From coming of age dramas, to a Black female-led buddy comedy, I am in the cinemas with a comically large popcorn in hand and my phone switched to airplane mode. I’m seated. The theatre employees are scared and asking me to leave because I’ve “seen movies every day for a month” but I’m simply too seated.
It often feels as if every “watch list” that publications put out is a regurgitation of the films most likely to win an Oscar while boring the shit out of you. This is not that list. This monthly movie wrap-up will be a celebration of diverse stories that either move, amuse or grip us. If you want to diversify your viewing and have fun while doing it, this is the list for you!
Bird
If you are looking for a movie that will both break and mend your heart, Bird is the movie for you! The movie centres around Bailey, a 12-year-old who lives with her single father Barry Keoghan in a squat in northern Kent. This film is a wonderful coming of age story in which she grows a kinship with a stranger that she met in a field. It has humour, it has heart, and yes, it has many birds. Plus, Nykiya Adams is a breakout star waiting to happen.
Release date: 14 February 2025 (Australia)
Companion
Sophie Thatcher nation, please rise! This new sci fi/comedy from Drew Hancock is a delightfully dark commentary on incel culture and sex bots. While this concept is not original by any means (given Buffy the Vampire Slayer tackled this same topic in 2002), this film still delivers a captivating and scarily realistic story. If you can, please go in blind without seeing the trailer as I firmly believe that will enhance your viewing experience.
Release date: 30 January 2025 (Australia)
One Of Them Days
Let me sell you on this film in as few words as possible. Keke Palmer. SZA. Buddy comedy. Producer: Issa Rae.
If you are hauling ass to the theatre after those words, then I don’t know what’s wrong with you!
Release date: March 6, 2025
The Colours Within
This beautiful story follows high schooler Totsuko who can see the colours of the emotions in people. After a misunderstanding at a book store, she joins a band despite not knowing how to play piano, leading to her discovering a found family with her band mates. If you want a wholesome viewing experience, this is the movie for you!
Release date: March 6, 2025
Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy
The Y2K pop culture it-girl to widower pipeline set up by Carrie Bradshaw in And Just Like That is alive and well in this movie, and despite my love for Colin Firth, I gotta say that it is welcome in this movie! A beautiful movie about being a single mum as a widow, and the modern dating scene – make sure you have a girls’ night watching this heartfelt and witty movie.
Release date: 13 February 2025 (Australia)
Picture This
In an undeniable win for the girls, gals and nonbinary pals, Simone Ashley and her perfect eyes are set to star in another romcom!!! Inspired by the Australian Amazon Original, Five Blind Dates, this heart-felt rom-com follows struggling photographer Simone Ashley as Pia, after she receives a prediction: true love awaits in her next five dates. And for anyone familiar with the After universe, Hero Fiennes Tiffin is portraying Simone’s love interest. Gay Twitter/X is going to have a field day with this movie and I cannot begin to tell you how sat I am for this movie. To have a rom-com that features a South Asian female lead with such distinct references to her culture like wearing a sari and lehenga, this is a win for brown girls everywhere.
Release date: 6 March 2025
It’s Our Time
This beautiful and heartfelt Australian film follows the story of Emilia Kong (played by Tiana Hogben), a filmmaker who has been fighting to keep her filmmaking dream alive despite looming eviction. This film beautifully captures Australia’s multicultural landscape, and is a beacon of hope for all of the dreamers out there. If you are interested in championing local storytelling, this is the perfect movie for you.
Release date: 16 February 2025
Nosferatu
This remake of the 1922 cult classic horror flick is an absolute sight for sore eyes, not only because of the stacked and beautiful cast but also because of the immersive and hauntingly beautiful mise en scène.
Release date: 1 January 2025 (Australia)
Babygirl
Get ready for a stemy and at times uncomfortable viewing experience with Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson’s sultry sensation Babygirl. The film follows Nicole Kidman as a high-powered CEO who puts her career and family on the line when she embarks on an affair with an intern many years her junior. There will be nary a cinema chair left dry and a glass of milk undrunken.
Release date: 30 January 2025 (Australia)
Opus
If Ayo Edebiri has a million fans, then I am one of them. If Ayo Edebiri has only one fan, then that is me. If Ayo Edebiri has no fans, then that means I am no longer on earth. Coming at you from A24, this film centres around Ayo’s Ariel who is a journalist going to the compound of a famous musician who mysteriously left the limelight 30 odd years ago, where she uncovers a cult and gets much more than she bargained for. It shouldn’t shock you to learn that I believe Ayo is perfect in any project she touches so we are waiting with bated breath for this to be released.
Release date: 14 March 2025
The Last Showgirl
From the iconic nepo baby Gia Coppola, she brings us a heartfelt story about a middle-aged showgirl (Pamela Anderson) who is struggling with what to do with her life since the place she has performed in for three decades is scheduled to close. This film is a real tour de force for Pamela Anderson, and will hopefully be the start of a career revival for the iconic performer. Also seeing Brenda Song in anything makes me wanna scream “YAY ME”!
Release date: 20 February 2025 (Australia)
