The Best Movies of 2025
This article is written at a time where the future of moviegoing as we know it feels uncertain. Though 2025 was likely the greatest year in film of the post-pandemic era, and people flocked to theaters in droves to see new intellectual property (IP) in ways that Hollywood studioheads hadn’t seen for some time, I am writing this article soon after the announcement of Netflix’s acquisition of Warner Bros. and HBO. I wish to sound more optimistic, especially given how damn great a year 2025 was for this medium, but when the CEO of Netflix — and soon-to-be the CEO of properties like the smash hits that were Sinners, Weapons, and Superman — says that he does not see the “value” in movies having proper theatrical windows prior to hitting streaming services, well, things feel unprecedentedly grim. That said, this should be a time for celebrating, so maybe I should type up a worst of the year list, too, and continue airing my grievances there. For now, here are the very best movies in a dynamite year in its own right, and in a larger sense, what could be one of the last for this style of the movie experience. Let us all hope that I am wrong!
And, before we start of this list, let me announce the honorable mentions: Guillermo Del Toro’s faithful and spooky Frankenstein adaptation; Steven Soderbergh’s sexy spy thriller Black Bag; an Akira Kurosawa reinterpretation in the form of Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest; the high octane action spectacles F1, 28 Years Later and Caught Stealing; and some solid comedy films that stretch the limits of what the genre is capable of: The Naked Gun, Bugonia, Wake Up Dead Man, Roofman, Friendship, Is This Thing On? and Sorry, Baby.
- One Battle After Another
One of the many crazy things about Paul Thomas Anderson is that he can direct the greatest movie of the year with ease, and yet it still might not be the best, second best, or even the fifth best of his career (though this was his biggest box office hit). The 55 year old son of a showbiz family from the San Fernando Valley has been compared to many different filmmakers throughout his career, from Robert Altman after he displayed an ability to build massive ensembles with ease in Boogie Nights and Magnolia, to Stanley Kubrick and his ability to capture man’s primal, violent instincts through Daniel Day-Lewis’ vicious performance in There WIll Be Blood. His latest film — an action spectacle about a washed up revolutionary who must recover his daughter from a Neo-Nazi ex-military leader — marks an exciting new chapter in his already iconic filmography; one that draws comparisons to other greats, too, but is unlike anything else in its merging of character, scale, and thrills. One Battle After Another is over two and a half hours, yet I saw it twice back to back opening weekend because the film so seamlessly takes its viewers through storylines and builds such a momentum with its editing and score that by the car chase finale you can almost feel as if you’re sitting in the backseat of the vehicles (maybe that was just the 70MM scope talking but I stand by it!).
Leonardo DiCaprio has been giving us increasingly comical performances during this period of his career, from the lovingly goofy movie star Rick Dalton to the very unlovable but stupid and sociopathic Ernest Buckhart. I’d argue, however, that it is his role in One Battle as Bob Ferguson — who has his heart in the right place but doesn’t know what the plan is, or what he’s doing there — that showcases all his best assets as a movie star. I sing the same praises to the entire supporting cast, each giving scene-stealing roles and are deserving of all the accolades coming their way: Chase Infiniti as Willa, in a demanding breakout role that makes you believe she’s been starring in movies since they ever projected in theaters; Sean Penn as the pathetically dangerous Lockjaw, who reminds us of a *much* less suave Hans Landa; Teyana Taylor, who packs a wallop of a punch in her limited screen time as Perfidius; Benicio Del Toro, with his neverending pack of Modello’s as Sensei Sergio, arguably the real hero of the story; Regina Hall as Deandre, breaking typecast in a dramatic role to show up just in time to try and rescue Willa.
- Marty Supreme
A film with nothing short of bonkers marketing, Josh Safdie’s first solo venture since Uncut Gems took bold swings that paid off in a huge way. Swapping out the Sandman with another Jewish megastar, this time he and co-writer/producer Ronald Bronstein place our semi-sympathetic protagonist in a post-war New York plagued with many similar trappings of today: xenophobia, income inequality, and the inability to give our great athletes their due (it’s long past time that we give Brunson a championship). Marty Mauser — played by Timothee Chalamet in a career-best role — is the best table tennis player alive, and he holds this conviction without question, as if it were as obvious a statement as saying humans need oxygen to breathe. Unfortunately for him, however, he’s too broke to be able to capitalize on his skills, and his ego is too large to hold down a job. There’s other things that get in his way, too, like a girlfriend he doesn’t practice safe sex with, an antisemitic businessman who revels at the idea of seeing Marty embarrass himself in public (even without knowing the hots that the kid has for his wife), and an unsecured bathtub in a sleazy motel that’s floored right above a mobster and his dog. Across this two and a half hour odyssey, one might feel overwhelmed by the intensity through which everybody here moves, but if you live for nailbiters with no easy answers then you’ve come to the right place.
- Sinners
It isn’t very often that the most popular movie of the year is also one of its best, but Ryan Coogler’s genre-blending American epic Sinners fills that role and then some. Michael B. Jordan — in a dual role as twin brothers Smoke and Stack — chews up every frame of this love letter to music and its relationship with black culture (naturally, Ludwig Göransson’s momentous score is nothing short of perfection). Assimilation is spearheading its way toward their hometown in Mississippi, and it comes in the face of Jack O’Connell as a charming, Irish folk singing vampire. All you have to do is let him into your home and your economic woes will be solved. I would say I leave it up to the reader to figure out if our heroes can stand their ground, but by now, who hasn’t seen this masterpiece? Equal parts inspired by classic gangster pictures as it is Robert Rodriquez’ From Dusk Till Dawn, this is one movie that will only get better with time.
- Train Dreams
What boils down to a biopic about a 19th century every man, Clint Bentley’s Train Dreams is a beautiful and somber ode to the unsung heroes who shaped the face of this country as we know it. Joel Edgerton has never been better as a family man who picks up grueling jobs to support his family, but the real star in this Netflix original (that, like all the great movies in their library, needed a proper theatrical release) is the naturalistic cinematography by Adolpho Veloso; it makes the film nothing short of breathtaking, with an ending that had me in tears.
- The Secret Agent
Brazilian cinema is having somewhat of a renaissance now. Between last year’s awards darling I’m Still Here and this exhilarating political thriller by Kleber Mendonca Filho, larger audiences are being exposed to the nation’s mid century rule under a military dictatorship, where anyone accused of being a descendent could disappear from the face of the earth on a whim. Wagner Moura’s titular hero Armando might not have actually existed, but his desperate struggle to survive and return to his family is one that is universally resonating. The story takes its time to unfold, akin to a 1970s spy movie out of the New Hollywood movement, but before you know it the stakes never feel greater.
- Sentimental Value
Joachim Trier’s follow-up to the wonderful The Worst Person in the World replaces some of its spunky energy and style with a persistent feeling of melancholy amidst this Norwegian family drama. Renate Reinsve’s performance is incredibly moving as an aspiring actress who hesitates taking a role written for her by her largely absent filmmaker father, but it’s said performance by Stellan Skarsgard as the father himself who steals the show, giving one of his most layered performances in a career that spans half a century.
- Eddington
It is both hilarious and heartbreaking that at the time of Eddington’s announcement, people said Ari Aster making a satire of the Covid-19 pandemic is “too soon.” That statement could never be true because it is always the right time to look back and laugh at the absurdity of our modern day’s internet obsessed political climate. Just as this completely unhinged neo-western captured the essence of that year in lockdown with perfect surrealism, things have also seldom changed; “Eddington is a documentary” continues to trend on Twitter since its release with every insane news story published, while American culture moves further away from any sense of logic.
- The Smashing Machine
So what if Dwayne Johnson couldn’t make a box office hit with a mopey two hour examination of a man who feels a sense of security in the ring while marriage crumbles in front of him? He and director Benny Safdie (and Emily Blunt, and many others) still poured their heart into what I believe is one of the most moving pictures of the year; not flashy or crowd pleasing like contemporary sports films but more akin to a tragic play. Also, shoutout for including a scene on a gravitron — one of the most underrated amusement park rides!
- Weapons
One of the great genre movies of the year, Zach Creggor’s horror-trauma spectacle makes the most of its sprawling ensemble by using farce to zero in on our nation’s gun violence epidemic. It also had one of the best jumpscares I ever experienced in my moviegoing life, and for that alone I’ll ride the “Amy Madigan Oscar for Aunt Gladys” wave.
- If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
I cannot imagine myself revisiting this anxiety attack of a movie again anytime soon by Mary Bronstein (wife of Safdie Bros’ collaborator Ronald, so I’m guessing that stress courses through the blood of that talented couple). That speaks to the titular power of Rose Byrne here, who gives the performance of a lifetime as a mother crumbling apart while she mostly tries to keep it all together. The camera is almost always on her, emphasizing a feeling of suffocation.
