Weaponized with the Love of Movies
Before I get to my top ten list, I’ve got two honorable mentions. First is Ballerina. Who knew a spin-off could be this much fun? If you’re a fan of John Wick‘s brand of Ultra Violence, then Ballerina has a flamethrower with your name on it. And grenades. Lots of grenades. Keanu Reeves makes an extended cameo, but this is Ana de Armas’s explosive show, and she kills it. With grenades. Second is The Friend. I am not a dog person, so I was unprepared to be as emotionally moved by the film as I was by its conclusion. Based on Sigrid Nunez’s novel of the same name, David Siegel and Scott McGehee’s movie chronicles a writer dealing with the unexpected death of her mentor, who, also unexpectedly, left her his dog. A talented cast, including Naomi Watts, Bill Murray, Carla Gugino, and Constance Wu, are all upstaged by an impressive Great Dane named Bing.
The worst movies I saw in 2025 include The Home, Him, and The Woman in Cabin 10. Here are the ten films released in 2025 that I enjoyed the most.
10. The Conjuring: Last Rites
I had an absolute blast watching this in the theater with a packed crowd. Everyone was jumping and yelling and laughing. It’s a safe bet they will continue to release films set in this universe, but if this really is the ending, I’m glad they go out with a bang and not a whimper.
9. The Ugly Stepsister
The debut film by writer/director Emilie Blichfeldt boasts wonderful cinematography, sumptuous production design, a memorable cast, and some of the goriest, grossest, most stomach-turning body horror I’ve ever seen in a mainstream film. If you like The Substance, check this one out.
8. Honey, Don’t
Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke are two-for-two. As much as I dug Drive-Away Dolls, I liked Honey, Don’t even more. I know this is a stand-alone movie, but Margaret Qualley’s Honey O’Donohue is a sleuth I would gladly watch solving additional mysteries. I hope Coen and Cooke’s upcoming film that concludes their “lesbian B-movie trilogy” sticks the landing.
7. Fackham Hall
This clever spoof of stuffy British dramas sports a game cast clearly having a ball rattling off dumb jokes at a rapid pace. The funniest film of the year, just edging out The Naked Gun. I’m still laughing over the J.R.R. Tolkien gags.
6. Superman
At one point during a large battle, Supes takes the time to scoop up and save a random squirrel in danger. No other superhero would care about that, and that’s what sets this hero apart from his contemporaries.
5. The Voice of Hind Rajab
Using actual audio of a distress call in 2024 from a young girl in Gaza to Red Crescent volunteers, Kaouther Ben Hania has created an absolutely essential docudrama chronicling a horrific tragedy. It’s not an easy watch, nor should it be. If you’d like a way to help children affected by this conflict, you can donate to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund by clicking HERE.
4. The Life of Chuck
Mike Flanagan preserves Stephen King’s challenging non-linear structure from his short story, which may prove confusing for viewers who are not familiar with the source material, but his delicate adaptation boasts a pitch-perfect cast and is packed with enough heart and soul to enrapture the curious.
3. The Phoenician Scheme
Wes Anderson continues to show new depth with each outing, and his latest, a farce concerning shady land development deals, is no exception. In addition to the striking art direction, costume design, and 1960s needle drops his fans (and detractors) have come to expect, The Phoenician Scheme features a flirtation with (an absurd) spirituality that has been relatively unseen in Anderson’s work thus far.
2. Companion
There are plenty of stories that grapple with how humans will use and inevitably misuse artificial intelligence, but few are as smart and surprising as Drew Hancock’s Companion, a film that knows that some of us will be as cruel to our robotic creations in the future as we have been to our fellow human beings throughout history.
1. Weapons
Zach Cregger’s dark thriller is impeccably constructed, offering surprises and scares aplenty. Weapons features the best ensemble cast of the year, with Amy Madigan’s Aunt Gladys being one of the great recent screen creations. Like the movie itself, she is terrifying and hilarious in equal parts.