2025 media review pt. 1
Reading Time: 10 minutes / Last modified: 2 months, 1 week ago.
I originally started writing this a few days before New Years Eve and decided to put it on hold until I published this retrospective, largely because I've consumed so much and needed the extra time to write about it all. A brief content warning, I already swear quite a bit in my posts but I think I was especially trigger happy here.
Films I watched in 2025
I've listed these by when I watched them. There were a few more, but you can help yourself to my Letterboxd
I Saw the TV Glow (6th January) I feel like I can't dissect this in the same way I would most other movies because it would probably fall under 3 stars, disjointed is probably the word I would ascribe to it. Nah, this film messed me up. Even beyond the very obvious but heartfelt representation of never escaping your body dysmorphia (which I identified with heavily anyways), the last scene took me back to a dark place in which I witnessed someone close to me, as vaguely as I can put it, lose himself entirely to his illness on both a physical and cognitive level over six months. In that moment, the credits rolled and my face melted into the arms of my love. It took maybe five minutes for me to steady my breath. We ended up watching Smiling Friends to ease the tension. In spite of the criticisms I do have for it, it's so earnest and depicts some of my greatest fears about being paralysed and still cognisant, metaphorically speaking.
Megalopolis (10th January) Doodoo ass.1
Alien (12th January) Everyone's already sucked and fucked the everloving shit out of this but you can't beat a classic. I appreciate that for the 40th anniversary 4k remaster, Sigourney Weaver got her bush back.
Stop Making Sense (31st March) Fletcher and I were cradled in each other's arms watching this. There isn't a whole lot to say, it's a concert film. This must be the place, I'm glad we discovered that song earlier in January because I think it set the tone for the rest of the year and probably the rest of our lives together. It's now our song. It's our love. David big suit pants okay.
Superman (2025) (26th July) Probably the perfect remedy to the superhero genre fatigue I've been feeling for ages. I could probably talk at length about the reason for this fatigue and why James Gunn continues to impress me. It's a simple story about how we define humanity through compassion, resilience, kindness, all while being gorgeous and funny and intense. It calls for the genre to ease up on its desire to be either embarrassingly brooding or self-aware. 2
A Minecraft Movie (31st July) Watched this on my phone on a flight out of Virginia. I could've used that time looking out the window lambasting Americans for their fixation on grid-like infrastructure. But I didn't, a Mr. Momoa told me to open my heart.
Mission Impossible (11th August) We first infiltrated the Church of Scientology in Chicago 3, then we watched Tom Cruise (actually, I can't remember which came first) but you know what? They might've been onto something, this movie had the sauce.
Bugonia (2nd November) GoDDAMN can I please just watch something where Jesse Plemons isn't a freak psycho? Whatever, he nailed it. This is another film I rank so highly and my first experience of Yorgos Lanthimos. I didn't root for Teddy, alright? He was a lunatic. I sympathised though, and I think a part of his struggle legitimately speaks to us all. Without spoiling it, I fully believe the ending worked. As vaguely as I can put it, whether Michelle was an alien or not didn't matter because, with her sanitised LinkedIn speak and separation from the lives her tax bracket ruin... She might as well be. That jar room fucked me up, though. I was rooting for Michelle to get the hell out. My one big critique is Lanthimos' use of the still shot + loud orchestral music segments. At the risk of sounding a bit dumb or media illiterate, it was obnoxious.
Punch Drunk Love This one just made me feel good. There's probably a criticism to be made about the way Emily Watson's character seems to just show up already in love with the capital-L Loser in a way that would bolster the egos of men unwilling to check themselves. I make that point but, look... Listen, it has it's place but I don't think we have to do that for this film. I may think Barry is a capital-L Loser but it is entirely within the realm of possibility for a woman to feel attracted to him and, in this film, it's delightful to watch. The scene where Barry is revealing to Lena the pudding cups hack and she is just invested is adorable.
One Battle After Another (12th November) We ended up watching this in a really nice London theatre. Plush love seats, prosecco in hand, I felt really cool sitting there watching "cinema." This was probably my movie of the year, I'm sure it would've butt heads with Sinners but I never got around to that one. My bad. Anyways, this film had some intense action and was absolutely hilarious. Benicio del Toro's swag is strong. I really liked ConnorEatsPants' Letterboxd review but I have decided that, starting and ending within this paragraph, I'm staying on my best behaviour so you'll have to look for that review yourself.
That all being said, it's not lost on me that this film is some white guy's romanticised image of anarchism to the point where people have discussed if this is a harmful representation. Did Sean Penn's character successfully absorb all the fetishization of black female empowerment into a legitimate critique of it, or did it remain an issue the film ended up perpetuating further? I don't have a lot of stake in this discussion but it was really interesting to take in both the praise and dissatisfaction towards this movie. Bearing all that in mind, I try not to put OBAA on a pedestal for its politics, it certainly leaves a lot to be desired (e.g., I found the ending "meh"), but it bore the aesthetics of grassroots change. I'd prefer that over a dozen more Zootopia's and Marvels4.
If anything, One Battle After Another did make me think about Latin American community, culture and, by extension, art. You'd be hard pressed to find good Mexican food in the UK and my exposure was limited until I met Fletcher and started travelling to Chicago. Rate this smooth segue of mine as I take you down south to Bolivia, to Los Thuthanaka's self-titled album-- yeah, we're moving onto music. I can't say it was my favourite thing, but it was fascinating and I can appreciate it for what it was; hypnotic, groovy, and fresh.
Music of 2025
Unlike the previous section, I'll be organising these in order of release because [1], I can't keep track of when I first listened to these, and [2], I didn't want there to be any concern for ranking albums. I don't do that stuff. It's messy. Like MySpace Top Friends. If I missed anything, it's because I just didn't care for it. I didn't care for 2hollis' new thing, and I was a bit late to The Hellp's new thing-- my bad! I had to be very selective in my reviews, if it appeared even in my singles/B-sides section, it means I loved it. Don't worry, I watched Vanisher.
My Top 2025 Albums/EPs
FKA Twigs - Eusexua (24th January) I don't think the year could've started any better. There's so much love for EDM poured into this, it wants you to dance but it cradles you in a loving embrace all the same. You want to close your eyes and recline into the gentle waves as a light rain pours over you, even in Drums of Death I'm hypnotised. I sometimes roll my eyes at Twig's presentation in a, "she's trying too hard to be art," kind of way but, I have to admit, a lot of that derives from my internalised sense of, "play it cool, be nonchalant." We can't be having that attitude here. In a really weird way, hear me out, this album makes me feel love for my flesh: my ears that hear, my eyes that see, my skin that feels. It is very much romance. Girl Feels Good, Room of Fools, and Keep it Hold it are probably my holy trifecta, though I was bumping the shit out of Perfect Strangers for some time and the title track was an unmatched introduction to the whole album.
Jane Remover - Revengeseekerz (4th April) Do you want to take a guess how many Jane Remover concerts I've been to this year? Two. Like Twice. Like Twice Removed... Do you want to guess how many Jane Remover concerts my darling love has been to? 4 (+1 the previous year). Bet you thought we'd say twelve gazillion. Don't worry, true JR glazers, he doesn't know much of the pre-Frailty discography, you can keep your #1 fan crowns. Whatever. Still, he went pretty feral over this release, while it took me a little bit longer to wade through the noise. Now it stands as one of my Albums of the Year. It's just outright hedonistic, the beat drop in the latter half of Experimental Skin gives me chills every time, and there is some sort of sauce in Professional Vengeance that just gets me emotional, it feels like the end credits to a movie. The missus could probably verbalise all the hype that this album evokes miles better than I ever could, so you can imagine I've been harassing him day in and day out to start a blog. And now we wait.
PinkPantheress - Fancy That (9th May) AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HOLY FU-- fuck-- FUCK!!!... Home is where the 2-step is. I may need to make a shrine. Okay? I don't even know where to begin, I get nervous! I'm sure some music men have criticisms or the whole, "it's okay but it isn't doing much," spiel. Just let me have this moment. Let this be my Album of the Year. We share a name and we share a citizenship in this place with such a vibrant Dance scene. Clocking Basement Jaxx in Girl Like Me made me spiritually bark the shit out of my hypothetical dawg snout. Pink has had no misses with this, Heaven Knows, To Hell With It, and her singles. Beautiful. We're done here.5
Ninajirachi - I Love My Computer (8th August) What else is there to say really? This is a love letter to the computer. You and I, we were raised by the internet. We've seen so much beauty and mania and horror, all in hundreds of terabytes of cultural information. This album perfectly chronicles that relationship. Infohazard is deeply vulnerable and I've got the e-yeah-e-yeah-e-yeah from All I Am stuck in my head. I very rarely have the opportunity to go to many concerts/shows/raves/sets, but this album was perfectly enjoyable sitting with my journals and my partner in the living room midday. You can tell Nina is a DJ first with the way each song seamlessly flows into each other. Totally wouldn't pass on the opportunity to see her live should it present itself, I need to feel the bass drop of Fuck My Computer through my toes.
Danny Brown - Stardust (7th November) One of my favourite songs from Gorillaz' Humanz was Submission featuring this guy, though I didn't pay much mind to him until Scaring the Hoes with JPEGMAFIA, which was my #1 album of 2023. You either love his voice or you hate it, and I love it. In the case of this album, the focus falls more on the artists he's brought on board, to which he's curated something really special that I might just have to reserve a separate blog post for. For now, I would shine a line on the atmospheric DnB 8 minute epic that is The End (Zheani has a relatively small presence in this track but I loved her album the Spiritual Meat Grinder from a few years ago), and Copycat featuring Underscores which is just crack for my ears right now - Underscores gives me the biggest gender envy in her androgynous tone. He and Quadeca remain a top tier pairing, and the album released during my brief revisit to house music (almost all my commutes were Molchakk after listening to Fancy Some More) so Lift You Up was top for me. Jane also makes an appearance albeit as just a producer in All4U.
Honourable Mentions
Addison Rae - Addison (6th June) I don't care about the TikTok/Musical.ly dancer to popstar pipeline, Aquamarine tickled me silly. I feel like I would've adored this album if I was the Lana Del Rey, ethereal femme type. Regrettably, I am not. Still, each song manages to stand on its own as well as coalesce into an album with a strong sonic identity.
ADÉLA - The Provocateur (22nd August) I didn't keep up with Dream Academy because I'm not a reality/survival show person. Therefore, I missed out on the context behind Adéla's elimination. The sentiment people have that she shines best solo is one I absolutely agree with though, as she cements herself as an electropop powerhouse of the 2020s. I'm really excited for her.
JADE - That's Showbiz Baby! (12th September) Watch JADE's full album movie. It's an instant classic with very few skips, if any. Before You Break My Heart was my favourite. There aren't any big Dariacore/EDM/Industrial beats, just gorgeous vocals and heartfelt lyrics, all over some timeless pop. Sometimes, that's all you need.
The Deep - KPOP B!TCH (3rd December) A lot of people say this is 2nd gen K-pop risen from the ashes, which is true(!), but it immediately brought me back to 2010s Western recession pop as well. Lucky Star almost made me cry just by virtue of how it perfectly captured that sound. Who's That Chick type beat.
Jane Remover - ♡ (5th December) I was bumping How to Teleport and Magic I Want You so bad earlier in the year, and the former is one I didn't see a lot of hype for even though it still stands as one of my favourite singles of theirs. Even in this EP, as the drop in So What takes my whole spirit in the palm of its hands and lobs it at the moon knowing the heat of the sun will set it ablaze, the extended version of How To Teleport is a lethal aphrodisiac. Summons the hips to step forward and tell nothing but truths! Copious amounts of truths!6
Honourable Singles/B-Sides
January f5ve - UFO Dorian Electra and Count Baldor Remix
February Oklou - Blade Bird
March LE SSERAFIM - So Cynical (Badum), NMIXX - Know About Me
May i-dle - Girlfriend, yeule - Evangelic Girl is a Gun
June Little Simz - Lotus, Zara Larsson - Midnight Sun, ILLIT - 빌려온 고양이 (Do the Dance), Underscores - Music, KATSEYE - M.I.A, Kevin Abstract - NOLA
July TWICE - FOUR, FKA Twigs - Perfectly, Jim Legxacy - '06 Wayne Rooney, Tyler the Creator - Ring Ring Ring, Quadeca - That's Why
August Yeat - Fly Nitë, Mochakk - Legumes, Yves - White Cat
September Chaeyoung - Ribbons, Cowgirl Clue - Hearts that Run
October Pinkpantheress - Nice to Know You with Sugababes, Lily Allen - Pussy Palace
November FKA Twigs - Hard
Holy yap! I'm going to split this blog into two parts for my own sanity. In part two, I'm going over Videogames, my favourite creatives and their works, and anything else I come up with as I write it. Hopefully I'll be able to get that one out before the end of this month. I know I should be over 2025 by now but I also think the idea of a "deadline" for these things is totally arbitrary. This is my blog, I move at my own pace. I'm not done talking about 2025, 2025 had some heat! Flames! Fire! See you next post! And, if you haven't already, check out my first weekly digest, I'm trying to do a thing.
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Footnotes
There's a running bit in my relationship where I am critical of dumb things and Fletcher really likes said dumb things. This doesn't apply to everything, of course. We just get along too well and agree on too many things (ah! Buttery lobster!), so sometimes we've just gotta just play Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh for a bit. It's fun. Erotic even (not really). In this case, it has been an amusing year of calling it a shit, three hour meat grinder for my brain when, in actuality, it was a shit film I just so happened to enjoy.↩
I don't want this comment to come across as pretentious or bias against dumb-fun. I love bits! I adore Naked Gun (1988), I adore Stephen Chow and I, regrettably, adore Jackass. I think it's just a lot harder to give Marvel a pass with their Marvel-isms when you can't shake the eternal presence of the big Disney elephant in the movie room. That and I feel like there is an oversaturation of "superhero satires" like The Boys, Deadpool or Invincible. Almost like being a cheesy and wholesome hero is lame or unrealistic, I can tell whoever digs the edgy hero stuff is a, "I'm not a pessimist, I'm a realist," kinda guy (douchebag). Maybe I'm blowing this phenomenon out of proportion. I hear Dispatch is class.↩
This was a hoot, remind me to tell the story sometime.↩
Marvel has now caught two strays in this blog post and I remain wilfully ignorant to that fact. I liked Iron Man and the early Captain America films. My interest ends there. Taika Waititi almost had me with Ragnarok but that was like... the succulent meat between two poop slices (the first Thor film sucked and people aren't too sweet on Love and Thunder, apparently).↩
Not done actually 'cause fuck you. I've calmed down about this album and I'm sure the objective brain in me wants to rank Love My Computer, Eusexua, or Revengeseekerz above this. Still, its sentimental value to me can't be understated. For that reason, I haven't edited that review since I first wrote it. It's historical, chronicles my Pink-mania. I'm also particularly hyped for the Stateside remix MV to release tomorrow.↩
I was debating calling this EP the twerkulator, because that's how I described Caprisongs to Fletcher the other day. However, I opted not to, because then my hips would be lying. If I twerk, the white blood in my veins will activate their defence mechanisms and I will start liking Coleslaw.↩