The Top Ten Films of 2025

With 2025 about to wrap up, it's time once again to delve into the best films I had the pleasure of seeing this year, so let's get right to it...

10. Dead Man's Wire - Gus Van Sant's "Dead Man's Wire" is a tense & compelling look at a real-life hostage situation in 1977 in which a disgruntled client of a mortgage firm wired a shotgun to the head of the president of the company and made demands. Austin Kolodney's screenplay unfurls the events quite skillfully and at a pretty good pace, while the excellent ensemble, which includes Bill Skarsgard, Dacre Montgomery, Colman Domingo, Cary Elwes, and Al Pacino, drive the story forward with fine performances. It's a tale where, even if you're unfamiliar with the actual event, you'll pretty much be able to tell where it's going, but that doesn't make it any less gripping across these 105 minutes (which includes some real footage from the incident during the closing credits).

9. Nouvelle Vague - Here we have one of two film that Oscar-nominated director Richard Linklater put out this year, which is a delightful love letter not only to the making of Jean-Luc Godard's classic "Breathless," but also to the fascinating style of gorilla filmmaking in general. Utilizing gorgeous B&W cinematography and a traditional old school full frame, Linklater & co. paint an intriguing behind-the-scenes picture of the turmoil that went into the making of one of the most beloved films of the French New Wave, resulting in a film that regular moviegoers will likely find charming & enjoyable, but one that cinephiles will very likely love & appreciate much more.

8. Megadoc - Francis Ford Coppola's "Megalopolis" may have been a complete disaster & the worst film of its year, but Mike Figgis' documentary about its making is utterly compelling & fascinating. It gives us a behind the scenes look at the craziness, the tension, and the sheer difficulty of trying to bring this mess of a screenplay to life in accordance with Coppola's vision, exploring his methods as a filmmaker and how he works with his cast. These are the exact kind of docs I love, and if you're a cinema lover that loves getting a peek at the process, then you'll likely find it just as enthralling.

7. Nuremberg - Here we have a rather intriguing take on the Nuremberg Trials, which focuses on the relationship between Hermann Goring and his psychiatrist. For the most part, it's rather captivating, with a really good ensemble that features Oscar winners Russell Crowe & Rami Malek in the leads, and Oscar nominees Michael Shannon & Richard E. Grant in supporting roles. Sure, you pretty much know where it's going to go, but it's still fascinating to watch the story from a different angle (i.e. as opposed to "Judgment at Nuremberg"), easily making it worth the two and a half hour investment.

6. The Perfect Neighbor - This Netflix doc, which recently won Best Documentary from the Critics Choice and many other accolades besides, is quite a riveting account of one of the worst Karens ever. Told almost entirely through body cam & security footage, it tells its heartbreaking story over the course of a brief 90-ish minutes, using its real-life footage to great effect as it sets the stage for its tragic central event and the aftermath, ultimately leaving quite the resounding impact.

5. The Voice of Hind Rajab - Here we have a remarkably compelling true-life tale of an emergency call center desperately trying to rescue a six-year-old girl trapped in a car under fire in Gaza. Using a combination of a dramatization for the call center's side of the calls (showing us actual footage at one point) and the actual recordings of Hind's side, the film unfurls its riveting story using a fantastic ensemble that includes Motaz Malhees, Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, and Amer Hlehel. It may seem like a rather simple premise, but the emotional impact it leaves behind proves it to be so much more.

4. Bugonia - Yorgos Lanthimos' latest is a weird, wacky, and wonderful film that builds quite a lot of tension with its bizarre premise, which revolves around two men (Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis) who kidnap a high-profile CEO (Emma Stone), believing that she's part of an alien race causing harm to humanity. Plemons and Stone give outstanding performances as they engage in intense back-and-forths throughout, giving Will Tracy's screenplay (adapted from the South Korean film "Save the Green Planet!) just the edge it needs to make this peculiar situation believable. This is another one that may seem like it has a pretty simple premise, but just as before, it's used to great effect.

3. Hamnet - Chloe Zhao's latest, an adaptation of the novel by Maggie O'Farrell, may take quite a while to get to the true substance of its tale of the tragedy that inspired Shakespeare to write his masterpiece Hamlet, but after the somewhat mundane portion of falling in love with & marrying his wife, having children, and beginning his career in London, the second half comes back remarkably strong as these two try to deal with the worst grief that parents can suffer. Every bit of awards buzz that Jessie Buckley & Paul Mescal have received for their deeply emotional & moving performances has been well-earned, while every technical/design element (the direction, production design, cinematography, editing, costumes, score, etc.) is impeccable. As people have been saying ever since it premiered at Telluride back in August, it is indeed one of the best films of the year and is well-worth seeking out.

2. Marty Supreme - This tale of a young man trying to make it big as a table tennis player may be a bit episodic and all over the place, but it does it in the best way possible by being wildly entertaining for the vast majority of its 150-minute runtime (yes, it's a bit lengthy, but surprisingly it doesn't really hurt it that much). It's basically one of those captivating films where you roll right along with it, waiting to see what crazy thing is going to happen next (and the funny part is, table tennis isn't even that big a part of it). Timothee Chalamet is absolutely fantastic in the lead, bringing lots of natural charm & charisma to the role, and cementing himself as a very strong contender for this year's Best Actor Oscar. His performance and the sharply-written screenplay by Martin Bronstein and director Josh Safdie simply make this a total delight to experience.

1. Wicked: For Good - Upon seeing the conclusion of this musical epic, I was so very glad to see that the critical consensus for this had been waaaaaaaaaaay off the mark (and equally glad to see that the public ignored the naysayers completely). This is a spectacular finale that is equal in every way to its predecessor, with marvelous performances from Cynthia Erivo & Ariana Grande (and the rest of the fantastic ensemble), gorgeous production design & costumes, and, of course, excellent songs/music. It can easily expect multiple incoming Oscar nominations in all of these areas and more. Great musicals may seem like a rarity nowadays, but what director John M. Chu & his team have done with these two films truly stands out as something quite special.

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