SuperStuff

Welcome to the FIFTEENTH Annual Skinny!

Hello to all 2 of my readers!

It is time to take a look at 2025, henceforth known as “The year the world started burning again!”

The purpose of this blog is to track the films I see in the theater. I do this in the form of a skinny: very short blurbs, on each subject. Every year I do a recap, which is why you are here today. This is the “skinny” of 2025.

Before we get started, I have provided links to all 611 films I have seen in theaters by the end of 2025. It took quite a while to compile this list, referencing lists of movie releases and cross referencing it against my old journals and ticket stubs. This represents 39 years of film-going, and I am honored to share it with you.

• Part 1 (1987-1997)
• Part 2 (1998-1999)
• Part 3 (2000-2004)
• Part 4 (2005-2009)
• Part 5 (2010-2014)
• Part 6 (2015-2019)
• Part 7 (2020-2024)
• Part 8 (2025-2029)

Disclaimer: This is the place where I mention that I have not seen everything. I am not a professional reviewer and am only able to see a very small fraction of the major releases, never mind every indie movie or streaming release. This is also not a list of the BEST films of the year. This is a subjective list of my personal favorites. My biases will influence my choices. Judge me accordingly.

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A Recap:

July saw my return to San Diego Comic-Con! After a few days layover in Arizona to hang with my friend Jax (2 days filled with good food and bookstores). I then flew to that beautiful city in California for 5 days of magic. This was the 25th anniversary of my first SDCC in 2000. I intended it to be my last, but fate intervened and a return trip is booked for 2026.

October again saw me return to NYC, by way of New Haven and a pizza stop, to New York Comic Con. I love visiting New York, so this was time well spent. Looking ahead, however, I may skip in 2026. The show is too similar to SDCC to do both in one year. This will probably be my go-to Con for the years I skip SDCC.

Now, on to the good stuff: what did I watch in 2025?

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2025 Movies

I watched 19 movies in 2025, half the tally of 2024. Welcome to the world without my local theater subscsription. I’d expect this trend to continue in 2026.

The “OK”

These movies weren’t bad, but they weren’t my favorites. They were just OK. In order from highest rated to lowest:

• Thunderbolts (Review)
• A Complete Unknown (Review)
• Shin Godzilla (Review)
• Wicked: For Good (Review)
• The Woman in the Yard (Review)
• The Naked Gun (Review)
• Honey Don’t (Review)
• The Toxic Avenger (Review)
• Ballerina (Review)

Honorable Mention

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair – This is the best film I saw in 2025. An easy 10/10. Finally seeing it released as ONE MOVIE was something I’d be hoping to see for 20 years. The additions and edits were well crafted and the whole thing flows beautifully. It was absolutely terrific to finally see the Crazy 88 battle in color. (Review)

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Top 8

Alas, only 8 films carried an 8/10 or higher in 2025. None reached a perfect 10, but the last couple are solid 9’s.

8: Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle I – The start of the grand finale! This was a decent movie, my only gripe being the length. They could have trimmed a little from it. (Review)

7: Nosferatu – Fantastic. Brilliantly shot and well acted. Probably the best adaptation of the material, certainly the most artistically done. (Review)

6: Avatar: Fire and Ash – Cameron releases the 3rd Avatar and I am happy to say I dug it. The king never misses. (Review)

5: Fantastic Four: First Steps – I REALLY wish this could be #4. lol. It was a great reintroduction to Marvel’s First Family. The retro aesthetic was perfect. (Review)

4: Zootopia 2 – Nothing to complain about here. Disney has a winning formula. I could watch 10 of these buddy cop stories. (Review)

3: Tron: Ares – I get it, Leto is a creep. He made a damn good Tron movie though. Saw it twice! (Review)

2: Wake Up Dead Man – Benoit Blanc returns! May Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig continue making these murder mysteries for the rest of their lives. Fantatic. (Review)

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Craptastic: The Absolute worst

Before we look at the best, we must see the worst.

Captain America: Brave New World – This was a relatively calm year for movie going (my local theaters kept closing down). Is this the worst film of 2025? Not even close. Is it the worst film I saw in theaters this year? Yes it was. Was it a bad film? No. It was just uninspired, bland, and not a particularly good Captain America movie. Was this a good sequel to Incredible Hulk? Yes it was, but this is a Cap movie. (Review)

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The BEST Movie of 2025

1: Superman – Perhaps it was a given, but the return of Kal-El was my favorite movie this year. It is the only movie I saw 4 times! (Twice in the theater and twice at home). It had the earnestness of the 1978 film, and the red underpants, with a heavy dose of something missing from recent DC movies: The actual DCU.

This was a DC movie, through and through. Superman is not in a vacuum. The DCU exists. The Green Lantern Corps exist. It is all there waiting to be revealed. Corenswet was a FANTASTIC Superman. The dude nailed it. Nicholas Hoult was a pitch perfect Lex Luthor and Rachel Brosnahan WAS Lois Lane. The comic came to life this past summer, and I am there with Gunn and crew to see where it goes next. (Review)

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Well, another year has passed and it is time to welcome a new one. 2026 is something of a mystery to me, constantly evolving. I suspect its going to be a year of great consequence: both personally and for the world.

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