A Reel Preview: The Year in Film 2025 - Episode V

This is where the fun begins. 

 

The month of May holds Memorial Day Weekend, which is not only the start of Summer, but the start of the blockbuster season. It’s time to put the wretched months of Spring behind and embrace the lights, sound, and spectacle that only the big screen can bring. Here’s what’s coming to theatres this month: 

 

 

THUNDERBOLTS – The 36^th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is a team-up of misfits assembled to take on a dangerous mission. The ensemble cast includes Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, David Harbour, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus. 

 

 

FIGHT OR FLIGHT – Josh Hartnett continues his cinematic comeback, this time playing a mercenary on the job on a flight. 

 

 

SHADOW FORCE – In this shoot-em-up, Kerry Washington plays a former special forces op who goes on the run to protect her child. Mark Strong co-stars, and it is directed by Joe Carnahan (THE GREY). 

 

 

FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES – The horror franchise that won’t die is back for part 6, with a college student having dreams about her family’s demise. 

 

 

HURRY UP TOMORROW – This musical serves as a companion piece to Abel “The Weeknd” Testaye’s album of the same name. Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan co-star. 

 

 

LILO & STITCH – Disney continues their remake train, with another shot at their 2002 animated hit. 

 

 

MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING – Tom Cruise is back as agent Ethan Hunt in this direct sequel to DEAD RECKONING PART ONE. This eighth and rumored final installment for Cruise has returning director Christopher McQuarrie, and it co-stars Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Vanessa Kirby, Nick Offerman, Angela Bassett, and Pom Klemenetieff. 

 

 

 

KARATE KID: LEGENDS – This sixth film in the KARATE KID franchise has the original kid, Ralph Macchio, and Jackie Chan reprising their roles. It also serves as a follow-up to the now-wrapped COBRA KAI TV series. Ming-Na Wen co-stars. 

 

 

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Next month, Reel Speak previews the month of June. 

 

 

 

A Reel Opinion - STAR WARS: Revenge of the Box Office

The famed far, far away galaxy returned to cinema this weekend, and the Force was with it. STAR WARS: EPISODE III: REVENGE OF THE SITH, the third and final film in George Lucas’ Prequel Trilogy, was re-released for its upcoming 20thanniversary (May 19th), and earned a most-impressive $42.2 million at the worldwide box office. It pulled in $25.2 million domestically, helping it finish in second place for the weekend…beating out THE ACCOUNTANT 2. This is one of the top-grossing re-releases in history domestically, finishing behind the re-issue of STAR WARS ($36 million), in the 1997 Special Edition release, and THE LION KING ($30 million) in the 2011 3D release. 

 

The big numbers are seen as a victory for fans of the film. Response on social media (of all places), has been very positive, and fan reaction from seeing returning actors Hayden Christensen and Samuel L. Jackson making surprise appearances at screenings has been electric. For others, the reaction has been a surprise. Despite a healthy 79% approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, many fans still consider it to be one of the worst STAR WARS films. Reel Speak ranks it 9th out of the 11 films (more on that below), and the film generally seems to get lumped in with the other two films. But now…it came back and made big money. 

 

How is this possible? 

 

Age, and time have been kind to REVENGE OF THE SITH. Fans who were kids in 2005 are now in their late twenties and early thirties, and a return to the theatre can be a big wave of nostalgia. Older fans who grew up with the Original Trilogy (1977-1983), who may not have loved SITH in 2005, now have twenty years of maturity to look at the film in a new light; it’s possible that its better than we remembered. Also, new owners Disney have done a fair amount of “rehab” work in recent years with their new films and streaming series; filling in gaps and beefing up old storylines that now gives SITH some better consistency in the overall Saga. 

 

And let’s face it: it’s STAR WARS. A year ago, EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE pulled in a respectable $14.1 million for its 25th anniversary re-release, showing that the franchise still has a presence on the big screen. STAR WARS has proven its resilience and can endure more than any other franchise. There is no better spectacle or feeling when that big logo slams on the screen and the music starts. No better sense of awe when Darth Vader’s breathing or the hum of a lightsaber fills the auditorium. This franchise is still a cinematic force. 

 

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Read Real Speak’s ranking of the STAR WARS films HERE.

 

A Reel 20: SIN CITY

“This is blood for blood and by the gallons.” 

This month marks the 20th anniversary of SIN CITY. 

 

Directed by Robert Rodriguez, SIN CITY neo-noir crime anthology, based on Frank Miller’s comic book series of the same name. It adapted the first, third, and fourth books in Miller’s original run; The Hard Goodbye (about an ex-con hunting his lover’s killer), The Big Fat Kill (a P.I. caught in a street war), That Yellow Bastard (an aging police officer and a disfigured killer), and the intro and outro based on the short story The Customer is Always Right.

 

Shot in black-and-white with moments of color, SIN CITY was filmed mostly green-screen, with several scenes shot before any actors had been cast (they were added digitally later). Rodriguez re-created shots from the graphic novel so faithfully he shared a directing credit with series author Frank Miller. 

 

The cast was an impressive ensemble: Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Brittany Murphy, Josh Hartnett, Devon Aoki, Nick Stahl, Michael Clarke Duncan, Michael Madsen, Powers Boothe, Benicio del Toro, Carla Gugino, Rutger Hauger, Nick Offerman, Tommy Flanagan, and Elijah Wood. 

 

SIN CITY released to mostly positive reviews and opened at no. 1 at the box office. Mickey Rourke won a Saturn Award for his performance, and the film would win another Saturn for Best Action Film. A sequel would be released in 2014.

 

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SIN CITY has come to be known as one of the most unique films of this millennium. Starting with the first thing we see: the look. Its vision is unlike anything we’ve seen before or since, and stands as a loving homage to the film-noirs of old. The anthology style of storytelling gives us a reset every 20 minutes or so, but each one is engaging, fun, emotional…and even a little grotesque in a glorious kind of way. 

 

SIN CITY’s uniqueness also comes from what it represents. It arrived in April of 2005. At this time, there was no Marvel Cinematic Universe, STAR WARS had only five films, and HARRY POTTER had only three. This was an era before big-budget franchises became the want and need of audiences and studios, and SIN CITY represents a time when studios, and movie-goers, would take a chance on something new. SIN CITY may have been based on a comic that had been around a while, but it was still fresh, and is the type of film cinema could benefit from embracing again. 

"And after I pull off that miracle, maybe I'll go punch out God."

 

Val Kilmer: 1959 - 2025

Actor Val Kilmer has passed away at 65.

 

Born Val Edward Kilmer in Los Angeles in 1959, Kilmer’s acting career got off to a hot start when he became the youngest person to be accepted into the Juilliard School’s Drama Division. He headed for the stage and in 1983 made his small-screen debut in an ABC After-School Special. His big break came in 1984 when he received top billing in the spy-spoof TOP SECRET! A year later he would appear in REAL GENIUS.

 

In 1986 he landed one of his most iconic roles, as the hotshot aviator Iceman in TOP GUN, opposite Tom Cruise. He would reprise in the role in the 2022 sequel, which would be his final film role. In 1988 he would play the self-proclaimed greatest swordsman who ever lived in the Ron Howard-directed, George Lucas-produced fantasy, WILLOW. In 1991 Oliver Stone would hand him another iconic role: the role of Jim Morrison in THE DOORS.

 

In 1993 he delivered what is probably the performance of the decade as Doc Holliday in TOMBSTONE. Two years later he would have a high-profile year, appearing as Bruce Wayne/Batman in BATMAN FOREVER, and in Michael Mann’s towering crime drama, HEAT.

 

Other notable roles would include TRUE ROMANCE (1993), THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU (1996), THE GHOST AND THE DARKNESS (1996), THE SAINT (1997), THE PRINCE OF EGYPT (1998), RED PLANET (2000), THE MISSING (2003), ALEXANDER (2004), KISS KISS BANG BANG (2005), and Francis Ford Coppola’s TWIXT (2011).

 

In 2015 he was diagnosed with throat cancer which damaged his vocal chords. In 2021 the documentary film VAL, which followed his health struggles and career, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival to critical acclaim.

 

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Val Kilmer was custom-made for Hollywood stardom. With perfect good-looks, talent, and a cool name that wasn’t made-up, there was nothing else he ever could have done. He acted against names such as DeNiro, Brando, Russell, and Cruise. He worked for directors with names such as Coppola, Stone, Howard, Schumacher, and Scott. He won fights with six-shooters and swords and brought Jim Morrison back from the grave. His rapid reloading technique in the famous gunfight in HEAT would be taught to Marines and Army Rangers. He would steal the show in MAVERICK by saying one line of dialogue. That is the stuff of legend.

 

For this Blogger, there was a period in the 1990’s where my friends and I were obsessed with TOMBSTONE, and Kilmer’s stunning performance was a big part of it. His Doc Holliday was the most quotable, and his quip “I’m your huckleberry” was quoted often then and now. In WILLOW, he was the owner of one of my all-time favorite lines: “Give me a sword, I’ll win this war for you”. But perhaps the best quote surrounding him came from his co-star Tom Cruise in their emotional goodbye in MAVERICK:

 

“Thank you, Ice. For everything”. 

 

A Reel Preview: The Year in Film 2025 - Episode IV

The cinematic month of April tends to serve as a gateway to the beloved Summer Movie Season. This year April is a bit packed with some big IP, original fare, and re-releases. Here’s what’s coming to the big screen this month: 

 

 

 

THE FRIEND – Bill Murray and Naomi Watts star in this drama dealing with pet ownership and loss. Carla Gugino and Ann Dowd co-star. 

 

 

 

A MINECRAFT MOVIE – Jared Hess, director of the famed NAPOLEON DYNAMITE, directs this long-awaited adaptation of the massively popular video game, where four misfits are pulled into a fantasy world made of blocks. The cast includes Jack Black, Jason Momoa, and Danielle Brooks. 

 

 

 

THE AMATEUR – Oscar-winner Rami Malek (BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY), plays a CIA operative looking for revenge after the death of his wife. The cast includes Laurence Fishburne and Jon Bernthal. 

 

 

 

PRIDE & PREJUDICE – This 2005 adaptation of the famed novel, starring Keira Knightly, returns to the big screen in celebration of its 20^th anniversary. 

 

 

 

SINNERS – Director Ryan Coogler (BLACK PANTHER), helms this supernatural horror film with Michael B. Jordan playing dual roles; twin brothers returning home to face a great evil. Hailee Steinfeld co-stars. 

 

 

 

THE ACCOUNTANT 2 – Ben Affleck reprises his role as the non-traditional hitman in this sequel to the 2016 hit, this time looking to solve a mystery. 

 

 

 

STAR WARS: EPISODE III – REVENGE OF THE SITH – The final episode in the STAR WARS Prequel series returns to the big screen in celebration of its 20^th anniversary. 

 

 

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Next month, Reel Speak previews the first month of the 2025 Summer Movie Season.