Yesterday I did a post about the top books I read I read in 2025, so today I’ll do my top 10 movies! Unlike my book list, I’ll limit this to movies that came out in 2025. Like my book list, this is in no particular order, except for #1.
10. Superman: I’m pretty meh on comic book movies, yes including Marvel ones, but I quite enjoyed this. It felt like reading a comic book as a kid when you only get an occasional issue: a bit chaotic, but fun. No need for an origin story, you’re just dropped in the middle of an ongoing story: Superman got beat up, Lex is in the middle of some scheme, Mr. Terrific is this issue…I dug it.
9. Bugonia: Ran with the idea and, despite perhaps being predictable, still pushed the ending to its limits.
8. Left-Handed Girl: I almost can’t believe that one of my favourite movies of the year turns on a child’s performance, but here we are.
7. Bring Her Back: A lot of horror movies now wear their themes on their sleeves (“the ghost was about family trauma all along”) but this one manages to do that while still feeling genuinely shocking. This was the second movie from Danny and Michael Philippou (after Talk to Me) both of which are great, so I’m excited for whatever they’re working on next.
6. The Naked Gun: I was extremely skeptical about this when I heard about it–who needs another remake?–but the OJ Simpson gag in the teaser convinced me it was worth giving a shot. I’m glad I did–when was the last time you watched a great comedy in the theaters? It had been years since I had, and this easily surpassed my expectations.
5. Weapons: Like Bring Her Back, this is another standout second-film, this time from Zach Creggar. I really dug Barbarian, but I think this is a more interesting film overall–and while I can see why some people didn’t like the ending, I love the willingness to change tones and mix things up like that it. To me, the ending elevated the whole thing.
4. 28 Years Later: The best zombie movie in years, and one of the most thoughtful and interesting ones ever imo. Another one where the gonzo ending is well-earned and really works for me.
3. The Surfer: This is sometimes listed as a 2024 movie but whatever, I really loved it. Surreal, dark, funny, a perfect Nic Cage movie.
2. Sinners: This is one I’m definitely glad I saw in the theaters. That scene–if you’ve seen it, you know which one I’m talking about–was one of the best theatrical experiences I’ve had in a while. Don’t be put off by the “vampire movie” thing if you’re not into genre movies, this is just a great movie–but try to see it on as big a screen and with as good a sound system as you can!
BONUS UNNUMBERED ENTRY. Eddington: I have mixed feelings about this one. I’m not sure it quite fully landed for me, but at the very least I respect that it attempted to squarely confront where we are as a society.
1.One Battle After Another: I’m a big Paul Thomas Anderson fan, and a big Thomas Pynchon fan, so when the rumours started to spread that PTA was working on adapting Vineland I was both excited and skeptical–the book is very rooted in a specific time. But the way PTA took some of the essential ideas of Vineland and made it feel fresh and of today is remarkable. It’s funny, it’s compelling, it’s got some truly great performances, it’s relevant–I usually don’t like ranking things but I won’t hesitate to call this my favourite movie of the year.
Comments are closed.