TL;DR – Arrival, Opera House, Taronga Zoo via ferry, Sealife Aquarium, and fried chicken to end a long first day in Sydney.
Disclosure – I paid for my entry and everything you see purchased in this article.
Well, it has been a while since I jumped into the world of an Explore-It, and now is as good a time as any to explore a trip I took a bit ago to the most populous city in Australia [for the time being] Sydney
Continue readingTL;DR – We chart all of Jet Lag the Game as they galivant across the globe or hide in small English towns.
If you have seen any part of this site, you know I love maps, like really love maps, like I probably should talk to someone about it, love maps. There are very few people out there who get maps on the same wave level as me. But outside of two proper English gentlemen, one of the best places you can find it comes from a little YouTube/Nebula series called Jet Lag the Game. Which is where a team of three Americas, and guests, galivant across the world playing games like Tag, Snake, and Connect Four, but using countries as their gameboard. Back in 2023, we took a first look at mapping Jet Lag, but there have been many games since then, so, before they race around Taiwan, I thought I would take a look at where in the world they have been.
Continue readingTL;DR – Today, we map the two different trips on top of a magic carpet as Aladdin tried to woo Princess Jasmine.
Over the weekend, I realised it had been a while since I’d made a Map‑It entry. And because old Disney films happened to come up in conversation, I started wondering whether the magic‑carpet route differs between the 1992 animated film and the 2019 live‑action remake. So, I booted it up to see.
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So far, in our awards, we have looked at Action, Cinematography, Costumes, Emotion, Fun, Music, Tension, Worldbuilding, Best Animation, & Best TV of 2025
However, in this last entry into our Best of 2025 awards, we crown our Best Film of 2025.
All films are subjective, so our list might look completely different from yours. We reviewed 107 films that had their Australian Theatrical/Streaming Release in 2025. This is the list from which we draw our entries, and you can see the complete list of movies HERE.
Much like last year’s list, we have had many staggered releases towards the end of the year in Australia. So we may have films here that were released in 2024 for you but 2025 for us, and there may be some omissions here because we won’t get those films until later in 2026.
A Complete Unknown, The Accountant 2, The Brutalist, Dog Man, Drop, Elio, F1, Heads of State, How to Train Your Dragon, Kangaroo, Karate Kid: Legends, KPop Demon Hunters, The Long Walk, The Lost Bus, Primitive War, Regretting You, Roofman, The Running Man & Zootopia 2
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This was an odd year for TV for me because I found myself going back to shows from my youth rather than exploring as much of the year as I would typically do. So this year, we will look at all the shows we reviewed in 2025 and pick our Top 10 of the 35 shows we reviewed. For a show to count, it needed to end its run or season in 2025.
Highly Commended – Foundation, The Last of Us, NCIS: Sydney, Peacemaker, Rick and Morty, Sunny Nights & Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
Special Awards:
So, without further ado, these are our Top 10 TV Shows of 2025. Be warned that there may be slight spoilers for the shows in question.
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Animation is a form of filmmaking that is often related to second-tier status, something just for kids. This is oddly undertaken by both the organisations giving out awards and the guilds promoting their members’ work. However, they are not second-tier films; in many ways, animated films push the frontiers of filmmaking and what is possible, and they should be championed for their work.
Animated films can be hand-drawn, stop/clay motion, or computer-generated; it does not matter, but all of them show the unique techniques of hundreds of artists that bring the work to life. And in a world full of AI slop, they should be celebrated.
Our Highly Commended Films in 2025 are: The Bad Guys: Little Lies and Alibis, The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie, Elio, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Chrome Alone 2 – Lost in New Jersey & Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
Our Highly Commended TV in 2025 are: Creature Commandos & Rick and Morty
So, without further ado, these animated films showed us the glory of animation in 2025. Be warned that there may be slight spoilers ahead.
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Cinematography is an art form that can be as bold as a gong crashing after a moment of silence or as subtle as the tide coming in. It elevates a film to the heights of accolades or becomes frustrating when it misfires.
While at the heart of cinematography is the Director of Photography or Cinematographer, to get something from the script to the final shot takes a whole team of professionals, and it is their talent that we champion today.
Our Highly Commended Films in 2025 are: The Brutalist, Frankenstein, KPop Demon Hunters, Nosferatu, The Phoenician Scheme, Warfare & Weapons
Our Highly Commended TV in 2025 are: Andor, The Diplomat, Peacemaker & PLUR1BUS
So, without further ado, these moments of cinematography took our breaths away in 2025. Be warned that there may be some slight spoilers ahead.
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One of the benefits of film and television as a visual medium is that you can do in a single frame what it might take a book several pages of description to pull off. We see this the most in its ability to build worlds in front of our eyes.
These worlds could be great space operas exploring galaxies, a small period piece that looks back in time, or anything. But when every part of the film is used to tell a story, you know it is good. It must be more than just what someone sticks in an opening scrawl, though it is also what someone sticks in an opening scrawl.
Our Highly Commended Films in 2025 are: Companion, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, KPop Demon Hunters, Predator: Badlands, Primitive War, Sinners, Superman & Wake Up Dead Man
Our Highly Commended TV in 2025 are: Andor, Foundation, Heated Rivalry, Murderbot, Paradise, Peacemaker, Silo & Skeleton Crew
So, without further ado, these films showed excellence in Worldbuilding 2025. Be warned that there may be slight spoilers ahead.
You can use many techniques to help build your world, ground your setting, or give dimensions to your characters. You can use music and create elaborate sets, but one of the many ways, and often the first way, is through the costumes you make.
People instantly judge a character within moments on the screen, and the outfits are essential to that first impression. More than this, you can also use costumes as a way of storytelling. What do they say about this world? What do they say about how a character is progressing?
Costumes can build worlds and tell us details we can only see, but also, they can make us say, ‘Hot Damn’, look at that beading on that dress. That must have taken hours to do!
Our Highly Commended Films in 2025 are: Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, KPop Demon Hunters, Nosferatu, Wake Up Dead Man & Wicked: For Good
Our Highly Commended TV in 2025 are: The Diplomat, Foundation, The Residence, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds & Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
So, without further ado, these costumes made us say ‘hot damn’ in 2025. Be warned that there may be slight spoilers ahead.
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One factor that I will always look out for in a film or tv show is the musical score. When a musical score is transcendent it can get caught in my soul in the days, weeks, months, and even the years that come. There is immense artistry in weaving emotions from music, having us slip into the world that is created, fear the oncoming dread even if we do not know why, or rejoice in the triumph of that final victory.
Music charts the cinematic world as it guides us, lifts us up, and yet it can also crush our souls with a couple of notes on a piano. This is its power.
Also, a reminder that this award is for Musical Scores and Original Songs only, so no needle drops or non-original songs.
Our Highly Commended Films in 2025 are: The Brutalist, Conclave, F1, How to Train Your Dragon, One Battle After Another, Thunderbolts* &Tron: Ares
Our Highly Commended TV in 2025 are: Doctor Who, Murderbot, Paradise & The Residence
So, without further ado, these are the musical scores that moved us in 2025. Be warned that there may be some slight spoilers ahead.
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50,000 Monkeys at 50,000 Typewriters Can't Be Wrong
A Movie Blog for Movie Reviews, Trailers, and More
freelance film critic with an interest in multilingualism, feminist perspectives in cinema and crime dramas.
TL;DR Movie Reviews and Analysis 