Movies, a wonderful pastime for people all throughout the world, of all ages, groups, and whatnot. I could go on a whole spiel about why they’re so wonderful. And throughout the year, there’s one stretch where we the audience tend to get many blockbusters to enjoy, that being the wonderful time of summer. 2025, like many years, had its fair share of summer films. In this issue, I’d like to discuss some of them (all the ones I watched) and give my quick thoughts, focusing on the months of June, July, and August, while trying my best to remain mostly spoiler free.  

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina 

     Released on June 6th, Ballerina is the latest installment in the John Wick franchise, taking place during the gap between the 3rd and 4th film. It follows Eve Macarro, played by Ana de Armas, a ballerina and assassin for the Ruska Roma Crime Syndicate, previously appearing in John Wick 3 and 4. While on a mission, she is attacked by and kills a member of a cult, which she recognizes as the same one that killed her father many years ago. This ignites her to go on a crusade to track down and kill the leader of the cult, while also trying to save a young girl kidnapped by the cult. The film grossed $137.2 million worldwide and received generally positive critical response.  

     Overall, I’d agree with the critics on this one. While the movie wasn’t spectacular, and in a franchise ranking it would probably be put at the bottom for me, it’s certainly not bad by any metric. With a simple plot, the main focus of the movie is really the action, which, being a part of this franchise, is phenomenal. While still having some of that John Wick flair, the action is not treated the same as in the other movies. Eve is not John, and the filmmakers know it. Because of this, her fight scenes are so much rawer and harsher, with Eve having to struggle and use her cleverness and improvised weapons to take down her foes, most of which are more physically imposing than her. The color work in the movie is amazing, filled with bright and fun colors that awe the viewer without distracting them from the rest of the movie. Plus, John Wick does make an appearance in the movie, so that’s fun, and features Norman Reedus in a minor role, and I for one really like Norman Reedus. In a rating from 1-10, I’d give it a solid 5.5 (which I promise is good by my metric) and would recommend. 

28 Years Later 

     Now, let me start this off by saying I had been anticipating this since it was announced, and the trailer (which may be the best trailer I’ve seen in the last few years and was spectacular) made me even more excited. Released on June 20th (18 years since the last movie in the franchise), 28 Years Later stars Alfie Williams as Spike, a 12-year-old boy living on an island off the coast of England, 28 years into the zombie apocalypse. While his island community is protected from the zombies, members must still go out to the mainland for supplies and face the undead horrors that await them there. The film follows Spike as he takes his sick mother to the mainland to take her to a doctor, played by Ralph Fiennes, in hopes of curing her. It grossed $151.2 million worldwide and received praise from critics. 

     Once again, my opinion lies with the critics. This movie is absolutely beautiful, both in story and visuals. The film is stunning visually, probably the most stunning film of the year. The plot is incredibly good, tackling a few topics, but primarily grief and acceptance. It introduces new concepts into the world of the 28 movies, like new variations of the infected. My only real issue is the tonal change of the ending, but that’s not enough to detract from my excitement for the sequel, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. I’d give this movie 7 out of 10, and a high recommendation. You don’t even need to watch the other two movies in the franchise first if you don’t want to, although you should. 

M3GAN 2.0 

     Unfortunately, our upward trend must stop, with the topic of M3GAN 2.0.  I for one really enjoyed the first movie as a fun, campy little horror comedy, and was pretty disappointed with this sequel. It’s not unprecedented for a horror movie to divert into action for the sequel and for it to work out, Alien to Aliens, The Terminator to Terminator 2: Judgement Day. But it just didn’t work out this time. Released on June 27th, the movie had a box office of $39 million worldwide, receiving mixed reviews. Starring Violet McGraw, the movie follows the return of the android M3GAN, as she teams up with the humans to take down a bigger android threat, named AMELIA. 

     The movie wasn’t outright terrible, but it wasn’t what people were looking for after the first film. Producer Jason Blum claimed that they thought “Megan was like Superman” and that they could do whatever they wanted with the character, and it would be fine. This appeared untrue, as they legitimately had to beg people to go see the movie, promising that if they made enough money, then the 3rd film would be horror again. Overall, it’s just subpar, with nothing special apart from the titular android, and a sharp contrast to the first. I’ll give it a 2.5/10 and only recommend it if you really liked the first movie. 

Superman 

     Alrighty folks, the big gun (or should I say Gunn) is here! The first movie of the James Gunn led DCU, Superman is not only a great superhero movie, but one of the best adaptations of Superman we’ve ever had. I enjoyed Man of Steel, but it was not a very good adaptation of Superman, being far too dark and broody. 2025’s Superman, on the other hand, brings the character back to being the fun symbol of hope he was always meant to be. Released July 11th and starring David Corenswet, the movie follows Superman trying to take down Lex Luthor while simultaneously dealing with the world turning on him. The movie is still in theaters, but so far has grossed $615.3 million, and received positive critical response.  

     Well, I’ve already established my opinion, but I’ll once again say that I loved this movie. For the first time in what feels like a long time, we have a comic book movie that actually feels like it’s not ashamed to be a comic book movie. It’s bright and fun, all without sacrificing its themes and tones. The casting is superb, and the chemistry between David Corenswet’s Clark Kent and Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane is out of this world. Also, Krypto makes his live action debut, something I’ve been wanting since I was a kid. I’m thrilled to see where this universe goes, and give this movie an 8 out of 10. 

The Fantastic Four: First Steps 

     Time for Marvel to throw its hat into the ring with the latest adaptation of the Fantastic Four, making their MCU debut. Starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the titular group, the movie follows the family as they try to defend both their world and the young Franklin Richards, son of Reed and Sue, from the world eating Galactus. Released on July 25th, the movie has so far grossed $519.4 million and received positive critical reviews. 

     Honestly, I don’t have any strong feelings towards this movie either way. I mean, I liked it, I thought it was enjoyable, I liked the casting (despite my initial doubts towards Pedro as Mr. Fantastic), and I did really like the retro-futuristic vibes, it reminded me of Fallout. But I don’t know, it just didn’t click with me. Maybe it’s just the nostalgia speaking, but my Fantastic Four film of choice is still the 2005 one. Still, I await to see what will be done with this group next in the MCU, and would give it a recommendation, with a 6 out of 10 rating. 

Weapons 

     Now it’s time for my second favorite movie of the year (favorite until The Long Walk came out), Weapons. Starring Julia Garner, Weapons follows an elementary school teacher in a small town. One night, all of her students, apart from one, leave their homes at the same time at night, arms outstretched, and run into the darkness. The movie was released on August 8th, and has so far grossed $262 million, receiving very positive critical reviews. 

     I absolutely loved this movie. Like I said, it was my favorite movie of the year until it had that spot snatched away by The Long Walk. Horror is my favorite genre, and I love seeing new, original horror movies still coming out. Between this and Barbarian, Zach Cregger is quickly shaping up to be a great horror director, and it’s easy to see why. This movie has some wonderful, intense scenes, and some great scares. And it doesn’t just rely on cheap jump scares like so many other horror movies (such as the Conjuring franchise), instead using well-crafted horror scenes to deliver it’s scares. On top of that, the movie is very funny at times, but it does this without ruining the horror. I could and would have loved to devote a whole article to it, because these quick reviews do not do it justice, but I cannot recommend it enough, and give it a 9 out of 10. 

The Toxic Avenger 

     Last on the docket is going to be a rapid fire one. Originally made in 2023 but not given its release until August 29th of this year, the movie is a remake of the old Troma film of the same name. It’s funny, and it’s over the top gory. It’s starring Peter Dinklage, and it’s a good time. That’s really all there is to say. If you want a serious movie, don’t watch it. If you want a fun time, go check it out. It’s so unserious I can’t even give it a proper rating. 

     Well, this has been fun, but it’s time for my farewell. I hope you all enjoyed the review, and I hope you’ll check out any of these movies if you haven’t already (except for M3GAN 2.0). Until next time.