Favorite Movies Of 2025
Hey everyone, and welcome, today we will be talking about some of my favorite movies of 2025. Some of these I have already done a review, so I’ll link those so you can check them out if you want a deeper dive into my appreciation for the movie. There are so many different movies across the board that stood out for me, and unfortunately, I can't list all of them, but I have narrowed it down to some of my favorites, which may be different from yours, or it could be very similar. So without further ado, let’s get right into it.
2025 had a lot of great films I enjoyed, and while I couldn’t list them all, here are some of my honorable mentions. Mickey 17, The Monkey, Companion, Bring Her Back, One Battle after Another, Wicked: For Good, and Predator: Badlands
Warfare depicts the experiences of a Navy SEAL platoon that is pinned down by Iraqi Insurgents, of which co-director Ray Mendoza was a part. This movie’s depiction of war is so visceral, which made me feel the stress of the situation as if I were there, by far one of the most stressful movies of the year. While a big focus is on the soldiers, I also felt stressed for the family that was caught in the crossfire. The cast was amazing and did a great job showing how everyone reacts completly different. I love war movies, but ones that depict it more truthfully because at the end of the day, war is not a beautiful thing because there is a lot of death and destruction, and it’s something people on the front lines have to deal with every day. Warfare had me glued to the screen and had me wondering if they would make it out alive.
A spy thriller that takes place more in the office than in the field was something that I didn’t think I would enjoy so much, but Black Bag managed to exceed my expectations. I mean, starting with Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender already had me sold, not just because I like them, but even in the beginning of the movie, they did a great job of setting up this relationship and its boundaries and how they make it work. Once we get more of the cast its filled with more surprising faces that really elevated the film. The film may have you thinking Cate’s character is guilty, and it shows the test of their marriage, but as the film goes on and you find out she’s not guilty, you see how bad an idea it was for them to take on her family because she and her husband working together are a pretty intense team. The plot twist of who it was was so well done and hidden well. I love a movie where the main character is not only trying to find a culprit, but also when we have a character like Fassbender, who is so good at reading people, so he uses that underrated skill to lead him to the answer he is looking for. Black Bag offered an interesting take on the spy thriller that was very interesting and had me trying to piece together a puzzle, but I also thought it was cool seeing how George’s mind worked.
Thunderbolts* was a superhero movie that follows a group of secret operatives who have been sent to kill each other to cover up the exploits of their boss, Valentina. When they figure this out, find a secret weapon, survive their death sentence, they go on a mission to stop her and expose the truth. The movie brought back some characters that felt sidelined and gave them a little more backstory. This movie feels like it’s part of the MCU but also not. The movie tackles mental health and shows how, no matter what field you work in, it’s something you have to face because trying to avoid your mental health will destroy you. The film shows how traumatic events can affect you and how sometimes you can’t deal with them alone. It’s a beautiful movie with some great performances, and while I enjoyed the action aspect, the emotional moments really stood out.
Sinners is a movie that mixes supernatural with the history of the Delta, and from this comes a masterpiece from Ryan Coogler. The film follows Smoke and Stack, who come home to the Mississippi Delta to make some money, only to find out that their cousin has caught the attention of some vampires. The film introduces us to Miles Caton, who did so well as someone in their first major role, with some great supporting performances by Michael B. Jordan, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo, and Hailee Steinfeld. I loved the story about how music transcends time and space and how important it is in our lives, and also how it brings people together. There are so many historical references in Sinners that may go over your head if you aren’t familiar, but you should look into them and learn more about some of the real connections in the film. Sinners was a highlight of the year and just an amazing movie.
The Long Walk is a movie based on a Stephen King novel, so I was like oh it will be horror and it was a type of horror, just not the jump scare type one. The movie takes place in a dystopian America where people do a long walk, and the winner gets one wish. There is a set of rules, and if they fail to keep up with these rules, they will be killed. The movie is sad as you see the physical and mental toll this walk has, and as you fall in love with the character, you realize they all won’t make it. Copper Hoffman gives a great performance in this film and adds to the emotional punch. David Jonsson was the standout from this movie who really created a community and tried to encourage the other guys and keep hopes up. The movie did a great job of making you feel like you know these characters, only for them to rip them away.
Kpop Demon Hunters mixed great music, great animation, and great storylines. It focuses on a group of demon hunters who also happen to be a super successful K-pop group going up against a new K-pop group who also happen to be demons. One of the members is keeping a secret that she is actually a half-demon, which affects her singing. When one of the demons is kind to her and shows her that not all demons are evil, she starts falling for him, but also realizes that she can’t keep hiding who she is from her friends. I loved seeing Rumis battle with this and, of course, seeing her come out on top by the end of the film. K-pop demon hunters really exceeded my expectations and had me wanting to listen to the soundtrack after.
Weapons was the most recent from Zach Cregger, who gave us Barbarian, which had a twist that wasn't expected, and while Weapons is different, it offers a similar twist that will have you like what is going on. The film follows a group of 17 kids who go missing from a teacher’s class, and the only people left are this teacher, played by Julia Garner, and this kid, played by Cary Christopher. The film will have you questioning what's going on, and once you find out, you’ll be shocked because it’s not something you would just guess. We see different perspectives, which was cool, and there are some funny elements in the film. Amy Madigan and Austin Abrahms give an excellent performance, but the rest of the cast does as well. There were easter eggs throughout the film, too, which, after you watch, you can go back and be in awe at the clues to the main story or even clues to stuff that was going on on the side. There was so much I loved about this movie, and I was just so wrapped up in the story.
A who-dun-it with an all-star cast, Rian Johnson did it again with Wake Up Dead Man, his 3rd Knives Out movie. The movie is just filled with great performances, but the story just has you so wrapped up in who killed this church leader. I kept thinking it was different people, and I was often wrong, but I enjoyed seeing how the story unfolded and how they showed who the killer was. Josh O’Connor and Glen Close were some standouts for me, which is really hard in a cast like what’s in this movie. While there is a serious matter at hand, they still mix in some comedic elements that really lightened the mood and kind of distracted me from who the real mastermind was. After watching this movie, I was like wow i hope we just keep getting more and more knives out movies because it’s such an interesting take on a murder mystery.
Guillermo del Toro is a favorite of mine, so I may be a bit biased, but I loved his version of Frankenstein. I realized going into the movie, I don’t know much, but this film details two perspectives, Victor Frankenstein and Frankenstein’s monster, showing the motivations behind Victor Frankenstein and how the monster he created wasn’t really a monster, but his creator tried to make him out to be because he was scared of him. The film is filled with beautiful visuals, stunning outfits, and great performances from Oscaar Isaacs, Jacob Elordi, and Mia Goth. I loved this telling of the story and seeing how the monster aspect of Frankenstein could be subjective because he didn’t ask to be like that, he was forced to, then he was mistreated, and discarded. It’s a great film, but very sad to think about all the pain that Victor caused in the name of science. Seeing this in theatres was a highlight, and I wouldn’t have wanted to experience it any other way.
Movies are always a highlight of my year, and I love going to movie theatres. If you have the opportunity to go, I would always suggest it because movies are much better seen on a big screen. I’m excited for what 2026 has in store for us.
