Late 2025 Movie Release Catch-Up Review Roundup

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CREDIT: Sarah Shatz/Focus Features

Song Sung Blue

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Kate Hudson, Ella Anderson, Hudson Hensley, Michael Imperioli, Mustafa Shakir, Fisher Stevens, Jim Belushi, King Princess

Director: Craig Brewer

Running Time: 132 Minutes

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: December 25, 2025 (Theaters)

CREDIT: NEON/Screenshot

No Other Choice

Starring: Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon, Lee Sung-min, Yeom, Hye-ran, Cha Seung-won, Yoo Yeon-seok

Director: Park Chan-wook

Running Time: 139 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: December 25, 2025 (Theaters)

CREDIT: SearchlightPictures/Screenshot

Is This Thing On?

Starring: Will Arnett, Laura Dern, Andra Day, Bradley Cooper, Amy Sedaris, Sean Hayes, Christine Ebersole, Ciarán Hinds, Blake Kane, Calvin Knegten, Scott Icenogle, Chloe Radcliffe, Jordan Jensen, Peyton Manning, Reggie Conquest, James Tom, Gabe Fazio

Director: Bradley Cooper

Running Time: 121 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: December 19, 2025 (Theaters)

CREDIT: NEON/Screenshot

The Secret Agent

Starring: Wagner Moura, Carlos Francisco, Tânia Maria, Robério Diógenes, Maria Fernanda Cândido, Gabriel Leone, Roney Villela, Kaiony Venâncio, Alice Carvalho, Hermila Guedes, Isabél Zuaa, Licínio Januário, Laura Lufési, Enzo Nunes, Thomás Aquino, Italo Martins, Igor de Araújo, Udo Kier, João Vitor Silva, Robson Andrade, Geane Albuquerque, Aline Marta Maia, Luciano Chirolli, Gregorio Graziosi, Isadora Ruppert, Buda Lira, Suzy Lopes, Marcelo Valle

Director: Kleber Mendonça Filho

Running Time: 161 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: November 26, 2025 (Theaters)

CREDIT: SearchlightPictures/Screenshot

The Testament of Ann Lee

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Lewis Pullman, Thomasin McKenzie, Stacy Martin, Christopher Abbott, Tim Blake Nelson, Scott Handy, Matthew Beard, Viola Prettejohn, Jamie Bogyo, David Cale

Director: Mona Fastvold

Running Time: 137 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: December 25, 2026 (Theaters)

CREDIT: BBP Train Dreams. LLC. © 2025.

Train Dreams

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerry Condon, William H. Macy, Nathaniel Arcand, John Diehl, Paul Schneider, Clifton Collins Jr., Alfred Hsing, Will Patton

Director: Clint Bentley

Running Time: 102 Minutes

Rating: PG-13

Release Date: November 7, 2025 (Theaters)/November 21, 2025 (Netflix)

In this movie review roundup, I’m discussing films that were released in late 2025 but that I didn’t get around to seeing until early 2026. Since they arrived in theaters during the holiday season, I shall declare what Type of Present each of them was to me.

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‘Coming 2 America’ Actually Goes to Zamunda for the Most Part

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Coming 2 America (CREDIT: Quantrell D. Colbert/Paramount Pictures)

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Jermaine Fowler, Arsenio Hall, Leslie Jones, Tracy Morgan, Kiki Layne, Shari Headley, Wesley Snipes, Teyana Taylor, James Earl Jones, Bella Murphy, Akiley Love, Paul Bates, John Amos, Louie Anderson, Luenell, Colin Jost, Vanessa Bell Calloway, Paul Bates, Nomzamo Mbatha

Director: Craig Brewer

Running Time: 110 Minutes

Rating: PG-13 for Occasionally Crude Silliness and a Drunken Sex Flashback

Release Date: March 5, 2021 (Amazon Prime Video)

So the big question we must all ourselves is: does Coming 2 America make me want to come 2 America? Well, I’m already in America, and have spent the vast majority of my life in this country, but I have to believe that there’s a difference between “coming to” and “coming 2,” because otherwise why even make this 30-plus-years-later sequel? Maybe in this case, “2” means the opposite of “to,” considering that this time around, Prince Akeem (Eddie Murphy, happy to be surrounded by friends) and company actually spend more time in Zamunda than they do in the U.S. of A. With that in mind, maybe “America” is a state of mind more than just a physical place. Looking back at Queens in 1988, that was a magical place for Akeem, despite its rough-and-tumble exterior. It’s where he found his queen, and it can now be seen as the wellspring of his own family, and in the sequel, it’s been elevated to the level of myth with the recreation of special Queens landmarks in Zamunda (in particular, the McDonald’s-knockoff McDowell’s). Is that feeling of home just as strong in 2021?

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