My Top 5 Movies of 2025

Even though the box office hasn't reflected it, 2025 was a pretty good year for movies.

I know that after COVID, the theater industry has suffered, but I'm really hoping that it starts to make a comeback in the next few years.

We can't lose our art mediums, people. We just can't. And no matter how fun it is to doomscroll Twitter or TikTok, there's nothing like going to the movies and losing yourself for a few hours.

So that being said, I'll talk about what I'm excited for in 2026 in another blog later. These are my Top 5 movies of 2025...

5. 28 Years Later

   

   Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes in 28 Years Later

   I know this movie got a lot of criticism for its wacky ending, but to discount everything it brought before it went off the rails would be a huge disservice. It was a massive year for horror, and some of the most beautiful cinematography could be found in these flicks, proving that horror shouldn't be dismissed as strictly a "popcorn movie" genre. 28 Years Later had some of the most awe-inspiring shots of the landscape, which just HAPPENED to have zombies/the infected silhouetted on the horizon. The juxtaposition of something so horrific and something so beautiful made me so glad to have seen that on the big screen. Add in truly emotional performances by Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes, and Alfie Williams. (Side note: Big year for child actors. If. You haven't seen this one yet, watch it & accept the ending for what it is.

4. One Battle After Another

   

   Leonard DiCaprio in One Battle After Another

   This movie had so much hype after its release this year, and for good reason. How do you explain that as much as this movie felt like a Paul Thomas Anderson movie, it also didn't? I found it a bit funnier than some of his other movies (There Will Be Blood, Magnolia...), but still had that wonderfully gritty Anderson feel. Obviously, this movie would be a shell of itself without brilliant casting, but we know that movies are more than their cast, or else this year's Jurassic World wouldn't have been just a meh movie. The Oscars will come down to Leo vs Timothee, and movie lovers are the better off for it. Sean Penn also delivers someone so darkly tormented, but hateable in only the way he can. Benicio Del Toro is so fun, no matter the script (check out The Phoenician Scheme if you don't believe me). Chase Infiniti, Teyana Taylor, and Regina Hall bring toughness, complexity, naivety, vulnerability, and confusion at various levels, drawing you to their characters each time they're on screen. Head over to HBO and enjoy this ride.

3. Sinners

   

   Michael B Jordan and Miles Caton in Sinners

   Everyone should've known we were going to have fun at the movies this year after Sinners released in March. This movie was so much fun. And how many times can someone say a vampire movie had so many cultural layers that made you temporarily forget you were watching a horror movie? It feels like this movie set the trend for horror with beautiful cinematography. Whether it was a shot of the cotton fields or the sun setting on a lone farmhouse, Sinners made you remember why some movies should be seen on the big screen. Once again, the cast made this more than just an ordinary creature feature. Michael B. Jordan makes you wonder if he really had a secret twin; Wunmi Mosaku was exquisitely strong. Hailee Steinfeld was just unhinged in the best way. But....oooo...that voice...Miles Caton was perfectly cast. Sometimes movies are exactly the hype they generate.

2. Frankenstein

   

   Mia Goth and Jacob Elordi in Frankenstein

   Having read Bram Stoker's Dracula, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, and Robert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when I was younger created this deep love of gothic horror stories, so when a director leans into and shows a deep love of that genre, I fall in love all over again. I was hesitant when I heard about the casting of Jacob Elordi because I thought, "Him? This tall, beautiful boy? As The Creature??" and from his first growl, he proved me wonderfully wrong. Most of the dialogue was pulled directly from Shelley's novel, making it a feast for the senses because nothing she wrote needed updating or improvement. For instance, "I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other."...ugh... cuts to the heart of The Creature's anguish and the horror in which he can deliver. I hate that this movie wasn't given a wider theatrical release, and some could only experience it at home, but it should be watched. Over and over.

1. Marty Supreme

   

   Timothee Chalamet is Marty Supreme

   Marty Supreme is unhinged in all the best ways. This movie is pure chaos from beginning to end. Directed by Josh Safdie, half of the Safdie sibling team that brought you Uncut Gems, you quickly realize Josh loves chaos and, so far, has proven he has the directorial chops over his brother, Ben. (Side note, it wasn't that The Smashing Machine was terrible, it just wasn't the same caliber as MS). I sound like a broken record at this point, but when an ensemble cast is cast correctly, the movie hums. There is no doubt that Timothee Chalamet is borderline psychotic in his pursuit of perfection or an Oscar, so you know his performance is going to be solid, but add his chemistry with Odessa A'zion, Gwyneth Paltrow, Fran Drescher, and Tyler, the Creator. You're assured that each frantic scene will be electric. I had my doubts that a movie about the 1950s New York Ping Pong scene would be this year's best, but I was swept away by the chaos and loved every minute of it.