Table of Contents
James’ Top 10 of 2025
Looking back over this past year, I think that 2025 will go down as a positive one as the shadow of a post-COVID film industry stretches a little further. It’s no secret that the film industry and its Mecca city of Hollywood have been in turmoil and turbulence, but this year we saw a healthy resurgence of original and fresh storytelling from some of the most talented people in the game. Perhaps it is a sign of things to come. Perhaps it will be viewed as the anomaly as more and more studios consolidate and cannibalize one another, and the rise of AI truly takes shape. I don’t know but what I do know is this was a great year for film and one that is worth creating a top ten list over! So, without further ado, let’s get into my list so people can curse me under their breaths!
10. Final Destination: Bloodlines
It should come as a surprise to no one that the year a new Final Destination film was released, it would appear on my top ten list. And frankly, I like to reserve this number ten spot for a film that will ruffle a few feathers and kick up some conversation. This is a franchise that has never earned its respect in the horror lexicon. 2025 celebrates twenty-five years of Final Destination films and it returned with a bang with Bloodlines. Easily one of the most enjoyable theater experiences of the year, this was a back-to-basics film that delivered on blood, inventive kills, and a solid young cast at the core. It also functioned as a heartfelt send-off to the late-great Tony Todd and that alone merits a spot on my list every time.
9. Dangerous Animals
There are two words that come to mind when I think about Dangerous Animals: “Hell yeah.” The world is in need of more quality shark films and this year we got a banger out of Australia. Dangerous Animals functions as a slasher film in which the serial killer’s weapon of choice is a set of razor-sharp teeth racing through the ocean waters. Some movies are all about good old-fashioned fun and seeing people get eaten alive by sharks and I commend Dangerous Animals for filling that void. Jai Courtney delivers a wonderfully unhinged performance as our lead antagonist, Bruce Tucker, and his drunken dance sequence is one that will stay with me for the foreseeable future. A great summer popcorn flick!
8. Weapons
At number 8 we have Zach Cregger’s highly anticipated sophomore film, Weapons. The buzz around this movie transcended the shackles of the horror genre and slingshotted it straight into the stratosphere. Everybody went to see this movie in theaters. Children told parents, colleagues told coworkers, it was marketed perfectly and best of all, the payoff was worth the hype. It is also one of the rare horror films to succeed both critically and financially. Cregger broke through with his debut film, Barbarian, but it is Weapons that secured his place in modern genre filmmaking in the years to come. We all owe him a great deal of gratitude for introducing the world to Aunt Gladys.
7. Spinal Tap II: The End Continues
I could not believe how much I loved Spinal Tap II. It’s just that coming back after forty years to make a sequel to one of the most beloved comedy films of all time is no small feat, but I should never have doubted the band. They quite literally never skipped a beat and the overwhelming charm of getting the old band back together solidified this movie in my top ten list. Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge that the film takes on a deeper meaning after the tragic death of Hollywood titan and all-around good guy, Rob Reiner. At only 83 minutes, Spinal Tap II gives fans of the original film exactly what they want and then some.
6. Wake Up Dead Man
For as big of a fan as I am of Rian Johnson’s work, I am not as crazy about his Knives Out mystery series as Netflix would like me to be. That being said, I do enjoy the previous two films (I think the original is pretty overrated) but Wake Up Dead Man knocks it out of the park. Josh O’Conner and Daniel Craig are brilliant together. Their gentle push and pull between religion and reason ground the film without pushing the audience one way or the other. They respect each other and their differences, which in today’s world feels like a concept impossible to achieve. The rest of the cast does a stellar job dancing along the frame like marionette puppets that Johnson controls with ease and exact precision. Wake Up Dead Man is everything I want out of a Knives Out movie. No fat, excellent character work, and a mystery that keeps you guessing until the very end.
5. One Battle After Another
Anytime Leonardo DiCaprio or Paul Thomas Anderson makes a movie, not only does the entire industry pay attention, but the whole world does. Easily one of the most anticipated films of 2025 and the first collaboration between the two aging wunderkinds who seemingly followed parallel trajectories right to the top of American filmmaking, One Battle After Another is one hell of a ride. Set in Northern California, the film revolves around a burnt-out revolutionary (DiCaprio) as he sets out to find his kidnapped daughter. That’s about as basic a plot synopsis as you can get, because it’s really just a movie that you need to see. Anderson is firing on all cylinders with an eclectic and downright crazy cast of characters to wonderfully convey his story. This is the second adaptation of a Thomas Pynchon work that he has attempted (the other is Inherent Vice) and this time it’s a slam dunk. Sean Penn stole the show for me as the unbelievably strange Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, but there are no slouches in this blockbuster smash hit.
4. Train Dreams
This was a coinflip, and Marty Supreme could have lived in this slot, but I saw it too recently, and the immediate impact of this film was greater. Train Dreams is a textbook example of pure cinema. Do you hate AI and digital screens ruining your films? This is your antidote. Train Dreams acted like a cold glass of water on a steamy summer day. An early autumn breeze that carried with it the scent of smoldering embers from a nearby bonfire. The entire film acts as a great American poem told through some of the most stunning cinematography I’d ever seen. It truly transports you through this slice of American life by utilizing brilliant natural lighting and our earth’s natural wonders as the backdrops. It’s a film about life. Train Dreams is special without having to beat you over the head to tell you.
3. Sinners
You may be surprised not to find this safely tucked away in my number one slot, but I like to switch it up! Sinners shook the world upon its release. Similar to Weapons, this was a movie that sent anyone and everyone to the theater to buy tickets because you simply needed to see it. Michael B. Jordan pulls double duty as the Smoke/Stack twins, who return to their Delta roots after a stint in Chicago to open a popular music spot. The first half of the movie is woven effortlessly as they reconnect with old acquaintances around town and piece together everything they will need to open up that night. The second half of the film plays like a vampire video game in which a handful of characters are forced to defend themselves in the venue from a horde of overly compassionate vampires thirsty for a drink. There are many layers to peel away from Sinners and no easy way to sum it up. This is a movie we will be hearing about for many, many years, and it’s well deserved.
2. Bugonia
As 2025 came to an end, I raced to catch up on some of the heavy hitters I missed, and Bugonia was one of them. Boy oh boy, was I glad that I did. This is perhaps Yorgos Lanthimos most accessible film and straightforward plot, and that really worked for me. It follows two conspiracy-minded men, Teddy (Jesse Plemons, who should be nominated for an Oscar) and Don (Aidan Delbis), who kidnap a female C.E.O. (Emma Stone) because they believe that she is an alien creature trying to destroy earth. Even though I predicted the ultimate outcome, it was a film that kept me guessing from one scene to the next and was steeped in authentic costumes and character design. It worked on every possible level and when the ending finally came to fruition, I couldn’t help but laugh out loud and applaud in sheer enjoyment.
1. Bring Her Back
It was a Thursday morning when I saw Bring Her Back. I didn’t realize the film had come out, so when I checked screenings for the day and saw it was playing at 1 P.M. I became overjoyed and quickly raced out to my local cinema to catch the new Philippou brothers’ film. I wish I were more prepared. This movie floored me. In modern horror, grief has often become the metaphor of intense fear (Hereditary, The Babadook, and Talk to Me), and it’s a trope that has become tired to me and many moviegoers alike. Bring Her Back is the outlier. The way this movie explores grief was so powerful and haunting that I was moved to tears sitting in my seat. It’s not a film I will revisit a lot, if ever, but it was one that I could not stop thinking about. Sally Hawkins should win an Academy Award for her performance as Laura and all the child actors were exceptional. I walked out of the theater that Thursday a shell of the person I was when I walked in. Utterly profound filmmaking.
Thanks for checking out the list. I’ll see you at the movies!
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