My 10 Favorite Films of 2025

As 2025 has come to a close and I look back at the 100 movies I’ve reviewed its time to look back and choose my 10 favorite films along with some honorable mentions.  As usual, these movies are in no particular order and aren’t necessarily based on my original rating.  Instead, these films just left the biggest impressions on me and proved to be memorable for one reason or another.  Some films are destined to be awards darlings; a handful are horror films simply because it’s my favorite genre and then there are just some films that took me by surprise. 

The Ugly Stepsister

Norwegian film director and screenwriter Emilie Blichfeldt debut film is impressive deconstruction of the Cinderella fairy tale powered by a knockout performance from its star, Lea Myren.  The visuals and costuming of the darkly comedic body horror tale are all top notch throughout but the thematic layers underneath all its gruesome ickiness are what really make this import stand out.

The Ugly Stepsister Review

Sinners

While I still hold that the basic plotting of Sinners is pretty much a redux of a From Dusk till Dawn you can’t deny the level of craftmanship behind and in front of the camera.  Boasting a deeper story than its pulpy predecessor and packed full of strong performances across the board, Ryan Coogler delivers a memorable film that’s exemplified by its time bending musical number that truly a transcendent moment.

Sinners Review

Bring Her Back

I was one of the few people who didn’t care for Danny and Michael Philippou’s debut film Talk to Me, so I wasn’t expecting much from their sophomore effort.  So, I was shocked at how much more refined and darkly elegant Bring Her Back turns out to be with its heavier emphasis on mood punctuated by moments of brutal horror.  The performances are all stellar, but Sally Hawkins keeps the whole thing together with an eccentric and crazed turn that deserves awards attention.

Bring Her Back Review

Weapons

I can say that I enjoyed most of Zach Cregger 2022’s Barbarian I did feel like it feel apart in the final act.  His Pulp Fictionesque construction of Weapons just stepped up his game as the varying points of view keeps the audience off balance as the central mystery is revealed.  By the time the reveal occurs, the film has dug its claws into audience which carries them through its darkly funny, kinetic and memorable final act

Weapons Review

The Long Walk

Stephen King’s 1979 novel The Long Walk has always been a personal favorite of mine, so the cinematic adaptation had some high expectations to meet.  Francis Lawrence, with a script from JT Mollner, delivers one of the best King adaptations in recent memory that captures the heart and soul of his stories with its heartfelt sentimentally paired with unrelenting horrors.  This tale lacks the supernatural elements of his other works with its simplistic plot playing out like a twisted version of Stand By Me and The Running Man powered by excellent turns from its central duo of Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson.

The Long Walk Review

One Battle After Another

Paul Thomas Anderson’s thematically packed epic is the kind of cinematic journey that grabs you from the start and rarely lets up.  At its base, its simplistic story of Leonardo DiCaprio’s burnt-out revolutionary trying to protect and save his daughter from an increasingly chaotic world is instantly relatable and timely.  There’s plenty to dissect about the story’s narrative that makes the film feel like the right film at the right time with its deconstruction of extremism carried by excellent turns from its collection of A list talent. 

One Battle After Another Review

Better Man

This is one of the more random surprises of the year, a musical biopic about an artist that I’m not terribly familiar with could have been a paint by the numbers snooze fest.  Its central gimmick of having the main character be a CGI monkey was enough of a hook to make it a curiosity but the approach to the story which didn’t pull any punches proved to be incredibly engaging and heartfelt making it a memorable experience that very few people saw. 

Better Man Review

Frankenstein

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Frankenstein is an elegant, visually stunning endeavor that finds the emotional center of the story.  Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi and Mia Goth deliver nuanced turns that give the film a level of refinement that goes hand in hand with its gothic ascetics.  Elordi, in particular, makes for a soulful monster who is searching for meaning in his creation from an uncaring, careless “father” in the form of Oscar Isaac’s Victor. 

Frankenstein Review

Bugonia

Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone’s 4th collaboration together continues their explorations of their avant guard cinematic taste.  This remake of the 2003 South Korean film, Save the Green Planet!, is an actor’s movie with Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons being utterly captivating every second they are onscreen.  The plot keeps the audience guessing until the end with Lanthimos playing his cards very close to the vest, which results in a rather electric finale. 

Bugonia Review

Hamnet

Chloé Zhao meditation on love and loss is restrained but engrossing from its opening shot to its close.  Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal are excellent together, but this film is a showcase for Buckley impressive depth of talent that just makes you feel every emotional peak and heartbreaking valley throughout with an undeniable sense of veracity. 

Hamnet Review

Honorable Mentions

Eternity

An old-fashioned throwback that takes an inventive conceit to hook you in and have the cast keep you engaged the rest of the way.  The central trio of Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, and Callum Turner are all clearly having fun but it’s Olsen who makes this whole thing work. 

Eternity Review

Good Boy

This is one of the most inventive films of the year, a three-year passion project by director Ben Leonberg.  The possession storyline is fairly basic once you break it down but using the dog’s POV is a stroke of genius as it creates a distinctive experience that has you connecting with nearly every moment of fear and empathy from the dog accomplished through a series of painstakingly well-placed shots. 

Good Boy Review

Superman

James Gunn’s first live action film in the new DC Universe had a lot of work to do and it succeeds in setting up the new world and his general approach.  Lighter, funnier and larger in scope, Gunn’s film offers up plenty to like including David Corenswet’s likeable take on Superman.  Corenswet’s Superman does get lost a bit in his own film but that doesn’t prove to be a big enough misstep from this being one of the more enjoyable comic book movies of the year.

Superman Review

28 Years Later

Danny Boyle revives the franchise he started 18 years after the last entry which subverts expectations by delivering a coming-of-age story as opposed to a direct continuation or redux of the original story.  Boyle’s film is still visceral and energetic in a way that’s gripping especially during some well-constructed set pieces. 

28 Years Later Review

Final Destination: Bloodlines

The sixth entry in any horror franchise isn’t usually going to give the series a boost in the arm the way this revival does.  This series has always been rather tongue in cheek with this entry fully embracing the absurdity of the increasingly complicated deaths with gleefully gory results.  It also gives legendary horror icon, Tony Todd, a wonderful moment that serves as fitting send off before his death a few months later.  

Final Destination: Bloodlines Review

Black Bag

One of two Steven Soderbergh’s films in 2025, Black Bag, is a sleek and smart spy thriller that leans more on the battle of wits as opposed to outsized action.  Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender are perfectly matched onscreen with both feeding off each other’s energy to create a singular sort of chemistry that propels this underappreciated film. 

Black Bag Review

MOVIE REVIEW: ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

 

Bob is a washed-up revolutionary who lives in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited and self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis resurfaces and Willa goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her as both father and daughter battle the consequences of their pasts.

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti

Release Date: September 26, 2025

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller

Rated R for pervasive language, violence, sexual content, and drug use

Runtime: 2h 50m

Review:

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another delivers a little bit of everything with bits of humor, drama and heartfelt emotion, melded into an epic chase movie that’s populated by a collection of caricatures brought to life by its top tier cast.   Anderson’s film pulsates with energy from the moment it starts and rarely lets up which is an impressive feat for a film that’s nearly three hours long.  He stages big set pieces throughout the film that give the film an epic feel, culminating in a cleverly shot car chase over a series of hills.  There’s a constant beat to the whole thing as we follow Leonardo DiCaprio’s Bob journey from revolutionary to paranoid, burnout single father who’s just trying to do the best he can with his daughter.  We follow his torrid love affair with Teyana Taylor’s all-in extremist, Perfidia Beverly Hills, which takes a turn once she’s pregnant and Bob reassesses his life.  The story is draped in a series of hot topic issues such as domestic terrorism and extreme immigration enforcement, but it never delves into them in any substantive way.  The characters exist on opposite ends of the power structure, and both use the levels available to them to reach their ultimate goals which allows for a rather colorful collection of characters to be thrown onscreen. Leonardo DiCaprio leads the way with an unglamourous role that he dives right into with impressive gusto.  There is a fair amount of depth to his character as he evolves from his frenetic love affair with Perfidia to what he becomes sixteen years after the fact.  He does his best work after the time jump by delivering a level of authenticity behind his bumbling burnout with his heartbreak for his lost love and genuine drive to save his daughter.  DiCaprio and Chase Infiniti have a moment near the end of the film that delivers an emotional, heartfelt exclamation to the whole story.  Infiniti, in her big screen debut, proves to be more than capable of holding up her side of the story by giving her character a believable naiveite to start before moving into self-survival mode.  She’s able to convey a hefty amount of emotional information with simple looks or gestures as she’s swept up in the insanity that her character is dropped into.  Sean Penn’s Col. Steven J. Lockjaw is a rather fascinating collection of facial tics and pent-up self-hatred.  Penn is clearly having a ball playing with the clear contradictions that make up the character from giving him a very specific gait when he walks, likely due to his secret proclivities, or his measure but off-putting speech pattern.  Benicio Del Toro is perfectly suited for his role as the laid-back karate sensi/migrant mover, but you wish the film had spent a bit more time on fleshing out the character to give him a bit of depth.  Likewise, Teyana Taylor’s Perfidia is a kinetic ball of anarchic energy in the film’s opening act leaving a strong impression, but the story takes her offscreen rather quickly never to return.  Small nitpicks aside, One Battle After Another is an engaging ride that is hard not to enjoy thanks to its razor sharp direction and strong performances.  

A-