Thank you for your patience – this year it took me a bit to get it out due to not having a whole lot of free time. I have to say, 2025 was quite a year for me personally. I became a father this year, and I have to say that she is such a great baby, and I cannot wait to introduce her to the world of cinema. I am actually surprised that I was able to see as many as I did, especially in the latter part of the year. I am happy to look back over my favorites and thank you again for reading. So let’s get into my top 10 of 2025!
10 – Drop
First time I saw this trailer, I thought, ”Wow, that looks so corny,” but I was a fan of the director’s work, so I wanted to give it a shot. I had a blast watching this! Trying to figure out who was behind the texts and learning about each character as the story unraveled is one of the many reasons why I enjoy seeing movies!
9 – Superman
Starting in 2013, Man of Steel was released, launching the DC Extended Universe. After a decade, Warner Bros. decided to reboot the universe, dropping the “Extended” and just calling it the DC Universe. I had mixed feelings about it since I was a fan of Henry Cavill as Superman and really didn’t want to see it rebooted so quickly. So going in, I had my reservations; however, I ended up really enjoying the reboot quite a bit. I liked the choice that Superman is a bit weaker in this, which I love because I have always felt that Superman was way too powerful. And with this being the official first part in the new universe, the world-building was the best part. There are so many other superheroes in this world that you can tell that a superhuman is a bit more common here.
8 – Weapons
I have to say, the horror genre was pretty awesome this year, and this one impressed me mostly with the way it was presented. This is told from multiple perspectives as it follows different individuals as they are trying to figure out what happened to these children or how they are connected to the events. Definitely worth a watch.
7 – How to Train Your Dragon
Okay, I will say this is pretty much a copy-and-paste of the animated version, but it just works. It was cast perfectly, and while it is pretty much the exact same movie because it was live-action, I felt the stakes were higher in this one. I also watched the new live-action Lilo & Stitch movie, which I felt was almost a copy-and-paste version as well, but it didn’t quite work. However, watching this, I fell right back in love with this world, and I am truly excited to see the sequels.
6 – Bugonia
This one is quite insane, and I loved it! In brief, it is about two guys who kidnap a CEO because they believe she is an alien. This movie is quite tense, but it also mixes in humor during the tenseness so effortlessly, which really helps make this shine. I loved that I was never sure what was going on and was constantly asking myself, “Is she actually an alien? Are these guys absolutely nuts?” It is quite weird, but so worth a watch.
5 – The Naked Gun
This is the most fun I have had in a movie theater in quite some time. I was actually in pain because I was laughing so much. It combines two of my favorite genres, action and comedy, and it all works so well. There are some recycled jokes that I have heard before, but they still work! Also, there was so much that was going on in the background, too, as well as some excellent physical humor moments. Seriously, sit back, turn off your brain, and just watch. So much fun!
4 – Predator: Badlands
This is the first time we get to see the perspective from the actual predators’ point of view, and going into it, I have always rooted against them, but they made it work. Dek is the runt of his family, and so he has a lot to prove. How this movie started set it up so well, and from the get-go, I was on Dek’s side. It is solid for an action movie, though pretty violent for a PG-13 movie. If you are a fan of the series and haven’t checked this out yet, do it!
3 – One Battle After Another
I can honestly say I do not condone everything that happens in this, and it is quite radicalized, but with that being said, this is a badass film, dude! The revolutionaries and their whole network of how they communicate with code words and names is so interesting. Everything about this works: the directing, the cinematography, and the acting. Sean Penn plays such a weirdo in this, but he is so interesting to watch as his story unfolds. I think this also has a good chance at winning best picture this year, and I would love to see it bring home that prize.
2 – Caught Stealing
I didn’t see this in theaters, though I wanted to; however, I was also a bit turned off by it. Darren Aronofsky is a director I really love, though I have really disliked some of his movies; his doing comedy felt a bit odd. This is such a good story of an ordinary guy, Hank played by Austin Butler, who is living his life, but then one day he is asked to look after his neighbor’s cat, and absolute chaos ensues. It ended up doing what Darren Aronofsky does best, which is tell a good character-driven story about their choices – and shit, he can actually have some fun with it. I didn’t think that was possible from Aronofsky, but I am here for it!
1 – Companion
I went into this knowing very little of what I was getting into. I only saw the teaser trailer, and it really didn’t show much of the actual story. I provided the full trailer above because it shows a bit more of the story and what it is about, but I actually suggest going in blind. This blew me away. Again, the horror genre killed it this year! Jack Quaid plays this controlling boyfriend, and his girlfriend/sexbot (played by Sophie Thatcher) rises up against him. I never thought I would be rooting for the AI robot character, but here I am! I want the robots to take over (in movies, not in real life)!
Thank you all for joining me for another year of films. I hope 2026 will be an awesome year for movies!
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