Tag: Joaquin Phoenix

• Top 30 Films of 2025: A Year Defined by Risk, Reckoning, and Reinvention

  

  A personal ranking of the 30 films that defined my 2025 — shaped by risk-taking, reinvention, and moral reckoning. From intimate character studies to bold genre experiments, these are the films that lingered, challenged expectations, and revealed where cinema felt most alive this year.

  Rolando Illanes Jr.

  January 22, 2026

  2025 Movie Reviews, A24 Movies, Action, Comedy, Drama, Entertainment, Film Reviews, Franchise Revivals, Horror, Independent Film, Movie Analysis, Psychological Drama, Romantic Comedy, Sci-Fi, Superhero, Thriller, Women Directors

  2025, 2025 Films, 2025 Movies, 28 Years Later, A24, Alex Garland, Alex Russell, Alfie Williams, Amanda Seyfried, Amazon MGM Studios, Archie Madekwe, Ari Aster, Óliver Laxe, Bi Gan, Brady Corbet, Bring Her Back, Bugonia, Carson Lund, Charlie Polinger, Chase Infiniti, Chloé Zhao, Clint Bentley, Cooper Hoffman, Daniel Craig, Danny Boyle, Danny Phillippou, David Jonsson, Die My Love, Dylan O’Brien, Eddington, Eephus, Emma Stone, Eva Victor, film, Film Criticism, Film Critique, Film Recommendations, Film Review, Film Reviews, films, Focus Features, Francis Lawrence, Frankenstein (2025), Guillermo del Toro, Hamnet, Hedda, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Imogen Poots, Independent Film Company, It Was Just an Accident, Jacob Elordi, Jafar Panahi, James Sweeney, Jennifer Lawrence, Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Joachim Trier, Joaquin Phoenix, Joel Edgerton, Josh O’Connor, Josh Safdie, Kaouther Ben Hania, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Kristen Stewart, Lee Byung-hun, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lurker (2025), Lynne Ramsay, Marty Supreme, Mary Bronstein, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Phillippou, Mona Fastvold, Movie Recommendations, Movie Review, movies, MUBI, Music Box Films, Neon, Netflix, New Movie Releases 2025, Nia DaCosta, No Other Choice, One Battle After Another, Oscar Isaac, Park Chan-wook, Paul Mescal, Paul Thomas Anderson, Pedro Pascal, Ralph Fiennes, Renate Reinsve, Resurrection, Rhian Johnson, Roadside Attractions, Robert Pattinson, Rose Byrne, Ryan Coogler, Sally Hawkins, Searchlight Pictures, Sentimental Value, Sinners, Sirāt, Sony Pictures Releasing, Sorry Baby, Stellan Skarsgård, Teyana Taylor, Théodore Pellerin, The Chronology of Water, The Long Walk, The Plague, The Secret Agent, The Testament of Ann Lee, The Voice of Hind Rajab, Thessa Thompson, Timothée Chalamet, Train Dreams, Twinless, Wagner Moura, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Warner Bros. Pictures, Weapons, Yorgos Lanthimos, Zach Cregger

• The Age of Outrage: Cancel Culture, Social Media, and Cinema’s Search for Accountability

  

  This year alone has brought an assortment of films reflecting the political and social climates of both the world at large and the United States in particular. While the deeper analysis of that collective will be tabled for now, one thing has become clear: the relevancy of films capturing the essence—or at least the proximity—of…

  Rolando Illanes Jr.

  October 7, 2025

  2025 Movie Reviews, A24 Movies, Comedy, Drama, Entertainment, Film Reviews, Horror, Independent Film, Movie Analysis, Psychological Drama, Romantic Comedy, Superhero, Thriller

  2025 Films, 2025 Movies, A24, A24 Movies, After The Hunt, Alex Russell, Andrew Garfield, Archie Madekwe, Ari Aster, Ayo Edibiri, Cancel Culture, Celebrity Culture in Film, David Corenswet, Denzel Washington, Eddington, Eddington 2025, Film Analysis, Film Criticism, Film Critique, Film Recommendations, Film Review, Film Reviews, Heart Eyes Killer, Heart Eyes Movie Review, Highest 2 Lowest (2025), Independent Film, Indie Directors, Indie Film, Indie Films, James Gunn, Jeffrey Wright, Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Ruben, Julia Roberts, Luca Guadagnino, Lurker (2025), Lurker Review, Mason Gooding, Movie Analysis, Movie Recap, Movie Recommendations, Movie Review, Movie Reviews, Movie Themes, Movie Thoughts, MUBI, New Movie Releases 2025, Nicholas Hoult, Olivia Holt, Pedro Pascal, Rachel Brosnahan, Relationship Movies, Social Issues in Film, Social Media, Spike Lee, Superman 2025, Théodore Pellerin

• Unpacking the Chaos of Eddington: Ari Aster’s Pandemic-Era Provocation

  

  Release Date: July 18, 2025 (U.S.) Runtime: 2 h 28 m (148 min) Rating: R Production Companies: A24, IPR.VC, 828 Productions, Square Peg Producers: Ari Aster, Lars Knudsen (+ exec. producers Alejandro De Leon, Robert Dean, Harrison Huffman, Todd Lundbohm, Andrea Scarso) Cinematography: Darius Khondji Music / Composers: Bobby Krlic (aka The Haxan Cloak) and Daniel Pemberton Eddington (2025)…

  Rolando Illanes Jr.

  August 6, 2025

  2025 Movie Reviews, A24 Movies, Action, Comedy, Drama, Entertainment, Film Reviews, Movie Analysis, Thriller

  2020 Pandemic, 2025 Films, 2025 Movies, A24 Movies, Ari Aster, Austin Butler, Black Lives Matter, Cult Films, Dystopian Films, Eddington, Eddington 2025, Emma Stone, Film Analysis, Film Criticism, Film Critique, Film Recommendations, Film Review, Film Reviews, Joaquin Phoenix, Movie Analysis, Movie Recap, Movie Recommendations, Movie Review, Movie Reviews, Movie Themes, Movie Thoughts, New Movie Releases 2025, Pandemic Era Reflections, Pedro Pascal, Political Cinema, Satire, Social Commentary, Social Issues in Film

• Eddington Review: Ari Aster’s Dark Satire of Pandemic America

  

  Release Date: July 18, 2025 (U.S.) Runtime: 2 h 28 m (148 min) Rating: R Production Companies: A24, IPR.VC, 828 Productions, Square Peg Producers: Ari Aster, Lars Knudsen (+ exec. producers Alejandro De Leon, Robert Dean, Harrison Huffman, Todd Lundbohm, Andrea Scarso) Cinematography: Darius Khondji Music / Composers: Bobby Krlic (aka The Haxan Cloak) and Daniel Pemberton Eddington (2025)…

  Rolando Illanes Jr.

  July 18, 2025

  2025 Movie Reviews, 2025 TV Reviews, A24 Movies, Action, Comedy, Drama, Entertainment, Film Reviews, Horror, Movie Analysis, Psychological Drama, Uncategorized

  2025 Films, 2025 Movies, A24, A24 Movies, Ari Aster, Austin Butler, Eddington, Eddington 2025, Emma Stone, Film Analysis, Film Criticism, Film Critique, Film Recommendations, Film Review, Film Reviews, Horror, Horror Movies 2025, Indie Films, Joaquin Phoenix, Movie Recap, Movie Recommendations, Movie Review, Movie Reviews, Movie Thoughts, New Movie Releases 2025, Pedro Pascal