Worst2First: My Most Anticipated Films of Fall 2025

-

Worst2First: 
My Most Anticipated Films of Fall 2025 

 The months of September, October and November are filled with films that run the gambit: there's Oscar-bait films, horror (since Halloween is soon approaching), as well as sequels and continuations of long-running franchises, and 2025 doesn't appear to be any different.  Here are the ten films I'm most excited to see in the fall months of 2025…













**THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS**
**RELEASE DATES SUBJECT TO CHANGE**



















#10

The Black Phone 2
October 17
The first "The Black Phone," based off a short story by Stephen King's son Joe Hill, was a surprise hit and crafted a new villain in the form of Ethan Hawke's The Grabber. Personally it wasn't one of my favorites, as I felt the whole story was a bit too simple and easily resolved, and never thought a sequel would be made. But Scott Derrickson returns to the director's chair with Hawke, Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw return for the sequel which finds Thames and McGraw's characters still under the threat of Hawke's Grabber with some more supernatural elements thrown in. I'm cautiously optimistic for this one, and hope it'll be better for me than the original.



















#9
Him
September 19
What are you willing to sacrifice to get everything you've ever wanted? That's the premise of "Him," a film centering on an up-and-coming quarterback who wants to be the best there's ever been, and studies under his idol who puts him through extremely abusive mental and physical turmoil. Marlon Wayans stars as the villainous trainer while newcomer Tyriq Withers tackles the main role in what looks like a psychological thriller filled with intriguing images and unique themes.



















#8
Now You See Me: Now You Don't
November 14
The "Now You See Me" franchise is fun and filled with dazzling magic, great heist capers, and a quartet of capable actors including Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco and Isla Fisher (who was missing in the second film). Now they return with a group of young up-and-coming magicians who combine forces to steal a queen diamond from a powerful, ruthless family crime syndicate led by Veronika Vanderberg, played by Rosamund Pike. Along with Pike, the franchise welcomes Justice Smith, Dominic Sessa and Ariana Greenblatt to the ensemble cast and looks to be just as magical as the first two.



















#7
Predator: Badlands
November 7
The "Predator" franchise has had a rough go at it, with only the first two films being critically and financially successful. The franchise was so down in the dumps that the 2022 prequel "Prey" was sent directly to Hulu, but became one of the streamers' most successful films and was critically acclaimed. Director Dan Trachtenberg returns with "Predator: Badlands" which will receive the cinematic experience it deserves. This film will be vastly different than the others because this Predator will be one kicked out of their society and join forces with a cyborg played by Elle Fanning to find the ultimate adversary and earn its right back into its clan. Like all other films, this looks to be filled with gore and violence with dazzling visuals.


















#6
Zootopia 2
November 26
The original "Zootopia" came out in 2016 and became a billion dollar hit, so it's a surprise it took almost ten years for the sequel to come out. This time around, Ginnifer Goodwin's Judy Hopps and Jason Bateman's Nick Wilde join forces to find a snake in Zootopia - the first snake seen there in forever. There's more to the story than that, as the two go undercover to track it down and probably learn some more secrets along the way and learn how to better work as a duo, and again this looks to be another smash hit for Disney, which is something it needs now more than ever.


















#5
The Smashing Machine
October 3
Could we hear the words: "Academy Award nominee Dwayne Johnson?" I never thought I'd hear that sentence, but after seeing the trailer for A24's "The Smashing Machine," I wouldn't be surprised. Johnson is almost unrecognizable as Mark Kerr, a wrestler and MMA fighter who struggles with substance abuse and his relationship with his girlfriend Dawn Staples, played by Emily Blunt, who co-starred with Johnson in "Jungle Cruise." This looks to be one of those inspiring true life stories with a fantastic lead performance that could land the former wrestler in the awards circuit.



















#4
Bugonia
October 31
Director Yorgos Lantimos is known for his unique visual storytelling with films like "The Lobster," "The Favourite," "The Killing of a Sacred Deer," "Poor Things" and "Kinds of Kindness," and is also known for working with Emma Stone in "The Favourite," "Poor Things" (which earned her her second Oscar), and "Kinds of Kindness." Now they both come together again for the sci-fi dark comedy "Bugonia," about two conspiracy theorists (including Stone's "Kinds of Kindness" co-star Jesse Plemons) who think high-powered CEO Michelle (Stone) is actually an alien. This looks every bit as insane as you'd expect from a Lanthimos project, and I can't wait to see it.



















#3
Good Boy
October 3
I'm a sucker for a good animal movie, especially dogs, since they're man's best friend. To throw it into the horror genre is icing on the cake as long as the dog survives (from what I've heard, the dog does survive, that's the time I ever spoil anything), and that's what "Good Boy" delivers. The movie is a unique spin on the ghost story subgenre as the dog is the one being haunted - or at least the only one that can see the spirits. The dog - who's actually the director's real-life dog - has to find a way to protect his owner from the malevolent spirits without being able to communicate to him, and he looks like a very good boy indeed. This is a grassroots film that was supposed to just get a limited release, but due to the insane word of mouth will now get a major release, and I'm so pumped to see it.



















#2
The Conjuring: Last Rites
September 5
To some, Ed and Lorraine Warren were expert demonologists and psychics who helped solve hundreds of supernatural cases - to others, they were the ultimate charlatans, playing their victims for suckers. No one really knows the truth, but what's undeniable is that "The Conjuring" franchise has become a billion-dollar series of films and spinoffs that threw them into the national spotlight. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson return one last time as Lorraine and Ed, who tackle the last case the Warrens ever investigated - the Smurl haunting in West Pittston, Pennsylvania. Looking to be a fitting sendoff for the franchise, "Last Rites" will probably be filled with jump scares galore, compelling performances and a scary story - everything you'd expect from this long running successful franchise.



















#1
Wicked: For Good
November 21
I never saw the Broadway play "Wicked" or really heard anything about it before seeing the film last year, and it blew me away in every sense of the word, becoming my favorite movie of 2024 and made me a believer that Ariana Grande can actually act (and was shocked when she was snubbed by the Oscars). Now we get the conclusion in "Wicked: For Good," which finds Cynthia Erivo's Elphaba continuing her fight for animal's rights as she remains on the run from the Wizard of Oz, and Grande's Glinda 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Major Theatrical Releases May 2019

-
Image
Major Theatrical Releases May 2019 After the hype that is "Avengers: Endgame," May offers a massive collection of differing types of movies, enough to entertain everyone. Here are the major theatrical releases for May 2019. **THERE WILL BE NO SPOILERS** **DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE**  The Intruder May 3 Dennis Quaid goes from starring the family-friendly "A Dog's Journey" to playing a total psycho in "The Intruder."  When a young couple purchases a home from Quaid's character Charlie, they didn't realize it came with an addition - Charlie himself, who can't seem to let his old home go.  I don't expect any twists or turns in this tale, and this looks like a film better fit for Lifetime than the big screen.  Long Shot May 3 Charlize Theron stars as Charlotte Field, the current Secretary of State and who's running for President.  Seth Rogen stars as Fred Flarsky, a...
Read more

Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare

-
Image
Peter Pan's Neverland Nightmare Starring Martin Portlock, Megan Placito, Kit Green, Peter DeSouza-Feighoney Directed by Scott Jeffrey Two years ago Winnie-the-Pooh entered the public domain, and the horror community took note and immediately put out a movie called "Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood & Honey." I went in not expecting to see anything stellar or noteworthy, but to have a bloody good time with Winnie and Piglet killing people, but what I got was a snoozefest of a movie where neither Winnie nor Piglet talked, and their costumes looked like rubber masks the director found in a Halloween store. It was lazy, dull, and stupid, and I was very disappointed. Then, last year, they put out the sequel, and my expectations were lowered even more. But then before the movie began we got a video of the director and the star talking about their passion for horror movies and ones that've inspired them, as they plan to create their own horror cinematic universe with the Winnie-the...
Read more

Better Man

-
Image
Better Man Starring Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton, Kate Mulvany Directed by Michael Gracey To be honest, I've heard of Robbie Williams but never was into his music or honestly cared to know anything about him in any capacity, but of course he would get the musical biopic treatment which meant I had to see it to find out what the buzz was about. The main driving force behind this biopic that makes it different from the others is the gimmick that Williams would be played by a CGI monkey, while everyone else would be playing humans, and it's kind of like that game where you would replace everyone in a movie with Muppets but one, which one would you keep human? Only in this case its reversed. Essentially, that's the only thing that makes this different from every other generic musical biopic out there, and while it's got some decent musical numbers, in the end, it's as formulaic as you'd expect. When he was a child (or a young monkey?), Robert Willi...
Read more