Best movies of 2025

Nearly every critic’s Top 10 list for the movies of 2025 includes Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” and Ryan Coogler’s “Sinners.”

Those two titles will also be collecting numerous industry awards over the next several weeks.

As for my personal favorites of the past year? Yep, you’ll see those movies on my list too. It isn’t often that we see such consensus, but, to be fair, it isn’t often that we see movies as great as “One Battle After Another” and “Sinners.”

So, after the perfunctory-at-this-point top choices, consider the rest of my favorites from last year, at least from the 100 or so titles I managed to see, as well as where you can watch them now.

1. "Sinners"

Whereas “One Battle” is the obvious masterpiece of 2025, nothing quite jolted me with excitement quite like Ryan Coogler’s hybrid genre film, and it’s stuck with me all these months after its spring release.

With a brilliant mix of newcomers and veterans, all led by an explosive double performance by Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners” is bracingly relevant, daring in execution and stuffed with vibrant sights and sounds. A vampire movie where the stuff with the vampires is probably the least exciting thing about it, Coogler and his team blend style and original storytelling in ways that Hollywood needs desperately right now. Available on HBO Max.

2. "One Battle After Another"

Sprawling, provocative, hilarious and stealthily emotional, Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest triumph arises from reimagining an “unfilmable” Thomas Pynchon novel into a politically charged story of flawed parents, resilient children, failed revolutionaries, “Christmas Adventurers” and the sensei everyone in the world needs right now. Leonardo DiCaprio, always surprising and magnetic, is matched in charisma by newcomer Chase Infiniti, while Teyana Taylor and Benicio del Toro mesmerize with limited screentime. Anderson also delivers an all-timer car chase out of a few rolling desert hills, among 100 other brilliant moments. Watch on HBO Max.

3. "Sorry, Baby"

The witty and devastating directorial debut from writer/star Eva Victor, “Sorry, Baby” is the independent polar-opposite experience of the top two movies on this list. The film tackles a difficult subject with an unsensational, humane approach that feels close to lived-in experience without sacrificing its novel storytelling choices. The movie finds warmth and humor even in dark places, and the final scene (which includes someone saying the title), will go down as an all-timer. Watch on HBO Max.

4. "Marty Supreme"

Director Josh Safdie and star Timothee Chalamet might be miracle workers. They take a two-and-a-half-hour story about an obnoxious ping-pong player and turn it into a kinetic opus about the recklessness (and glory) of chasing the American dream. Now in theaters.

5. "Sentimental Value"

A delicately observed clash between artistry and familial disconnection, Joachim Trier’s drama about an absent father hoping (too late?) to find a meaningful re-entry point into his grown daughters’ lives proves there’s value in reconciliation, no matter how performative. Now in theaters.

6. "Train Dreams"

Shot in the Pacific and Inland Northwest, this gorgeous, achingly emotional drama stars Joel Edgerton as a logger who searches for meaning from the tragedies that haunt him. Watch on Netflix.

7. "The Perfect Neighbor"

Advertised as just another true crime documentary on Netflix, this unforgettable film by Geeta Gandbhir is built almost entirely from police bodycam footage, edited together into a stunning and devastating examination of the cultural fractures that strangle modern domestic life. Watch on Netflix.

8. "Black Bag"

A sleek, suave spy thriller that cooks in the reliable hands of director Steven Soderberg. Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender especially spark as a lethal married couple who share and conceal various state secrets. Watch on Amazon Prime Video.

9. "No Other Choice"

An unpredictably twisty and magnetic satire/thriller from the masterful South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, about a desperate man who will seemingly do anything to beat the competition for a steady white-collar job. Now in theaters.

10. "Highest 2 Lowest"

Criminally underseen, Spike Lee’s latest film is a pulsating reimagining of Akira Kurosawa’s “High and Low,” containing yet another towering performance by Denzel Washington. The musician-turned-actor A$AP Rocky matches the Acting Titan in the film’s electric climax. Watch on Apple TV+

11. "Superman"

After years of suffering through movies that fundamentally misunderstand the appeal and idealism of the Man of Steel, writer/director James Gunn finally made the “Superman” movie we all deserve. The goofy warmth of David Corenswet’s Clark Kent plays perfectly against the entitled rage of Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor. Plus Krypto is a very naughty good boy. Watch on HBO Max.

12. "Friendship"

It looks like an extended version of star Tim Robinson’s absurdly hilarious Netflix sketch series, “I Think You Should Leave.” It even contains its own share of wildly funny moments. However, “Friendship” uses the singular charisma of Robinson to tell a more revelatory story about a certain flavor of deranged male immaturity. Watch on HBO Max.

13. "If I Had Legs I’d Kick You"

Like “Marty Supreme,” some might not warm to the anxiety-inducing energy of watching a flawed human struggle through constant turmoil. But this darkly funny drama works because star Rose Byrne commits to finding the humanity of her character’s questionable decisions. Rent on VOD.

14. "Twinless"

Written, directed and co-starring James Sweeney, this dark comedy features a breakout turn from Dylan O’Brien, who stars as an identical twin still reeling from the death of his brother. Sweeney plays a man who, um, tells a few lies about his own “dead” twin to find connection. Rent on VOD.

15. "Wake Up Dead Man"

The best “Knives Out” movie makes the bold choice to withhold Daniel Craig’s delightful sleuth for almost an hour, leaving the mystery in the capable hands of Josh O’Connor, who plays a priest who holds to his faith even when everyone around him discounts it. Watch on Netflix.

16. "The Baltimorons"

A tiny, charming romantic comedy set on Christmas Eve, this Jay Duplass-directed film beams on the chemistry of its characters: Michael Strassner and Liz Larsen as a recovering alcoholic with a toothache and the afterhours dentist who discover surprising ways to rescue each other from familiar despair. Rent on VOD.

17. "Jay Kelly"

Noah Baumbach’s study of a superficial movie star trying to find connection at the twilight of his career makes smart use of George Clooney’s inherent charm, and it gives Adam Sandler one of his best dramatic roles of his career. Watch on Netflix.

18. "Blue Moon"

Set inside a single bar over the span of a couple hours, Richard Linklater’s modest historical fiction still plays as capital "C" cinema because of Ethan Hawke’s showy, thrilling work as the downtrodden songwriter Lorenz Hart. Watch on VOD.

19. "Roofman"

In what sounds like a screwball 2000s-era comedy, Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst lead an engrossing romance about a career criminal who tries to rehabilitate his life while living inside a Toys R’Us. Watch on Paramount Plus.

20. "Bugonia"

Another bizarre-but-engrossing experience from “Poor Things” director Yorgos Lanthimos, who pits Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons against each other in a series of explosive verbal confrontations. It also features the most audacious (and probably divisive) ending of the year. Watch on Peacock.

Honorable mentions
“28 Years Later,” “It Was Just an Accident,” “K-Pop Demon Hunters,” “The Life of Chuck,” “Nouvelle Vague,” “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl,” “Predator: Badlands” and “The Surfer.”

    This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows Leonardo DiCaprio in a scene from "One Battle After Another."
  

    This image released by A24 shows Naomi Ackie, left, and Eva Victor in a scene from "Sorry, Baby."
  

    This image released by A24 shows Timothée Chalamet in a scene from "Marty Supreme."