PROMOTION: 6 Must-See Movies To Unwrap This Twixmas

You know how it goes: Christmas arrives and the day bursts forth in a festive explosion of food, crackers and hastily unwrapped gifts, leaving you delighted, exhausted and full of seasonal cheer. But then Boxing Day comes and we slide into that temporal no-man’s land between Christmas and New Year, where the whole world seems to come to a cosy standstill. Yes folks, it’s Twixmas, that most magical period of year where time has no meaning and anything is possible. What better way to spend this dreamlike span of days, then, than by catching up with some of the best movies to grace the silver screen over the past months? Join us as we whip up a hot chocolate, snuggle up under a fluffy blanket and delight ourselves with six cinematic treats as to usher in 2025.

Dune: Part 2

Denis Villeneuve blew all our minds with the glorious, transpirational masterpiece that was Dune: Part 1 back in 2021. Then, beating all the odds, he managed to surpass himself this year with a sensational follow-up, completing his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi tome. Epic, majestic and jaw-droppingly beautiful, Dune: Part 2 continues the story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) as he rises to power on the desert planet of Arrakis, embracing his destiny to lead the native Fremen (including Zendaya’s fierce warrior, Chani) against the pallid forces of the conquering Harkonnen. A giant-sized blockbuster shot with an arthouse sensibility and stunningly shot by DP Greig Fraser, Dune: Part 2 is nothing short of awe-inspiring. There’s simply nothing else quite like this out there, and with a third film currently in the pipeline, you owe it to yourself to spice up your life and dive headfirst into Dune!

Twisters

Glen Powell is arguably the hottest property in Hollywood right now and Twisters is the film that elevated him from one to watch to an actual, bona fide movie star. Lee Isaac Chung’s thrilling tale of tornadoes run amok sees Powell as veteran ‘storm chaser’ Tyler Owens, who teams up with meteorologist Kate Carter (Daisy Edgar Jones) to assist in her woman vs weather quest to tame the winds ravaging the Oklahoma plains. With elemental fury rendered to staggering effect in some of the best effects sequences of the year, Twisters is an enormously fun thrill ride that demonstrates just how small we are when facing down the wrath of mother nature. Plus it features Powell in a soaking wet t-shirt for absolutely no good reason — what’s not to love? This one’s guaranteed to go down a storm.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

What’s more impressive than a giant, rage-filled gorilla? Try giving that gorilla a mechanical power glove and teaming him up with his former foe: the king of the monsters himself, Godzilla. Adam Wingard’s tag-team follow up to Godzilla vs. Kong not only puts both of the killer kaiju on a path of maximum destruction — while giving ‘Zilla superpowered makeover as he enters his pink era — but brings war to Hollow Earth as an all new enemy emerges to threaten all life on the surface. Sure, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry and Dan Stevens are all uniformly excellent as the film’s human contingent, but let’s be honest, that’s not the reason you’re here. Gargantuan, building-sized monsters, suplexing each other like they’re the main event at WrestleMania? Sign us up!

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

George Miller followed up his stone-cold classic — 2015’s all-timer Mad Max: Fury Road — with another blistering tale of life and death in the Wasteland via this prequel  that explores the early life of fan favourite character Furiosa (here played with flinty determination by Anya Taylor Joy). After being kidnapped from the Green Place by the disheveled hordes of Chris Hemsworth’s megalomaniacal warlord Dementus, Furiosa proves herself a force to be reckoned with, rising through the ranks to become the trusted lieutenant of desert dictator Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme). There may be no sign of Mad Max himself in this one, but Furiosa more than holds her own in a diesel-soaked origin story that manages to enrich and expand Miller’s wasteland mythology while cementing Imperator Furiosa as a hero for the ages. Witness her!

Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1

Kevin Costner is no stranger to the Western and has a cabinet full of Oscars to prove the point. So you’ll want to sit up and pay attention when the man behind Dances With Wolves puts his money where his mouth is and pours a huge amount of his own fortune into realising his dream for a hugely ambitious Western saga — one that begins with this first instalment. Set in the 1860s during the American Civil War, this sees a huge ensemble of disparate characters converge on a new settlement called Horizon, which happens to be situated on Apache land — something the natives are none too happy about. Costner brings his acting chops to bear on a meaty role as gunslinger Hayes Ellison and is more than capably backed up by a stellar cast including Sienna Miller, Sam Worthington and Jena Malone. With wagon trains, gunfights and a nuanced  tale of settlers vs natives on the rolling American plains (which have rarely looked this awe-inspiring), you owe it to Costner to witness the first movement in his grand composition first hand.

Barbie

Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach’s Barbie is by now the stuff of legend. What began as a seeming punchline — an adaptation of the much maligned and improbably proportioned plastic doll — became a cultural phenomenon and a monumental box office smash back in 2023. Margot Robbie perfectly captures the naive, pink-clad icon as her life is turned upside down when she’s drawn into the ‘real’ world and forced to confront concepts like death, consumerism and the patriarchy. Powered by a superbly sharp and satirical script, bubbly yet brilliant performances and the raw power of Ryan Gosling’s Kenergy, Barbie is one of those films that *everybody* needs to have seen. This meta Mattel odyssey manages to be silly, sincere, occasionally profound and consistently hilarious. If you’ve yet to sample its pink perfection, now is the perfect time to sit back in your mojo dojo casa house and submit to the queen. This is a Barbie world, after all. We just live in it.

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