March 2025 Movie Roundup: What I Watched This Month
Here’s what I watched this month (March 2025) and which movies I think are worth your time.
Welcome back to a monthly feature where I will break down my favorite movies (and occasionally TV shows) that I have watched each month throughout the year. If you want to follow along my movie-watching journey, make sure to follow me on Letterboxd and Instagram as well, as those are the best places to keep up on the daily!
March was a fun month full of re-watches, first-time viewings of classics, and some fun family movie time, showing the kids the classics. I dove deeper into my Criterion Collection movies after their flash sale, trying to catch up on my backlog, and I got to revisit one of my all-time favorite movies, Jurassic Park.
Jurassic Park
This was a rewatch of course, maybe for the hundredth time. I went for a rewatch because when I threw it on the TV recently as some background watching, I realized that my wife had not seen it in a while and didn’t remember much of it. It could be her ADD and tough time with memory, or maybe it just didn’t leave the lasting impression it made on me. Or maybe she hadn’t seen it a hundred times. Either way, it made for a great opportunity to watch it again, which I will never complain about.
The last time I saw this was at Universal City Walk during a trip to Los Angeles when they were showing the 3D remaster in theaters. This time, we watched the 4K disc at home, which was great. And the movie is still so, so, so good. The visual effects are timeless. The story is awesome, the cast is amazing, the music, everything is perfect. 5/5 stars all day long. I just want to know who thought putting the raptor enclosure right next to the emergency bunker was a good idea.
The Brood
Woo, what a movie! This was a first-time watch for me, so I popped in my Criterion Blu-ray and buckled up for a wild ride. It has a bit of a slow start but once it gets going it is a ton of fun. David Cronenberg is a madman. The effects in this are super grotesque, and I love it. He didn’t hold back at all.
I also consider this part of a weird 1970s cinematic universe where child-sized killers were roaming cinema screens. The other movies include Don’t Look Now and Alice Sweet Alice, both awesome in their own right. It’s not a weird concept by its own, having a child sized killer, but its weird that it happened three times in such a close time period, right? It has a very similar vibe to Don’t Look Now as well, so much so that my wife actually commented we had already seen this movie, even though it was my first-time watch.
It is a great introduction to Cronenberg if you haven’t seen any of his work and I am glad I finally watched it, as I love anything the Cronenberg family does!
Cuckoo
As much as I liked this, I wanted to like it a lot more. I think it is good, and I gave it 3.5/5 on my Letterboxd, with an extra half star for Hunter Schafer's performance, but I think it tried to do a lot with a little and got a bit carried away.
I was confused at times and then expected more somehow, but the horror ended up being a much simpler explanation than what I was bracing for. Hunter Schafer was incredible, so huge props to her for the performance. It was scream queen-worthy. I also loved the setting, which did feel unique.
However, the rest of it did feel a little derivative of a lot of other "weirdo horror movies" that have come out lately, especially from NEON (who distributed Cuckoo) and A24. That said, it had plenty of exciting moments, and some gruesome ones as well. The concepts were all there, they just didn’t land cleanly enough, but it is still well worth watching if you are a horror fan. I might be harder on horror movies because I am a super fan, so don’t let me low-ish score detract you from taking a shot at watching it. I would recommend everyone give it a try.
To Die For
This was a great surprise! I blind bought the Criterion Collection 4K Blu-ray, and I am glad that I did. Nicole Kidman is one of my favorite actresses and I saw a lot of her this year across TV and movies, so I wanted to give To Die For a try and it didn’t disappoint.
The movie is shot in a sort of mockumentary style with a unique storytelling perspective. The story follows a high-profile true crime case with the victim’s family intertwined into the narrative, giving their perspective in an interview format while the events play out on screen in between. All of this is loosely based on a similar case involving Pamela Smart, and it serves as an excellent commentary on society, our obsessions with high-profile criminal cases, and the drive to become famous, no matter the cost.
Kidman kills it in her role, literally, and she is darkly funny throughout. The supporting cast includes Casey Affleck, Joaquin Phoenix, Matt Dillon, and even has a small role from the aforementioned David Cronenberg! It is directed by Gus Van Sant, right in the middle of his amazing run of films in the 1990s.
I don’t want to spoil anything, but if you want something truly unique and different, with plenty of dark comedy and dark themes mixed with unique filmmaking, it is worth your time! It is campy and fun and just a good time to watch.
Companion
I do wish that the twist in this was kept a better secret, but at the same time, I don’t think it really was the "twist." A lot of people complained that trailers and artwork gave away the twist, but there were several other twists that I found to be more impactful to the story and far more surprising. The main “twist” really isn’t hidden at all - the filmmakers laid that out right in front of us within the first 10 minutes.
With that in mind, I won’t say too much about this in case you want to go in totally blind, but it features Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid, two of my favorite up-and-coming actors today, in what I would consider to be a horror comedy. The chemistry of the rest of the young cast is great as well. It reminded me of the vibe of Bodies, Bodies, Bodies in a way. I watched the new 4K disc and it looked great - clean and digital, like most newer movies, but a solid presentation.
Companion is a nice quick watch at 97 minutes and it has plenty of fun in that runtime. I enjoyed the risks the filmmakers took and the unique take on technology and culture and greed mixed with great comedy. It is one of the movies I would point to as an example that movies are not dying, they aren’t getting boring, and they aren’t just recycling the same stuff over and over again. It was fresh and exciting and I would recommend it if you want a good time or want to try something new.
The Wizard of Oz
I watched this with my two kids, and although my daughter is a little too young (2) to get it, my son (3.5) really enjoyed it. He got to experience the Wicked Witch and the flying monkeys for the first time and handled it well. I think his experience with lots of Scooby-Doo helped there. He mentioned he was afraid, but was laughing about it more than anything, just saying he "didn’t like bad witches!"
The movie is beautiful, and the 4K disc that we watched together showed my kids what a movie of that age can look like when it is restored properly. The music holds up, the story holds up (mostly), and it is simply a timeless classic that everyone needs to watch. I totally forgot how amazing Bert Lahr was as the Cowardly Lion, and he really steals the show.
The comedy and campiness and musical talent on display in this film is next level. If you haven’t seen it in a while, go rewatch it. I forgot a lot of it (really only remembered up until they meet the wizard for the first time) and it was wild to see how many other movies this one inspired.
I immediately was reminded of The Lord of The Rings and Frodo and Sam looking over Mordor as the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Lion all peek over the edge of the cliff looking at the Wicked Witch’s troops. It is amazing what you can pull out of this after you see a few more movies, and it hits different as an adult than it does as a kid.
Plus it has an all-time line - one of my favorites ever. "Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don't they." Very true then, and even more true now.
So that is what I watched in March of 2025! I also slipped in a few true crime series and documentaries, as well as a few other rewatches with the kids (Moana 2 is such a disappointment compared to the first one) and one for me (Team America: World Police is a good one to shut your brain off), but the ones listed here were some of my favorites!
What did you watch recently? Help me build my watchlist by letting me know in the comments!
I've been watching The Philadelphia Experiment from 1984 and it's lesser-known sequel from 1993. Both pretty decent sci-fi flicks. I would really love to see a company like Synapse or Arrow Video pick these up so I can have a proper HD experience with them. They're not really in print anymore and I had to buy them on used DVDs. Also watched Stargate last night, and it's still one of my favorite Roland Emmerich movies.
I watched The Cure. A serial killer's weird method/mystery. Directed by Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Very good. Atomic Blonde. I love this movie because it's tight and Charlize Theron convinces me that she can kick butt. James McAvoy is his usual high level acting self. I also watched Limbo. Directed by Soi Cheang Another outstanding murder mystery. I was amazed at how the actors just threw their bodies into the stunts. I mean I was aghast! Like the Raid movies. I also watched Heretic. I especially liked it because I AM a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The only thing I felt was off kilter was the dialogue the Sisters were having at the beginning of the movie.I would say that Sophie Thatcher's portrayal was pretty close to the average missionary, but that's because she was a member. I thought that the debates were very good. Also watched Nosferatu. The usual outstanding quality that Robert Eggers brings to his films was there in spades. Bill Skarsgard was outstanding. The sound design was superb. Watched Audition for the 3rd time. I simply love that movie. It's so unique and hair-raising. Popped in Blackhawk down because of the upgrade of adding Dolby Vision to the 4K was better than advertised. Probably the best sound design of them all. On a par with The Edge of Tomorrow (which I watched as well). I think it's my favorite movie right now. It vacillates between that and The Dark Knight. I have watched those two films so many times that I have lost count. Tom Cruise and Emily blunt are magic together. So many moments in Edge of Tomorrow. Like when Tom Cruise tries rolling under that truck and gets squashed. The Sergeant's reaction is so priceless. Also, Strange Darling. Props for bring something new to the serial killer genre. It had me guessing.