Mini Movie Reviews: April 2025
- Matt Quill
- Apr 3
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 18
A quick rundown of my thoughts on the movies I've seen throughout April 2025
Title: Sinners
Plot
Twin brothers Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan) return home looking to leave their checkered past behind them. Only for the opening night of their new juke joint to be gate-crashed by an unholy presence.
Ryan Coogler has directed some great films in his recent career, with the likes of boxing spin-off Creed and Marvel's Black Panther being some of the better movies to come out in recent years. His latest film, Sinners, is a music-infused period vampire drama that, like his prior work, hits all the right notes.
Just like Black Panther, Sinners also features a great cast and excellent performances with the likes of newcomer Miles Caton as Sammie 'Preacher Boy' Moore and Michael B. Jordan in the dual role as twins Smoke and Stack headlining the show.
Sinners is packed with stellar music and some great sequences, but it's the time it takes to establish its characters that works really well. You get the time to understand them and their relationships, so when the blood hits the fan, you're invested and rooting for them all to survive.
The supernatural lore is well realised and it helps cement its theme, but also hits you with some exciting visuals along the way. Some people may find it takes a while to ramp up to the vampire action, but that was all fine for me, as watching Smoke and Stack reintegrate into their childhood town whilst assembling their Juke joints crew was just as interesting as the gate-crashing vampires.
Sinners is a great movie. It's filled with infectious music and characters that are hard to take your eyes off, and once it sinks its teeth into you, it'll take you for one hell of a ride.
Title: The Amateur
Plot
After CIA Decoder Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) discovers his wife has been murdered in a terror attack, he takes matters into his own hands as he goes on a quest for revenge.
Everyone at some point will have watched a spy thriller, especially one focused on revenge. Except for the difference this time around, it doesn't star a well-equipped cold-blooded killer, instead, it's headed by a computer desk hacker, and so his quest for revenge will need to play to those strengths.
Rami Malek does a good job as lead Charlie Heller, making him a hero you want to root for despite his disadvantage. Early on, there are a good number of scenes showcasing his talents, so when the revenge tale starts, you know the kind of agent you're following has the field skills of a rookie but the brain of the best.
It makes for a familiar tale that unfolds slightly differently, as you watch Charlie become more competent on his quest, but the interweaving web of deceit going on in the shadows starts to detract from the central story. I know it's a spy thriller and people will want corruption and shadow ops, but the way it is handled doesn't feel like the cleanest, and a times, though the plot lines want to merge, they feel forced rather than natural.
The Amateur is a good spy movie, but it's just not a spy movie for me. The movie moves at a steady pace, but as a result, it felt sluggish at times, more so than it needed to be. The thought behind how he seeks his revenge is interesting, but it all feels like I'm watching the wheel turn in first gear, rarely taking it up a notch.
Title: Drop
Plot
On a date, widower Violet (Meghann Fahy) begins to receive anonymous messages on her phone, implicating the safety of her family if she doesn't play along.
Modern technology always seems to bring about cause for concern. You've seen the way things can be in Black Mirror, the AI uprising of Skynet in Terminator. So, what happens when your date night is hijacked by mysterious pictures and messages airdropped to your phone?
That's the question mystery/thriller Drop chooses to ask. This fast-paced Whodunnit sees widower Violet (Meghann Fahy) bombarded with messages and memes on her date, threatening to kill her family if she doesn't cooperate.
Much like director Christopher Landon's other horror titles, Happy Death Day and Freaky, his latest, Drop, features a very similar vibe to those movies, with thrills and the odd laughs along the way. Plenty is going on to keep you invested, with multiple suspects drawing your attention, leaving you questioning who might be behind the threats. Though the ending wraps it up cleanly enough, the reveal and climax don't match up to the intrigue and suspense of its premise.
There's enough going on in Drop to keep you entertained and hooked into its fun premise. It never goes above and beyond what it needs, resulting in a satisfying watch, rather than a must.
Title: A Minecraft Movie
Plot
When four misfits are unexpectedly pulled into the Overworld, a cuboid world with limitless creative potential and resident human Steve (Jack Black), the five have to team up to stop a horde of evil pigs and return home safely.
It's been a week since I've seen A Minecraft Movie, and I'm still trying to comprehend what I've witnessed.
Set within the Overworld, this odd group of people find themselves working together to retrieve a crystal and escape back to reality. The blocky world of A Minecraft Movie is fun to see on screen, and you're constantly told how limitless things are here, yet it feels devoid of any real creativity.
Its core group feel forced together, with the group struggling to bring any form of chemistry between them. It's an odd choice of heroes, and I feel like more time should have been spent making them work as characters rather than giving them odd quirks to make them 'stand' out.
The film's quest has its fair share of action, which is fine enough, with chase scenes and brawls that engage but never excite. Oddly enough, the best part of the film is back in the real world with divorcee Vice Principal Marlene (Jennifer Coolidge) on a date with a rogue Minecraft villager, and when the odd B-line plot is getting the most credit, you probably know something isn't right.
I feel like A Minecraft Movie knows exactly who its target audience is and plays directly to them. Jack Black is always entertaining, but the whole movie feels like a fever dream. The story lacks any sort of substance, and none of the characters win you over. Young fans of the game will surely be delighted, but for me, and likely most others, this will miss the mark, and then some.
Title: Death Of A Unicorn
Plot
On their way to a weekend retreat hosted by his boss, Elliot (Paul Rudd) and his daughter, Ridley (Jenna Ortega), accidentally hit a unicorn with their car. Setting in motion a much more bloody weekend than they planned.
Plenty of mythical creatures have had their turn in the monster movie sun, Werewolves, mermaids, heck, even Leprechauns have all had their stab. Now, thanks to A24 and director Alex Scharfman, Unicorns have finally got their chance, headlining this comedy/horror gore-fest.
Starring Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega as a father-daughter pair on a retreat to help Elliot (Rudd) land a promotion, the pair accidentally run over a unicorn, which turns out to be the cure for most ailments.
Death of a Unicorn is a tale that owns its rather goofy premise, but it does so in a way that packs the film full of great laughs and stupendous gore (Who knew unicorns could deliver such gruesome deaths?). Rudd and Ortega are great as expected, but Shepard (Will Poulter), son of Rudd's boss, is a constant delight, stealing most scenes he's in.
The 'rich are bad' message may be a little too on the nose, but it never detracts from the fun that's unfolding before you. The cast works well, and there isn't much downtime in this shorter fantasy adventure. The ending may not hit all the right notes either, but it's a fitting resolution that pays off the story and characters.
In the end, Death of a Unicorn was a fun time that gave me plenty of laughs and entertained with its suspense and horror. It might not make Unicorns the next go-to horror villain, but it's a delightful monster movie that will please most.
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