Top 10 Movies of the Year 2025

After unveiling my Top 10 TV Shows of 2025 Blog last week -- I've been hard at work catching up on movies and jotting notes on the movies I've seen for this blog. 2025 as a whole was a step up in Cinema to me -- and I've spent a lot of time trying to decide how my favorites of the year stack up.

And while there's still a handful of movies from last year that I want to see and check off my list -- we're on to 2026 now, and it's time to reflect on the year in movies 2025 was. So Today, I'm ranking my 10 favorite movies of the year -- plus a handful of Honorable Mentions.

All 10 of the movies on my list are ones I think are worth a watch -- but the Top 6 are ones I really loved this year. Let me know in the comments what your favorite movie of 2025 was!

Honorable Mentions:

Movies I Haven't Seen:

F1

No Other Choice

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Thunderbolts*

28 Years Later

Hamnet

Sentimental Value

The Secret Agent

Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning

If I had Legs I'd Kick You

Die My Love

Frankenstein

Now You See Me: Now You Don't

Nuremberg

The Smashing Machine

House of Dynamite

The Phoenician Scheme

Blue Moon

It Was an Accident

The biggest misses here are no doubt F1 and Avatar -- F1 I have no excuse, Avatar came out too recently and is 3 fucking hours (I opted for Marty Supreme over Avatar). And I really wish I had gotten to see No Other Choice -- which I've heard GREAT things about. Some were late releases, or limited streaming, or just lack of interest to go see. If you loved any movies from this list -- let me know what I need to see!

Have Seen - But Not My Favorites:

Jay Kelly

Novocaine

Mountainhead

Mickey 17

Fantastic 4: First Steps

Really wanted to like Jay Kelly more -- I'm a sucker for Adam Sandler, Billy Crudup pops up for a few minutes and was my favorite part of the movie. But overall, it doesn't do much for me.

Novocaine was a lot of fun -- gnarly, creative action, pretty endearing, but didn't quite stick the landing. Shoutout Jack Quaid.

Mountainhead was a strange one -- I thought it was very funny, it's written by Jessie Armstrong of Succession fame -- but it kept me at arms-length.

Mickey 17 just didn't work at all for me, despite a great Robert Pattinson performance. Didn't like any of the side characters, was confused by the plot, and thought it was too long.

And I enjoyed Fantastic 4 quite a bit -- thought it was the best F4 movie I've seen, but think they played it too safe, and I didn't like 1 of the core 4 characters -- big roadblock.

Have Seen - Just Missed the Cut:

Train Dreams

Superman

Knives Out: Wake Up Dead Man

The Naked Gun

I wanted to like Train Dreams more than I did at the end of the day. Beautifully shot, a great lead performance from Joel Edgerton -- but the ending didn't hit for me like it did for others, and I thought it was really one-note (incredibly fucking sad). Legendary William H. Macy performance.

Superman was my #1 comic-book movie of the year -- David Corenswet, Nicholas Hoult, and Rachel Brosnahan all rock + really good side characters. Thought it was a little messy tonally, some tough stretches, and some bad CGI that held it back.

Wake Up Dead Man was a big step up for me -- Josh O'Connor was stellar, Daniel Craig always is, and there were some major standout scenes/moments. Not all the side characters hit for me, thought it was a bit predictable -- but a really fun watch.

The Naked Gun was one of the funniest movies of the year -- a legacy sequel/remake that stays true to the original in tone and slapstick. Liam Neeson doing goofy bits is just special to watch. It's also a quick watch -- 90 minutes -- as a good comedy should be.

The Top 10

#10 The Running Man, Caught Stealing

Cheating right off the bat with a Dual #10, but I had very similar feelings about both of these. 2 flawed movies that are very fun -- have some tonal issues -- have great side characters -- and lead performances from actors I love.

The Running Man -- starring Glen Powell, directed by Edgar Wright -- is a dystopian novel-adaptation that gives Hunger Games vibes. I'm a sucker for Glen (we all know this), but also really loved Colman Domingo and Michael Cera in fun side roles. Wright never quite found the right balance of comedic to serious -- I think if he had leaned into the comedy more this movie works better, and the ending wasn't great -- but has very good action sequences.

Caught Stealing is a dark comedy-thriller starring Austin Butler, directed by Darren Aronofsky. Butler's character gets tangled up with dangerous goons over a small fortune -- 2 of which are played by Liev Schreiber and Vincent D'Onofrio -- Hasidic gangsters that are equally hilarious and terrifying. Regina Hall, Matt Smith, Zoe Kravitz, Bad Bunny. Had lots of fun with this one -- it didn't hit the highs I hoped for -- but I thought it had a slightly better conclusion.

2 personal favorites that wouldn't be on most people's Top 10 lists -- but are essential to mine.

#9 Black Bag

Released in early 2025, I never got around to Black Bag until the past week doing catch-up. And I wish I saw it sooner -- because it was one of the most sleek, sexy, well-performed and well-written spy thrillers I've seen in awhile -- wrapped up in a 90-minute runtime.

Directed by Steven Soderbergh, Starring Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett as a married couple working as intelligence agents in England. Blanchett's character is suspected of betraying her country, and Fassbender's is tasked with finding out the truth. The dialogue is sharp but subtle -- lots of nuance in the unspoken scenes. It plays out more as a mystery than a thriller, as we watch Fassbender's character try to piece things together. Tom Burke, Marisa Abela from Industry, Pierce Brosnan, Rege-Jean Page, and Naomie Harris make up a standout supporting cast -- I was locked in from start to finish.

#8 Warfare

Saw this and Sinners in the same week -- and to my surprise, Warfare was definitively the scarier watch. This is a war movie set in Iraq, following a true story about a Navy SEAL platoon's mission through the memories of the soldiers there -- one of which is Ray Mendoza, who teams up with Alex Garland as a co-director.

This film is unlike any War movie I've ever seen -- it's sole mission is to tell the story of what happened on this day in Iraq. No character development -- you don't think about the performances after -- all you think about is how terrifying it would have been to be there. There's no scoring to it, no music or added sound to build tension, just the sounds of war (outside of an electric intro scene to the movie). A sub-100 minute watch, a really good cast of Will Poulter, Joseph Quinn, Cosmo Jarvis, Charles Melton and more -- and a movie I'll probably never rewatch, but am glad I saw once.

#7 Eddington

The most divisive movie in my Top 10 -- I'd never recommend it to someone because I can easily see how they would hate it. It's about COVID set in 2020, is a reflection on how people acted and felt during that period, while being very satirical about it. There's a lot that can rub you the wrong way -- but for me, it was one of Ari Aster's best.

It starts with the fact that I found it to be wildly funny. Many critiques say it was "too soon" to make light of this time -- but I disagree. COVID made people crazy. Some of the ugliest moments of my lifetime came out of 2020 -- social injustice, tragedies, that video of the celebrities singing "Imagine." But Eddington pulls no punches, leans all the way into the outrageousness and chaos of the time. Joaquin Phoenix's performance is one of his best in the last 10+ years, Pedro Pascal is great, Emma Stone and Austin Butler play small roles. So funny, shockingly action-packed, and a batshit last act that makes or breaks the movie for you -- a big swing that I really enjoyed.

#6 Bugonia

The Top-6 of this list were easily my favorites of the year -- the only struggle was putting them in order. And in the theme of batshit insane movies -- Bugonia! Director of many a fucked-up movie, Yorgos Lanthimos' latest is one I absolutely loved, Starring Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons.

It's about a conspiracy-obsessed man (Plemons) and his cousin kidnapping a CEO of a major company (Stone) because they believe she's an alien set on taking over the Earth. Within the 1st half-hour they've shaved her head to keep her from contacting her mothership -- the movie fucking GOES for it. And in between the insanity, there's really sharp dialogue between Stone and Plemons. The last hour or so of this movie blew my mind in multiple ways, and it's ending left my jaw on the floor. Plemons gave my 2nd favorite performance of the year -- Emma Stone was her typical incredible self -- Stavros Halkias plays a funny side role -- and the movie just RIPS start to finish.

#5 Friendship

In the scope of these Top 6 films -- this is probably the odd-man out for most people. But most people don't praise Tim Robinson like I do, and when Tim Robinson stars in a movie alongside Paul Rudd and Kate Mara -- Yeah I think that'll do it. Yeah THAT'll do it.

Similarly to how I wrote about The Chair Company, this movie is the perfect amalgamation of the slapstick-bit humor of I Think You Should Leave, with drama and real themes. Robinson plays a man who becomes friends with his new neighbor, played by Paul Rudd, and becomes obsessed with him. I saw this movie by myself in a movie theater, and made friends with strangers in my row laughing our asses off -- true Friendship. Countless hilarious moments and bits have stuck with me -- none more than the garage scene with Connor O'Malley (highly recommend the extended cut on YouTube). Funniest comedy of the year by a mile to me, shoutout Andrew DeYoung -- the director who's worked on multiple projects with Robinson.

#4 Sinners

I've flip-flopped #4 and #3 on this list 6+ times while writing this blog, but I've finally landed on an order I'm happy with. I stressed over it because I not only love both movies -- but they're in a genre I typically avoid: horror. But I put my fear aside and saw both in theaters -- and they were my biggest surprises of the year.

Sinners was #1 on my list for several months after it's April release. The buzz around it was palpable, but I had little faith it'd be my cup of tea -- to my surprise, I thought it was amazing. Ryan Coogler had a clear vision for this film and executed it so well, giving us a unique take on the Vampire genre using music and culture. The songs are great, the dream-like music sequence was one of my favorites this year (and the Irish music connected with this Gaelic Bean). Michael B. is exceptional -- Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo, Wunmi Mosaku are all great -- Miles Caton in his 1st movie ever steals the show. I love this movie, and think it will be a great rewatch for years to come.

#3 Weapons

But at the end of the day, I gave the slightest edge to Weapons in the #3 slot, cementing it as my #1 Horror movie of the year. Most years I wouldn't even have a #1 horror movie because I'd bitch out of seeing anything scary -- but from the 1st trailer I saw, I knew I'd have to grow a pair and go see this one.

I think the majority of people that have seen both Weapons and Sinners would give Sinners top billing -- but for me, the determining factor was two-fold. 1) the ending, 2) how unexpectedly funny it was. Don't get me wrong, it terrified me at times (Jump scares get me every damn time). There's moments that are burned into my brain (like Marcus running at Justine at the Gas Station). But the way Zach Cregger structures the story, the performances from Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Amy Madigan, etc, the tension it builds throughout -- leading to a crowd-pleasing, shocking ending that left me laughing out loud. I absolutely loved this movie, and think it's worth a try for all.

#2 Marty Supreme

Picking a #1 between these Top 2 was like pulling teeth. They're the 2 best movies I've seen since Oppenheimer in 2023 -- and either is deserving of the top spot. But in the interest of not letting recency bias take over, I went with Marty Supreme as #2 -- but over the next 5-10 years, I could very easily see this being my favorite 2025 movie.

I just wrote a full blog on Marty Supreme (which I'll link below) so I'll try to be brief here. But This is the type of high-energy, fast-paced, unyielding, and at times anxiety-inducing thriller that I absolutely love. Josh Safdie improved on his past work like Uncut Gems with this film, making a more fun and enjoyable version of his trademark thrillers. Timothee Chalamet is otherworldly good, best performance of 2025. So many memorable scenes I'm still thinking about a week later -- all the table-tennis matches, the bathtub scene, the bowling alley/gas station, the farmhouse scenes, and the ending of course. Kevin O'Leary, Odessa A'zion, Gwyneth Paltrow, Tyler The Creator -- all great in a perfectly cast movie all-around. 10/10, 2 thumbs up, all the gold stars -- go see this one ASAP.

#1 One Battle After Another

But the #1 slot could only belong to One (Battle After Another). The movie I've listened to an embarrassing amount of podcasts about, have rewatched multiple times since hitting HBO Max, and has become my favorite movie from an esteemed Paul Thomas Anderson catalog.

This movie just has a little bit of everything I'm looking for when I go to a theater. It made me laugh so much -- it might be Leonardo DiCaprio's funniest movie. It had intense action -- and was very creative action, with things I had never seen before in terms of cinematography and film-making. It had great performances -- Leo, Chase Infiniti, Teyana Taylor, Sean Penn, Benicio del Fucking Toro. It discussed big themes -- but at it's core, it's a story about a Father and his daughter, which was both unexpected and beautiful to me. And while it definitely had a lot to say about the world we live in -- it didn't feel like it was beating you over the head with it's message. I can't say enough positive things about this movie, and I'll keep recommending it anytime someone asks asks me what they should watch on streaming (but it was best seen on the big screen -- and I'm glad I was able to see it that way).

6,000 words later and we have concluded our Top 10 TV Shows AND Top 10 Movies of 2025 -- a labor of love for me spewing about things I can't get enough of. If you enjoyed these blogs -- leave a like, comment your favorite movie of 2025, and leave a 5-star rating. If you missed the Top 10 TV Shows blog -- I will link it below here, along with my reviews of my #1 and #2 movies!

If you made it this far through my long-winded movie takes -- I appreciate you more than you know!