Wicked: For Good (2025)

Paying off Act II of the wildly successful stage show was always going to be a gamble, but it's performed with enough aplomb to impress even the skeptics. Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo create real magic on the screen together as they repave the rest of the path to the Yellow Brick Road. The way this film gradually introduces the elements that would become The Wizard of Oz is satisfying, even when it feels shoehorned in. The first part is definitely the stronger one, with the better song numbers, and this one leaves certain plot elements up in the air, but at least it provides a definish close to the chapter.

3½ clock ticks out of 5

Note: I give both Wicked + For Good a combined score of 4 cyclones out of 5.

Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025)

These motherfuckers just can't leave well enough alone. A mere decade ago, this series was rebooted, and now Scarlett Johansson has been handed the keys to the kingdom in this new standalone reboot of the Jurassic brand, distancing itself from the other films. Set five years after Dominion, most of the dinosaurs have perished due to inhospitable conditions, but the rest have migrated to warmer climates near the equator. Cue the mercenaries who are tasked with traveling there to retrieve blood samples that will aid in life-saving medical research (they couldn't have thought of this before?).

Godzilla director Gareth Edwards fits right at home with this kind of kaiju material. The dinosaurs look realistic and weighty again, and it's even shot on film. It feels smaller and more intimate than the other sequels; you actually care about these characters and there are stakes at risk. There's even a new variant species introduced, because apparently regular dinosaurs just aren't scary enough anymore. While it doesn't reinvent the wheel, it's a real return to form for this series, and does a decent enough job for what it has to offer.

3 mutations out of 5