May was a very busy month for movie releases, both in cinemas and on streaming. Unfortunately due to the vast amount of content I was unable to write full, in depth reviews of every new release I managed to catch last month, but here are my quick thoughts on them all. Be sure to check out my reviews for those I have gone into great depth, including “Thunderbolts*”, “Final Destination Bloodlines”, “Lilo & Stitch” and “Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning”.
Overall I would say it was a solid month for theatrical releases, with the four listed above proving to be more than enjoyable, with the latter two also proving to help get audiences back into cinemas based on early box office numbers.
Thoughts and Reviews in May:
Thunderbolts* (2025)
Dir: Jake Schreier
Cast: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Chris Bauer, Wendell Pierce, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Synopsis: Ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes — Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker — embarks on a dangerous mission that forces them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.
Review: A captivating Florence Pugh leads a ragtag team of Marvel outcasts in this surprisingly dark and unconventional superhero flick, which may be the best MCU entry since the heady heights of “Endgame”
The Ugly Stepsistser (2025)
Dir: Emilie Blichfeldt
Cast: Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Naess, Ane Dahl Torp, Flo Fagerli, Isac Calmroth, Malte Gardinger
Synopsis: Elvira dreams of the weak-kneed virgin, Prince Julian, and is willing to go to great lengths to conform to the kingdom’s ideals of beauty. A surprising and raw twist on the fairy tale `Cinderella’, seen from her stepsister’s point of view.
Review: There is plenty to admire with this dark and subversive re-imagining of the classic Cinderella fairytale, but the narrative itself fails to go toe-to-toe with the grotesque body horror on show
Screamboat (2025)
Dir: Steven LaMorte
Cast: David Howard Thornton, Allison Pittel, Amy Schumacher, Jesse Posey, Kailey Hyman, Jesse Cove, Jarlath Conroy
Synopsis: A late-night boat ride in New York City becomes a struggle for survival when a seemingly harmless mouse transforms into a dangerous monster. Passengers must fight to stay alive.
Review: This opportunistic slasher is the latest to cash in on a beloved IP entering the public domain, but the ridiculousness of a prancing David Howard Thornton as a homicidal Steamboat Willie made it somewhat enjoyable
Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)
Dir: Zach Lipovsky, Adam Stein
Cast: Kaitlyn Santa Juana, Teo Briones, Richard Harmon, Owen Patrick Joyner, Anna Lore, Brec Bassinger, Tony Todd
Synopsis: Plagued by a violent and recurring nightmare, a college student heads home to track down the one person who might be able to break the cycle of death and save her family from the grisly demise that inevitably awaits them all.
Review: Boasting some of his most inventive kills yet, Death is back with a vengeance as the long-dormant horror franchise returns better than ever as it fully embraces the ridiculousness of its fate-driven conceit
“Final Destination Bloodlines” Review Here
Another Simple Favor (2025)
Dir: Paul Feig
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Elizabeth Perkins, Michelle Morrone, Elena Sofia Ricci, Alex Newell, Henry Golding, Allison Janney
Synopsis: Stephanie Smothers agrees to travel to Italy to be the maid of honour for the devious and cunning Emily Nelson. However, she soon suspects Emily’s good will is part of an elaborate plan for revenge.
Review: While the shock factor of the surprisingly crude first film is lost second time round, this similarly well-paced and intriguing sequel still manages to deliver an entertaining mystery
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera (2025)
Dir: Christian Gudegast
Cast: Gerard Butler, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Evin Ahmad, Salvatore Esposito, Meadow Williams, Swen Temmel
Synopsis: Lawman “Big Nick” O’Brien gets embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves as he pursues career criminal Donnie Wilson to Europe.
Review: This self aware heist sequel embraces the old school action and thrills of the original, but its more light-hearted tone makes for an enjoyable and easy going home-viewing experience
Death of a Unicorn (2025)
Dir: Alex Scharfman
Cast: Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Tea Leoni, Richard E. Grant
Synopsis: A weekend retreat has deadly consequences when a father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to find his billionaire boss, who seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties.
Review: While its social commentary may be too broad to successfully transcend into meaningful thought, this horror-comedy from A24 does deliver the blood and guts expected of a joyfully entertaining creature feature
Lilo & Stitch (2025)
Dir: Dean Fleischer Camp
Cast: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Billy Magnussen, Hannah Waddingham, Chris Sanders, Courtney B. Vance, Zach Galifianakis, Maia Kealoha
Synopsis: This live-action remake of the 2002 Disney animation follows Stitch, an extra-terrestrial entity, who heads straight to planet Earth after he escapes his prison, where he tries to impersonate a dog. Things take a turn when Hawaiian girl Lilo adopts him from an animal shelter.
Review: While Disney continues to struggle in translating the magic of their animated classics into live-action, their latest effort does succeed in recapturing the lovable and chaotic nature of its eponymous duo
Fountain of Youth (2025)
Dir: Guy Ritchie
Cast: John Krasinski, Natalie Portman, Eiza Gonzalez, Domhnall Gleeson, Arian Moayed, Laz Alonso, Carmen Ejogo, Stanley Tucci
Synopsis: Two estranged siblings partner on a global heist to find the mythological Fountain of Youth. They must use their knowledge of history to follow clues on an adventure that will change their lives and possibly lead to immortality.
Review: John Krasinski’s upper class explorer lacks the charm and humour to be a modern-day Indiana Jones in Guy Ritchie’s glossy yet soulless action adventure
Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025)
Dir: Matt Palmer
Cast: India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, Chris Klein, David Iacono, Ella Rubin, Ariana Greenblatt, Lili Taylor, Katherine Waterston
Synopsis: Shadyside High’s 1988 prom queen election becomes deadly for underdog Lori as candidates are targeted.
Review: Over reliant on 1980s high school nostalgia, this uninspired and tedious Netflix adaptation of R. L. Stine’s teen horror novel is a massive step down from its predecessors
Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)
Dir: Christopher McQuarrie
Cast: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Ving Rhames, Simon Pegg, Esai Morales, Pom Klementieff, Henry Czerny, Angela Bassett, Holt McCallany, Nick Offerman, Hannah Waddingham, Janet McTeer, Tramell Tillman
Synopsis: Ethan Hunt and the IMF team race against time to find the Entity, a rogue artificial intelligence that can destroy mankind.
Review: They may be guilty of talking down to their audience, but Cruise and McQuarrie continue to up the stakes in this thrilling final instalment of the long-running action franchise
“Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning” Review Here
Until Dawn (2025)
Dir: David F. Sandberg
Cast: Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young Yoo, Belmont Cameli, Maia Mitchell, Peter Stormare
Synopsis: One year after her sister disappeared, Clover and her friends head to the remote valley where she vanished to search for answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they soon encounter a masked killer who murders them one by one. However, when they mysteriously wake up at the beginning of the same night, they’re forced to relive the terror over and over again.
Review: With a plethora of delightfully bloody deaths and a novel premise that pays homage to the horror genre, this video game adaptation had potential but falters by straying considerably from the beloved source material
Mountainhead (2025)
Dir: Jesse Armstrong
Cast: Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman, Cory Michael Smith, Ramy Youssef
Synopsis: A group of billionaire friends get together against the backdrop of a rolling international crisis.
Review: Jesse Armstrong’s dark and satirical chamber piece illustrates how the world could descend into chaos if artificial intelligence and egotistical tech gurus continue to run unchecked
The Assessment (2025)
Dir: Fleur Fortuné
Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Himesh Patel, Alicia Vikander, Indira Varma, Nicholas Pinnock, Charlotte Ritchie, Leah Harvey, Minnie Driver, Anaya Thorley
Synopsis: In a not-so-distant future where parenthood is strictly controlled, a couple’s mysterious seven-day assessment for the right to have a child unravels into a nightmare, forcing them to question the very foundations of society.
In a post-apocalyptic “New World”, couples desiring children must undergo an intrusive assessment by an unhinged Alicia Vikander in this surreal and unsettling sci-fi thriller.
Dan Loves Film 
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