2025 Favorites—Movies

[jeffmower]

Let's face it; I watched too many movies this (and every) year.

Here are my favorites in alphabetical order.

• Aftersun— File under: plot included but not entirely the point. While watching this I was unsure of the rambling, discursive structure as it depicts a man and his daughter on the cusp of teenagedom. However, the movie has been one of the films I have thought the most about throughout the year.
• Anora— You have likely heard me (repeatedly) say how much I enjoyed this movie about an exotic dancer who meets an extremely rich Russian boy. I love how the movie continually subverts what you expect it to be about. I cannot stop thinking about the closing moments. Mikey Madison gives a powerhouse performance. This won Best Picture last year and it rightfully deserves that award.
• Black Bag— A spy story by way of Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? As usual, everything Cate Blanchett does is the sexiest thing a person can do.
• Bugonia— I have very mixed feelings around this movie about a man who has gone too deep into conspiracy theories kidnapping a pharmaceutical executive. I am not sure it is saying very much and I actively dislike the ending. However, it is an acting showcase for both Jesse Plemons and Emma Stone and it is very effective in its claustrophobia.
• Civil War— This movie by Alex Garland is meant to illicit uncomfortable emotions as it depicts what a modern civil war in our nation's capitol could look like. Ultimately, the performances by Kirsten Dunst, Cailee Spaeny, Wagner Moura, and Jesse Plemons make it worth the watch.
• Conclave— A twisty, turny mystery at the Vatican!

• Hedda— Tessa Thompson gives a tremendous performance as the titular character. Sumptuous costumes, beautiful sets, and sparkling dialogue. I am saddened that this doesn't seem to be getting the end-of-year attention it deserves.
• KPop Demon Hunters— With a six-year-old in the house this was far and away my most watched film. Lucky for me it is also incredibly enjoyable. No wonder it took the world by storm. Here's to hoping other musical genres will explore their demon hunting potential.
• One Battle After Another— This has almost universally been praised as the best film of the year and with good reason. While I haven't always been a Paul Thomas Anderson fan this movie is absolutely tremendous. Once the table setting is out of the way it shifts into twelfth gear and never lets up.
• A Real Pain— Hey! We watched this one in Movie Club! More of those selections will appear below (we are extremely good at picking movies!) but this one really stood out to me. Who would have thought that cousin Fuller from Home Alone would go on to win an Oscar?
• Sinners— The other universally beloved film of 2025; this time with 100% more vampires and 200% more Michael B. Jordan.
• Wake Up Dead Man— Rian Johnson continues his unbroken streak of making amazing movies. The third Knives Out movie delivered not just a great mystery by a stand-out ensemble but also a loving and nuanced look at the role of faith and religion.

Here are some honorable mentions.

• Dangerous Liaisons— This is the original Cruel Intentions. In pre-revolution France, libertines John Malkovitch and Glenn Close set out to destroy the lives of very young Uma Thurman, Michelle Pfieffer, and Keanu Reeves. Gowns and wigs and sex and sword fights abound!
• Fresh— From my Spooky Season viewing. A young woman (Daisy Edgar-Jones) is tired of the dating scene and then meets a seemingly perfect man (Sebastian Stan). It is fun and upsetting in a fun way.
• Gosford Park— Before Downton Abbey there was this upstairs/downstairs mystery.
• LA Confidential— A perfect modern noir with crooked cops and femme fatales.
• The Last Stop in Yuma County— A great modern western crime thriller. Several groups must wait in a diner in the middle of nowhere but not all the patrons are who they seem.
• The Lives of Others— Another Movie Club selection. Wonderful cold war paranoia in East Germany.

• Memories of a Murder— A Korean neo-noir crime thriller (and sometimes black comedy?) from Boon Jong-Ho following detectives trying to solve a series of murders in rural South Korea.
• Mountainhead— A satirical black comedy about four insanely wealthy friends vacationing in a remote retreat amid a global upheaval caused by one of their number.
• Network— Extremely prescient satire from 1976 about news, entertainment, and the rise of populism.
• Nosferatu— Vampires aren't sexy; they're gross! But you still have to show their wieners, I guess.
• Puss in Boots: The Last Wish— I am decidedly not a Shrek-liker but this sequel to a spin-off is actually really great!
• Skin Deep— Movie Club did it again! This body-switching movie never did the things I thought it would do and instead did everything it should do.

• Snack Shack— This coming-of-age comedy about a pair of friends who run a refreshment stand at their local pool for the summer just missed out on my favorite watches of this year.
• Sorry, Baby— Agnes (Eva Victor who wrote, directed, and stars) is a literature professor at a small college in New England. Agnes has suffered a traumatic event and the film follows her as she navigates the aftermath.
• Superman— An earnest Superman that says "Gosh darn it!" and is fostering a super dog is what I want out of a Superman movie. David Coronswet is my Superman.
• Thief— Michael Mann's feature film debut is a slick, stylish neo-noir heist film with James Caan and a synth heavy score by Tangerine Dream.
• Thunderbolts— Who doesn't love a team of dysfunctional anti-heroes that is about depression and where the day is saved via group hug?
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy— If you allow the Swedish director of Let the Right One In to make a Cold War spy drama it will be slow and moody.

• Train Dreams— Follows the life of Robert (Joel Edgerton) as he tries to scrape out a living on the western frontier.
• Wag the Dog— Another prescient satire of politics and the news cycle.
• Wicked— Just good old-fashioned movie making. Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande are tremendous here. The scene of them dancing together is incredibly effective and gets me every time.

Most importantly, what movies did you watch and enjoy this year?

[scottp]

I envy your ability to sit down, watch a movie, and remember it

[jeffmower]

@scottp Do you remember any movies you sat down and watched this year?

[scottp]

@jeffmower There's a few on your list -- almost like we're in the same movie club -- that I really enjoyed.

• Skin Deep - I was very surprised by how much I ended up liking this one
• Nosferatu - I'm glad I watched it, but I don't think it'll be a seasonal rewatch
• Sinners - This one, on the other hand, might be a season rewatch
• Anne of Green Gables - @Amanda and I just watched it (I'm sure she's seen it a bunch of times). It was a lot more fun than I was expecting, to be honest. Very witty.
• Anna and the Apocalypse - The trailer made me really expect very little, but I really enjoyed it and the music has been stuck in my head ever since. Luckily Qobuz has the entire soundtrack.
• Friendship - For me this was an 11 out of 10, but you really have to love Tim Robinson's sense of humor or you will hate it.
• Get Away - This wasn't for me. I love everyone in it, but it didn't gel for me.
• Superman - I already want to rewatch it.
• Carnival of Souls - It's an old movie, so you have to be ready for an entirely different pacing. Watch it for the shots of Saltaire, but don't expect to be satisfied with the movie as a whole.
• Fantastic Four: First Steps - I had enough fun watching it that I didn't care about any of the plot holes, which is what I feel like a good superhero movie should be.
• Pretty Woman - This is one of those movies that I've heard referenced for so much of my life that I sort of thought I already knew it, but I apparently didn't.
• Save Yourselves! - I don't even know what to say. This is one of those movies that I know I watched, I know I enjoyed it, I know it pulled me in enough that I didn't have my phone out while watching it, and yet I still have no idea how to sum it up to anyone who asks about it.
• Weapons - I just watched this less than a week ago. It'll probably haunt me for a while.

I guess that's more movies than I thought. To be fair, @Amanda is sitting next to me and listing off everything she remembers us watching, otherwise my list would be empty.

[jeffmower]

@scottp I really enjoyed Save Yourselves! and I need to watch Friendship.

[dsallay]

I actively loved the ending of Bugonia, but 100% understand anyone feeling the exact opposite.