Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of Movie Reviews 2025 – your indispensable guide to the big and not-so-big movies currently doing the rounds. And this week, the films which are aiming to tantalise your senses include Champagne Problems, After the Hunt, and Jingle Bell Heist.
Plus, arriving in cinemas is the Disney animated film Zootropolis 2 (aka Zootopia 2). The animated film is hoping to build on the success of its 2016 predecessor, while delivering a big budget animated movie before the end of the year.
And speaking of the end of the year, we’re now into the final four weeks of Movie Reviews 2025. So, if you’ve not been following along for the past 46 weeks you’ve really missed out.
But, no matter, you still have plenty of time to catch up on past editions of Movie Reviews 2025 via the archive. However, before you dive into that, let’s crack on with this week’s reviews, shall we?
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Now streaming…
Champagne Problems (2025)
First up is the romantic comedy (and I’m using the word ‘comedy’ quite loosely), Champagne Problems. Written and directed by Mark Steven Johnson, the film stars Minka Kelly, Tom Wozniczka, Sean Amsing, and Flula Borg, and focuses on a young woman who travels to France on business and falls in love.
In the movie, Sydney Price heads to Paris in an attempt to acquire a champagne chateau for her company. Upon arrival Sydney sets out to see the city’s sights, and bumps into Henri Cassell – a charming local man who takes an instant shine to her.
The pair hit it off and spend the night together. However, the next morning Sydney has to dash off to attend a meeting regarding the chateau.
At the meeting Sydney discovers the chateau belongs to Henri’s family, and he’s not keen on conducting business with Sydney’s company. This puts a hold on their developing romance and throws any business propositions up in the air.
Pretty to look at, but nothing more than bang average, Champagne Problems is yet another run-of-the-mill Netflix movie. One that seems to exist purely to bulk out the streaming service, because it brings nothing else to the platform.
The story lacks originality, the romance feels forced, and the pacing is slow. There are occasional dashes of comedy, which demonstrate potential, but they are few and far between and are largely pushed aside in favour of the schmaltzy love story.
A love story which is paper-thin and predictable. It’s clear where things are headed long before they get there, and it becomes quite tedious waiting for the script to catch up.
The highlight of Champagne Problems is Sean Amsing, playing champagne-guzzling playboy, Roberto. Amsing gets the best lines, brings the fun, and whenever he is on screen things pick up.
Outside of Amsing, everything else in the movie is merely adequate. Champagne Problems is watchable, but as is becoming the norm with far too many Netflix films, it’s forgettable.
Should you wish to take a look, the movie is now available to stream.
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Now streaming…
After the Hunt (2025)
Sticking with streaming, but this time over to Amazon Prime Video now for the psychological thriller, After the Hunt. Directed by Luca Guadagnino, and starring Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, Ayo Edebiri, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Chloë Sevigny, the film tells the story of a college professor caught up in the midst of a sexual abuse accusation.
In the movie, Roberts plays philosophy professor, Alma Imhoff. One night, when returning home from a night out, Alma finds student Maggie Resnick (Edebiri) waiting for her outside her apartment.
After getting into a conversation, Maggie explains she was waiting for Alma so she could report a terrible incident involving Alma’s colleague, Hank (Garfield). Maggie claims Hank sexually assaulted her.
Alma doesn’t react to the accusation very well, but does catch up with Hank to find out if there is any truth to Maggie’s claim. Hank refutes the accusation, and suggests Maggie fabricated things because he caught her plagiarising her dissertation.
But is Maggie telling the truth, or is Hank the innocent party in all this? And more importantly, will anyone make it through this ponderous and pretentious film which irritates more than it entertains.
Slow to get going, and at times quite annoying, there’s not a great deal to recommend in After the Hunt. What could be an interesting film about consent, abuse of power, and manipulation, largely descends into a dull, dimly-lit, mumbling bore-fest which lurches from one scene to another.
Roberts and Garfield are solid (as they always are), so there is at least something of note in this picture, but jeez this film drags and feels muddled. It’s also incredibly downbeat.
In fact, it’s so downbeat, at the halfway point Alma is sat in a bar with ‘Heaven Knows I’m Miserable Now’ playing in the background. If that doesn’t sum up the general tone and/or experience of watching this movie, then I don’t know what else will.
If you make it through the first 15 minutes without losing your patience or nodding off you’re doing better than most. But then, even if you do make it that far, don’t expect to care too much about what unfolds.
If the plinky-plonky soundtrack doesn’t get to you, the washed out lighting will chip away at your soul, before the drawn out narrative finishes you off for good. Outside of the cast, it’s largely a misfire.
Guadagnino sets out to make a thought-provoking conversational piece, touching on the ‘Me Too’ movement, but the end result falls short. What it has to say gets lost in the mix and it’s unlikely to become the talking point it aims to be.
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Now streaming…
Jingle Bell Heist (2025)
Back to Netflix now for the Christmas comedy, Jingle Bell Heist. Directed by Michael Fimognari, and starring Olivia Holt, Connor Swindells, Lucy Punch, and Peter Serafinowicz, the film focuses on two retail workers who team up to pull off a heist.
In the movie, it’s Christmas time and Sophia is working as a retail assistant in a department store. But unbeknown to her colleagues, when Sophia’s not serving customers she is a petty thief, who has a habit of taking things that aren’t hers.
No one has noticed Sophia’s criminal activity, except phone repairman, Nick. He works across town in a phone shop, but is no stranger to crime himself, and currently has the department store under surveillance.
After catching Sophia in the act, Nick attempts to blackmail her to help him pull off a job. Nick has been casing the store for a while and wants to steal some valuable jewellery.
At first Sophia refuses, but when she finds herself in desperate need of some cash to pay for her mother’s medical bills, she agrees to go along with it. From here, the pair work together to conduct the ultimate job, with a little bit of romance along the way.
Likeable enough and fairly festive, Jingle Bell Heist is a decent Crimbo film which is perfectly passable for what it is. Don’t expect anything amazing, and don’t expect to laugh yourself into a coma, as this ‘comedy’ is relatively short on chuckles, but the cast are fine and the characters are agreeable.
This is essentially a film about a couple of good natured people who turn to crime. Yes, they break the law, but they aren’t inherently bad.
Sophia steals, but always from people who deserve it (and she is shown to give back to those less fortunate), while Nick has made bad choices, but is actually a nice guy. Together they are an amiable duo living in a world with some not-so amiable folk.
Do they deserve to succeed in their latest crime? The script seems to think so.
Whether you agree is debatable, and whether or not you’ll be completely invested remains to be seen. The main thing here is that Jingle Bell Heist isn’t bad, and is a fraction better than Champagne Problems.
If you’re after an easy-to-watch Christmas film there are worse things to sit through than Jingle Bell Heist. It’s nothing special, but it’s alright, so long as you take it for what it is you’ll be OK.
The movie has its heart in the right place, the overall tone is fairly appealing, and Holt and Swindells make for decent leads. There is still the same sticking point, that this is yet another so-so Netflix film, but it’s ‘so-so’ with some added ‘ho-ho’, and at this time of year it gets a pass.
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In cinemas…
Zootopia 2 / Zootropolis 2 (2025)
And finally, over to the cinema now for the Disney animated adventure movie, Zootropolis 2 (aka Zootopia 2 if you live in the US). Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, the movie features the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, and Andy Samberg, and sees Officers Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde go undercover after being framed for a crime they didn’t commit.
Picking up shortly after the events of 2016’s Zootropolis, Hopps and Wilde find themselves in the firing line when it appears they are in league with a deadly snake. In order to prove their innocence, they must get to the bottom of a dark secret, while being tailed by the former colleagues on the police force.
But with the long arm of the law in hot pursuit, and tensions mounting, will Hopps and Wilde be able to crack the case? And more importantly, will their friendship survive their current predicament?
Nine years has passed since the release of Zootropolis, and perhaps the most surprising thing about this sequel is just how long it has taken to materialise. The first film made over $1 billion at the box office back in 2016, so it’s fair to say Disney has taken its time to get this follow-up off the ground.
Was all that time spent crafting a knockout sequel, which is better than what came before? I guess that’s up to you to decide.
For my money, this second outing isn’t quite as strong as what came before but it’s still heaps of fun. The gag rate is high (including a number of Disney in-jokes); the action is fairly regular; and the colourful characters are all present and correct.
Sure, this feels less like a ‘Walt Disney Classic’ and more like a standard sequel, but for the most part it’s still enjoyable stuff. If you can overlook a few dips in the pacing, and a fairly standard story, there’s plenty to keep the entertainment factor up.
Highlights include a thrilling chase sequence through a water pipe; a marvellous showdown between heroes and villain; and a wonderful nod to The Shining. There’s also a new Shakira song which plays out during the end credits, and who doesn’t want more of that?
Add all this to a great voice cast and some solid animation and it more-or-less does the trick. The target audience should certainly find this film fun, and that’s probably all that counts.
Will Zootropolis 2 sit high up in the pantheon of Walt Disney movies? Nope, but it’s fine for what it is.
The first film made money and was well received and this one should do more of the same. No one was crying out for a sequel, and you could argue this latest instalment is unnecessary, but it’s OK.
Should you wish to take a look, Zootropolis 2 is now playing in UK and US cinemas.
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Movie of the Week
Over to Movie of the Week and this week the animated Disney movie, Zootropolis 2 takes the crown. The film offers fun for the whole family, with plenty of laughs too.
And if you’re a fan of Zootropolis 2, then you may want to dive into these Disney classics:
- Encanto (2021) – Zootropolis 2 directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard helm this animated musical fantasy about a multigenerational family who all have magical gifts, apart from teen heroine, Mirabel.
- Bolt (2008) – Byron Howard teams up with Chris Williams to direct this animated adventure comedy about a dog who believes he has super powers.
- Raya and the Last Dragon (2021) – In this animated fantasy from directors Don Hall and Carlos López Estrada, a warrior princess seeks out a fabled ‘last dragon’.
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Forthcoming attractions
That’s it for this week, but coming soon there’s monster madness in Troll 2; supernatural shenanigans in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2; and Christmas carnage in Silent Night, Deadly Night. Plus, George Clooney and Adam Sandler front the comedy-drama, Jay Kelly; Daniel Craig attempts to solve another puzzling problem in Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery; and before we reach the end of the year James Cameron unveils Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Alex
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