Here are some reviews of films coming out at the theater this week as well as others that may be in theaters or newly on home video.
Opening: Oct. 31, 2025
Expanding (United States)
Bugonia
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Limited (United States)
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
- Excerpt: Based on Amélie Nothomb’s autofiction The Character Of Rain, the animated film from directors Maïlys Vallade and Liane-Cho Han is both a fantastical memoir and precocious coming-of-age story that doesn’t need to venture past threenage.
Nouvelle Vague
Laura Clifford @ Reeling Reviews
- Excerpt: Those who don’t know the seven directors of the French New Wave or the movie “Breathless” may not find much to latch onto here…but for those who do, “Nouvelle Vague” is sheer delight, a breezy, playful look at Godard’s process…
Safe House
Sebastian Zavala @ Loud And Clear Reviews [Spanish]
- Excerpt: Jamie Marshall’s Safe House is a fairly predictable actioner that never manages to excite, despite including a couple of fun shootouts.
2025 Films in Theaters Now in Select Areas
After the Hunt
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Black Phone 2
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Blue Moon
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
A House of Dynamite
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Kiss of the Spider Woman
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Lurker
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Regretting You
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
The Smashing Machine
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Weapons
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
Among Neighbors
Bev Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: Poised for an Oscar nomination, “Among Neighbors” is a dramatically-propelled documentary that ticks off all the qualifications for outstanding work. That its story of suppression coincides with American government attempts to ignore or discard museum and history book accounts of slavery, Indian abuse and civil rights history, makes it all the more poignant and important for American audiences.
Ballad of a Small Player
Allen Almachar @ The MacGuffin
- Excerpt: It leaves on such an underwhelming note that we wonder if the journey was worth it.
- Excerpt: Edward Berger’s follow-up to Conclave puts Colin Farrell’s back against the wall in a garish, clichéd gambling fable.
Belén
Nuno Reis @ Antestreia [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: Contudo, o melhor foi mesmo não se focar a cem por cento no tema do aborto e dos direitos das mulheres, mas usar isso como exemplo de algo que pode acontecer a qualquer um, independentemente do género e do crime.
Chasing the Star
Panagiotis Kotzathanasis @ Asian Movie Pulse
- Excerpt: Ultimately, “Chasing the Star” feels like a project that would have worked better as a short rather than a feature. Nonetheless, its commentary and depiction of the Covid-era struggles faced by professional drivers are conveyed with clarity and sincerity.
Dream Eater
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: We need that score and those jump cuts progressing time to remember that we aren’t the first people watching what Mallory filmed. It adds a layer of artifice that forces us to realize nothing is purely objective.
Ghost Boy
Nuno Reis @ Antestreia [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: É muitas vezes apenas um plano da cara do nosso protagonista, enquanto esperamos que o audio do computador dê contexto às emoções transmitidas pelo rosto.
The Glassworker
Bev Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: Riaz has a chance of winning because he has not only produced a magnificent animation style, similar to Hayao Miyazaki, founder of Ghibli Studios, but has also written a deeply meaningful script about human nature.
Hola Frida
Bev Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: As an adult, as usual, I agree with my child critics. While the colors were bright and cheerful, the concept of the inner voice instructive and encouraging, and the idea of death, depicted by a dark-looking queen that they both understood, was engaging; a more Ghibli Studios-style realism in the animation and a tightened-up script would have helped.
Hot Milk
Nuno Reis @ Antestreia [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: Não forma um conjunto coeso, mas dá vários toques certeiros na direção certa. E o final é bem poderoso pois também Sofia se foi informando e capacitando como indivíduo para tomar decisões dolorosas.
John Lewis – Good Trouble
Bev Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: Dawn Porter, the director of this documentary, and Julie Zann, the writer, have created a cinematic quilt of beauty on the life on Lewis. They didn’t go chronologically, but sewed together blocks that create a design, as if it were a real quilt, that spells hope.
July 36: State vs. People
Panagiotis Kotzathanasis @ Asian Movie Pulse
- Excerpt: “July 36: State vs. People” stands as a vital act of resistance, both cinematic and civic. By reclaiming history from state propaganda and amplifying the voices of those who dared to speak, Soumitra Dastidar captures a moment of reckoning for a nation fighting to redefine its destiny.
Koln 75
Bev Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: “Koln 75” is a film that is a work of art. Ido Fluk, a musician himself, has created an improvisational piece worthy of inclusion in film study courses through time.
The Man Who Saves the World?
Dennis Schwartz @ dennisschwartzreviews
- Excerpt: Appeals to peaceniks.
The Mastermind
Sebastian Zavala @ Cinencuentro.com [Spanish]
- Excerpt: While not as satisfying as something like First Cow, it still has its delights. Just don’t expect anything conventional from ‘The Mastermind’; Reichardt does what she wants here, which will amuse some but frustrate others.
Mistress Dispeller
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: It’s a testament to Lo for going into the film with an awareness of the ethical tightrope she’d need to walk and Wang’s professionalism and empathy to treat each piece of her clients’ puzzles with the care necessary to never exploit their intimacy.
Monsters Within
Bev Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: What does the open-fanged monster, the American flag, vigilante justice, and his handicapped sister tell us? That there are times when everything that the American flag stands for, like liberty and justice, must allow for individual vengeance? “Monsters Within” has layers of meaning and the audience may participate in figuring it all out.
My Dear Theo
Bev Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: Kovalenko’s film plays more like a poem than a documentary. It is not going to teach us about Ukrainian tactics or show us battles. We aren’t going to learn why Russia has invaded or the backstory of Ukraine’s conflict. But it is does reveal Ukrainian courage and heart.
A Sámi Wedding
Bev Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: Matters of shame, not only of class but of experience (like rape), sexual orientation, and race, that threaten the traditional precepts of Sami culture, are exquisitely dramatized with guilt-drenched confessions and accusations.
Sisters of Ukraine
Bev Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: This is not a political or historical film on why the Russian invasion of Ukraine developed, or a partisan political call about what to do now. Instead, it is a gorgeously-produced film about the bright light of human goodness amidst evil.
Soul of a Nation
Bev Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: Here’s the truth. Israel is too complicated, too complex, too filled with passion and zealotry over what each person thinks is right to ever define its soul. The presentation of the opposing Palestinian side in Israeli politics was too vague and shallow. Until a filmmaker can show us both sides with honesty, equanimity, and truth, [and I frankly ask, “Is that possible?”] we cannot know Israel’s soul and are left unsatisfied.
Tenement
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: But finding your footing within the present chaos doesn’t automatically add clarity to the whys or hows of what’s going on. So, don’t expect any answers here. This is purely about experience.
There Was, There Was Not
Bev Questad @ itsjustmovies.com
- Excerpt: “There Was, There Was Not” is a remarkable documentary about news that never made the news. That it started out to be a study of four modern women rebelling against a patriarchy makes it all the more fascinating when war begins.
This Too Shall Pass
Jared Mobarak @ Hey, have you seen …?
- Excerpt: It may have the same feel and soundtrack of your problematic 80s faves, but Grant’s use of a contemporary lens allows its lessons to hit with honest (albeit lucky) stakes above the nostalgia.
Unbanked
Panagiotis Kotzathanasis @ Asian Movie Pulse
- Excerpt: “Unbanked” ultimately operates as both primer and persuasion, reflecting the filmmakers’ discovery process while inviting audiences to question — or perhaps embrace — the promises of decentralization, autonomy, and financial revolution. Whether one leaves convinced or unconvinced, the documentary stands as a vivid snapshot of our digital financial era, where the line between freedom and faith has never been thinner and more precarious
The Vile
Nuno Reis @ Antestreia [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: Pode desiludir quem procura o terror convencional, mas é uma experiência de horror cultural e um grande passo para o cinema árabe se afastar das tradições e estereótipos.
White Snow
Panagiotis Kotzathanasis @ Asian Movie Pulse
- Excerpt: Despite these technical limitations, “White Snow” stands out as an excellent political drama, one that highlights the absurdity of systemic repression and rigid notions of political correctness, while also functioning as a deeply personal journey of a mother toward a state that could even be described as enlightenment.
Yanuni
Nuno Reis @ Antestreia [Portuguese]
- Excerpt: Mas é urgente ver, reconhecer que é grave e admitir que temos um problema ímpar em mãos.
2024 Films
Nosferatu
For member reviews of this film, follow this link
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