Just A Little Bit Random

H Is For Hawk – Review

Release Date – 23rd January 2026, Cert – 12, Run-time – 1 hour 55 minutes, Director – Philippa Lowthorpe

Helen (Claire Foy) grew up watching for hawks with her father (Brendan Gleeson), after he passes away she buys one. However, as it helps her through grief her connection with the bird starts to isolate her.

It feels odd to refer to a performance such as Claire Foy’s in a drama like H Is For Hawk as joyous. The film itself isn’t joyous, but there are moments of uplift for central figure Helen (Foy) as she develops a bond with the goshawk, named Mabel, she’s bought in the wake of her father’s (Brendan Gleeson) death. In these moments Foy captures a joy which truly gets across the healing that she feels from training Mabel, despite also saying that the bird is of a non-affectionate species.

Yet, the more time Helen spends with Mabel, starting to put her lecturing work at Cambridge and friends and family aside, means that she becomes isolated, and appears ill. Increasingly pale and slightly lost the effects of grief weight more heavily on her, and she appears to know it. Much of this is lifted by Foy giving one of the best performances of her career, and in many ways making the film what it is. Capturing the inheld, unhealthily leaking pain her character feels in the wake of losing her father, with a number of flashbacks to their bond watching for hawks and taking photos together and a slight warmth brought by Gleeson.

Yet, as we see the shifts that Helen goes through in the wake of loss the film can occasionally seem meandering. Yes, there are plenty of nice, and sometimes entrancing, scenes involving Mabel being trained – or some nature-documentary style sequences involving her hunting – but the way the film moves from one point to another can sometimes feel a bit slower than perhaps intended. At just under two hours there is a slight sense of the run-time throughout, even if things do generally manage to move forward smoothly enough to see them through, and with enough engagement throughout.

And while the film can occasionally feel a bit too slow, and at times muted, there’s still an emotionally affecting close. As Helen speaks at her dad’s funeral, photos from both his career as a news photographer and hobbies being projected next to her, I found myself tearing up more than I have done at a good number of other films for quite some time. Perhaps this was solely because of Foy’s performance, which, again, elevates the film and helps to keep engagement as director and co-writer (with Emma Donoghue) Philippa Lowthorpe keeps consistent focus on her, this is her story after all (adapted from the real Helen MacDonald’s autobiographical book of the same name). It’s Helen who keeps us engaged in the events that unfold, largely avoiding a feeling of familiarity. Especially helpful during the film’s quieter and slower moments.

Claire Foy elevates the emotion and overall engagement of H Is For Hawk with one of her best performance to date, helping get over some of the more drawn out and muted moments with a turn focused on by Philippa Lowthorpe that locks into the emotions.

LFF 2025: ChaO – Review

Release Date – TBC, Cert – TBC, Run-time – 1 hour 30 minutes, Director – Yasuhiro Aoki

After falling overboard, ship worker Stefan (Oji Suzuka) finds himself getting married to princess of the merpeople, ChaO (Anna Yamada). However, will his uncertainty about the relationship break peace between the land and sea?

Reporters have swarmed around young Stefan (Oji Suzuka) asking him if he’s consummated his new marriage to princess of the merpeople ChaO (Anna Yamada). The engagement itself came after the giant orange fish-person, appearing largely in fish form, saved Stefan after he fell overboard from his job on a ship – working for a major company in the hope of one day designing a safer, better ship. Seeing an opportunity to finally bring peace between the land and the sea – stopping attacks from King Neptunus (Kenta Miyaki) – a wedding between the pair is fast-tracked, with the eager encouragement of Stefan’s boss (Ryota Yamasato). Even after all of this it still takes Stefan some time to say “things are getting crazy.”

So much of this course is captured with a breezy lightness that brings through the frequent laughs and chuckles that are all part of the colourful world that feature debut director Yasuhiro Aoki and his team of animators have created. Aoki was a key animator on The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohirrim, a very different looking and feeling film to ChaO (pronounced ‘chow’) which has a much bubblier feeling with as much detail in the futuristic world.

There’s a constantly moving nature to the narrative that fuels the frequency of the laughs as the absurdity of the narrative is acknowledged without being dug up or poked at. All helped by the way in which the world comes across and how easy it is to be immersed in it.

Much of what we see is told in flashback by an older Stefan to aspiring journalist Juno (Shunsei Ota). With Stefan’s story being the bulk of the film it does feel as if the details we get of Juno’s arc are ended very abruptly, and somewhat weirdly, perhaps also an effect of the 90-minute run-time, which itself is no bad thing and most of what we see if effectively condensed into. Including the stages of the final act which increases the growing threat faced by Stefan and ChaO in the uncertain state of their relationship and its constant push and pull. Although, amongst this a sense of heart starts to grow as things develop between the pair. Yet, the protagonist still finds himself worrying about what his marriage to a stranger, who just so happens to be princess of the fish people, means for maintaining peace and his won future.

Where this eventually develops has some true video game final boss style to the tone and look of the eventual action towards the film’s close. Yet, still slotting in with what has come before and the overall style of the film. One that provides plenty of light entertainment and laughs over the course of its short run-time that truly captures the colour and energy of the world in which the embraceable chaos unfolds.

A film that knows and embraces its absurdity to boost the humour in its colourful, futuristic world. There’s a good deal of entertainment to be found within ChaO and the heart found growing in the central relationship.

Primate – Review

Release Date – 30th January 2026, Cert – 18, Run-time – 1 hour 29 minutes, Director – Johannes Roberts

After being infected with rabies a chimpanzee (Miguel Torres Umba) turns deadly and terrorises the family that owns it, and their friends, in their isolated home.

There’s only so far you can take a film like Primate. The story of being trapped by a friendly-turned-deadly pet is somewhat familiar, and when confined to an isolated home on the cliff-edge of a Hawaiian island is also limited. That point where the film can’t go much further arrives about 20 minutes in when the central group of young friends are trapped in a swimming pool, looking over the rocky edge, with chimpanzee Ben (movement specialist Miguel Torres Umba) lurking around it, ready to attack at any moment.

And his attacks are, while brief and sometimes shown slightly off-screen, despite the film’s 18 rating, brutal. His first attack in the first few second happens in darkness until the camera pushes in and reveals a victim with his face half ripped off. It’s a grisly opening that promises a good deal more to come. While that’s not quite the case as the friendly chimp quickly turns deadly after catching rabies there are still some moments of dark-red splatter, or perhaps rather puddles. Yet, because of the infrequency some of the sudden bursts into violent horror can feel somewhat overblown within the confines of the film.

We can tell from the point Lucy (Johnny Sequoyah), younger sibling Erin (Gia Hunter) and friends Kate (Victoria Wyant), Nick (Benjamin Cheng) and slightly distanced Hannah (Jessica Alexander) first land in the pool just who’s going to survive and who won’t. And it’s not entirely a matter of in what order they won’t, just when. The film appears to lean into that fact as it knows you’re waiting for the next kill and so puts focus on that fact without building up tension, simply promising that there will be more along the way at some point. Although occasionally when they do the editing is so frantic that the bloody details seem to be shot around and the possible intensity and general effect of the slaughter lost.

In this regard there’s a very simple frenzied ape horror at play. There’s no background or layered or additional themes, and it doesn’t try to include any of these. And that’s not a bad thing. A simple piece of popcorn horror cinema is nothing to be sniffed at or seen as negative. And Primate is perfectly fine. Yes, perhaps a bit too slim, and it certainly reaches as far as it can go within the first half an hour, although maintaining a sense of threat and occasional intrigue rather than tension, but it does a decent enough job of keeping things going for 90 minutes. Largely with the promise of more horror around each corner. You know what you’re going to get and you get it in a tight 89-minute run-time. It just feels as if it had a bit more space it could have that bit more intensity and entertainment factor.

You can see the limits of Primate’s simple narrative and setting very early on, and it hits those not long after. While it could be a bit more intense and entertaining, what there is passes the short run-time well enough without gaps between kills feeling too overstretched.

LFF 2025: Hamlet – Review

Release Date – 6th February 2026, Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 54 minutes, Director – Aneil Karia

Modern day telling of Hamlet, where Prince Hamlet (Riz Ahmed) seeks revenge for the murder of his father (Avijit Dutt) whilst being caught in familial ties and tensing relationships.

This modern day telling of Hamlet marks perhaps the most walkouts I’ve seen in a press screening to date. And I don’t think it’s an overall sign of the quality of the film, but more the mood of the press and industry audience nearing the closing days of the 2025 London Film Festival and not quite being in the right frame of mind to close the day on a Shakespeare adaptation that updates the setting but not the language used.

I’ve spoken before about my difficulties to properly engage with the language, but with the right performances the meaning can still be understood and conveyed and followed just as simply by a modern audience as if the language had been updated. Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand’s turns in Joel Coen’s The Tragedy Of Macbeth being perfect recent examples. Perhaps the problem is that in this modern day telling of Hamlet – featuring such sights as Wren Kitchens, The Big Yellow Self Storage Company and good old British industrial estates – single performances encapsulate a variety of styles. While good turns, the likes of Riz Ahmed – leading as Prince Hamlet in his search for revenge after his father’s (Avijit Dutt) murder) – and Timothy Spall, playing Polonius, feel as if they switch between acting for stage and screen, with modern and traditional elements of recital and performance. It’s a feeling brought up by many of the core cast members in the film.

Where the performances best succeed is in a physical sense, something which director Aneil Karia translates to the environments the film takes place in. Moving events between locations, and generally using them, to stop things from becoming stagnant. The ‘to be or not to be’ speech is a scared battle with inner thoughts as Hamlet speeds down the motorway in his car, foot pressing down further on the peddle the more he questions his life and sanity.

To pair with the physicality which stands out so much in this screen adaptation moments of silence are where the most power is found. For all the performance(s) in the film, quietness is where it finds the most success, even in scenes with plenty of dialogue there can still occasionally be found a quietness that has a strong effect. Getting across more than much of the speech. Yes, it could be said that these moments are what push the run-time, which itself at just under 2-hours is felt, but they’re the most understated and appreciated moments in a film that often finds itself struggling to properly engage a wider audience due to not quite getting past the Shakespeare ‘language barrier’.

Physicality in location and performances pairs well with quietness to create a push in this modern day telling of Hamlet, yet the slow pacing means that keeping the original language, with actors displaying a mixture of performance types, may still prove a barrier to proper engagement for some.

Giant – Review

Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 50 minutes, Director – Rowan Athale

‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed (Amir El-Masry) rises from matches in front of racist club audiences in 80s Britain to world champion boxing, however over time rifts form with his trainer, Brendan Ingle (Pierce Brosnan).

“Same story, different actors” says Alma Ingle (Katherine Dow Blyton) as she notices the rift already forming between her boxing coach husband, Brendan (Pierce Brosnan), and his latest prodigy ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed (Amir El-Masry). Having trained together since Naz was seven the bond the pair once had appears to be fading as the boxer gets further into the professional world. The observation of a familiar story is certainly one that I agreed with as the markings that make up Giant’s story felt just so while watching it.

Instead of focusing on El-Masry’s character much of the film is told through the eyes of his trainer. Brendan consistently pushes his past as a boxer, although how successful he was seems to be overstated, and starts to ask for a bigger cut of the winnings from the man he made as skilful as he is, in line with what other trainers ask for. It’s this that truly kicks off the arguments between the pair. Yet, around these moments the film seems to switch perspectives between the two leads. Whether this is meant to be largely one person’s film or both starts to tangle as who we’re meant to feel empathy for and who the ‘bad guy’ is meant to be constantly flip-flops. The tone suggests that at least one person must be, but just who that is never feels solid due to that figure changing in line with the viewpoint we’re seeing things from.

When focusing on Brendan the film certainly feels most confident. There’s a slightly more relaxed tone that sits more comfortably in line with the figure, despite Naz having the potential for more dramatic weight as he grows up fighting in northern English clubs of the 80s for racist audiences – scenes which provide a number of grating child performances – growing to fight for world champion titles; where we finally get El-Masry conveying the arrogance ingrained in the boxer. Brosnan gives a good performance and tries to bring a layer of warmth to the conventional beats of the script and the more unsubtle moments.

The boxing sequences are intentionally flashy, but this comes at a cost as they’re edited and shot in a way that tries to put the action front-and-centre but removes its effect from cutting at each moment so that an attempt at a punch suddenly appears to have been nowhere near the opponent, or the action is simply made more jumpy and difficult to follow. A particularly issue when Naz’s dance-like footwork is said to be his greatest skill, providing his abilities with a strong fluidity which the edits stop from coming across.

As things move on, and the rift truly comes more to the fore in what turns out to be the third act, character is clearly at the front of Giant’s mind. While occasionally things might conflict when it comes to perspective there’s still a film that does a solid enough job here. One that works, and manages to have a good handful of engaging moments; helped along by small beats of humour, in fact a good amount more than I would have expected going in. It helps to bring a bit more pace to some of the slower scenes, largely because of the blend of familiarity and uncertainty when it comes to how characters are supposed to be viewed.

There’s a good film in Giant, and one that for the most part, despite its bumps, passes by fairly well. However, with a good deal of stumbles it doesn’t make for the smoothest of rides. Occasionally feeling like two biopics about the same events that have been melded together both of them are decent enough, but they can start to spar with each other for control of the frame. Meaning that the character drama at hand doesn’t always get the room it perhaps should have to properly breathe. There’s some space allowed by the elements of familiarity, but not enough for the film to properly move around.

With two perspectives uncertainly conflicting, while watchable and having some likable moments of character drama thanks to the two lead performances, Giant feels held back by its style and editing from properly landing a punch.

Just A Little Bit Random Review Of The Year 2025

Film journalist Tom Beasley once again joins me to count down our respective top ten films of the year lists, this time looking back at the best films of the year that was 2025. Covering smart horror films and a good number of indie films about people being sad, with some plain silly and feel-good films, alongside slight disagreements, in-between. All part of looking back on our best and favourite films of 2025.

To find more from Tom check out his Instagram and Bluesky.
If you want to listen to his song requests follow the links below:
Crazy Little Thing Called Love – Queen
Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry
Rhinestone Cowboy – Glen Campbell

Just A Little Bit Random Audience Top Ten Films Of 2025

2025: a year noted for, perhaps more so than in recent years, the acclaim of original films, and success of them over franchise titles. That certainly seems to be the case with the audience top ten this year, where original titles dominated the voting process – although there are notable franchise titles and adaptations in the mixture as well.

While one film may have ran away with the vote for first place, those that followed were close together, and over the two weeks or so that voting was open original films, and indie hits, were shown plenty of love. This is the first year since perhaps starting these audience top tens that the MCU, or a superhero movie for that matter (despite some love for Superman), hasn’t made the list. Favour was shown towards British films, particularly comedies with an emotional vein such as Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy and The Ballad Of Wallis Island, while awards contenders for both 2025 and 2026 races – Frankenstein and, somewhat surprisingly considering its mid-January release, A Real Pain especially.

The final audience top ten has a good deal of variety in terms of both genre and release date here in the UK. And so, let’s see what’s joining the recent likes of Wicked, Oppenheimer and Glass Onion to be named the Just A Little Bit Random audience best film of the year, alongside the rest of the top ten.

10. A Complete Unknown

One of the few stars today who can seemingly open a film, Timothée Chalamet received much praise, and awards love, for his portrayal of Bob Dylan when he went electric. A Complete Unknown was a hit with fans of Dylan and general audiences with a traditional feel that still appeared to stand out amongst the growing cliché of many music biopics – something which 2025’s Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere was criticised by some for.

But, with the switch to electric, of course, comes a focus on the music, and that may well have been what audiences were hoping for from this film. Providing just that it showed itself to be a hit in multiple ways. Especially in regards to Chalamet’s performance, and those around him such as Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro and Elle Fanning. Music, lyrics and the connection we can have with them lead the film and may have served as reminders to many about just what they love about Dylan’s work, reconnecting with it through the film as we see him defiantly stick to what he wants to do in the wake of pressure from the folk scene to stick to tradition and his roots. Captured in that 1965 Newport Folk Festival set that starts to round off the film.

9. Wicked: For Good

After one of the world’s longest marketing campaigns, effectively beginning over a year and a half ago in the build-up to the first film (named the audience film of 2024) and seemingly continuing a month-and-a-half after the release of the follow-up, mixed with an awards campaign, Wicked: For Good had a lot to live up to. The stage musical has largely been said to have a weaker, stranger second act without the same level of hits that act one has, yet still remains a beloved, highly popular production. This film adaptation of that second act seems to have succeeded in capturing some of that stage magic that people loved so much, and effect of the first film, is still present in this second half of the Glinda-Elphaba story.

Transporting audiences back to the visual detail of Oz, with more being shown of it amongst the musical numbers (including Jeff Goldblum having a great time performing Wonderful, a highlight of the film). The film seems to have especially worked for those who have double billed the pair together, something which seems to have been done many times by many people, boosting For Good beyond what many have said when viewing it alone. And that may be what’s helped it reach this year’s audience top ten, alongside a general love for the musical and simply film on its own.

8. 28 Years Later

Another return enjoyed by voters, although to a much darker place then Oz, 28 Years Later saw a long-awaited view of Britain under the Rage virus. A return to the zombie franchise that tackles ideas in the wake of a post-COVID world and rise of nationalism, there’s much tackled in this third entry in the franchise, and first of a trilogy, that audiences recognised and connected with. All amongst the expected chaos of a ‘they’re-not-called-zombies-but-they’re-absolutely-zombies’ outbreak.

Fear and dread were ramped back up, even back in the unsettling island community that young protagonist Spike (Alfie Williams) finds himself brought up in the safety, at least from the mainland, of. All before delving into a more restrained and emotionally-based story surrounding grief and the illness faced by Spike’s mother (Jodie Comer), as they seek Ralph Fiennes’ possibly mad doctor who is believed to still be alive on the mainland after all this time. Through this director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, returning after working together on 28 Days Later 23 years prior, brought in poignancy and a set of events that unexpectedly affected a good number of people, and created a more weighty film than was already present in this follow-up made with something of a zombified reflection that audiences truly connected with.

7. KPop Demon Hunters

The word-of-mouth Netflix hit that turned into a chart sensation and a box office smash (twice), KPop Demon Hunters is undoubtedly one of the biggest, most talked about films of the year. And deservingly so. Not just another showcase of strong visuals from Sony Animation, after the likes of the Spider-Verse films and The Mitchells Vs The Machines there’s a truly entertaining film to be found here. Backed by a great soundtrack full of equally enjoyable earworms – Golden has been just one of the tracks on a loop in many households since the film started to grow its audiences around halfway through the year.

Proving a longevity, and entertainment for all ages, the film is still being talked about and the soundtrack played all these months later, with little sound of people being tired of it. Perhaps because, especially in a year with little in the way of notable animated films (instead we had a shot-for-shot remake of How To Train Your Dragon or a live-action take on Lilo And Stitch that faltered under the weight of the studio wanting to keep as much the same as possible), it showed just so much creativity in both its style and what it chose to do with its narrative. Making for a fun, entertaining and humorous adventure.

In a year where Ne Zha 2 was the biggest box office hit, Disney managed to cross the billion dollar mark with Zootropolis 2, Captain Underpants spin-off Dog Man was perhaps one of the funniest films of the year and anime continued to fill cinema screens via the likes of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle and Chainsaw Man: The Movie, KPop Demon Hunters appears to be the film that came from almost nowhere, defied expectations from the title and sprinted ahead of them all.

6. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery

From the first instalment the Knives Out films have quickly become consistently enjoyable audience favourites. Some of the most discussed films of the year, they’ve become actively anticipated and enjoyed by many, particularly with re-watches. Knives Out was named the third best film of 2019 while Glass Onion, as mentioned above, was crowned the best of 2022. Wake Up Dead Man continues the series’ placement in audience top tens by making it into the best of 2025 with a more serious, yet still humorous, locked-door mystery. One where it seems the murder was impossible, with no one nearby who was able to do it.

Another starry ensemble is assembled for Daniel Craig’s thickly-accented Benoit Blanc to scan over and question as he tries to work out whodunnit when it seems that nobody could have possibly dunnit. A murder mystery against the background of faith, possible spiritual forces at play and a hostile, tight-lipped church congregation, there was as much a guessing game at play here as before. All made with the usual glee that Rian Johnson displays in his writing and directing as the mystery unfolds with as much delight each time we watch it. With the level of quality maintained, it seems that many welcome more Knives Out films for years to come, as long as Johnson and Craig are prepared and happy to keep making them, as and when they’re ready.

5. Weapons

One of the most acclaimed films, and original stories, of the year. In a year that had plenty of love directed towards horror films, Weapons was one of the ones that stood out the most. Covering an array of themes that could well differ with each viewing, if there weren’t already some before Amy Madigan appears chills were certainly felt by audiences by the time her character becomes a proper presence in the darkness of Weapons. A film that many found delight in from going in to knowing very little, and has had such an effect that little has been given away about it in the months since the films release. With audiences letting other see the film as fresh as possible for the first time instead of leaping to openly analyse every shot and detail online.

The image of children running out into the dark in the middle of the night, arms stretched out like the shadows falling behind them in the dim glow of the street lights, is one of the most effective of the year. Itself a chilling image to match the concept of the film, especially when kicking things off with the backing of George Harrison’s Beware Of Darkness – one of the best needle drops of the year. Weapons has proved itself as a film that has had almost everyone taking something different from it, and pretty much all of them are right in what they’ve seen. Regardless of what people have seen it’s certainly got under the skin of many who watched it and believed it to be one of the best films of the year.

4. The Choral

Each year the audience top ten features of a British drama such as The Choral, but usually towards the lower end of the list but this particular film did consistently well in the poll. Whether it was the emotionally affecting nature of the performance that almost everything builds up to, or the simple touch of writer Alan Bennett, there’s clearly something that created a lasting impact with a good number of people who saw the film.

2025 was a year with many films that looked into the idea of art as therapy and escape. Certainly there are a handful in the awards race for this year (such as Hamnet, a 2026 release in the UK, and Sentimental Value, released on 26th December so perhaps a bit late for some when it came to voting, although Marty Supreme received a couple of votes; but had a bigger release. The theme is central to The Choral, against the backing of the First World War, with multiple members of the titular choir preparing to be called up to fight at any moment. Done in a calm and traditional British vein, this was a drama that audiences appeared to give a warmer reception to than the critical one, which generally seemed to be fairly lukewarm, although not without praise. But, its depiction of escape and release through music and song, whilst maintaining something of a stiff-upper-lip attitude, was enough to push it to a place as the fourth best film of 2025 in this audience top ten.

3. Sinners

Before Weapons came along, and after it, Sinners was the original 2025 horror, and really just original film in general, that took the box office, and audiences by storm. Outperforming expectations and too-quick-to-jump doomsayers the film proved to be a word-of-mouth hit that retained an audience thanks to the pure acclaim that it received. Showing that there is demand for fresh, original genre filmmaking in this day and age. And Sinners pushes itself with all three of those boxes. With both the largely unadvertised first half and the second half where everything ramps up into a fiery battle, although the heat is present long before, after the appearance of vampires led by Jack O’Connell.

Far beyond a musical sequence which acts as one of the best scenes of the year, capturing the blend and drive within Sinners as a whole, there’s plenty of force and flair throughout the film. Whether in the dual lead performance of Michael B. Jordan – perhaps the most acclaimed in a year that also saw some from Elle Fanning and Roberts Pattinson and De Niro – or acclaimed supporting turns from Wunmi Mosaku, Miles Caton, Hailee Steinfeld or Delroy Lindo, or technical aspects such as the music and visuals. The celebration that kicks off the juke joint set up by Jordan’s twin brothers descends into a dark, musically-tinted actioner with blood, sweat and fear. A big all-round success in 2025.

2. I Swear

A true British crowdpleaser, in the UK I Swear built up an audience through preview and mystery screenings and found success through its true-life-tale leanings and word-of-mouth acclaim. A dramedy with plenty of heart, and praise in the build-up to its release, there was plenty of humour, it’s acknowledged in the opening scene that ‘it’s ok to laugh’, to be found amongst the emotional punches in the story of Tourette’s advocate John Davidson (Robert Aramayo).

Much of the aforementioned heart comes through moments of kindness and understanding, whether from Peter Mullan’s character or Maxine Peake’s standout turn. Breaking up the struggle faced by Davidson through acceptance. Pushing him to become an advocate and teach people about Tourette’s syndrome so that there’s more awareness and understanding around it. A film that took a good number of people by surprise with just how much they responded to it, perhaps that understanding and aforementioned kindness is what really allowed the film to strike the right chord and resonate in the way that it did. Making for a film that appeared in many best of the year conversations, and had enough love to appear as the second best film of 2025 according to the audience poll.

1. One Battle After Another

In previous years the gap between first and second, and even third, in the audience poll has been very close, with the lead often changing. However, this year One Battle After Another took the crown early and continued to storm ahead with a particularly strong showing compared to any other film. Little was known about Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest in the build-up to release, with the marketing keeping much under wraps, but once in cinemas the acclaim was unleashed and from there it’s barely calmed down; looking at becoming an awards sweeper in the next couple of months.

Almost every element of the film has been praised, especially the thrills of the third act with its dizzying hill-based car chase. One Battle After Another is undoubtedly one of, if not the, most acclaimed films of the year. While it might not have been the biggest box office success there was still plenty of discussion around it and the performances of the ensemble cast in the constantly moving dramatic thriller. One with constantly shifting thematic layers which provided particular, if not entirely intended, resonance against their political backdrops. In some ways boosting the thrills and tension on display in the various chase aspects that make up the narrative at hand.

Regardless of what it was in particular, if just one thing, that clicked with people, One Battle After Another has been named the Just A Little Bit Random audience’s best film of 2025.

LFF 2025: Lucky Lu – Review

Release Date – TBC, Cert – TBC, Run-time – 1 hour 43 minutes, Director – Lloyd Lee Choi

Having only just secured a cramped, one-bedroom space for his imminent families arrival, New York City deliver rider Lu (Chang Chen) struggles to get by, especially when at risk of losing his job.

There’s an emotional helplessness to Lucky Lu as the titular protagonist’s (Chang Chen) life continues to give in under the weight of itself. Having emigrated to New York City in the hope of giving his family a better life, and opening a restaurant, five years have passed and Lu is finally ready to welcome his wife (Fola Chen) and young daughter (Carabelle Manna Wei) into the cramped one-bedroom flat he’s only just barely secured.

However, not long after their arrival Lu’s e-bike is stolen. He frantically runs around trying to collect and deliver orders, only for them to take too long to arrive to customers, and get cold in the process. Money troubles get worse, loans are declined and work is on the line. The washed-out, grey look that adds to the dirt and grime of the city, squashed into the aspect ratio adding to the feeling that this city, and land, or dreams isn’t all it’s been made out to be.

All these pressures and worries are maintained in a slow-pace that’s made bearable, and somehow not bleak, by the level of compassion which writer-director Lloyd Lee Choi, in his feature debut, shows to his characters. From start to finish his gaze, and the restrained lead performance from Chang Chen, remains quietly compelling and emotionally in-tune with everything we’re shown. Lu tries to connect with his daughter but struggles to amongst the demands to bring in money for his family, often attempting to do both at the same time with what seems like little success in both regards.

Choi wills him on, as do we, amongst the emotionally and mentally draining struggle we see him go through over again. With care and want to see him, and his family, succeed. Gently paced and providing a good deal of insight into his life with details of others naturally leaking into the wider picture as a portrait of another side of New York life is created. One that’s caringly and thoughtfully made, getting across many stories of struggle within one of a single family. A family who have great weight behind them thanks to the quiet and natural performances which effectively get across the strains they face and the natures of their relationships with the most subtle of looks and gestures. Creating further compassion from the viewer to add to that displayed by the camera in the grime of the faded city.

Multiple stories leak into that of the central family in Lucky Lu, subtly performed and captured with quiet compassion which helps to prevent despair in the effectively slow pacing, this is a finely-tuned story of struggle in a city as faded as the dreams brought to it.

LFF 2025: Diamonds In The Sand – Review

Release Date – TBC, Cert – TBC, Run-time – 1 hour 42 minutes, Director – Janus Victoria

After the death of a neighbour, Yoji (Lily Franky) leaves his life behind and heads to the Philippines, where he believes noone is truly lonely.

“So, in the Philippines you’re never alone?” asks Yoji (Lily Franky), a sense that this neighbouring country is a completely different far off land simply because of this fact. After losing his friend and neighbour he decides to depart his isolated life in Japan to spend time in the Philippines.

Writer-director Janus Victoria quietly follows Yoji as he wonders through the streets and starts to have conversations with those he comes across. Finding a small sort-of-community in the places he ventures. He undoubtedly spends his time wandering and the film in turn has a similar feeling to its pacing and structure. It’s certainly intentional, but still feels like general wandering. I sat watching, willing the film and Yoji on in his search to lessen his isolation, but at the same time wanting to film to ever so slightly pick up and show a bit more. To just be that bit better. Especially once the different stages of the central character’s journey become noticeable.

In the earlier stages we see more of his home life than I had expected from the brief plot description I’d seen beforehand, which somewhat implied a different kind of film – although one that we get more in the final half hour where indeed things feel like they’ve been taken from a different film. In the opening stages, however, there’s a more close-up look at things. The camera leans into Franky’s eyes as he truly gets across the loneliness of his character. It’s his performance that truly gets these feelings across and does so rather effectively in these quieter moments that focus on this point, and his turn before gradually stretching into something different the more the film gets towards the closing stages. Leaving me to wish that, while what I was seeing was still fine, that it would get back onto that more intimate track with the lead than the wider environment he found himself floating in, and into.

A film with clear stages, where the opening ones that focus on the isolation of the lead character and the best and most intimate, before things get somewhat lost in the less quiet Philippine streets where the tone shifts into that of a different film.

LFF 2025: The Good Boy – Review

This review was published after the film’s LFF screenings in 2025 when it went under the slightly shorter title of Good Boy.

Release Date – 20th March 2026, Cert – TBC, Run-time – 1 hour 50 minutes, Director – Jan Komasa

Reckless youth Tommy (Anson Boon) is kidnapped by a family he doesn’t know who trap him in their basement wishing to teach him a lesson about valuing his life.

As we see an extremely reluctant set of minor changes in Good Boy’s main character, Tommy (Anson Boon), I was reminded of the Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared TV series. But, instead of Stain Edwards being transformed into the not-quite-departed Duck the sinisterly dark comedy at hand made me think that the intent from the family who have kidnapped and trapped him is to almost indoctrinate him into their drab home. But, Tommy proves a struggle for them as he lashes out and attempts to escape his imprisonment from the group of strangers.

Attempting to change the violent and reckless youth’s life – the opening two or three minutes does a good job of making him instantly, wholly unlikable with his obnoxious partying lifestyle – 80s style VHS tapes are shown to him, alongside his own TikToks, claiming “everything that surrounds you is filled with love and understanding.” The uneasy style of ‘care’ shown, however, largely by father Chris (Stephen Graham with a hint of Dennis Nilsen about him) certainly say otherwise. Yet, despite the sinister nature at hand there’s still a slight gentleness and warmth shown from Chris towards Tommy, as if he does actually have good intentions in wanting to see him be better person – even if he goes around it in far from the right way.

Chris also cares for his wife, Kathryn (Andrea Riseborough), who herself seems to be ill. A quiet and isolated figure there’s very little for Riseborough to do for a good chunk of the film, leading me to sit and wonder when the detail that could have attracted her to the role was going to finally arrive. While largely confined to the second half, where some of the film’s darker edges wear off leading to a dampened effect from the pushed run-time.

There are still darker elements at play, and some moments of real suspense, especially when it comes to one particularly difficult-to-watch scene involving Chris and Kathryn’s young son Jonathan (Kit Rakusen). However, as we learn more about the family and Tommy starts to find more freedom in the house – even if still walking with a literal chain around his neck – the tone starts to shift, and in that the film appears to lose itself and where its strengths lay. It doesn’t quite become a different film, but one simply stuck in its shifts and weakening because of that. The darkness of the comedy, and to some extent the comedy in general, isn’t quite as present and the film appears to be more clearly trying to build towards an ending, albeit quite gradually. But, when remembering its darker tones in various aspects Good Boy is at its best with a sinister nature hanging over both the humour and drama, with help from Stephen Graham and Anson Boon’s paired performances in particular.

Working best when focusing on the darkly comic and sinister Good Boy starts to lose itself in its tonal shifts, meaning that its effects wear off and thematically it starts to feel as if it strays.