This year has been a slog. That’s about as well as I can put it, for me personally. I wonder if this has affected my perception of movies, too? There were a lot of 3.5 ratings, and zero 5 cups of cocoa scores.

It feels like a year dominated by video games; there are plenty of big hitters in that media in 2025. For movies, we had some droughts, and some bright spots.
There are also some siesmic shifts in the industry. Netflix and Paramount vying for control of Warner Brothers studios, and Netflix winning. Of course, of the two, they are the lesser evil, but the development is deeply concerning. A further push away from physical media and cinema experiences, two things I hold very dearly. There’s already stories of Paramount pulling digital products from Amazon customer’s libraries. Streaming and digital media is not worth it with this sort of big business oversight…

But, lets go through the list in classic descending order. As usual the caveat: I am very sorry if your favourite film isn’t here, I only see one film per week generally. I’m going to miss some!

1. Sinners
Read the full review here

Writer/Director Ryan Coogler stepping away from Marvel to create this original movie was a blessing in 2025. A story rich in cultural significance. Pacing that is measured, before suddenly going buck wild. Great performances from absolutely everyone involved. It knows what it is; it isn’t afraid to poke fun at itself. But equally it is a lusty, violent horror movie.
It oozes charisma and lust, which is very apt for its particular monster.

Sinners is that rarest of creations: an original film with big budget appeal but also craftsmanship at its heart. We really do need more of these.

2. Frankenstein (2025)
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Surprisingly, even to myself, I have Guillermo Del Toro’s Frankenstein in second. But it is the narrowest of margins between it and Sinners.

Del Toro’s love for classic monsters is distilled crystal clear with this excellent adaptation of the Mary Shelley novel. His use of colours, practical effects (they made the entire ship??) and sympathy for the monstrous makes this tale wonderful to behold. The acting is excellent from everyone. The action scenes, when they occur, are extremely punchy and very violent.
But this is a movie about human failings and human vengeance, with the monster being the mirror showing the imperfections. I was very happy to see this Netflix production in the cinema. Please release a physical copy… Please?

3. Ballerina
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Action movie franchise John Wick spin-off Ballerina did not do well in the box office. Which was something of a shock to me; I loved it. Like the John Wick movies so far, this has an insane amount of action-movie stamina. It just keeps going. And like those movies, this has excellent fight sequences and seedy, neon-draped environments.
Improvisation is the name of the game in these sequences. Ana De Armas is great at Eve, and lends a frenetic grace to the battles. She is a girl, but as her teacher says: “Cheat. Improvise. Fight like a girl.” Thus we get a lot of inventive ideas for her to one-up her larger opponents. Grenades. Goodness, the grenades…

Certainly not as cerebral as the other movies at this end of the list, but I had a lot of fun watching it.

4. One Battle After Another
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Paul Thomas Anderson’s film about ex-revolutionaries being hunted down by a dangerous but idiotic colonel could have been higher on this list. It could well be considered a modern classic for our contemporary world.

It cuts real close to the bone with current politics. Yet, it dives into this without becoming an overtly harrowing or oppressive experience. The characters are excellent; to the point we have antagonists you love to hate. The chemistry the various characters have during this frantic chase movie dissolves its otherwise lengthy runtime. Leonardo DiCaprio and Benicio Del Toro work great together as straight man and comedic foil. Indeed, the film has a good sense of humour when it needs to.

I would only say that some story revelations are seen from miles away. The two-toned nature of grim reality and levity might turn some people off.

5. Companion
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Releasing in January for the UK, Companion has fought off many contesting movies to remain in the top 10. This is just my sort of movie. A science fiction near-future slasher movie with an unsettling glimpse into human depravity? Also a great actor in the middle of it with Sophie Thatcher.

Resting somewhere between Abigail and Netflix’s Black Mirror, Companion is quite the black comedy at times. Which considering it is a “young people in the middle of nowhere being attacked” is a welcome tone to have in there. But like all good sci-fi, it shows a good “slice-of-life” that… who knows, we might be closer to than we realize?
Its premise is so on-the-nose that it needs to move quickly, but it does lead unaware audiences along for a little bit. So for this list, I won’t spoil it. But know that if you watch even a trailer, you’ll probably know too much.

Like Ballerina, I just enjoyed this one a lot.

6. Black Bag
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Steven Soderbergh directing a cast of distinctly unlikeable intelligence operatives. Brought together as one of them is tipped as being a mole. Michael Fassbender is excellent as always as a coldly-detacted intelligence agent, using all the tools of his trade to root out the suspect.

Overall, I greatly enjoyed the subtle subterfuge in a short runtime of 90 minutes. It was a refreshing break. Everyone is fashionably two-faced and suspicious. A great deal of the movie focusses on a dinner table scene, which is delightful for sneaky vocal jabs and subtle hints at underlying secrets. This movie never left my mind, and it remains in the top ten.

7. Wake Up Dead Man
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Speaking of subtle jabs and subterfuge. Rian Johnson and Daniel Craig’s Knives Out franchise continued this year with its third entry. Starring an ensemble cast including Glenn Close and Josh Brolin, Wake Up Dead Man catapulted into the top ten easily.
A more linear affair than previous Knives Out; this whodunnit was not as “transparent” (pun intended) as Glass Onion, but it felt a little easier to sus out. But it was still extremely fun and catching it in the cinema was a blast. Josh O’Connor and Daniel Craig have great chemistry, and there’s some lovely use of light in the cinematography to boot.

It hasn’t gone unnoticed that two Netflix productions have entered the top ten. The streaming giant is having a productive year…

8. Thunderbolts*
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Avengers: Endgame was the last Marvel movie to enter the top ten, and it only just made it. Thunderbolts* was more intriguing than most since its announcement a long time ago. Marvel “villains” team up this time, and directed by Jake Schreier (the very humble Robot & Frank movie)
It is perhaps the first time in a long time where I felt empathy for Marvel movie characters. I didn’t think it was possible anymore. So that’s a win, as well as some cool visual art style towards the end.

It does still require homework, though, as they all do. Unfortunately that does includes the Black Widow movie. But, having seen the required reading at least once, this was a very rewarding time at the cinema.

9. The Penguin Lessons
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“The penguin movie”, was always in my head this year. Will this true story survive in the top ten? Mostly humourously, it has. There was something very pleasing and fun about Steve Coogan (playing a man who just wanted to get laid) find himself with a penguin friend following him around. What transpires is a reluctant friendship that results in much whimsy between characters and plenty of heart-string pulling.

I felt old enjoying The Penguin Lessons as much as I did, but I had gone into it uncertain and came out of it very pleased indeed. Resoundingly British in humour and tone, and including a cute feathered friend waddling into frame to cause emotional distress. Give it a watch if you want to have a quiet little afternoon.

10. Bugonia
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Very different from penguins now, Bugonia sneaks into the top ten mostly from lack of competition (although Caught Stealing is also very good)
Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone are back at it again, with a movie that is (again) hard to recommend exactly. Following two men possessed by conspiracy theories, they abduct a pharmaceutical CEO in the belief she is an alien. More than that, they want her to save the Earth.

It is a film that has two possible interpretations, depending how you view it. But the film’s narrative speaks to our current “post-truth” society, that people will believe and act on anything online. Jesse Plemons and Aidan Delbis are great as dangerously convincing and meek respectively, colliding with Stone’s calculating reality. Some of the debates are weirdly familiar; the difficulty of proving the truth to someone who refuses to consider they’ve been lied to.

It is the ending that puts the cat among the pigeons, annoyingly. It up-ends the good intentions and smart premise by adding unnecessary ambiguity. Or, depending how you view it, a startling lack of ambiguity.

Nosferatu (2025)
Weapons
Eternity
Caught Stealing
The Phoenician Scheme
Predator: Badlands
Superman (2025)
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
F1 – The Movie
A Complete Unknown
Tornado
28 Years Later
Good Fortune
The Surfer
Christy
The Life of Chuck
Mickey 17
The Long Walk
The Salt Path
The Legend of Ochi
Together
Bring Her Back
Avatar: Fire and Ash (3D)
The Running Man (2025)
Captain America: Brave New World
Wolf Man
Shelby Oaks

10. TRON: Ares
Read the full review here

This one hurts.
Disney had something and they didn’t know it. TRON started in 1982, and had a sequel in 2010 (an excellent sequel) then nothing. Despite the fandom growing and yearning for more… Nothing.
Now, in 2025 they give the reins to Jared Leto of all people? Now we have an angry, angry movie. It is all but divorced from the 2010 movie. It has the kernels of good ideas, probably due to development problems over the last 15 years. Furthermore, it has a good soundtrack (which I purchased) from Nine Inch Nails. It has some cool action sequences.

But good lord… They threw out so much intention and intrigue. We live in a rapidly changing technological world, and TRON is going backwards. What are you doing, Disney? All the main characters are tech company CEOs who want AI to live forever? Talk about being unable to read the room. I didn’t need to see 1982 TRON again. I wanted forward momentum. There was so much potential, and it has been completely trashed. All so Leto can say gripping dialogue like “I like Depeche Mode and Honda Civics”.

I’m angry again…

9. The Smashing Machine
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Sorry, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, I wasn’t smelling what you were cooking.
Honestly, this could have been lower, but I do appreciate that the actor was putting himself out there. Making a “real movie” for once. There’s also some neat music choices (although not from the trailer) and the make-up is transformative.

But yeah, the man this biopic is about… just didn’t seem like a very nice man. The relationship in the middle of the movie felt toxic; the screenplay did it no favours, and depicted two volatile and broken people who needed help from anyone else. The fighting was okay, but not memorable. A very difficult movie to empathise with… A direct comparison being this year’s Christy, which is not too high up on the list, but is head-and-shoulders above The Smashing Machine.

8. M3GAN 2.0
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I’ve been around the movie-watching block a few times, and there’s one thing I know for sure: horror movie sequels are not worth it. M3GAN was in my top fifteen for 2023. For a horror movie, that is exceptional, and that was a good year for movies.
But like all horror movie sequels, they have to change things up to validate its existence. M3GAN 2.0 has a lot to enjoy: quippy dialogue, fun science fiction action, Ivanna Sakhno murdering people. But it is an apple that’s fallen so far away from the tree. This isn’t Terminator 2, this is more like the tonally misfiring Terminator 3.

And people like that movie; I do appreciate that M3GAN 2.0 isn’t terrible… But considering what I saw in the first film, this has none of that intrigue or cerebral sci-fi writing. This is just for the memes.

7. Elio
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I was surprisingly hyped for Elio. But that came crashing down.
An opening narration about space exploration by Kate Mulgrew? Hell yes. A story about a boy wishing to be abducted by aliens to escape his life on Earth? Sweet. Plus, it is an original IP from Disney!
But apart from some tonal-whiplash-inducing horror scenes, there isn’t much here worth the time. Releasing next to the live-action Lilo & Stitch was a catastrophic choice for Elio. This film has a lot of similarities, but its mile-a-minute pacing, its key-jangling screenplay, all boils down to a fever dream. It isn’t helped that our protagonist is… a bit of a jerk, actually?

It is probably the second-highest regret I have for a movie in this list, after TRON: Ares (hello, Disney, thanks Disney.) For being a film about the wonders of space and exploration, it was just a messy, unrewarding experience.

6. Snow White
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Oh, Disney… what have you become?
Ignoring the online firestorm that this film ignited, the live-action Snow White movie from Disney itself was… meh. Like with all the live-action adaptations, we are left wondering, why? (the answer is money, I know) But creatively, why?
Like many of the previous ones, and future ones, this rests entirely on the brand and success of the original. It does nothing to improve what came before, or indeed prove its existence. The original is from 1937 and people still watch it. This one will age badly in a fraction of that time.

But it doesn’t ruin it, like some live-action adaptations. The dwarves are still dwarves. The evil queen is still evil and not simply “misunderstood”. Andrew Burnap as the “prince” is surprisingly okay, with material he can actually work with. The characters of White and Jonathan are elaborated on, but feel confused in their agencies. It is… meh.

5. A Minecraft Movie
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And like that, the Gen-Z audience walk out on me.
If shrieking “Chicken Jockey” and destroying cinemas is the sign of good movie-making I don’t want to have this profession any more.

With that out of the way, I will say one thing to those who liked this movie: They didn’t do any mining. I’m sorry, but I kinda assumed the Minecraft movie would involve some mining? This movie is just a headache-inducing catastrophe of video game references. In my mind, this is only a few degrees away from the disastrous Pixels movie.

Yes, it has a very clear aesthetic; it is a… “live action” Minecraft movie. It is quite impressive to see the various creatures and ideas shown this way. But it has absolutely no brakes. It is doing several things at once and none of them well. We’ve seen this before (cough, cough, The Lego Movie) and done better.

4. A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
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I watched a video essay that mentioned how good this film is. When that happens, I question my integrity. But no… A Big Bold Beautiful Journey did nothing for me. From that irritating title, to how there’s very little empathy made for these two characters. They are incredibly unreliable; constantly stand-offish and lying. The premise involves a surrealist, liminal “company” that brings people together… Nothing feels genuine. You don’t feel anything for them or even want them to be together.

That’s literally the entire point of the movie.

I grant you, there are some nice visuals; some nice cinematography going on. Farrell and Robbie are always good to see on screen. But I just felt nothing at all watching this. And it isn’t because I’m not a sentimental soul: this year’s Eternity got a tear out of me!

3. Until Dawn
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Your mileage may vary with Until Dawn. As someone familiar with the video game in which it is based, this Sony-backed adaptation is utter nonsense.

The video game is a decision-based story, heavily adapting horror movie tropes of the 1990s. It is astounding how much of an own goal this movie is when comparing to the source material. Presumably written as some sort of prequel / shared universe story, the movie fails to capture any of the game’s goofy personality. The script is dead weight, with characters just reacting to things by saying “Wild” constantly.

There are glimmers of entertainment. Despite it being very boilerplate horror, there are some funny or unique moments. Not enough to save it from being third on this list.

2. Flight Risk
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Released in January this year in the UK, I watched this later and thoroughly regretted it. But hey, you have to fill out the bottom ten of this list, after all.

Mark Wahlberg chews scenery in this surprisingly uninteresting hostage-movie-in-a-prop-plane. But the most aggressively bad element is the writing. Goodness me, the writing. A screenplay that doesn’t follow its own rules. A hokey script full of hammy lines. A premise that breaks immediately, and never recovers as it bends over backwards to be at all dramatic.

It is one of those films you might put on, then find yourself standing, watching in disbelief, for the entire runtime. Then it ends. And when it ends, it feels like an overlong prologue to a better movie we will never see.

1. War of the Worlds (2025)
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I’m writing this so far in advance because there will be no film worse than this one. But honestly, I feel dirty even giving it the title of worst; because it feels deliberate. It feels like this film was made to be bad. Made to be infamous and achieve this notoriety.
How can anyone say that this Amazon production wasn’t trying to be bad? Every single scene is terrible. The production is terrible. The pacing and setting is terrible. It is riddled with catastrophic product placement. Ice Cube is acting toward nothing, and it shows; every reaction he gives is off and emotionally perplexing. The line “They are a hybrid species, biological and cyber” is absolutely abhorrent to me, and reeks of being AI generated.

I feel sorry for everyone involved. I feel sorry that I genuinely laughed out loud while watching it. It doesn’t deserve any attention, even in infamy.