Skyler Orton
2025 has come and gone and all things considered, it was a very strong year for movies. Both huge blockbusters and smaller dramas got their moment in the spotlight making a year that was a huge success for every type of movie fan. Now before we move into awards season, let’s recognize the highlights of this year.
10. Weapons
Zach Cregger’s (Barbarian, Whitest Kids You Know) Weapons seemed to come out of nowhere when its hauntingly simple teaser dropped. In fact, I would call it one of the best teasers of all time. It lays out the basic concept of a brand new movie in under 45 seconds and leaves the audience begging for more. The movie has legs beyond just that teaser though as the film that ensues is a frightening mix of horror, drama, and absurdist comedy that never lets up. If you’ve avoided spoilers for this movie, keep it that way Weapons is a constantly twisting ride that doesn’t hold back.
9. The Phoenician Scheme
Wes Anderson has always been a controversial director especially in recent years. Asteroid City is arguably his most divisive film and The French Dispatch landed with a thud. Fortunately, this year’s The Phoenician Scheme returns the auteur director to his roots of quirky comedy. The premise is simple enough. Zsa-Zsa Korda, a wealthy businessman, appoints his nun daughter as his heir and the pair hop around the world to enact Korda’s latest elaborate scheme.
The film is carried by the hilarious performances of its leads Benicio Del Toro, Mia Threapleton, and Micheal Cera who deliver Anderson’s deadpans with perfect energy. A great ensemble of celebrity cameos do heavy lifting too propelling a simple, episodic story along from place to place. While people who usually dislike Wes Anderson probably won’t have their opinions changed, for long time fans it’s a great new entry in the director’s filmography.
8. Frankenstein
Guillermo del Toro has made a career out of deconstructing the movie monster. His monsters are historically sympathetic so an adaptation of Frankenstein, the original sympathetic monster story, is a perfect fit. Del Toro puts his own spin on the source material making for a simplified but emotionally resonant final product. His unique production design and direction are visible in every frame of this movie and the pure glee Del Toro has for the source material seeps through the best sequences. The performances are also a huge highlight though.
Oscar Issac embodies the manic genius of Victor Frankenstein perfectly making him relatable while still detestable. The real surprise is Jacob Elordi’s performance as the creature. Elordi himself was a last minute replacement for Andrew Garfield, but he perfectly embodies the role with an unprecedented physicality and dedication. Overall this one is a must see and is easily the best adaptation of Shelley’s original novel.
7. Sinners
Ryan Coogler has been making some of the best IP movies of the 21st century through the Black Panther and Creed films. While his talents in that field have been recognized, Sinners, his first original property since 2013’s Fruitvale Station, is an impressive effort that I hope is the first of many new original properties. The period horror drama takes classic vampire stories and puts it in the context of early 1930s racial dynamics.
Coogler’s muse Micheal B. Jordan plays a set of twins hoping to open a jazz bar in their Missouri hometown. Their efforts are quickly interrupted by a group of vampires. The simple concept makes way for a film that blends jazz and folk music, drama, and Carpenter-esque horror for one of the most unique big budget movies of the decade. Thematically rich, tense, and entertaining, Sinners works from every angle and was a breath of fresh air for the movie industry.
6. The Life of Chuck
Stephen King adaptations are having a good year between The Monkey, The Long Walk, and It: Welcome to Derry but Mike Flanagan’s adaptation of King’s 2020 short story The Life of Chuck was the standout. A spellbinding drama with hints of the supernatural, The Life Of Chuck is a more lighthearted King story in the same vein of Stand By Me or The Green Mile.
This journey through the psyche of an average man Chuck is told in reverse through a method that needs to be seen to be believed. While I don’t want to give much away, I can say that this is one of the most life-affirming movies I’ve ever seen. It’s a movie that reaches down and says it’s all going to be all right which in today’s day is sorely needed.
5. Train Dreams
Some of my favorite movies are the ones that nobody saw coming. Train Dreams was definitely an unexpected arrival but it is easily one of the most emotional movies of the year. Train Dreams is a poignant exploration of grief through the eyes of a solitary lumberjack at the dawn of the 20th century. Joel Edgerton anchors this film but the cinematography is what I got lost in. Deeply layered scenes of forests and log cabins feel like staring into a vibrant diorama. The story isn’t complicated but the character work and filmmaking is fantastic which makes the film endlessly satisfying. Definitely one to keep an eye on during awards season.
4. Superman
Superhero films have been on a decline since Avengers Endgame in 2019 but Superman’s success may just be the success story the genre needs to make a comeback. James Gunn has always been one of the best working genre filmmakers, but Superman may be his best work since Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
David Corenswet perfectly embodies the heart of who Superman is and is well matched by Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane. The brilliant casting isn’t even the best part since the film is colorful, well-paced, and the perfect universe launch off movie. Gunn’s signature humor is here, but is kept in check compared to more controversial projects like Peacemaker. Not only that but it’s a strikingly relevant story for our modern political climate and doesn’t shy away from difficult topics. Overall Superman shows a bright future for the DC universe and the superhero genre.
3. Friendship
Pure comedies are never truly recognized during awards season but I wish they were because Friendship is brilliant. Led by Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson, this comedy manages to be both surreal and thematically relevant. At its core it’s an exploration of male loneliness through the lens of the absurdist uncomfortable comedy that Robinson has explored throughout his career in projects like I Think You Should Leave. In fact the biggest surprise of Friendship is that it wasn’t even written by him but instead by director Andrew DeYoung since the whole film drips of Robinson’s signature style.
Friendship is a movie that has everything I look for in a comedy. Central performances that are so riotously funny that they elevate the already clever writing, subversive social commentary, and infinitely quotable lines. By all accounts it was an enormous success for distributor A24 pulling in $16 million on a $2 million budget. I know my theater was still full over a month after its release and it was one of the most fun experiences I’ve had in a theater. There’s truly nothing like seeing a comedy in theaters where the entire audience is laughing the whole time.
2. Marty Supreme
Maybe it’s recency bias since Marty Supreme came out so late in the year but Josh Safdie’s first solo feature really is that good. I already wrote a whole review on it breaking down why it works so if you’re interested give that a read. But to summarize Marty Supreme is a tense, dramatic deconstruction of the sports genre that is centered around a truly excellent central performance by Timothée Chalamet. Definitely go out and see this one. It’s more than worth it.
1. One Battle After Another
Auteur Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA to his fans) has been reliably making great movies since he broke out in the nineties with hits like Boogie Nights and Magnolia. However, his films are usually period pieces and the director hasn’t touched the modern day in any movie since Punch Drunk Love in 2002. That all changed this year when he released One Battle After Another, a thrilling action comedy with a shockingly prescient political message. I mean seriously I can’t believe that Warner Brothers made this.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Bob Ferguson, a retired revolutionary who has to get in touch with his old life to save his kidnapped daughter. The film has so many highlights it’s impossible to unpack. The villains are a hilarious satire on white nationalism that is unfortunately still relevant now. Sean Penn’s Colonel Lockjaw is especially hilarious being a mix of over the top satire and genuine menace. Benicio Del Toro is already getting awards buzz for his hilarious performance as an underground railroad like community leader. That’s before mentioning Chase Infiniti’s breakout role as Bob’s kidnapped daughter Willa.
The action is also more thrilling and well shot than any other movie this year. The use of Vistavision film brings out the unique color pallet and it looks vibrant and expressive especially when seen in IMAX. The action is nonstop and the tension is only broken by several brilliant moments of comedic relief. The film is rightfully getting attention and I hope it shows Hollywood the importance of high budget original IPs.
That’s our list but are there any big hitters we missed that would make your list? Let us know in the comments below.
