My Top 20 Films of 2025
I watched 102 films from 2025. Everything from drama, comedy, documentaries, sci-fi, horror, foreign, animated, & more. These were my favorites.
1. HAMNET
This film follows the life of William Shakespeare while he wrote his masterpiece Hamlet. It focuses on his family & the bond he had with them, especially his son Hamnet. When the son dies, Shakespeare (played by Paul Mescal) writes his new play in order to deal with his grief. His wife Agnes Hathaway (played by Jesssie Buckley) must endure a hard life away from her husband having to raise the other children under harsh circumstances. The performances are a once-in-a-lifetime gem & they had me at every word.
2. DEAF PRESIDENT NOW!
This documentary film, directed & produced by Nyle DiMarco & Davis Guggenheim is an eye opener. It follows a 1988 student protest at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. This university for deaf people is sent into chaos when a new president who is not deaf & doesn’t even know sign language is chosen by the board. The student body revolts & it becomes world news.
3. NO OTHER CHOICE
This South Korean dark comedy thriller had me laughing while at the edge of my seat the entire time. When a successful family man makes bad decisions that sent him to a financial rut, he will do whatever he can to come back to the top. The acting, writing, editing, directing are top notch. The film will surely have many Oscar nominations this year.
4. WEAPONS
Directed, written, produced, & co-scored by Zach Cregger, this thriller follows the case of third grade students who all disappear at precisely 2:17 AM. No one knows what happened to them. But since they are all from the same class, fingers begin to point toward their teacher. There will definitely be some nominations here, if not wins for Best Supporting Actress for Amy Madigan, who plays a crazed witch aunt.
5. MARTY SUPREME
A shoe salesman called Marty (played by Timothée Chamalet), tries to swindle his way into traveling to Japan to compete in the World Championship for table tennis. Marty is talented, but his way of getting to the top are so insane comprised of a string of bad choices & accidents that are very fun to watch. There is big award season buzz for this movie.
6. BLACK BAG
This spy thriller directed by Steven Soderbergh is one of his best films yet. Starring the incomparably talented Cate Blanchett & the mysteriously captivating Michael Fassbender, their chemistry makes it for a sexy, nuanced film. When Fassbander’s character George is asked to investigate a list of suspected traitors, which includes his wife Kathryn, played by Blanchett, a cat-and-mouse game begins.
7. BARBARA WALTERS: TELL ME EVERYTHING
The life of the woman who redefined journalism forever Barbara Walters is the focus of this documentary. Her cutthroat ways & fearless line of questioning made her the biggest boss in town. Her genius changed the way interviews were done creating a path for countless women behind her.
8. THE LIFE OF CHUCK
This is one the best Stephen King adaptations of his work ever. Based on the 2020 novella of the same name, it follows the life-defining moments of Charles "Chuck" Krantz’s life, chronicled in reverse chronological order, from his death, depicted as the end of the universe, to his childhood.
9. THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR
This powerful documentary is about a shooting incident on June 2, 2023, where a white female, Susan Louise Lorincz, fatally shot Owens, her black female neighbor, in Ocala, FL. The film is put together via body cams worn by the police officers involved in the incidents. It will most likely get an Oscar nomination, if not win, for Best Documentary.
10. AVATAR: FIRE AND ASH
Some might say it’s not the best of the Avatar films, but that didn’t change how I felt watching it. An absolute visual dazzle, the story continues to unfold in the third installment of this series. A whole new level of Pandora is revealed & I was onboard the whole way through.
11. FRIENDSHIP
Tim Robinson, of SNL fame, stars in this film as Craig, a marketing executive who befriends his new neighbor, a meteorologist named Austin (played by Paul Rudd). What starts as a sweet, bonding friendship between two men turns into a nightmare in this dark comedy by writer, director Andrew DeYoung.
12. SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Directed by Joachim Trier, who also co-wrote it, this Norwegian drama follows three sisters as they reunite with their estranged father. This tear jerker will have your heart, break it, then put it back together again. It will for sure get plenty of nominations this year.
13. THE SECRET AGENT
This Brazilian film has gained a lot of attention & traction in award season. This is a historical political thriller showcasing a different side of Brazil in 1977. It follows Armando (beautifully played by Wagner Moura), a former professor caught in the political turmoil in the middle of the military dictatorship in Brazil, as he tries to flee persecution & resist an authoritarian regime.
14. ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Paul Thomas Anderson directs this high stakes thriller. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Ghetto, a washed-up former member & explosive device expert of a revolutionary group known as the French 75. He is forced back into the life of intrigue after years of retirement in order to protect his family. There are great performances here by DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, & Teyana Taylor.
15. THE WEDDING BANQUET
A comedy about gay Taiwanese man (played by Bowen Yang) in NYC who arranges a marriage with a female tenant to get his American citizenship & appease his traditional parents. The relationship leads to hilarious complications when his parents visit and discover the secret.
16. THE SMASHING MACHINE
Dwayne Johnson gives a career-defining performance as former wrestler & MMA fighter Mark Kerr. The film is a true story of survival & perseverance against all odds. Emily Blunt also dazzles the screen with keen acting & vigor as his wife, Dawn Staples.
17. SINNERS
I went into this movie not knowing anything about it but that it had good reviews. Little did I know that this southern drama set in 1932 was actually a vampire film. It is one of those rare occasions where a horror movie has Oscar buzz. This one deserves all the attention is has been getting. The cast is superb in this prohibition time tale.
18. FRANKENSTEIN
Based on the 1818 novel of the same name by Mary Shelley, this Guillermo del Toro directed film is bound to become a masterpiece being labeled the best adaptation of the work yet. The visual appeal, gothic vibe, & the strong performances make this horror fantasy come to life.
19. WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
In this third installment of the Knives Out series, detective Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig), finds himself with his hardest case yet. When a priest named Wicks (played by Josh Brolin) is murdered the top suspects are the new priest in town Jud (played by Josh O’Connor) & Wicks’ right-hand woman Marthan (played by Glenn Close). Who dunnit? You’ll have to watch it to find out.
20. BUGONIA
I will admit that this is one the craziest films I’ve seen in a long while. It follows two young men, played by Jesse Plemons & Aidan Delbis, who kidnap a powerful CEO, played by Emma Stone, suspecting that she is secretly an alien who wants to destroy the planet.