2025 has been a complete buffet of great cinema. In fact, while writing this list, I found myself constantly shifting choices every five minutes. Looking back, this year has been a big win for films about fractured motherhood, desperate fatherhood, the pursuit of greatness, the healing power of art, and the rebellious spark for change. Despite a rough year for animation, this awards season will struggle to accurately represent each category with only five spots. Shoutout to the rising recognition of world cinema—have we ever seen so many international films make the Best Picture lineup? 

Before we get to the 10 I settled on, here are my many honorable mentions in no particular order: 

The Voice of Hind Rajab, It Was Just An Accident, Hamnet, My Father’s Shadow, Black Bag, Twinless, Eddington, Bugonia, Avatar: Fire and Ash, The Perfect Neighbor, Train Dreams, No Other Choice, Nouvelle Vague, Weapons, Sirāt, Pillion, The Mastermind, The Testament of Ann Lee, Late Shift, 1000 Women in Horror, Happy Birthday, A Useful Ghost, Splitsville, Wake Up Dead Man, Bring Her Back, and Final Destination Bloodlines. 

10. Bob Trevino Likes It

Sometimes your chosen family is more powerful than the family you’re given. Bob Trevino Likes It is a profound symphony of cinema’s ability to empathise. Tracey Laymon’s semi-autobiographical weepy comedy-drama is a complete delight from start to finish, conveying one of those rare stories where the internet is used for genuine human connection rather than a vapid, predatory hellscape.

There are few pairings this year that bounce off each other as perfectly as Barbie Ferreira and John Leguizamo, imbuing Lily and Bob with so much humanity, humor and heart that you quickly forget they met through a mistaken Facebook friend request. With an exceptional coda about healing, parenthood, and the simple act of kindness, the ending alone had me sprinting out of the cinema thanks to the sheer embarrassing amount of ugly crying it inspired.

9.  If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

A relentless nightmare. Cinematic anxiety at its finest. Rose Byrne’s tour de force as Linda encapsulates a fractured mother who is stressed, sleep-deprived, and stretched impossibly thin. With an incredibly apropos title, Linda isn’t even permitted the strength to properly kick or scream.

I was lucky enough to listen to director Mary Bronstein in a post-screening Q&A, where she fully articulated her well-realized vision of exhaustive parenthood, surreal angst, and the regressive limits of human care. Conan O’Brien rises to the occasion, delivering a surprisingly serious performance as Linda’s therapist.

The unwinding nature of the piece may have tested many, but I was enraptured the entire time—gasping at everything from squashed hamsters and absent fathers to void-filled roofs and left-behind babies. As far as double features go, this makes for a fantastic pairing with its meaner older sister, (and also the next film on this list) Die My Love. 

8. Die My Love 

The most fully embodied performance of the year belongs to Jennifer Lawrence’s postpartum-riddled mother, Grace—an unbridled display of psychosis, resentment, depression, yearning, and raw, passionate discontent. Die My Love features some of the most feral moments you’ll see from a protagonist all year: clawing at walls, animalistic stalking, condoms as bubble gum, music playing at double speed—you can’t help but both laugh and cry at a mother having the ultimate crash-out. 

With phenomenal support from Sissy Spacek and Nick Nolte, alongside what is likely one of Robert Pattinson’s most underappreciated roles, this film is pure cinema— all feeling, all-encompassing, and unabashedly challenging. If you’re someone who revels in Lynne Ramsay’s discombobulating direction, this is the film for you.

7. Left-Handed Girl

An extremely assured debut from Shih-Ching Tsou, Left-Handed Girl mixes intergenerational expectation, social realism, Taiwanese classism, and the bustling excess of Taipei’s urban sprawl to tell a boots-on-the-ground story about four generations of women fighting misogyny, superstition, fraud, and wealth inequality.

With Sean Baker’s deft editing touch, the humane intertwines with the hurting, shedding light on a working-class family with secrets to reveal, bills to pay, and lessons to pass down. It’s tender, it’s cheeky, it’s funny, and even profound in places. The color-grading alone is wondrous.

Whether it’s sweeping shots of mopeds weaving through overcrowded streets, a little girl’s ‘devil hand’ stealing a necklace, or the lowly image of a grandmother, mother, and daughter working together as a family, Left-Handed Girl is a reminder to never let society cement who you are—or what is expected of you.

6. Sentimental Value 

A tender, intimate, and profound exercise in cinema’s most powerful capability: expressing through art what the soul struggles to communicate through the body. A film about fractured relationships, distant families, arrogant directors, corporate exploits, and softening reconciliations. The objects and places in this film carry as much memory and weight as the people who create them—Sentimental Value and I’m Still Here should face off over which family home has the more richly lived-in and troubled character.

Renate Reinsve and Elle Fanning are gorgeous here, but it is truly Stellan Skarsgård and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas who steal the film. Stellan’s eyes guide the audience through a smorgasbord of regrets, ideals, and emotions, burdened by the weight of so much history. Sentimental Value is a film that so expertly captures the feeling of trying to make something work that, in essence, never truly can. Life-affirming, truth-upholding, and poignantly playful cinema.

5. The Secret Agent

Covering every genre from historical drama to political thriller to absurdist neo-noir, The Secret Agent is a multifaceted marvel. From its establishing scene—where a dead body is treated as much an inconvenience as a banana peel—this is a stylistic epic in which the banality of a dictatorship becomes disturbingly normal. The police are so hopelessly corrupt that a Belgian Jew (Udo Kier, in a pitch-perfect final film role) is instantly perceived as a former Nazi soldier without hesitation.

Wagner Moura delivers one of the year’s best performances as Armando, making his journey as a former professor feel tragic, emotive, and deeply investing. Every supporting character gets their moment too—the pace and editing frequently shifts perspectives without any complaint. The production design of 1977 Recife feels as lived-in as it is astonishingly detailed. Smart, funny, incisive, and rebellious, The Secret Agent is an understated masterpiece—a reminder of how easily progressive and marginalized thought can be comically branded as law-breaking espionage.

4. Sorry, Baby

Sorry, Baby delivers profound truths through Eva Victor’s assured, distinctive debut voice. Their performance as Agnes covers so many adjectives. Dry, witty, charming, and somber, while equally emotive, damaged, scarred, and lonesome. Watching their journey unfold in non-chronological form is riveting, somehow balancing measured laughter against traumatizing heartbreak. Fantastic supporting performances across the board from Naomi Ackie, John Carroll Lynch, Hettienne Park, and Lucas Hedges.

Whether it’s the open honesty of admitting bias to a jury, smashing a mouse to death with a book, sitting in stunned awe of a flaccid penis, or simply being consoled by the most supportive friend in the world, Sorry, Baby charts the winding road to survival. Assault is never easy to live with—but as always, we laugh not only to escape, but to process our pain and forge a new path forward. Up with resilient survivors, and down with corrupt, abusive men.

3. Marty Supreme

Josh Safdie almost lulls his audience into believing they’re watching a typical sports drama, only to rapidly remind you that this is from the director of Good Time and Uncut Gems. Marty Mauser’s arrogant and all-consuming quest to become the greatest table tennis player takes some of the wildest turns you’ll see in a movie theatre this year. Once Marty Supreme grabs you, there’s no option but to laugh, kick, scream and howl just to feel its grip loosen.

Anchored by Timothée Chalamet’s career-best, mile-a-minute, and wildly expressive performance—alongside Daniel Lopatin’s kinetic, overwhelming score and breakneck editing from Safdie and co-writer Ronald Bronstein—this is a three-course comedy-drama about ambition, self-destruction, humiliation, and the relentless lengths of human tenacity.

Nerve-pinching, electrifying, and enthralling cinema, Marty Supreme is one of those rare films where you want to strangle the protagonist just as much as you want to see them succeed in their hopes and extremely daring dreams. In a year where the Safdie brothers go head-to-head in sports dramas, Josh’s paddle certainly delivers the winning blow.

2. One Battle After Another

This film is a home run. Every actor knocks it out of the park—it’s funny, smart, surprisingly original, and deeply pressing for our times. It almost falls apart under the weight of just so much movie and so much narrative, but it somehow seals the deal with bewildering cinematography, slick editing, and a relentlessly eclectic yet playful score. 

What a find Chase Infiniti is; she gives Willa as much emotional depth as she does brains and brawn. Sean Penn shines as a broken action hero toy. Leonardo DiCaprio is on another level entirely—I could watch him and Benicio Del Toro’s screwball antics for hours on end. Teyana Taylor’s Perfidia carries such unquenchable rage for the system, so much so her limited screen time powerfully lingers throughout the entire runtime. 

Featuring an iconic car chase that is equally unwinding, sloping, and tremendously bumpy, the rolling river of hills comes to represent the state of America today. As a modern adaptation of “Vineland,” the audience is reminded that the U.S. ‘s pursuit of endless conflict in the name of jingoistic nonsense is a symptom of a country where words and debate are no longer prerequisites for action. Such counteractions, no matter how bold, still require constant, cyclical reinvention. This is a film in which the next generation is forced to clean up the previous generation’s messes—rarely succeeding, but compelled to try.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another is an open book with a blood-soaked cover. It’s emblematic of an America that hasn’t written a final chapter yet, let alone a single dry page. Let’s all hope and strive to contribute to a more inspiring narrative—one that reminds us what true freedom should be.

1. Sinners

Sinners is the cinematic achievement of a director building upon his previous successes to produce something wholly singular. On paper, mixing the genres of horror, action, historical fiction, and even musical into a blockbuster with a coherent narrative is a tall order. Yet Ryan Coogler embeds such an aching love for the genre conventions he is remixing and challenging that the final product absolves the film of any sin of creative overreach.

As my favorite film of the year, it is impossible not to mention Miles Caton’s transcendent musical number, “I Lied to You.” A sequence that exceeded all expectations, its anachronistic jukebox becomes a mighty rallying cry for ancestral preservation and an outstanding feat of technical prowess. Thanks to Sammie’s harmonizing power, the beautiful melody ripples, echoes, and chimes through the America of old, new, and emerging.

With its reverence for Delta blues’ spiritual and historical power, Sinners is a triumphant reminder of the fight for truth, culture, and free will—forces that overcome the boundaries of oppression, assimilation, and systemic erasure. Featuring stellar performances, a killer score, and boundary-breaking filmmaking, the film ought to be baptized as an all-time classic.

2025 was a bizarre year for my movie watching. The theatrical experience, an experience I carry much reverence for, was placed on the backburner and most of the newer movies I watched were either in the comfort of my apartment or on the Delta In-Flight movie catalog. I sought out older films and crossed off multiple blind spots that I’ve had (All the President’s Men is the greatest movie of all time), I’m hoping to catch up on the newer films I missed here soon, and I’m already up to a few new films in the year of the Horse, 2026. While I intend to watch some 2025 releases that I’m certain would shuffle some of my top 10, this is my top 10 of 2025 as the great crystal ball rang in this already bizarre (and terrifying!) new year.

10. The Phoenician Scheme

Wes Anderson is a huge hit or miss type of filmmaker. Some people (like me) will be there, day 1, for whatever new release he has, others find his style insufferable. From the multiple viewings of Rushmore with my dad growing up, I have a huge nostalgic and personal soft spot for his surgically framed and emotionally potent films. The Phoenician Scheme is not one of my favorites out of Wes Anderson’s latest batch of films, but it still got me nonetheless. While Wes Anderson’s films mostly deal with mortality and legacy, these ideas were always on projected onto the characters in the prior films. After COVID, it seems he is in conversation with himself, and by proxy the viewer on what mortality, art, or legacy means. Granted, there were two films that he started after COVID-19 in 2020 (excluding The French Dispatch as that was in production prior to the pandemic), but both Asteroid City and now The Phoenician Scheme seem to grapple mortality and legacy much more in a personal sense rather than a loose theme in the sea of ideas or set pieces he had in his prior films.

9. Ne Zha II

Ne Zha II was a film I was curious about for a while before I got my screening invite. By the time I caught wind of it, it had already ended its first North American theatrical run. Disappointed that I would have to watch it off of something like YouTube, it was then announced that A24 was picking it up in North America and releasing an English dub to go with it (gag). While it would’ve benefitted me to have seen the first film, the film stood entirely on its own with some loose references to the original. Ne Zha II is a spectacle on the big screen and I caught myself in awe of its scope and visual direction at times. The dub itself left a lot to be desired, but once Ne Zha II got going it kept you in its grasp until the end.

8. Splitsville

This was a movie I watched by chance. I was in Phoenix with a good friend of mine to watch Nine Inch Nails, acting amuck for a few extra days, and on the day before we were supposed to leave we saw that there was a screening of this happening next to where we were staying with a Q&A with the film’s two male stars. We said whatever, and gave it a whirl. Splitsville was a really fun time at the movies with the quirky late-80s style of comedy I’d expect from someone like Albert Brooks. It never really punched above its material but it certainly wasn’t a disappointment. A totally content experience and a really fun time overall!

7. Weapons

Zach Cregger has been a creative that I’ve adored since I was in middle school. The Whitest Kids U’Know was a staple for me, and Barbarian absolutely ruled. With Weapons, I was elated that a new labyrinth of a horror film was being made by him since the hammer drop of a twist that came in Barbarian knocked me off of my feet. The twist in Weapons wasn’t as shocking as I had anticipated, but horror Magnolia was so good of an idea I was surprised that it hadn’t been done previously. Also, the Looney Tunes style ending worked for me a little too well – I was hootin’ and hollerin’ in the theater like a fool.

6. The Naked Gun

The Naked Gun (1988) is my favorite movie of all time. I adore it to a sick degree, I show everyone I know The Naked Gun if they say they hadn’t seen it. I even have an on-set polaroid picture of Leslie Nielsen from the costume designer of The Naked Gun 33 ⅓ on my nightstand. The trailers for this new reboot of The Naked Gun looked a little annoying at times, borderline insufferable. My expectations were in the hole and I was preparing to be disappointed. Obviously, I’m teeing this all up as if you don’t see that I have the movie at #6 on my list – which is to say, The Naked Gun (2025) absolutely rocked. No other notes, fun time at the movies! The Alamo Drafthouse in Brooklyn lost their collective mind and was an all time theater experience.

5. Marty Supreme

In 2019, when Uncut Gems was on the precipice of release, I craved it in a fiendish way. The energy and excitement I had was indescribable, and once it was released I was blown away. The momentum of that film would catapult the directors, Benny and Josh Safdie, into insane star appeal. Now, fast forward to today, neither brother works together anymore, we get Josh Safdie’s return to solo direction work with Marty Supreme. In 2025, my excitement was nowhere near as intense as it was in 2019, but I also wasn’t disappointed by this film. It has its hiccups, but what we do get is one of the most interesting versions of the type of scumbag that Josh Safdie enjoys making movies about. George Gervin, Tyler the Creator, Kevin O’Leary, and Penn Jillette should not have been as good as they were but their presence make the film that much better.

4. Sinners

The tweets regarding the start of Sinner’s production still ring in my head when I think of this movie. A movie from Ryan Coogler – Hollywood’s best blockbuster-locked filmmaker – relieving himself of his superheroic obligations, starring Michael B. Jordan as twins, and it’s a horror movie about vampires. Every bit of that sounded like an ass kicker in moving picture format. Fortunately, the prospect of the film being great held up – Sinners is the best original new film I saw in 2025. Plus it being set in the American south, and having a blues heavy score/soundtrack? #YES. Sultry as all get out, salivatory cinema, Coogler and Co announcing their arrival to theaters with little regard to whatever nonsense was playing that same month (sorry Angel Studio’s The King of Kings). I could rave at length, but it was (as the kids would call it) a hit on every front so the film can clearly speak for itself.

3. Frankenstein

Guillermo del Toro is one of my absolute favorite filmmakers ever, and Frankenstein is one of the most incredible novels ever written. Once it was announced that visionary genius, the aforementioned Guillermo del Toro, was making a film adaptation of Frankenstein there was no reality where I wasn’t going to love this. Guillermo’s adaptation is less pulpy than other adaptations, and it tackles the more sensitive aspects of the novel with a tenderness I’d expect from del Toro. The interpretation of the monster between the novel and the film are severely different, but in terms of the film’s ultimate direction the differences work. We are so fortunate to see a master at work.

2. One Battle After Another

Paul Thomas Anderson making a movie about California is never going to be bad. Leonardo DiCaprio rarely stars in bad movies. I don’t think it’s the masterpiece that a lot of other writers made it out to be, but by no stretch is it a bad movie. This movie feels like a victory lap for Paul Thomas Anderson, every element of this film he has done before in previous films but never all in one go like he has it here. It is The Paul Thomas Anderson film, and could not have been made at a better time. When I watched this, it was an early showing, we were fresh into the fallout of the Charlie Kirk situation – way before the current phase of “Kirkification”. The bleak nature of the world was rearing its ugly head, so for Paul Thomas Anderson to come in at the time that he did and articulate a cinematic call for community was eerily impeccable.

1. 28 Years Later

My favorite kind of movies are like an emotional full course meal. Entrees of drama, tragedy, romance, comedy – hell, a little optimism for dessert – all goes a long way. For my money, Danny Boyle’s latest, 28 Years Later, is the best spread of emotional wealth put to film in 2025. I am a fan of the zombie genre, the original film – 28 Days Later, and Danny Boyle (minus Yesterday), so this was always going to be an easy win for me. However, I did not anticipate just how much I would feel from this film. One moment I’m in disbelief over a scene with a zombie in a train, the next I’m near tears about the fragility and importance of life. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is my most anticipated movie of 2026 at the moment, and the fact that press reactions alone gave Sony enough to fire up the third installment in the Years movies makes me incredibly excited to see where they go next. I didn’t expect this to be my movie of the year, but good lord this was an incredible film.

Last year, I began by saying that 2024 followed up on 2023’s incredible runs wonderfully, and this year, history is repeating itself once again. Reflecting on this year, it’s clear that 2025 will be a year for movie lovers to look back on fondly. From original films like Sinners and Sorry, Baby to adaptations like Frankenstein and Hamnet, it’s been a treat to watch the majority of films released this year, with only a few trips not being worth the price. Needless to say, it’s always difficult to dwindle down so many choices to just 10, especially when logging well over 100 new releases. But here’s a shot at showcasing 10 of my favorite films from 2025, and here’s to an even more entertaining year next year!

Outside of the films featured here, some of those that just missed it are: One Battle After Another, Cloud, Red Sonja, Sirāt, 28 Years Later, Die My Love, and Friendship.

10. It Was Just an Accident – Jafar Panahi

There isn’t a film this year that has a final scene as effective as It Was Just an Accident; it’s enough to make your neck hairs stand up. Admittedly, this is my first time watching a Jafar Panahi film, and I couldn’t be more moved by his work. It Was Just an Accident is a thriller that weighs the impact trauma has on victims, and how memories are awakened by sights, sounds, and smells. Panahi’s Palme d’Or–winning film centers around a man who crosses paths with someone he believes is his former abuser, until the weight of doubt sets in. Surprisingly, the film has funny moments laced throughout and carries a powerful anti-imperial message. A brave film from an equally brave filmmaker.

9. The Shrouds – David Cronenberg

Films from the beginning of the year are usually touted as lesser by audiences, especially the months ramping up to summer blockbuster season. But David Cronenberg’s film The Shrouds has been on some variation of my top list since seeing it. A morbidly romantic piece of filmmaking, it explores how grief evolves with technology, and how it’s hard to heal with constant connection to those memories. With our current society fixated on reviving lost loved ones through AI, Cronenberg perfectly captures a possessive longing to never truly say goodbye. And not to mention Diane Kruger, who plays three separate roles—a performance that doesn’t nearly get the attention it deserves.

8. The Testament of Ann Lee – Mona Fastvold

If you had told me last year that a song from a film about a group of Quakers—specifically the Shakers—would be stuck in my head, I definitely wouldn’t have believed you. But this year has been surprise after surprise, and I have been totally transfixed by Mona Fastvold’s praiseworthy film The Testament of Ann Lee. Films about religion often don’t appeal to me, but seeing this through the life of Ann Lee was fascinating. Learning about the reasoning behind her beliefs—a utopian society where those who believe sing and dance—was captivating. Seyfried delivers one of the best performances of the year, a truly dedicated portrayal of a woman using her lived experience to strive for a better world through her vision.

7. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You – Mary Bronstein

As a child, I had to watch my mother deal with having a sick child—how much of a toll it took on her, and how she never complained. It’s a unique experience to witness, but If I Had Legs I’d Kick You gives a window into the hardships mothers go through daily. It shows how moms are expected to handle everything, including sick kids, household repairs, doctors’ demands, and maintaining a career. Bronstein shows how overwhelming the world can be, and that everyone could benefit from showing mothers more kindness. Rose Byrne is undeniably talented, but her work in this film is unlike anything I’ve seen from her before, and it’s moving to witness.

6. No Other Choice – Park Chan-wook

It’s safe to say that this year has brought a lot of insecurity when it comes to basically anything involving basic human needs, like having a stable job. So while watching No Other Choice from legendary filmmaker Park Chan-wook, the unease was at an all-time high. It’s a story that starts out with an unfortunately common premise: a man who has dedicated a quarter century of his life to his job is suddenly laid off. But that’s not where No Other Choice leaves Yoo Man-su (Lee Byung-hun), as he devises a plan to become the most desired candidate in his field of work. It’s best not to watch this film with a toothache—you’ll thank me later!

5. Frankenstein – Guillermo del Toro

Going into 2025, Frankenstein was my most anticipated film. Whenever my mind wandered during whatever current film I was watching, I was thinking to myself, “Man, I just want to be watching Frankenstein instead.” Thankfully, Guillermo del Toro delivered a film that lived up to my expectations. Beautifully crafted in every way, with Jacob Elordi giving a career-best performance as the Creature, del Toro captures a sense of yearning for life and humanity that was needed this year. Living in a world where del Toro makes art is a treat, especially when that art is a project he was born to adapt.

4. Resurrection – Bi Gan

If there were ever a film this year to remind me of the utter magic that movies can be, it’s Bi Gan’s time-traveling film Resurrection. Would life be as vivid and filled with joy if we were no longer able to dream? And if we lived in a world without dreams, would it even be worth it? The film spans decades with its lavishly designed sets, silent-film opening, and extensive one-shot action moments. Those are just a sampling of what Resurrection has to offer audiences willing to get swept up in it. Bi Gan isn’t interested in telling a story that is easily consumable or has a simple pace to follow, and his love for all walks of cinema is felt in a way that makes me feel romantic about cinema.

3. Marty Supreme – Josh Safdie

This year, two sports dramas that partially take place in Japan were released, both helmed separately by each of the Safdie brothers. But for me, Marty Supreme from Josh Safdie stands above, with the help of an all-star cast led by Timothée Chalamet. Taking place during the 1950s in a post–WWII world, it follows a young Jewish man whose dreams stretch beyond his imagination. Everyone in their life has, at one point, known a Marty Mauser—someone who will do whatever it takes to succeed, with a win-at-any-means-necessary mindset. It’s intoxicating to watch, especially the matches between Marty and Koto Endo (Koto Kawaguchi), a real-life ping-pong star. However, the women of Marty Supreme, specifically Kay Stone (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Rachel Mizler (Odessa A’zion), impressed me the most, as they both remind and introduce audiences to the talent they possess.

2. Sinners – Ryan Coogler

Another film that has stuck with me since watching it is Sinners, the first original film from Ryan Coogler. There’s so much to be said about this film that a single paragraph can’t capture; it’s a profoundly layered piece that explores generations of culture from around the world and the hardships endured. An impressive dual role of twins Smoke and Stack (Michael B. Jordan) guides audiences through the 1930s Jim Crow South. The music by Ludwig Göransson and cinematography by Autumn Durald Arkapaw are among the best work done in film this year. We should all be thanking Ryan Coogler for standing his ground when it comes to the making of Sinners, because it’s a masterpiece through and through.

1. Sorry, Baby – Eva Victor

It’s always refreshing when a film with such dark moments as Sorry, Baby is handled with immense care and perspective. Sexual assault is used far too often in films to give a female character some kind of story without showing how these moments impact someone in every aspect of life. Eva Victor’s directorial debut was a healing experience for me, using humor, shame, guilt, passion, and friendship to explore what it feels like to be violated in such a dehumanizing way. One of the best moments of the film reflects on how the guilt that victims feel never goes away, but evolves into something different, always there in your mind. Needless to say, after the film ended, my shirt was drenched with tears—not because I was sad, but because Victor’s film reminded me that the beauty of life continues, and it’s begging for us to join in.