Here Are Some 2025 Films That Actually Look … Interesting?

I don’t mean to be negative, but I can’t say “good”.  Too many disappointments have happened, and too much ugliness has been unmasked in Hollywood, so that even many great movies have been tainted. As a kid, I went to the theater maybe twice yearly. Nowadays, I’m lucky to go once a year. But the tail-end of this last quarter is bringing out a few films that have at least piqued my curiosity. Mostly independent and/or foreign, no surprise there. 

The Glassworker

Pakistan’s first feature-length hand-animated film is clearly influenced by Ghibli, with richly, detailed backgrounds, a red-haired heroine, and strong anti-war themes. It looks beautiful. The story involves the son of a glassblower and the daughter of a military commander and their deep lifelong connection as war looms on the horizon. Eastern mythology is interwoven in the narrative.  The movie just arrived on streaming a few weeks ago on Apple TV+ after a nationwide release in September. 

Check out the trailer:

Waltzing With Brando

The movie hit cinemas September 19, and was released on streaming platforms two weeks ago. The film stars Billy Zane as Marlon Brando and follows Brando’s efforts to create an ecologically perfect retreat on an island in Tahiti. It premiered at the Torino Film Festival on November 30, 2024, before its North American theatrical release. Well, and Napoleon Dynamite is in it.  

Frankenstein

You can always trust to see some hauntingly beautiful imagery in any Guillermo Del Toro film, and this looks like no exception. Why they only gave it a limited theater release before dropping it on Netflix baffles me, since this might actually attract theatergoers, but whatever. Despite, Del Toro’s claims of making a faithful adaptation of the over-adapted novel, this seems to stray pretty far from the source material, but since the novel is pretty freaking boring, that suits me just fine.

Plus, Critical Drinker recommended it. 

The Carpenter’s Son

Look, I get the concerns. But I admit I am intrigued. I mean, c’mon. Nic Cage as St Joseph in a “Biblical horror? Like it wasn’t going to get on this list! I don’t even say the film will probably be good. Like The Last Temptation of Christ, this does not seem to be a film about Jesus, but an exploration of the questions he inevitably raises. Such as, what does it really mean when the power of a God whose very presence would strike you dead is essentially trapped in the body of a teenager? What does it mean? How can you reconcile it? In my opinion, you can ask as many “offensive” and yes, even “blasphemous” questions you want, so long as you actually care about the subject you’re questioning.

The film opened up this last weekend, and also stars FKA Twigs and Noah Jupe. No streaming date yet.

Altered

Altered is set for a limited theatrical release in the U.S. on November 21. On the same day, it will also be available digitally and on VOD. Most of the comments under the trailer (embedded below) are people voicing support for star Tom Felton for not being an ungrateful, backstabber. But listen to this idea: A dystopian world where the “genetically altered” are top of the social scale with normal people at the bottom? Politicians trying to divide the population by framing the normies for hate attacks against the genetically self-mutated? Are we doing this? Are we going there? Is the totalitarian leader another cheap Trump metaphor?

This film’s likely to make someone mad. I’m just curious to see who.

Fackham Hall

Fackham Hall is scheduled for theatrical release in the U.S. on December 5. It is a comedy film set in a UK manor involving family rivalries and an unlikely romance, starring actors like Tom Felton and Thomasin McKenzie. The creative team behind is a group of well-established British comedy writers known for being decidedly NOT PC. With this and the new Naked Gun, perhaps we’re finally seeing the slow death of woke prudery. Maybe someday, all things will be fair game to laugh at once more. 

Another World

I’m a huge fan of anime. The artwork, the mature themes, the beauty woven into every frame. This film is from Hong Kong, and was released there at the first of this month, but I have no idea when it’s going to get a U.S release.  Just look at these colors. What the human hand can do, which will never be replicated by any computer.

Some of these films are either on streaming or still in theaters. I was also looking forward to Mamoru Hosoda’s Scarlet, but they changed the U.S. release date from December to February. If you’ve seen any of these films or they catch your interest, feel free to discuss them in the comments 

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