Warfare – Spinning Platters

What a sneaky good, but not great, movie year. 2025 was full of major blockbuster disappointments (Mickey 17, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Tron: Ares, The Running Man, Wicked For Good) and a few five-star masterpieces. But there was a plethora of three-and-a-half to four-star fare, some good and some great, that made moviegoing a memorable experience. The honorable mentions will be many this year, but here’s my ranked list of the twenty best films of 2025:

20. FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES

The sixth film in a series is rarely, if ever, as good as, if not better, than all previous installments. Bloodlines refreshed the ‘90s horror franchise in inventive new ways, killing off a plethora of death-cheaters.

19. THE NAKED GUN

Pure comedies can still be good, and still make money! The reboot of The Naked Gun had some of the funniest lines of the year, and produced the rare pleasure of joining in raucous laughter with a moviegoing audience. Continue reading “Film Feature: Chad’s Top 20 Films of 2025”

Warfare prioritizes a real-time sensory experience for maximum impact

Prepare for war. Warfare is a ninety-five minute adrenaline shot of real-time warfighting that asks the audience to experience an authentic depiction of grim combat and decide how to feel about it. Some viewers will chastise the filmmakers for not taking an explicit stance, the same complaint levied against 2024’s Civil War, yet that would be missing the point. Warfare isn’t interested in historical or political context, and unfolds almost entirely without a hint of moral grandstanding. Instead, Warfare is solely focused on the visceral hell unleashed when the bullets begin to fly. In a troubling hint at war’s futility, Warfare’s very existence seems to suggest that any shred of morality can only work backwards from the end, after it’s too late and the battle is over. Continue reading “Film Review: “Warfare””