Well, we are finally here. We have reached the end of another year of cinema. And, as always, it has been an extremely good year. Also, like all years, you are better off being a searcher than you are of simply waiting for the biggest movies of the year. This is not to say that there were not great blockbusters, because there were! But I urge you, as a movie lover, to always branch out. Try to find movies that challenge you, that you’ve never heard of, or that just sound plain crazy. Overall, I can promise you that it will be rewarding.
So, let’s get to it, you’re here for the list, right?
Honorable mentions include: No Other Choice, Die My Love, Resurrection, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Bugonia
10. Marty Supreme
Safdie movies are tough for me. Mostly, I find the work to be fine and a bit overrated. This one is too, but only in the sense that I don’t think it is perfect. Chalamet, as a young man poisoned by intense motivation to be the best at something, anything, gives one of the best performances of the year. For a long movie, this one moves like lightning. There are numerous supporting roles here that are excellent, but none quite as much as Gwyneth Paltrow. This movie is worth watching just for her finally getting back into the acting game in a real way. The ending has brought much discussion, but I, for one, love that the story of a man who only cares about his personal future must screech to a halt and deal with a future that is not about him.
9. Eephus
As an older movie lover who loves baseball just as much, Eephus feels like it was built in a lab for me. The best hangout movie of the year (in a year with two Linklater movies!), I felt like I wanted to spend as much time as possible with these crotchety old guys. As the future comes for them, and us all, I could not help but be swept up in the romance of the game, backlit by their cars. They wanted one more game. Don’t we all?
8. The Ugly Stepsister
The Ugly Stepsister reclaims the fairy tale for the horror fiends and freaks. No talking animals, no fairy godmothers; simply the grimiest, grittiest version of a treasured tale sure to haunt your nightmares. This is one you may watch peeking around your fingers, but it is so worth it. There are images that I may never unsee. Man, there is nothing better than a surprise movie that you never saw coming! Emilie Blichfeldt has created a memorable, gory, bloody masterpiece to watch through your fingers and gritted teeth.
7. Sentimental Value
This might be the most impeccably written screenplay of the year. Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier crafted this, and I cannot help but be in awe. Yes, the house is a character, but they manage this without delving into any silliness. At its core, Sentimental Value seems to be about the relationships we wish we had, as opposed to the ones that we do. Especially with family, we want perfection, we want them to know what they did wrong, and what they need to do to fix those wrongs. There are no true villains here, just humans. Skarsgard, Reinsve, Lilleaas, and Fanning all deserve awards for the work that they have done here. A subtle, complicated, difficult movie that rewards those who stick with it.
6. It Was Just An Accident
Even things that seem simple, like taking revenge on someone truly evil, are never straightforward. Movies sometimes seem to teach us that this is an uncomplicated matter, but moments like this change us, sometimes irrevocably, as surely as the original traumatic acts do. Panahi, ever the expert on the human condition, teaches us that we always have a choice. We do not have to become like our captors, and our best selves would never take this step, for it will damage us more than the violence done against us ever could. Even if it may be our undoing, our humanity must persist.
5. Sorry, Baby
Yes, another movie about trauma and sexual assault. But no, you have not seen anything like this before. Eva Victor (writer, director, and star) manages to craft a genuine and stunning piece of work that dissects trauma, friendship, romance, and human kindness all in a nearly perfect package. Victor and Naomi Ackie together form an incredible duo that I will think of whenever I ponder friendship on screen. The way they talk to each other, the way they listen actively to one another should be studied. And that scene of trauma is so delicately handled that I wish a lot of directors (especially men!) would take a closer look. Also, keep an eye out for John Carroll Lynch, providing one of the best scenes of the year. Eva Victor for everything, please and thank you!
4. The Secret Agent
In a year of numerous incredible international films, this is the very best of them. Writer and director Kleber Mendonça Filho crafts one of the year’s best screenplays (and films, obviously). But really, this is all anchored by the best male performance of the year, from Wagner Moura. I don’t know what is going on in Brazilian film, but this is back-to-back after Fernanda Torres showed us how it’s done in I’m Still Here. But in this movie, Moura keeps himself a mystery, basically until the climax. He is playing many different sides of a man, and Filho’s script doesn’t allow us to see the entire picture until the final frame. Sexy, dangerous, funny, and moving; The Secret Agent is an absolute must-see.
3. One Battle After Another
This feels sacrilegious to be this low. A Paul Thomas Anderson movie, with this cast? Trust me, I feel worse about it than you do. And if we are being real, everything from 4 to 1 could be my top movie of the year. Life…LIFE!! One of the best father-daughter movies ever, it really hits hard for those of us that are aging. As a group, we have definitely done more harm than good and it is almost time to pass the baton to the younger generation. Our battles aren’t over, but we aren’t well enough to be on the frontlines. The next battle (and the next one) is up to the kids. The best we can hope is that we have passed on enough and that we can support them as they hopefully do better. This features one of the best casts of the year, but no one is more important than Chase Infiniti. For a young actor to go toe-to-toe with Leonardo DiCaprio AND Sean Penn? Unfathomable. And yet, here we are.
2. Sinners
Ryan Coogler is a mad man. Is this historical fiction, a vampire movie, a music movie, a movie about the Black experience and art? Yes, the answer is yes. This movie also happens to have the scene of the year. You know the one. And actually, that scene is the perfect way to think about the film as a whole. Dozens of professionals, all working in concert, to make something that you have never seen before. Sinners will stick with me. Truly, Ryan Coogler is an original. He can do it all and, more importantly, seems to want to do it all for the biggest audience possible. I am simply happy to be one of many in the crowd.
1. Frankenstein
If I could make one change, I would simply rename the film “Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein.” You can argue, and many have, that he has been making Frankenstein for his entire career. And that may be true, but to see him tackle Mary Shelley’s creature filled my gothic loving soul to the brim. Oscar Isaac (as Victor) manages to be both overdramatic (a feature, not a bug) and a symbolic toxic father figure. Jacob Elordi (as The Creature) is an absolute revelation. He may not have been the original choice, but he was born to play exactly this role. GDT manages to do Shelley’s story justice (YMMV, please make your own list) and focus on the difficulties of halting the cycles of violence and abuse between parents and children. The beauty and craftwork on display here is why I watch movies. Costumes, sets, makeup, all monstrously created and awe inspiring. Frankenstein is happily my favorite movie of 2025. Frankenstein is a romantic, gothic, violent, sensual piece of art. We are lucky that we live in a world that has given us Guillermo del Toro’s perfect vision, large and bold.
