As the calendar flips to a new year, I have changed how things look here for the new year. Notably here in these review posts, I have condensed things down for each review to make things cleaner. More drastically on the Box Office Madness page, I have changed the look on both my charts, as well as giving the Box Office Derby a new look. These are just part of making this site more and more to what I hope it can be. Still some work to go though. For the first time in 2025, on to the reviews!
First film for me of the year, and just like last year with Society of the Snow, it’s a film on Netflix. Unlike that film though, this one is a lot more pleasant to watch. Aardman Animations is one of the best animation studios out there. They and LAIKA Studios are the leading front for stop-motion films, and each have their own distinct visions. For Aardman, this new entry in the Wallace & Gromit series is only the second feature after 2005’s “The Curse of the Were-Rabbit”, and 6th entry overall when you count the excellent shorts in the series, the last of those being 2008’s “A Matter of Loaf and Death”. This is also Aardman’s newest film since 2023’s “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget”. So, how is this newest entry in the W&G series?
Well, it might help to watch 1993 short “The Wrong Trousers” (on Amazon Prime) to have a full context for this film. Feathers from that short reappears in this new film to get his revenge on the pair. In “Foul”, Wallace has invented a robot gnome named Norbot, whose function is to assist with landscaping. He becomes popular with the neighborhood, so Wallace decides to hire him out to them to earn money. While in his zoo prison, Feathers learns of Wallace’s newest invention, and hacks into them to get his revenge. The Norbots are a fun invention, and once there are a lot of them, they can be quite creepy when Feathers switches them into “evil” mode. This was a very good edition to the series, and another crowning achievement for Aardman. It is a shame that this is just a Netflix release. I think this could have done pretty well in theaters. Especially in a month like this.
There is a long and cherished history of horror films being released to varying results. Sometimes you get a M3gan, sometimes you get a Bye Bye Man. Thankfully for the most part, The Damned lands on the better end of that range. However, I don’t really see how this is a horror film. I would go with this being a psychological drama, but I might be spitting hairs. This film was about a a fishing group in 1890 Iceland that watched another ship wreck in the distance. They decide to not help them, but it was an impossible choice to do so, since they already had a problem with a lack of food for the winter. The group believes they are being punished for their choices. People then start dying.
This film was really working for me for the most part. I was really digging the cold dread as things progressed. The setting was also great. By filming this in Iceland, it really game the feeling a level of authenticity. The production value of the sets was also pretty great. My issues on it all stem from what happens in the last 90 seconds. It is never a great thing to me if after 90 minutes, you change perspectives and make whatever previously happened now seem wrong. I’m not sure that was what the film wants me the think, but I didn’t like it so much that I went from 3.5/5 to 3/5. I will talk about this film more in a few weeks after it has been out in theaters a little more. I’m not sure I can enjoy this movie again now that I know how it ends. However, watching it a first time I think really works. Maybe the end won’t bother you like it does for me.
Well, after a week of only having one new film released that wasn’t ever going to make any noise in the Box Office, we will have out first real contender to take first place for the weekend this week.
- Den of Thieves 2: Pantera
- Mufasa: The Lion King
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
- Nosferatu
- Moana
Two films down, so many more to go this year for me. This next week, it’s a three film week with the year’s first Mystery Monday, The Last Showgirl, and a sequel to a film from 6 years ago that I’m not sure why it exists. Dumpuary always has its mysteries.
Mitten Film Nerd 
Leave a comment