The Best Films of 2025

Welcome to another year! In November of this year I began writing for my local community paper, VISTAS. Some of the reviews posted on this blog have appeared in some form in that paper. This list has grown slightly since the December 15th deadline for the paper. I also turned my top 10 into a top 15. There are still lots of films from 2025 that I have not seen yet.

Letterboxd tells me I have watched 249 films this year, 110 of which are from 2025. This is a list of the best 41 films I saw for 2025. I give you my top 15 films in order and the rest are in no particular order. 2025 seems to be the year of the documentary. I don't recall a year with so many great documentaries; 9 on my list *, 2 of which landed in the top ten. I once again give you my guilty pleasures and my honourable mentions followed by the worst and most disappointing films of 2025.   

These are the best 15 films of 2025

1. Eddington

2. Weapons

3. One Battle After Another

4. Marty Supreme 

5.  Pee-wee as Himself * doc

6. Train Dreams

7. Bugonia

8. Christy

9. The Perfect Neighbor * doc

10. Sorry, Baby

11. Warfare

12. The G 🍁(released in the US this year, so it's going on here)

13. Tornado

14. The Baltimorons 

15. Caught Stealing 

And here is everything else (in no order) that made the blog for 2025 - all worthy of your time. 

16. This is the Tom Green Documentary 🍁* doc

17. Becoming Led Zeppelin * doc

18. Last Breath

19. Bring Her Back

20. Friendship

21. Final Destination: Bloodlines

22. Secret Mall Apartment * doc

23. Dangerous Animals

24. The Assessment

25. M3GAN 2.0

26. Jurassic World: Rebirth

27. The Ballad of Wallis Island

28. Sketch

29. Together

30. It's Never Over, Jeff Buckley * doc

31. Materialists 

32. The Conjuring: Last Rites

33. The Long Walk

34. Night Always Comes

35. Chain Reactions * doc

36. Stolen: Heist of the Century * doc

37. After the Hunt

38. The Stringer: The Man Who Took the Photo * doc

39. The Ugly Stepsister

40. Reflection in a Dead Diamond

41. Keeper

Great Films of 2024 I only watched in 2025

1. Cunk on Life

2. Nickel Boys

3. Matt and Mara

4. Babes

5. Day of the Fight

6. I'm Still Here

7. Samia

8. The G 🍁- released in the US this year, so I'm also giving it a proper shout out on this year's release

Other great films I watched this year from previous years

1. The Emerald Forest

2. We Are the Night

3. Scarecrow (1973)

4. The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue 

5. Inland Empire

6. The Darjeeling Limited

7. A Boy and His Dog

8. Gimme Shelter * doc 

9. Disturbia

10. Hopscotch

11. The House that Jack Built

12. Wild Goat Surf 🍁

13. Gomorrah

Guilty Pleasures/Honourable Mentions of 2024/2025

Dramas

1. Queer - If you are a fan of William Burroughs and his brand of junky, gun toting, drunken, macho homosexuality, and you dug the "2001 Space Odyssey" ending then you will enjoy this film as I did but it won't, I suspect, be enjoyed by most people who enjoy Marvel movies. 

2. Good One - Dad, daughter, and Dad's buddy go camping. Quiet indy film with nice moments of sincerity, sadness, love, and homour. And a splash of dark drama. 

3. The Brutalist - For a 3.5 hour film, it flew by. However a wrong turn at(in) the end caused it to just miss a full entry here on the Marquee - Adrien Brody is still currently given his Oscar acceptance speech.

4. The Alto Knights - Most reviewers hated it. Is it the "Godfather," is it "Goodfellas?" No, but it's pretty darn good. Worth your time.

5. The Life of Chuck - Chuck's dancing puts the blast in "Glioblastoma" in a charming film about the magic of life despite its utter insignificance. 

6. Sacramento - A lite beer version of Sideways about friendship and men of the brink of fatherhood. It's the best thing Michael Cera has done since Juno.

7. Shook 🍁- Immigrant story about a young Indian man trying to navigate love, family, and trying to become a published writer all while living in Scarborough. 

8. The Lost Bus - Watching Matthew McConaughey driving a school bus with Ugly Betty and a group of young kids through what looks like hell in this disaster procedural was all right, all right, all right. 

9. The Roof Man - I love heist movies! This is a good one. Go get caught up in it (see what I did there). 

10. Die My Love - Jennifer Lawrence gives a career best performance as a woman going through postpartum depression (Mother Interrupted) because new parenting is hard but sometimes rewarding, which is kind of like watching this film. 

11. It Was Just an Accident - This Iranian film about revenge and forgiveness is part thriller, part comedy but not enough of either and hence only landed in the honourable mention section.

12. Sentimental Value - Narcissistic film maker father tries to build a relationship with his daughter in their old family house.

13. Jay Kelly - George Clooney plays a fictional version of George Clooney in what felt like an extended episode of The Studio. It's the best thing Adam Sandler has done since Uncut Gems.

14. Hamnet - Living in 1590 is hard. It's hard to be William Shakespeare. It's hard to be a woman. And everything is sad. Sad and hard, hard and sad. Enjoy!

15. Song Sung Blue - True story of a Neil Diamond tribute band - Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson are great. 

Rom/Com

1. Your Monster - Imagine your childhood monster (who lives in your closet and under your bed) helps you to get over your ex in something that feels like Woody Allen meets David Lynch.  

Horrors

1. The Damned - A cross between John Carpenter's "The Thing" and Robert Eggers' "The Witch" - it's pretty damn good (see what I did there).

2. The Monkey - Osgood Perkins (son of Anthony Perkins) directs this little bad-ass banana. Turn the key and watch it drum up a bloody good time. 

3. MadS - Terrible title, great one-take zombie thriller. Moves along at a cocaine pace and doesn't overstay its welcome. Streaming on Shudder.

Thrillers

1. The Wasp - A woman asks an old high school friend to help kill her husband. This one has some sting to it.

2. Companion - In the plethora of movies about bots and sex-bots gone bad, this one has some surprising programming which elevates it slightly beyond a robotic script.  

3. Lake George - A criminal is asked to do a hit on a mobster's girlfriend. The performances of  Shea Whigham and Carrie Coon are so good they elevate the material far above what it is.

4. Black Bag - David Fincher's "The Killer" meets "Knives Out" in a kind of "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" stylish and fun spy whodunnit. 

5. Drop - Like Fincher's "Panic Room" or Soderbergh's "Kimi" this is another tight little thriller that you shouldn't let drop off without paying it some well deserved attention.

6. 40 Acres 🍁- Dystopian action thriller set on a farm. Harvest this one for some fun. 

7. The Housemaid - A B-thriller with Gone-Girl overtones and for what it is, it's fun enough, like dating the crazy hot girl who shows up wearing the French Maid outfit to your work office party. 

Documentaries

1. Never Look Away - Documentary on Margaret Moth, photojournalist for CNN who was an adrenaline junkie, life junkie, and the world was enriched by her intimate and graphic war footage. 

2. I Like Me 🍁- It's hard not to like a doc about a man that was universally loved. This is the story of John Candy. I may have cried. 

3. ZEF - The Story of Die Antwoord - This documentary on a South African Rap duo is arty as all get out and it might be slightly superficial, but the artistry of this band is off the charts. It's ZEF! 

4. Predators - A fascinating documentary of the good, bad, and ugly of NBC's "To Catch a Predator" series and juggling justice with empathy. 

Sci-Fi

1. Tron: Ares - With an ultra cool pounding soundtrack, the neon red world of Tron was rendered into an existence that was far more entertaining than I imagined it would be. 

Worst Films of 2025

NOTE: I can no longer go see Marvel movies. I'm done. Unless someone I respect with good movie taste tells me I need to see a particular one, I'm not going. So you can put them all on here too by default. 

1. You're Cordially Invited - This Will Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon comedy is something you should definitely divorce yourself from.

2. Heart Eyes - A horrible boring first date. 

3. Kinda Pregnant - Kinda god awful. 

4. Clown in a Cornfield - Scooby Doo is far more sophisticated, entertaining, and scary than whatever this cream-of-clown-corn-slaughterhouse-stupidity-soup is supposed to be.

5. Death of A Unicorn - Jurassic rainbow poop.

6. Jimmy and Stiggs - the director spent 4 years of his life making this, time he will never get back. I won't get my 90 minutes back either, which is a real shame. 

Biggest Disappointments of 2025

1. Mickey 17 - You will want to clone yourself so that person can go watch the movie while you do something important, like take a nap.

2. Sinners - With all the great reviews you would think this is a masterpiece instead of a lengthy run-of-the-mill, dull, vampire movie.

3. The Shrouds 🍁-  David Cronenberg's take on death, sex, and grief is a dull mess.

4. The Accountant 2 - I LOVED the first one. After doing a deep forensic audit, I have concluded it's a piece of shit. 

5. The Phoenician Scheme - A plane crash of all things pastel coloured Anderson and you will definitely want to look away.

6. 28 Years Later - Meanders around like a zombie, without purpose, direction, or logic. 

7. Superman - If you watched the trailer, that's all you need. Just another dumb super hero movie. DC too, with the exception of Batman, is going on the banned list. This is not why I go to the movies and if this makes me a snob, then I'm a snob.

8 Relay - It was going to make the blog, and then the last 15% happened. A twist that even M. Night Shyamalan would roll his eyes at. It truly ruined the film. I loved the rest of it so much and then that. Ugh. 

9. Highest 2 Lowest - Spike Lee's remake of Akria Kurosawa's High and Low. This is for sure Spike Lee's lowest. This is an example of why a soundtrack is so important and how it can ruin a movie. 

10. Black Phone 2 - Just hang up. 

 

Marty Supreme

Benny Safdie and Josh Safdie are brothers who have made two films that I have loved, Goodtime and Uncut Gems (if you haven't seen them, then you have homework). Their films have a relentless manic energy to them - they will stress you out. This year they split up and each made their own films; Benny made The Smashing Machine and Josh made Marty Supreme. Clearly the zany energy comes from Josh, as Marty Supreme, like their first two films, is a rocket, an amusement park ride of the highest order. I was visiting family in Edmonton this holiday season and I was in a bookstore when I overheard the shopkeeper telling another customer that she didn't like Marty Supreme. When I purchased my book I asked her what she didn't like about it. She replied, "It stressed me out." I told her, "That's exactly why I loved it." What's it all about? Timothée Chalamet plays Marty Mauser, an unlikeable shoe salesman who dreams of becoming the world's greatest table tennis player and will stop at nothing to achieve his dream. That's right, you heard me, unlikeable. But maybe the kind of unlikeable that Ferris Bueller is unlikeable (at least according to my brother-in-law - "Hate that guy"). My brother-in-law however liked Marty Mauser just fine - go figure. Marty navigates this journey by lying, cheating, and stealing, by any means necessary. The film itself looks gorgeous. And there is a dog. Catch it in theatres or go rent it at Movies 'N Stuff.  

Christy

You know I love an underdog sports film. There are tons of them. It's basically its own genre, right? And boxing films - good grief - there are so many, it's bananas. So do we really need another one? Yes. We. Do. The first time I laid eyes on Sydney Sweeney was in a film called Reality. I have been a big Sweeney fan since. Christy (Sweeney) is the true story of Christy Martin, the woman who put female professional boxing on the map in the '90s. Christy was gay but she hid it from the world. She married her trainer, Jim Martin (Ben Foster). So why do you need to watch another sports film? This is no ordinary sports film - it's also a horror movie, in the same way Gimme Shelter is a horror movie. I hated Jim Martin from the first frame I saw him in. I hated his hair. Ben Foster should be nominated for all the awards for creating a character this unlikable. And Christy's mother, Joyce Salters is played by Merritt Wever (Nurse Jackie) was also unbelievable good (I hated her character too) - awards for her too, please. And then back to Sweeney. It goes without saying that I thought she gave a powerhouse performance. This film is a very long and slow burn and when it hits at the end, it's a knockout. I might have cried. And on top of all this, after all the boxing movies I have watched - all the Rocky films and all the Creeds, Raging Bull, etc. - director David Michôd has somehow managed to make the fight scenes feel fresh. Christy hits like a freight train. Catch it streaming or go rent it from Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa.  

Keeper

Keeper marks Osgood Perkins' seventh directorial feature. Trivia: he is the son of actor Anthony Perkins. I hadn't heard of Osgood until all the hype about Longlegs, with Nic Cage, began to swirl about. I didn't love Longlegs as much as I was hoping to. It started great, but it never seemed to get going. Then came along The Monkey. I had a blast with this one. The Monkey was a fun horror film. Which brings us to his latest: Keeper. As I type this, the Rotten Tomatoes critic and audience scores sit at 51% and 40% respectively - a splat, as RT puts it. I had planned to see it in the theatre but didn't get around to it in time. A shame, I believe. I would have loved to see it on the big screen because it's a visual stunner. Like Tornado I just reviewed, the colour palette of this film is beige, brown, and grey. It feels like you walked into a GAP store in the mid '90s. Ha. Anyway, the story is a creepy cabin in the woods tale, except the cabin is an minimalist modern beautiful home, set in an idyllic forest with a tranquil stream running nearby. Oh, and there is another house nearby - crazy cousin Darren lives there. So, the plot is simple, Dr. Malcolm Westbridge (Rossif Sutherland) brings his new girlfriend Liz (Tatiana Maslany) up for a weekend at his "cottage." Malcolm's self-described asshole cousin lives next door. Things go strange quickly. Perkins knows how to make a haunting and disturbing atmosphere out of almost nothing. It's a formulaic story but the surreal and haunting images felt so fresh that my film-nerd squirrel tail went straight up with excitement. And Tatiana Maslany's performance, going loopy, is a fun trip. Keeper is a keeper. Catch it streaming or go rent it from Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa.        

Tornado

Want a period piece which feels like it was made by the lovechild of Akira Kurosawa and Sergio Leone and stars Tim Roth as the bad guy? Of course you do! That lovechild is writer and director, John Maclean, who only has one feature-length film before this to his credit, Slow West (a film I haven't seen but now intend to). Tornado is about a young girl, who goes by the name of Tornado (Kôki). She and her samurai father are travelling through the English countryside in 1790, occasionally stopping to put on puppet shows in their travelling theatre stagecoach. Along comes Tim Roth and his band of bad guys and well I won't spoil a thing. Go watch it. The famous Sergio Leone facial close-ups are on full display. The patience of Kurosawa, the slow stress-building of Leone - Maclean has learned from the best to take his time. The thing I dislike about Marvel movies is they are so loud and inelegant; beastly like a neon pig-ape draped in the American flag. Tornado is Zen beauty. It's in no hurry, but then suddenly it cuts fast and clean - you don't see it coming. For me, it's one of the best Westerns I've seen in a while. It's a mosaic of grey and brown but it's gorgeous nonetheless. With a short runtime of 90 minutes, it's a piece of candy. Taste this treat streaming on Crave or see if Peter has it at Movies 'N Stuff here in Ottawa. 

Reflection in a Dead Diamond

When you go to a fancy restaurant and they make something like a deconstructed peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, you might get something which has the three elements, peanuts, jelly, and some sort of bread product - it might just be a cracker - on a plate and it might look like modern art. Some might call it pretentious. This kind of fun isn't for everyone. Reflection in a Dead Diamond is a deconstructed Bond film. All the elements of a spy thriller are here, Mission: Impossible-style rubber masks, '80s ninja assassins, and cars with machine gun headlights, but it was like they were handed off to David Lynch. There is story here but to say it's coherent would be misleading. Some might call it pretentious. Co-writers and directors, Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani have created an eye-popping ode to Bond as well as a deconstructed one. I would say it's film-nerd fun. The opening sequence of a man on a beach having a drink is worth the price of admission alone, which was cheap because I found this little gem - this diamond - streaming on Shudder. It feels to me like MUBI or The Criterion Channel would be the more appropriate place to find such an arty post-modernist film experiment. If you are tired of spy tropes, then this one will shake things up for you (not stir them) and give you something to reflect on. 

The Baltimorons

If John Cassavetes had ever gotten around to making a romantic Christmas movie, I feel like it would have looked very close to Jay Duplass's The Baltimorons. This movie gives off serious Sideways vibes. What's it all about? Cliff (Michael Strassner) is a recovering alcoholic, ex-standup performer trying to get his life together with his fiancée, Brittany (Olivia Luccardi). On Christmas Eve, Cliff has an accident which lands him in the care of dentist Didi (Liz Larsen). Didi is divorced, a grandmother, and her ex has just gotten remarried to a younger woman. Her grown daughter has invited Didi to partake in the festivities of her ex's new nuptials, on Christmas Eve. Didi has no intention of going, but then Cliff happens. I won't say any more. I loved this little film. Liz Larsen gives us something that resembles Gena Rowlands in a Cassavetes film, a tough-gal, no-nonsense woman with a big heart if you can crack that tough-nut exterior. Didi has seen some life in her life. And Cliff, he is damaged goods. They both are. You want to cheer these two on. I laughed a few times out loud - a rare thing for me. Like I said, I loved this little film. I'm sure it's destined to become and indie Christmas classic. If you are looking for quirky fun, then let this be your oddball match. Catch it in theatres now or go rent it from Movies 'N Stuff when available.