My parents review movies we watched over the holidays

This year I used my Christmas holiday visit to my parents as an excuse to catch up on several new releases I missed at the cinemas (and one special rewatch), many of which I dubbed 'mum and dad movies.' After each, we debriefed to glean their thoughts which are presented below, in edited form. Enjoy!

The Roses (Jay Roach, 2025)
Starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman as duelling husband and wife, this film is an adaptation of The War of the Roses novel. My mother's initial reaction: 'Great! That's what marriage is all about.' While somewhat over the top, particularly during the final fight, the English charm of the two leads won her over. The stand out scene for her was the moment of spiritual discovery as Theo rescued a whale.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (Rian Johnson, 2025)
The third instalment in the Benoit Blanc mystery series tackles the murder of a radical priest in a small town with plenty of secrets. My mother's initial reaction: 'Great!' My mother adores Daniel Craig so the first 40 minutes had me worried but thankfully both my parents enjoyed Josh O'Connor's portrayal of the young priest. My father found the ups and downs of the whodunnit compelling.

Superman (James Gunn, 2025)
The 'true' beginning of the DC Universe and latest reboot of the defender of metropolis sees David Corenswet's Superman face off against Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). My mother's initial reaction: 'okay...' She's not a fan of violence and fighting so found some of the action scenes to be too much but was amazed at the quality of the CGI. Lois (Rachel Brosnahan) was 'beautiful' and superdog Krypto was 'cute.'

Jay Kelly (Noah Baumbach, 2025)
Globally beloved actor Jay Kelly (George Clooney) must confront his past to find a way forward with those around him. Going into this, my mother kept quoting the critic's line included in the promo describing Clooney's performance as the 'role of a lifetime.' My mother's initial reaction: 'Brilliant!!' When pushed on why her reaction said it all - George Clooney of course! Both my parents believed the artistic integration of memories was executed very well.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Matt Shakman, 2025)
The first film in Phase Six of the MCU, First Steps sees the gang of four defend Earth from the planet-eating Galactus. My mother's initial reaction: 'Better than Superman!' She appreciated that there was less violence than expected and found the storyline particularly cute. My father too found it entertaining and appreciated the human feelings explored against a sci-fi backdrop. And yes, they'll be watching Avengers Doomsday just to find out what happens to baby Franklin.

The Naked Gun (Akiva Schaffer, 2025)
Drebin Jr. (Liam Neeson) picks up where his father left off to defend the police department by bumbling through a murder case. My mother's initial reaction: 'Couldn't stop laughing!' And it's true! It was easy to know my parents' reactions by the constant laughter. The exact type of humour they both enjoy, stand outs include the free beer segment and heat vision binoculars.

The Amateur (James Hawes, 2025)
CIA hacker Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) disobeys his supervisors and goes on a revenge path to find his wife's killers. My mother's initial reaction: 'good.' She thought it was scary to think about how much the intelligence agencies have access to in our life. My father liked seeing a revenge film where the vigilante uses his intelligence over violent action.

One Battle After Another (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2025)
After a gruelling week of film watching, what better way to cap off my visit with the most talked about film of the year. My mother's initial reaction: 'not my cup of tea.' As mentioned before, my mother is not a fan of violence and swearing so the first act was too much for her. She also didn't like the Christmas Adventurer's Club but loved the nuns. On individual performances, stand outs include Sean Penn and Chase Infiniti. While being a bit out there for my father he found the technical aspects pretty cool and the river of hills car chase 'significant and new'. Fundamentally, the film for him was about people trying to find their freedom.