Summer '25 Review Round Up: Part 1

The Films That Made a Mark This Summer

…And another summer season winds down. Are we happy with the caliber of film supplied to us? Here are a collection of films that stood out for me during my time at the cinemas, 2025. Enjoy. And please, share yours!

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F1

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD fans, Rejoice!

Brad Pitt reprises his nomadic, sun-baked, fan-favorite character, Cliff Booth. And no, I’m not talking about the upcoming David Fincher film. I’m talking about the movie with all the formula one cars, F1. Seriously! The similarities are astounding: He lives in a car; he harbors a mysterious past; his primary form of communication is a wave and a smile; he’s a savant at whatever the scripts demands.

Pitt, despite staying in immaculate shape, has gracefully aged himself out of the handsome heartthrob roles that have hounded him throughout the 90’s. It’s a career move molded by his predecessor, Paul Newman. Often copycatted , but never emulated.

But that’s his magic sauce—his movie star charm. The pièce de résistance of any successful summer blockbuster is it’s central star, flavored by their undeniable on-screen charisma. F1 follows in that tradition. A muscular, technically impressive, banger of a racing film from Joseph Kosinski.

Aging racer, Sonny Hayes has faired the worst in his days on the track. When an old friend reemergence with a deal too good to decline, Sonny thrusts himself back into the world of Formula One racing. Only one question remains: In the face of emerging, young talent, can this old dog learn new tricks?

Though little to distinguishes Sonny Hayes from Cliff Booth, Pitt’s affectations feel right at home. His performance is a bit sleepy, but decidedly so. the real star are the astonishing race scenes that take place across the film’s various course like Silverstone Ciscuit, Monza, Suzuka, and Yas Marina.

Like TOP GUN: MAVERICK, we are transported into the cockpit of a mean machine, ferociously navigating narrow avenues. The life and death scenarios are delivered to us in spikes of adrenaline. Every engine rev, every crash bales across the movie theater and come sat you with relentless force. It’s a movie just as much about texture as anything else.

Come for the extended race scenes, stay for Pitt’s endless charm. Pure cinematic bliss.

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Together

Love is a many splendored thing!

Nothing quite like young love, am I right? At the outset, a sweet, pulpy mess of romance and desire. One of the rare times in our lives when, suddenly, the world makes sense. But then, when the honeymoon period ends, well…

TOGETHER tells the story of young love, gone sour. One that is sexless and devoid of romance. Mille is an elementary school teacher who gets a job teaching in the New York countryside, away from the city. Frustrated boyfriend, Tim, goes along, though alienated by their quiet, rustic locale.

What transpires throughout the film could certainly be labeled horror. There’s tension, a central mystery, and remnants of cult like activity—classic genre fair.

But if you dig beneath the film’s central mystery, you’ll discover a finer point. Yes, this is body horror, in all its rotten, fleshy splendor, but really, it’s a story about a fraught relationship. A mysterious pool of water is introduced early in the film. Those who drink from the pool are suddenly consumed with lust and desire for their partner. Is it just the thing that Millie and Tim were looking for? Perhaps not.

The horror genre has always been the happy medium in which filmmakers are given the opportunity to trojan-horse their personal ideas. These films are given the bandwidth to highlight thematic resonance. TOGETHER fits in the canon. Like the body-horror staples that precede it, the film finds a satisfying mix of the obscene and the comically relatable. After all, we’ve all been is stale relationships at one point or another!

This is a wonderfully directed freshman feature from Michael Shanks harboring loads of thrills and laughs. Bring a barf bag!

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The Naked Gun

From the Files of Police Squad, Baby!

I’ve written extensively about the films that shaped my youth. Some have taught me how to speak english, others mannerisms—for better or worse. The original NAKED GUN and AIRPLANE stand out as odd-ball favorites through and through, offering some of the most insane minute-to-minute laughs. No build up, no tension. Just liquid sugar administered intravenously into a major artery.

There’s also no rhyme or reason to THE NAKED GUN’S status as a legacy sequel, as all ties to the original 1988 classic are announced at the beginning, then are played off as a joke. But damn, did that O.J joke hit hard!

THE NAKED GUN takes the outward shape of a contemporary cop thriller with all plot-related fixings. It’s a well-worn formula—the bad guys are either foreign terrorists waving manifestos or greedy corporate entities looking to leverage whatever hi-tech doohickey announced in the films opening minutes. Sure enough, we’re introduced to the “plot device,” meant to kick the film into next gear. Only Frank Drebin Jr. has the stuff required to seize the day.

Though I personally had a blast all throughout the films 90-minute runtime (Thank you!) general reviews have been mixed. The film clings tightly to it’s forebear’s zany rhythm of straight-faced buffoonery—a choice that might alienate those not accustomed to David Zucker’s original register. I suspect that most who flocked to the cinema came so expecting 21 JUMP STREET, or RIDE ALONG, or whatever wacky 2010’s action comedy that comes to mind.

If you settle into the films register, the rewards are infinite. Sure, it might not be a dish you’ll chew on past the ride back home, but should every film be so? Fillet Mignon is great sometimes…but so is a smash burger!