On 2025
It’s been a rough year in almost every way. A good thing that happened was movies. So many good movies! Seriously, great year for good film, and by extension, people who like good film. It’s one of the many things I find myself enormously thankful for: the ability to enjoy the things I love, and share them with my loved ones. With that in mind, I wanted to share some thoughts about my favorite movies of the year once more.
I feel the need to clarify, before you yell, these are my personal favorites. This is my list. Write your own.
ON MY WATCHLIST
Movies I am dying to see but haven´t because I can´t or I just haven´t got around to watching for one reason or another.
- Arco (Ugo Bienvenu)
- Ballerina (Len Wiseman)
- Blue Moon (Richard Linklater)
- Bugonia (Yorgos Lanthimos)
- F1 (Joseph Kosinski)
- Hedda (Nia DaCosta)
- A House Of Dynamite (Kathryn Bigelow)
- If I Had Legs I’d Kick You (Mary Bronstein)
- It Was Just An Accident/ ک تصادف ساده (Jafar Panahi)
- Jay Kelly (Noah Baumbach)
- The Naked Gun (Akiva Schaffer)
- No Other Choice/ 어쩔수가없다 (Park Chan-Wook)
- The Phoenician Scheme (Wes Anderson)
- Rental Family (Hikari)
- Sirāt (Óliver Laxe)
- The Secret Agent (Kleber Mendoça Filho)
- Sentimental Value (Joaquim Trier)
- The Shrouds (David Cronenberg)
- The Smashing Machine (Benny Safdie)
- Sorry, Baby (Eva Victor)
- The Testament of Ann Lee (Mona Fastvold)
- Train Dreams (Clint Bentley)
HONORABLE MENTIONS
- Avatar: Fire and Ash (James Cameron): Absolutely incredible visuals and action, great acting…but a loooot of repeated beats from the previous installments.
- Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires (Juan Jose Meza-Leon): Just…cool as shit.
- Caught Stealing (Darren Aronofsky): A really fun movie, unexpectedly so.
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle (劇場版「鬼滅の刃」無限城編) (Haruo Sotozaki): An absolutely fantastic piece of animation, further proof that Ufotable is doing it like no one else in the game.
- Die, My Love (Lynne Ramsey): A tour de force performance by J-Law in the middle of a gruesomely rough world. An upsetting experience.
- Eddington (Ari Aster): A very upsetting, rough movie that kept me on the edge of my seat.
- The Fantastic Four: First Steps (Matt Shakman): My favorite MCU release of the year, a simple, straightforward movie set in a very stylish, good-looking world.
- Final Destination: Bloodlines (Zach Lipovsky, Adam B. Stein): Wayyyy too much dumb fun not to include here.
- Highest 2 Lowest (Spike Lee): A perfectly good Kurosawa remake, which is no small feat in and of itself, but also undeniably a Spike Lee joint.
- How to Train Your Dragon (Dean DeBlois): Simultaneously a perfectly good remake and a proof of the lack of necessity of remakes. The Toothless effects are flawless, though.
- KPop Demon Hunters (Maggie Kang and Chris Applehans): An undeniable bop from start to finish. I’ve downloaded the soundtrack.
- The Mastermind (Kelly Reichardt): Really great. Might need some time to process.
- Materialists (Celine Song): a massively intelligent rom-com that is about the rom-com genre as much as it is about love.
- Mickey 17 (Bong Joon-Ho): A Bong film through and through, very funny and impeccably made.
- Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning (Christopher McQuarrie): Tom Cruise delivers two of the best action sequences of the franchise, but they’re surrounded by franchise nostalgia that weighs the film down.
- The Monkey (Osgood Perkins): Just an absolutely bananas piece of film. What an amazing time, though.
- Ne Zha 2 (Jiaozi): An undeniable smash hit, and a more than deserving one.
- Presence (Steven Soderbergh): A premise that could have been very goofy if it weren’t in the hands of a master filmmaker.
- Thunderbolts* (Jake Schreier): The best-looking MCU release of the year, a very thoughtful piece on depression and dread.
- Together (Michael Shanks): A really good visual effects proof of concept and great central performances, but not much else.
- Weapons (Zach Cregger): A well-assembled mystery that was a tad overhyped for me.
- Wicked: For Good (Jon M. Chu): An immensely spectacular conclusion that fixes a lot of things, but not enough.
THE LIST
28 YEARS LATER
Dir. Danny Boyle
My personal favorite. What a goddamn picture. This movie could not have been a bigger shock to my system, a film that shook me in ways I did not expect. This felt less like a sequel to 28 Days Later or its 2007 follow-up and more its own weird, bold, and entirely unique coming-of-age/ horror hybrid with absolutely devastating gut punch turns that caught me off-balance to teary-eyed, slack-jawed effect, particularly as the story builds to a climax that is unlike anything that came out in theaters this year. Ralph Fiennes plays what is probably my favorite performance of the year in Ian Kelson, a doctor that is vastly more than what his eccentric appearance and demeanor suggest. Also, the cinematography? SPECTACULAR. I don’t normally enjoy Alex Garland, but his writing and Boyle’s direction (which is among his most effective work, up there with Steve Jobs) create something timeless in ways few films achieved in 2020s studio filmmaking. Cannot wait for The Bone Temple now.
My personal favorite. What a goddamn picture. This movie could not have been a bigger shock to my system, a film that shook me in ways I did not expect. This felt less like a sequel to 28 Days Later or its 2007 follow-up and more its own weird, bold, and entirely unique coming-of-age/ horror hybrid with absolutely devastating gut punch turns that caught me off-balance to teary-eyed, slack-jawed effect, particularly as the story builds to a climax that is unlike anything that came out in theaters this year. Ralph Fiennes plays what is probably my favorite performance of the year in Ian Kelson, a doctor that is vastly more than what his eccentric appearance and demeanor suggest. Also, the cinematography? SPECTACULAR. I don’t normally enjoy Alex Garland, but his writing and Boyle’s direction (which is among his most effective work, up there with Steve Jobs) create something timeless in ways few films achieved in 2020s studio filmmaking. Cannot wait for The Bone Temple now.
FRANKENSTEIN
Dir. Guillermo del Toro
Despite the fact that I by no means believe this to be his best movie, or even the best movie of the year, I cannot help but have a soft spot for GDT and an even softer spot for any filmmaker getting to do a lifetime dream project, a film that is so evidently a culmination of work, life experience, and passion. Frankenstein is one of my favorite movies of the year, not just because of the incredible production value, not just because of the amazing costumes and makeup, not just because of a delightfully evil Oscar Isaac, or a fantastically melancholy Mia Goth, or a scene-stealing, career-defining performance by Jacob Elordi. It’s one of my favorite movies of the year simply because I get to see a director reaching full-circle status in real-time behind the camera and on the screen, putting to film ideas, images, and scenes he has dreamt with for decades. Frankenstein is a work that fells very personal, and feels like Del Toro using everything he has learned to bring this dream to life. This might be why there is a small sense of déjà vu about it, as a lot of plot beats in this feel like echoes of, say, the romance between two misunderstood beings from The Shape Of Water, or the aesthetics of Crimson Peak, or the horror of eternal death and resurrection from Pinocchio. One could even make the argument that, since Frankenstein as a story is so central to Del Toro’s entire artistic formation, these ideas are spread across his filmography out of sheer osmosis, dreams of a misunderstood monster and its creator bleeding into work. There’s a lot that’s very reminiscent, a chicken-or-the-egg situation cycling between Frankenstein and Guillermo’s imagination. There’s a very sublime sense of beauty about this notion. It makes me feel hopeful that one day, every artist will get to stand before the world and, as GDT put it so poetically, sing the song they were meant to sing to the universe.
SINNERS
Dir. Ryan Coogler
Ryan Coogler’s defining characteristic to me is his sense of thought and consideration, as he has demonstrated since Fruitvale Station and his navigation of genre filmmaking in Creed and even his Black Panther films, an innate ability to bring his own joy, love, pain, and longing into a project with intelligence and precision that should intimidate anyone. His horror/ western/ musical Sinners is no different, a resounding triumph and a testament to the value of originality in modern cinema, a four-quadrant crowd-pleaser that’s also a powerful, intimate, emotional story. It works as a straightforward cinematic experience and as an incredibly profound, transformative piece on folklore, history, community, fear, love, and bravery. It features some of the best cinematography, score, ensemble performances, and writing of the whole year. Put simply, this film just has sauce, and it’s the rare opportunity for a director to show off their incredible imagination and mastery of technique. This is just an all-around home run any way you slice it, and might just be the film with the most potential for longevity out of this list. Good nominee for Movie Of The Year.
SUPERMAN
Dir. James Gunn
2025’s Superman is a bold, declarative opening for James Gunn’s DC Universe, a project that will apparently be guided by passion, by good faith, and by Gunn’s own taste, which is hard to decry considering his clear love for the source material and his undeniable expertise at navigating this genre and his own take on it. This results in a DC Universe that feels fully formed, and a Superman that feels true to everything that is essential to the character. What I loved about Superman is the power of its unabashed, unashamed optimism: a film and a character that refuse to be anything other than earnest and sincere at a moment where the world turns ever more toward cynicism and anger. Corenswet, Brosnahan, and Hoult feel like the definitive modern versions of their characters immediately in a way that is as much a testament to writing and direction as performance, but just as impressively, Gathegi’s Mister Terrific deserves praise for his effortless cool, and the film must be commended for its pitch-perfect use of Krypto the Superdog. At the end of the day, Superman as a figure means so much to me, and this movie felt like something I have been waiting for my whole life.
One of the strengths of Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet is its sheer, raw emotionality, its heart worn on a sleeve. It’s patient, deliberate, unabashedly poetic. Zhao moves away from the sunset-painted deserts and canyons of her past work and into the comforting embrace of forests and the unbearable intimacy of a grief-afflicted family with pure dexterity. It’s such an appropriate portrayal of family, of two people with rich inner lives building a home and a future together, suffering together, laughing together. The film, however, belongs to Jessie Buckley in her sure to be Oscar-winning performance as Agnes Shakespeare. Buckley thrives in this movie the way gnarled tree roots do in Agnes’s forest haven, showing off her massive ability in graceful strides and primal, contorted screams. It’s pure tear-jerker cinema.
THE UGLY STEPSISTER (DEN STYGGE STESØSTEREN)
Dir. Emilie Blichfeldt
Yet another surprise for me, a movie I had absolutely zero expectations about and massively delivered. The film is gorgeous and maniacally devious in equal measures, constantly endeavoring to top itself scene after scene, sequence after sequence, in fits of gory glee, glossy daydreaming, shockingly explicit sex acts, and the same quietly simmering female rage palpable in The Substance, all wrapped up in flawless makeup and production design and that oh-so-amazing synth score. It’s kinda like seeing the most polished version possible of an 80s B horror-fantasy. Every element fits seamlessly, without having to hack excess parts off with a kitchen cleaver.
BRING HER BACK
Dir. Danny and Michael Philippou
After Talk To Me, I was certainly anxious to watch the Philippous’ follow up to their 2022 debut. And to be honest, Bring Her Back absolutely floored me. The film itself is a lot more thoughtful and mature than one would expect from low-budget horror, but there’s so much patience and trust in the audience, an expert touch in the sense of balance between upsetting gore and heart-rending sorrow, in the narrative and emotional equilibrium between unhinged pain and quiet melancholy. Sally Hawkins delivers one of the more interesting performances of the year, a study of the downward spiral into selfish cruelty in the service of desperation. That set, the house the film is set in, is filled with so much detail and texture, an ideal playground for a horror filmmaker (or filmmakers). And that kid is definitely one of the most talented kid actors in horror history, right?
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
The strongest contender for Movie Of The Year at the moment and probably one of the only times I’ll agree with any award shows that grants this Best Picture and Best Director. As with any PTA joint, this is just an enormously deliberate film, carefully constructed in every way a film can be, from cinematography to score to goddamn sound design. There’s so much to chew on, so many wonderfully quirky details paired with some great PTA insights on individualism, revolution, anger and gratification, fascist authoritarianism, and communitary resistance, but at its core is just a wonderfully told father-daughter love story. Leo might have just won a well-deserved second Oscar here in one of his more fun roles in recent years, but he’s enormously overshadowed by an ensemble of actors at the top of their game that includes Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, and the best possible introduction for Chase Infiniti. I’d posit that that road chase in the climax is the best-filmed sequence of the year. One Battle After Another is one of those films that makes you grateful for cinema.
The Knives Out films have very quickly become one of my favorite things to look forward to, as they have rapidly carved out their own place in modern cinema as vehicles for Rian Johnson’s personal filmmaking instincts and his obvious sense of earnest sociopolitical commentary in screenwriting. The latest installment of the series, Wake Up Dead Man, proves that they have limitless potential and room to continuously change what they can even be. Despite its pointed portrayal of incompetent tech billionaires and sycophantic yes people, Glass Onion had a ton of issues: it was kinda glib, chronically on Twitter, and hugely dated almost immediately. This new one, however? Benoit Blanc feels a little less like a cartoon and a little more like a real guy with real pet peeves and real drives. There’s something unexpectedly poignant, enormously resonant, and thoughtful about human nature as it relates to faith, whether to God or to people we choose to follow, which makes it timeless. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still very over-the-top, but there’s something more relatable to it, even if it’s at the slight expense of the ensemble component that formed the previous two installments of the series. It doesn’t hurt that it features some of my favorite camerawork of the year, a truly amazing church set, the return of Craig in what is obviously a better role for him than Bond ever was, and a commanding, humble performance by Josh O’Connor in one of the better-written characters of 2025 pop culture.
MARTY SUPREME
Dir. Josh Safdie
Leaving Timothée Chalamet’s increasingly unendearing offscreen persona aside, and even Josh Safdie’s personal ick factor, which is a big thing to set aside considering the circumstances, Marty Supreme is nothing short of extraordinary. The film and its director have the swaggering confidence of its protagonist, the expert, calm vision of a person that feels like he has more years and experience under his belt than Safdie has currently. It’s dynamic, original, visceral, and has a defiant, proud refusal to be static, or even calm, as the film is perpetually in a trademark Safdie, wild-eyed, sweat-covered state of mania. Chalamet brings the film through life with sheer presence, a bragadoccio-shielded palpable fragility typical of the hustling, bullshitting archetype he’s playing. He bursts through every possible moment of inertia with youthful exuberance and volume. As with most Safdie joints, the film is not particularly friendly to repeat viewings by those who value a healthy heartrate, but it’s undeniably a massive achievement of independent filmmaking.
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