Favorite Movies/Performances of 2025

I didn’t think about writing a “Favorite Movies of 2025” list because I didn’t really have much favorites. I watch movies a lot, but didn’t feel like I saw a lot of new stuff that I really loved or adored, so it’s a small list of liking movies or certain performances:

David Jonsson has been a rising talent and standout actor in movies like Rye Lane and Alien: Romulus, and I liked him a lot in The Long Walk. The movie is depressing to watch, but he holds the screen with a lot of ease and star power, and he and Cooper Hoffman had good friend chemistry together.

Rose Byrne was fantastic in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, in an incredibly tense and uncomfortable drama, and I’m happy she won a Golden Globe for her performance.

Sinners was an excellent film that combined a blues musical with vampires, and was an experience to watch in theaters.

She Rides Shotgun was a fantastic thriller featuring Taron Egerton and the young Ana Sophia Heger, and I was gripped into this film in the theater.

Sentimental Value was a stunning family drama centered on a Norwegian filmmaker (Stellan Skarsgard) and his estranged relationship with his daughters (Renate Reinsve, Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas), and I liked how layered and interesting it was.

While I was mixed on the storyline for The Testament of Ann Lee, I loved the dance choreography by Celia Rowlson-Hall, and the soprano singing by Amanda Seyfried. Those two elements made the film more memorable and stunning to me.

Jessie Buckley’s guttural screaming and moaning in childbirth and in grief in Hamnet was raw and palpable to my ears.

Austin Abrams’ performance in Weapons made a junkie homeless dirtbag character into an unexpected sympathetic hero, and being better at finding missing kids than the cops were. And Amy Madigan as Aunt Gladys the witch looked like 1970s Bette Davis and was captivating to watch as this weird character.

Sally Hawkins in Bring Her Back was incredible, in taking a character who was obviously disturbed and gaslighting people, speaking in a pleasant voice while being driven insane by grief to hurt others.

I liked how The Mastermind felt like a quiet take on a heist film with a 1970s-set story, with Josh O’Connor as a protagonist who ignores the social news of the day with protests and the Vietnam War, coasting through life, and his lack of awareness catching up with him.

Black Bag was a really tight spy film in 90 minutes with an excellent cast led by Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett, and just felt fascinating to me.

Mickey 17 went on for too long, but I did like watching Robert Pattinson play clones and put on affected weird voices and look like he was having fun with the roles.

Final Destination: Bloodlines was stupidly fun to watch, and had a touching and heartfelt sendoff for the late Tony Todd in one of his final roles, in a speech about enjoying life and accepting death.

Sister Midnight (technically from 2024, but in theaters last year) was a really fun, weird dark comedy centering on Radhika Apte's performance as a young Indian woman miserable in her arranged marriage and spiraling into a feral force.