Favorite Films 2025

A great year at the movies.

I’m not saying these films are for everyone; with my taste, they’re often not for everyone. I’m going to be brief with my reasons why but hopefully some of these mentions might lead you to some movies that you love. I’ll post my favorite books and music of the year soon.

It was a great year for films, and here are my twelve favorites in no particular order.

Hamnet-I know that lots of people are hesistant to see it because of the subject matter (death of a child) but the film handles that so well that ultimately it’s not as much about that as it’s about the way art can carry us through the worst trials. I loved this novel so much that I was afraid the film wouldn’t live up to it but I think it does, although it is its own separate piece of art completely. Rarely has the forest been captured so perfectly and Jessie Buckley’s performance is one for the ages. I love how the motif of the cave is carried throughout the film (the cave in the woods, their bed, the children’s bedroom, the dining table, the stage, etc.). the way the four elements are referred to throughout. This is the only movie on my list that I saw twice this year and it was even better the second time. The first time I was moved by it, but the second time, tears streamed down my face more than once, especially at a pivotal scene where Buckley goes silent then bursts out with a primal scream that captures profound grief in a way I’ve never seen before.

One Battle After Another-I went into this movie not expecting to like it and I came out loving it. It is thrilling, a complete entertainment from beginning to end, but also profound and moving. I enjoyed seeing DiCaprio play a parent, I loved the way Regina Hall delivers the most centering moments of the film without a word (one of the best, most underrated performances of the year), and the car chases (which I am a sucker for) were outstanding. This is a film that is so much about our current moment that it is hard to beleive it was conceived years ago. The score is also great (and owes a debt to my favorite film composer, Bernard Herrmann).

Train Dreams-This movie is also based on a favorite book of mine, one that I thought was unfilmable. But the filmmakers managed to capture the spirit of that novella perfectly. This is a meditation on loss but also on the wonders of the ordinary, the way the extraordinary is happening all the time, and often without our noticing it. It’s full of melancholy and the most beautiful images I saw in film this year. It’s also about work, which one rarely sees in movies. Felicity Jones uses about fifteen minutes of screen time to completely charm the viewer and Joel Edgerton carries us through all the turmoil in capable hands. Train Dreams gutted me, but in all the best ways.

The History of Sound is the most underrated film of the year. It should have been nominated for so many awards but barely made a blip on the awards circuit. I think one reason is because it’s a nonsensational look at a gay relationship. Another reason is because it’s all about restraint and the filmmaker took that very seriously. The movie refuses to telegraph anything to the viewer and features two of my favorite performances of the year by Paul Mescal (who plays a Kentuckian) and Josh O’Connor (who shows up in three of my favorites this year). The singing scenes are achingly beautiful. I loved the two short stories this is based on, too, by the way. They appeared in my favorite book of 2024.

Weapons is perhaps the most widely seen movie on my list, and with good reason. It’s difficult to so expertly pull of the balance of comedy and horror but this movie did it. I loved the imagery, the performances, and most of all the way I couldn’t predict where it was taking me. It’s Hitchockian and Carpenteresque but also completely original. And Amy Madigan gives one of the best horror performances ever.

Sentimental Value is a family drama, which is among my favorite genres, but it is also original in its delivery. The characters are complex and compelling. It’s beautifully filmed and heavily influenced by Bergman but also very contemporary and its own creation. I’ve thought a lot about this film since seeing it, and the more I think about it the more I like it and what it says about the way family shapes us in good and bad ways.

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. I really liked the first Knives Out movie, couldn’t finish the second one, and absolutely loved this third entry. First of all, it’s a brilliant mystery that makes perfect sense, with no plot holes. Secondly, and more importantly, it is a saccharine-free mediation on belief, faith, and how often organized religion gets in the way of those things. Josh O’Connor is the main reason to see it and this is one of his best performances.

Frankenstein is one of my favorite novels and I’ve never seen a film of it that worked for me, but the latest version did. Even when it strays from its source material it makes sense. I’ll admit that I wasn’t on board for about the first hour but eventually I was swept away by the film and I especially loved Mia Goth who perfectly captures the nature of goodness. It’s also beautiful to look at and that was made even better for me when I learned that very little CGI was used. For example, the ship trapped in the ice—the framing device for the film—is an actual ship that was built specifically for the movie, which I thought was amazing for contemporary filmmaking. Jacob Elordi also did a great job of humanizing The Monster. By the third act I didn’t want it to end.

The Secret Agent is a totally misleading title for this film but it’s doing something similar to the plot. I don’t think it gives too much away to tell you that the briliant thing about this movie is that it’s about a man caught up in the government and police corruption of the dictator-ruled 1970s Brazil. However, we’d expect him to be a secret agent or at least an agitator but he is simply someone who got on the wrong side of a powerful man. It’s a reminder that within a fascist regime all of us are at risk and a reminder that you don’t need to be political to be threatened and harrassed by the political party that is in charge. The lead actor, Wagner Moura, is getting a lot of buzz for his role, and rightly so, but I also loved it for its rich cast of secondary characters, its cinematograpy, its huge canvas, and so much more. It’s a feast for the eyes, whether an epic Carnival scene or the wide shots of 1970s cities and countryside. It’s a long one, but I was never bored or impatient and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I saw it.

On Swift Horses is not a great film. There are huge plot holes that were most likely caused by questionable editing. But despite its faults, I loved watching it. I always love a film that looks at the lives of rural working class people in complex ways and this one certainly does, while also being a fascinating look at the lives of gay people in rural places in the past. It’s not going to be nominated for any awards or very much attention at all but I think Elordi’s performance here is just as good as his in Frankenstein. And it contains my favorite song written for a film this year, “Song for Henry” by Loren Kramar. I understand this is far from a perfect movie but I still think it deserves more recognition than it received.

On the surface The Mastermind is about an ordinary man who fancies himself intelligent enough to pull of a big art heist. He’s not, and he makes a big mess. It’s a quiet, slow film that might test the patience of some viewers, but I thought it was an excellent character study and a great time period piece that uses 1971 to pinpoint the moment when so many Americans had begun to question their government, their churches, family structures, and more, and the way that paradigm shift did such deep damage. Josh O’Connor, as always, is excellent.

Eddington is not a very likable movie. I was turned off by the way it seemed to be superior to anyone who had a thought about COVID protocols, judging those who were strident mask-wearers and those who refused to maskup. It’s also just too soon for a pandemic movie—we lived it so we don’t really want to relive it this soon. Its also a sanctimonious film that wants to criticize gun violence while also delighting in putting incredibly violent scenes on-screen. While I acknowledge these were major issues I also have to admit that I have continued to think about this movie and its qualities ever since I saw this many months ago. In retrospect it’s a prophetic film about the dangers and horrors of AI data centers more than it is about COVID. The performances and images have stuck with me and even though I did not enjoy the rising tension that never lets up during the film I also liked seeing something that made me feel things so viscerally. I think this movie will gain respect in years to come. And Pedro Pascal is especially good.

Other films I enjoyed even if they didn’t quite make my top 12: Kiss of the Spiderwoman and The Phonecian Scheme. Movies from this year I want to see but haven’t been able to yet: Rebuilding, Blue Moon, The Testament of Ann Lee, No Other Choice, Peter Hujar’s Day. My only dig at a film is that I did not care for Marty Supreme. In fact, I was offended by it. I hated how the film demands that I admire the lead character even though there is nothing to admire about such a charmless, lying, cheating, conceited crook and I was disgusted by its treatment of women, who are only there to adore the lead character (for no good reason).

But there is a plentitude of great stuff out there to watch. I hope y’all enjoy some of these. Let me know which ones you loved or didn’t in the comments.