Put down the chocolate eggs and step away from the hot cross buns, the Easter break is over for another year. It came and went in the blink of an eye, but the weather was at least kind, so I do hope you had a lovely time.
Oh, and did you manage to visit the cinema over the Easter break? You did? What did you watch? No, wait, don’t tell me, it was A Minecraft Movie, wasn’t it?
Yeah, I figured as much. As expected, everyone is seeing A Minecraft Movie (or knows someone who is seeing it), and the film is doing great business for Warner Bros. Pictures.
Not surprising really, as Minecraft is a hot property. But also not surprising as A Minecraft Movie is a family-friendly film, and right now family-friendly films are the big earners at the box-office.
Looking back to last year, the majority of the top ten highest grossing movies of 2024 were aimed squarely at families or young audiences. Moana 2, Mufasa: The Lion King, and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 were amongst the big earners, while Disney-Pixar’s Inside Out 2 took the top spot with over $1.6 billion.
There’s big money to be made from family-friendly films. Kids are bringing paying parents into cinemas when no one else is, and this will continue throughout the year when the likes of Lilo & Stitch and Zootopia 2 take to the big screen.
So, yeah, if you’re a studio executive, green-light a family movie, produce a family movie, and release a family movie. You’ll be earning mega-bucks in no time! Probably.
And while you’re doing all that, we’ll do our best to keep the adult-orientated movies going too. Speaking of which…
In this week’s Easter comedown edition of Movie Reviews 2025, there are reviews for Gothic horror, Sinners; sci-fi horror, Ash; and commuting horror (not an actual horror film), Bullet Train Explosion! Plus the latest video game adaptation, Until Dawn downloads into cinemas, and De Niro’s The Alto Knights arrives on video-on-demand.
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In cinemas…
Sinners (2025)
First up this week is the Gothic horror movie, Sinners. Written and directed by Ryan Coogler, and starring Michael B. Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton, Delroy Lindo, and Jack O’Connell, the movie follows the story of two brothers who return to their hometown only to find themselves caught up in something sinister.
In the movie, the year is 1932 and identical twins Elijah ‘Smoke’ Moore and Elias ‘Stack’ Moore return to their home of Clarksdale, Mississippi after years spent in Chicago. Upon arrival they purchase a sawmill and transform it into a juke joint for the local black community.
The brothers then precede to gather together friends and acquaintances to perform at their club. This includes their cousin, Sammie, who is an aspiring guitarist.
Fast forward to the opening night, and once the music starts playing, the venue quickly becomes a lively hotspot, with Sammie’s skills on the guitar proving unmatched. His performance even draws the attention of spirits from the past, as well as the future.
But spirits aren’t the only things drawn by Sammie’s music, a trio of vampires also make their way to the juke joint. The vampires are seeking ‘fun’ and before long all Hell breaks loose.
If you consider yourself someone who keeps their eye on the latest releases, then there is a good chance you have already heard some buzz surrounding Sinners. The film is being spoken about in a largely positive way by critics and moviegoers alike, with many claiming it to be a damn good picture.
And I have to throw my voice into the collective and say, yep, I wholeheartedly agree. Sinners is an excellent film, which is a must-see horror for anyone who adores the genre.
Not only does the film boast a superb cast, with Michael B. Jordan a particular treat in the dual role of Smoke and Stack, but it looks and sounds good too. The cinematography from Autumn Durald Arkapaw is beautiful, and at times terrifying, while the score by Ludwig Göransson is wonderfully eclectic.
But a great deal of the praise really has to go to writer/director Ryan Coogler, who crafts a superb horror. It’s a horror which has the ability to disarm and then to unsettle, while telling a captivating tale.
When Sinners begins, it would be easy to forget this is a horror movie. With the exception of a short piece of narration which discusses spirits, there’s not much horror on display, and this remains the case for a sizeable chunk of the film.
In fact, for at least half of Sinners, the movie plays out like a 1930s period drama. Smoke and Stack arrive in town fully suited and booted, interact with the locals, flash some cash (taken from Al Capone), and work on setting up their club.
During this section of the film, Coogler seems to take great pleasure in telling a story that is as far removed from horror as possible. The purpose isn’t quite clear at first, but soon the lack of horror makes sense when the darker side eventually kicks in.
By switching the focus of the film, and directing the audience’s attention elsewhere, he is able to completely control the suspense and tension that becomes a big part of the back-half of the movie. And as a result, when the vampires do turn up, it’s almost as if they are in the wrong film, and this suddenly makes them feel far more of a threat.
Their presence and motivation is no different to what you might find in a standard vampire flick, however, what Coogler does with them and how he introduces them is key. He slots the vampires into a film they don’t seem to belong in, then allows them to run rampant and destroy everything the other characters have achieved.
Incidentally, the vampires in the picture are brilliantly realised, with lead vamp, Remmick, both mesmerising and frightening. Remmick is played by Jack O’Connell, who is one of the many great cast members in the film.
As already mentioned, Michael B. Jordan is excellent playing the twins who lead the picture, while Hailee Steinfeld is marvellous in the role of Stack’s old flame, Mary. Delroy Lindo and Miles Caton are also on fine form, as is everyone else involved in the production.
It becomes very clear, very quickly, Sinners is a well-thought out, carefully constructed film. This isn’t a flashy, wham-bam horror, it’s a piece with depth, which is built around a slow-burning narrative that captures the attention and holds it for well over two hours (around two hours twenty to be a bit more accurate).
Should you see it? Yes, yes you should.
Coogler is one of the best filmmakers in the industry right now, with Jordan one of the best actors. The two have teamed up on various projects, including Creed (2015) and Black Panther (2018), and Sinnersis yet another success and a ruddy good horror to boot!
Sinners is now playing in UK and US cinemas.
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Now streaming…
Ash (2025)
Up next is the twisted sci-fi horror movie, Ash. Directed by Flying Lotus, the movie stars Eiza González, and Aaron Paul, and follows the story of an amnesiac astronaut who can’t recall how her crew died.
In the movie, Riya Ortiz wakes up on a distant planet to discover the entire crew of her space station have been killed. Unfortunately, Riya is also suffering with amnesia and has no memory of what happened.
As Riya attempts to make sense of her situation and her surroundings, she is joined by fellow crew member, Brion. He claims his arrival is in response to a distress call, but with Riya in a state of confusion she is unsure if she can trust him.
Well constructed, expertly staged, and deeply atmospheric, Ash is a marvellous little movie. It’s part Alien, a smidge Pitch Black, a dash of Memento, with a smattering of Cronenberg, and a very, very strong ‘80s vibe.
In fact, for a film that is new to 2025, it’s fair to say Ash has a certain vintage look and feel to it. It wouldn’t be out of place amongst a stack of VHS tapes you just rented from your local video store back in ‘83.
But to be clear, it doesn’t look old, it looks absolutely shiny and new, and positively stunning. The picture boasts some intoxicating visuals, along with a fantastic colour palette that favours tones of fuchsia, cerulean, crimson, mustard, and lime, and it’s easy to get lost in the imagery.
And then there is the soundtrack. Oh, the mesmerising soundtrack.
Composed by director Flying Lotus, the music to Ash is a sublime electro score that one minute is sumptuous, the next purposefully jarring. Once again it gives off an ‘80s energy, and it proves to be the perfect bedfellow to the visuals.
In terms of the story, it’s claustrophobic, paranoid stuff, which is full of sci-fi-y goodness. There’s some gruesome body horror in here too, and just the right amount of weirdness.
The narrative is mostly small scale stuff, yet it plays much bigger than it is. Similar to Alien, Ash feels like it exists in a more expansive world, where nightmarish things lurk in the shadows, and bad things happen.
Does this sound like the sort of movie you can get on board? Then you know what to do.
If you like your films a little chaotic, a trifle unbalanced, and somewhat off the wall, then you will lap up Ash. While it might borrow ideas and elements from other films, it manages to do its own thing, and do it rather well.
Ash is the sort of picture which is ideal for a dark night in; an afternoon with a beer; or just a 90-minute window when you want to have your senses stimulated. Should you wish to check it out, the movie is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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Now streaming…
The Alto Knights (2025)
In The Alto Knights, the year is 1957 and in New York, mob boss Frank Costello is shot and left for dead. The assassination attempt was organised by fellow mobster and old friend, Vito Genovese.
But the attempt on Frank’s life fails. He survives with a head wound and walks away with a new outlook.
Convinced it’s time to retire, Frank makes it known he is ready to cede control of his business interests. But Vito isn’t convinced and the divide between the pair continues to grow.
Directed by Barry Levinson, and starring Robert De Niro, Debra Messing, Cosmo Jarvis, and Kathrine Narducci, The Alto Knights is a crime drama which is loosely based on a true story. The film focuses on the conflict between real-life mobsters, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, including their control of the Luciano crime family, and is now available to rent or buy on digital video-on-demand platforms.
And if you’re a fan of De Niro, then you may wish to check it out. If The Alto Knights has one very notable element going for it, then it is the dual performance from De Niro, with the actor playing both Costello and Genovese.
De Niro can do the gangster schtick in his sleep, he’s had enough practise, yet he still delivers two very fine performances. With help from prosthetics and makeup, De Niro ensures Costello and Genovese are presented as two very separate figures, and everything he does with them is a bright spot in the film.
It’s also fair to say, The Alto Knights isn’t a bad gangster movie. Director Barry Levinson serves up what you might want and/or expect from a film of this nature, it ticks all the technical boxes, and if this is your thing then you’ll possibly get something out of it.
However, don’t expect anything amazing or dynamic in The Alto Knights, and crucially, don’t expect anything original. The main stumbling block with the film, which stops it from being anything other than ‘not bad’, is that it feels like a rehash.
There is nothing in this film that hasn’t been done before in other gangster films, over, and over again. Sure, De Niro is great (when isn’t he?), but take him out of the equation and this is a by-the-numbers film, which looks good but relies on the usual clichés.
On the plus side, the film is beautifully shot and the majority of the cast are great. Debra Messing’s turn as Frank’s wife, Bobbie, stands out for the wrong reasons and seems to belong in another movie, but other than that no one else puts a foot wrong.
On the downside, it’s occasionally dull and at times a bit of a slog. The pacing isn’t necessarily off, it’s just not interesting enough to gain much momentum.
Ultimately, as a film that just happens around you The Alto Knights is fine. But if you’re looking for something imaginative or compelling it falls short.
When The Alto Knights opened in cinemas last month, it was a box-office bomb. Produced on a budget of around $50 million, the film struggled to achieve even a fifth of that money back, and it pretty much came and went rather quickly.
It seems audiences swerved the theatrical release of The Alto Knights because it offered nothing new, and to be fair, this is a perfectly valid reason to have skipped the big screen experience. Films (even ones with De Niro playing two parts) need to offer more, and this one just doesn’t have enough tricks up its sleeve.
That said, now The Alto Knights is available for home viewing, I expect it’ll fare better than it did in cinemas. Those happy to lower their expectations or to simply invest their time in the latest De Niro movie may find it acceptable.
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Now streaming…
Bullet Train Explosion (2025)
Now stop me if you’ve heard this one…
A terrorist has placed a bomb on a high-speed train filled with passengers. If the train reduces its speed to below 100 km/h the bomb will detonate and everyone on board will be killed.
Hmm… sounds like the premise to the 1994 Keanu Reeves/Sandra Bullock action movie, Speed, doesn’t it? Yes, it does. However, the premise of Bullet Train Explosion also sounds like the premise to the 1975 Japanese movie, The Bullet Train – and in all honesty, it should!
You see, Bullet Train Explosion is NOT a rip-off of Speed. It is instead a remake of the ‘70s film, with a few adjustments.
In the original film, the train’s speed couldn’t drop below 80 km/h, while in this modern iteration the limit has been increased to 100 km/h. Same concept, just a few tweaks and updates.
Directed by Shinji Higuchi, and available to stream on Netflix, Bullet Train Explosion stars Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, Kanata Hosoda, Non, and Takumi Saitoh. The movie is a Japanese action-thriller, built around the aforementioned high-speed train drama, and it’s fairly enjoyable stuff.
As with The Bullet Train, and Speed, the premise of Bullet Train Explosion is kept very simple. There’s a bomb on a fast-moving vehicle, lives are at stake, and unless the authorities can come up with a rescue plan or exit strategy, disaster looks imminent.
To create further suspense, various obstacles are tossed into the mix while the train is thundering down the tracks. At one point there is the danger of a head-on collision, while the next minute a passenger causes disruption.
Near the midway point, a rescue attempt is made, which involves another train, and this adds further drama. This all helps to increase tension and keep things chugging along rather nicely.
And this film does chug along nicely. Bullet Train Explosion wastes no time getting into the main plot, there’s enough twists and turns to maintain the pace, and for the most part it works.
Things do veer off course towards the end, and this is where the interest level dips, but the majority of the movie is entertaining. The cast is also decent, as are the effects.
Where the film struggles a bit is in the simple fact this has been done before. If you have already watched one of the previous ‘bomb-on-a-mode-of-transportation’ films, then you have already seen this picture.
Similar to The Alto Knights (reviewed above), Bullet Train Explosion suffers from familiarity and comparisons. When other versions of this story already exist, and arguably do it better, you can’t help but feel your time should be spent rewatching an old film rather than this new one.
There is also the major sticking point of any high-speed rail disaster being far too reminiscent of the monorail episode of The Simpsons. I can confirm neither Homer Simpson nor Lyle Lanley appear in this movie, but at times you do expect them to pop up.
But Bullet Train Explosion is fine and likeable enough to pass muster. If you’re after a bit of action and drama, and you’re a Netflix subscriber, Bullet Train Explosion should meet your needs.
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In cinemas…
Until Dawn (2025)
And finally, hot on the heels of A Minecraft Movie is yet another film connected to a video game. This time around it is the horror movie, Until Dawn, which is now playing in UK and US cinemas.
Based on the game of the same name, the movie stars Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Ji-young Yoo, and Peter Stormare. Directed by David F. Sandberg, Until Dawn follows a group of friends who are trapped in a nightmarish fight for survival.
In the film, one year has passed since her sister mysteriously disappeared, and Clover Paul and her friends go in search of answers. But what they find is an unexpected and deadly situation when they get caught in a seemingly endless loop.
While searching the abandoned Glore Valley Visitor’s Centre, Clover and Co. are murdered by a masked killer, only to be brought back to life and put through a similar scenario, again and again, and again. Their only chance to escape the horror is to figure out what is going on and to survive… until dawn!
Set within the Until Dawn universe, rather than a direct adaptation of the game, the Until Dawn movie is essentially a middling slasher film with a brand name attached to it. As such your interest in the film might vary depending on a.) what you expect to see and b.) how much you care.
If you want a straightforward replay of the game you don’t get it. If you’re just after some horror, then may be satisfied.
However the word “may” is doing a lot of the heavy lifting here, because while some will find something to like in Until Dawn, I expect the vast majority will not. The film is largely quite irritating, and mostly consists of endless scenes of the core characters running around, dying and screaming, and screaming and dying.
So much so, the novelty doesn’t just wear off, it is screamed off. And not just once, but multiple times.
Presumably the plot device of killing characters and having them respawn is to tap into the mechanics of a video game, where protagonists regularly die off, only to come back again. Fair enough, the idea is fine, and of course the constant death and rebirth allows for plenty of ‘kills’ – something most horror fans quite like.
The problem is though, none of the kills in Until Dawn feel particularly imaginative or memorable. So instead of getting a fun kill count, the movie mostly just descends into an endless conveyor belt of blood and guts which is all very tiresome.
And every time the characters come back to life, and go back through the motions, the more the boredom sets in. Everything blurs into one and it all becomes yawn-inducing.
At one point, the character of Clover asks the all-important question: “How long have we been here?” The only real answer to that question is “too bloody long, Clover! Too bloody long.”
Unless you’re an Until Dawn fan who is deeply curious about this movie, or you’re a horror buff who likes to indulge in the genre at every opportunity, there’s not much to recommend. There’s certainly nothing to shout about (not that anyone would hear you above all that ruddy screaming).
Is it awful? No, but it’s just not good.
Until Dawn is generic stuff and not much more. It certainly doesn’t encourage audiences to want to play the game, which surely it should?
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Movie of the Week
Onto Movie of the Week now, and this week it goes to Sinners! Ryan Coogler’s writing and direction is excellent; Michael B. Jordan’s acting is superb; and the Coogler-Jordan combo results in a thoroughly good picture.
And if you like Sinners you may also like:
- Creed (2015) – Ryan Coogler directs this Rocky spin-off movie, which sees Michael B. Jordan take on the role of Adonis Creed (son of Apollo).
- Black Panther (2018) – Michael B. Jordan steals scenes in this milestone Marvel movie.
- From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) – Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino team up for this George Clooney horror film, which starts off one way then becomes something completely different by the end.
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Forthcoming attractions
Right, it’s almost time to bow out for another week, but not before we take a look ahead to see what’s in store over the next four months! Yep, FOUR MONTHS!
New Year, Valentine’s, and Easter have come and gone, and the summer blockbuster season is finally within touching distance! Over the coming weeks and months there is a wealth of top-tier titles heading into cinemas and onto streaming, so it is time to get very excited.
From May until September the summer release schedule includes Rosario, Final Destination Bloodlines, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, Lilo & Stitch, Fear Street: Prom Queen, Karate Kid: Legends, The Phoenician Scheme, From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, Clown in a Cornfield, Predator: Killer of Killers, The Life of Chuck, How to Train Your Dragon, The Twits, Elio, 28 Years Later, F1, M3GAN 2.0, Jurassic World Rebirth, and The Old Guard 2. Plus Superman, Smurfs, I Know What You Did Last Summer, Eddington, Dangerous Animals, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as well as The Naked Gun, Freakier Friday, Nobody 2, The Roses, The Toxic Avenger, and The Conjuring: Last Rites.
That’s a lot of films, isn’t it? It is – and there will be even more movies on top of those listed above! Absolute madness.
And it all kicks off next week with anti-hero flick, Thunderbolts*. The big budget Marvel movie brings together an ensemble cast including Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, Wyatt Russell, David Harbour, Lewis Pullman, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and hopefully starts the summer season with a bang!
Alex
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Thank you for taking the time to read Movie Reviews 2025 on It’s A Stampede!. For more reviews, check out the recommended reads below.
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