my way to engage in much Superman media, and I’ve really only been acquainted with the character on a superficial level. But, with a major new interpretation on film arriving, I thought I’d go back and check out one of the character’s previous, most famous cinematic outings. And now… I get it. In the space of watching this one film, I have completely fallen in love with the character of Superman in ways that I never would’ve expected, and it’s become so clear as to why he’s so renowned and so enduring in popularity. Superman is everything any remotely heroic character ought to be, a symbol of hope with a clear conscience to do nothing but good with what immense power he possesses, no matter how big or small and act of such it may be. In exemplifying this, this film reduces its conflict of good vs evil to its fundamentals, and thrives off of such by how it enables the core values of its character to become clearer than ever. It’s a wonderfully old-fashioned piece that sticks to a generally conventional narrative structure, and all the better for it, as the end result is the sort of thing that reminds us why we love superhero stories in the first place, thoroughly and thankfully avoiding getting bogged down by any sort of cynicism in the process. What makes it truly special, though, is the stellar performance by Christopher Reeve, who delivers what might just be one of my all-time favourite pieces of acting in any superhero film. He’s so charming and likeable as the titular character that simply the mere sight of him on screen was often enough to put a massive smile on my face. What then enhances his portrayal of Superman is just how expertly he conveys the juxtaposition with Clark Kent, as the two feel like completely different characters. This is something I never really considered to be a particularly interesting aspect, but it’s absolutely brilliant to see in action here. It’s made even more effective by the pretty solid direction from Richard Donner, with many clever camera movements and compositions that allow for creative and satisfying transitions between the two identities. The film does show its age in part, failing to visually hold up in ways that other blockbusters of the time, such as Star Wars or Close Encounters, are able to amid their heavy emphasis on VFX, but it’s still very much a pleasure to take in, with plenty of scenes that are downright magical. I had an excellent time watching this; it’s cliche to say but it really made me feel like a kid again, filling me with a sense of joy and wonder that not many other superhero films have been able to lately. Nowadays they’re all so complicated and defeated by smug irony, forgetting or misrepresenting the valuable essences about the characters they concern. The same can absolutely not be said of this, and if there’s one thing I hope to see in James Gunn’s new film, it’s a reaffirmation of everything at the core of this character and a lack of self-referential qualities in communicating such, thus suitably and sincerely welcoming the quintessential superhero figure into a new generation. That might be too much to ask for at this point, but I’d say I can trust the guy who got me invested in the adventures of a talking tree and raccoon. I do indeed believe a man can fly!" 9/10
NEW: Superman (James Gunn, 2025) - reviewed 13/07/2025
"Much like the Guardians [of the Galaxy] trilogy, Gunn clearly has a lot of reverence for this material, and he demonstrates that here in some interesting ways, striking a solid balance of embracing the heightened nature of the characters and the conflict between heroes and villains therein, while also adding a layer of nuance amid bringing such into a contemporary environment. Not all of it works in the end, the film at times feeling a bit overstuffed with side characters and narratively convoluted, as well as somewhat excessive in its size and spectacle, but it crucially never loses sight of what is to be liked about Superman. I’m not a huge fan of the way it looks, with much of the often overexposed overly digital imagery being a bit unappealing for me, but there is a clear and admirable attempt to capture the essence of the titular character’s comic book origins about it that was charming. [David] Corenswet is no Reeve, but he does an adequate job in the lead role, especially in bringing a lot of necessary heart and soul to the character. As the start of a new iteration of the DC characters, I don’t really know if I’m all that interested in investing myself in yet another superhero franchise continuity as that trend seems like a thing of the past by now and I would prefer an emphasis on strong standalone pieces that let the stories of individual characters thrive above all else (such as what we saw recently with The Batman), but with this particular series being overseen by someone who clearly knows what they’re doing and respects what they’re working with, I suppose watching it unfold will be preferable to the soulless production lines of mediocre output we’ve become all too accustomed to elsewhere." 7/10
NEW: The Ballad of Wallis Island (James Griffiths, 2025) - reviewed 16/07/2025
"Spent the first half suitably charmed yet ultimately rolling my eyes at each and every sappy cliche in the book for a film like this popping up one after the other, but I was somewhat struck by how it eventually panned out and can safely say it wasn’t what I was expecting. It’s nothing groundbreaking but I appreciate that it also didn’t play it too safe. Effortlessly funny and heartwarming yet also very tender and touching. Between this and The Salt Path I have to admit I do love me some old people cinema, especially when in a cinema surrounded by old people." 8/10
NEW: F1 (Joseph Kosinski, 2025) - reviewed 17/07/2025
"I don’t know the first thing about real life F1, I just wanted to see Top Gun: Maverick with race cars here, and that’s precisely what I got. Another throwback style blockbuster in a fair line of such this summer, with a likeable star at the centre, a basic yet engaging narrative for them to operate within, and a concept executed with plenty of big screen appeal. It’s not going to change the world, but you’re damn right I was consistently glued to the screen and got goosebumps whenever those engines revved up. Kosinski has mastered the art of making films that would’ve absolutely gone off in the 1980s within a far more complicated and cynical cinematic landscape, and all I hope now is that he keeps making more like it!" 8/10
THROWBACK: Following (Christopher Nolan, 1998) - reviewed 20/07/2025
"With The Odyssey being a year away, I thought I’d go through each and every film in Nolan’s filmography at a rate of one per month on the run up to it, many of which I have not seen for a while, and a few of which I have not seen at all, including this one. Definitely my least favourite of his films so far, but it was neat to pick up on many of his usual directorial traits in such a primitive form, before he properly understood how to make them so compelling. His interest in time manipulation is evident from the beginning but the rigidity of the non-linear structure here holds it back from being especially engaging or striking compared to such works as Memento and The Prestige, both of which see a more thoughtful implementation of the technique. I’d say the most memorable thing here was the overt film noir influence, with much of the formalism feeling like a hybrid of the 1940s classical Hollywood look and feel alongside more contemporary, low budget / on the ground sensibilities, at times reminding me of early De Palma films like Hi Mom. Overall an okay watch and admirably rather concise by Nolan standards but only becomes rewarding when positing it within the lineage of the director’s career. It’s satisfying to see how he operated on such a small scale compared to the epic spectacles he would go on to be a part of, but I’d be lying if I said the film in itself is particularly special." 6/10
THROWBACK: The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (David Zucker, 1988) - reviewed 21/07/2025
"Classic goofball kino, plenty of hearty chuckles throughout. Reminded me a lot of Johnny English, and while I don’t love Leslie Nielsen as much as Rowan Atkinson, he’s similarly effortlessly funny even when the writing he’s working with may not be. I find it annoying when people say stuff like this couldn’t be made today because, when you cut out the expectedly dated jokes from these old comedies, what remains is almost always the actual funniest stuff, the more timeless and universal humour, such as clever wordplay or physical slapstick gags, which this had plenty of (the steam roller at the end had me crying). When parody is done badly it can easily be tiring and outright offensive, which is undoubtedly part of why the genre gradually died out over time, but when done intelligently and with care, it can absolutely be delightful. Excited to see what comes next in this series!" 7/10
NEW: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Matt Shakman, 2025) - reviewed 25/07/2025
"Happy to have walked out of a Marvel film having really enjoyed myself for the first time since, well, the last Guardians of the Galaxy film it would seem. This isn’t on that level, but it’s probably the closest the studio has got to recapturing the charm of their prime years in recent times. I think much of it comes down to the characters, as the Fantastic Four are an inherently enjoyable group with not only a fun and varied set of abilities between them but also a rather endearing family dynamic too. This successfully recognises that essence about the team, similar to what we just saw James Gunn do with Superman, and although it doesn’t have the same sincerity or distinct voice as that film, I’d say it still deserves to be understood as a comparable reaffirming of what was once widely liked about its respective brand and material. This also stands out for its memorable production design, as the colourful retro-futuristic 1960s aesthetic helped to differentiate things from the usual Marvel sludge, even if it’s still as formally unimaginative as the average outing in this franchise (would have been cool if they shot this one on film to strengthen the feel of the era!) While I like that it doesn’t outstay its welcome, it’s also bizarrely a bit too efficient at times, often speedrunning a lot of potentially rich character moments all the while dwelling on its set pieces. It sufficiently introduces us to this new iteration of the Four but seems all too eager to get on with what exciting situations are ahead for them instead of properly investing the audience in the nuances about their relationship and the wider world they belong to. Nevertheless, it’s a consistently entertaining watch and there’s plenty of solid spectacle to take in, with Ralph Ineson’s Galactus in particular being a well-constructed antagonist with a great screen presence. I have my issues but the teenaged Marvel fan in me had a good time and even found himself a little excited by that post-credits scene. Are we back? Let’s not say anything of the sort just yet, but perhaps we can be a tad more optimistic as things continue." 7/10
NEW: Jurassic World Rebirth (Gareth Edwards, 2025) - reviewed 27/07/2025
"I should really know better by now, because despite my glimpses of optimism beforehand, this was ultimately just more of the usual Jurassic shenanigans. A lot less aggressively contrived and stupid than the last two and with some thrilling moments courtesy of Edwards’ clear directorial skill, but even with that, it’s yet further proof that we’re probably never going to see the sheer wonder and terror of the original Spielberg classic recaptured with any subsequent entry, or with any new dinosaur-oriented film for that matter. Hate to say it but, as much as I love me some dinosaurs, the 1993 film is probably about as good as they will ever get on the big screen, in part due to the thoughtful and compelling story and characters at hand, but largely also because of the specific point in the history of cinema and VFX from which it emerged. It really was the right thing at the right time, helmed by one of the all-time greatest filmmakers in their prime and carefully integrating bold and innovative cinematic technologies. They can technically keep getting bigger and flashier with time, and there can occasionally be some things to enjoy (I’ll always defend the first Jurassic World as a solid companion piece to the original), but they can really only come close to being any bit as special. Fun to watch while shoving your mouth with popcorn though, and maybe worth the price of entry for Jonathan Bailey bumbling around in his silly lil spectacles too. Hopefully Gareth takes the money and makes another unique and interesting film like The Creator instead of staying within the confines of sluggish franchise scripts that he’s clearly above." 6/10
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