pairs well with: reviewing the list of Oscars nominees pretentiously, a large Regal Cinemas popcorn (no butter), thoughts of existential dread, a little bit of hope that it will all get better.
RO’S BEST FILMS OF 2025
tags: best-of-lists, 2025
A good chunk of my identity is formed around being a movie lover. I unironically call myself cinephile (also I much prefer the term cinefreak, which I dubbed myself) and keep a meticulous Letterboxd. (Follow me @rogaeryen.) My love of film combined with my endless need to categorize and rank everything results in my yearly ranked lists: every film that had a wide release in a given year, that I also saw in that year, ranked. From this list I pull the top 12 (because that’s Letterboxd standard) to comprise my “Best Of” list. I’ve been doing this for three years, and for me it’s a great way to showcase movies that I really enjoyed – some popular, some undiscovered gems. 2025 was a fantastic year for cinema, so I thought I’d show off my Best Of 2025 list here. And if this intrigues you, I also keep lists of best TV and best books of 2025, so… let me know if you’d like a peak inside my lists journal.
Without further ado, my top 12 films of 2025. (Spoilers lie ahead.)
12. The Fantastic 4: First Steps, dir. Matt Shakman, written by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer
I had a lot of hype for the new Fantastic 4 movie – partly because of the cast, partly because of the production design and marketing, partly because of that epic theme. Getting to see this film at the El Capitan theater, with my friends and a ton of the Marvel creatives in attendance, was very cool.
There are a lot of things that worked for me in this movie, and some that didn’t – although at 12 out of 71 movies on my list, it clearly didn’t do bad. I like the performances, especially the way Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn build their characters, and I think Vanessa Kirby does an admirable job with what she is given. I’m torn because while a superhero who is also a mother, and whose power (metaphorically) derives from that, is unexplored territory for the MCU, it did at times feel that Sue was reduced to just being a mother. This and a few other small, under-utilized details brought my rating down a bit. But overall, the comedy was on point and the uniqueness of the design really won me over. In terms of MCU outings, it didn’t feel typical, which is enough for me to enjoy it.
9. Honey Don’t, dir. Ethan Coen, written by Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke
Hear me out for just a moment. I always like to say that my ranked lists are not necessarily a reflection of pure objective quality – although that is a factor – but of how much I enjoy something. I will be the first person to criticize Honey Don’t; in fact, I’m pretty sure I could give you an itemized list of everything wrong with the execution of the third act in my sleep. However, I can’t deny that it’s an incredibly entertaining film – and pretty much made for me, to boot.
Margaret Qualley plays smooth-talking lesbian private investigator Honey O’Donahue (who pretty quickly became one of my favorite film characters, and who deserves a spin-off franchise a la Benoit Blanc) who strikes up a mutually beneficial sexual relationship with butch cop MG Falcone, aka Aubrey Plaza at her gayest, only to find out MG is the somewhat deranged serial killer she’s trying to track down. Like I said, the movie somewhat collapses in on itself in the third act, failing to really convey the interesting ideas it’s going for, but if you bother to dig deep enough you can find a lot of really interesting subtext involving birds and cages and submission and dominance and God.
This was my most anticipated film of the year and while I can’t say it quite lived up to what I hoped for it it’s still a movie that brings me immense joy, just for the fact that it exists. Campy-and-sometimes-bad lesbian cinema deserves to exist, and Ethan Coen (despite not being a lesbian) does an admirable job at making something that feels authentic rather than exploitative. It’s not a perfect movie, but I’ll go out on the line to defend it, and all told it ended up being one of my favorites of the year.
10. Wake Up Dead Man, dir. Rian Johnson, written by Rian Johnson
I’m a huge fan of Rian Johnson’s detective movies, and while Knives Out remains indisputably my favorite, Wake Up Dead Man is a fantastic entry into the canon. It is as entertaining as its previous two installments, particularly because the twists and turns are designed to be interactive and to keep the audience guessing. While I noticed some structural similarities to Knives Out in Dead Man, especially in the relationship between Blanc and Jud (played excellently by Josh O’Connor), the film maintains a sense of originality and freshness that I find astounding given how cookie-cutter mystery stories can feel at times.
Wake Up Dead Man benefits from its commitment to its themes and ideas and the deft hand with which it handles religion, as well as a typically stellar ensemble cast and some smart humor that knows when to take a backseat to the drama and when to surprise you. It’s hard to compare each of the films in this series, as they’re all fantastic, but Wake Up Dead Man certainly holds its own.
11. The Brutalist, dir. Brady Corbet, written by Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold
Some might say it’s cheating to have The Brutalist on this list, as by many accounts it came out in 2024. However, I organize my lists by wide release, and this architectural epic hit the most theaters after the calendar flipped over. I saw it in early January at a very quiet theater with a few friends, and it was a tremendous experience.
The Brutalist is the kind of movie I love – relentless, creative, and in tune with the human experience. It is, above all things, a portrait of a man, but following him through so much of his life – the good and the bad – allows us to understand him in a way that a lesser film might barely grasp. It feels like a biopic while being entirely fictional, and while doing so, proves exactly why the biopic format succeeds when done well: we love to use the movies to get to know a person, and see their good parts and their bad parts.
8. KPop Demon Hunters, dir. Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans, written by Maggie Kang, Chris Appelhans, Danya Jiminez, and Hannah McMechan
I’ll be the first to say I’m definitely not a K-pop fan, but I was intrigued by the hype around this Netflix release and was pleasantly surprised to find something that appeals for more than its representation of a subculture. Like Nimona (2023), another animated Netflix release that successfully (in my opinion) punched above its weight cinematically, KPop Demon Hunters is a film confident in what its saying and comfortable occupying a precarious space. This movie could have easily been dismissed as fan service, made only for kids or for K-pop stans – and only time will tell if it goes the way of Frozen, universally beloved until all the adults get tired of it and forget they ever liked it – but for now it holds an appeal. I may have missed some of the K-pop in-jokes and I’m definitely not the target audience for “Soda Pop,” but the film has heart, fantastic (and very catchy) music, impressive animation, and a powerful message. I was surprised by how much I genuinely enjoyed it for what it was, not just a viral moment I was partaking in.
7. Superman, dir. James Gunn, written by James Gunn
When it comes to the kind of superhero movies we should be making (setting my pathetic Marvel fandom aside), Superman is the prime example. A movie predominantly about hope and the power of humanity, James Gunn’s DCEU revival came at the perfect time to be political without necessarily trying to be, therefore proving that somehow the most political message of all is just – be a good person. The cast was stupendous and in my opinion carried a lot of the film’s potential; the story followed through on being a sufficient origin story without retreading everything we’d already seen before. Gunn re-establishes Clark Kent as a man for the people, for empathy, and still has room to make slight commentary (intentional or not) on the power-hungry billionaires-turned-politicians that have gained control of our cultural consciousness.
I would be remiss not to mention the success of “Punkrocker” by the Teddybears as Superman’s de facto theme; not only did it serve very well as song-of-the-summer but it summed up the whole idea of this new DC superhero enterprise. It’s not important who can punch the hardest or conquer the great cosmos with the biggest ego – what matters is kindness. Superman made being nice to your fellow humans cool again. And that’s pretty impressive.
6. Eternity, dir. David Freyne, written by David Freyne and Pat Cunnane
While I am generally a fan of what I call “festival core” movies – smaller budget, one or two big-name actors in emotionally heavy roles, high-concept scripts, talented auteur (or otherwise unheard of) directors – there’s few that break through the noise to be truly impactful on a bigger scale, and I think Eternity is one of those films.
I love a movie about death. I love a movie about life after death. I especially love a movie that takes that very overworked concept and turns it into something creative and snappy, such as the Junction. Eternity does the very rare: sets up a film that could explode into smaller spin-offs just to dive into the impeccable worldbuilding it creates.
But set that aside for a moment, because the story Eternity does present is fantastic. The movie has about four endings and I love all of them. The film’s indecision is its power and its point; life is one great big complicated mess and even in your perfect world you’re never going to feel like you made the right choice. Perhaps the best thing to do is stew in the imperfectness of it all. Eternity might feel like it has a lot of grand messages in it, but “grand” is the very antithesis of this film, which is both brainy sci-fi and grounded comedy all in one. The point of Eternity is that contentment lasts forever. For a person who is terrified of making the wrong choice, the idea that it might all work out just how it always has is pretty comforting.
5. Sorry, Baby, dir. Eva Victor, written by Eva Victor
Though many people had told me how good this movie was, I was still truly stunned when I watched it for the first time. Sorry, Baby is a film that people simply don’t make anymore outside of film school or small-budget indies. Richly designed, well written, and about something so small and so big at the same time. It is an indescribably real film.
What gets me the most about Sorry, Baby is the nonlinear storytelling and offbeat pacing that really reconstructs the feeling of trying to recover from something so horrible. Even without any specific personal experience to compare to what Eva Victor portrays so delicately in their directorial debut, I can still understand the freeze Agnes feels trapped in, the sensation of living outside of your body. Sorry, Baby is both deeply important for those who are Agnes and for those who empathize with her. It has the power, with such a small story, to reach a number of people and truly make them feel. I think that’s impressive.
Aesthetically and stylistically it is a film I was primed to enjoy, but I was taken aback by just how much power Sorry, Baby has, and just how much skill Eva Victor shows as a director and writer. Sorry, Baby is made with deft eye and hand that demonstrates wisdom beyond their years, and I am so excited to follow along and see what they continue to create.
4. Train Dreams, dir. Clint Bentley, written by Clint Bentley and Greg Kwedar
I am extremely disappointed that this film went to Netflix, because I truly believe it deserves to be seen in a theater on the grandest screen possible. Jaw-dropping nature cinematography, the kind that I want to frame on my wall, with a perfectly emotionally tailored performance by Joel Edgerton and a lovely score.
Train Dreams is, admittedly, the kind of movie where not much happens. But its piecemeal story draws you in nonetheless; you feel what Robert Grainer feels and experience what he experiences. Very much is said in this film without being said at all. It is more about emotion and mood; I’ve likened it to a short story brought to visual form. I know this may not work for some people – and others might say it works for them even though it doesn’t, just to sound like they know what they’re talking about – but I really appreciated what this film was doing. Train Dreams says that living a simple, private life is just as okay as living a highly social one, and I truly love that message and the package it comes in.
Train Dreams is the kind of movie that I want to make (among many others, let’s be honest) and I was truly blown away by its storytelling and visuals. It’s just a really good experience. It’s hovering on the edge of the list of movies that I think everyone should watch at least once in their lives.
3. Thunderbolts*, dir. Jake Schrier, written by Eric Pearson and Joanna Calo
I did not expect to be blown away by the latest Avengers-nonsense movie when I saw it in theaters, but I was wholly surprised. Not only is Thunderbolts* a tender and sensitive film about depression, but it’s entertaining and brings together characters one never would have thought to combine, to perfect effect – which is, of course, the whole point.
My favorite Marvel projects are those with real heart to them, which try to be about something other than punchy-punchy-always-wins. There are a small number of projects which really succeed here and very few of them are mainstream film releases, but Thunderbolts* manages to make the list. It does not fall into the pitfalls of other superhero movies on this list by ending up in a CGI void of space just for an action sequence; it maintains its gritty, grounded aesthetic the whole time, to great effect. And I cannot speak highly enough of Yelena Belova as a lead Marvel character. I have been behind her since the original release of Black Widow and I truly think she is a contender for savior of the MCU in terms of emotional grounding and relatability for the audience. I could be biased, but I would much rather watch a funny and emotionally dynamic character like her then, I don’t know, whoever the new tough guy on the block is supposed to be.
Thunderbolts* is a genuinely good film without the Marvel prestige, but that certainly doesn’t hurt. It made me excited to see what they do with these characters, which is rare coming out of a modern Marvel project, and I just had a good time watching it (twice). It has a certain something that most modern Marvel fare does not.
2. Frankenstein, dir. Guillermo del Toro, written by Guillermo del Toro
I am wary of Frankenstein adaptations because quite frankly I’m not sure that it’s possible to adapt the original novel in a way that maintains its power. However, I think Guillermo del Toro’s attempt is the closest we are going to get. Not only does it include the pivotal Arctic expedition – one of my favorite random details in the book – but it truly understands the tug of war between creator and created (mother and son, I like to say) that makes up the bulk of the book.
del Toro makes numerous smart choices in Frankenstein, from cinematography to an enhanced level of sexiness that is both classic to his style and weirdly warranted for this story. But of all those choices, the best that he makes is making Victor Frankenstein a true villain. The original Frankenstein movies were unable to explore the complexity of Victor’s character and later versions have shied away from his cruelty and, frankly, how pathetic he is. While Oscar Isaac’s interpretation is still aggressive and power-hungry, there is an added element of inferiority that I think comes close to bringing out the real Victor from the book and nearing Mary Shelley’s original vision.
On top of the writing prowess, Frankenstein is simply visually stunning, and the makeup and costumes are brilliant. Overall, it’s another stupendous outing from del Toro and a worthy adaptation of a story I hold dear. It tops my list partly for prestige and partly for sheer enjoyment of its existence.
1. Sinners, dir. Ryan Coogler, written by Ryan Coogler
What to say about Sinners that hasn’t already been said? It’s a masterpiece of filmmaking in literally every way.
One thing I love about Sinners is the level of detail in every aspect of the film, from the score to the costuming to the fine points of the world the characters inhabit before it is burnt down around them. It’s remarkable how much thought went into making every aspect of this film not only historically accurate but relevant to its own themes; the only other contemporary filmmakers I can think with such interesting and layered storytelling are Jordan Peele and Mike Flanagan, so Coogler is obviously in good company. His talent as a director has never been in question but it’s so wonderful to see what he can do with Marvel money but no Marvel control behind him.
Sinners is my favorite movie of the year because I find myself coming back to it again and again and again. The music is brilliant. The cinematography is to die for. The film is entertaining from start to finish and many moments are gut-wrenching even on a second or third watch. While some movies blow you away but don’t necessarily stick with you, Sinners does, and it never grows less enjoyable. That’s a real feat and for pure lasting power, for the amount that I think about it, it decidedly deserves the number one spot of the year.
