We introduce Luis Mendez of The Reel Lounge Podcast and The Mendez Movie Report. Luis and AlsoMike count down their Top 10 Films of the Year (so far). Plus, they discuss their 3 most anticipated films yet to come in 2025, a Midyear Special!

Getting to know Luis Mendez -

Luis talks about the life of a film critic, the NY Times Top 100 and gives an endorsement for letterboxd.

Number 10’s: Great Action and a pleasant surprise - 6:46

No. 9’s: Funny chatter and a sequence we can’t stop thinking about - 11:02

No. 8’s: Tight storytelling and speaking to the modern day - 17:49

No. 7’s: An emotional pick and a great physical comedian - 24:52

No. 6’s: We agree on this genre bender - 29:08

No. 5’s: The perfect date night film and an underrated selection - 34:38

No. 4’s: An awesome thriller and a film good for the soul - 39:11

No. 3’s: We agree on THE Dad movie of the year - 43:51

No. 2’s: We also agree on a new horror classic - 49:55

No. 1’s: Rewatchable crowd pleasers that deserve your attention - 58:32

Honorable Mentions - 1:04:42

Our Top 3 Most Anticipated Movies for the rest of 2025 - 1:07:43

OUTRO: The words of wisdom today are to follow Luis Mendez, subscribe to The Reel Lounge Podcast, The Mendez Movie Report and to read all his movie reviews, Oscars projections and Best Of lists on his substack, website and Letterboxd. Plus, we talk about what’s coming next on both our feeds, our upcoming 4th of July plans for picnics and for movie watching, and we even have a brief outro conversation on the importance of the upcoming Fall Film Festival Lineup announcements that’ll be incoming soon.

Linktree for Luis Mendez: https://linktr.ee/MendezMovieRPT

Website: https://www.mendezmoviereport.com/

Podcast: https://www.mendezmoviereport.com/podcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MendezMovieRPT