Joey Magidson
Welcome back to my Home Movies! This week, we have a lot hitting shelves, led by the Man of Steel himself in James Gunn‘s Superman. That’s easily the top choice today, but it’s hardly the only one. The slate also includes 28 Years Later, Flow coming to the Criterion Collection (reviewed here by yours truly), and more. Read on to find out…
Joey’s Top Pick
Superman
Boy do we need this take on Superman right now. Gunn’s decision to make his version of the iconic superhero the epitome of hope and optimism is just perfect for 2025. It doesn’t hurt that he has the right guy for the job in David Corenswet. Still, Gunn is firing on all cylinders with this joyous blockbuster. My rave review here began like so:
A Superman movie is harder to pull off than it might appear at first glance. When you look back on all of the films that have featured the character, only a small amount have actually showcased Kal-El/Superman/Clark Kent in his best light. Now, it’s fair to say that “truth, justice, and the American way” is an antiquated term, but James Gunn sure knows how to feature the ideals that make this superhero one of our very best and brightest. Superman is all about hope, with a sense of joy that allows the clear political themes to go down easy. There’s a lot going on here, as this is also launching a new DC Universe theatrically, but when you get right down to it, what we have in this flick is a love for comic book characters, superheroes, and blockbuster cinema. I absolutely adored it and found it to be among the best works of 2025 so far.
Superman is a busy blockbuster, in terms of actual events and plotting, but it never feels overstuffed. A lot of that is due to Gunn and company making the themes very simple. Superman is an alien, so, yes…he’s an immigrant. He looks at Earth and sees the best in us, knowing all the while that we have a capacity for the worst, but still wants to save us anyway. That this is happening while America is literally sending people to foreign prisons is not lost on anyone, but the joy for the character allows this to still be an incredibly fun experience. Superman works as a character because of his earnestness, not in spite of it, which too few works have understood.
Also Available This Week
40 Acres
Airplane II: The Sequel (4K)
The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (Blu-ray)
The Big Bang Theory: Complete Series (TV)
Chucky: The Complete Series (TV)
Fringe: The Complete Series (TV)
The Last of Us: The Complete Second Season (TV)
M3GAN 2.0
Night of the Living Dead (4K)
The Sound of Music (4K)
Watch the Skies
Criterion Corner
The Beat That My Heart Skipped
From The Criterion Collection: “A riveting character study in the guise of a gritty underworld thriller, Jacques Audiard’s international breakthrough features an explosive performance from Romain Duris as a real-estate broker torn between the dirty dealings of his slumlord father (Niels Arestrup) and his recently rekindled love for classical piano. Can music offer salvation from a life of sin? Winner of eight César Awards, including Best Film, this bold reimagining of the New Hollywood cult classic Fingers showcases Audiard’s gift for balancing breathtaking tension with galvanic human drama.”
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Flow
From The Criterion Collection: “A thrilling tale of friendship and survival that took indie animation to ecstatic new heights of ambition and imagination, this Academy Award–winning international sensation follows a courageous cat after its home is devastated by a great flood. As the cat teams up with a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog to navigate a boat in search of dry land, the crew must rely on trust, bravery, and their wits to survive the perils of a newly aquatic planet. Working with a small team using open-source software, visionary DIY animator Gints Zilbalodis conjures a sublime sensory odyssey and a profound meditation on the fragility of the environment and the spirit of community.”
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Read My Lips
From The Criterion Collection: “Two outcasts are drawn together by crime and passion in this early tour de force from director Jacques Audiard. Carla (Emmanuelle Devos, who won a César Award for her performance) is an unappreciated, hard-of-hearing employee at a nondescript construction company. Her lonely life gets a jolt of excitement when she hires a new assistant: Paul (Vincent Cassel), an ex-con who soon enlists her (and her lip-reading ability) in a risky scheme. With visceral camera work and sound design, Audiard immerses viewers in the duo’s increasingly turbulent world, blending noir conventions with complex character development for a thriller of unique depth and emotion.”
Stay tuned for more next week…
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