Kpop Demon Hunters (2025)

IMDb plot summary: A world-renowned K-Pop girl group balance their lives in the spotlight with their secret identities as demon hunters.

Directed by Chris Appelhans and Maggie Kang. Stars Arden Cho, May Hong, and Ji-young Yoo.

Kpop Demon Hunters is an animated film about a mega-popular girl group who are secretly using the power of music to ward off demons. But one day, a rival boy band, made up of demons masquerading as humans, comes to challenge their spot... and one of them discovers some of their secrets. This was a huge hit this year, and I totally get why -- this is a good movie! Of course, the music is the biggest draw here, and it works. These are great, catchy songs (although the one nominated for the Oscar was by far the least interesting one in here). But there's a lot of entertaining fantasy metaphor going on in this story as well, and a great coming-of-age story. I do read and watch enough YA that I see a lot of similarities to other fantasy trauma metaphors in recent years, so it doesn't feel new enough to blow me away, but the music helps keep it fresh for sure. Overall simple but likeable, with some very fun music.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 KPop Demon Hunters (2025)

📊 Ranked #1090/4198 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 74

beat Happythankyoumoreplease (#2098 → #2099)

lost to Steven Universe: The Movie (held at #1039)

beat The United States vs. Billie Holiday (#1564 → #1565)

beat Punch-Drunk Love (#1302 → #1303)

beat The Woodsman (#1169 → #1170)

beat Australia (#1104 → #1105)

lost to Point Break (held at #1071)

lost to Joyeux Noel (held at #1088)

beat Barbie (#1096 → #1097)

beat H.M.S. Defiant (#1092 → #1093)

beat Pariah (#1090 → #1091)

Impromptu (1991)

IMDb plot summary: In 1830s France, pianist/composer Frédéric Chopin is pursued romantically by the determined, individualistic woman who uses the name George Sandsn.

Directed by James Lapine. Stars Judy Davis, Hugh Grant, and Mandy Patinkin.

Impromptu is a period piece primarily centering around the romance between composer Frederic Chopin and writer George Sand. Sometimes I'm very much down for a good period romance, but this one is really a slog. Hugh Grant is a year or two off from really hitting it big as Hollywood's leading man, and he's awkwardly dull and lifeless here. I really want to like Judy Davis as Sand, but her neediness makes the romance so uninteresting. The ups and downs of the different characters start feeling tedious far too early in the film, and it never gets better. There's just not a lot to remember or appreciate about this one, sadly.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 Impromptu (1991)

📊 Ranked #3814/4197 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 9

lost to Happythankyoumoreplease (held at #2098)

lost to Sliding Doors (held at #3151)

lost to Father Brown (held at #3676)

beat Little Miss Marker (#3935 → #3936)

lost to The Battle of Algiers (held at #3805)

beat Mannequin (#3870 → #3871)

beat It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (#3837 → #3838)

beat The Host (#3821 → #3822)

lost to The Haunting (held at #3813)

beat Raid on Rommel (#3817 → #3818)

beat The Christmas That Almost Wasn't (#3815 → #3816)

It Was Just an Accident (2025)

IMDb plot summary: An unassuming mechanic is reminded of his time in an Iranian prison when he encounters a man he suspects to be his sadistic jailhouse captor. Panicked, he rounds up a few of his fellow ex-prisoners to confirm the man's identity.

Directed by Jafar Panahi. Stars Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, and Ebrahim Azizi.

It Was Just an Accident is an Iranian film about a group of former political prisoners who, years later, discover the man who they believe they recognize as their cruelest captor, and the group must decide what to do with him. I really wish this had gotten more attention around the Oscar season, because I think this is a seriously great movie. It does such a beautiful job of highlighting all these different characters and how they have processed and continued to process their past trauma, and what it has led to them being as humans. These acting performances are so compelling, and it truly feels at times like just watching a group of actual people work through a serious dilemma, with all the panic and anger that comes along with it. Without giving anything away, I was also really pulled in by the ending, which allowed for just enough resolution for it to feel meaningful without undercutting how impossible the whole situation was. It's a good movie that is easily my pick for best foreign film this Oscar season.

How it entered my Flickchart:

🎥 It Was Just an Accident (2025)

📊 Ranked #908/4196 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 78

beat How I Live Now (#2095 → #2096)

beat Fever Pitch (#1039 → #1040)

lost to All Quiet on the Western Front (held at #518)

lost to True Lies (held at #778)

lost to Support Your Local Sheriff! (held at #907)

beat American Dreamz (#972 → #973)

beat Misery (#939 → #940)

beat Sansho the Bailiff (#923 → #924)

beat Ghost Town (#915 → #916)

beat Easy A (#911 → #912)

beat The Graduate (#909 → #910)

The Oxford Murders (2008)

IMDb plot summary: At Oxford University, a professor and a grad student work together to try to stop a potential series of murders seemingly linked by mathematical symbols.

Directed by Álex de la Iglesia. Stars Elijah Wood, John Hurt, and Leonor Watling.

The Oxford Murders stars Elijah Wood as an American graduate student who comes to Oxford to try and study with a particular professor. To his disappointment, the professor refuses to work with him, but then the two become entangled in a serial murder case when the first victim is a mutual friend. Oh, this one is a mess. It's one of those fairly obnoxious mysteries that things it's being much, much cleverer than it is, when really it just feels pretentious. On top of that there are weird small dialogue issues, like the fact that they cast Elijah Wood as this character and yet everything he says is very British, in very British dialect. I don't know if that was an initial issue with the script, or if they didn't intend to cast an American at the beginning and then never adjusted the script afterward, but it's jarring and immediately sets the tone that this is going to be a movie that does not care with its text. That continues on for the rest of the movie, with really clunky exposition and really underwhelming twists and turns throughout the mystery, all culminating in an ending that doesn't work. Not a lot that I liked about this one.

🎥 The Oxford Murders (2008)

📊 Ranked #3686/4195 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 12

lost to The Lair of the White Worm (held at #2094)

lost to Two for the Money (held at #3147)

lost to Bus Stop (held at #3674)

beat Little Miss Marker (#3933 → #3934)

beat The Battle of Algiers (#3803 → #3804)

beat Epic (#3738 → #3739)

beat Baby Mama (#3706 → #3707)

beat For Love of the Game (#3690 → #3691)

lost to Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland (held at #3682)

beat Bohemian Rhapsody (#3686 → #3687)

lost to Holy Ghost People (held at #3684)

Becoming Led Zeppelin (2024)

IMDb plot summary: The film traces the journeys of the four members of the Stairway To Heaven rockers through the music scene of the 1960s and their meeting in the summer of 1968, culminating in 1970.

Directed by Bernard MacMahon.

Becoming Led Zeppelin is a documentary about the forming of Led Zeppelin, primarily centering around interviews with the living members of the band, more so than those in their circle or influenced by them. Watching documentaries about bands I have no connection to is always kind of an interesting task. My primary litmus test is whether it made me want to listen to their music more, and, for this one, it mostly didn't. What it did do was give me a fondness for the nerdery of the band members. They seem much less like hugely successful musicians and more like college besties just enjoying how much fun music is. It does turn out that everything that they love most about music is not what draws me to music. They're talking about all these amazing guitar choices and drum choices and rhythm choices and while I really love hearing them talk about something that they are so passionate about, I'm a lyrics person and a melody person. I do appreciate this extra understanding of what it is that makes this band special. It just also highlights for me that this is not going to be a band that is going to be my favorite. But if you want to hear people just nerd out about music theory for like 2 hours, this is a surprisingly fun watch, and definitely a different take from many music documentaries that focus so heavily on the stress of the celebrity life.

🎥 Becoming Led Zeppelin (2025)

📊 Ranked #2438/4194 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 42

lost to The Score (held at #2093)

beat Two for the Money (#3146 → #3147)

beat Skylark (#2618 → #2619)

lost to A Silent Voice: The Movie (held at #2354)

beat Smokin' Aces (#2486 → #2487)

lost to The Keep (held at #2418)

beat My Girl (#2453 → #2454)

lost to Hellboy (held at #2437)

beat The Rescuers (#2445 → #2446)

beat Power (#2441 → #2442)

beat Elle (#2439 → #2440)

Shine (1996)

IMDb plot summary: David Helfgott, a gifted pianist, struggles through childhood adolescence as his strict father abuses him and his siblings. Years later, he suffers a mental breakdown but manages to return as a legend.

Directed by Scott Hicks. Stars Geoffrey Rush, Armin Mueller-Stahl, and Justin Braine.

Shine is an Australian biopic starring Geoffrey Rush as David Helfgott, a talented child prodigy at piano who suffered a mental breakdown and spent much of his adult life in an institution. We follow his short-lived success, his years dealing with his mental health, and his journey toward healing and building new relationships. I watched this film as part of my 1996 project, where I'm trying to reach 100 movies seen from this year. This one got several Oscar nominations, and I can't say most of them are deserved. Geoffrey Rush's performance is the main reason to watch this, as his performance feels emotionally connected enough to keep it from being caricature. but as a film, it works a little too hard to weave together this clear simple narrative of the overly demanding father driving him to the breakdown, and it just feels like a bit of a stretch. If you'd like to see a really good performance by Rush, this is the movie for you, but if you're looking for a great movie overall, this isn't my recommendation.

🎥 Shine (1996)

📊 Ranked #1879/4193 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 55

beat Happythankyoumoreplease (#2096 → #2097)

lost to The Other Boleyn Girl (held at #1037)

lost to Ping Pong Playa (held at #1562)

lost to Swiss Army Man (held at #1833)

beat Malcolm & Marie (#1964 → #1965)

beat My Date with Drew (#1898 → #1899)

lost to The Three Musketeers (held at #1866)

beat The Wedding Singer (#1882 → #1883)

lost to White Heat (held at #1874)

lost to You've Got Mail (held at #1878)

beat Bowling for Columbine (#1880 → #1881)

Snack Shack (2024)

IMDb plot summary: Nebraska City, 1991, two best friends get the chance to run the swimming pool snack shack, that later comes to be the perfect scenario for transgression, fun, personal discovery and romance.

Directed by Adam Rehmeier. Stars Conor Sherry, Gabriel LaBelle, and Mika Abdalla.

Snack Shack follows two eighth grade boys looking to make some money and have an adventure in their last summer before high school. They decide to bid to run the pool's snack shop over the summer, and as they turn it into a very successful venture, they also start running into some hiccups along the way that threaten to dismantle their friendship. There's a lot to like about this raunchy, goofy coming-of-age movie. These characters are frequently obnoxious, but there's something delightful about watching them jump headlong into any idea that takes their fancy. There is a gleeful zaniness to this whole film, and while sometimes that zany tone feels like a bit much, especially in comparison to the more somber third act, overall it’s a pretty fun ride and I had a good time with it.

🎥 Snack Shack (2024)

📊 Ranked #1262/4192 on my Flickchart

🎯 Flickscore™: 70

beat Happythankyoumoreplease (#2095 → #2096)

lost to Heathers: The Musical (held at #1036)

beat Ping Pong Playa (#1561 → #1562)

beat Army of Shadows (#1299 → #1300)

lost to A Chorus Line (held at #1166)

lost to Cheaper by the Dozen (held at #1230)

beat Who Framed Roger Rabbit (#1265 → #1266)

lost to Airheads (held at #1249)

lost to It (held at #1257)

lost to High Strung (held at #1261)

beat Cool Runnings (#1263 → #1264)