Ready for our top films 2025? In a year of films with runtimes that pushed the limits of our bladders and patience here are the ones we found worth sitting through. Here are some of the standouts of 2025.
Here is the list in alphabetical order.
Top Films 2025
Bugonia
Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone’s creative partnership continues to bear fruit with this utterly unhinged and yet deceptively deep film. With a script from Will Tracy that actually improves upon the Korean inspiration (Save the Green Planet!) this film is worth skipping all trailers for and just investing in.
Find our review here.
Companion
A.I. going wrong – done oh so right. With charming performances from the cast, this tech nightmare pleasantly surprised us early in the year. Kudos to writer / director Drew Hancock for successfully coding in a feminist perspective.
Find our review here.
Eternity
Everyone loves love, but everyone does not love a love triangle – and Eternity confronts us with a conundrum with everlasting consequences. Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner, and Miles Teller play off each other incredibly well, and the design and rules of the afterlife in the film are some of our favorite since Defending Your Life. We’d also absolutely take a spin-off about Da’Vine Joy Randolph and John Early’s afterlife coordinator characters.
Find our review here.
Friendship
While technically we saw this in 2024 at TIFF this didn’t get a wider release until this year. This will be right up the alley of fans of I Think You Should Leave, yet it’s a bit more even tempered thanks to Paul Rudd’s presence as Robinson’s weatherman neighbor.
Find our review here.
Good Fortune
Keanu Reeves is a naive angel. That should be enough but pair him with Seth Rogen and you’ve got comedy gold. While the film is uneven (and ironically director / writer Aziz Ansari’s part in it is the weakest) the chemistry between Rogen and Reeves is more than enough to keep the thing going.
Find our review here.
Hamnet
Bring tissues. Chloé Zhao captures heartbreak and creative blockage like no other. Jessie Buckley gives a heartwrenching performance as Agnes, wife to William Shakespeare. Based on the novel by Maggie O’Farrell (who helped adapt the script) the path to Hamlet (not a typo) is littered with grief. Zhao proved with Nomadland what she could do directing non actors, and so with a troupe of trained thespians of a variety of ages she wields her power in a mesmerizing way.
Find our review here.
Credit: Agata Grzybowska / © 2025 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
KPop Demon Hunters
Not just a vehicle for earworms, this animated smash hit also has a core that will speak to any mixed culture kid (and obviously translates to others). With a delightfully distinct animation style and songs that are chart topping it’s no wonder this has consistently been on the Netflix top movie rankings since its release.
Find our review here and interviews with the directors and stars.
Left-Handed Girl
A love letter to Taiwan and featuring a performance from Nina Ye that would win over even the coldest of hearts. The specificity of the film works wonderfully in concert with the slow burn of the story (yet when it reaches its peak its an inferno you can’t look away from).
Find our review here and interview with the director.
Mickey 17
While it’s challenging to be the follow up film to Parasite, we delighted in the nuance between Robert Pattinson’s various clone characters. Mark Ruffalo and Toni Collette also were spot on as the failed politicians turned mission leaders.
While it may not stand the eternal test of time (even within Bong Joon-Ho’s own body of work) in the context of this year we still found ourselves enjoying it.
Find our review here.
Ne Zha 2
Utterly unhinged, probably too long, and yet we found ourselves enjoying the hell out of this Chinese animated epic. Do you need to see the first film to leap into this legendary tale? Absolutely not. Will the film in and of itself even make sense the whole time? Also no. Should you still go on the wild (and often beautiful and captivating) ride? 1000%
Find our review here.
No Other Choice
A masterful (and cunningly comedic) slow boil into madness and obsession with some of the best performances of the year. One of Park Chan-wook’s greatest works to date with stunning delivery from Lee Byung-hun.
Find our review here.
One Battle After Another
While modern Paul Thomas Anderson is not our favorite (nor are we in the super Leonardo DiCaprio fan camp), and the film is too long – he absolutely knocked it out of the park with this one. Crack open a few small beers and either give it a watch for the first time or a rewatch.
Find our review here.
Rental Family
A beautiful and meditative film on connection, family, and culture. Not once does it approach any of its characters with judgement. HIKARI’s lovely script and directing helps continue the Brenaissance!
Find our review here and interview with the director here.
Sentimental Value
An acting master class that at times can be a bit inside baseball to the movie business, yet Stellan Skarsgård, Renata Reinsve, and Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas paint a picture of a fractured family with the strokes of a master. Joachim Trier and Reinsve co
Find our review here.
Sinners
Scintillating and superb. Coogler’s brilliant storytelling and dedication to authenticity, combined with stellar performances, impressive imagery, and an exceptional score make Sinners an outstanding time at the movies.
Find our review here.
The Long Walk
A dystopian horror which feels more relevant than ever. Mollner’s script + Lawrence’s directing are buoyed by stellar performances – particularly from Hoffman and Jonsson. Undoubtedly a painful watch but all of the nightmares feel in service to the story.
Find our review here.
The Naked Gun
Brilliantly stupid (in the best way possible) with the highest bit rate of any film in a long time. Neeson and Anderson are perfectly cast and it’s a great reminder you can make a comedy that is just jokes and doesn’t punch down.
Find our review here.
Twinless
A comedy as dark as the times we live in and yet it somehow leaves you feeling lighter by the end. Writer / director / star James Sweeney manages to make a film where even though the leads are engaging in questionable behavior you find yourself rooting for them. Dylan O’Brien gives a transformative double performance as twins.
Find our review here.
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Benoit Blanc is better than ever. Johnson manages to continue to keep up the fun factor of the series while exploring his most complex themes yet. The pairing of the Joshes (Brolin and O’Connor) makes for some truly memorable encounters.
Find our review here.
Weapons
Cregger continues to terrorize your psyche with Weapons, though there are times where it feels like lore and motivations were left on the cutting room floor.
Find our review here.
What were your favorite films 2025?