So many movies, so little time: Here's what to see on the big screen this January

After a couple of weeks off, your trusted Region movie reviewer is back and ready to go again in 2025.

My writing may have stopped for those two weeks, but my trips to the movies did not. During that time, I saw five new releases (I would like to apologise to Zain and Tess at Forum 6 for my constant annoying presence), all of which were worth seeing for one reason or another.

Because I only write one review a week, I can’t possibly convince my editor to let me write five and pack up for the week, right?

Well, unfortunately, no, I can’t. But what I can do is provide a 100-word summary of each of the movies I’ve seen in the past fortnight and why I believe you should or should not see them.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Man, we have come a long way from horrible video game movies and whatever the heck that original Sonic design was back in 2019. Thankfully, we are now three movies deep into the franchise and the most recent instalment has provided the best outing of the famous blue hedgehog yet.

While similar to the previous two films, Sonic 3 has done away with some of the flaws of the previous films and has produced a solid family offering. Jim Carrey gives his best performance yet as Dr Robotnik, Keanu Reeves makes his debut as the popular figure Shadow and the returning duo of Tails and Knuckles continue to provide the laughs.

Sonic 3 is my choice of film for the family to see during these school holidays.

Mufasa: The Lion King

Who asked for this? Honestly? Like, does anyone even know this movie is out at the moment?

A prequel to the “live-action” (gee, that feels wrong to say) Lion King from 2019, Mufasa tells the story of the King of Pride Rock. If you want my brief opinion of this movie, here it is. It sucks.

There just isn’t a story here. It is a jumbled mess of a plot, the updated voices for beloved characters can’t hold a candle to the originals and despite the updated emotional depth of the photo-realistic animation, it all has a feel of uncanny valley to it all. This was the last movie I saw in 2024 and unfortunately one of the biggest duds as well.

Better Man

Back to the good stuff.

I have to admit, I didn’t know a lot about Robbie Williams. Of course, I sing my heart out to Angels every time it plays, but I didn’t know a lot about his time with Take That or just how big he was around Europe and Australia.

Thankfully his new biopic, Better Man, which sees the iconic pop star as a monkey, is a banger. Yes, it takes a bit to get used to but fortunately what is depicted in the film feels so much more entertaining (excuse the pun) than a lot of other musical biopics we’ve had in the past few years.

Williams is treated as a flawed human being who made mistakes, not a mistreated superhero, and the movie is better for it. I strongly recommend seeing this, just for the Rock DJ scene alone. Better Man is also the one movie on this list I can’t wait to rewatch.

Paddington in Peru

Anyone who has seen the previous two Paddington movies knows how fantastic this franchise is. A perfect combination of witty and wholesome, the trenchcoat-wearing, marmalade sandwich-eating bear continues his strong run of form.

Leaving his home in England to visit his Aunt Lucy in Peru, Paddington and the Brown family embark on an adventure across the Amazon forest. While I don’t think this film is as strong as the first two, it is an incredibly high bar to reach. This third film is still charming and well worth the admission price.

Take the family, enjoy the shenanigans and just relax with the warm-hug feeling that this franchise continues to provide.

Nosferatu

On to the final film on this list and the first one I saw in 2025: director Robert Eggers’ remake of the vampire classic, Nosferatu.

This is my pick of the bunch. Incredible filmmaking from Eggers and even better performances by the entire cast elevate this to already being a film of the year contender. While the premise and grim nature of this film won’t be for everyone, and that is completely valid, for me, it hit everything on the nail.

The occult setting, the dark performance of Bill Skarsgard as Count Orlock, the twisted undertones and the reimagining of one of cinema’s original masterpieces all combine to make one of the most uncomfortably entertaining cinema experiences I’ve had in a long time.

It’s not necessarily a horror movie, but the nature of this film makes the entire production feel unsettling in the best way possible. Be sure to check this one out!