The Best Movies Of 2025 (And The Worst)

97 movies is a lot of movies. Some might say too many.

It was a pretty cool year for me and movies. I got to cover the New York Film Festival, a lifelong dream of mine, and started to get paid for stories I would’ve happily written for free—please don’t tell my editors.

Since 2018, I have put together way-too-long lists ranking every new release I was able to see. And why should 2025 be any different? Like always, there was a lot of good and a lot of bad, but just one movie in which Vince Vaughn opens an Italian restaurant with a bunch of grandmothers.

Overall, it was a pretty phenomenal year with a handful of all-timers that I’ll surely be returning to … if I haven’t done so already. A bit of a spoiler: I would bet that my favorites of 2025 are not going to be real shockers.

Thanksgiving is long gone, and yet, I’m grateful that you guys will read what I have to say, even if I mostly go on the same few tirades and ridicule live-action remakes. I love writing this newsletter, enjoy having an outlet to jot down a bunch of gobbledygook and relish being able to find a way to make you all read the word “gobbledygook,” which is just bizarre to look at.

Oh, also, my Letterboxd is here if you want to follow along.

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97. The Electric State

An abomination. One of the worst movies of the year, so it’s no surprise that it was on Netflix and from the Russo Brothers. Supposedly made for over $300 million, this Chris Pratt and Millie Bobby Brown-led sci-fi action comedy must be a money-laundering scheme or elaborate prank of some sort. We should expect better, or at least not this ostensibly AI drivel.

96. Captain America: Brave New World

This one’s pretty good except for the plot, directing and acting. Very obviously Frankensteined together from a bunch of ideas and uninteresting plot points. Glad Harrison Ford’s still getting those checks.

95. Freakier Friday

The worst-case scenario of what these legacy sequels can be. A bunch of tired jokes, references/cameos alluding to a movie decades ago and therapy speak. Jamie Lee Curtis won that undeserved Oscar and then decided to almost exclusively make bad stuff and cry over Charlie Kirk.

94. Jurassic World Rebirth

How do you make dinosaurs boring?

93. A Minecraft Movie

Bad. The worst part about this movie is that Antara’s brother told her that “Greg looks like he played Minecraft in high school,” which is one of the meanest things anyone’s ever said about me.

92. Snow White

Just another garbage live-action remake. You’re probably wondering, “Greg, why are you still watching these if you hate them so much?” And that’s a great question, which I don’t have a good answer for.

Rachel Zegler (obviously) innocent.

91. Fountain of Youth

One of my friends has a vendetta against a very famous actor for no reason other than “I don’t trust him.” That’s essentially how I feel about John Krasinski. He’s quickly turning into American Ryan Reynolds. No greater insult from me.

90. Nonnas

Letterboxd says that Nonnas is only 112 minutes. Which is shocking because it felt like I was watching The Brutalist.

This one’s the aforementioned movie about Vince Vaughn and a bunch of grandmothers opening an Italian restaurant. It’s based on a true story, which is nice, but that doesn’t mean the movie isn’t chock-full of clichés and really boring side-plots. The food looks good, at least?

89. Novocaine

This action comedy, starring Jack Quaid trying to get back the girl of his dreams, annoyed the hell out of me. A real mash-up of every mediocre action movie you’ve seen over the last 10 years.

88. Kontinental ’25

^worth it for this image alone

87. The Friend

Some novels should just stay novels. Naomi Watts, Bill Murray and Apollo (the dog) aren’t enough for this insipid recreation. Great book though. Just read that instead.

86. Lilo & Stitch

I don’t mean to be dramatic, but these live-action remakes are a pox on society. 🙂

85. Song Sung Blue

Remarkably bad and schmaltzy biopic(?) that feels like a cross between a streaming movie made for $12 and some religious slop meant to be thrown on by a hungover substitute teacher.

84. The Life of Chuck

I’m constantly being made fun of for not liking or being able to connect to “sincere” movies. If this is what you mean by “sincere” movies, I’m fine with hating them.

I had a lot more to say, if you can believe that, below.

83. I Know What You Did Last Summer

This starts off our run of kinda fun but ultimately very bad horror/horror-adjacent movies. Chase Sui Wonders and Madelyn Cline tried their best, I guess.

82. Bone Lake

A disturbing amount of incest in this one. Although, to be fair, any amount is disturbing.

81. The Home

“Pete Davidson working in a nursing home” having more than 10 movies worse than it is kind of a miracle if you really think about it.

80. Heart Eyes

I do think there’s a fun idea for a Valentine’s Day horror movie somewhere in here, but it’s not clear if it wants to be a true slasher or take the piss out of the genre. Falls somewhere in between and is a deadly (derogatory) mish-mash.

79. Death of a Unicorn

Yes, rich people are bad. But there needs to be more than that.

78. Anemone

I saw Daniel Day-Lewis in person. Very cool. Movie … not much there.

77. Wicked: For Good

I’m so thankful these movies are over. The musical’s fun. And yet, these Jon M. Chu adaptations are just remarkably uninspired. Very excited that we’re done with these. Wait, what’s that?

Jesus Christ.

76. The Running Man

It’s time for an Edgar Wright movie with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost again. Despite Glen Powell’s best efforts, this one did little for me.

75. The Smashing Machine

Starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson as OSCAR CONTENDER & Emily Blunt as THE WIFE

74. One of Them Days

A perfectly fine buddy comedy that feels like a streaming movie with a slightly bigger budget. Could be a lot worse … could be a lot better.

73. The Gorge

I had fun with this remarkably dumb movie. It’s actually pretty okay until they get to the actual gorge, which is kind of a problem if your movie is called The Gorge.

72. KPop Demon Hunters

Whenever we’re driving around New Jersey, “Golden” from KPop Demon Hunters is playing on the radio. I don’t think any other songs are allowed.

71. Caught Stealing

This movie asks the age-old question, “Can Darren Aronofsky make a Guy Ritchie movie?” The answer is no. Separately, I have no clue how significant others of actors survive, because Austin Butler and Zoë Kravitz’s chemistry is insane.

70. Is This Thing On?

One of the strangest movies of the year. And then Peyton Manning shows up as a love interest for Laura Dern? This might’ve been a fever dream.

69. Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere

68. Cloud

A thriller about how the Internet and capitalism are slowly destroying us from the inside. Can’t relate at all.

67. Materialists

Maybe just watch Past Lives again. The following piece may be the thing I’ve written with the most passionate responses:

66. Highest 2 Lowest

There’s an incredible chase sequence in the middle here, surrounded by a lot of bloat and a pretty disappointing Denzel Washington performance. Clearly, the second-best A$AP Rocky movie of the year.

65. Drop

This could’ve all been avoided if she had turned off her phone on her date.

64. Wolf Man

One of my favorites of the year, only because there’s a jumpscare in this trailer that freaked out Antara EVERY TIME it popped up before other movies. And we saw this trailer a lot.

Yes, it got her once again during the actual movie. It may have taken years off her life.

63. Flow

This was a very fun and out-there Oscar win. Did I enjoy watching it? Not particularly.

62. The Monkey

I’m a sucker for horror movies, even the not-very-good ones. I honestly don’t remember much from this one, but I had a solid time and recall some pretty screwed-up kills.

61. Happy Gilmore 2

I wrote about this for Golf Digest. It was kind of fun, and then it had the worst last act of any movie this year.

60. Avatar: Fire and Ash

I’ll never totally understand the love for this series. The writing’s not very good, and the decision-making from all of the main characters is suspect at best. Still, this one had some great action sequences and Varang.

59. Superman

I wrote about this for Betches. It was perfectly fine. I kind of had an existential crisis because of it.

58. Zootopia 2

A bunch of animal puns and extended references to The Shining and The Silence of the Lambs? Don’t mind if I do.

57. Companion

I enjoyed Heretic and thought Companion was okay with some reservations. But more importantly, I’m a big proponent of the “Sophie Thatcher in horror movies” bracket. One of these days, she’s going to be in the right place at the right time and take off. I made it through one episode of Yellowjackets. Sorry.

56. Thunderbolts*

Perhaps it’s just low expectations. And yet, I found this one pretty fun. It’s tough to have Florence Pugh and Sebastian Stan in a movie and not have it be at least decent accidentally.

55. The Fantastic 4: First Steps

It’s been a great year for the Ralph Ineson Fan Club.

54. A House of Dynamite

About the end of the world and the NEW YORK METS.

53. The Housemaid

Had a great time with this very dumb movie. Sometimes you gotta turn your brain off, and I think I did that here. Thanks to Taylor for the preview screening, which featured so many snacks and a crowd on a sugar high.

52. I’m Still Here

^also about people stuck in a house.

51. Roofman

Fine. I’ll say it. Channing Tatum is charming. More like Charming Tatum.

50. Die My Love

Phenomenal Jennifer Lawrence performance stuck in a time loop of a movie. I know that’s the point, but there are only so many times I can watch a protagonist break down, get back up and then break down again.

49. September 5

A very well-made movie about the 1972 Munich Olympics and the hostage crisis. And yet, I can’t say I’m not skeptical about its intentions.

48. After the Hunt

Every great actress deserves a chance to TÁR.

47. Honey Don’t

I know everyone’s treating this movie like it’s a virus … but I didn’t mind it.

46. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Garbage plot. Great stunts. Could do a lot worse in IMAX.

45. Alpha

So, I went all the way to AMC Bay Plaza Cinema 13 in the Bronx, which is not close, for this one. And although it isn’t as cohesive a movie as Raw or Titane, I’m still glad I ventured out there to see it. It’s a body-horror thriller about an infection, and it’s a lot of movie.

44. Mickey 17

It feels like this came out a century ago. Not my favorite Bong Joon Ho movie, and yet, a sci-fi thriller starring Robert Pattinson with a pretty obvious Trump impression by Mark Ruffalo is still fun and worth checking out. RPattz loves an insane accent.

43. Hamnet

A well-made, albeit somewhat vacant, movie that features beautiful, haunting moments and a good deal of empty gestures. Appreciated more than liked. Never need to watch again.

42. The Ballad of Wallis Island

I’ve been attacked (ad nauseam) for not enjoying sincere movies. At least there’s The Ballad of Wallis Island starring Tom Basden, Tim Key and Carey Mulligan. The basic premise is that of a folk duo who reunite to perform for a wealthy fan and things go off the rails from there … of course. It’s sometimes a little cloying, but overall sweet and very funny.

41. Warfare

Despite the confusing politics, I found this boots-on-the-ground surveillance mission during the Iraq War remarkably well-made and captivating. Strong performances from Internet Boyfriends Will Poulter, Kit Connor, Joseph Quinn, Charles Melton and Noah Centineo.

40. Bring Her Back

I never need to watch this again. In the best way. Really fun, fucked-up horror movie with one of the worst (complimentary) scenes of the year.

39. Blue Moon

I’m in the minority with this one when I say this was my second-favorite Richard Linklater film of the year. Still a phenomenal Ethan Hawke lead performance bolstered by Andrew Scott, Margaret Qualley and Bobby Cannavale. The story, centered on Lorenz Hart stewing over a single night as his former creative partner Richard Rodgers achieves more and more fame, does more than you’d ever think possible.

38. Eddington

Also known as No Country for Woke Men.

37. No Other Choice

After being laid off and humiliated by a ruthless job market, a veteran paper mill manager descends into violence in a desperate bid to reclaim his dignity.

There’s no one else doing it like Park Chan-wook. Not one of my personal favorites from the acclaimed South Korean director, and yet, still better than a hell of a lot of other movies. You should watch Decision to Leave and The Handmaiden when you have a chance.

36. Train Dreams

It should be illegal for this gorgeous, decade-spanning movie on life and loss to be only streaming on Netflix.

35. The Long Walk

I pitched a story to a few publications in which I’d walk at three miles per hour for as long as possible (à la The Long Walk), and nobody wanted it. I still think this would be a fun/ridiculous story. If someone at The New Yorker is reading this, please reach out.

34. The Testament of Ann Lee

A musical about the start of the Shakers' religious sect in the 18th century. Has a few otherworldly sequences (most specifically Amanda Seyfried and co. on a boat) despite a meandering middle.

33. Eephus

32. The Naked Gun

I had a great time. Sometimes, that’s what it’s all about.

31. F1

30. Frankenstein

Jacob Elordi is kind of unbelievable in this?

29. Wake Up Dead Man

Josh O’Connor is one of our best living actors. And Mila Kunis is unfortunately terrible in this. Despite running a bit long, I’m in for all of the Benoit Blanc-Rian Johnson whodunnits. My official Knives Out ranking is 1 > 3 > 2.

28. Oh, Hi!

27. Final Destination Bloodlines

This is what the movies are all about. Sometimes you need a thrilling and very, very gory horror movie that knows exactly what it’s doing. A phenomenal and extremely funny nail-biter with a handful of insane set-pieces.

26. Paddington in Peru

Paddington is my best friend.

25. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

Feathers McGraw is my worst friend.

24. Together

Alison Brie and Dave Franco are having a ball in this romantic horror film about a couple pulling away from one another as their flesh is being pulled together. Fun for the whole family!

23. Bugonia

A timely and somber black comedy (from Yorgos Lanthimos, of course) about conspiracy theorists who kidnap a CEO whom they believe is an alien. Emma Stone is great, as always, as is Jesse Plemons and newcomer Aidan Delbis. Doesn’t crack the upper echelon of Yorgos works for me: The Lobster, Kinds of Kindness & The Favourite. Still great.

22. 28 Years Later

Pretty obvious but well thought-out Brexit parallel interspersed in a kick-ass action movie that centers on loss and grief. Loved it. And now I’m ready for 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, which somehow comes out next month.

21. Predator: Badlands

I’m kinda meh on the original Arnold Schwarzenegger Predator film, and yet, I’ve become a borderline obsessive for the Dan Trachtenberg installments to the esteemed franchise. I loved Prey, thought Predator: Killer of Killers was kind of incredible (we’ll get into that later) and had a grand ol’ time at Predator: Badlands. Trachtenberg is able to balance large-scale action set-pieces, character archetypes and even add a bit of levity in a way that most movies this big just fail to do. A hell of a year for Elle Fanning.

20. No Other Land

It feels weird putting one of the most important movies of the year—a documentary on the devastation of a Palestinian community in the occupied West Bank—right above the latest installment of the Predator franchise. But that’s the movies for you. A meaningful look at the genocide in Gaza with some scenes guaranteed to infuriate you. Wouldn’t have been my personal choice for Best Documentary at the 2025 Oscars—we’ll get to that in a bit—but I was thrilled about its plaudits and recognition. Here’s something else you should read.

19. It Was Just An Accident

Saw this at the New York Film Festival (humblebrag intended) and the theater was dead-silent after the final scene. The mark of a great movie.

18. Friendship

Conner O’Malley delivers the funniest line in a movie this year. A phenomenal comedy that makes your skin crawl from the opening scene to the last.

17. Pillion

A BDSM gay romantic comedy starring Dudley Dursley and a very tall Skarsgård. Such a fun movie that constantly leaves you befuddled and curious where things are going. Ultimately kinda sweet? What a time.

16. Nouvelle Vague

I kinda loved Nouvelle Vague? Centered on a young Jean-Luc Godard attempting to make Breathless, this black-and-white Richard Linklater film kinda feels like The Avengers for guys with Letterboxd. A touching and amusing look at creativity and what it takes to make worthwhile art.

15. The Mastermind

The best of this year’s Josh O’Connor movies. A tense and funny heist film about a poorly-planned Massachusetts robbery set during the Vietnam War. Meanders, as Kelly Reichardt movies are wont to do, and I was on its wavelength throughout.

14. Predator: Killer of Killers

If they tried to turn this animated flick into a live-action Predator movie, it would cost as much as all of the Avatars squished together.

13. The Phoenician Scheme

Hey, man. I’m a 30-year-old Manhannite with a movie newsletter. I’m going to like Wes Anderson movies.

12. If I Had Legs I’d Kick You

A remarkably unpleasant dramedy starring Rose Byrne in one of the best performances of the year. The basic plot is that of a therapist whose life is falling apart from her dilapidated apartment to her sick daughter to her exhausting clients to her not-very-helpful therapist, played by Conan O’Brien. It all comes together into a terrible (in the best way) watch that had me praying for just an ounce of relief. Good stuff.

11. Jay Kelly

A reminder that George Clooney can still turn it on when he wants to. It may not have the bite of Noah Baumbach’s best movies, and yet, I still found myself emotionally gripped and kind of decimated by its final scene. Saw this at the New York Film Festival a few rows behind Richard Brody of The New Yorker, who had a The New Yorker tote bag.

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10. Splitsville

A rom-com with actual comedy. I didn’t know they still knew how to make these … even if the funniest part of this entire movie is that these two schlubs can even imagine that they’re in the same league as Adria Arjona and Dakota Johnson. I can’t wait to watch this slow car crash again and again, especially when Splitsville randomly turns into one of the best action movies of the year. A hell of a surprise and a great (or terrible) date night selection.

9. Black Bag

Even my dad stayed awake for this Steven Soderbergh spy thriller. That’s how you know a movie can click with a general audience. It may have come out in March (and was pretty much forgotten by year-end listmakers), but Black Bag is easily one of my favorite 2025 movies. It features dynamic lead performances from Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett, plus unbelievable supporting roles from Marisa Abela and Tom Burke. It’s 94 minutes and doesn’t have a dull moment. It also looks so damn good, from the sleek filmmaking to the gorgeous soft lighting.

8. Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

If you’re watching this at home, might I recommend that you turn your phone off (maybe even put it in the other room)? Just so you can properly focus. This is a 150-minute roller coaster of a documentary that moves fast and doesn’t wait for you to keep up. Directed by Johan Grimonprez, Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat is a treatise on the murder of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba and everything that led up to it. It’s also an unbelievable look at the history of jazz in the United States and how Black jazz ambassadors were performing amid covert CIA operatives. It could easily be the best book I’d read this year if Grimonprez had gone a different way.

7. The Secret Agent

Similar to Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, The Secret Agent is a story (this time fictionalized) about political unrest and assassins during “a period of great mischief.” This story, anchored by one of the best performances of the year in Wagner Moura, focuses on Brazil during the late 1970s and a former professor who finds himself in deep water with the Brazilian military dictatorship. Not only is it a tremendous cinematic page-turner, but also a sort of hangout movie with a stellar supporting cast. I found myself gripped throughout its near three-hour runtime and already want to see it again.

6. Sinners

My official take: Sinners is good. The Ryan Coogler vampire-musical(?)-thriller is as good as blockbuster filmmaking gets. I saw this in IMAX back in April, and our theater had a grand old time, which is what it’s all about. There’s so much here politically and emotionally, and yet, at its core, it’s a barnburner (literally) of an action movie with Michael B. Jordan, Miles Caton, Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, Wunmi Mosaku and Delroy Lindo holding every frame. Can’t wait for whatever Coogler is doing next.

5. Sorry, Baby

Perhaps the greatest riser of any movie this year, I liked Sorry, Baby on first watch, and it’s stuck with me ever since checking it out back in June. A series of vignettes centered on a woman struggling with depression after a “bad thing,” it took until my second watch and reading of the script to really discover just how masterful this all is. It’s somehow Eva Victor’s directorial debut—she’s also the writer and lead performance—and she’s surrounded by one of the best supporting casts of the year, from Naomi Ackie to Lucas Hedges to Louis Cancelmi to John Carroll Lynch. I really can’t recommend this one enough. Great cat, too.

4. Sentimental Value

I’m so in the bag for what Joachim Trier does. So, I can’t say it was a huge surprise that I adored Sentimental Value. Still, I had high expectations after The Worst Person in the World, and this somehow lived up to all of them. With a slightly novelistic approach and maybe the best actress in the world in Renate Reinsve, Trier expanded his filmmaking for this one to an entire family, requiring career-best performances from Elle Fanning and Stellan Skarsgård, along with one of the highlights of the movie in Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas. It’s a beautiful picture of a broken family trying to come together, with one of the year's most poignant scenes, as Reinsve and Ibsdotter Lilleaas come to terms with what they want from their father. Yes, I cried.

3. Weapons

Sentimental Value, this is not. But it is a movie about rescuing family, trying to make something of a traumatic situation and … a bunch of kids leaving their houses in the middle of the night running into the darkness. Simply put, Weapons rules. And it’s a horror movie chock-full of comedy and some of the creepiest imagery you’ve ever seen. I’ve been mixed on Julia Garner in the past, but I take that all back now. And I’ll be seeing whatever Zach Cregger does next (supposedly a Resident Evil horror film) opening night. I can’t explain to you just how electric this was opening weekend. One of my favorite theater-going experiences in a long time.

2. Marty Supreme

Marty Supreme is (at its core) a movie about being in your 20s: Lost and striving for something more while also being remarkably cocky and stupid. It features the best performance of the year from Timothée Chalamet, as a captivating piece of shit who also happens to be really, really good at ping-pong, and is an onslaught of anxiety and self-made drama. I expected more of a straightforward, nerve-racking sports thriller, and what I got was After Hours mixed with White Men Can’t Jump. I couldn’t believe what I was watching, and I can’t wait to see it again. Shoutout to Josh Safdie for somehow dreaming this up, along with (once again) a stellar and bizarre supporting cast from Odessa A’Zion to Tyler the Creator to Abel Ferrara to Fran Drescher to Kevin O’Leary to (the absurdly good) Gwyneth Paltrow. I love it when I have no clue what’s about to happen scene to scene. This movie is that.

1. One Battle After Another

A handful of years ago, I decided that I really wanted to watch There Will Be Blood in theaters. Because I live in New York, the 2007 Western thriller featuring Daniel Day-Lewis just so happened to be randomly showing at the Quad Cinema. I went and, since then, have watched every Paul Thomas Anderson movie again. Most of them multiple times. Not breaking ground here when I say that PTA is the best filmmaker of my lifetime. And One Battle After Another is up there with There Will Be Blood, The Master, Phantom Thread and Punch-Drunk Love. It’s at the top of most lists this year, and it should be. This black comedy action thriller is as good as this medium gets. For instance, PTA can turn a regular car chase into something you’ve never seen before. It’s an entire movie turned up to 11. Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti, Teyana Taylor, Benicio del Toro and Regina Hall are all at the top of their games, as is PTA, who tells a resonant, politically-charged, uber-current story in a way he never really has before, while also never forgetting to make something fun as hell. It’s kind of a miracle this exists.

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