Films of 2025 Part 1: Caveman Or Betterman, Growing Up & Entertained By A Gladiator!

Hello world! Welcome back to another blog. As we come to the final three months of 2025, this blog will feature some films I saw from this year. These include the sequel to a Dreamworks film set in the Stoneage, a Roald Dhal classic, and a Ridley Scott iconic film. So without further ado, here is my thoughts on these films I saw this year.

The Croods: A New Age

The first film I’m going to talk about is The Croods: A New Age, starring the voices of Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds.

As stated on IMDb, the plot of the film goes as follows:

"The Prehistoric family the Croods are challenged by a rival family the Bettermans, who claim to be better and more evolved."

Eep and Guys’s relationship (Emma Stone and Ryan Reynolds), went on a journey through cheesiness and also having it tested. You know how single you are, when you watch two people being loved up, but as it’s a film aimed at children, I’m not one to complain. But I also loved how it was tested throughout the film, knowing they want different things when it comes to “finding their tomorrow”. But as always the rest of the Crood family do not make it easy for them, one of which is Grug (Nicolas Cage), who used his fatherly instincts the wrong way when overhearing guy telling Eep to be his tomorrow.

The Betterman’s definitely made an impression to the caveman clan who initially try to get Guy to be more like them, but overtime accept the Croods for who they are. These included daughter Dawn (Kelly Marie Tran), who realised that she and Eep had more in common than they thought, and her parents Hope and Phil (Leslie Mann and Peter Dingle). Like Grug, Hope used her motherly instincts to protect Dawn at all costs, and didn’t get off the best start with Ugga (Catherine Keener), and Grug didn’t necessarily get on with Phil to begin with. But once he got to know them, they officially became “Bros” which was somewhat cheesy and funny at the same time. 

I think my only downsides is that some moments were abit too cheesy for me. Mind you it is a film aimed at younger ones so they may find it more funny than me. 

Overall I would give the film a 4. Whilst it was abit too cheesy for me, I can see why younger viewers would enjoy it. But I appreciate the time and effort going into making a second instalment of the film set in the Stone Age. 

Matilda: The Musical:

The next film I’m going to review is the 2022 version of Matilda: The Musical, originated from the book by Roald Dahl, and starring Alisha Weir, Stephen Graham, Andrea Riseborough, Lashana Lynch and Emma Thompson.

As stated on IMDb, the plot of the film goes as follows:

"An adaptation of the Tony and Olivier award-winning musical. Matilda tells the story of an extraordinary girl who, armed with a sharp mind and a vivid imagination, dares to take a stand to change her story with miraculous results."

Alisa Weir did a brilliant job at playing the titular role. Her voice was so angelic, and she was able to show a sassy side to her, especially when Miss Trunchbull tried to stop her from running the school. She also showed a range of emotions throughout the film which fit someone who was 11 at the time of filming, already mastered the art of screen acting. I also loved her relationship with Miss Honey (Lashana Lynch), who longed for a life beyond the school. But with her kindness and Matilda’s special abilities, she was able to make the school a kinder place and also be Matilda’s guardian in the process. 

The other characters in the film also brought their own version of the literature classic to life. Two of them include Stephen Graham and Andrea Riseborough taking on the role of Matilda’s parents Mr and Mrs Wormwood. It was actually really refreshing to see Stephen in something like this, as the majority of the stuff he’s in is drama based. But it was also good to see his fun side come out. Sindu Vee took on the role of the librarian Mrs Phelps, who encouraged Matilda to keep going to find a happy ending to her story, and Emma Thompson did a brilliant version of Mrs Trunchbull. She thoroughly made it clear that she was the boss of the school, but the children (who were all brilliant in their own way), managed to get the better of her after putting up with her cruel treatment for so long! 

The iconic songs in the film such as “Revolting Children” and “When I Grow Up” were so catchy. But that song in particular left me in tears for many reasons. Maybe it’s the feeling of when childhood was somewhat abit easier, which I’m sure many of you reading this will think the same thing 

I don't think I have any downsides to the film, as i love a musical. However, as mentioned before, maybe "When I Grow Up" was abit of a difficult one to listen to, with the kids not realising that adult life is not as easy as it may be.

Overall, I would give the film a 4.5. It has comedy, sensational talent, and reflection. A good mix of light and shade which a musical, especially originally from stage or in this case, based on a book, which is what a musical should have.

Gladiator:

The final film I watched this year was Gladiator, starring Russell Crowe and directed by Ridley Scott. 

As stated on IMDb, the plot of the film goes as follows:

"A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery."

Russell Crowe fitted the role of Maximus perfectly. You could tell he was born to play the leader, and when it came to preparing for becoming a gladiator, you could tell he wanted to excel and inspire his fellow slaves. And I feel he did just that. I can see also why Joaquin Phoenix took on the role of Commodus. As after now seeing him in clips of The Joker franchise, he definitely suits the role of the villain style character. Wanting all the power for himself, it was obvious that after overhearing his father Marcus Aurelius stating to maximus that he will take over, he knew he had to take action. But let’s just say that his actions went abit too far as the film went on. 

There were also other characters that left a mark on Maximus’ journey, one of which was former lover Lucille (Connie Neilsen). I could tell that she loved Maximus dearly, but also had loyalties to her family. This clearly showed when Commodus asked her for a proposition, which made even me uncomfortable. But her aim throughout the film was to stop the feud between Maximus and Commodus, not just for her own sanity, but also for the sake of her son Lucius (Spencer Treat Clark). Two other characters in the film that left a mark in maximus’ journey included fellow slave Juba (Djimon Hounsou) and Antonious Proximo (Oliver Reed), who helped him become a fully fledged gladiator. I could tell that his passion for helping those be the strongest fighters has shone, knowing he was also a brave fighter. And he got his wish fulfilled when maximus had many fights both in the town he was brought to plus the Roman colosseum.  

What I also liked about this film was the idea of when a character dies, they’re not dead but are transported to another universe. I know some people will find it abit controversial but I quite liked it, as for Max, there was still the hope that him, his wife and son would meet again. I also loved how they mixed in CGI with love animals, so that it’s still capturing the authenticity of the era, but also thinking about their welfare. Which is always very important.

I think my only downside was that because of the era it’s set, if someone were to ask me the synopsis I wouldn’t be able to tell you what it is. But with time and also research, I’m sure I can get to the point where I know the plot word for word. 

Overall I would give the film a 4.95. I could see why it was an award winning film at the time of its release, and after watching Gladiator 2 , I keep an eye out on my next set of films I saw for you to see what I thought of the prequel and how it fit in with the original film.

And those were my thoughts on these films! Let me know what you thought of them if anyone reading this have seen them, and keep an eye out for part 2 of my thoughts on films I saw this year! equally let me know what films you want me to watch and review going into 2026.

See you soon for another blog. Until next time...

This is The Autistic Actress signing off :)