Hello, everyone. Welcome to my favorite blog I write each year where I rank everyone movie released in that year that I watched. This started in 2022 when I watched 56 movies and thought it was a lot. My number one that year was Marcel The Shell With Shoes On. The following year I went to the movies 67 times and watched over double the amount I did in 2022, clocking in with 128. My number one that year was The Killer. 2024 just meant I’d watch more new releases and I accomplished that watching 138. My number one that year was Queer.
Now, I sit here with a new record number of new releases watched with 158 in 2025 and I get to share that list with you. How exciting!
Before I get into my ranking, I have one list that’ll serve as an appetizer. My girlfriend, Abby, requested I include her top five list of 2025 releases, so here it is:
5. Superman dir. James Gunn
4. Paddington In Peru dir. Dougal Wilson
3. The Life List dir. Adam Brooks
2. F1 dir. Joseph Kosinski
1. The Housemaid dir. Paul Feig
Now, let’s get into my ranking.
156. War of the Worlds dir. Rich Lee
Clocking in as the worst 2025 release I watched this year is the ninety minute Amazon advertisement starring Ice Cube, War of the Worlds. I don’t have any new or hot takes that haven’t already been said about War of the Worlds, but this simply is not a movie. My thought process going into this was that it could potentially be so bad it’s fun, but it never even reaches those heights because of how disgustingly corporatized this is.
155. Bride Hard dir. Simon West
Question number one: did the guy who directed Con Air really direct this? Question number two: who had the bright idea of casting Rebel Wilson as an action star? Question number three: can we bring back firing squads to deal with everyone involved in making this movie?
154. Fear Street: Prom Queen dir. Matt Palmer
The slasher genre has never been one I’ve enjoyed, but it’s also one I never typically indulge in and watching Fear Street: Prom Queen makes me want to stray further away from the genre. That’s not fair to the other great films in the genre, but when you try a certain food once and have a bad experience with it, you’re not super likely to return to try that food again, are you? While some of the kills are serviceable, what drove me up a wall the most was the overuse of the word fuck as a way to seem hip and cool.
153. Who Is Luigi Mangione? dir. Brian Ross, Rhonda Schwartz
There’s a lot of words you can use to describe the 2025 documentary Who Is Luigi Mangione? One of the words you cannot use is good. I found this doc to be under researched in areas that needed to be fleshed out further and was over researched in meaningless bullshit like the Italian neighborhood Mangione grew up in. I do understand the thought process of wanting to be the first one to make a documentary about a hot topic, but do a little more legwork before rolling it out.
152. Kinda Pregnant dir. Tyler Spindel
It’s not a hot take, but I’m ready to be done with Amy Schumer. This talentless, unfunny hack keeps working and putting out projects that no one likes and yet I’m sure in 2027, I’ll be sitting here writing the same thing I do today. Aside from that ogre Schumer in the lead, Kinda Pregnant does have one thing going for it and that’s Will Forte entering the DILF era of his career.
151. Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever dir. Chris Smith
One of my first watches of 2025 was Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever, which was dumped on Netflix at the start of the year. Much like Who Is Luigi Mangione?, sometimes, some documentaries shouldn’t be made. In the case of Who Is Luigi Mangione?, it falters because it’s not well researched, but for Don’t Die: The Man Who Wants to Live Forever, it’s an uninteresting topic that would’ve served better as a two minute Instagram reel about the fucking freak show Bryan Johnson.
150. The Woman in Cabin 10 dir. Simon Stone
Simon Stone attempts some decent swings at making The Woman in Cabin 10 an intelligent thriller with grand drama, but it doesn’t have enough substance to ever reach those heights. It also was a bit distracting because I saw a Tik Tok about Keira Knightley doing that weird underbite thing and I only really focused on that for the majority of the time she was on screen.
149. I Like Movies dir. Chandler Levack
I love movies. I hated I Like Movies. It’s a movie nerds version of Licorice Pizza that lacks entertaining dialogue and good performances. While all of the performances felt lacking, the one that drove me up an absolute wall was Isaiah Lehtinen. An all time annoying performance that made me so irate that I dreamed of driving my fist into his sternum.
148. You’re Cordially Invited dir. Nicholas Stoller
Someone should do a study about what happened to Will Ferrell post 2013. I get it’s tough to keep up with the times and continue to be funny, but comedic actors, Sandler being the best example, have proven they can evolve into dramatic roles and continue to still be funny. You’re Cordially Invited joins a list of films like Spirited, Holmes & Watson, and The House as movies that further prove Ferrell has lost his fastball and will most likely never return to form when he was a funny individual.
147. G20 dir. Patricia Riggen
It feels a bit like a fever dream that G20 exists. Sort of like one of those movies you would see in a movie that’s about movies where Viola Davis is playing a washed, former great actress because this was abysmal. We might need to have a serious conversation soon about Davis and the roles she picks because it’s been roughly seven years since she’s been in a good movie. She’s one of the greats, but the filmography doesn’t particularly match that moniker.
146. The Electric State dir. Joe Russo, Anthony Russo
The word slop gets thrown around fairly often, you’ll see it more than a few times in this blog, but I often times don’t think when people say something is slop that it’s warranted. In the case of the Russo’s past three films, I think it’s fitting. The Electric State is a stain on movie making as it’s $300 million dollar budget went into a semi-loaded cast that was dragged down by both Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown in the lead and CGI of animatronic’s battling who knows what. Their run outside of the MCU should make a lot of Marvel fans nervous for Doomsday and Secret Wars.
145. HIM dir. Justin Tipping
Get Out by professional football should hypothetically work, but when you have a thin script and a black hole of charisma as your star, there’s no way to succeed. As we reach the halfway mark of the decade, I hope we can leave behind this type of movie where a naive and idyllic person stumbles into the grips of a powerful cult like figure. It’s fucking nauseating and played out.
144. Cleaner dir. Martin Campbell
Over the past year, we got the announcement that Denis Villeneuve would be directing the next James Bond film and I can’t lie, I’m excited about it. But there was a time when the entire Bond world was in limbo without a director attached to its next project and I thought, even though he’s 82, why not bring Martin Campbell back? He’s directed two of the best Bond films ever with Goldeneye and Casino Royale; I thought he still might have it. I realized however, after watching Cleaner, he does not have it. Also, I found out that Clive Owen still doesn’t have it. This isn’t really news though because he hasn’t been in a good movie since 2006.
143. My Fault: London dir. Dani Girdwood, Charlotte Fassler
Sure, step siblings dating isn’t technically incest, but I don’t want to fucking watch it. It’s not palatable or cute when you try to make a rom com out of it and it becomes even more unbearable when you try to add the worst elements of Fast and Furious. Just yuck!
142. Shelby Oaks dir. Chris Stuckmann
2025 has been a solid year for horror (Weapons, Sinners, 28 Years Later), but there have been plenty of low lights. The lowest of them all was Shelby Oaks. Chris Stuckmann, a YouTube movie reviewer, tried his hand at writing and directing an intense and sexually transgressive horror flick in a minimalistic manner, but what we get is an incoherent piece of shit. There’s no rhyme or reason as to how the plot rolls out and the performances (Keith Davis is innocent) are the scariest part of the movie because of how boring they are.
141. A Minecraft Movie dir. Jared Hess
It’s a shocking revelation that there are worse movies that came out in 2025 than Jared Hess’ A Minecraft Movie, but here we are. Jason Mamoa had enough charm to carry the dreck put on display, but the source material doesn’t make for an interesting enough movie and I’m sick of the schtick from Jack Black and Jennifer Coolidge. Let’s take a five year break off from the both of them.
140. Cunk on Life dir. Al Campbell
I’m sure there is a group of people who adore Diane Morgan’s thing, but I’m not one of them. Morgan drops a few funny one liners every now and again throughout, but as a whole, I didn’t laugh, I didn’t feel interested, and I don’t want to reengage with any of these Cunk documentaries ever again.
139. Love Hurts dir. Jonathan Eusebio
Director Jonathan Eusebio poses an interesting, yet unneeded question: what if A History of Violence was terrible? With two Oscar winning actors in the lead, you’d think that even with poor dialogue, they would be able to pump a little energy into a stale idea, but that’s far from the case. Maybe Ke Huy Quan and Ariana DeBose are the two biggest fraud Oscar winners of the decade because their post-win career is pathetic.
138. Echo Valley dir. Michael Pearce
I’m not in the camp of people who loathe Sydney Sweeney for her politics, but I can also acknowledge it’s been a rough year for her with a handful of duds hitting streaming and the theater. Michael Pearce’s Echo Valley is arguably the worst of the year for Sweeney. With a stacked cast including Julianne Moore, Domhnall Gleeson, Kyle MacLachlan, and Fiona Shaw, we see sparse spurts of genius and tension that are effective, but I never feel like Pearce comes remotely close to landing the plane of making this a memorable thriller.
137. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl dir. Rungano Nyoni
There’s a good chance that you’ll see On Becoming a Guinea Fowl towards the top of a lot of people’s end of year lists and I’m glad there was an audience for this, but when I saw it in a theater by myself, I felt so disconnected to what was on the screen due to the tedious pacing and overall cold presence of the characters. I’m sure some were moved by the familial bonds directed by Nyoni, but I was not.
136. Flight Risk dir. Mel Gibson
My expectations for Mel Gibson’s first film in nine years were low, but I did expect to have some dumb fun with a bald Mark Wahlberg. Unfortunately, no dumb fun was had and I ended up stuck in a movie theater for 90 minutes barely getting through poorly choreographed action and even worse dialogue that couldn’t be saved by Wahlberg, Topher Grace, or Michelle Dockery.
135. The Damned dir. Thordur Palsson
Before bashing The Damned, I would like to give it a slight compliment. The atmosphere that Thordur Palsson creates is an effective one. I was in the theater almost a year ago watching these characters endure the cold elements and at times, I felt a chill crawl down my spine. Aside from that though, there’s not much to like about The Damned. The performances are middling and the plot as a whole just feels like it wants to be The Thing or Alien, but it’s too scared to take the leap to actually be either of those movies.
134. Don’t Trip dir. Alex Kugelman
A little over two years ago, I interviewed the director of Don’t Trip, Alex Kugelman. Because of life, school, and everything in between, I never got around to cleaning up the interview and publishing it. Now it’s two years later and Don’t Trip released and I unfortunately found it to be disappointing. I get it was made on a shoe string budget, but the editing was sloppy, the writing was nothing new and exciting, and the performances, aside from Will Sennett, who should be cast as the next Ghost Rider.
133. American Murder: Gabby Petito dir. Michael Gasparro, Julia Willoughby Nason
American Murder: Gabby Petito is a perfectly fine documentary that didn’t teach me much because when this case unfolded, myself and every other American were tuned into this case every step of the way. The reason I have it so low on my list is that I find it gross that Netflix went ahead and used AI to replicate Gabby Petito’s voice for letters and text messages. A documentary is fine, but we don’t need to use harmful technology to bring the dead back to life.
132. Back in Action dir. Seth Gordon
When I look at Kyle Chandler, I sometimes feel like a desperate mother because I want more for him. I want him working with Scorsese again and new great directors. I don’t want him to be the villain in a direct to streaming action film directed by Seth Gordon. Chandler’s so much better than his recent films and hasn’t been able to radiate a great performance in a good movie since probably 2018 when he worked with Damien Chazelle on First Man.
131. Fountain of Youth dir. Guy Ritchie
The career arc of Guy Ritchie, a director who I believe is talented, is a puzzling. He started off like a rocket with Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and RocknRolla, then made some middling films his two Sherlock Holmes movies and King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and has since been very hit or miss. His recent works like The Covenant or The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare worked for me, but then he sprinkles in an Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre or a Fountain of Youth which is essentially National Treasure for adult babies. Not only is it a baby-fied version of a solid franchise, but it also includes multiple bad performances from good actors like Natalie Portman and Domhnall Gleeson and an even worse performance from a bad actor with John Krasinski. Yikes!
130. The Life List dir. Adam Brooks
The Life List was never going to be for me, but I went in as open minded as possible because my girlfriend wanted to watch it and I love her. Again, I knew I probably wouldn’t like this and that’s mostly due to the fact that it’s far too earnest for my liking. The whole movie feels like one big Hallmark card left for a confused twenty-something to take a risk and be whacky and that whole idea makes me cringe.
129. Hell of a Summer dir. Bill Bryk, Finn Wolfhard
At points, Hell of a Summer is a decent riff on the summer camp slasher sub genre of horror, but it all falls apart whenever that blackhole of charisma Finn Wolfhard opens his mouth. There aren’t many actors I despise more than Wolfhard so he made this a difficult watch even though Bill Bryk and Fred Hechinger are dialing in solid, pulpy performances. At the end of the day, Hell of a Summer doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it never was trying to do that.
128. Death of a Unicorn dir. Alex Scharfman
In his directorial debut, Alex Scharfman grabs a blender and throws in bits and pieces of Alien, This Is The End, and Jurassic Park, pushes the start button, and after it’s all been blended together, you realize he took the worst parts of those movies and thought Jenna Ortega of all people could carry that load across the finish line. Spoiler alert: she cannot. This sort of falls into the eat-the-rich genre we’ve been beaten over the head with the past few years and finds a way to be equal parts unfunny and disinteresting.
127. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t dir. Ruben Fleischer
Fuck it, man. Make a hundred more of these, who gives a shit. The Now You See Me franchise is monumentally braindead and silly as it relies on magic being the reason for everything that doesn’t make sense, but I don’t really hate it because it seems like Jesse Eisenberg, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher and Woody Harrelson are having a blast. Every time one of these hits theaters, I’ll be seated for it and the whole time I’ll think it’s ridiculous, but one thing is certain; I won’t be bored.
126. Happy Gilmore 2 dir. Kyle Newacheck
Happy Gilmore 2 is an unimpressive mess from start to finish, but one thing that it did successfully was provoke a thought. That thought was “Did I ever like the original Happy Gilmore movie?” At this point audiences are resigned to knowing Sandler is going to hurl half baked comedies at us every year with his friends in the cast and you watch them and don’t love them, but you occasionally laugh. The lone bright spot was Bad Bunny in a limited comedic role as he was the only one providing any semblance of laughs.
125. Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere dir. Scott Cooper
Scott Cooper’s latest film, Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere doesn’t deliver entertainment or energy, but it does deliver a rush of melatonin to your system that makes for the perfect movie theater nap. The performances aren’t the issue as Jeremy Allen White is good, not great, and Jeremy Strong is very good. My biggest issue, other than it being a drag, is that this story is so uninteresting at its core that Cooper had to add a fictional love interest, played by Odessa Young, that was one dimensional and wildly underwritten.
124. The Gorge dir. Scott Derrickson
On paper The Gorge is a movie that you might not be excited for, but it’s one that could work. Two young attractive leads isolated from one another with a mysterious gap holding them apart turns into a sci-fi and or historical nightmare. Hell yeah, right? Wrong. Derrickson opts to have the leads narrate every move they make which eliminates any mystique that’s trying to build up. The score from Reznor and Ross, per usual, was great. That was the true highlight of the movie.
123. I Know What You Did Last Summer dir. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
The most remarkable thing that happened when I went to see I Know What You Did Last Summer in theaters was the fire alarm going off and being evacuated out by a fire fighter because I decided to stay and watch the movie well after the alarm sounded. Nevertheless, the cam rip I found when I got home did the trick because this was nothing more than reheated leftovers of a 90s franchise that wasn’t even that good to start with.
122. The Friend dir. David Siegel, Scott McGehee
Naomi Watts is a fantastic actress, and even here in a dull grief packed drama, she’s very good. Seemingly the only director who has been able to properly utilize Watts in great films is the late David Lynch. If I’m being honest, that’s all I thought about while watching The Friend is that Watts should have had one more project with Lynch before he passed. It just made me upset.
121. Captain America: Brave New World dir. Julius Onah
Captain America: Brave New World is far from the worst movie released in the MCU as of late, but it’s even further away from being even labeled good. It’s a sloppy, abrasive mess that wanders aimlessly for two hours and concludes with a CGI Harrison Ford stomping around at a CGI White House while Anthony Mackie flies around trying to harness the magic of Chris Evans and it doesn’t work. Along with all of those missteps, the thing I found most offensive was the underutilization of Tim Blake Nelson as Samuel Sterns.
120. Mountainhead dir. Jesse Armstrong
It’s easy to make this comparison because Armstrong created Succession, but this just felt like a nauseating episode of the show that’s filled with high minded brow beating. The one thing that comes close to saving this disaster is Cory Michael Smith playing a fantastic pompous asshole. He’s great. If you want a bigger dose of him in a more toned down role, check out 1985.
119. Good Fortune dir. Aziz Ansari
In the same way I’m fed up with Amy Schumer, I’m all set with Aziz Ansari. I get it. I’ve seen enough. He’s going to repeat a punchline in a wild tone and bug his eyes out to sell the hilarity and it never works. Or at least it hasn’t worked since 2018. All around, I felt like none of the characters, whether it’s Reeves as Gabriel or Rogen as Jeff, were fleshed out and lacked any depth. Reeves’ comedic timing was a highlight though, but it’s been known he can be funny so even at that it’s not super impressive.
118. Honey Don’t! dir. Ethan Coen
I don’t know if Ethan needs to apologize to Joel or if Joel needs to apologize to Ethan, but I need them to make amends and get back to working together because I can’t endure anymore of this lesbian noir slop that Ethan is churning out at a rapid rate. It’s unfortunate that Honey Don’t! and it’s predecessor Drive Away Dolls stink because I find Margaret Qualley to be remarkably charming, especially when she turns on her southern twang, but even she can’t save this ridiculous dialogue written by both Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke.
117. Opus dir. Mark Anthony Green
Anytime one of these rich cult like movies with a coherent main character gets released, I know I’ll watch it, but the entire time I’m watching it I am absolutely hating it. Whether it’s this, The Menu, or Blink Twice, no new thoughts are put on the screen. The concept was ridiculous and was made even more outlandish with John Malkovich as a pop star cult leader. The only thing worse might’ve been Ayo Edebiri as the lead. Rough year for her.
116. Anaconda dir. Tom Gormican
I’d be lying if I didn’t say there were some laughs throughout Anaconda, but it was mostly just from Steve Zahn’s character who was the lone bright spot in this reboot or reimagining of the 1997 horror film. I mentioned it with A Minecraft Movie and I don’t want to sound repetitive, but I am so sick of Jack Blacks thing. At his age, he shouldn’t be continuing the same schtick that made him famous in the 90s and early 2000s.
115. Amy Bradley Is Missing dir. Phil Lott, Ari Mark
Amy Bradley Is Missing doesn’t answer any questions about the decades long case. Instead, it simply provides theories from nitwits as to where they thing Bradley is. Maybe she was sex trafficked. Maybe her body is under the sea. Maybe she’s living happily on an island. Who knows? Wha was most impressive about this doc was how it exposed how vapid just about everyone involved is, from the cruise director to other tourists, they’re all the biggest morons you’ve ever laid your eyes on.
114. The Alto Knights dir. Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson is responsible for some of the best films of the 80s and 90s from Rain Man to Diner to Sleepers, a pretty impressive run, but when the century turned, Levinson stopped throwing heat. His fastball dropped from 96MPH to an abysmal 83MPH, and The Alto Knights feels like he’s fully blown out his elbow. Starring Robert De Niro and Robert De Niro, The Alto Knights never generates any momentum to become a compelling story, but it is tough to not laugh out loud when you watch Robert De Niro #1 testifying while Robert De Niro #2 screams at a TV in a bar.
113. Predator: Badlands dir. Dan Trachtenberg
Dan Trachtenberg is a competent director and one who seems to have a solid handling on the Predator world going forward, but Predator: Badlands felt like a dud as it radiated the vibe of an eight episode Disney series about two outcasts battling for pride and vengeance. Elle Fanning does a lot with not much and as cute as that little critter who followed them around was, it just felt like the Baby Yoda-fication turned a serious movie into a joke.
112. Spinal Tap II: The End Continues dir. Rob Reiner
First off, rest in peace, Rob Reiner. Reiner was a true titan of the industry and had arguably the most impressive run of any director ever from 1986 to 1992 when he made Stand By Me, The Princess Bride, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, and A Few Good Men. Unfortunately, Reiner’s final film was a rehashed dumpster fire of unfunny jokes that we heard back in 1984 and unnecessary over the top cameos from Paul McCartney and Elton John. Oddly, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues feels like the anti This Is Spinal Tap because it lacks the charm that the original film had.
111. The Thursday Murder Club dir. Chris Columbus
Despite having a lovely cast of Hellen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan, Ben Kingsley, Celia Imrie, Jonathan Pryce, and Naomi Ackie with Chris Columbus, a legendary director at the helm, The Thursday Murder Club feels like a massive disappointment. I feel even more let down because the mystery at hand is intriguing, but Columbus and Co never land the plane to create an aging classic.
110. Ballad of a Small Player dir. Edward Berger
Off the heels of Oscar winning films All Quiet On The Western Front and Conclave, Edward Berger took a massive swing and attempted to make his Uncut Gems with a massive star at the center of it, but besides making a beautiful looking movie, he falls flat. Colin Farrell, to no ones surprise, is very good, but even in the shadow of destitution, the stakes never feel high enough in Ballad of a Small Player to engage the audience. I’m not fully out on Berger because he’s made one of my favorite movies of the 2020s with All Quiet On The Western Front, but he’s on thin ice.
109. Playdate dir. Luke Greenfield
Kevin James’ career outside of the Sandlerverse is a confusing one because it seems as if he’s trying to flex different acting muscles whether it’s as a nazi or in a romantic comedy, but none of those movies seem to land. While Playdate isn’t anything particularly new for James and should be slam dunk as he’s playing a comedic father, this never materializes past being a straight to Prime comedy.
108. How to Train Your Dragon dir. Dean Deblois
Hopefully How to Train Your Dragon will put a stop on live action remakes of beloved animated films, but the way Hollywood loves to dig up old IP to make a buck, I don’t think that will be the case. In no way am I going to say that this remake was an abomination, but it’s not helped by the performances from Mason Thames and Nico Parker and it has a weird almost soulless look to it the way a lot of these live action remakes do.
107. Riff Raff dir. Dito Montiel
Despite it exceeding expectations, I wish Dito Montiel was able to do more in Riff Raff with the cast he had. When you have Ed Harris, Gabrielle Union, Lewis Pullman, Bill Murray, and Pete Davidson at your disposal, you should be able to make a movie better than a D+/C- crime comedy. At the end of the day, Riff Raff wears a lot of its inspiration on its sleeve but can never materialize to be as smart or suave as it desires.
106. Oh, Hi! dir. Sophie Brooks
The two leads of Oh, Hi!, Logan Lerman and Molly Gordon, have great chemistry bouncing off one another, but I just found it to get too manic and too outrageous as it progressed that it caused me to checkout. I think that the injections of mania were used as more of a way to keep the movie moving as the story wore thin rather than actually adding to the first act and when a movie does that, it’s disappointing.
105. Hedda dir. Nia DaCosta
In my viewing of Hedda, I never found myself too interested in the love triangle presented by Nia DaCosta, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Tessa Thompson who delivers one of the most underrated performances of the year. She won’t be nominated, and truthfully I don’t know if she should be, but she’s the engine that keeps Hedda moving. While I didn’t connect with the plot, this does excite me for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which is directed by DaCosta.
104. Holland dir. Mimi Cave
There are multiple points in Holland when you think it’s going to take a leap into being bat shit insane, which is what you want, and it never does. Was Mimi Cave too scared to take that swing or did she possibly not know what to do with that big swing? Regardless, I wish we she gave use more because Nicole Kidman is putting on an absolute clinic in this half baked thriller.
103. Nobody 2 dir. Timo Tjahjanto
Unfortunately, Nobody 2 starts rolling with only thirty minutes left when Bob Odenkirk, Christopher Lloyd, and RZA are booby trapping a water park akin to Kevin McCallister in Home Alone. Tjahjanto’s direction of fight sequences works a little bit better than Naishuller’s in the Nobody, but nothing else lands because there wasn’t an interesting plot or story unfolding like it did in the first film. It should be noted, Sharon Stone gives a career worst performance. I’ve never been a fan of her as an actress, but holy hell is she bad here.
102. Nonnas dir. Stephen Chbosky
If you were wondering if every single Italian stereotype would be on display in Nonnas, you would be correct? We get over bearing maternal figures and an argument over whether it’s sauce or gravy within the first five minutes setting the tone that this movie won’t be great, but you won’t have a horrible time watching it.
101. The Amateur dir. James Hawes
Freddie Mercury does Jason Bourne shit with Morpheus helping him out? Sure, why not. If you’ve ever watched a movie with your dad where he picked what you’re watching, you’ve certainly seen some version of The Amateur. Something that does set it apart a bit from its forefathers of revenge action films is how heavily it leans on technology. That aspect worked and it doesn’t hurt when you have Holt McCallany checking in every so often with a solid performance.
100. The Legend of Ochi dir. Isaiah Saxon
The Legend of Ochi is super impressive visually, especially the opening twenty minutes, but I can’t help but feel like it’s a bit uninspired in its plot. It’s clearly inspired by films like The Good Dinosaur and My Neighbor Totoro and I think that genuinely hurts The Legend of Ochi because it grapples to find its identity that never metastasizes.
99. Karate Kid: Legends dir. Jonathan Entwistle
Do we need anymore Karate Kid movies going forward? I think after the Jaden Smith one and even Cobra Kai that the nostalgia void had been properly filled, but apparently Jonathan Entwistle didn’t think so. The story is rushed and predictable and Ben Wang brings absolutely zero to the screen. He’s in two movies this year and in both, I think he gives the worst performance. Unfortunately, it seems like we’re going to get more Wang in the future as he’s one of the top billed actors in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
98. Locked dir. David Yarovesky
Overall, Locked isn’t great, but it did a good job tapping into claustrophobia, something that’ll always be effective on me, so it made me heart race in many moments. On top of that, the flimsy script is carried by two very good actors in Bill Skarsgård, who does a lot of physical acting, and Anthony Hopkins. This isn’t anything revolutionary, but it’s a decent mindless thriller that you know where it’s going almost immediately.
97. The Accountant 2 dir. Gavin O’Connor
The Accountant 2 is a step down from the its predecessor and when the action gets rolling is when the movie peaks, but that’s sadly not until late in the third act. The rest of the time before that is just Affleck being autistic Jason Bourne communicating with child versions of himself at a home in New England and Jon Bernthal being angry because he’s always angry in any movie he’s in. Regardless, my dad loved it and if he enjoys these then I hope they never stop making them because it’s an excuse to go to the movies with him more often and I cherish those moments.
96. A Working Man dir. David Ayer
David Ayer and Jason Statham are the Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant of making middling Taken like movies. Is that a compliment? Maybe. Is it derogatory? Kind of. Nevertheless, when I see a Jason Statham film about him getting revenge for people he cares about, I know I’m going to be met with dog shit dialogue and fantastic action. A Working Man is no different.
95. Play Dirty dir. Shane Black
It’s nice that in 2025, seven years since Shane Black’s most recent film, we got a new Shane Black film. What’s unfortunate is that it got dumped on streaming on a random Wednesday. While Play Dirty isn’t the most impressive or interesting film from Black, it hits similar beats to The Nice Guys and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang in its buddy comedy approach. I’d like Black to not stray too far from films akin to this and not venture into prior IP like he did with the Predator franchise in 2018.
94. Heart Eyes dir. Josh Ruben
I understand that Valentines Day is a holiday all about love, but essentially every movie for the holiday is a quirky romcom or a hapless romantic drama. Heart Eyes, while not being my thing, is an interesting and tense horror cat and mouse game that packs some gruesome kills and solid twists. Again, it’s not my thing hence it being ranked lower, but it was a pleasant surprise.
93. Final Destination Bloodlines dir. Adam B. Stein, Zach Lipovsky
Truthfully, this franchise has never been my thing, so going into Final Destination Bloodlines, I knew there was a chance I wasn’t going to dig this; and for the most part I didn’t dig this. But aside from what I didn’t like, I was moved by Tony Todd’s final monologue and thought that some of the kills (the lawnmower, the garbage truck) did rock. Oh, and I can’t forget about the Shout scene too that kicked the movie off. Overall, there’s a lot of redeeming qualities, but again, these movies aren’t for me.
92. Eenie Meanie dir. Shawn Simmons
I hate to make the easy comparison, but when it’s hanging right there in front of your face it’s tough not to. Eenie Meanie is female Baby Driver but worse and doesn’t include a banging soundtrack like Edgar Wright’s film does. The one thing that Eenie Meanie has going for itself is that Samara Weaving is at the center of it and she’s looking very good in it giving a performance that doesn’t make this completely fall apart.
91. Jurassic World Rebirth dir. Gareth Edwards
It’s far from the abomination that a lot of people made this out to be, but it’s also a far cry from the original two Jurassic Park films. I do think the most disappointing aspect of Jurassic World Rebirth isn’t the fact that perfectly highlights the horrible post-Oscar career of Mahershala Ali or that it just adds to the IP slop hell scape we’ve become accustomed to; it’s the fact that Gareth Edwards is a talented director and I don’t think he’ll ever break out of these high profile franchise films and return to make something like Monsters.
90. Heads of State dir. Ilya Naishuller
When the two leads in a movie have great chemistry like John Cena and Idris Elba do here, you can ignore a good chunk of its flaws. Heads of State has many flaws, whether it be the corny dialogue or the disjointed action sequences, but Cena and Elba do a lot with nothing and Jack Quaid provides a pretty elite heat check. I think Quaid is better in roles like this one instead of when he’s a leading man. When you can let him shine and use all of his charisma in ten minutes, it pays off in a major way.
89. The Actor dir. Duke Johnson
The Actor marks the second collaboration between director Duke Johnson and producer Charlie Kaufman and while it’s a step down from Anomalisa, it’s still a compelling psychedelic drama with meaty dialogue to hang on to. Where the movie falters is when Johnson takes some major swings that don’t land, but I can’t fault him for that because he went for it and not a lot of directors do.
88. After The Hunt dir. Luca Guadagnino
On paper, a movie directed by Luca Guadagnino with elements of sexual discontent, scored by the duo of Reznor and Ross, starring Ayo Edebiri, Julia Roberts, Andrew Garfield, Chloë Sevigny, and Michael Stuhlbarg should work. If you were a gambling man, you’d call that a lock to be good. Unfortunately, it’s dragged down completely by it’s anchor of a script written by Nora Garrett. After The Hunt is all over the place in all the wrong ways and doesn’t properly utilize Stuhlbarg or Sevigny, but tries to lean too heavily on Edebiri as a dramatic lead, which I don’t think she is.
87. Sacramento dir. Michael Angarano
Last year, Jesse Eisenberg released his sophomore film A Real Pain, and it was one that bordered on being annoying but never crosses the line because of the way the two leads, Kiernan Culkin being very manic and Eisenberg as a more reserved, nervous individual, clashed with one another. In Michael Angarano’s Sacramento, he does a full on high jump over the annoying bar and never turns it down even in moments that try to bring levity. I found none of the character to have redeeming qualities and frankly, I just wished I was watching A Real Pain.
86. Oh. What. Fun. dir. Michael Showalter
Modern straight to streaming Christmas movies are almost always a dud, and while Oh. What. Fun. is a relative flop, especially when you consider the cast consists of Michelle Pfeiffer, Dominic Sessa, Denis Leary, Felicity Jones, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Jason Schwartzman, but I found a handful of enjoyable moments. It highlights the moms who always go above and beyond around the holidays and the cast does have solid chemistry. Maybe I’ll revisit this next Christmas. Who knows.
85. Hamnet dir. Chloe Zhao
You’d be hard pressed to find a better twenty minutes of film this year than the ending of Hamnet. It’s just unfortunate that it comes after a nearly an hour and forty minutes of uninteresting dialogue and schlock that has only one objective which is to make you cry. There were moments that choked me up, but I simply didn’t connect to the material at hand and I think that’s because I don’t really find Shakespeare to be interesting. That, or that his stories and overall themes have been done to death and in much better ways than Chloe Zhao was able to pull of. My final parting thought is a positive one. I thought Jessie Buckley was FANTASTIC. She’s my pick to win Best Actress and she’s reached a point now where I am endlessly excited for any project she’s in.
84. A House of Dynamite dir. Kathryn Bigelow
I don’t often say this because I find most miniseries to be too contrived and too drawn out, but Kathryn Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite has all the makings to be a B- miniseries. When A House of Dynamite starts, it feels like we’re on the path to get a modern political masterpiece especially when you look at the cast which is headlined by Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Tracy Letts, and Greta Lee, but what we really get is a cyclical farce that ends in the most mind boggling way possible. I wish 1980s/1990s Kathryn Bigelow would come back and abandon whatever she’s become, but at 74, I don’t think that’ll happen.
83. Ella McCay dir. James L. Brooks
In many ways, Ella McCay is James L. Brooks’ Megalopolis. It’s a legendary filmmaker late in his career collaborating with actors he’s worked with in the past and new stars on a project that has a lot of big ideas but none that particularly play well off one another and makes for a fun, yet incoherent time at the movies. I know I will revisit this for years to come because I think Emma Mackey is wildly talented and Albert Brooks is hilarious in this, but I’ll revisit it with the lone reason to laugh at the absurdity.
82. The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie dir. Peter Browngardt
Looney Tunes will always hold a special place in my heart because of how significant it was in my childhood, so The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie gains some nostalgia points from me. The storyline isn’t the most enthralling, but when you see Porky and Daffy on screen, it feels a bit like hanging out with old friends.
81. Companion dir. Drew Hancock
At face value, Drew Hancock’s Companion feels like a fresh and new idea, but the longer you watch it the more it feels like an incel pilled Black Mirror episode that’s drawn out for too long. There are some fun, brutal kills delivered up until the end, but my biggest issue is with the “twist” because it was so heavily hinted at in the marketing leading up to Companion that you already had a good idea as to where the movie was going.
80. The Alabama Solution dir. Andrew Jarecki, Charlotte Kaufman
Knowing what projects Andrew Jarecki has developed over his career was the first sign that The Alabama Solution would be a gutting and disgusting look at the prison industrial system in the state of Alabama, and he, along with Charlotte Kaufman, pull no punches in their investigation of inmate treatment. Despite being a difficult watch, it’s even more difficult to ignore the corruption that these inmates are dealing with. Despite it focusing mainly on Easterling Correctional Facility, this doc shows that this isn’t a one off issue. It’s an epidemic in many American prisons.
79. Becoming Led Zeppelin dir. Bernard MacMahon
Led Zeppelin is a major blind spot for me when it comes to music so Bernard MacMahon’s documentary filled in some of the blanks and it was fun to just hear a lot of the bands songs, but I have to dock it some points for not having a wider release. It lost a lot of grandeur when I watched it on my couch. I’m sure it would have resinated for more had I see this on the big screen, but then again, who is going to complain about listening to Led Zeppelin for two hours?
78. Dangerous Animals dir. Sean Byrne
Despite being predictable, Sean Byrne’s Dangerous Animals is a completely bat shit horror thriller on the open water with Jai Courtney orchestrating the absurdity from the jump. The blood-soaked film is shot in a way that transports you into this nightmare of a situation and makes you uncomfortable from start to finish. My lone gripe is it feels like doesn’t fully land the plane to elevate it to being great.
77. The Perfect Neighbor dir. Geeta Gandbhir
The Perfect Neighbor utilizes body cam footage to tell this bleak story, which I found to be innovative, but my main hang up is the lack of commentary on the events that occurred. The first forty minutes are so tense and ramps up to this terrible tragedy, but after that the documentary just crawls home with a lack of insight or discussion on the overarching issues at hand. There’s no denying that she’s a horrible person and one that scarred an entire neighborhood of children who just wanted to play with their friends. I just wish that this was approached in a more concise manner.
76. One of Them Days dir. Lawrence Lamont
I mentioned it when talking about Heads of State, and it’s true, great chemistry can carry a movie a lot further than it was probably meant to go. That is most definitely the case in One of Them Days as Keke Palmer and SZA feel like they’ve been roommates for years and despite being sick of each others shit from time to time, they’re still best friends. Their chemistry and the supporting performances from Kat Williams and Aziza Scott make this one of the most memorable comedies of 2025.
75. Lilo & Stitch dir. Dean Fleischer Camp
I know I lambasted the live action remake of How To Train Your Dragon earlier, so I will sound like a hypocrite writing this, but I enjoyed the live action remake of Lilo & Stitch. Part of the reason, and this is very silly, is because Stitch looks like my dog, Nellie, a little bit so seeing Stitch get into trouble made me laugh a good deal. On top of that, I have a soft spot for Dean Fleischer Camp as he directed one of my favorite movies of the decade, Marcel The Shell With Shoes On. At the end of the day, I don’t think I was ever going to be explicitly negative about this movie.
74. Predator: Killer of Killers dir. Dan Trachtenberg
While Dan Trachtenberg directed one of my least favorite movies of the year with Predator: Badlands, his second Predator film of 2025 was an outside the box look at the Predator character. The animation was a little choppy for my liking, but I can excuse that when I get to see a Predator battle a Viking raider, a ninja in feudal Japan, and a WWII pilot. Some really badass concept are on display and I wouldn’t hate to see any of these three ideas become a feature length film, just hold on the animation.
73. Steve dir. Tim Mielants
Following his Best Actor win in 2024 for portraying J. Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer, Cillian Murphy has taken a quiet and reserved career turn; one that I respect. He’s devoted a lot of his time for projects close to what he knows with Small Things Like These last year and now Steve this year. Both I thought we’re perfectly fine with Small Things Like These being a more interesting movie, but Steve incorporated a far superior performance from Murphy in the role of a teacher at a school for troubled students. It’s shot in an interesting way, but at it’s core, it’s fairly run-of-the-mill.
72. Unknown Number: The High School Catfish dir. Skye Borgman
One of the most pulverizing documentaries of 2025 came from Skye Borgman with Unknown Number: The High School Catfish. It peaks perfectly in the middle with a grand reveal that obscene texts being sent to a high school couple is not coming from a classmate or a stranger, but from the girlfriends mother. Truly heinous shit was spewed from the phone of Kendra Licari in the direction of her daughter and boyfriend and it ruined lives, relationships, and exposed her as a narcissistic psychopath. Hell is not hot enough for Kendra Licari.
71. Havoc dir. Gareth Evans
Havoc has been panned as a disappointing and nonsensical crime thriller since its release, and while I can understand some of that sentiment, I had a blast with it. Tom Hardy battling crooked cops through the night rips pretty fucking hard. A big reason I think this is getting such harsh reception is because this is a major step down for Gareth Evans from The Raid and The Raid 2, and Havoc didn’t have a theatrical release. I always think seeing a movie on the big screen is the best medium to consume it and Havoc would have greatly benefited from being in a handful of screens for two or three weeks.
70. Freakier Friday dir. Nisha Ganatra
My girlfriend forced me to watch the original Freaky Friday film for the first time this year and as much as I wanted to dislike it, I couldn’t. The same can be said about Freakier Friday. I enjoyed a lot of the jokes and callbacks we got in the sequel and thought it was a tight crowd pleaser that knew exactly what buttons to push to make the audience happy. My biggest surprise was how Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis were able to pick back up off the chemistry they developed twenty two years ago.
69. Dog Man dir. Peter Hastings
At face value, Peter Hastings’ Dog Man looks like just another animated movie for a childish audience, but I do think there’s a bit more that makes this work. What Hastings gives us is Robocop for kids. Kids deserve their own version of Robocop because in about ten years when they actually find Robocop, they’ll further appreciate it, and in 2025, we need more people to appreciate Robocop.
68. Last Breath dir. Alex Parkinson
Last Breath is Alex Parkinson’s adaptation of his 2019 documentary by the same name and shows us the dire situation of when deep-sea diver Chris Lemons’ cord snaps and he’s stranded on the ocean floor. The tension Parkinson builds up as a lump in your throat because the longer the film runs, the less likely you think Lemons is going to be saved. And by a miracle from God, after spending almost a half hour on the ocean floor with no oxygen, Lemons is returned to safety alive and well. It’s a feel good story wrapped in ninety minutes of chest tightening stress.
67. The Penguin Lessons dir. Peter Cattaneo
I’m a true sucker for movies like The Penguin Lessons where a grumpy curmudgeon finds a new purpose through an unlikely companion. Because of that, I can excuse the unoriginality of Peter Cattaneo’s latest film. Steve Coogan plays a fantastic crank who is radicalized into happiness by a penguin friend and in turn becomes a better teacher for his students who he struggled to connect with. It’s rather unremarkable, but a good time nonetheless.
66. Sisu: Road to Revenge dir. Jalmari Helander
To reduce Sisu and Sisu: Road to Revenge as the Finnish John Wick does a disservice to the franchise, but that is what it is because it’s a stoic man hell bent on revenge executing elite action sequences at a rapid clip and I eat up every second it. There is a scene on a train in Sisu: Road to Revenge that is the most badass of the two films that is so Looney Tunes crazy, you can’t help but sit back and smile with glee.
65. Billy Joel: And So It Goes dir. Jessica Levin, Susan Lacy
I’ve seen Billy Joel live twice in my life; once at Fenway Park and once at Madison Square Garden. Both concerts were biblical experiences watching this short, bald Long Islander throw his mic around and belt out the hits from behind his piano. Since I was thirteen, I’ve been a huge fan of Billy Joel, but I never knew how the sausage was made in his career. Billy Joel: And So It Goes shines a bright light on his career and shows us this process. My favorite part of this entire documentary was when Levin and Lacy dove into Joel’s early life, especially when they get into Attila, the metal band that put Joel on the map. If you’re a fan of one of the greatest American musicians, give Billy Joel: And So It Goes a watch.
64. The Smashing Machine dir. Benny Safdie
The lead up to The Smashing Machine prepared me for a massive dramatic turn from Dwayne Johnson that would blow the doors off viewers. At times, that magic is there, but Johnson, unfortunately, isn’t given much to work with in the script from Safdie as the story of Mark Kerr isn’t an interesting one. If anything, this movie should have been about Mark Coleman who was in Kerr’s shadow and was raising a family while also fighting professionally. I might also feel that way because I thought Ryan Bader acted circles around not just Johnson, but Emily Blunt also, who is a very underwritten character.
63. We Beat the Dream Team dir. Michael Tolajian
The story of the Select Team beating the Dream Team is an interesting one for sure, but when you look out who was on that roster of the Select Team (Webber, Hill, Penny), these guys were legit ballers and stars in the league. I get that they were young college players, but everyone knew they were and would be stars. Any of those guys could’ve been the college player replacing Laettner on the Dream Team. It becomes more interesting when it gets into the guys like Montross and Bobby Hurley. Nevertheless, We Beat the Dream Team was solid nostalgia porn of a time I never witnessed, so getting to experience it now was cool.
62. Presence dir. Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh’s Presence relies on the audience caring about the family being tormented by this apparition in their home. If you buy in from the jump like I did, then you are going to have a good time ogling at the genius of Soderbergh shooting this movie from the perspective of the ghost. It’s an eerie and thorny look at a family cracking while also dealing with the abnormal and no one ever having an answer to their problems. Presence is easily one of my favorite of Soderbergh’s more experimental work.
61. Den of Thieves 2: Pantera dir. Christian Gudegast
Much like the Knives Out films (which we’ll get to), I want a hundred more Den of Thieves films. Yes, they’re nonsensical. Sure, the writing is a bit thin and all over the place at times. But how can you beat the bromance chemistry between a very sweaty Gerard Butler and a cool and collected O’Shea Jackson Jr.? You can’t. The action isn’t as well done as the first one, but I’d go to bat and say that the heist pulled off in Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is on par, if not better than the one executed in Den of Thieves. My only complaint is that it doesn’t have as cool of a final shootout as its predecessor.
60. Materialists dir. Celine Song
Celine Song’s follow up to her 2023 hit Past Lives, was a step down in both quality and affect, but still was enjoyable because the three leads, Dakota Johnson, Chris Evans, and Pedro Pascal are all gorgeous and charming. The central themes didn’t connect to me, mainly because I haven’t been on the dating carousel before and never lived a highfalutin life in New York, but the dialogue was on point, and that’s what Song does best. While I didn’t love it, Materialists just made me for excited for whatever Song will do next.
59. Jay Kelly dir. Noah Baumbach
In a way, Jay Kelly is a bit of a return to form for Noah Baumbach where his characters exude jealousy towards each other and discontent, but all of those similar beats that it shares with Mr. Jealousy and Kicking and Screaming get lost when Baumbach inserts flashback scenes that I found nauseating. On top of that, I found the casting of George Clooney as essentially George Clooney to be uninspired. At face value it works because it’s a movie about a movie star being played by the ultimate movie star who has the looks and charm, but I think it would have worked better if the lead was a movie star who had demons they’ve battled through their career like Tom Cruise or Alec Baldwin. That would have made a far more interesting film in my eyes because I somehow do not believe Clooney as Jay Kelly as a deadbeat father.
58. Drop dir. Christopher Landon
Meghann Fahy does a lot of heavy lifting in Christopher Landon’s dumb, yet funny thriller Drop. She fully buys in to what the objective is, and that is to make an amusing whodunnit centered around technology and a first date. If you take Fahy out of this and substitute another actress on her level, then I think we’re looking at one of the worst movies of 2025. Let’s get Fahy’s agent working double time so she can collaborate with better directors on better projects.
57. The Housemaid dir. Paul Fieg
In 2024, the big movie on my girlfriends wishlist to watch was It Ends With Us, and that was abysmal dog shit. When she came to me and said she wanted to see The Housemaid, another movie based on another book she read, I got filled with a bit of dread. However, I’d be lying if I didn’t think is kind of rocked. Fieg finds that happy medium between tacky reality TV tropes and competent thriller film making to create a self aware drama that is a lot of fun. Where the movie is anchored though is by Sydney Sweeney’s dull performance. At times, she looks fully checked out and Amanda Seyfried and Brandon Sklenar have to save the day.
56. Novocaine dir. Dan Berk, Robert Olsen
For the longest time, it felt like anytime I went to the movies I would see the trailer for Novocaine. It got to a point that I would audibly groan every time I watched it. Then, the movie released, I missed it in theaters, and caught it on streaming months later. To my chagrin, I found it to be an enjoyable, mindless watch with a charming Jack Quaid attempting to sell Marvel style dialogue for close to two hours. It’s a bit long in the tooth, but there’s worse ways to spend two hours of your time.
55. Nouvelle Vague dir. Richard Linklater
As much as I like to present myself as a major cinephile, but I have a confession. I have no taken the leap into French new wave cinema yet. Godard and Truffaut are major blindspots for me, so Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague felt like the gates opening for me to urge me to explore the time period more. What’s interesting about Linklater is, is that he’s one of the most American filmmakers working, and he somehow crafted a beautiful depiction of this time period and the pompous nature of Godard’s personality that I quite enjoyed. It was also nice to see Zoey Deutch back in a Linklater movie because she is awesome in Everybody Wants Some!!.
54. This Is the Tom Green Documentary dir. Tom Green
This Is the Tom Green Documentary felt like an excuse for Tom Green to get his friends together to hang out and I can’t fault him for wanting to do that. If you were Tom Green, wouldn’t you want to rewatch clips of your debauchery and tell stories with your pals? I know I would. Despite still being a public facing celebrity, Green still feels like an elusive character because I don’t feel like he ever beat a bit to death. He knew when to get out and leave people wanting more and that just makes him transition from comedian to farmer all the more interesting.
53. Deep Cover dir. Tom Kingsley
If there is an Orlando Bloom comedic renaissance on the rise, then I want to be there at the start. He is hilarious in this Game Night inspired crime comedy playing off Bryce Dallas Howard and Nick Mohammed very nicely. I know I’ve mentioned theatrical releases a few times so far, but Deep Cover getting dumped on streaming stinks because this would’ve made for a great theater going experience to laugh with a crowd.
52. John Candy: I Like Me dir. Colin Hanks
Colin Hanks is able to pack the grand life of comedian John Candy into less than two hours where he highlights not just the character Candy was on the screen, but the devoted father and friend he was in his life. This is a well-crafted, swift moving documentary that feels like another film in the life of John Candy and I’m happy we have that in 2025.
51. The Life of Chuck dir. Mike Flanagan
While there is a lot of that aforementioned Hallmark greeting card fluff in The Life of Chuck, it’s difficult to hate a handsome Tom Hiddleston dancing his heart out because he knows the end is near. Flangan sticks super close to the source material and that is beneficial because the story it’s based on from Stephen King is extremely heartfelt. There’s a few good performance within, but my favorite, and one I think should get a look for a potential supporting actor nomination, is Benjamin Pajak. He’s fantastic as this idyllic youngster who’s world is shattered early on. Lovely stuff and was a nice change of pace from the typical work from Flanagan.
50. Thunderbolts* dir. Jake Schreier
Thunderbolts* was sort of like Guardians of the Galaxy for depressed people. It’s a good story and sets up this upcoming phase of the MCU nicely, but it became a bit redundant once the third act rolled around due to the characters constantly reminding the audience that they aren’t okay, but through the power of teamwork, they can be okay. I know that sounds overly negative, especially for where it’s ranked, but that was what ultimately held this movie back. Jake Schreier should know you can let the audience think for themselves from time to time.
49. Roofman dir. Derek Cianfrance
Derek Cianfrance’s latest film, Roofman was marketed as a goofy comedy about an eccentric criminal, but what we got was a serious look at a psychotic individual who used people his whole life for his benefit, or what he thought was for everyone’s benefit. The dark tone of it actually worked for me big time and Channing Tatum being the vessel to get that darkness across made for one of my favorite performances of 2025. Also, I’d be remised if I didn’t mention that there is one of the most WILD nip slips I’ve ever seen. Just comes out of nowhere at the start of a scene.
48. Cover-Up dir. Laura Poitras, Mark Obenhaus
One of the most under appreciated journalists in American history is Seymour Hersh, who broke the story about the atrocities committed by the U.S. in Mỹ Lai. That’s where the documentary Cover-Up starts and right from there, Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus take us on ride right on the front lines of some of the biggest stories in American history through the reporting from Hersh. Whether it was Vietnam, Watergate, or Iraq, Hersh became one of the most important reporters the country has ever seen who did fantastic work educating the American population.
47. The Fantastic 4: First Steps dir. Matt Shakman
The Fantastic 4: First Steps caught a lot of flack upon release and I don’t quite understand it. It’s a muted reboot of The Fantastic 4 franchise and it worked because it wasn’t action, action, action from start to finish. Matt Shakman has begun to build the world nicely and it helps that Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn have fantastic chemistry. The world building and chemistry on top of the great set designs with the 60s aesthetic was a huge home run.
46. A Nice Indian Boy dir. Roshan Sethi
What makes A Nice Indian Boy one of the years best romantic comedies isn’t just the palpable chemistry between Jonathan Groff and Karan Soni or the very funny script; it’s that Roshan Sethi stayed away from the classic romantic comedy cliches like a montage of the couple bonding or a “it’s not you, it’s me” type of thorn. It’s super fresh and tender and packs some true gut punches that’ll choke you up a bit. Or maybe that’s just me.
45. The Roses dir. Jay Roach
Despite being a bit toothless and delves into being too manic in the third act, I still had a great time with Jay Roach’s The Roses. It’s funny when it needs to be and somber enough in parts that this doesn’t become an off the rails comedy. It also helps that Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman are two outstanding actors with solid chemistry as a married couple at their wits end with each other. If you substituted two other actors in this movie as the main couple, then I don’t think it comes close to reaching the heights it does.
44. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl dir. Nick Park, Merlin Crossingham
I will always watch a new Wallace & Gromit movie when they come out. I hope when I’m 85 years old in a nursing home living off pudding I can fire up a new Wallace & Gromit movie and smile for an hour and a half. What’s so unique about these movies is that each release does something new each time. In Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl, it’s as if Nick Park and Merlin Crossingham watched Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning — Part 1 and wanted to make their version of it with their stop motion twist on it. Spoiler alert: it fucking rules.
43. The Ballad of Wallis Island dir. James Griffiths
Clocking in at a hundred minutes, James Griffiths’ The Ballad of Wallis Island flies by in the blink of an eye. Griffiths tackles the topic of lost love through a ditzy lottery winner, played by Tim Key who is a comedic genius, and music to bring the two back together. There’s a lot of schmaltz, at times too much, but sometimes my cynical heart can melt when the performances are pleasant as they are in The Ballad of Wallis Island.
42. The Phoenician Scheme dir. Wes Anderson
The Phoenician Scheme totes the same Wes Anderson stylistic choices that we’ve become accustomed to, and I hate to say that it’s starting to wear a little thin for me. Despite my irritation with that aspect of The Phoenician Scheme, I was stunned by his various meditations on death which added to the depth of this paternal crime comedy. There’s a lot of solid performances on display, but the best, in my opinion, comes from Michael Cera in a quirky odd-ball role that brought some big laughs.
41. Sovereign dir. Christian Swegal
A great, underrated performance from this year in a movie that not many people saw is Nick Offerman as the radical sovereign citizen activist Jerry Kane. At times, Sovereign plays like one of the most stunning documentaries you’ve ever seen because you can’t fathom the thought process of Kane’s ideology and how his selfish actions led to the death of himself and his son, who just wanted to have a normal childhood. Christian Swegal builds tension in the second and third acts very well as he ramps up to a depressing crescendo as the film closes.
40. The Surfer dir. Lorcan Finnegan
Nicolas Cage is at his best when he works with a director who lets him turn the safety off and go for it. Look at his work with De Palma on Snake Eyes or with Werner Herzog on Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans. Even more recently in 2023 with Dream Scenario, Cage has the safety off and eats up every second of time he’s on the screen. Lorcan Finnegan smartly gets out of the way and lets Cage embrace the weirdness of his psychedelic nightmare script and elevate it from being meh to pretty freaking good.
39. It’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley dir. Amy J. Berg
When I listen to Jeff Buckley, almost always when I’m sad, I hear this soft spoken talent whose words are able to cut you with a sharp knife. The vision I had of Buckley before watching t’s Never Over, Jeff Buckley was a soft spoken individual, and while the documentary doesn’t present him as over the top wild, I was shocked to learn about the personality behind these songs about longing. He was a guy with demons who had something to prove and was way more of a rocker than I could have ever imagined, and I’m deeply upset at how soon he was taken.
38. Relay dir. David Mackenzie
Acts one and two of David Mackenzie’s Relay play as a smart, paranoid conspiracy thriller in the same vein as The Conversation. It’s a quiet, yet sort of chaotic ride you’re taken on in a cat and mouse game between between talented actors like Riz Ahmed, Lily James, and Sam Worthington. Then, unfortunately, in act three, Mackenzie delivers a twist (which I won’t spoil because I think you should go watch Relay) so stupid and so braindead that you end up regretting having positive feelings towards the first hour and fifteen minutes of the movie. Nevertheless, I’ve cooled on those negative thoughts and still remember the fond moments in the films beginning and that’s why I have it ranked so high.
37. Warfare dir. Alex Garland
The discourse surrounding Warfare around its release was nauseating. Many people shouted loudly that it’s propaganda, but after my watch, I couldn’t help but feel the opposite. These soldiers pinned down in a house trying to survive makes you sympathize with the soldiers, but you also sympathize with the civilians who have had their homes destroyed and lives uprooted. Garland makes this a ninety minute anxiety attack with a fresh cast led by Cosmo Jarvis and D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai.
36. Freaky Tales dir. Ryan Fleck, Anna Bolden
The duo of Ryan Fleck and Anna Bolden strike gold like they did in the past with projects like Mississippi Grind and Masters of the Air. This time, they crafted a funky and stylish anthology with clear inspiration from The Warriors and Pulp Fiction. Despite wearing a lot of the inspiration on their sleeve, the duo inserts groovy needle drops and fantastic kills at the expense of Nazi punks. There really is a lot to love and not a whole lot to hate.
35. Superman dir. James Gunn
James Gunn kicked off his reign over the DCU with an above average adaptation of Superman. It serves as both a piece of media to excite audiences but is also a stand alone, above average and true to the source take on the comic. My only real hold up is that there was a little too much of Gunn’s paws all over this where Superman can’t just stand alone. Gunn felt the need to insert other heroes like Hawkgirl and Mr. Terrific when David Cornsweat as Superman should have received more screen time.
34. The Monkey dir. Osgood Perkins
Early on in the year, there was a very one sided negative discourse about Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey. I was in the minority because I had a fucking blast watching The Monkey. It’s very true to Stephen King’s source material where campy kills are used a vessel to portray familial trauma and how two different brothers cope with that trauma. What’s odd is I loved this, and a lot of the comparisons the movie received were to the Final Destination franchise, and I somehow can’t connect with those. Maybe Theo James and Tatiana Maslany are what I need to love brutal, bloody kills.
33. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning dir. Christopher McQuarrie
In his final chapter as Ethan Hunt, Tom Cruise sends the character off with huge set pieces, some of the grandest in the entire franchise, but it unfortunately kicks into gear after a sluggish first forty five minutes. It felt as if McQuarrie and Cruise had a lot of big ideas but couldn’t figure out how to flesh them out in the run time or weren’t sure what to fully cut so it became a front loaded mess. Regardless, like I mentioned prior, we see one of the biggest set pieces and stunts of the franchise when Hunt dives to the Russian submarine. Seeing that on the big screen was badass.
32. Frankenstein dir. Guillermo del Toro
Part of the reason that Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride is one of my most anticipated of 2026 is because it looks like a fresh twist on the Frankenstein story that has been done to death for decades. That’s my main issue with Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein as it hits similar beats to the classic story, but also feels a lot like past films from GDT where a hideous monster is looking to not feel like an outcast. Whether it’s The Shape of Water or Pans Labyrinth, it’s a lot of the same. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the central cast, especially Jacob Elordi as the monster and Oscar Isaac as the crazed Dr. Victor Frankenstein.
31. Anemone dir. Ronan Day-Lewis
Ronan Day-Lewis’ debut film, Anemone, has a lot of the same flaws that many debut films run into. The dialogue and story isn’t always the most concise and the characters true motivations aren’t always clear, but when you are able to tap in one of the all time greats in Daniel Day-Lewis, a lot of those flaws wash away. On top of that, Ben Fordesman shoots this film with such elegance that it makes for one of the best looking movies of 2025.
30. Song Sung Blue dir. Craig Brewer
Song Sung Blue would have benefited from being a tight ninety minutes instead of two hours and change, but I don’t know how Craig Brewer could have even packed in that much tragedy and earnestness into just ninety minutes. I usually don’t love overly sincere movies, but I found myself getting choked up multiple times due to the hope exuded by these mechanics and hairdressers and bus drivers who had a simple dream of wanting to entertain people.
29. The Naked Gun dir. Avika Schaffer
Avika Schaffer took on the tall task of rebooting The Naked Gun franchise and he was able to write a very funny script that packs about three jokes every minute. He also found the perfect successor for Leslie Nielsen with Liam Neeson, who has fantastic comedic timing. All throughout there are a lot of great bits, but none are better than the rom com turned horror sequence involving a snowman. Just dynamite stuff and is the second best pure comedy of the year.
28. F1 dir. Joseph Kosinski
Joseph Kosinski harnesses the energy from Top Gun: Maverick and pairs up with another major movie star to essentially recreate Top Gun: Maverick, but with F1 cars. On paper it sounds like a hit and it feels like a hit when you’re watching Brad Pitt being a movie star while driving in some of the grandest races in the world. While there are a lot of high octane moments, at times it felt like there weren’t enough because any time we were away from the track, you could feel the momentum halt. Along with that, my biggest gripe is that two great actors, Kerry Condon and Shea Whigham were cast in this, and were completely underutilized.
27. 28 Years Later dir. Danny Boyle
Eighteen years after the release of 28 Week Later and twenty three years after the release of 28 Days Later, Danny Boyle and Alex Garland revive the fan favorite zombie horror franchise with a bang. Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Cormer, Ralph Fiennes, and Alfie Williams, Garland and Boyle focus less on the zombies running across the UK and more on the familial bonds that are tested by a new way of life along with venturing out of what’s comfortable. The ending is a bit divisive, but I think it’ll pay off in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.
26. Bob Trevino Likes It dir. Tracie Laymon
A fantastic under the radar release of 2025 is Tracie Laymon’s Bob Trevino Likes It. While it would’ve been great to catch it on the big screen, I’m happy I didn’t because I would have been a puddle in the dark holding my M&Ms and diet coke. John Leguizamo dials in a tender performance, one I’ve never seen from him in the past, and even though I don’t like Barbie Ferreira as an actress, I thought she was fantastic. While cynical in spurts, the heartfelt message Laymon wants to convey is with you throughout the entire run time. #bestlunchever
25. The Running Man dir. Edgar Wright
I’m happy to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed Edgar Wright’s latest film, The Running Man. It’s clunky in parts, especially when Emilia Jones’ character enters and the ending, but Glen Powell, who has all the charm in the world, was great. He’s continuing to bolster his resume working with great directors in exciting projects, this being one of them. Along with Powell, the supporting cast of Michael Cera, Josh Brolin, and Lee Pace all bring the heat to make this an entertaining two hours and ten minutes. It doesn’t fully feel like a return to form for Wright, but I don’t know if the Edgar Wright who made Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World will ever return, so I guess this will suffice.
24. Music Box: Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately? dir. Amy Scott
One of the first albums my dad ever introduced me to was August and Everything After. To this day, that album is still one of my all time favorites, but I didn’t know much about the band it came from. Amy Scott’s latest documentary, Music Box: Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately? shined a light on the meteoric rise of the Counting Crows led by Adam Duritz along with his struggles as they became one of the biggest bands of the 90s. It also doesn’t hurt that you get to listen to Counting Crows songs for ninety minutes.
23. The Long Walk dir. Francis Lawrence
The best thing that The Long Walk did was reassure audiences that the future of Hollywood is in great hands with actors like Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, and Charlie Plummer. Francis Lawrence, who is the LeBron James Michael Jordan of the kids-in-distress-in-a-dystopian-future genre, takes a lot of actors on the brink of stardom and adapts gutting source material to make one of the best movies of 2025. Where this works very well is that the movie doesn’t concern itself with the backstory of why the long walk is in place, but hones in on how dire the situation is as to why young men would volunteer to die in such a brutal fashion.
22. Paddington in Peru dir. Dougal Wilson
God dammit, I love this little marmalade loving bear. While Paddington in Peru is the weakest film of the trilogy, it’s still a super sincere journey about Paddington returning to his roots the Browns in search of Aunt Lucy. Dougal Wilson does a solid job with the action sequences, even though it doesn’t come close to the train sequence in the second film, and you’re able to buy into Paddington’s whole journey from the jump. As much as I would love a new Paddington film soon, I think this is the perfect send off to the franchise.
21. Weapons dir. Zach Cregger
Hot off the success of Barbarian in 2022, Zach Cregger struck again with another horror flicked loved by the masses with Weapons. From the start, Cregger immerses you into an eerie atmosphere that ramps up to a wild reveal in one of Cregger’s favorite locations: a spooky basement. The cast on display is nothing short of magic on the screen with Julia Garner and Amy Madigan putting on career best performances. Despite it not sticking the landing fully for me, I respect Cregger taking a huge swing on an original idea. It is wild that two of the best voices in the horror genre in the last ten years both have sketch comedy backgrounds in Cregger and Jordan Peele.
20. Mickey 17 dir. Bong Joon-ho
Despite being panned by audiences and critics, I assume because it didn’t like up to Parasite, I had a blast with Mickey 17. Robert Pattinson goes full safety off in this double performance where he gets to experiment with different voices and movements he hasn’t tried out before. His performance along with the third act makes this a wild sci-fi ride that I enjoyed very much when I saw it on the big screen. Also, I’ll add that I thought Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette were great in this! Their performances are meant to be these over exaggerated caricatures of vapid leaders and they played it to a tee.
19. Wick Is Pain dir. Jeffrey Doe
My second favorite documentary of 2025 is an eye opening look at the assembly of one of the best action franchises of the 21st century. Jeffrey Doe takes us through the production and obstacles that were presented in the making of the John Wick films, specifically the first film. I think this doesn’t just serve as a great doc about the franchise, but it’s fantastic inside baseball on the inner workings of Hollywood and how difficult it is to get a movie off the ground, even when you have big names attached.
18. Sorry, Baby dir. Eva Victor
The biggest surprise of 2025 came from Eva Victor’s debut film, Sorry, Baby. She crafts a delightfully tender drama in the same vein as early Noah Baumbach films about feeling lost in your twenties or thirties while overcoming trauma. In addition to it being the biggest surprise of the year, it also includes one of the best one scene heat checks of the year from John Carroll Lynch, who is sporting a ROUGH Boston accent. I hope Eva Victor continues to make these small scale, heartfelt dramas for years to come.
17. Caught Stealing dir. Darren Aronofsky
Caught Stealing is Darren Aronofsky’s big swing at making his version of After Hours and he succeeds thematically and adds his own tonal twist on it to be more of redemption story than it is a battle through an anxious night in New York. Austin Butler was the perfect star in Aronofsky’s return to form, which is great, because it had been about fifteen years since he struck gold as a director. All-in-all, Caught Stealing is a great time with a loaded and charming cast that give you a lot to bite into.
16. Cloud dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s Cloud presents the question that many of us battle day in and day out which is “Does everyone hate me?” 99% of the time, that’s not the truth and we also haven’t done anything to warrant that thought. In the case of Ryōsuke Yoshii, everyone hates him and there is a good reason for it which sparks into a terrifyingly tense attempt to survive those he has wronged, and it absolutely ROCKS. But I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything else from the guy who made Cure and Chime.
15. Black Bag dir. Steven Soderbergh
Tight. Sleek. Sexy. That’s just a few of the words that can be used to describe Steven Soderbergh’s spy thriller, Black Bag. Starring Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett, two of my personal favorites, with a supporting cast of Tom Burke, Marisa Abela, Regé-Jean Page, Naomie Harris, and Pierce Brosnan, we get a movie where there is not an ounce of fat on the bone. David Koepp’s script leaves no room for the viewer to breathe where if you check out for a second, which you won’t, you’ll be out of the loop. Soderbergh dropped two solid movies this year and it seems like he’s going to keep the pace up for the foreseeable future which is a win for everyone.
14. Eephus dir. Carson Lund
Not many films capture the mundane, yet peaceful backdrop of New England quite like Carson Lund’s Eephus. It’s a movie about the passing of time and loss of purpose between men, young and old, but it’s also a big time dudes rock movie. Every time Cliff Blake’s character Franny was shown, I did a little fist pump in my theater seat because this is a guy sitting out on a fall afternoon like he’s done for, most likely, over thirty years to keep the scorebook for guys he’s been watching play Americas past time for decades. Eephus has solidified itself as a movie I’ll yearn to watch each fall and I’ll always get excited for Bill “The Spaceman” Lee’s cameo.
13. Fight or Flight dir. James Madigan
The subset of movie fans who adore Bullet Train should shift their fandom to Fight or Flight as it’s a lot more fun and has far more heart than that soulless David Leitch project. Josh Hartnett has the safety off from start to finish and delivers a handful of fantastic gruesome kills, all while confined to a sixteen hour flight. James Madigan buys into the absurdity so early on and never backs off which elevated this far above what it could’ve been.
12. Marty Supreme dir. Josh Safdie
The movie you’ll most likely see at the top of everyones 2025 list is Josh Safdie’s first solo film, Marty Supreme. When marketing began on the film, it was labeled as a movie in the same vein as Catch Me If You Can or The Wolf of Wall Street; a high octane scumbag odyssey, and it delivers on that because there is never a lull in the films story keeping you engaged for the full two and a half hours. That energy along with the fantastic performances from Timothee Chalamet (shouldn’t win the Oscar), Gwyneth Paltrow (should be nominated for Best Supporting), and Kevin O’Leary makes this one of the most entertaining movies of the year.
For a brief bit at the start of the film, you think this might be a normal sports movie centering in on table tennis, but it takes a turn into being an utter nightmare akin to other Safdie films like Good Time and Uncut Gems. While those two movies are great, my hang up with Marty Supreme is that it’s too similar to those movies. Marty delivers a near verbatim version of the “I’m better than you” speech from Good Time and a central plot point is that he’s desperately trying to get money for Japan, which feels similar to Sandler manically trying to sell the stone for profit in Uncut Gems. This is a better movie than Benny Safdie’s The Smashing Machine, but it’s less impressive because at least Benny took a chance on something different.
11. Wake Up Dead Man dir. Rian Johnson
The Knives Out franchise is one that keeps on giving. It’s given us Daniel Craig sporting a Foghorn Leghorn accent three times. It’s given use three fantastic whodunnits. And most recently, it’s given us one of the decades best performances from Josh O’Connor as Fr. Jud Duplenticy. For a matter of fact, O’Connor is so good in this, that for the first forty five minutes before Blanc shows up, you forget this is a movie in a franchise built around Benoit Blanc.
Along with packing an interesting mystery and great performances, Rian Johnson makes this one of the best films of the 21st century, maybe the best, about how people grapple with their faith when faced with hardship. That narrative is on full display in my favorite scene of the movie when Jud Duplenticy takes a call in the heat of the investigation from a distraught individual faced with her mothers death. It’s so tender and stops the fast paced cat and mouse game right in tracks, but never kills the momentum built up by Johnson.
10. Friendship dir. Andrew DeYoung
Kicking off the top ten is the best comedy of 2025 is Andrew DeYoung’s Friendship. Starring the always funny Tim Robinson, DeYoung lets Robinson use a lot of his same bits to drum up humor but allows him get go darker than we’ve ever seen to make this an unsettling and cringeworthy (complimentary) in many parts (Mayor Nichols: Coward. Pig. Fuck.). Robinson and Rudd have fantastic awkward chemistry, but what elevates this movie to be one of the ten best of 2025 is the supporting cast with quick heat checks like Conner O’Malley, Billy Bryk, and Whitmer Thomas.
9. Highest 2 Lowest dir. Spike Lee
Spike Lee’s adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low seems like a recipe for disaster, especially when you consider that the last time he adapted a great Asian film, Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy, it was an utter disaster. And despite the first act being a tad disjointed, Lee settles in behind the camera and creates an exciting crime thriller with the greatest living actor, Denzel Washington, in the lead. Washington is putting on a clinic, but the supporting cast of Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, and with a stunning very good performance, A$AP Rocky, elevate this past expectations. Highest 2 Lowest is not a better movie than what it was adapted from, it was never going to be, but it’s a lot closer than I would have anticipated.
8. Predators dir. David Osit
The best documentary of 2025 and possibly the most thought provoking piece of media released is David Osit’s Predators. Osit poses multiple questions to the viewer that tests your morale compass because while he doesn’t want you to feel sympathy for these wretched men looking to have sex with underage children, he would, in an ideal world, like for there to be a system in place to provide help for these perpetrators.
In his overarching message, Chris Hanson is at times doing a good thing, but he’s done reprehensible damage to those who would like to get help because his show birthed the copy cats who are only looking to haul off of a pervert. Granted, I don’t really have an issue with, but nothing gets solved from that. That pedophile who gets busted is going to try this again because the police aren’t involved. Getting slapped in the mouth twice doesn’t make them less likely to attempt to offend and these copy cats only want their 15 minutes of fame and a lot of clicks. Truly brilliant work from Osit. No piece of media in the last few years has made me rack my brain the way this has.
7. Sinners dir. Ryan Coogler
2025 saw a lot of original ideas from some of the newest voices in the industry like Eva Victor, Zach Cregger, and Carson Lund. Despite not being a new voice, Ryan Coogler is only thirty nine and has a handful of very good films under his belt so far, but he made his best, and most original, film this year with his vampire epic centered around music, Sinners. It’s a deeply poetic when it centers in on the bond between brothers and turns into a pretty epic gore fest in the third act that includes terrifying vampires and the klan getting obliterated.
What elevates Sinners above a lot of the movies this year is two additional factors: the score and the performances. Ludwig Göransson pairs back up with Coogler for their fifth collaboration and delivers the second best score of his career. And you have to admire Michael B. Jordan taking on the burden of a dual performance, but him along with everyone else in the cast is overshadowed by how fantastic Delroy Lindo is. He deserves a Best Supporting nod.
6. Bugonia dir. Yorgos Lanthimos
Yorgos Lanthimos has built himself a reputation as one of the hardest working and talented directors of the past decade working multiple times with Emma Stone, Willem Dafoe, and Colin Farrell. This year, Lanthimos gets back with Stone for their fourth collaboration and second with Jesse Plemons to make a conspiracy thriller that keeps you guessing close to the end. It’s intense and in your face ramping up to some gruesome sequences, one which includes maybe my favorite usage of music this year with a Green Day song. Jesse Plemons delivers my second favorite leading actor performance of the year and Stone has either my first or second lead actress performance. Also, I enjoyed seeing my gay Greek best friend, Stavros Halkias, in this.
5. One Battle After Another dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
While it’s not a regular occurrence, it’s always exciting when a Paul Thomas Anderson movie hits theaters. One Battle After Another is Anderson’s first film that takes place in modern times since his 2002 film Punch-Drunk Love and he made it his grandest film since his 2007 release, There Will Be Blood. Loosely adapted from Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland, Anderson hones in on how scary it is to be a parent in trying times. To convey that notion, Anderson implements a lot of well choreographed action sequences, more than any other film he directed prior, and it’s capped off with a heart pounding car chase.
While I think there are overall better performances this year (Ethan Hawke in Blue Moon, Eva Victor in Sorry, Baby) One Battle After Another has multiple great showings from their cast with Sean Penn dialing in a career best performance, Leonardo DiCaprio, Chase Infiniti, John Hoogenakker, Benicio del Toro, and Regina Hall. Penn is my pick to win Best Supporting Actor and I’d be happy to see Chase Infiniti take home Best Actress.
4. Sentimental Value dir. Joachim Trier
Not many directors get people the way that Joachim Trier gets people. He has a unique understanding of unsung tender moments between loved ones and new friends and that’s fully on display in Sentimental Value. While he has that distinct understanding, it helps that he paired up with a few of the most talented actors working in Renate Reinsve, Elle Fanning, and Stellan Skarsgård. Despite those huge names, the real scene stealer was Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas in a gutting role holding her weight in scenes with titans of the industry. She’s my pick to win Best Supporting Actress.
Along with being a great film about vulnerability, Sentimental Value doubles as a great movie about the movie making process outside of Hollywood and how an aging director and his aging collaborators struggle to adapt to the times. I pray to God that Joachim Trier never stops making these sincere movies about the human condition and never stops working with Renate Reinsve, who is my pick to win Best Actress.
3. Blue Moon dir. Richard Linklater
Richard Linklater and Ethan Hawke have collaborated nine times in thirty years and have delivered some of the greatest romantic films and down to Earth American films over that time. The duo struck gold again this year with Linklater’s telling of the opening night of Oklahoma! and the reaction from Richard Rogers’ former professional partner, Lorenz Hart.
Ethan Hawke dials in one of the best performances of his career, my favorite leading actor performance of the year, because he’s able to tap into insecurities that Hart was feeling at the time along with how pathetic he was but could cover it thinly with his quick talking and even quicker wit. This isn’t an easy role to take on as it presents itself like a one act play with ancillary characters to bounce off, but Hawke eats up all of his time on the screen by nailing the frantic mannerisms of Hart. All in all, this is fucking fantastic.
2. Eddington dir. Ari Aster
No film or piece of media has been able to capture the mania that was displayed between 2020 to 2022 better than Ari Aster’s Covid-19 western thriller Eddington. I’m sure as time passes other directors will attempt to harness that absurd energy, but none will be able to land the Antifa flown plane the way Aster can because he clearly understands human cynicism and sarcasm better than any director working today. Aster is able to amplify the many angles of paranoia through the performances of Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Luke Grimes, Deirdre O’Connell, and Micheal Ward. The only character who isn’t exuding paranoia, and I won’t spoil much but he should have, is Pedro Pascal’s character Ted Garcia.
In Aster’s prior film, Beau Is Afraid, what worked the best for me was the continued dive into crazed anxiety and he took a huge leap here in Eddington making that dive even wilder, ending in a shootout that leaves Phoenix’s character, Sheriff Joe Cross, as a paraplegic. Shockingly, with all of these serious crimes and conspiracies transpiring, Aster makes this a hilarious movie with some of the years best line reads. Multiple times I found myself cackling loudly in the theater and it was fun to look back on this time we all lived through with deranged, yet funny thoughts.
1. Train Dreams dir. Clint Bentley
My number one movie of 2025 was one I was waiting on for a while, yet still came from nowhere. I saw the early, positive reactions out of Sundance which peaked my interest along with the stacked cast of Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, William H. Macy, Kerry Condon, and Clifton Collins and I was pumped. It felt like more of a cherry on top that it was coming from the team who put together one of my favorites from 2024, Sing Sing. The recipe for success was there from the start, but the execution brought it home.
While Train Dreams is an epic that spans decades showing the deterioration of men and challenges faced as society progresses. Clint Bentley does this in a quiet manner, compressing the life of one man, Robert Grainer, into the central moments he experienced like falling in love, witnessing death of friends and family, and connecting with the world through his work. It’s quite beautiful and its beauty is aided by how well this is shot Adolpho Veloso. A movie like this makes you, or at least made me, yearn for something greater, or to experience life in such a stoic manner the same Grainer does. His appreciation of small, yet monumental moments in his life touched my soul in a tender way. Far and away, this is my favorite movie of 2025 and easily on of the ten best of the decade.
Thank you to everyone who got to this point and didn’t just scroll past movies 156 to 26. If you would like to get the full list in a more compact format, you can click this link to see my 2025 ranking, which is constantly updated because I never stop watching movies.
Silver Screen Reviews 