My Favorite Films of 2025
2025 was an odd year for film. It's getting harder and harder to find the kinds of movies that make it on my end of year list. Fewer and fewer movies are making it to theaters, which means I'm now beholden to streaming services. Because of that, there are a number of movies I have yet to see that would have probably made this list.
1. Sinners
I watched Sinners in April, and it instantly took the top spot of my favorite films of the year. I knew that it was going to be very difficult for it to get unseeded. Sinners is the kind of film we get very rarely nowadays. It's a big-budget film that isn't a prequel, sequel, or based on another property.
Director Ryan Coogler proves that audiences will go to the movies if it's an original idea. I love movies that blend genres, and Sinners perfects it. For most of the film, you think you are watching a 1930s gangster film, and then the next minute, boom, vampires.
Frequent Coogler collaborator Michael B. Jordan does double duty playing both Stack and Smoke. It's one of the finest performances of the year. Jordan deserves to be honored come Oscar season, but his work is sure to be overlooked.
It's easy to brush Sinners off as a silly vampire film, but there's a lot going on under the surface. A majority of the film explores the treatment of blacks and Irish in America, as well as the important role music plays in both cultures.
My favorite scene of the year was an Irish jig performed by a clan of vampires and led by the superb Jack O' Connell.
Where to watch: Prime, HBO Max
2. Train Dreams
Beautiful. Simply beautiful.
Train Dreams might be one of the more heartbreakingly contemplative films I've seen in a long time. I'm not sure I can properly articulate the depth of what the film is trying to say. At its core, it's a film about love, life, and loss. It's a film about nothing, and all at once, everything.
It's the kind of film that takes your breath away when you think of the world and your place in it, and the people who pass through it.
The film is shot in 3:2 aspect ratio, making the frame essentially a square. You would think you would feel confined by it, but it works in the opposite. The cinematographer uses the vertical space to perfection. Playing off the massive trees in the wilderness. It's easily some of the best cinematography of the year.
I hear people say all the time that there aren't good movies anymore, and when you just go by what is making it into theaters, it could feel that way. My response has been and will continue to be the same - there are so many great films and stories out there, you just have to find them.
Where to watch: Netflix
3. Predator: Badlands
A funny thing happened in 2022. A Predator film dropped on Hulu with little to no fanfare. The even crazier thing is that it was fantastic.
It was clear that director Dan Trachtenberg had a feel for what makes a good Predator film. After watching Badlands, there should be a law passed that no other Predator films shall be made without Trachtenberg at the helm.
Trachtenberg could have kept the formula the same, but instead, he switches things up by making the Predator the protagonist. In different hands, this wouldn't have worked, but Badlands is so well made that not only are you rooting for Dek, but it feels natural.
Elle Fanning is fantastic as Thia, a cyborg Dek meets on his journey. The film then turns into a buddy comedy in many ways. It shouldn't work, but it does.
Badlands was actually the second Predator film of the year. An animated anthology film called Predator: Killer of Killers was also released this year, and it's fantastic. I consider it required viewing if you're a Predator fan.
I'm not sure where the franchise can go from here, but I'll be there.
Where to watch: Streaming January 6
4. John Candy: I Like Me
It's very rare for a documentary to make my favorite films of the year list. It's not that I don't like documentaries, it's just that I have a hard time judging them with regular films. I Like Me is so good that there's just no way my list would be complete without it.
I've loved John Candy since I was a kid and find myself revisiting his films often. Even in small roles, he had a knack for stealing scenes. The documentary really captures his larger-than-life personality.
I've heard some people criticize the film, saying they didn't learn anything new. While it's true, the film doesn't really dig deep into Candy's life, I looked at it as a celebration of his life and work.
It's hard not to feel cheated at all the great films we missed out on, but thank goodness we got him for as briefly as we did.
Where to watch: Prime
5. F1
"I hate baseball, why would I watch a baseball movie?"
I've had this argument countless times with people about different sports. It never made sense to me. Just because you don't like a sport or sports in general doesn't mean you wouldn't like a film based on that sport.
My point is proven here because I literally could not care less about F1 racing. In fact, at the risk of getting myself in hot water, I barely consider it a sport.
Joseph Kosinski directed Top Gun: Maverick, one of the greatest action movies ever made, so I couldn't wait to see what he did next. He didn't disappoint here with F1.
The same chest-pounding action he brought to the cockpit of a fighter jet carries over to the cockpit of a race car.
Brad Pitt is excellent has Sonny, a washed up Nascar driver trying his hand at F1. The film does a wonderful job of showing a person who truly loves his craft and will do anything to ensure he gets to keep doing it. It's the kind of passion I love seeing on the big screen.
Where to watch: Rental streaming services
6. Wake Up Dead Man
After I saw the first Knives Out, I said I would sign up for 3 more of them. I would like to amend that, Director Rian Johnson could give us 4 or 5 more, and I would be happy.
The first Knives Out will probably never be topped, and Glass Onion was endlessly enjoyable with the unique cast of characters. Wake Up Dead Man doesn't quite match the two previous entries, but I still found it to be really good.
It's a bit more grounded than the previous films and less funny, and the supporting cast isn't quite as memorable.
For me, the standout was relative newcomer Josh O'Connor, who was fantastic as Father Jud. Keep an eye out for this guy.
As you would expect, the mystery is full of twists and turns, and I loved the religious aspect of the film. I was lucky enough to see this one on the big screen, where a film like this still deserves to be seen in 2025.
Where to watch: Netflix
7. Companion
Companion was one of those films that came and went in theaters. I think the studio didn't know how to sell the film to audiences, which is too bad because it's really good.
Sophie Thatcher is one of my favorite up-and-coming actresses. She was in a film I loved last year named Heretic. I'm looking forward to seeing where her career goes from here.
In Companion, Thatcher plays an android named Iris. Her role is essentially to act as someone's girlfriend until she finds herself fighting for her life.
Life is the right word, too, because the film explores themes of what it is to be truly alive. Check it out if you're looking for something a little different.
Where to watch: Prime
8. Mickey 17
Bong Joon Ho is not only one of my favorite directors, but he's one of the greatest directors of all time. Bong reached supernova heights with the release of 2019's Parasite. The film became something of a phenomenon, winning 4 Oscars and making Bong Joon Ho an international star.
Earlier in the year, the New York Times released its top 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century, where Parasite took the top spot. With all that, I just knew that whatever film Bong chose to direct next had a difficult hill to climb.
It was a great choice to choose something completely different. A sci-fi comedy that never takes itself too seriously.
Mickey 17 is based on the book Mickey 7, and while the film doesn't quite get a chance to delve deep into some of the themes of self and what it means to be human, I thought it was a relatively faithful adaptation.
To be honest, I'm not sure Mickey 17 would have made my list if it weren't for the fantastic dual performance turned in by Robert Pattinson. The second film on my list to feature such a performance, I might add (see Michael B. Jordan in Sinners). He's just an amazingly versatile actor.
Where to watch: Prime, HBO Max
9. Frankenstein
If you're like me, when you first heard that another Frankenstein film was being made, you had every intention of skipping it. Then I learned it would be directed by Guillermo del Toro, and it instantly had my attention.
Guillermo del Toro is one of the finest filmmakers working today, and he infuses the film with so much life. Much of that is a testament to Oscar Isaac's excellent performance as Victor Frankenstein. It's layered and nuanced in a way that few actors could achieve.
The film also features an unrecognizable performance from Jacob Elordi as The Creature.
Frankenstein is one of the more beautifully shot films of the year. If you have even a passing interest in the timeless tale, give this one a shot.
Where to watch: Netflix
10. One Battle After Another
Paul Thomas Anderson is somewhat hit or miss with me. While I have enjoyed many of his films, I never find the urge to revisit them.
I'm not sure if that will be the case with One Battle After Another. The film is much more accessible than some of his other works. It also has a black comedy side that I really appreciate, which is something he tried to pull off in Inherent Vice, but didn't quite land.
Leonardo DiCaprio turns in another fine performance (no surprise there) as a paranoid burnout. He plays a scuzzy loser better than he has any right to. It's hard to think that's a role he could have pulled off 20 years ago.
The other highlight of the film is a truly bizarre performance by Sean Penn. I feel like it's been a little while since we saw him in something, but he's still got it.
The hype train might have gotten too far ahead of me on this one. If I had watched it when it was released, I might have been on board. Until I watch it again, I can't quite buy into some of the sentiment that it's hands down the best film of the year. Not for me at least.
Where to watch: HBO Max
