Black Bag
Well, last Tuesday, the ZEJ team saw the best movie of 2025 so far, and it’s not even close. I’m a sucker for spy thrillers, but Black Bag is objectively amazing. Steven Soderbergh is a legend, and you can see all the cleverness of the Ocean’s films in this. Fassbender and Blanchett are perfect, as always, but the supporting cast really make this movie work. Tom Burke is particularly compelling, and between this and his emergence to me in Furiosa, he’s definitely somebody to watch out for in the future. He has one of those faces that just screams cinematic, like an Adrien Brody or Cillian Murphy. Don’t want to spoil anything for you, so I’ll leave it at that, but this is a must watch.
-Z
Ocean’s Eleven is my favorite movie, and I was not surprised to hear afterward that this film had the same director. I loved the intense, dialogue-driven plot, which, similar to Ocean’s Eleven, packs so much information into each conversation, your attention is commanded. You are rewarded for paying close attention by being able to piece everything together, making you feel like you are part of the heist.
-E
“When you can lie about everything, when you can deny everything, how do you tell the truth about anything?” -Clarissa
Mr. and Mrs. Smith, am I right?? You watch the trailer or describe it to anyone that's what you hear them say, and in perfect spy fashion it is completely different. A movie I was not really excited to see and convinced to go based on Z and E giving me a push, and I thank them for it. It has been a long time since I have seen a true spy movie that I loved. This wasn’t action focused, but truly spy focused. A lot to pay attention to and a lot of faith put on the audience to follow along. I have tried to explain it to others and I still give it that Mr. and Mrs. Smith tie, but it is so much more in my opinion. If you enjoy spy movies with twists and strong dialogue, this is a must watch. I don’t foresee any awards, but I wouldn’t be mad if it wins some!
-J
