2025 in Review: Music Music Music

by Nathaniel R

Charli XCX has four feature film projects arriving in 2026. But still found time to make a great music video in 2025

I promise we'll pull this back to music in movies at the end of the post but for a curveball we'll first share favourite music videos of 2025. Those mini-musicals haven't had a true "home" in decades (after the initial heyday of MTV many moons ago) but they still continue to be a fascinating shortform offshoot of cinema itself. We use to think of them as training ground for future film directors but it feels like that's been a long while since it was a "path" to Hollywood. How long until we get another music video master that moves up to auteur status? It's been 30 years since that happened for David Fincher! Still, we're always hoping it will happen again...

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2025 in Review: 10 Best Screen Creatures

by Nathaniel R

The following list is dedicated to the unnamed squirrel Kal-el (David Corenswet) saves in Superman, a good-hearted hit that made for a respectable relaunch of the DCU under director/producer James Gunn. The squirrel's scant seconds of screentime proved a perfect blockbuster moment: broad but suprisingly non-generic, funny but heartwarming, and above all else memorable.

While cats (led by Flow) were ruling the movies a year ago, their eternal rivals for human affection came roaring back dominant in 2025 cinema. We've included three canines in the following "Best" list but there wasn't room for everyone so our apologies to funny showdogs Honey & Sterling (Fixed), sadly rehomed dogs Si-Two & Ri-Two (No Other Choice), and other creatures great and small. Leash on. Door open. Here we go...

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Greatest Movies of the 21st Century. Did you join in the fun?

by Nathaniel R

The talk this week in US cinephile circles has been the New York Times interactive "10 Best Movies of the 21st Century". 2025 is a good time for it. Here was my ballot, done on a whim, because how else to do it really? We all know that there are more than 10 "Best" movies in any given quarter century!  Sometimes there are more than 10 "Bests" in a single film year. Nevertheless it was fun to watch friends and strangers sound off this week...

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Ten reasons to celebrate Pride Month with "Latin Blood"

by Cláudio Alves

LATIN BLOOD: THE BALLAD OF NEY MATOGROSSO | © Netflix

Last Thursday, Americans celebrated Juneteenth, but south of the Equator, Latin America's largest nation was in a cinephile mood. It was Brazilian Cinema Day, marking 127 years since Affonso Segreto shot what is considered the earliest cinematic depiction of Brazil in film history. A century and change after cameras first glimpsed the Guanabara Bay, the country's having a moment on the world stage. In the space of a few months, we saw such titles as I'm Still Here, The Blue Trail, and The Secret Agent win big at the Oscars, Berlinale, and Cannes. However, within Brazilian borders, other success stories have flourished, largely overlooked by international onlookers. Consider Vitória with Fernanda Montenegro delivering a staggering star turn at 95, and today's subject, the word-of-mouth box office phenomenon that is Homem com H.

Known as Latin Blood: The Ballad of Ney Matogrosso in English-language markets, the music biopic arrived on Netflix June 17th. And, since that streaming giant is doing nothing to promote it, let me enumerate ten reasons why you need to add Esmir Filho's latest to your Pride Month watchlist…

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Oscar's Director Hierachy 2024 Edition

by Nathaniel

Spielberg & Scorsese just keep moving up Oscar's hall of fame

Since we did this with the Actresses and Actors, why not the Directors? Martin Scorsese added to his incredible record this season and Steven Spielberg did the same just last year, nudging Billy Wilder into fourth place. The Most Hallowed Directors Quartet is far more "current" than the Actor or Actress throne rooms as a result...

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