Movies 2025 - Film reviews on germanradioshow.com

 

2025 Films/Filme reviewed by Susanne Nielsen:

Published in: 

(in German) GERMANRADIOSHOW.COM  

(selected in English) ACED Magazine /Tampa, WWW.ACEDMAGAZINE.COM (search: Susanne Nielsen)

(selected in English) https://www.spinbinmag.com

(publications by  John Delia, Sr., Film Editor/Critic , Member of  Southeastern Film Critics Association SEFCA  and Critics Association of Central Florida CACF )

NEW REVIEWS:

von/by Susanne Nielsen 

Eleanor The Great, Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, is a film that touches our heart. At age 94, she faces the plight of many in her senior community, to be dismissed by society or to be treated like a child. But Eleanor - marvelously played by seasoned stage and movie actress ( last seen speeding along through the streets and catching a scammer in the act in “Thelma” ) June Squibb as Eleanor Morgenstein, refuses to step into the shadows. After the death of her companion Bessie (Rita Zohar), she moves in with her daughter Lisa ( Jessica Hecht), this time to New York City, quite an adventure. Her lost friend’s story becomes her own, and this unexpectedly opens some very new doors. She befriends college student Nina, a young budding journalist (Erin Kellyman in another wonderful performance in this film), who finds Eleanor both intriguing and the grandmother figure she needs just now. 

The two forge a relationship that takes them out of their shared isolation and gives purpose, each for their own reasons, leads to the events they embark upon. The big city with its busy lifestyle is at the center of this story, and the importance of its characters finding a way forward and through trials to gain new purpose and new friendships. Eleanor is a wonderful and very thoughtful film, that should not be missed whatever age one is or aspires to be. Director Johansson pulls a wonderful cast together, Chiwetel Ejiofor with warmth and empathy plays Nina’s dad, trying to encourage his daughter’s gift of writing. Through all its ups and downs, this group brings humor and love and understanding to new heights, a wonderful debut for all involved in the making of Eleanor the Great!

Let’s Not Go to the Dogs Tonight is the directorial debut of yet another female director, who plays the mother of an amazing talent, Embeth Davidtz as mom to Alexandra “Bobo” Fuller ( Lexi venter, marvelous!) , a little unkempt eight year old blonde who seems pretty happy in her world in Rhodesia in the final days of the Rhodesian Bush War. Black and White need to reassess their roles. Mom has her own issues, and looks out for her more and more endangered community of land keepers, in a Rhodesia ( then Zimbabwe)  that is questioning their stance now led by Robert Mugabe, and a black population that questions its role in this new violent era. Alexandra Fuller’s 2001 memoir  is the basis for this film.

Bobo rides around on her moped, spends time with all those around her seemingly carefree, but when the night time comes she is just a little girl and not as confident of herself. Mom has her own problems, and as caretaker of safety or good daughter to her aging parents she loves her land it seems more than everything else. Soon, we sense, this paradise will change and end, the little girl has to deal with her own feelings, as do mom and dad. 

The beautiful landscape is a dreamy backdrop to the reality the people portray, Embeth Davidtz as mother, Rob Vuren as her dad, Tim Fuller care-taking of family and community. Zikhona Bali is Sarah, the black house keeper whose husband Jacob (Fumani Shilubana draws her more and more away from the white family they have both been serving for years it seems. Politics surface in most of the plot, that is sunlit and enhanced with the smooth soundtrack of the times, the voice of Roger Whittaker with standards like “Yellow Bird” - as much as protective cover as are the deceivingly soft visuals. It is a portrait of a lost world, one that is marvelous to immerse oneself into, an Alice in Wonderland of Africa. 

A look back at “Nowhere in Africa,” Karoline Link’s Oscar winning oeuvre has an equally compelling youngster whose eyes see the story, worth a revisit! 

Jurrassic World Rebirth is a stand alone sequel to the Jurassic World Dominion (2022).  It has been a few years when the last Jurassic film looked back on the good old days and brought back the now mature actors like Laura Dern, Jeff Goldbloom, and Sam Neill re- connecting for the first time from the original Jurassic Park , first of now seven films. Now, in 2025, it is high time for a spunky new female lead with a feisty Scarlett Johansson as Zora Bennett, who likes a lot of money, and portrayed as used to partnering with fun loving buddy, Duncan Kinkaid - played with charm and spirit and a bit of mercenary backstory by Mahershala Ali, a well cast duo with some supporting adventure-loving, French speaking crew assistants (Philippine Velge, Belchir Sylvain). The real villain, Martin Krebs, is played by Rupert Friend, more edgy as he gets older, with the sole goal to use his corporate powers to seek control of some very rare resources, that happen to be very hard to get. Add into the mix a hungry for attention scientist Dr. Henry Loomis (Jonathan Bailey), eager to leave the lab and play out of doors. Where? 

Enter the forbidden world of Dinosaurs, now concentrated - the story has it - in a zone that is off limits to the rest of the world. So off we go, on a boat out into nature, and to go see!

To complicate things a bit, they all seem do the right thing, to save a little family with a mayday call sitting on their overturned sailboat. Their weekend with dad outing had also got them into dangerous seas and now, seemingly rescued, they will be caught in the bigger adventure of the motly bunch they unwillingly must join. From water to land, onto marvelous tropical island with high cliffs looming above lucious tropical greenery, two groups set out on two very different quests. 

It is a great new Jurrassic movie, summer fun for Dinosaur fans, a story that is well conceived and some big thrills along the way!    

Tom Cruise in another Mission Impossible installment, Mission Impossible -Final Reckoning, this one not likely to be his Last!

Missions have never been impossible for Tom Cruise, and at over sixty, he is in great form, this time adding a new vista to those expected of him high up in the air. Cruise is showing off his moves: Balancing on and around a by-plane in the dare-devil stunts he famously does without stunt doubles, in the tradition of Buster Keaton and others almost a century and a half ago. 

He has added maneuvers that are thrilling and offer vistas not seen in previous installments of the series. which makes it all very real, and believable because we know he will, no matter, do all his stunts in person. He is surrounded by his "family," the group of fellow actors like Ving Rhames, and Simon Pegg, in the story loyal to the death, against a larger than life Entity, a rogue artificial intelligence, villain Esai Morales in the mix, threatening the world - that Ethan Hunt and his IMF team have to save.

The story always adds some humourous side elements, so that action and suspense help drive the story to a perfect ending. Some of us may be missing a love interest for Hunt, but Cruise fans relish seeing their hero, now with a softer look of wavy hair, in every scene!

Enough surprises make the audience wish for yet another Mission Impossible soon!

Jane Austin Wrecked My Life, review by Susanne Nielsen

It is summer and time, high time for romance! The kind that  we remember as “the Great Romance” - love between an unlikely couple, in Notting Hill it was American Julia Roberts and British Hugh Grant. And now we have Laura Piani’s equally romantic story of Camille Rutherford as French  bookish intellectual wallflower living in her Jane Austin world as Agathe Robinson, and French-speaking, but quite at home in the English literary world, selling books in the most romantic shop in Paris, Shakespearere and Company. 

She has to find herself as she ends up with two unlikely suitors, one a longtime bestie named Felix (Pablo Pauly) and her hosts’ son at a writer’s retreat, with his unreliable car. Born into fame of sorts, he turns out to be writer Jane Austen’s Great great great great nephew (Charlie Anson as Oliver). Agathe is caught in the middle. 

The film's title makes us curious, the characters live through a mini film story in the cleverly set up low-key film trailer. 

“Jane Austen wrecked my Life” is one of those wonderful summer films  that leaves us as satisfied as any Jane Austin novel would,

 hence the clever title, promising a bit of the historic - yes, costumes will be a part of the drama, and a lot of what can go wrong before the characters should find their happy ending. 

Writer-director Piani has mixed in all the right ingredients, a bit of humor and comedy of errors, and a very likable band of flawed players. 

We know that any Austin reference as do her stories on the big screen are amusing, witty characters , especially the female protagonist, and the story is tidily wrapped up to make the perfect ending. 

Girl gets boy and a few hiccups give the story just enough twists that keep us rooting for the heroine to find the perfect match, albeit not who we think. In the costume dramas of Jane Austin tales, 

there are dashing Mr. Darcys, and of course, the family, the solid protectors of women and manners,  always a few wicked characters and a gaggle of sisters and aunts. The background gives us Jane’s view of Georgian society that she was born into and whose morals and doings she so wittily described. But it would not be Jane if she did not also make fun of this little world. After all she lived in this world and knew its many sides.  

So when we meet Agathe, the heroine, we are expecting a love story, with twists and turns  set in the modern world. And our lady protagonist is alone with a job at a book store who loves to read and recommends these old fashioned romances that Ms. Austen so famously conceived. In them - unlike in her own world, all will end well! 

In modern Agathe’s life the men seem to look at her as a sister, a teacher, a buddy. But she just needs  something  ( and someone) more! Hiding out in her world of books is not a life. 

So  her best buddy ( no lack of romance experience himself) Felix comes up with a match making twist - he has sent in her own writing inspired by her love of Jane Austin, and gets her invited to a Jane Austin retreat at one of the writer’s homes in England. When she finally arrives she is met by a group of interesting characters are fellow retreaters, and an adoring quirky elderly couple as their hosts, guardians of Jane Austin’s place of creativity. 

For Agathe, perhaps a time to dust off the cover of her own efforts, and write! 

And from the moment she arrives at the train station and meets Oliver,  the man who may very possibly end up being Mr. Right ( long story - simply watch!) we are hanging on every lovely catastrophy befalling these two.

Reminded of the very best, this perfect little summer film and like so many such love stories ,it perfectly delivers, please, we think, let there be more ! 

The Assessment 

The Brutalist: 

Porcelain War:

All We Imagine as Light:

Flow:

Count of Monte Cristo:

Betterman:

The Room Next Door:

Emilia Perez:

Gloria (2024):

The Color Purple:

GERMAN FILMS: 

Alles Fifty Fifty (2024)

Die Ironie des Lebens (2024)

Muenter und Kandinsky