The Year In Film 2025

The Top 20 Best Films:

1. One Battle After Another

The overwhelming frontrunner to win Best Picture, and deservedly so. Paul Thomas Anderson's best film since Magnolia. A funny, tense, passionate film with bravura filmmaking and an incredible cast. 

2. Bob Trevino Likes It

I watched this on streaming again just to make sure. Yep, cried again. An unbelievably sweet, empathetic film that nobody saw (but I kinda like that the film feels mine). Wonderful performances by the inimitable Barbie Ferreira and the never better John Leguizamo.

3. Thunderbolts

One of the best MCU films this decade. Great ensemble, led by the peerless Florence Pugh, and touching on issues that you never see in a comic book film. 

4. Sinners

Ryan Coogler cashes in on his franchise successes with a massively entertaining and richly detailed drama that then turns into a fantastic vampire movie. 

5. Predator: Badlands

My favorite film in the series, which I never would have expected. 

6. Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

The possible last film in the franchise went out with a fantastic entry that showed off everything it did best. 

7. Heart Eyes

A really fun genre mash of slasher movie and romcom.

8. Eternity 

Delightful afterlife comedy with a never better Elizabeth Olsen. 

9. Companion

Another terrific horror movie that wasn't really a horror movie. Sophie Thatcher, my god! 

10. Weapons

The year's biggest horror hit was super creative and surprisingly funny. 

11. Jurassic World: Rebirth

They finally made a really good one of these. 

12. Wake Up Dead Man

My least favorite of the Knives Out series, but it's still very entertaining.

13. Fantastic Four: First Steps

The MCU got their hands on the property and pretty much nailed it. 

14. The Assessment

Twisted drama with a dynamite, wholly original performance by Alicia Vikander. 

15. Good Fortune

The year's best straight-up comedy. Keanu Reeves was gold. 

16. Sorry, Baby

A tonal tightrope walked expertly by exciting newcomer Eva Victor.

17. Zootopia 2

It was worth the wait. Another fun, colorful good time. 

18. Caught Stealing
19. Marty Supreme

Almost the same movie, each following a guy having a series of misfortunes. Both were very entertaining, with distinct ensembles. 

20. A House Of Dynamite

People got mad at the somewhat unfulfilling ending, but up until then, it was a, well, dynamite thriller. 

Some honorable mentions:
-It was never making the top 20, but Captain America: Brave New World was better than its reputation.
-James Gunn's Superman was probably the last one off the top 20. 
-Song Sung Blue was a really fun surprise.
-Bring Her Back, Black Phone 2, Good Boy, and The Monkey were the best of the rest of the year's horror movies. 
-The year's other best comedies: Friendship, The Naked Gun, and The Phoenician Scheme.
-Elio was actually pretty good
-Ballerina had Ana de Armas kicking ass.

Some of the year's middle ground movies:
-28 Years Later, Final Destination: Bloodlines, and I Know What You Did Last Summer all brought back horror franchises that I have liked, but to middling effect.
-Bugonia was at least better than the previous Yorgos Lanthimos film. 
-Dwayne Johnson made a try at serious acting cred with The Smashing Machine.
-Wicked For Good was...fine, just like part 1.
-Tron Ares was never in top 20 consideration, but I thought it was surprisingly solid.
-Middling sequels The Bad Guys 2 and Megan 2.0
-Die My Love and Sentimental Value had great performances, at least.
-and probably the year's biggest disappointment, proportionally, Avatar: Fire and Ash. It's made a billion dollars already, so we will get more, but this franchise is losing steam quickly. 

Some near misses for the worst list:
-Snow White wasn't good, but wasn't nearly as bad as the mob said. 
-A Minecraft Movie was the year's top grosser, but jesus, people, why? 
-Honey Don't should never have been shot with that screenplay.

The Bottom 10 Worst Films:

10. Flight Risk

One of those annoying thrillers where characters do dumb shit to further the plot. 

9. The Electric State

Somehow, Netflix spent $300 million on this slop. 

8. Keeper

Osgood Perkins just missed the top 20 with his other 2025 film, The Monkey. He makes this list for this utter bore. 

7. Fixed

Terrible animated "comedy" with desperate raunchy humor and ugly animation. 

6. Eddington

Ari Aster really thought he was saying something with this, didn't he? 

5. Materialists

A shallow, hateful romcom that pretended to be a deconstruction of the genre. Unfathomable this came from the same director as Past Lives. 

4. Freakier Friday
3. Happy Gilmore 2

Two of the all-time worst examples of the decades-late comedy sequel. 

2. Opus

A total fiasco at every stage. 

1. Hurry Up Tomorrow

A loathsome 2 hours of The Weekend (fuck him, spell it right) jerking himself off about how artistic and talented he is. 

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