Best and Most Disappointing Films of 2025

​2025 was not a great year for films. If you want to watch a great year, 1994 (Forrest Gump, Shawshank, Pulp Fiction), 1999 (Magnolia, Fight Club, The Green Mile), and 2004 (Sideways, The Aviator, Million Dollar Baby) come to mind. But this year did produce two bona fide masterpieces in One Battle After Another and Sinners. Both films are deep explorations into the American experience and psyche. Both are made by auteur filmmakers Paul Thomas Anderson and Ryan Coogler. Both are technically sound with groundbreaking visuals, whether its the wavy roads of the barren desert or the dancing of multiple African generations in unison, and both films have haunted me all year. And both are essentially homages to two of my favorite films of all time - which I'll explain later in my individual commentary. 

This year, women once again gave the best performances, with Rose Byrne's dramatically comic turn as a mother and wife on the edge in If I Had Legs I'd Kick You. Jesse Buckley was revolutionary in Hamnet, and Amy Madigan gave her wildest performance as a witch feeding off the souls of children. Only two of them can win an Oscar this year, which is a shame, but these performances will live on well past their debut dates. 

The men did a fine job with Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio del Toro being the buddy duo of the decade in OBAA, and Michael B. Jordan played twins in Sinners to a perfect pitch. But don't forget the fine work by Dwayne Johnson in The Smashing Machine and David Jonsson and the young cast of The Long Walk. 

From a box office standpoint, Minecraft and Lilo & Stitch ruled the year with $423 million each. Superman, Jurassic World, Wicked For Good and Zootopia 2 rounded out the top 6 all making $300+ million. Avatar: Fire and Ash will eventually reach at least number three if not one by the end of it's run. Sinners was the highest grossing original film at $279 million, with F1 being the second most seen non-sequel/remake/adaptation at $179 million and Weapons at $151 million. 

So look for more sequels and reboots as we head into the second half of the decade. 

Many of the years worst films were more ambition gone wrong than purely cynical slop. While there were plenty of sloppy messes, the films that really irked me were by top tier directors making pretentious Emperor's New Clothing. Read my Most Disappointing Films list at the bottom. 

My big takeaway from 2026 is that this new crop of filmmakers are very much remaking their favorite films, and the more established filmmakers are clearly taking the premises and influences of other films and applying their twist on the material. What was once a Quentin Tarantino staple (remaking genre B films) is now the new standard, and you can see its working well with critics and audiences. 

With all that said, here is my list of the Best Films of 2025. For the record, I saw about 200 films this year. My Letterboxd has all the full reviews on it, and that's linked to the bottom of the newsletter. Whether you love or hate these films, I just hope you have an experience with them. Because when I got my Masters in Film Theory, that was the one great pull I got watching and analyzing films - you have to feel something or else you wasted your time. 

THE LIST 

1. One Battle After Another 
If one film were to represent the vibe of the times, it's Paul Thomas Anderson's brilliant social satire action film OBAA. Taking from the 1970's revolutionary films like Dog Day Afternoon but with a splash of The Big Lebowski, Thomas' script and direction crackles and pops with career topping work by Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn and newcomer Chase Infiniti. Don't be surprised to see this on a lot of great films of all time lists over the next few decades. It's already quotable with "just a few small beers," and "Life, man. Life!" living rent free in my head since September.     

2. Sinners 
Easily the most wildly ambitious film on the list, this is Ryan Coogler's Americana love letter to gothic horror and southern gospel bluegrass. Taking a bit from the plot of From Dusk Till Dawn, twin bootleggers from Chicago (played by Michael B. Jordan), try to start a speakeasy dance club in rural Mississippi, only to be invaded by white vampires with a Mumford and Sons vibe. It's both a period piece and a commentary on our current culture. Truth be told, it's not so much #2 as it is 1b to OBAA's 1a. 

3. If I Had Legs I'd Kick You 
Rose Byrne gives the best performance of the year as a mom and wife on the edge. She's also a therapist with Conan O'Brien giving wonderful supporting work as her therapist down the hall. The film is sort of an Uncut Gems from the woman's point of view as we watch everything in her life get destroyed from her house to her marriage to the hamster she buys her overbearing and sick daughter. This is the type of filmmaking Hollywood is afraid to make and audiences cringe at, yet I found it wildly entertaining and deeply poignant and insightful.  

4. The Long Walk 
No film moved me as deeply as the Stephen King adaptation about a dystopian future where once a year young men walk until no one is left except one. Both a dark cautionary tale about violent government rule and a metaphor for young men entering the rat race of everyday life, Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson are a modern Andy and Red. The best young ensemble cast in a long time, it's refreshing to see young men obsessed with friendship and family more than getting laid or winning a game. This one is probably my favorite gem I discovered this year.  

5. Jay Kelly
Noah Baumbach's take on fame, family, and the price of putting things in the wrong order is one for the ages. George Clooney stars as Jay, one of the last movie stars dealing with the reality of his falling star as he's being honored for his work - yet he can't find a single person to sit with him when he wins this award. Adam Sandler and Laura Dern are wonderful as his long suffering manager and press secretary, reminding Jay that his best friends have to be paid to put up with him. The film is warm, funny, sad, and entertaining above everything else. I will gladly return to this once a year for a good time and moral reminder that my career is not as important as my time with others.

6. Bugonia 
Yorgos Lanthimos has slowly become my favorite filmmaker working today. I will gladly watch anything this man does. After hating The Lobster and being lukewarm on The Favorite, I've found Poor Things, Kinds of Kindness, and Bugonia absolute masterpieces. Emma Stone continues to place herself at the top of all time actresses with her work as a boss babe CEO who is kidnapped by two worker bees who think she's an alien. Jesse Plemons is both loveably dimwitted and terrifyingly violent, giving one the best performances of the year as the lead kidnapper. The last thirty minutes was the most fun I had at the movies.  

7. The Life of Chuck
If Sinners is From Dusk Till Dawn, this Stephen King adaptation is The Truman Show, but from a more metaphysical point of view. Telling the story of Chuck from a reverse narrative, the film explores the relationship between love, logic, and mystery beautifully, switching genres from science fiction fantasy to coming of age middle school drama. There's a middle segment involving dancing that is truly one of the most remarkable scenes of the year.    

8. Frankenstein 
Guillermo del Toro's career has always focused on monsters, both the misunderstood and the devious. By taking the 1818 classic and giving it all the bells and whistles, as well as attaching an all-star cast filled with wonderful character actors and a few Oscar favorites, del Toro finds a way to create a film that is less scary and more darkly whimsical, like the way Walt Disney would make magic. Filled with icy ships stranded, sky high castles, and state of the art visuals and makeup, every scene is both glorious to watch and intellectually stimulating.   

9. Bob Trevino Likes It 
No move made me cry at the end the way Bob Trevino Likes It made me cry almost a year ago. Barbie Ferreira stars as Lily, a young woman abandoned by her father Bob Trevino, only to connect on Facebook with another Bob Trevino, played by the delightful John Leguizamo, who becomes her new best friend. In a world where these films go cringe in either the Hallmark or sleazy sexual way, this is the most CODA-esque film I've seen since, well, CODA. And I'm not lying when I tell you this is the best ending of the year. This is would be Ted Lasso's favorite film.     

10. Superman 
Look up. James Gunn's poster catch phrase sums up all the optimism and hope you'd want from a Superman reboot. While there's no dramatically new territory covered here, the themes of found family, bravery, and courage are explored with all the action and humor we'd expect. David Corenswet makes a great Caped Crusader, and his romance with Lois Lane here would make Nora Ephron proud, with witty banter and sweet romantic chemistry. This also has the honor of being the first film in years I saw twice in theaters, only days apart. If this is is the future of the DC Comic Book world, I'm on board.

Honorable Mentions
Sorry, Baby was a first rate dramedy about the hardships of sexual assault with a great directorial debut by Eva Victor.

Richard Linklater's Nouvelle Vague, a love letter to French New Wave cinema of the 1960's, is a beautifully shot ensemble piece filled with witty dialogue and first rate casting.    

Highest 2 Lowest is Spike Lee's best film since BlacKKKlansman, with Denzel Washington having a ball in the second half playing off his alpha persona. 

No Other Choice is the best international film I saw all year, satirizing the cruelty of capitalism's evils and greed. 

When it comes to gentle kindness, Hollywood rarely gets it right through an entire film, yet despite a bit of predictable plotting, Rental Family is a near perfect dramedy about how we need each other. 

Splitsville was far and away the best comedy of the year, and a sort of American Pie cousin for us millennials.  

Hamnet is Chloe Zhao's interpretation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, but through the eyes of his wife Agnes, played by the thunderous Jessie Buckley.   

Wes Anderson has found a new muse in Benicio del Toro in this wild thriller comedy The Phoenician Scheme, a candy colored treat for the eyes and ears. 

Maybe the most poetic film of the year was The Secret Agent, with Wagner Moura playing multiple characters, telling a made up story about the true feelings of 1970's Brazil.  

Celine Song follows up the indie hit Past Lives with the more Hollywood big budget star vehicle Materialists, where Chris Evans asks Dakota Johnson, "Am I disposable to you?" and I felt every truth in that line.   

Companion and The Monkey were great high-brow sci-fy horror thrillers with popping scripts and real auteur vibes.

Twinless is a Sundance Film Festival favorite that told the story of twins who lost their sibling and found a way to turn the touching premise into a dark comedy that feels cathartic and poignant.  

I was a huge admirer of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's work in The Smashing Machine, about the life of UFC fighter Mark Kerr before the violent sport became a billion dollar industry. Plus Emily Blunt was the sexiest woman on screen this year, playing a supportive yet erratic girlfriend.

Eternity is the closest to capturing the vibe of Albert Brook's Defending Your Life, and I'm here for it.    

Most Disappointing Films of the Year

I'm not a fan of "worst films" of the year, as a low budget piece of crap like Screamboat Willie deserves that title, but that's also unfair to a film that never asked to be taken seriously. Same with silly comedies like Anaconda and Happy Gilmore 2. But what about films that aimed for something or cost a fortune to make, and missed the mark completely? That's what I'm warning you from. No one watches Happy Gilmore 2 looking to have their life changed - but these films wanted to go big, when they should just go home. 

After the Hunt stars Julia Roberts as a Yale professor caught in a #MeToo scandal and its a self gratifying nothing burger of a 2 1/2 hour film. 

Jurassic World Rebirth had an easy formula to follow (Dinosaurs + Dumb People = Dumb People Being Eaten Squared) and it failed on every level.

Ethan Coen needs to make up with his brother Joel and stop making inside joke hack cinema like Honey Don't!

I Know What You Did Last Summer took none of the self aware charm of the first film or the similar films created since the mid-90's and instead made a film those films mocked. 

Back in Action stars Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz in streaming slop about spies turned domestic suburban parents, with not one redeemable joke or scene. 

Toxic Avenger wanted to be a gross out action satire, but became a bore and filthy film going experience with grotesque jokes that no one needs to see. 

James L. Brooks went from winning best director for Terms of Endearment forty years ago to making the worst TV pilot feature film in decades with Ella McCay.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I hated Sentimental Value, with not one likable character in a cast of likable actors. Emperor's New Clothes 101.

Bring Her Back's greatest sin is taking Sally Hawkins' great performance and sticking it in child torture porn about the foster system gone wrong and demonic.

​After making Avengers: Endgame, the Russo Brothers could do anything and they decided to ruin the book The Electric State with a terrible script and wooden acting by Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown.