I decided to add this to my list after watching the new The Naked Gun. I must have seen Airplane! as a child at some point and I keep coming across clips of it online but it was worthwhile for me to watch the whole thing as an adult. This is now considered one of the greatest comedies of all time and practically pioneered a genre of its own. This slapstick parody style isn’t my favorite type of comedy but I have to admit that it pulls it quite well. Particularly delightful are the sex jokes and racial humor that would never pass muster these days but don’t feel too hurtful either.

I’ve watched two of Chong Keat Aun’s films so far and loved both. This was enough to make me consider me the best Malaysian director at the moment. Unfortunately despite Mother Bhumi being a higher profile work starring international star Fan Bingbing, it counts as striking out for me. His technical skills have improved I’d admit and it’s astonishing how he is able to wring such authentic acting out of an actor who is definitely not Malaysian. But the message he conveys here is both off-putting as it sidesteps serious political issues and worrying as the director gives you the impression that he truly does believe in black magic.

This biographical documentary of the life and work of Ennio Morricone was released a year after the legendary composer’s death. I don’t know when exactly the interviews with him were filmed and I’d imagine they must have taken place over an extended period. But I can’t help but feel that Giuseppe Tornatore finished this just in time and fortunately so because this is one of best documentaries I’ve ever seen. Its scope extends well beyond Morricone’s best known film scores, it features interviews with many famous directors and fellow musicians and it raises fascinating questions about the artistic merits of music composed for films. It could be argued that this treatment is overly hagiographic but if anyone deserves so much praise, it’s surely Morricone.

The first Zootopia was a pleasant surprise but that this sequel was a far bigger success was even more surprising being the top grossing film in the US for 2025. To me this is almost the same film with the same core message, except bigger, more frenetically paced and almost painfully vibrant. The attempt to create a new source of conflict between the two leads is cringeworthy and the last minute betrayal is clunky. I don’t doubt that this is a spectacular experience for kids but it’s too shallow to be satisfying for me.

My wife insisted on watching this in the cinemas, believing that we ought to give local directors a chance. This is the directorial debut of Tham Wai Fook, who is arguably a friend of a friend, and he has apparently been wanting to turn his script into a film for over a decade. This is a clearly a passion project based on elements that are at least partially autobiographical, such as his strange obsession with circuses. Unfortunately just because someone feels strongly for something doesn’t mean that they’re capable of turning it into good art. This film is too long, too unfocused and too self-indulgent. It was so actively bad that I had difficulty watching it to the end.

We’ve seen so much of the work of Jean-Pierre Melville and Alain Delon that it would have been criminal to miss this one. Even those of a certain age who haven’t seen Le Samouraï will certainly be famliar with Delon’s iconic look here with his hat and trenchcoat. It’s a gorgeous, slick film of competence on all sides put on display. The title is pure cultural appropriation however meant only to evoke a particular mood. Similarly the plot is more style than substance and the ending is the usual unsatisfying death, Melville-style. I wouldn’t call this a particularly deep film but it sure is cool.

I only knew of this film recently when I read it being described as having Dark Souls vibes. Indeed the styling of the armor seen here, the ickiness of the monsters and the general atmosphere of this dark fantasy world seems to have been inspired by multiple video games. Unfortunately the overall look is all that we get because the budget is so low that we don’t even get any decent action scenes. I commend director Jordan Downey on executing a specific vision well but this is too small in scope and too cheaply made that it should have been a short film.