As I do every year, I track the movies I've watched. I don't log what I didn't finish and I don't keep multiple watches in the shared list (so a few rewatches were struck!)
It was a good movie year, started and ended with some good 'uns. Let's go with the list after the break...
Operation Mad Ball -- the first movie, which, as per tradition, is a classic film from between 1930 and 1969. This 1957 comedy has Jack Lemmon, Ernie Kovacs, Mickey Rooney, and Kathryn Grant, among others. IMDb tells me it was the first film appearance of Mary (Tyler) Moore, to boot. I'd never even heard of it before I went searching for my traditional classic. Found it on Tubi.
Empire Records -- still love the soundtrack.
Brave -- I love the sound of Kelly MacDonald's voice.
Star Trek: Section 31 -- The irony is this movie would've been the same if you'd scrubbed anything Star Trek related from it... which is both a strength and a weakness. Still, a friend worked in the trenches behind the scenes, so I gave it a go.
Amistad
Murder at 1600
Captain America: Brave New World -- I'm going to say this: the cast deserved better. That it was watchable at all speaks to the charisma of Anthony Mackie, but overall... it just didn't click more than it did, and it was a shame. I didn't hate it by any means, but I expected more, and these actors could've delivered more. Also? I didn't love that it was so much a Hulk sequel, but I did get a kick out of the old Daredevil vs. the Hulk vibe it borrowed from the comics.
Drop Zone
Gladiator II -- This was... it was a mess.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Star Wars -- For a weekend or so, someone put a channel up on Roku that was FULLY pirated 70s classics; including the original cut of Star Wars. Han shot first and everything. While I don't agree with every change Lucas made over the years to the film, most of them don't bother me and, after rewatching the original cut, I can't say I wouldn't have polished it up some as well, if it had been my movie to do so with.
Fair Game -- If this film didn't kill Cindy Crawford's acting career, it certainly gave it a serious mauling.
Black Bag -- Slow boil spy caper with an ending I honestly didn't expect.
Krull -- THE GLAIVE, Y'ALL.
A Complete Unknown -- We like Bob Dylan in MN, we just don't like him as much because he took off as soon as he could.
Raiders of the Lost Ark -- FINALLY got to see Raiders on the big screen. I was on cloud 9.
Not Just a Goof -- Fantastic documentary on the Goofy Movie; highly recommended, especially with tidbits like learning at one point Disney's top guy suggested Goofy be recast with Steve Martin's voice.
The Saint
Confess, Fletch! -- Still sorry we didn't get more Fletch out of Hamm.
SWAT
Thunderbolts* -- One of the best Marvel movie in ages. It wasn't subtle about mental illness, but it did play fair with the broad strokes of how one can be pulled through the wringer.
Deep Rising -- a prequel for a King Kong movie that never happened, but it is full of pulpy charm.
Pee Wee as Himself -- another fantastic documentary.
Say Anything...
Lilo and Stitch (2025) -- I love Lilo and Stitch, and I loved this remake. In fact, I was crying during the opening credits.
Back in Action
La Villa Bella
Nonnas
Pixels
The Big Easy -- That's... some accent Quaid had.
Indian Summer
Jaws 3 -- This might not be the worst movie I've ever seen, but they could sure touch each other without reaching far.
The Philadelphia Story
F1 -- Tech in the film aside, if you smoothed out Brad Pitt's features and traveled back in time to the mid-to-late 90s, this film wouldn't have stood out at all.
Heads of State
Jurassic World: Rebirth -- This is the either the second or third best of the sequels. Still can't hold a candle to the original, but I had a good time.
Riff Raff -- I wanted to like this so much. And there were so many good bits. But it just didn't gel as much as I'd hoped it would.
Days of Thunder
Twister
Superman -- Corenswet made me believe a man could empathize.
Vertical Limit
Fantastic Four: First Steps -- It mis-stepped a tiny bit on Reed and Johnny's characterization (I liked Reed more, Johnny less), but Vanessa Kirby's Sue was wonderful and we got an all-time great Ben Grimm onscreen.
The Naked Gun (2025) -- I was just happy to see an unapologetic comedy. And, the gasp a woman in the theater made at the Cosby joke? Perfect.
The Phoenecian Scheme -- I've enjoyed most of the Wes Anderson oeuvre, but the whimsy might have whimsied too far here.
The Ballad of Wallis Island -- Wonderfully small movie. Very sweet.
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
What's Your Number
Nobody 2
Jaws -- Saw it in the theater for the 50th... and I left 3/4 of the way in. A crowd of people were talking to the screen like it was their living room and drove EVERYONE else in the audience out. I was livid. But it was a beautiful upgrade.
The Roses -- Too dark for this lad, but I loved seeing Cumberbatch and Colman promote the flick.
Broken Arrow
Mortal Kombat -- This was the 2021 film. Dug it still.
Lake Placid
Red Heat
Commando
Delirious -- John Candy's odd fantasy film, but I always enjoy watching the master at work.
The Hunt for Red October
Universal Soldier
Sneakers -- Picked this one to watch in the wake of Redford's passing. I first experienced the movie as a novelization I read as a kid.
Metro
Patriot Games
Play Dirty
Club Paradise
Uncle Buck
John Candy: I Like Me -- This documentary brought tears to my eyes. Wonderful.
The Shark is Broken -- A recorded stage performance of the play focused on the "behind the scenes" of Jaws. Never thought I'd get a chance to see it.
Catch-22
She's Out of My League -- Still want this as the title to my biography.
Purple Violets
Predator: Badlands -- Seeing the Predator in a protagonist role, seeing a family structure... a little odd. Gave me Conan vibes.
Now You See Me, Now You Don't -- I loved the cast, I loved that Lizzy Caplan wasn't ignored, but the plot didn't hold together. The twist felt like the wrong kind of surprise.
The Running Man (2025) -- When Glen Powell gets a script that matches his presence, it's gonna be a monster hit. This one wasn't it. I think the issue was... the book (and earlier movie) inspired so much that it felt like everything we saw wasn't fresh. Not something I expected from Edgar Wright. Still had a good time, but wanted a great time.
Robin Hood -- The Disney version with the animals.
Unforgiven
Fountain of Youth -- How does Apple turn amazing casts, amazing creators, and great budgets into fantastic TV but forgettable movies?
Graffiti Bridge -- An unofficial sequel to Purple Rain. Man, this was fun to watch.
Groomsmen
The Family Plan
The Family Plan 2
White Coats -- That time Dough MacKenzie made an r-rated, Canadian version of Scrubs.
Wake Up, Dead Man! -- I was beyond happy to see this in a theater with a hip crowd.
Being Eddie
The Family McMullen -- Sequel to one of my favorite 90s movies. And it felt exactly the same.
Fitzgerald Family Christmas
The Brothers McMullen
Millers in Marriage -- After a binge of Ed Burns movies... I really got a bad taste in my mouth from this one. The characters were almost uniformly unlikeable. It was a different swing from Burns from his formula, I understand that, I respect it, but I didn't care for the results.
Troy
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues -- Watched, coincidentally, before hearing of the Reiner tragedy. Wild to think his directorial career came full circle with a sequel.
Friday Night Lights
The Shop Around the Corner -- Love some classic James Stewart.
Quicksilver -- I'd never heard of this movie; the first Kevin Bacon flick post Footloose. It was... something. I think we got a better bike messenger movie years later, with Premium Rush.
While You Were Sleeping
Quick Change
Dan in Real Life -- A movie with Dane Cook in a supporting role had no right to make me cry.
Fitzwilly -- I know Barbara Feldon didn't officially inspire the look of Scooby Doo's Velma, but if you watched this movie, you'd be suspicious.
The Downhill Racer
Song Sung Blue -- Schmaltzy and sappy; exactly what I was in the mood for. Great performances, made me cry, enjoyed it very much. (And it turned me on to the documentary that inspired the dramatization; an amazing underdog story with a bittersweet ending that made me cry even more.)