By Jeanni Ritchie
I’ve waited since May 2023 to see Freakier Friday. In that time I’ve changed my entire personal demographic info: name, address, occupation, marital status… It took me over two years to craft the perfect life so it’s only fitting that the producers had the same amount of time to create the perfect sequel. It is a ♥♥♥♥♥ (fiver film) for me.
Let’s look at some other theatrical releases that have come out so far in 2025:
Dog Man: I had high hopes for the popular Dav Pilkey series but it just missed the mark. ♥
Paddington in Peru: It started off okay but I quickly lost interest. When the projector broke halfway through the film, I didn’t even bother to get a ticket to return. ♥
The Unbreakable Boy: Based on a true story of Austin “Auz-Man” LeRette, a young boy with brittle bone syndrome and autism, his unwavering spirit changed everyone around him. I left the theater wanting to meet the family and through the magic of social media, I connected with a now-grown Austin and his parents and we are meeting in New Orleans this Christmas! Fun fact: The film won a Dove Inspirational Award at the Grand Ole Opry earlier this year! ♥♥♥♥♥
The Day The Earth Blew Up: I could sit and watch cartoons for hours so I had high hopes for this one. Instead I kept falling asleep on the shoulder of my companion! ♥♥
Snow White: I almost didn’t go, the initial reviews were so bad. But I’m a find-out-for-myself kind of girl so I went anyway. I loved it. Music was great, acting was great. It was a bit long…the only reason it loses a popcorn here. ♥♥♥♥
A Minecraft Movie: I took my grandsons to this one, but I often love movies I wouldn’t have picked on my own. Cute message and killer soundtrack. I did nod off once which is automatic popcorn deduction! As much as I enjoyed it, it’s a one-timer for me. ♥♥♥
Lilo & Stitch: The live action remake was amazing and 8-year old Maia Kealoha in her debut role as Lilo was adorable. I’ll go see anything she does! I was on the edge of my seat with suspense toward the end.♥♥♥♥♥
Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning: I didn’t get to see this one but friends raved and Rotten Tomatoes gave it an 88%. Catch what may be Cruise’s last mission for the franchise on a variety of streaming platforms. ♥♥♥♥
Karate Kid: Legends: Another one I didn’t make it to because it didn’t stay long at all in theaters, it is now available on Netflix. Critics either loved or hated it, giving it an averaged score of 75%. I’ll watch just for the nostalgia. ♥♥♥
Dirty Dancing Sequel: The sequel to the popular Jennifer Grey-Patrick Swayze movie was delayed by the writer’s strike and rescheduled for a June 6 release date, which came and went without any official word. Here’s hoping it didn’t go the way of Pharrell Williams’ Atlantis and get axed completely. In the meantime, we will have to settle for Ryan Gosling’s lift scene in Crazy, Stupid, Love! (No rating)
Elio: Heartwarming Pixar tale about a boy who doesn’t feel like he belongs on Earth. Pixar knows how to tell moving animated stories. ♥♥♥♥♥
How to Train Your Dragon: It was yet another grandson that got me to the animated film about Hiccup and Toothless in 2010. The live action version was a good but sometimes I just prefer the animated classics. ♥♥♥♥
F1: First of all, it’s Brad Pitt. So the film starts off with three popcorns. Add to it a good comeback story (I can always get behind a good comeback!) and it gets one more. But if I’m going to movie over two hours, I need an intermission! ♥♥♥♥
Superman: I took my mom to see this, complete with cape and mask costumes. She loves Superman. It was a bit different than I expected but in a good way. Great storyline and great cast. I anticipate a sequel to this particular film. ♥♥♥♥♥
The Smurfs Musical: I grew up loving the Smurfs, boycotted it with the anti-Christianity rhetoric as an adult, researched it myself and was on the fence about seeing it, then it left theaters. I honestly don’t know where I stand with this franchise. (No rating)
The Bad Guys 2: The sequel to one of the better Dreamworks movies in 2022, this film brings reformed criminals aka Bad Guys up against new masterminds, Bad Girls! Cute, rewatchable. ♥♥♥♥♥
The Naked Gun: You’ve got to be in the mood for dry wit and slapstick humor. This could be a 1 or a 5 popcorn movie for me, depending on my mood. The day I saw it I gave it ♥♥♥♥♥
Freakier Friday: Oh the nods to the original and to Lilo herself. October 3 (Mean Girls Day) is Anna’s wedding date. Pink Slip reunited. (Almost everyone came back!) And wannabe stepmother Meredith Blake in The Parent Trap even has a cameo! ♥♥♥♥♥(can I give it more?!)
That wraps up what I’ve seen on the screen so far this year. Let’s look ahead to a few more on my radar.
9/19 A Big Bold Beautiful Journey: Time traveling romantic fantasy with Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell.
9/19 The Senior: Based on a true story of 59-year old Mike Flynt (Michael Chiklis) who rejoins his college’s football team. Angel Studios produces.
9/26 Gabby’s Dollhouse: Based on the Netflix series, I’m gonna have to do some “research watching” before I see the movie! Stars Kristen Wiig as villain Vera and Gloria Estefan as Grandma Gigi.
10/17 Good Fortune: Keanu Reeves aka Shane Falco! I’m here for it!
10/24 Regretting You: Another Colleen Hoover film gets the big-screen adaptation. Let’s hope it comes out with less drama than It Ends With Us.
10/24 Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere: Very little buzz surrounds the latest music biopic where Jeremy Allen White (The Bear) plays the musician. Perhaps its premiere at the New York Film Festival will garner some publicity.
11/14 Now You See Me 3: Officially titled Now You See Me, Now You Don’t. I liked the first two films. This should be good!
11/21 Wicked Part Two: The only other movie I’ve been looking forward to for nearly a year!
11/26 Zootopia 2: I saw the trailer for this during Freakier Friday. I can’t believe it’s been almost ten years since the first one! Walt Disney Animation Studios brings back Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps to solve a mysterious case.
12/19 Avatar: Fire & Ash: The popular series returns for its third installment (with 4 and 5 already slated for release in 2029 and 2031) with Zoe Saldana, Sam Worthington, and Sigourney Weaver. With a runtime of 3 hours and 12 minutes, I’ll probably wait for it to stream.
12/25 The Housemaid: The popular Frieda McFadden book adaptation stars Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried. I’ve ordered the book from the library so I can get up to speed before the film!
