2025 Index: An A to Z for 2025
Juror #2
Juror #2 went straight to VOD here in Australia, with no fanfare at all! What the HELL, movie world?! Does Clint Eastwood mean nothing to you?! Do Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Chris Messina, and more, mean nothing to you?! With this fact alone, does this indicate that cinemas think they couldn’t make any money off this movie, or did a misguided negotiation between studio and distributor force this movie down the cracks? Back in the day, some new movies with a big star would go “direct to DVD”, and now the newest debacle is for movies with multiple stars and recognisable directors to just appear on streaming, or become available on YouTube for $7. Crazy days. The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare sent me loopy last year when it was just THERE on Prime Video, not even bannered as an exclusive 😤 But I digress… Juror #2 is the story of Justin Kemp (Nicholas Hoult), called in for jury duty to hear a murder case involving a bludgeoned victim on a rainy night, found laid by the side of a road Justin had driven down the very same night. Justin believed he had struck a deer 🦌 And throughout this movie, Nicholas Hoult has a tough job; he mostly must act as an onlooker, appearing blank, or looking concerned, as the trial rolls on. Ultimately, I don’t feel like I get enough out of him, or more specifically, his character, and I think it’s partly because the movie wants to keep him untrustworthy, as to whether he had a drink on the night in question, and is lying, or did not. On the other hand, and with a more specified role, I thought Zoey Deutch always felt natural, and I really liked her in this. She surprised me, to the point where I feel I need to reassess her work, since she’s never been a favourite of mine. She was funny in Zombieland: Double Tap, and supremely sharpened here. Toni Collette is always a composed professional, and I think she could play anything pulled from a bag of tricks (is that a saying? It darn well should be 🤔). Whilst willfully pushing the message across, about how the justice system has an inability to work unless everyone buys in, the first half of Juror #2 can’t escape from being melodramatic more than anything else, before the impossible equation at the nub of this movie becomes clearer as the movie goes on. Do we want to see Justin go to jail for what has happened? We certainly don’t want an innocent man to be sentenced either. What really did happen on that fateful night, and how deep is Faith (Toni Collette) in her political career, to feel the pressure to do anything about it? The movie’s finale genuinely forced out of me an audibly enthusiastic “hmm!” because I had no idea how I would end a movie driven to this corner, where the answer is yucky no matter how you slice it. The ending hints that Faith has come to her conscious – that justice may be blind but not the district attorney – yet we aren’t to truly receive closure. Juror #2 succeeds in presenting a cautious conundrum, and an entertaining case as it unravels. Incidentally, folks, if you like this story, might I recommend the miniseries The Night Of I quite enjoyed, involving a similarly murky prosecution, and lawyers in doubt. 4.0
Sing Sing
🎵 Gotta Sing Sing! 🎵 That’s from The Producers, but I did have in mind that this was a musical at one point… And, anyway, it’s not 😔 However, I found myself totally engrossed in this movie for what it was, for at least the first two thirds, and time flies by. The power of Sing Sing is mostly in its premise – an intimate experience, as a troop of hardened criminals allow themselves the space to breathe through performative theatre, and we watch their detailed workshops, and rehearsals for an upcoming original play. I really wasn’t thinking throughout this time – my mind shut off, caught up in the moment – other than to recognise how totally unfathomable prison life would be, and how at least half of these prisoners mention how they miss their mothers, and that would be me too 🫂 This movie is brilliant at capturing the tranquility of personal freedom in simple things, like wearing a nice shirt, getting to drive your own car, or being able to walk the streets at night – simple things that we might take for granted, that become dreams to convicts trapped on the inside. Sing Sing suddenly feels like movie when Mike Mike (Sean Jan José) dies, and Devine G (Colman Domingo) is denied parole – the irony in which Divine G has put faith in the system and been rejected, all while Devine Eye (Clarence Maclin) would’ve stayed broken, and rugged, if not for G’s assistance, and will be soon free. After that, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see an ending that had Devine G get out of prison eventually, or if this movie should leave on a happy note. But then, of course I did, and I’m grateful that these characters, whom I quickly came to care about, got to embrace again on the outside walls. This movie seems to lean a lot on of personal stories, and warm close-ups, as our crew is nearly completely comprised of actors who are playing themselves; reformed convicts that undertook this prison program faithfully. That’s as authentic as you can get! 🙌 And on top of all this is Colman Domingo. Colman Domingo – you guys already know my thoughts on Colman Domingo, and if it wasn’t for Cillian Murphy in Oppenheimer last year, Domingo would’ve already had himself an Oscar, I believe. It’s a testament to Domingo that he sits within this special project, and is exquisite once again. Yet, I really reckon the scene stealer is Clarence Maclin, as a stilted menace we see open his heart to become a provider. I was transfixed, and I love this time of year; since not only do we usually see the best movies, but we see the best movies explore little corners of life that I may never think about otherwise, and they are touching and heartfelt through their quality. Why, last week I was in the Vatican for a conclave, and now I’m in Sing Sing for a hodgepodge comedic play 😊 As an American Beauty tragic from way back, I recognise the symbolism in the shot of a plastic bag caught in the barbed wire fence, that goes with the little sparrow sitting surrounded by barbed wire before that. Sing Sing is The Shawshank Redemption if it were spun out of shape on a playground carousel, and dusted with performance glitter. 5.0
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I lay dormant in the Today Junior realm for the better part of 2025. I only managed 30 movies, or there abouts. But don’t worry, because if I return in some meaningful way, I will update this post as necessary. It could be an exciting year ahead for me, if I have 2025 and 2026 movies to select from 🙌
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