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After bursting onto the scene with his horror masterpiece Hereditary in 2018 and following it up with the ambitious and memorable Midsommar the year after, filmmaker Ari Aster found himself in an unusual position with his 2023 release Beau is Afraid, a commercial and critical failure that was his first taste of feature film disappointment.

Once more working alongside partner A24, who gave Aster a solid $35 million dollar budget for Beau is Afraid and backed him in for another $25 million minimum here, Eddington finds Aster moulding a contemporary western into a Covid-19/societal commentary piece that runs at an indulgent two and a half hours, leaving us with a film that has it's moments in the sun but in the end asks more questions about Aster's future than it answers.

Starting off fantastically as we are introduced to Joaquin Phoenix's highly strung small town sheriff Joe Cross, battling his own personal problems with the early onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in his local community as well as a very public sparring match with the towns long-serving mayor Ted Garcia (who else but Mr. Everywhere Pedro Pascal), Eddington shows a lot of early promise but as the film starts to mix in more and more into its melting pot of ideas and genres, Aster struggles to maintain the balance across his tales long-winded narrative.

Getting good buy in from his cast members, with much of the heavy lifting falling onto Phoenix's shoulders in yet another turn as an anti-social outcast/oddball and solid support from the stacked ensemble that also includes an underutilised Emma Stone as Joe's wife Louise and Austin Butler as influencer/conspiracy nut Vernon Jefferson Peak, Aster had a lot of tools at his disposal here but sadly the on paper simplistic set-up of Eddington starts to get lost amongst the many swings Aster takes, some hitting many missing.

Arguably the highest profile film yet that features Covid-19 as a major plot point and story driver, Aster has a lot of fun examining the time in human history many of us would care too forget, clearly evident by Eddington's dire box office haul and audience reactions, but while early on there's a focus around this space we begin to start exploring everything from 5G to the BLM movement and while a lot of what Aster is doing appears to be tongue in cheek there's an uneasiness found here as bodies start to pile up and the demented nature of Eddington takes centre stage.

Gaining a deserved reputation as a last act master with his Hereditary and Midsommar double act, Eddington sadly follows on from Beau is Afraid's final act woes with many viewers that were initially on board with the film likely to be severely tested from a patience and engagement point of view before the final credits roll here, leading us to wonder if Aster can navigate out of the stormy filmmaker waters he's currently traversing as while Eddington isn't an outright failure by any means, it's another curious misstep from a director who has shown so much early potential.

Final Say -

A film that is in most instances likely to split audiences down the middle into the love and hate categories, Eddington can't be accused of not doing things its own way but with so many ideas failing to gel in a loaded and convoluted exercise, there's evidence to suggest Aster is going to be battling to win back public and studio trust for his next bizarre venture.

3 face masks out of 5.

A film no one seemingly wanted and very few believed in, Akiva Schaffer's legacy addition to famed comedic brand The Naked Gun is easily one of 2025's most pleasant surprises.

While far from ground-breaking and unashamedly silly, if quite often subtlety brilliant, this new take on The Naked Gun series is oddly the exact type of film the world and the movie industry needs, a baggage free and joke a minute exercise that embraces its heritage and offers up an unrelentingly quick-fire experience that harbours more jokes, quips and creative imagination than most of what we find in today's comedy marketplace.

Backed by Family Guy mastermind Seth MacFarlane who acts as producer here and overseen by Lonely Island alumni and Hot Rod and Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping director Schaffer, Gun delivers a joyously over the top and fun 80 minute movie-going experience that reminds us all of the joys of a well done spoof film and well made Hollywood comedies in general, appearing as somewhat of a shining light in the mainstream comedy market that has evolved into cheap and uninspired streaming releases for the most part.

Enlisting the leading man services of the 73 year old Liam Neeson to step into the shoes of the iconic Leslie Nielson, Neeson relishes the chance to bring Frank Drebin Jr. To life as the unique LA Police Squad lieutenant gets involved in a dangerous case of murder and mystery that takes him on a wild journey that includes everything from A. I advancements, jealous entities, window repair men and a delicious turkey dinner.

It's unquestionable that some viewers may not get on board with what Gun's trying to do here, for anyone that snubs their noses at juvenile or slapstick humour they should steer well clear of this venture, for anyone else that is after a film that shoots from the hip when it comes to firing off jokes at every given chance, Gun's hit ratio is incredibly high as it sustains its momentum and energy across its brisk feeling runtime.

With some unexpectedly great support from Pamela Anderson as Frank's new potential flame Beth Davenport, Danny Huston as key suspect Richard Cane (literally in possession of a P. L. O. T device) and Kevin Durand as Cane's goon Sig Gustafson who witnesses things that will scar him for life, Gun is filled to the brim with wins and an all round sense of fun and playfulness that showcases mainstream big screen comedy isn't dead and Hollywood can do better when it comes to the once thriving comedy scene.

Final Say -

For anyone willing to jump on board, The Naked Gun is sure to be a highly entertaining delight, a film packed to the brim with quotable and laugh out loud moments, highlighting what can be done with comedy ventures when their given proper care and effort.

4 snowmen out of 5.

I've seen some things in my life on this planet, ranging from the good, the bad and the in-between but I can hand on heart honestly say I'd never seen anything quite like War of the Worlds before.

A modern day reimagining of H. G Wells classic 1898 novel of the same name, a property that has spawned a plethora of classic adaptations across the the past 100 or so years, Rich Lee's feature debut, that was the brainchild of producer Timur Bekmambetov, has become an internet sensation over the past months as viewers have come to discover one of the most joyous bad movies since the unleashing of The Room on an unsuspecting public all the way back in 2003.

Released on Amazon, of which Worlds makes plenty of mention of during its 90 minute runtime, acting as somewhat of a long paid advertisement and showcases that even in the midst of a global alien invasion Amazon will continue to fulfil its orders and ensure prompt delivery of goods, no one in a million years could have ever predicted that the newest iteration of Wells story would end up being a 'screenlife" feature starring Ice Cube in one of the most meme-able performances you're likely to get some someone that's last name isn't Cage.

Following Cube's government surveillance expert William Radford, who likes to spend most of the tax payer dollars spying on his son and daughter in totally non-creepy ways (such as hacking the home fridge), Worlds sees Radford and a team that includes Eva Longoria's NASA scientist Sandra, who is literally saved in Radford's contacts as NASA Sandra just in case he ever forgot, try and fight off an alien invasion that takes place here across a timeframe of less than 24hrs.

Oh and if that's not an exciting enough premise in itself, Worlds takes place entirely from the POV of screen devices to make everything so much more enjoyable, especially when 25% of the film is close up shots of Cube's stunned reactions.

In a film full of hilarious moments, ranging from performance based hilarities, Cube has never been lazier and less interested than he is here, through to odd editing choices, filming decisions and narrative movements, one outstanding and unforgettable (unforgivable?) element to Worlds is how much happens in such a short period of time and while the world burns and armies are mobilized within mere minutes to undertake pinpoint accurate operations against extra terrestrial forces, it's good to know Cube and the American president have time for Zoom calls and Microsoft Teams meetings around the chaos that surrounds them.

While there's so much wrong with Worlds, it's hard to imagine that those involved didn't sense that overtly obvious terribleness that permeates throughout the entirety of Rich's film and if you take World's as a comedic experience that seems to revel and bask in its awfulness, you might actually discover 2025's most outstandingly hilarious comedic exercise.

A film that is sure to live a long and prosperous shelf-life as an all time Hollywood stinker, a future candidate for a midnight screenings hall of fame recipient, swapping The Room's spoon screenings with USB screenings one suspects, Worlds is an experience that is best left to be lived through rather than read about so don't waste any further precious time, you know what you have to do.

Just don't forget that alien invasion insurance policy!

Final Say -

The film we never knew we needed and one that is sure to have H. G Wells rolling in his grave, War of the Worlds is an epically outrageous feature film turkey that sure is a joy to behold, for all the wrong reasons.

1/2 a pleasantly quiet Tesla ride out of 5.