by Josh Sewell
It’s hard to believe, but we’re more than halfway through 2025. Only a couple of weeks left in the summer movie season, then the awards race kicks into gear with prestige pics hitting the festival circuit. As usual, so many films are hitting theaters in the fall that a lot of quality material from earlier in the year will end up falling through the cracks.
In hopes to prevent that from happening, this week’s column is devoted to looking back on some terrific films you may have missed. Here are some of my favorites of 2025 so far, in alphabetical order.
Black Bag
This spy thriller from director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter David Koepp (their second collaboration of 2025 following the also terrific Presence) quickly disappeared from theaters, which is a shame considering it’s the closest we’ll get to a new James Bond flick for a while. The cast is outstanding – particularly Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett and a scene-stealing Marisa Abela – and the tense story is also funny and sexy. If you missed it back in March (which most people did), you can catch it on Peacock.
Companion
Even film critics can’t see everything, so I overlooked this dark comedy/horror hybrid when it hit theaters at the end of January. The word-of-mouth proved surprisingly robust, though; I was still hearing great things into the summer, when I finally got the chance to catch it on HBO Max. I don’t want to spoil the fun of watching the craziness unfold, so I’ll just say this story about a romantic weekend gone awry is a delight thanks to writer-director Drew Hancock’s twisted sense of humor and incredible central performances from Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid.
Final Destination: Bloodlines
2025 is shaping up to be a great year for horror comedies. This continuation of the “death as serial killer” franchise understands what fans enjoyed most about previous installments but also treats most of the characters like actual people instead of an assembly line of bland victims. The creative team finds a cool way to connect the story to the old films while establishing a fresh way the premise can continue in future chapters. I also never expected a silly slasher to make me emotional, but the late Tony Todd’s sendoff is a lovely moment.
Freaky Tales
This action/comedy/sci-fi hybrid only played in a handful of theaters in April, but it’s available to discover on VOD now. I think we might have a future cult favorite on our hands. Anna Fleck and Ryan Boden return to their indie roots after “Captain Marvel” and the result is a bonkers collection of interconnected short stories full of gangsters, corrupt cops, punks, neo-Nazis and professional athletes who inhabit 1980s Oakland, California. They also assemble a killer cast, including Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis and the late Angus Cloud.
The Life of Chuck
Writer-director Mike Flanagan, best known for his Netflix shows The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass, applies his magic touch to another seemingly impossible Stephen King adaptation (his third). The result is a poignant, funny and sometimes unsettling look at key moments in the titular character’s existence (played at various ages by Tom Hiddleston, Jacob Tremblay, Benjamin Pajak and Cody Flanagan) and the people who impacted him along the way. Going into more detail would spoil some of the story’s revelations, but it’s closer to King’s Stand by Me and The Green Mile than The Shining.
Materialists
Celine Song’s previous film, Past Lives, was a complex look at love and relationships, so I’m not sure why people were expecting her latest to be a light and fluffy romcom. Perhaps that’s why the story of a matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) torn between a new beau (Pedro Pascal) and her ex (Chris Evans) turned out to be somewhat controversial. Regardless, it’s a fascinating movie about flawed characters that sparked a lot of intense conversation.
My Dead Friend Zoe
This drama about a military vet (Sonequa Martin-Green) with PTSD, which manifests itself as the ghost of her best friend (Natalie Morales), is a powerful indie that disappeared almost as soon as it hit theaters back in February. That’s a shame since it boasts an important, moving story and some great performances – especially Ed Harris, who deserves to be in the upcoming Best Supporting Actor conversation.
Sinners
One of the joys of being a film critic is realizing you’re watching an instant classic in real time. It doesn’t happen often, so I treasure those moments. Sinners is a movie we’ll be talking about for decades to come, not only because the powerful story transcends genres (it’s horror, romance, Southern gothic, musical, etc.) but because it’s about so much more than its surface plot points. There’s a musical sequence halfway through the film (featuring an astonishing debut performance from Miles Caton) that’s nothing short of transcendent.
Superman
It has some flaws, but writer-director James Gunn has finally given audiences a Superman movie that resembles its comic book origins, while also reminding audiences what made Christopher Reeve’s version of the character so endearing. David Coresnswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult are perfect as Superman/Clark Kent, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor respectively, while Gunn stacks the supporting cast with great actors who kill it in their brief time onscreen. Plus, the guy who gave audiences Groot and Rocket Racoon has gifted us another iconic animal hero in Krypto.
28 Years Later
Director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland’s continuation of their zombie franchise hit me with an unexpected emotional wallop. While the premise still contains horror elements (and plenty of gross-out gore), it’s more of a quest story in the vein of medieval works like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. That probably doesn’t sound appealing to some, but it’s catnip to an English lit nerd like me. The trailer is selling an entirely different film, but I love the one we got so much more.
In hopes to prevent that from happening, this week’s column is devoted to looking back on some terrific films you may have missed. Here are some of my favorites of 2025 so far, in alphabetical order.
Black Bag
This spy thriller from director Steven Soderbergh and screenwriter David Koepp (their second collaboration of 2025 following the also terrific Presence) quickly disappeared from theaters, which is a shame considering it’s the closest we’ll get to a new James Bond flick for a while. The cast is outstanding – particularly Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett and a scene-stealing Marisa Abela – and the tense story is also funny and sexy. If you missed it back in March (which most people did), you can catch it on Peacock.
Companion
Even film critics can’t see everything, so I overlooked this dark comedy/horror hybrid when it hit theaters at the end of January. The word-of-mouth proved surprisingly robust, though; I was still hearing great things into the summer, when I finally got the chance to catch it on HBO Max. I don’t want to spoil the fun of watching the craziness unfold, so I’ll just say this story about a romantic weekend gone awry is a delight thanks to writer-director Drew Hancock’s twisted sense of humor and incredible central performances from Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid.
Final Destination: Bloodlines
2025 is shaping up to be a great year for horror comedies. This continuation of the “death as serial killer” franchise understands what fans enjoyed most about previous installments but also treats most of the characters like actual people instead of an assembly line of bland victims. The creative team finds a cool way to connect the story to the old films while establishing a fresh way the premise can continue in future chapters. I also never expected a silly slasher to make me emotional, but the late Tony Todd’s sendoff is a lovely moment.
Freaky Tales
This action/comedy/sci-fi hybrid only played in a handful of theaters in April, but it’s available to discover on VOD now. I think we might have a future cult favorite on our hands. Anna Fleck and Ryan Boden return to their indie roots after “Captain Marvel” and the result is a bonkers collection of interconnected short stories full of gangsters, corrupt cops, punks, neo-Nazis and professional athletes who inhabit 1980s Oakland, California. They also assemble a killer cast, including Pedro Pascal, Ben Mendelsohn, Jay Ellis and the late Angus Cloud.
The Life of Chuck
Writer-director Mike Flanagan, best known for his Netflix shows The Haunting of Hill House and Midnight Mass, applies his magic touch to another seemingly impossible Stephen King adaptation (his third). The result is a poignant, funny and sometimes unsettling look at key moments in the titular character’s existence (played at various ages by Tom Hiddleston, Jacob Tremblay, Benjamin Pajak and Cody Flanagan) and the people who impacted him along the way. Going into more detail would spoil some of the story’s revelations, but it’s closer to King’s Stand by Me and The Green Mile than The Shining.
Materialists
Celine Song’s previous film, Past Lives, was a complex look at love and relationships, so I’m not sure why people were expecting her latest to be a light and fluffy romcom. Perhaps that’s why the story of a matchmaker (Dakota Johnson) torn between a new beau (Pedro Pascal) and her ex (Chris Evans) turned out to be somewhat controversial. Regardless, it’s a fascinating movie about flawed characters that sparked a lot of intense conversation.
My Dead Friend Zoe
This drama about a military vet (Sonequa Martin-Green) with PTSD, which manifests itself as the ghost of her best friend (Natalie Morales), is a powerful indie that disappeared almost as soon as it hit theaters back in February. That’s a shame since it boasts an important, moving story and some great performances – especially Ed Harris, who deserves to be in the upcoming Best Supporting Actor conversation.
Sinners
One of the joys of being a film critic is realizing you’re watching an instant classic in real time. It doesn’t happen often, so I treasure those moments. Sinners is a movie we’ll be talking about for decades to come, not only because the powerful story transcends genres (it’s horror, romance, Southern gothic, musical, etc.) but because it’s about so much more than its surface plot points. There’s a musical sequence halfway through the film (featuring an astonishing debut performance from Miles Caton) that’s nothing short of transcendent.
Superman
It has some flaws, but writer-director James Gunn has finally given audiences a Superman movie that resembles its comic book origins, while also reminding audiences what made Christopher Reeve’s version of the character so endearing. David Coresnswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult are perfect as Superman/Clark Kent, Lois Lane and Lex Luthor respectively, while Gunn stacks the supporting cast with great actors who kill it in their brief time onscreen. Plus, the guy who gave audiences Groot and Rocket Racoon has gifted us another iconic animal hero in Krypto.
28 Years Later
Director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland’s continuation of their zombie franchise hit me with an unexpected emotional wallop. While the premise still contains horror elements (and plenty of gross-out gore), it’s more of a quest story in the vein of medieval works like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. That probably doesn’t sound appealing to some, but it’s catnip to an English lit nerd like me. The trailer is selling an entirely different film, but I love the one we got so much more.
Reach out to Josh Sewell at joshsewell81@gmail.com or on BlueSky @joshsewell.bsky.social
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