Scott Tobias

The sixth Insidious film follows Gemma, a dental hygienist who can enter the Further and inadvertently bring demons into the real world, threatening both her and her daughter. Although director Jacob Chase creates a few effective sequences, including surreal liminal-space imagery and a disturbing dental appointment, the review finds the mythology dull, the effects unimpressive and the tone overly serious. Lin Shaye's Elise Rainier is described as the franchise's main remaining source of charm, while the series is seen as drifting toward the same creative dead end as the later Saw films.

Film-makers, authors and Guardian critics select and assess their favourite Steven Spielberg films, portraying him as a director who fused New Hollywood experimentation with classical Hollywood spectacle. The selections praise his mastery of suspense, emotion, actors, science fiction and blockbuster entertainment, while highlighting his engagement with immigration, racism, antisemitism, war and the Holocaust. Raiders of the Lost Ark, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Jaws, Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List receive especially strong praise, while 1941 and A.I. Artificial Intelligence are reassessed for their darker or more unconventional qualities.

Guardian critics recommend lesser-known films from 2025, spanning documentaries, westerns, queer romances, family dramas, comedies and sports films. The selections include socially engaged works such as Endless Cookie, Homebound and Songs from the Hole, which explore Indigenous marginalization, casteism, Islamophobia, incarceration and forgiveness, alongside formally inventive films such as Grand Theft Hamlet and Ebony & Ivory. Several entries are praised for offering nuanced queer and interracial representation, while others are framed as casualties of weak theatrical distribution and limited visibility. Despite varying in quality, the films are united by the critics’ view that they offer distinctive, rewarding alternatives to higher-profile releases.

Guardian film writers select standout scenes from 2025 releases, covering racing spectacle in F1: The Movie, the surreal conception sequence in Marty Supreme, comic suspense in The Mastermind, musical transcendence in Sinners, and an explosive fight in Splitsville. Other highlights include Hamnet’s emotionally devastating finale, a paranoid chase in One Battle After Another, Spike Lee’s kinetic subway sequence in Highest 2 Lowest, a communal act of resistance in It Was Just an Accident, the haunting opening of On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, and a troubling sting operation in the documentary Predators. Together, the selections emphasize cinema’s ability to combine spectacle, comedy, political anxiety, grief, cultural memory and moments of transcendence.

David Lean’s 1965 adaptation of Boris Pasternak’s novel is portrayed as an old-fashioned, politically restrained epic that nonetheless retains considerable cinematic magic. Its immense scale, evocative depiction of war and revolution, and the magnetic pairing of Omar Sharif and Julie Christie elevate the tragic love story of Yuri Zhivago and Lara. Although the film offers only a limited treatment of Russian history and can feel lumbering compared with Lean’s more intimate work, its portrayal of individuals overwhelmed by forces beyond their control gives the romance enduring emotional power.

Guardian writers recommend 11 lesser-known or underappreciated Christmas films spanning romantic comedies, anime, crime thrillers, westerns, teen movies, queer cinema and low-key independent drama. Their selections include 1940s social comedies such as It Happened on Fifth Avenue and Meet John Doe, darker choices such as The Silent Partner and Tokyo Godfathers, and films that challenge conventional holiday sentiment through bawdy humor, family dysfunction, queer history or bleak realism. The pieces emphasize distinctive performances, unconventional approaches to Christmas storytelling and the continuing value of films outside the standard holiday canon.

David Fincher’s Seven is presented as an unusually uncompromising 1995 thriller whose bleak ending and immersive depiction of evil survived studio pressure and hostile test screenings. The film’s grim urban setting, philosophical treatment of the Seven Deadly Sins, stark visual style and powerful performances by Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt created a distinctive blend of visceral horror and procedural drama. Its success demonstrated that audiences could embrace a relentlessly pessimistic vision, while the weaker serial-killer films that followed copied its surface style without its thematic depth.

Robert Redford has died at 89 at his home in Sundance, Utah, prompting tributes from Meryl Streep, Jane Fonda, Antonio Banderas, Ron Howard, Marlee Matlin and others. Celebrated for films including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting and All the President’s Men, Redford also became an Oscar-winning director and a central force in American independent cinema through the Sundance Institute and Film Festival. Tributes emphasize his generosity, environmental and progressive commitments, and lasting influence on filmmakers, while career reflections examine his transition from Hollywood star to director, producer and advocate for creative independence.

Guardian film writers propose reviving a range of dormant franchises, including The Thin Man, Wild Things, Torchy Blane, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Austin Powers, The Godfather, The Brady Bunch, Wayne’s World, Species and Shanghai Noon. Their arguments range from preserving classic glamour and mystery storytelling to updating erotic thrillers, horror, political satire and generational comedy for contemporary audiences. Several suggestions use current cultural and political conditions—including Trump-era reactionary politics, authoritarianism, changing music culture and a craving for less self-important studio entertainment—as reasons for revisiting older properties, while acknowledging the risks of failed reboots and disappointing sequels.

Robert Altman’s 1975 film Nashville is presented as the defining cinematic achievement of a turbulent 1970s, combining an expansive ensemble cast with overlapping dialogue, improvised-feeling performances and a documentary-like portrait of the country music industry. The film’s interconnected stories explore ambition, celebrity, gendered exploitation and American political disillusionment, culminating in a tragic and poignant Parthenon finale involving a third-party presidential campaign. Its unusual narrative structure and generous yet pessimistic view of American life have influenced generations of filmmakers and later ensemble dramas.

Billy Wilder’s The Seven Year Itch is portrayed as a potentially sharper comedy about marital infidelity that was weakened by the restrictive Hays Code. Marilyn Monroe’s sensuality and comic presence dominate the film, especially in the iconic subway-grate scene, while Tom Ewell’s character remains burdened by guilt and indecision. The review argues that censorship removed the sexual stakes that could have made the story compelling, leaving Monroe’s performance as the film’s enduring legacy.

Paul Haggis’s 2005 film Crash is judged to be among the worst movies ever to win the Academy Award for Best Picture. The critique argues that its potentially powerful concept—racism spreading through Los Angeles like a contagion—is undermined by crude dialogue, exaggerated characters, manipulative plot reversals and implausibly tidy connections among its storylines. Although its basic message that racism is harmful is unobjectionable, the film’s conclusion is seen as cynical and fatalistic, suggesting that racial prejudice is an inescapable cycle rather than examining how people might meaningfully change.

At its 70th anniversary, Delbert Mann’s Marty remains compelling because of its modest scale, naturalistic Bronx setting and unusually candid portrayal of lonely working-class people seeking connection. Ernest Borgnine’s Oscar-winning performance as an insecure butcher gives the film its emotional force, while Paddy Chayefsky’s screenplay treats Marty and Clara’s vulnerabilities with compassion. The film’s victories at Cannes and the Oscars were surprising given its smallness, but that underdog quality has helped it endure as a beloved, if sometimes underappreciated, work of American cinema.

Guardian writers revisit Gene Hackman’s career through favourite performances in films including The French Connection, The Poseidon Adventure, The Conversation, Night Moves, Hoosiers, Unforgiven, The Firm and The Royal Tenenbaums. They emphasize his unusual ability to embody moral ambiguity, menace, vulnerability, comedy and tenderness, arguing that his understated, highly versatile acting made even flawed or difficult characters compelling.

The 1975 adaptation of Ira Levin’s The Stepford Wives remains culturally influential because its vision of men replacing independent women with compliant domestic idealizations has become shorthand for patriarchal control. The film contains memorable comic and disturbing moments, particularly the wives’ mechanical behavior and Joanna’s confrontation with her double, but its restrained direction fails to deliver the paranoia and satire promised by the premise. The article argues that the concept has inspired stronger later films, including Get Out, and still needs a more effective, feminist-minded adaptation.

Jonathan Demme’s Married to the Mob is praised as an exuberant comfort movie that blends gangster-film conventions with cartoonish Long Island kitsch, colorful production design and a lively new-wave soundtrack. Michelle Pfeiffer anchors the film as Angela de Marco, a street-smart mob wife seeking independence, while Mercedes Ruehl’s menacingly comic Connie is singled out as a standout performance. The film’s relaxed comic rhythm, eccentric supporting cast and inventive set pieces make it an enduringly joyful alternative to more conventional gangster movies.

Blood Simple, the Coen brothers’ 1984 debut, established the darkly comic, morally bleak style that would define much of their later crime filmmaking. Its story of amateur criminals, mistaken assumptions and violence turns the conventions of classic noir into a tense, absurd study of human ineptitude. The film’s festival success and release through Circle Films helped launch the Coens, while its visual style and themes influenced modern noir. It also began important long-term collaborations with composer Carter Burwell, cinematographer Barry Sonnenfeld and actor Frances McDormand.

Guardian writers highlight a wide range of eagerly anticipated 2025 films, from major auteur projects by Paul Thomas Anderson, Noah Baumbach, Jim Jarmusch, Celine Song and Kelly Reichardt to genre releases including F1, Mickey 17, The Bride!, a new I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel and Mother Mary. Their selections emphasize star power, distinctive directors and unusual premises, while also expressing reservations about Netflix’s theatrical model, Warner Bros’ recent decisions, the challenge of simulating pop stardom and the risks of reviving established franchises.

Guardian writers recommend ten overlooked films from 2024, spanning comedies, documentaries, psychological thrillers, period dramas and coming-of-age stories. The selections include Drugstore June, The Honorable Shyne, Exhibiting Forgiveness, Mothers' Instinct, Girls Will Be Girls, The Grab, The People's Joker, Rose's War AKA Baltimore, Sugarcane and Red Rooms. The pieces emphasize distinctive performances and filmmakers while highlighting investigations into resource hoarding, colonial abuse of Native children and the political transformation of figures such as Shyne and Rose Dugdale.

Martin Scorsese’s Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore is presented as a grounded, low-key 1970s drama about Alice Hyatt, a widowed aspiring singer forced to reassess her ambitions while raising her son and navigating precarious work and relationships. Ellen Burstyn’s Oscar-winning performance and Scorsese’s energetic direction transform a potential melodrama into a nuanced study of compromise, female solidarity and ordinary resilience. The film’s guardedly happy ending values imperfect stability over an artificial triumph.