Daniel's Top Nine Movies of 2025

 

Daniel's Top Nine Movies of 2025

Another year spent flocking to the movies after work and on weekends and really whenever I could.   Out of the 144 2025 movies I saw this year, these nine  brought me thrills, new ideas and some, a little comfort.  From vampires & witches to intimate family portraits, both blood and found, all of these films took me in and immersed me in their worlds.  My tastes are unique and probably don't follow most top lists, but that's okay - because this has always been personal to me and always should be. About 95% of these were caught in theaters with a handful seen at home. Here's my top nine in no particular order

Sinners

"Conjuring spirits of the past and the future"

I saw this one early on, but still remember every moment. This wasn't just a scary film about vampires - thought it definitely was that. It was a story about relationships: brothers, lovers, found family and more.  It's a story about the racist south. It's a story that still holds relevance today. Ryan Coogler captures a style, a feeling - he captures souls on film. Sinners also includes one of the most emotionally-filled one-shots I've seen on film, "conjuring spirits of the past and the future."

The Life of Chuck

"I will live my life until my life runs out."

I need movies in life that bring me joy; bring me hope.  Despite also being sad, "The Life of Chuck" does just that. Told mysteriously in three parts, this movie could have been schmaltzy or just plain depressing - but Mike Flanagan has a way of finding emotional depth and human connection in the darkest of supernatural stories.  He finds what makes humans tick and brings that out in his brilliant actors. 

Sorry, Baby

"I got a cat." "Whatever you need."

I'm so glad the world introduced us to Eva Victor.  She's not exactly new to Hollywood, but this is the first film that she wrote, directed & starred in.  It's one of the best written films of the year - subtle & close to the vest, but telling a complete story.  While an all too familiar story, "Sorry, Baby" brings you along with every emotion Agnes has & makes you feel what she does, even if she doesn't always know herself.

Twinless

"I thought Gen Z was supposed to be nice"

If you told me that Dylan O'Brien, an ex-MTV (Teen Wolf) star would give not one but two of the best performances of the year, I....probably would have believed it because seriously, he was the best (probably only good) part of that show.  We also knew he was a diverse actor because of his portrayal of Dan Aykroyd in last years "Saturday Night", but nothing could have prepared for this. He plays two incredibly unique & opposite characters and plays them both believably and without gross stereotypes. James Sweeney writes a fun, dark, funny film full of believable twists and flawed but real characters.

Sentimental Value

"The one from IKEA?"

A film about family, "Sentimental Value" is a funny, touching film about people frustratingly trying to find their way back to each other; figuring out how to get past issues while also living with them.  It's a wonderful, complete script with solid and grounded and truthful performances showcasing characters that actually grow and learn.

Hamnet

"To die, to sleep, perchance to dream."

One of the most beautiful films of the year from direction to acting to breathtaking cinematography. "Hamnet" will make you feel all the feelings.  On the surface, it's about the story behind Shakespeare writing Hamlet - but more deeply, it's about family. It's emotional without being manipulative,: In its quietest moments, you can hear the audience trying to catch their collective breaths. Jesse Buckley gives one of the best performances of the year.  She's joined by one of the best child performances I've seen on film by Jacobi Jupe. (This also gives me complete faith in Chloe Zhao directing the new Buffy series.)

Rental Family

"You could live in this country for a hundred years and there will still be things you won't understand"

If someone told you the plot of this film with no context, you might picture an old 90s comedy starring Michael Keaton about how "funny" different cultures are. Instead, you get a deep character & cultural study about connection and different points of view.  "Rental Family" never judges the company behind its central plot but does question it from all sides concluding both the positive and negative aspects that impact both its clients and its workers. We don't just see the point of view of its central Canadian protagonist, but a well rounded cast of characters with their own agency, flaws and lessons.

Weapons

"What the f*ck?!"

As a horror fan, I'm used to recycled and unoriginal stories, sequels and remakes.  So it's nice to have a truly original story with unique lore. "Weapons" delivers as a truly haunting, creepy, well-acted film. It takes you on a journey from several points of view and gives you a satisfying complete ending without the need for more.  (What I'm saying is, please no sequels.  It's unneeded. I'm looking at you, "Black Phone 2.")

Bugonia

"I mean, I follow a very strict reverse-aging diet and therapy program. It's very expensive, as you can imagine, but I'm not an alien."

Movies about conspiracy theories are usually pretty black and white. It's true or...it's not true. But "Bugonia" explores way more than that. In the end, the answers matter, but not as much as the journey and what got us to these ridiculous moments. "Bugonia" parallels our current climate because in our day and age, conspiracy theorists pop up everywhere and more and more people believe them. Because they're true? Or because it's a good excuse for how bad their lives have become without taking any personal responsibility? The cast is small - most scenes revolve around Emma Stone & Jesse Plemon's characters and that's really all you need.  The two are great scene partners, verbally dancing around each other in what will be studied in future scene study classes.

Honorable Mentions:

Final Destination 6 - A fun & gory well-rounded horror that's faithful to its predecessors while exceeding them in epicness.

Zootopia 2 - Similar to the first film, but no less exciting, the animated characters really come to life.

Sketch - I almost dismissed this as a schmaltzy kids film, but it's super well-written and conceived.

Arco  - One of few films I wanted to be longer.  Arco invents such a fantastic and new universe that I wanted to see it more explored.

Is This Thing On? - Put in the wrong hands, this could have been a cheesy hot mess - but it was delightfully sweet.

Song Sung Blue  - See above. This could have been a Hallmark-type-cheese-fest.  It has it's sad and tragic moments, but ultimately, it's incredibly uplifting.  

Sirāt - One of the reasons I like going into films blind - I had no idea what to expect. I saw this at an indie theater.  I was there early when the previous screening was let out: a woman who had just seen the film approached me. "Did you see that just now?" she asked. "Not yet, I'm about to go in. Was it good?"  She nodded, hauntingly without a smile, as she walked away.  I have never gasped so much while in a theater.  And that's all you're gonna get.

And here's all the 2025 Movies I watched this year:



1) The Damned

2) Wolf Man

3) Presence

4) Companion

5) Heart Eyes

6) The Gorge

7) Paddington, the 3rd one

8) The Monkey

9) Mickey 17

10) The Actor

11) Blackbag

12) Novocaine

13) The Day the Earth Blew Up

14) The Parenting

15) Flowing

16) Ash

17) Bob Trevino Likes It

18) Locked

19) The Ballad of Wallis Island

20) The Friend

21) Freaky Tales

22) Drop

23) Warfare

24) The Ugly Stepsister

25) Sinners

26) The Rule of Jenny Pen

27) The Bullet train Explosion

28) The Wedding Banquet

29) Clown in a Cornfield

30) Thunderbolts*

31) 825 Forest Road

32) Rosario

33) Final Destination, the 6th one

34) Bring Her Back

35) Lilo & Stitch

36) Mission Impossible, the final one

37) Fear Street: Prom Queen

38) Jane Austen Wrecked My Life

39) The Phoenician Scheme

40) Deaf President Now!

41) The Life of Chuck

42) I Don’t Understand You

43) Dangerous Animals

44) How to Train Your Dragon

45) Nonnas

46) Materialists

47) 28 Years Later

48) Elio

49) F1: The Movie

50) Sorry, Baby

51) M3gan 2:0

52) K-Pop Demon Hunters

53) 40 Acres

54) Superman, the newest one.

55) Eddington

56) Wall to Wall

57) I Know What You Did Last Summer

58) Fantastic Four

59) Until Dawn

60) Cloud

61) Apocalypse in the Tropics

62) Together

63) Bad Guys 2

64) The Naked Gun

65) Weapons

66) Night of the Zoopocalypse

67) Sketch

68) Diane Warren: Relentless

69) Highest 2 Lowest

70) The Woman in the Yard

71) Ne Zha 2

72) Lurker

73) Caught Stealing

74) The Roses

75) Thursday Murder Club

76) The Conjuring, the last one

77) Twinless

78) Downton Abbey, the last one

79) The History of Sound

80) The Long Walk

81) One Battle After Another

82) After the Hunt

83) My Dead Friend Zoe

84) The Accountant 2

85) Petals and Memories

86) Dollhouse

87) If I had Legs, I Would Kick You

88) Kiss of the Spider Woman

89) Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

90) Blue Moon

91) Bugonia

92) Good Boy

93) Ballad of a Small Player

94) Captain America (the latest one)

95) The Perfect Neighbor

96) The Alabama Solution

97) A House of Dynamite

98) Little Amelie

99) It Was Just an Accident

100) Frankenstein

101) The Black Phone 2

102) Sentimental Value

103) Die My Love

104) Nuremberg

105) Predator Badlands

106) Night of the Reaper

107) Arco

108) Running Man

109) Hamnet

110) Sirat

111) Wicked, the 2nd one.

112) A Magnificent Life

113) Rental Family

114) Zootopia 2

115) Come See Me in the Good Light

116) In Your Dreams

117) Left-Handed Girl

118) Train Dreams

119) The Lost Bus

120) The Secret Agent

121) Mr. Nobody Vs. Putin

122) 2000 Meters from Andriika

123) The Librarians

124) No Other Choice

125) Rosemead

126) Anemone

127) Jay Kelly

128) Eternity

129) Hedda

130) Dust Bunny

131) Tale of Silyan

132) Knives Out, the third one

133) The President’s Cake

134) Scarlet

135) Belen

136) Is This Thing On?

137) Marty Supreme

138) Avatar: Fire & Ash

139) Song Sung Blue

140) The Great Flood

141) The Testament of Ann Lee

142) Borderline

143) The Plague

144) Eleanor the Great