The Best Films of 2025

by Brandon Norwood

Happy New Year, ballbags! Before we get the ball rolling on 2026, we still have some unfinished business with 2025.

Please don't ask me about a specific movie. If it's not on here, then it's not here. This is a list of the 321 movies I've seen this year so fuck your feelings. Anyways, the movies on this list are all either in my collection, or I plan to pick up soon. Yes, honorable mentions too.

There will be no worst of list either. I don’t like punching down and putting focus on films that absolutely don’t need attention. Even movies I loathe, I understand people work hard on.

Honorable mentions: One of Them Days, The Accountant 2, Companion, Dog Man, Den of Thieves: Pantera, The Amateur, SLY LIVES!, Mickey 17, On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, The Life of Chuck, Splitsville, Thunderbolts, Superman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, 28 Years Later, Predator: Killer of Killers, Predator: Badlands, Resurrection, The Secret Agent, Final Destination Bloodlines, Last Bullet aka Lost Bullet 3, The Long Walk, Warfare, The Naked Gun, Weapons, Together, Hedda, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You, Frankenstein, It Was Just an Accident, Sirat and Sorry, Baby.

Image courtesy of Mubi

12. My Father's Shadow - This South African film is powerful. Following two boys through one day with their father in Lagos, I'm glad that it's not explained that is it a memory piece or a dream. Either one of those reads is acceptable. Overlooked, this should be a bigger awards player. This is a haunting film that still sits with me. Truly, incredible.

Image courtesy of Lionsgate

11. Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair - Look, after waiting 23 years, Kill Bill finally got released as one movie as originally intended. It's on this list due to the wide release in 2025, and this is the first time I've seen it as one whole film. Yes, Tarantino is an idiot, but when he delivers, it is undeniable. More thoughts here.

Image courtesy of Focus Features

10. Hamnet - Chloe Zhao's adaptation of the same name is to me a movie is the definition of payoff. Everyone is very mixed on the first two acts of this film, but I greatly enjoyed watching Agnus and William fall in love. Watching their struggles in building their family while trying to stay true to who they are has heartbreaking results that to me are just as powerful as the film's last fifteen minutes.

Image courtesy of A24

9. Materialists - Another film that has a mixed reception. I relate to the core three characters in that you reach a certain age and you see the different paths that lie ahead. Alone or with a partner. You start to question whether you want love or comfort. And are both possible? Modern dating is a nightmare. I appreciate Cline Song's sophomore debut. There's shots in here that from a filmmaking perspective had me riveted while the movie itself on the verge of tears.

Image courtesy of Netflix

8. Wake Up Dead Man - The third Benoit Blanc mystery holds up well on rewatches. While it's not my favorite of the series thus far, this film's commentary on religion is strong. As always, the character work uses the theme of faith to give even more development to Benoit. Even more impressive is how Benoit takes a back seat to give Father Jud center stage with another knockout performance from Josh O’Connor. More thoughts here.

Image courtesy of Apple Films / Warner Brothers

7. F1 - The movie of summer 2025. I really do miss these big-budget meat-and-potatoes movies about underdogs coming back to show the world that they still got it—the second loudest movie of the year after Warfare. Add an all-star cast giving great performances as well as using new cameras to mounted onto the cars for them to do in-camera pans, Joseph Kosinski has become one of the most exciting filmmakers working today. Again, when executed well tropes work.

Image courtesy of Netflix

6. Train Dreams - Sometimes a life lived is more exciting than one not. Clint Bentley made the best Malick movie since The Tree of Life, following an unremarkable man who suffers tragedy after tragedy to end up forgotten by time. But ultimately, the people who are forgotten aren't any more deserving of being remembered than those who loom large. Joel Edgeton injects so much soul into a quiet, reserved man who wants nothing more than to live with his family in harmony. Even if the universe says otherwise.

Image courtesy of Focus Features

5. Black Bag - Steven Soderbergh dropped two movies in 2025. It kills that no one saw this excellent, deeply comedic (black humor so don’t expect anything gut busting) spy thriller centering around the marriage of two spies. Who betrayed who? Are they playing each other?  Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett lead an all-star cast which seems like a whole marriage counseling therapy session in addition to some edge-of-your-seat, observe and report spy craft. Really blown away by how well from top to bottom. 

Image courtesy of A24

4. Marty Supreme - The Safdies split each releasing their own A24 movie this year and wow. Marty Supreme is a knockout. The most expensive film produced by A24 yet, and you can see why. I liked it on my first watch, but seeing it again in 70mm, the entire movie clicked for me (in addition to the experience of the gorgeous print at Lincoln Square). Josh Safdie really is the master of making me root for a despicable protagonist making terrible choices. Legendary production designer Jack Fisk shows you here why there will never be another one like him. Recreating 1952 New York City with all the energy and grime that is still there today and Josh's previous two anxiety attacks Good Time and Uncut Gems. Never has ping pong been so beautifully shot and staged, Everone is talking about Timmy's performance and yes it's his best, but really Tyler (the Creator) Okonma blew me away as Wally in his debut performance in a feature film.

Image courtesy of Neon

3. No Other Choice - We got two excellent noirs. One from Brazil with The Secret Agent. And this one from Park Chan-wook. Starring Lee Byung-hun, this family man has his world rocked when he loses his job at a paper company. Watching this desperate man try to hold on to what he has is a scathing indictment of capitalism and corporate culture. The rat race is worldwide. Why this blew me away, apart from Park's next-level transitions and the Atmos sound design, is how it ends. If you're familiar with noir stories, you're expecting a certain type of ending that just never comes. I was blown away that everyone involved let this just happen. Darkly comedic in many ways, I'm itching to see this in a Dolby theater again.

Image courtesy of Warner Brothers

2. One Battle After Another - I'm amazed Warner Brothers gave Paul Thomas Anderson $140 million to make this loose adaptation of Vineland that feels so incredibly pertinent for our current political climate. The criticisms are valid. To all of my fellow black people, I hear you. But man, you really don't get movies like this anymore. Everything that has been said about this movie has already been said. I am a believer of the VistaVision format after seeing the film projected that way (also shot on VistaVision).

Image courtesy of Warner Brothers.

1. Sinners - Truly rare that a studio (again Warner Brothers) gives a big budget to a filmmaker who uses it to make a genre film on where you came from and where you're going. In addition to that, it shows the struggles of black people fighting evil on all sides. Whether it's vampires trying to suck our culture dry for their own enjoyment, trying to conform and appropriate it, or to destroy, as the Klan does exist and it currently runs our country. Just like One Battle, this became an event that had to be seen on film or ideally in IMAX 70mm. I absolutely cannot wait for Ryan to be finished with Black Panther and Marvel so just like Nolan, he can start doing big IMAX events that bring out not only us, but audiences in general. I appreciate this movie being sexy too. Yes, we black men love performing cunninglingus. Ryan you a real one.

Alright. What were your favorite films of 2025?

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. SpongeBob goes to the IP underworld.

by Trey Taylor

Image courtesy of Paramount

SpongeBob SquarePants, the TV show, might be the one piece of media I have quoted the most throughout my life. The show premiered towards the tail end of my Kindergarten year, and 26 years later I still pull random quotes from the show outta my brain. The amount of times I've unironically called someone a weenie or asked, “have you tried setting it to wumbo?”, as an adult are probably a little too high.

As I scanned the audience before a screening of The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, the fourth and latest theatrical release in the SpongeBob IP Empire, it was heartwarming to see fans of all ages seated to enjoy a character that I'm genuinely shocked has had such a long life-span. SpongeBob has now come to outlive his creator, Stephen Hillenburg (who was a marine biologist on top of being an animator), who guarded our goofy goober sponge protagonist and all of his friends and citizens of Bikini Bottom as if they were his children. As the third act of Search for SquarePants started, I asked myself one question: “should SpongeBob have died with his creator?”

Image courtesy of Paramount

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants starts off with SpongeBob waking up feeling like his day is going to be different, one truly special compared to everyone that has preceded it. This feeling of anticipation and elation comes from SpongeBob finally achieving the height of 36 clams tall, officially making him a Big Guy who can do Big Guy Things.

One of the Big Guy things SpongeBob is most excited to do is ride a comically dangerous rollercoaster. In typical SpongeBob fashion, he chickens out upon laying eyes on the coaster for the first time (after a pretty funny Ice Spice cameo). This leads SpongeBob to Mr. Krabs to help him out of going on the rollercoaster with his best friend Patrick Star (he’s a starfish for those who don't know/can't figure out a pun). After giving SpongeBob an out, Mr. Krabs proceeds to tell SpongeBob that he's not really a Big Guy, but just a Bubble Boy, and he'll only become a real Big Guy when he becomes a Swashbuckler.

After some shenanigans, SpongeBob unintentionally summons the Flying Dutchman, played by Mark Hamill, who tells SpongeBob he can help him become a Swashbuckler if he journeys to the Underworld via Davey Jones’s Locker with the Dutchman and his crew. The Dutchman has his own reasons for wanting SpongeBob on his crew, which are all too clear to Mr. Krabs. Mr. Krabs recruits SpongeBob’s pet seasnail Gary and SpongeBob’s apathetic neighbor and co-worker Squidward Tentacles to go on an adventure to save SpongeBob from the Flying Dutchman before it's too late.

Image courtesy of Paramount

After the inciting incident, Search for SquarePants quickly becomes a bit of a mixed bag of a movie. The pacing feels kinda wonky, as the story bounces back and forth between SpongeBob, Patrick, and the Dutchman and Mr. Krabs’s crew. Both storylines get a bit repetitive and dull, making this feel like it was genuinely a 30-45 minute TV special turned into a feature length film.

The animation also has its ups and downs. The movies haven't been animated in the style of the show since the first film, but this one's style confused me a bit. While this is the first SpongeBob movie I've seen in a theater since the second one, it's the second one to use this hybrid CG/claymation style. There are moments where the character movements feel reminiscent of the original show and even old rubber hose animations. I honestly wish the entire film was made with actual stop motion claymation or rubber hose animations as it would've suited the zany and somewhat juvenile tone of the movie.

The voice cast really does a lot of heavy lifting for the film, with Regina Hall as the Dutchman's second in command, Barb. Hall and Hamill have some great timing, especially in the scenes where their characters get to interact. Some gags were also stand-out, including one that takes a jab at Paramount and dumb executive choices in general. That particular gag felt poignant, as the run time of this movie made me question why it even existed outside of some execs wanting to milk their IP silos dry.

Image courtesy of Paramount.

While the message of being a good person over a tough guy is definitely one we need, especially for children, I still can't see how they could justify this being a full feature. Especially when you include the fact that the movie treats this as the Flying Dutchman's first time meeting SpongeBob, despite the fact that he's been a character on the show since as early as the second season.

I feel like this film is just another example of why Stephen Hillenburg didn't want any spin-offs or fast food meals based on a talking sea sponge shaped like a kitchen sponge. While I did have a decent time watching it, I don't see anyone enjoying it outside of diehard SpongeBob fans.

The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants will be released theaters December 19th via Paramount Pictures.

Avatar: Fire and Ash. Bigger but not better.

by Brandon Norwood

Image courtesy 20th Century Studios

When James Cameron makes a movie, it is a must-see no matter what. Big Jim is the king of spectacle. So here we are with the third entry of the Avatar saga, Fire and Ash. A movie I'm seriously struggling with.

One year after the events of the second film, The Way of Water, Neteyam's death weighs on the Sully family heavily. With Miles "Spider" Socorro's (Jack Campion) presence causing problems for Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), Jake (Sam Worthington) and the rest of the Sully family accompany him for one last journey to a safe haven for Spider. On the way they're attacked by the Ash People: a group of dangerous N'avi who ally themselves with the RDA and Colonel Miles Quaritch, which brings Jake face to face with the consequences of his decisions thus far. 

Image courtesy 20th Century Studios

Those of you who aren't familiar with my thoughts on Avatar can listen to the reviews I did with Jeff on the first two movies. I don't want to waste time (yours or mine) with a long-winded recap. Short answer is I recently came around to this saga when the first was re-released back in 2022. 

Now here we are with my most anticipated film of the year after being floored by The Way of Water. Not gonna lie, when credits rolled I thought this was the best one yet. But after sitting on it for a few hours and really letting the movie permeate, all of my initial feelings when watching it came bubbling up. Especially after talking with other critics about it.

The main issue here is that so much, both plot and structure wise, is repeated from the first two films. In the two weeks since I've seen this, Cameron has admitted that he split the second film into two movies. That makes so much more sense. Does that forgive the film for being repetitive? No. Absolutely not. But damn if everyone who told Big Jim their concerns are now found valid.

Image courtesy 20th Century Studios

With the repetitive nature of the movie, I was disappointed by the giant third act set piece. It's literally the first two mixed together. I thought the third act of The Way of Water. was some of the craziest and most audacious I've ever seen. Here, while there's a lot of this I still loved, a real big cloud of "been there, done that" hangs over it.

What really sucks is this is the longest in the saga thus far with a runtime of three hours and nineteen minutes. It's excessive y'all. This could've easily been two and half hours. Every single one of these films have outstayed their welcome length wise, but here it was egregious. 

With all of that out of the way, this is visually insane. I don't know how he keeps on outdoing himself; with the skin texture and facial performances translating from the motion capture to the final product. When these N'avi characters emote, you can not only see it, but feel it as well. It's been three years since the second film and somehow not only visually is it better, but the 3D is more immersive and the High Frame Rate when used is much smoother. 

Image courtesy 20th Century Studios

The performances definitely get better as we move on. Campion as Spider aside, everyone is doing great with what they're given. I would like to point out that Cameron's dialogue has always sucked (The OG Terminator and True Lies pop immediately into mind) so the complaints I've been seeing about that have me rolling my eyes hard.

I do like the emotionality in this film. Grief and consequences are weighing heavy on everyone in this film which leads to hate on all sides. All these characters have lost something and are either broken or bitter. Or both. I'm glad that Cameron decided to address this head on as part of the journey instead of what a lot of modern mega-blockbusters do which is to acknowledge it and push it to the side, because "they" don't want their mega franchises to address that. You can still have an emotional journey on a rip-roaring adventure. Spielberg is the king of that shit.

The Ash People led by Varang (Oona Chaplin) are one of the best new elements here. I wish we got MUCH more than what we're given with them. Their reasoning for being villainous makes sense, but it would've hit harder if we spent a little more time with this clan and gave Varang a little more pathos.

Image courtesy 20th Century Studios

Peylak (David Thewlis) , leader of the Wind Trader clan, is an intriguing new character that I wish we got more of than the brief sequence he's in. The Wind Traders in general are so cool and it's a real shame they're under utilized. The best action sequence of the film (which has some fucked up elements from the Ash People) is with the Wind Traders. Honestly, I could watch a whole two hour movie with just the Wind Traders.

All of this is to say: see it. No one is doing it like Big Jim. I'm excited to see this again to see if it plays better on a rewatch. There's shots in this where I'm floored on how Big Jim is lighting the specific shot. We've come a long way from the first film. And while I'm let down by this, I was still thoroughly entertained and am eagerly anticipating the fourth entry which the entire cast and crew has been hyping up to be an absolutely insane movie. If anything, Big Jim going bigger in scale and scope in terms of world-building and the action set pieces is something to always look forward to.

Avatar: Fire and Ash. Opens December 19th in theaters via 20th Century Studios through Disney.

The Housemaid. A soapy thriller perfect for stay at home moms.

by Brandon Norwood

Image courtesy of Lionsgate

As I made my way to my seat two months ago, I absolutely had no idea what to expect with The Housemaid. Paul Feig doing a thriller was super intriguing. Little did I know, I was about to see one of the worst movies of 2025.

Image courtesy of Lionsgate.

Millie (Sydney Sweeny) is a troubled young woman living out of her car. Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried) hires her to be a live-in housemaid for her wealthy family consisting of husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar) and daughter Cecelia (Indiana Elle). However, once moving into the Winchester estate, Millie soon discovers the threat(s) of the secrets hiding within the house and the family itself.

Once this movie revealed itself with what was really going on, I mentally checked out. My screening was packed and the audience was laughing together, at first, at the over-the-top nature of how corny it was. Intentional or not, it was insane on all fronts. Then everyone was all in once the reveal came.

Image courtesy of Lionsgate

This movie is shot and paced like a soap opera. Even the sex scenes were shot in a softcore, soapy way. Imagine AS THE WORD TURNS by way of Skinamax. The men in the audience will probably liven up as the internet's latest obsession (Sweeny) is once again nude. While a lot of different dudes told me that they appreciated it, I've seen most of Sydney's work now where it's expected. To me it's just another Tuesday. I do wish y'all would get over a pretty white woman with big boobs. Sydney is not the first. And she won't be the last. It's fucking annoying at this point.

Spoilers from here on out. You've been warned. Seriously SPOILERS.

Yeah, I'm clearly not the target audience for this movie. I've seen a LOT of white women excited for this whether it's them reading the book on public transportation or getting excited seeing the trailer before a movie. 

I was waiting for the other shoe to drop on Nina. Amanda's performance felt very tacky and "big" up until the point of the reveal that I knew she was hiding something. Well yeah. Ends up she's faking her psychotic episodes to escape Andrew who's a complete psychopath and hired Millie to take her place cause nothing more than every guy wants is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, big titty woman in her twenties. Hey more power to you if you do, but it's so clichéd that I immediately checked out. I can see why this was a bestseller. It definitely pleases the demographic it goes for (which is absolutely NOT me).

Image courtesy of Lionsgate

Tonally it's all over the place. I'm shocked at how it swings from campy to soapy to "serious". The decision to have voice-over is baffling. It doesn't particularly work well and after a while I drowned it out despite it being used to drive the plot forward at points. 

My first thoughts as the credits rolled was laughing at that weak set-up for the sequel which to my surprise I immediately found out through Google that the author, Freida McFadden, has in fact written more Housemaid books.

Image courtesy of Lionsgate

My second thought was that this was done better when it was called Gone Girl. I've read all of Gillian Flynn's books. This type of pulp storytelling Gillian does well. Sharp Objects the miniseries is honestly better than the book.

But this type of pulp fiction ain't it. I imagine fans of the novel are going to absolutely love this. Everyone else, stay away.

The Housemaid opens on theaters on December 19th via Lionsgate.

After the Hunt review. “It happened at Yale”.

by Brandon Norwood

Why?" Julia Roberts' Alama asks Ayo Edibiri's Maggie. Why did Maggie tell Alma of her sexual assault? That question of why permeates throughout the film. Luca Guadagnino's After the Hunt explores head on the use of power and privilege that all the characters are in throughout the film.

Debuting out of the Toronto International Film Festival, After the Hunt was met with a chilly reception. Yes, it's too long for its own good. Yes, it insists that its more important than it is. But I do feel as if there's a lot the film brings up to talk about.

Alma (Ayo Edibiri) is a teacher assistant who looks up to Maggie (Julia Roberts), a Yale professor. Maggie has the perfect life. A eccentric psychiatrist husband named Fredrick (Michael Stuhlbarg), a close friend named Hank (Andrew Garfield), who can meet her intellectually who also happens to be a professor at Yale like herself. Everything changes when Maggie comes forward to Maggie with allegations of sexual assault against Hank that threatens to reveal a secret of her own.

I've been having a lot of conversations about this movie. All the takes are very different from mine. That is the one thing that I feel has put off a lit of people. There are no clear answers. Even if to me there is. The film is taking a very clear approach about this. A young, queer woman of color, from a privileged background, is accusing a man in power. The power and privilege dynamics really are the backbone of this film. Every gaze or look the characters give are up to interpretation by the viewer on what it means in the moment and the overall story.

I sat raptured watching the character tug and pull at each other in ways that are extremely cruel. I seriously had no idea where this was going moment to moment and wondered just how Luca would land this story. 

Luca is a deliberate filmmaker. That continues in After the Hunt with the camera movements as well as the angles and use of negative space to frame the actors. Even in a crowded room, these are lonely people. Much has been said about Luca using the font made famous in films by Woody Allen, and that too is deliberate. This for many different reasons feels like a Woody Allen movie left out to curdle. Including the score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross which sounds as if a score from a Woody movie was left out to rot.

I’ll be honest here. Not everything worked for me. It is too long for its own good. At two hours and nineteen minutes, this should have been much shorter. Considering that there was three parts were I thought the film was ending, I wasn’t really sure. And the very last scene, to me, did nothing for the overall narrative in the film other than reinforcing privilege and power. With the current climate, I do not think that last scene really convey what it is trying to other than “Hey! Some people still get away and have it all”. No kidding.

I would like to highlight Ayo Edebiri. I cannot and will not harp on the cast. Everyone knows they’re great. Especially under the direction of Luca. But the fact that Ayo held her own against heavyweight actors is a true testament to her talents. I’m really excited to see where her career goes as she has so much range. This is a challenging role to play. There’s hard lines on how everyone is written with the subtext doing a lot of heavy lifting.

I’m very eager to have more conversations about this film. I find that this film does open up many conversations worth having. Mainly due to the fact that the conversations that I have had, have been wildly different. Everyone is gonna have a different read on this. And that’s exciting.

After the Hunt opens in limited release on October 10th. Nationwide on October 17th.