Summer Movie Recap 2025

[pale spire]

https://tenor.com/view/summer-summertime-beach-gif-26049608

[inland tartan]

Really fun episode, Amy and Paul!
You know, I find box office talk often tedious, especially when it's used to pit movies against each other as a flawed metric of dollars = quality. It's especially bizarre in this post-COVID era where people's movie-going habits are completely upended; we're trained to just wait a couple months to watch something at home (to wit, I just read Superman will be available to rent August 15th!).
That being said, it is interesting to me that the new Jurassic World movie is doing bananas, closing in on $800 million. Even after that awful trilogy-closer a few years ago, there's still life in this concept. We just can't stop loving dinosaurs!
(I haven't seen it myself yet, but I will soon. It also just came out for digital rental.)

[pale spire]

Jurassic movies are so funny to me. It feels like almost nobody likes them outside of the original, and yet whenever one comes out it makes a billion dollars.

[pine saddle]

Pedro Pascal got huge via TV: Game of Thrones, Narcos, The Mandalorian, and The Last of Us.

[amber walrus]

Maybe it's the dinosaurs i.e., audiences know what they're gonna get

[inland tartan]

We just want to see dinosaurs run amok. The rest is incidental.

[uneven haven]

Good ep! I’ll add that KPop Demon Hunters is huge. My daughters (6 & 9) have watched it a dozen times, and it’s all their friends and cousins talk about.

I know it’s hard to track the success of streaming movies, but this one seems to have genuine cultural impact with kids. They have even started playing the songs on the radio.

Definitely one of the movies of the summer. Would have made a mint in theatres.

[unique zinc]

It's getting a live action remake and a sequel. It is definitely a big deal.

[thorn oracle]

they are a spectacle movie just like the Avatars, but Avatar even has the awesome 3d and CG tech element, I'm sure Fire and Ash will do bananas too

I like hearing Paul admit he teared up during Lilo & Stitch live action, I did as well, my daughter absolutely loves Stitch but that movie really gets you at the end

[hot plover]

I feel like the people comparing Weapons to John Carpenter just don’t know the work of Wes Craven. Weapons is so incredibly influenced by A Nightmare on Elm Street and The People Under the Stairs. Kind wish June was in it more than she is.

As someone who wasn’t into Past Lives I loved Materialists especially because as an Autistic person that way people talk in Materialist is how I wish people talked in everyday life; softly with truthful honesty.

[buoyant lodge]

Yes. I totally blanked on this

[buoyant lodge]

I thought John carpenter has more
Social commentary then craven but you aren't wrong

[hot plover]

People Under the Stairs is sooooo much Social Commentary! Would make for a good episode to discuss that movie.

I feel like there’s a lot of underrated Craven with social commentary

[pale spire]

That’s the thing, people seem to actually like the Avatar movies, even if they don’t talk about them much after they’re gone. Meanwhile, people are constantly bitching about the Jurassic movies but keep lining up for more.

[buoyant lodge]

https://open.substack.com/pub/unspooledpodcast/p/the-summer-2025-the-hits-misses-and?r=pma2y&utm_medium=ios

a new one

[junior moss]

I enjoyed that Paul talked a lot about Weapons without ever mentioning June being in it.

[pale spire]

Should say that K-POP Demon Hunters has been a big hit in my house as well.

[scenic summit]

An all female group hasn’t done this since Destiny’s Child. So yeah K-pop demon hunters is a big deal

[uneven haven]

Ok, I’ve seen enough. By box office, Lilo and Stitch is the biggest film of the summer. But in terms of cultural impact, I think KPop Demon Hunters is the movie of the summer.

I can’t stress enough how every kid I know cant stop talking about it and know the lyrics to every song.

[pine saddle]

i remember someone arguing that Barbarian was a ripoff of Don't Breathe... when Don't Breathe is itself cribbing from People Under the Stairs more directly

[hot plover]

Honestly thought Jurassic World Rebirth was absolutely terrible and family part was the worst of it. Wild that Keopp wrote this and Blackbag….back then again he did make Mortdecai…

But Rebirth is the seconds worst movie I’ve seen this year after In the Lost Land

Even found the dinosaur stuff boring. The D-Rex design was hilarious.

[thorn oracle]

I haven't seen Rebirth yet, but the Corridor guys were gushing about the CG work in this vid, so I can enjoy it for the spectacle which is about the expectation I bring to JP sequels anyways https://youtu.be/nKniA0cnu2Y?si=CoMSQKPGnK6hdhSB

I didn't realize the entire movie was shot on 35mm film too

[sinful frigate]

Just listened to the summer movie recap episode and shocked Kpop didn't come up. easily the biggest movie of the summer

[frank prairie]

Episode aired before that was a thing