2025 Summer Film Recap

Sinners

As someone who is not a fan of blockbuster/action films, I loved Sinners. Not only does it have an engaging plot, the cinematography is also beautiful and color grading is vibrant. Honestly, I’d watch this film for just how beautiful it is, but it is still worth watching beyond that. The story builds slowly, settling you into the world of the characters and all their dynamics. This makes the first half of the film exposition-heavy, which was a little hard to get through, but the character interactions were dynamic and engaging, causing it not to come off as too strong. Once it hits that hour mark, the film quickly picks up the pace and draws you in. I highly recommend watching it, so I won’t go too far into the plot. The star of this film is definitely the music. For weeks after watching it, my mind could not escape the soundtrack or the featured songs. I would be walking down the hill by my house to go get a smoothie and have “Pick Poor Robin Clean” stuck in my head all the way down. The soundtrack is Oscar-worthy and so is that one scene (you’ll know the one when you watch it).

Friendship 

Tim Robinson proves yet again that he might be the new King of Comedy. This absurd film directed by Andrew DeYoung had me laughing so much that I got really tired and had to take a nap in my car before driving home (could just be me though). Robinson is a comedic powerhouse on his own, but pairing him up with Paul Rudd is a decision that can only be described as a moment of divine intervention. While Rudd is also best known for his comedic work, he typically plays the “straight man” dealing with absurd situations or people. Putting him next to Robinson, who is playing one of his usual crazy characters who are hyperfixated on one thing, creates a magical, almost heavenly experience. I thought that I was going to die in AMC because I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe, and I was fine with that.  

Materialists

As a Celine Song fan, I think this might be her weakest work. Yes, following Past Lives is a hard task, but even on its own, Materialists falls flat. Dakota Johnson gives her classic deadpan performance while Chris Evans and Pedro Pascal give their all. The story itself isn’t great and the lines are written to appear smarter than they actually are. Some of the plot points are absurd, but they make sense if you think about it from the perspective of Song writing the script and needing to tie up something mentioned earlier in the film. It is fun to watch if you don’t think too hard about it, and it’s something I’d put on if I wanted to turn off my brain for 90 minutes, which is perfectly fine.

The Phoenician Scheme

Wes Anderson is climbing out of his slump, one film at a time. As an Asteroid City defender, I loved this film. It leans in so aggressively into his style, making it visually theatrical and dramatic in nature. The plot is absurd and so are the characters, fitting in perfectly with the stop-motion-esque movements of the actors. Everything in Anderson’s previous works is dialed up to 12, making it a fun watch. I could honestly talk about this film for hours; from the performances to the set design to the structure and pacing, this film is a delight to watch and proves that Anderson is back.

K-Pop Demon Hunters

Honestly, this movie sucks. There’s an interesting story at its core, but it puts each basic trope on top of the last so easily you’d think the writers dominate in Jenga. This film has become a global phenomenon not for its plot, but rather for its music. With TikTok hits such as “Golden” and “Soda Pop,” K-Pop Demon Hunters has solidified its place in this year’s pop culture zeitgeist, much like Frozen did with “Let It Go”  in 2013. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, you honestly don’t have to. I’ll describe it in AO3 tag terms for you: good-versus-evil-but-leader-is-part-evil, enemies-to-lovers, demon-with-sympathetic-backstory, fantasy-bc-the-idols-are-allowed-to-eat. If you’re looking for a fun and incredibly trope-filled movie to watch, this will satisfy that. 

Superman

The DCU is on the rise as the MCU continues to plateau through mediocrity. While I am not a fan of most superhero films, I can admit that this is great. I could be biased because the big bads of this film are Isre- I mean Nicholas Hoult and Borovia (one’s face scares me and the other is committing a mass genocide). For once, I felt the high stakes in a superhero film, due to the great pacing and the actual threat being posed against Superman. Unfortunately, that is all I can remember about this film other than its S-tier soundtrack. I remember having fun and being happy that we have a Liberal Snowflake Commie Superman, so thank you, James Gunn. 

Eddington

I have never liked Ari Aster’s films, but I think this one might be his worst. Before I get into my critiques of the film, as there are many, I would like to say that this film has some of the greatest actors of our time giving their all to their performances. My main critique is that this is a gross retelling of the early months of COVID-19 and the following election. It makes fun of liberals protesting but refuses to hold that same energy for conservatives through its blatant ignorance of the provocative nature of Trump/MAGA/conservatives at that time. It has no interest in any form of nuanced critique or even conversation on the state of America. This film is irresponsible at worst and uninteresting at best, making it the hardest watch of this summer. 

Fantastic Four: First Steps

This is the third Pedro Pascal blockbuster of the summer, and it’s definitely his weakest performance. The MCU is clearly on its last limbs and the issues I have with this film are the same I have with recent MCU installments. I was a huge fan of the MCU until 2022, when Doctor Strange: Multiverse of Madness and Thor: Love & Thunder hit the screen. The poor pacing, the emptiness, and the undeniable feeling of these characters overstaying their welcome was just too overwhelming to handle for many more films. I thought I would be able to bear it better with new characters, but unfortunately, the pacing was so off that it felt as though there were no stakes even though the Earth was at risk of being eaten. I felt nothing the entire movie except that Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) were gay and disappointed when they weren’t. At least I was graced with the presence of Natasha Lyonne for a total of 90 seconds, but that minute-and-a-half of Natasha time cannot make up for the nothingburger of a film that this is. 

Overall, this summer of film was fun, but not that deep, and that’s okay! Don’t forget to follow me on Letterboxd (@robinfilmentine) and comment down below which Pedro Pascal performance of the summer you liked the most!