 Warner Bros. Pictures, 2025. Horror films rarely resonate as award-worthy movies...not to mention how rare it is to see any Spring release at all turn up on a "Best of" list come year-end. That's what makes "Sinners" such a rarity. Not only is it one of the best mainstream horror films in years, it's already one of the year's best films. In fact, I can't think of a scenario where it wouldn't be on my personal "Best Movies of 2025" list.
It's well-made, well-acted and features one of the most kick-ass scores - and scenes - you'll ever witness. While the plot, characters and devices aren't wholly original, it's mashed together with such conviction that it feels wholly original. And it's not easy for a movie to work simultaneously on many different levels, but "Sinners" does. It can be enjoyed by horror enthusiasts, as popcorn entertainment or as a good date night out. But its complex themes can also be dissected by film critics and historians, made in a way where multiple viewings might be required to pick up on every nuance or metaphor. Make no mistake, "Sinners" is bold and bloody, and bound to bring comparisons to Robert Rodriguez's "From Dusk Till Dawn" as it seems to shift midway through from intriguing drama to gory vampire romp. But it's far from mindless...you'll be thinking about this one for a long time afterwards.
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 Warner Bros. Pictures, 2025. When a movie based on the popular sandbox video game "Minecraft" was announced nearly a decade ago, fans cheered. Moments later, many of them thought, "Wait...what?"
Despite it's tremendous worldwide popularity - it is in fact the #1 best-selling video game of all time, outselling even games like Super Mario Bros. and Tetris - its open-world format doesn't necessarily come with a minable (pun intended) storyline suitable for a feature film. How would a Minecraft movie even work? What would it be about? Well, now we know. And the result is that "A Minecraft Movie" isn't all bad, in that it's a complete romp that both makes fun of and honors the blocky-universe it is based on. It's silly, ridiculous and ends up being a bit better than it has any business being. Albeit, it was a very low bar...video game movies have generally been awful, and expectations were minimal. Ironically, it's the hard-core Minecraft gamer, not the casual movie-goer, that may take issue with this movie the most. In aiming it at the masses, it obviously becomes a more accessible movie, but it simultaneously risks losing the adoration of those that made it popular in the first place. |
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tom santilli movie reviews
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and
the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus.
He also is the featured film critic appearing on WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit,
and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020.
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