Month: July 2025

NEW MOVIES: July 31 – Aug 6, 2025, “The Bad Guys 2,” “Architecton,” “Naked Gun,” “Together”

THE BAD GUYS 2

The Bad Guys 2 is a 2025 American animated heist comedy film loosely based on the children’s book series The Bad Guys by Aaron Blabey, produced by DreamWorks Animation and distributed by Universal Pictures. The sequel to The Bad Guys (2022), it was directed by Pierre Perifel, co-directed by JP Sans, and written by Yoni Brenner and Etan Cohen. The film stars Sam Rockwell, Marc Maron, Craig Robinson, Anthony Ramos, Awkwafina, Zazie Beetz, Richard Ayoade, Lilly Singh, and Alex Borstein, reprising their roles from the first film, alongside Danielle Brooks, Maria Bakalova, and Natasha Lyonne, who join the cast. The film sees the Bad Guys come out of retirement and join forces with an all-female criminal squad to perform one last heist.

Perifel stated that he would love to do a sequel to The Bad Guys in March 2022, before the release of the first film. Two years later, DreamWorks Animation announced a sequel, with Perifel and the voice cast returning, while Sans served as co-director. Lyonne joined the cast in July 2024, with the involvement of Brooks and Bakalova being announced in November. Daniel Pemberton composed the score, returning from the previous film.

The Bad Guys 2 was released in the United Kingdom on July 25, 2025, and is scheduled for release in the United States on August 1.

Premise

The Bad Guys 2 follows the crackerjack criminal crew of animal outlaws who are struggling to find trust and acceptance in their newly minted lives as Good Guys. However, they’re pulled out of retirement and forced to do “one last job” by an all-female squad of criminals.

— Deadline[4][5]

Voice cast

In addition, Jorge R. Gutierrez was cast in an undisclosed voice cameo role. [‡ 2]

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ARCHITECTON

Architecton is a 2024 documentary film written and directed by Viktor Kossakovsky, exploring how stone and concrete architecture reflect the values of various societies.[3]

The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on 19 February 2024,[4] where it was nominated for the Golden Bear and the Berlinale Documentary Film Award.[5] It was released on 3 October 2024 in Germany by Neuer Visionen and is scheduled for release in the United States on August 1, 2025, by A24.

Content

Kossakovsky presents a poetic meditation on architecture and how the design and construction of buildings from the ancient past reveal our destruction—and offer hope for survival and a way forward. He reflects on the rise and fall of civilizations, focusing on a landscape project by the Italian architect Michele De Lucchi. The project utilizes imagery from the temple ruins of Baalbek in Lebanon, dating back to the 1st century AD. It contrasts with the recent destruction of cities in Turkey following a 7.8 magnitude earthquake in early 2023.

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NAKED GUN

The Naked Gun is an upcoming American action comedy film directed by Akiva Schaffer, who co-wrote the script with Dan Gregor and Doug Mand. It serves as a legacy sequel to Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult (1994) and is the fourth film in The Naked Gun franchise. The film stars Liam Neeson as Lt. Frank Drebin Jr., alongside Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser, Kevin Durand, and Danny Huston.

Neeson plays ‘Frank Drebin Jr.,’ the son of Leslie Nielsen’s character, and is joined by Pamela Anderson and Paul Walter Hauser in the new comedy. Doug Hyde contributed to this story by David Daniel. Only one man has the particular set of skills to lead the Police Squad and save the world.

The Naked Gun is scheduled for release in the United States by Paramount Pictures on August 1, 2025.

Cast

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TOGETHER

Together is a 2025 supernatural body horror film written and directed by Michael Shanks in his directorial debut.[2] The film stars real-life married actors Dave Franco and Alison Brie as a couple who move to the countryside but find themselves encountering a mysterious force that horrifically causes changes in their bodies.[3]

Years into their relationship, Tim and Millie find themselves at a crossroads as they move to the country, abandoning all that is familiar in their lives except each other. With tensions already flaring, a nightmarish encounter with a mysterious, unnatural force threatens to corrupt their lives, their love, and their flesh.

Together premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2025, and is scheduled for release in the United States by Neon on July 30, 2025, and in Australia by Kismet Movies on July 31.

Plot

Millie Wilson gets a job teaching elementary school English and moves to the countryside with her longtime boyfriend, aspiring musician Tim. Shortly before the move, Millie proposes to Tim at a going-away party held by their friends, but he hesitates to respond, embarrassing her.

One day, while hiking, they fall into a cave during a rainstorm and resolve to spend the night there. Tim drinks from a pool in the cave, then recounts a traumatic incident from his childhood in which he found his mother in bed with his father’s rotting corpse. Upon waking up the next morning, Tim and Millie find their legs stuck together with a glue-like substance, but dismiss the incident after separating.

Tim begins to experience episodes where he becomes inexplicably physically drawn to Millie, despite the couple previously experiencing a lack of sexual intimacy, but pulls back after regaining consciousness, much to Millie’s frustration and bewilderment. Millie’s coworker Jamie shows up at their home to welcome them to the neighborhood, and she invites him in for dinner. The couple recounts their experience at the cave; Jamie explains that the cave is the site of an abandoned church.

Millie drops Tim off at the train station so he can travel to town for a musical gig, but Tim experiences another episode and drags himself back to Millie’s workplace. An outraged Millie confronts him in a bathroom stall, whereupon they have sex, after which their genitals become stuck together. As they painfully force themselves to separate, Jamie spots them. Millie later visits Jamie’s house to apologize. In the ensuing conversation, she begins to open up about some of the problems she and Tim have been facing in their relationship. Jamie encourages her not to let go of her “other half,” then begins to reminisce on his relationship with his seemingly deceased husband. Still, Millie abruptly leaves after spotting a disoriented Tim outside.

Tim visits a doctor, who dismisses his symptoms as panic attacks and prescribes him muscle relaxant pills before mentioning that a local couple, Simon and Keri, recently went missing. Using EXIF data from their social media photos, Tim discovers that they visited the same cave he and Millie fell into and unsuccessfully tries to convince Millie that the two of them may suffer the same fate as Simon and Keri. That night, both Tim and Millie lose control of their bodies, crawling toward each other and contorting into impossible shapes until their arms become partially fused. Tim manages to prevent any further fusion after consuming his pills in a panic, subsequently passing out and awakening tied to a chair, where Millie saws through their fused limb. As Millie is about to drive them to the hospital, she realizes she has left her keys at Jamie’s house and orders Tim to wait for her while she retrieves them. He secretly returns to the cave and finds Simon and Keri, now completely fused as a grotesque humanoid.

Cast

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7/28/2025 #TheBadGuys2 #Architecton #NakedGun #Together

 

NEW MOVIES: July 24-30, 2025, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” “Oh, Hi!” “Four Letters of Love,” “Shoshana”

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a 2025 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Fantastic Four. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is intended to be the 37th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the second reboot of the Fantastic Four film series. The film is directed by Matt Shakman from a screenplay by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer. It features an ensemble cast including Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn as the titular team, alongside Julia Garner, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, and Ralph Ineson. In the film, the Fantastic Four must protect their 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic world from the planet-devouring cosmic being Galactus (Ineson).

20th Century Fox began work on a new Fantastic Four film following the failure of Fantastic Four (2015). After the studio was acquired by Disney in March 2019, control of the franchise was transferred to Marvel Studios, and a new film was announced that July. Jon Watts was set as director in December 2020 but stepped down in April 2022. Shakman replaced him that September when Kaplan and Springer were working on the script. Casting was underway by early 2023, and Friedman joined to rewrite the script in March. The film is differentiated from previous Fantastic Four films by avoiding the team’s origin story. Pearson joined to polish the script by mid-February 2024, when the main cast was announced. Filming occurred from July to November 2024 at Pinewood Studios in England, and on location in England and Spain.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps had its world premiere at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles on July 21, 2025, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on July 25 as the first film in Phase Six of the MCU. A sequel is in development.

Premise

On the 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic parallel Earth-828,[3][4][5] the Fantastic Four must protect their world from the planet-devouring cosmic being Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer.[3]

Cast

  • Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic:
    A highly intelligent scientist and the leader of the Fantastic Four who can stretch any part of his body to great lengths.[6][4] Director Matt Shakman described Reed as “the most scientifically intelligent person” on the planet and a combination of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein, and Robert Moses.[4] Pascal said it was Reed’s mind that was most important to him, rather than the character’s physicality, and he considered “the brilliance of an octopus” when approaching the character.[7]
  • Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman:
    Reed’s pregnant wife, Johnny’s sister, and a member of the Fantastic Four who can generate force fields and turn invisible.[6][8] She is the head of the Future Foundation, which has achieved global demilitarization and peace. Shakman described Sue as “the most emotionally intelligent person” on the planet. Kirby enjoyed synthesizing the various comic portrayals of Sue into her version of the character, focusing on motherhood as the through-line. The actress said she was obsessed with the comics run where Sue takes on the negative persona “Malice“, and she included elements of that version in her portrayal so Sue would not be “the stereotype of a goody, sweet mother”.[4]
  • Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / The Thing:
    Reed’s best friend, a former astronaut, and a member of the Fantastic Four whose skin has been transformed into a layer of orange rock, granting him superhuman strength and durability.[6][4] Moss-Bachrach found comparisons between Grimm and his character Richie Jerimovich in the series The Bear (2022–present), noting both were “deeply loyal people” and “fighters with a fierce sense of code, morality, and family.”[9] Moss-Bachrach portrays the Thing through motion capture and computer-generated imagery (CGI) rather than prosthetic makeup,[10] and discussed that process with Mark Ruffalo, who portrays the Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) using the same technology.[11] In addition to Moss-Bachrach performing his scenes in a motion-capture suit, some takes were re-filmed with the actor using different body extensions or a stand-in wearing a life-sized Thing costume to help the other actors reference the space that the character takes up.[4] Shakman consulted scientists and studied desert rocks to find the best reference for the Thing’s appearance;[12] a specific desert rock that matched his desired look for the Thing, referred to as “Jennifer,” was also filmed on set as a lighting reference for the visual effects team.[13]
  • Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch:
    Sue’s brother and a member of the Fantastic Four who can control fire and fly.[6][14] While Quinn was a fan of Chris Evans‘s portrayal of the character in the 20th Century Fox films Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), he did not base his portrayal on Evans’s.[15] Quinn and producer Kevin Feige discussed Johnny’s womanizing in previous portrayals and concluded that this would not be considered “sexy” by modern audiences. Quinn wanted his version to be “less callous with other people’s feelings” and more self-aware of his attention-seeking behavior, while still having a lot of bravado and humor. Shakman noted that Johnny is also smart and heroic, despite undercutting that with jokes.[4]
  • Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer:
    Galactus’s metallic-skinned herald who travels through space on a surfboard-like craft.[16][17] Garner said there was a “mysterious energy” to the character and her relationship with Galactus.[17] She portrayed the Silver Surfer through motion capture,[18] combining research on surfing poses with statuesque non-surf poses from the comic books. Garner wanted the character to “[move] elegantly, like a dance.”[17]
  • Natasha Lyonne[19]
  • Paul Walter Hauser as Harvey Elder/Mole Man:
    The ruler of Subterranea, an underground society whose inhabitants refer to themselves as Moloids.[20][21] Shakman compared Elder to a leader of a labor union with humanity and a focus on community and taking care of his people.[20]
  • Ralph Ineson as Galactus:
    A gigantic cosmic being who consumes the life force of planets.[22][4] Shakman called him a “humongous, 14-billion-year-old, planet-devouring cosmic vampire.” Ineson did not think Galactus was evil, calling him a “god of sorts” and a “big, planet-eating guy, simply doing what a big, planet-eating guy does.” The actor spent time “ruminating” at the top of tall buildings to prepare for the role. Feige loved the introduction of Galactus in the comics and had long wanted to use him.[23] Ineson stated that Galactus does not care about a planet’s life since “it’s his food”, only sparing them if there is something that “interests” him there.[20] Feige shared a clip of the character from the video game Fortnite Battle Royale (2017) as a reference for how he should be portrayed.[24] The film uses a comic book-accurate design, in contrast with the cloud-like design in Rise of the Silver Surfer.[23] Galactus’s purple and blue armor was built for Ineson to wear, as it was important to Shakman that someone was “embodying the part”.[4] Ineson had a support crew to keep him cool between takes because of the armor.[20]

Additionally, Matthew Wood voices the Fantastic Four’s robot companion H.E.R.B.I.E. (Humanoid Experimental Robot B-Type Integrated Electronics), who generally serves as Reed’s assistant.[4][25] Shakman said H.E.R.B.I.E. is “slightly put-upon” yet “charming and adorable” and invaluable to the team.[25] Also appearing are Ada Scott as Franklin Richards, the newborn son of Reed and Sue;[26] Mark Gatiss as Ted Gilbert, the talk show host of The Ted Gilbert Show;[27] and Sarah Niles as Lynne Nichols, the Future Foundation’s chief of staff [better source needed] [28][29][independent source needed] Shakman’s daughter Maisie appears as a child saved by the Human Torch from falling debris.[2] Alex Hyde-White, Rebecca Staab, Jay Underwood, and Michael Bailey Smith, who portrayed the team in the unreleased 1994 Fantastic Four film, have been cast in undisclosed roles.[30] Robert Downey Jr. is also expected to appear as Victor von Doom/Doctor Doom in a post-credits scene [better[31] source needed] though Shakman has said Doctor Doom is “not a part of [his] film.”[32]

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OH, HI!

Oh, Hi! is a 2025 American romantic comedy film directed by Sophie Brooks and co-written with Molly Gordon. Starring Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan, and John Reynolds, the film centers on a new couple (Gordon and Lerman) who go on a weekend road trip that takes an unexpected turn.

The film had its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 26, 2025 and is scheduled to be given a limited theatrical release in the United States on July 25, 2025, by Sony Pictures Classics.

Plot

Iris and Isaac go on a romantic weekend road trip.[2][3] Their first night at the rental house, they engage in some sexual bondage play. In the afterglow and while he is chained to the bed, Isaac mentions that he is not looking for a relationship at this point, which is quite different from where Iris felt they stood. She refuses to unlock him. The next day, she spends twelve hours trying to win him over while he still remains in chains. When this fails, she calls in the help of her friend Max, who arrives with her boyfriend Kenny. When it is realized that they are actually all committing criminal kidnapping, various options are considered. Iris and Max try brewing a witch’s memory erasure formula (which Isaac drinks), followed by a naked ritual which should complete the effect. When Isaac awakens in the morning, he appears to have forgotten everything after the sexual encounter, and cheerfully heads down to the kitchen with Iris, Max, and Kenny to make some breakfast. He excuses himself to go get an ingredient that he had left in the car, but then hops in the car and drives away, as it is revealed that he had overheard the magic plan and was just faking in order to get a chance to escape. Fleeing on rain-soaked roads, Isaac gets in an accident. Police find the wrecked car but not the driver. Iris goes looking for him, finding him in a valley, too injured to walk. They reach an understanding of each other’s positions and their own blame, and he gets taken away in an ambulance.

Cast

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FOUR LETTERS OF LOVE

Four Letters of Love is a 2025 film adaptation of his book of the same name by Niall Williams and directed by Polly Steele. It is starring Pierce Brosnan, Helena Bonham-Carter and Gabriel Byrne.

Synopsis

Nicholas and Isabel were made for each other, but how will they ever know it? As ghosts, fate, and the sheer power of true love pull them together, so too does life threaten to tear them apart.

Cast

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SHOSHANA

Shoshana is a 2023 British biographical thriller film directed by Michael Winterbottom.

The film is set in 1930s/1940s British Mandatory Palestine. It follows the tragic love story of Shoshana Borochov (Irina Starshenbaum), daughter of one of the founders of socialist Zionism, and British police officer Tom Wilkin (Douglas Booth),[1] while Wilkin and fellow police officer Geoffrey J. Morton (Harry Melling)[2] hunt for Zionist militant Avraham Stern (Aury Alby).[3]

Plot

Set in 1938, the film takes place in Tel Aviv, where tensions are high as the British, under their League of Nations mandate, attempt to maintain order in a city with a mixed Arabian and Jewish population. Thomas Wilkin, a British deputy superintendent of the Palestinian police, becomes romantically involved with Shoshana, the daughter of Ber Borochov, a co-founder of the Zionist labor movement.

Cast

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7/21/2025 #TheFantasticFour:FirstSteps #Oh,Hi! #FourLettersofLove #Shoshana

NEW MOVIES: July 17-23, 2025, “Eddington,” “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” “Smurfs,” “Year of the Fox”

EDDINGTON

In May 2020, a standoff between a small-town sheriff and mayor sparks a powder keg in Eddington, New Mexico, pitting neighbor against neighbor.

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I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER

I Know What You Did Last Summer is a 1997 American slasher film directed by Jim Gillespie and written by Kevin Williamson. It stars Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr., with supporting roles played by Johnny Galecki, Bridgette Wilson, Anne Heche, and Muse Watson. The first installment in the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise, it is loosely based on the 1973 novel by Lois Duncan.[6] The film centers on four teenage friends who are stalked by a hook-wielding killer one year after covering up a car accident in which they supposedly killed a man. It also draws inspiration from the urban legend known as “the Hook“, as well as the slasher films Prom Night (1980) and The House on Sorority Row (1982).

Williamson was approached to adapt Duncan’s source novel by producer Erik Feig. Where Scream, released the previous year, contained prominent elements of satire and self-referentiality, Williamson’s script for I Know What You Did Last Summer reworked the novel’s central plot to resemble a straightforward 1980s-era slasher film.[7]

I Know What You Did Last Summer was released theatrically in the United States on October 17, 1997. It received a mixed reception from critics and was a sizeable commercial hit, grossing $125.3 million worldwide on a budget of $17 million, staying in first place at the U.S. box office for three consecutive weeks. The film was parodied in Scary Movie (2000) and is frequently referenced in popular culture, as well as being credited alongside Scream with revitalizing the slasher genre in the 1990s.[8]

A sequel followed the film, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998), in which Hewitt, Prinze Jr., and Watson reprised their roles. A straight-to-video standalone sequel, I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006), featured an entirely new cast. Following a television series adaptation released by Amazon Prime Video in 2021, a legacy sequel to the first two films is scheduled to be released by Sony Pictures on July 18, 2025.

Plot

On July 4, 1996, in Southport, North Carolina, Julie James and her friends Ray Bronson, Helen Shivers, and Barry Cox drive to the beach. On the way back, they accidentally hit a pedestrian. Julie’s friend Max passes by them on the road, and they hide their crime from him to buy themselves more time to decide what to do. Barry and Helen try to dump the body in the water, but the pedestrian wakes up and grabs Helen. Barry pushes him into the water, and the group swears never to discuss what happened.

One year later, Julie returns home from college for the summer. The friends have gone their separate ways, with none of them pursuing their dreams due to struggling with the incident. Julie receives a letter stating, “I know what you did last summer!” She and Helen take the note to Barry, who suspects Max. Julie meets Ray, who now works as a fisherman. Max is killed by a figure in a raincoat wielding a hook. That night, Barry is ambushed by the assailant stealing and driving his car.

Julie researches newspaper articles, believing that the man they ran over was a local named David Egan. Helen and Julie meet David’s sister, Missy, at her home. Missy explains that a friend of David’s named Billy Blue visited her to pay his respects. That night, the killer sneaks into Helen’s house and cuts off her hair while she sleeps.

The following morning, Julie finds Max’s corpse wearing Barry’s stolen jacket and covered in crabs in the trunk of her car. When she brings the others to see it, the body has been removed. Julie, Helen, and Barry confront Ray, who claims to have also received a letter. Julie goes back to visit Missy, while Barry and Helen participate in the 4th of July parade. Missy reveals that David allegedly committed suicide out of guilt for the death of his girlfriend, Susie Willis, in a car accident, and shows David’s suicide note. As the writing matches that of the note she received, Julie realizes it was not a suicide note but a death threat.

At the Croaker Beauty Pageant, Helen witnesses Barry being murdered on the balcony but finds no sign of the killer or Barry. The killer murders the police officer escorting her home. Helen runs to her family’s store, where the killer murders her sister Elsa. She escapes and runs toward the street, but the killer slashes her to death.

Julie finds an article mentioning Susie’s father, Ben Willis, and realizes Ben was the man they had run over a year earlier, moments after he killed David to avenge his daughter. She goes to tell Ray, but notices Ray’s boat is called Billy Blue. A fisherman knocks Ray unconscious, inviting Julie to hide on his ship. On the boat, she finds photos and articles about her and her friends, as well as pictures of Susie. The boat leaves the docks, and the fisherman is revealed to be Ben Willis, targeting them in revenge for leaving him for dead.

Ben chases Julie below deck, where she uncovers the bodies of Helen and Barry in the icebox. Ray awakens and goes to rescue Julie. He ultimately uses the rigging to sever Ben’s hand and send him overboard. He explains that he posed as David’s friend and visited Missy out of guilt. The couple reconciles, relieved not to have killed anyone after all.

One year later, Julie is in college in Boston. As she enters the shower, Julie notices the words “I still know” written in the steam on the shower door right before a dark figure crashes through it.

Cast

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SMURFS 2

The Smurfs (French: Les Schtroumpfs; Dutch: De Smurfen) is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. The Smurfs was created and introduced as a series of comic characters by the Belgian comics artist Peyo (the pen name of Pierre Culliford) in 1958, wherein they were known as Les Schtroumpfs.

There are more than 100 Smurf characters, and their names are based on adjectives that emphasize their characteristics, such as “Jokey Smurf”, who likes to play practical jokes on his fellow Smurfs. “Smurfette” was the first female Smurf to be introduced in the series. The Smurfs wear Phrygian caps, which came to represent freedom during the modern era.

The word “smurf” is the original Dutch translation of the French “schtroumpf”, which, according to Peyo, is a word he invented during a meal with fellow cartoonist André Franquin when he could not remember the word “salt.”[1][2][3]

The Smurfs franchise began as a comic and expanded into advertising, films, TV series, ice shows, video games, theme parks, and toys. By 2008, the franchise had generated $4 billion in revenue, making The Smurfs one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time.[4]

Characters

Papa Smurf is the leader of the community. Other Smurfs are generally named after their primary personality trait, for example, Brainy, Greedy, Vanity, Lazy, Clumsy, Hefty, Jokey, Dreamy, and Grouchy, or their profession, for instance, Poet, Actor, Handy, Harmony, Farmer, Clockwork, Painter, Tailor, Miner, Architect, Reporter, Timber, Barber, and Doctor Smurf, much like Disney’s Seven Dwarfs. The first female Smurf, Smurfette, was created by Gargamel to lure the other Smurfs. Papa Smurf then changed her into what we see today. The non-Smurf characters who would appear later would include their enemies: the wizard Gargamel, his cat Azrael, an ugly witch Hogatha, and Gargamel’s godfather Balthazar; and their friends: the page Johan and his young friend Peewit, and the wizard Homnibus. There are more than 100 Smurfs.[17]

Sociological discussion

In 1998, writer Marc Schmidt wrote a parody article citing the Smurfs as an example of the impact of socialism in continental European culture.[65][66] In 2011, Schmidt’s essay was scrutinized in a response essay by Kate Krake, who examined the nature of cultural theory built on textual observation and warned against creating false allegories out of texts like The Smurfs.[67]

French sociologist Antoine Buéno described Smurf society in a 2011 book as a totalitarian and racist utopia with antisemitic tones.[68][69][70] Studio Peyo head Thierry Culliford, the son of Peyo, dismissed Buéno’s accusations as “grotesque and frivolous.”[71]

References

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YEAR OF THE FOX

YEAR OF THE FOX follows Ivy, a teenager navigating Aspen’s party scene amidst her adoptive parents’ bitter divorce. As she watches her community provide cover for predatory behavior, Ivy struggles to find her path without losing herself.

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7/14/2025 #Eddington #IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer #Smurfs2 #YearoftheFox

NEW MOVIES: July 10-16, 2025, “Superman,” “Sovereign,” “Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight,” “Abraham’s Boys: A Dracula Story”

SUPERMAN

Superman is a 2025 American superhero film based on the eponymous character from DC Comics. Written and directed by James Gunn, it is the first film in the DC Universe (DCU) produced by DC Studios and the second reboot of the Superman film series. David Corenswet stars as Clark Kent / Superman alongside Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, and Isabela Merced. The film follows Superman’s journey to reconcile his alien heritage with his adoptive human family.

Development on a sequel to the DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film Man of Steel (2013) began in October 2014, with Henry Cavill set to reprise his role as Superman. Plans changed after the troubled production of Justice League (2017), and the Man of Steel sequel was no longer moving forward by May 2020. Gunn began work on a new Superman film around August 2022. In October, he became co-CEO of DC Studios with producer Peter Safran, and they began work on a new DC Universe. Gunn was revealed to be writing the film in December. The title Superman: Legacy was announced the next month, Gunn was confirmed to be directing in March 2023, and Corenswet and Brosnahan were cast that June. The subtitle was dropped by the end of February 2024, when filming began in Svalbard, Norway. Production primarily took place at Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, with additional location filming conducted in Georgia and Ohio. Filming wrapped in July. The film takes inspiration from the comic book All-Star Superman (2005–2008) by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, among others.

Superman premiered at the TCL Chinese Theater on July 7, 2025, and is scheduled to be released by Warner Bros. Pictures in the United States on July 11. It is the first film of the DCU’s Chapter One: Gods and Monsters.

Premise

The film follows Clark Kent / Superman‘s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his adoptive human family in Smallville, Kansas.[4]

Cast

Clark Kent actor David Corenswet during filming in 2024, wearing glasses and a suit while carrying a newspaper and a briefcase
Lois Lane actress Rachel Brosnahan during filming in 2024, holding an umbrella
Stars David Corenswet (left) and Rachel Brosnahan (right) filming Superman in June 2024
  • David Corenswet as Clark Kent / Superman:
    A survivor from the destroyed planet Krypton who lives on Earth as a superhero. He hides his identity at his day job, working as a journalist for the Daily Planet in Metropolis.[5][6] Director James Gunn stated that Corenswet’s Superman is approximately 25 years old, making him more established than Tom Welling’s version from the CW series Smallville (2001–2011), but younger than Henry Cavill‘s version in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU).[7] Producer Peter Safran described the film’s take on the character for the DC Universe (DCU) as “the embodiment of truth, justice, and the American way” and “kindness in a world that thinks of kindness as old-fashioned.”[8] Gunn said Clark is becoming successful as both a journalist and a superhero in the film, but new elements in his life leave him unbalanced. These include being “madly in love” with his colleague Lois Lane and making friends with other superheroes who think he is naive. The film illustrates how these elements influence Clark’s values and choices,[9] which are flawed and propel him on a personal journey. Corenswet differentiated the roles between Clark’s interactions with his parents, his job at the Daily Planet, and his role as Superman. He described Superman as a “public-facing character” who wants to present himself as calm yet authoritative. Corenswet drew inspiration for Clark from the comic book All-Star Superman (2005–2008) by Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely, as well as the posture of Christopher Reeve’s portrayal in the 1978–1987 Superman film series. He was also inspired by Clark’s voice and demeanor, as well as his brother-in-law, whom he described as the “quietest, most wonderful man,” despite his height of 6 feet 8 inches (2.03 meters) and his weight of 270 pounds. He described Clark as a “big presence” who is “desperately trying to be as small as possible and as quiet as possible.”[10] Gunn consulted DC Comics writer Tom King regarding the “suspension of disbelief” regarding other characters’ acceptance of Clark’s dual identity, which was attributed to the use of hypnotic glasses that subtly distorted his appearance. Gunn included this in the film, noting that it had “kind of been forgotten” from the comic book canon.[11]
  • Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane:
    A reporter for the Daily Planet who is a colleague of Clark [6][12] and “isn’t so sure about him” and needs to be convinced about being in a relationship with him.[9][10] Brosnahan described Lois as “fiercely intelligent” and feisty.[13] She consulted with several journalists to help her portray Lois as a modern reporter, contrasting with the character’s original comic appearances and previous screen portrayals.[14]
  • Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor:
    The CEO of LuthorCorp and the arch-nemesis of Superman,[12][15][16] hates Superman for having the power to do everything but not aligning with Luthor’s own beliefs.[17][18] Hoult described Luthor as obsessive, determined, and relentless and wanted the character to be perceived as a credible threat to Superman. He already has his end goal in sight and is motivated by a range of emotions, including a desire to be recognized for his scientific genius.[18] Hoult was inspired by Michael Rosenbaum‘s Lex Luthor in Smallville and by billionaire Steve Jobs for Luthor’s uniform, choosing to work out for the role based on the depiction of Luthor in All-Star Superman.[18][19] His son Joaquin shaved Hoult’s head in preparation for the role.[20] Gunn drew inspiration for the character from Brian Azzarello’s limited comic book series Lex Luthor: Man of Steel (2005), as well as Jerry Siegel’s portrayal of Luthor as a “reckless scientific genius” in comic books from the 1950s and 1960s.[21]
  • Edi Gathegi as Michael Holt / Mister Terrific:
    A superhero and inventor who uses a variety of high-tech gadgets to fight crime,[12][22] and is a member of the Justice Gang sponsored by Maxwell Lord.[23] Gathegi described his character as an “atheist who believes in justice”, and said Holt found meaning in “knowledge” after experiencing the death of his wife.[23]
  • Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason / Metamorpho:
    An archaeologist and superhero who can “transmute elements in his body into various forms.”[24] He becomes a member of the Justice Gang.[25]: 5:17–6:04; 8:54  Carrigan said it was refreshing to play a superhero after previously portraying the Batman villain Victor Zsasz in the television series Gotham (2014–2019). He felt that he could bring some “authenticity and truth” to the role by comparing Metamorpho’s concerns about his abilities to Carrigan’s alopecia.[26]
  • Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner / Green Lantern:
    An abrasive galactic peacekeeper in the Green Lantern Corps [22] and a Justice Gang member [23] whom Fillion described as a fearless, overconfident jerk.[27] Fillion drew inspiration for Gardner speaking his mind with no filter from Estelle Getty‘s Sophia Petrillo from the sitcom The Golden Girls (1985–1992). Fillion referred back to the character’s origin story, in which Gardner was hit by a bus and fell into a coma, which he believed “flipped the switch” for his personality, making him “off a little bit.”[28] The film retains the character’s “iconic bowl cut haircut” from the comics,[22] which Fillion insisted on having despite some discussions about changing his hairstyle.[28]
  • Isabela Merced as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl:
    A superhero with wings and various melee weapons who is a Justice Gang member. She is reincarnated from an alien, retaining her memories and past trauma with a grumpy demeanor.[29][22] Merced felt that the self-awareness and comedic aspects of the film helped Saunders “make light of [her] trauma.”[29] Merced’s short height of 5 feet 1 inch (1.55 meters) differentiates her from other DCU heroes.[22] Merced felt that her role as Anya Corazón in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film Madame Web (2024) helped prepare her to play Hawkgirl, though she did not tell the Superman filmmakers about that role in case they did not want her to play both.[30]

Additionally, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell respectively play Jonathan and Martha Kent, Clark’s adoptive human parents.[31][32] Vince and Howell studied tapes of the parents of The Howard Stern Show personality and Charred Walls of the Damned drummer Richard Christy to develop their Kansan accents in the film.[33] Wendell Pierce plays Perry White, the editor-in-chief of the Daily Planet.[34] Pierce said that White is “always grumpy” because Luthor had an affair with White’s wife and that White’s second child may be Luthor’s; Pierce said White’s “driving force” throughout the film is wanting to “get to” Luthor in light of this.[25]: 16:19–16:43 Pierce asked his friends for information on the character because he hadn’t read comic books growing up.[35] Other staff at the Daily Planet include Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, a boyish young photographer;[36] Beck Bennett as reporter Steve Lombard;[37] Mikaela Hoover as columnist Cat Grant; and Christopher McDonald as reporter Ron Troupe.[38] Sara Sampaio plays Eve Teschmacher, Luthor’s assistant and girlfriend,[39][23], while Terence Rosemore plays Luthor’s henchman Otis.[40]

Frank Grillo reprises his role as A.R.G.U.S. director Rick Flag Sr. from the animated DCU series Creature Commandos (2024–present);[41][42] María Gabriela de Faría appears as Angela Spica / The Engineer, an ally of Luthor whose abilities come from nanotechnology built into her body and has “an edge,” ahead of a planned film about the Authority, the team that she is a member of in the comics;[43][23][44] and Milly Alcock is introduced as Superman’s cousin Kara Zor-El / Supergirl ahead of her film, Supergirl (2026).[45] Gunn’s brother, Sean, appears as tech billionaire and businessman Maxwell Lord, the head of LordTech, which funds the corporate-sponsored Justice Gang.[23][29] Sean said they ignored past depictions of Lord when creating their version, including Peter Facinelli‘s portrayal in the Arrowverse series Supergirl (2015–2021) and Pedro Pascal‘s in the DCEU film Wonder Woman 1984 (2020).[46]

Grace Chan and prior Gunn collaborators Alan Tudyk, Michael Rooker, Pom Klementieff, and Gunn’s wife Jennifer Holland voice the Superman robots, who aid Superman at the Fortress of Solitude; the former three respectively voice “Twelve,” “Four”, and “Five”,[47][48][49] while Holland is uncredited.[50] Bradley Cooper and Angela Sarafyan voice Superman’s Kryptonian parents, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van, in a sequence where the Superman robots replay a recorded message as Superman recovers.[51] Stephen Blackehart appears as Sydney Happersen, one of Luthor’s assistants.[52] Michael Rosenbaum also has an undisclosed voice role.[53] Christopher Reeve’s son, ABC News correspondent Will Reeve, is set to make a cameo appearance as a news reporter.[54] Dog actor Jolene stood in for Clark’s superpowered dog Krypto, whom Gunn described as a “not-so-good-good-boy”. The character was primarily created with visual effects [55][9] and was 3D modeled after Gunn’s dog Ozu.[56]

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SOVEREIGN

Sovereign is a 2025 American action crime thriller film written and directed by Christian Swegal and starring Nick Offerman, Jacob Tremblay, Thomas Mann, Nancy Travis, Martha Plimpton, and Dennis Quaid.

Based on the events surrounding the West Memphis police shootings in 2010, the film is scheduled to be released on July 11, 2025.[2][3]

Premise

“Based on real events, the story follows a father and son (Offerman and Tremblay) who identify as Sovereign Citizens, a group of anti-government extremists, as they venture across the country and find themselves in a standoff with a chief of police (Dennis Quaid) that sets off an intense manhunt with tragic consequences.”

Cast

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DON’T LET’S GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT

Depicts 8-year-old Bobo’s life on her family’s Rhodesian farm during the Bush War’s final stages. It explores the family’s bond with Africa’s land and the war’s impact on the region and individuals through Bobo’s perspective.

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ABRAHAM’S BOYS: A DRACULA STORY

Abraham van Helsing moves his two sons to the United States in an attempt to escape their past.

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7/7/2025 #Superman #Sovereign #Don’tLet’sGoToTheDogsTonight #Abraham’sBoys:ADraculaStory

NEW MOVIES: July 3-9, 2025, “Jurassic World Rebirth,” “40 Acres,” “Kill the Jockey,” “videoheaven”

JURASSIC WORLD REBIRTH

Jurassic World Rebirth is a 2025 American science fiction thriller film directed by Gareth Edwards and written by David Koepp.[3] A standalone sequel to Jurassic World Dominion (2022), it is the fourth Jurassic World film and the seventh installment overall in the Jurassic Park franchise. The film stars Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, Jonathan Bailey, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, and Ed Skrein.

Work on the film began shortly after the release of Dominion, when executive producer Steven Spielberg recruited Koepp to help him develop a new installment in the series. Koepp previously co-wrote the original Jurassic Park film (1993) and wrote its sequel, The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997). Development of Rebirth was first reported in January 2024. Edwards was hired as director a month later, and casting commenced shortly thereafter. Principal photography occurred in Thailand, Malta, and the United Kingdom from June to September 2024.

Jurassic World Rebirth premiered on June 17, 2025, at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London and was released in the United States and Canada on July 2. The film has received mixed reviews from critics.

Premise

Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, Earth’s environment has largely proven inhospitable to the remaining populations of dinosaurs and other de-extinct prehistoric animals. The surviving creatures now reside in remote, tropical locales, reminiscent of the environments where they once flourished. Zora Bennett, a covert operative, is recruited by ParkerGenix, a pharmaceutical company, to collaborate with paleontologist Dr. Henry Loomis and team leader Duncan Kincaid on a top-secret mission.[4][5][6]

They infiltrate Ile Saint-Hubert, a forbidden island in the Atlantic Ocean, once used by InGen as a dinosaur research facility.[7] The team’s objective is to locate the three largest remaining prehistoric species from land, sea, and air. The biomaterials of these creatures hold the key to a revolutionary drug capable of saving countless human lives. Along the way, the team encounters a shipwrecked civilian family, and both groups find themselves stranded. They discover that the island is home to mutated, failed dinosaur experiments that have thrived in isolation for decades.[4][5][8] Among them is the Distortus rex, a deformed, mutant Tyrannosaurus rex with six limbs.[9]

Cast

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40 ACRES

40 Acres is a 2024 Canadian post-apocalyptic thriller written and directed by R. T. Thorne (in his feature directorial debut). The film stars Danielle Deadwyler as a matriarch of descendants of African American farmers who settled in 1875 in rural Canada after the American Civil War. They are trying to survive in a decimated future two hundred years later. It is set to be released by Mongrel Media in Canada.[2]

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 6, 2024.[3]

Cast

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KILL THE JOCKEY

Kill the Jockey (Spanish: El jockey)[1] is a 2024 sports comedy-drama thriller film co-written and directed by Luis Ortega, starring Nahuel Pérez Biscayart alongside Úrsula Corberó and Daniel Giménez Cacho.

The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Lion and the Queer Lion.[2][3] The film was selected as the Argentine entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards but was not nominated.[4]

Premise

Jockeys Abril and Remo race for a powerful mobster named Sirena until Remo accidentally kills a valuable race horse. Abril must find Remo in Buenos Aires and bring him to safety before Sirena tracks him down.[5]

Cast

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VIDEOHEAVEN

Videoheaven is a 2025 documentary film which explores the role of video stores in Hollywood cinema. It was directed by Alex Ross Perry.[1]

The film premiered at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in January 2025.

Documentary

As VHS became the dominant home video format in the early 1980s and consumer demand for new and classic films grew, the need for a space where people could rent the still-expensive-to-purchase tapes created an opening for the proliferation of the video store. While the shift from the cinema to the home had ramifications that the film industry is still contending with, it also opened new, exciting horizons for cinephiles to interact with the medium. Barriers of time collapsed, and suddenly the full scope of film history was available to fans—the ability to manipulate movies using simple tools like fast forward, rewind, and pause functions on a VCR gave movie buffs the power to engage with their favorite films in entirely new ways. The video store provided a forum to discuss these films with fellow cinephiles. Factors like these gave rise to the video store’s power as a consumer mecca and a sociocultural hub.

Drawing inspiration from the work of scholars like Daniel Herbert and filmmakers like Thom Anderson, whose seminal Los Angeles Plays Itself is a crucial progenitor, auteur filmmaker and pop culture public intellectual Alex Ross Perry’s 10-years-in-the-making essay-documentary Videoheaven is a fascinating, beautiful, absorbing exploration of the video store as a vitally important site of film culture. Mining footage from an eclectic range of sources and aided by a wryly evocative voiceover from Maya Hawke, Perry’s latest is a crucial contribution to the canon of films about film culture. —Jason Gutierrez.

Cast & Credits
Directed by

Alex Ross Perry
Producer
Andrew Adair, Jake Perlin, Daniel Herbert
Screenwriter
Alex Ross Perry
Editor
Clyde Folley

 

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7/1/2025 #JurassicWorldRebirth #40Acres #KillTheJockey #Videoheaven

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