The 10 Best Films of 2025 (by Cameron Geiser)
Written by Cameron Geiser
This was probably the most contentious year so far for me regarding my Top Ten films of 2025. The top four films were all actually in the number one spot at some point during the year, there was much strife and reshuffling of titles. This is even with me missing a lot of the titles that have filled many such articles this year. If you get to number one and think “Hey! Why isn’t Hamnet on the list?” Because dear reader, I simply missed some films this year. However even with that this was an excellent year for cinema! The list of films I wanted to catch but ultimately didn’t is listed below as well. Here’s hoping this spurs you to see a film you hadn’t yet! Cheers, and enjoy the fresh new hellscape that is 2026.
10. The Naked Gun
The Naked Gun is the best American Comedy in years, maybe even decades. The only other film I can think of that has any chance of nearing the comedic heights of this reboot/sequel is Hundreds of Beavers from 2022, which I highly recommend to… well, everyone. Not only does Liam Neeson work well in this role but his deadpan delivery and gravelly voice have been hijacked for unheralded lunacy. The writing, while insane may be closer to that of a Tex Avery Cartoon than anything Neeson has done before (This is a good thing), but the key to the magic here is that the film is constantly doing visual gags, word play, and background jokes that you’ll miss on the first watch. Like the Cops dressed in arctic gear emerging from a giant walk-in freezer with armloads of files. Above the entrance they’re departing lies a lit sign saying Cold Cases. Is it stupid? Or Genius? Well, for every miss there are two or three more jokes that do work, and that’s the brilliance of it. The Naked Gun is constantly trying to make you laugh in as many ways as possible, and with everything as it is now these days- this is a much needed experience.
9. The Phoenician Scheme
Wes Anderson’s latest film came and went in the beginning of 2025’s summer without much recognition or fanfare. However, I found it to be yet another fascinating turn from the symmetry obsessed auteur. Since the release of The French Dispatch Anderson’s three latest films have kept a lot of the hallmarks of his films (Huge ensembles, lateral tracking shots, dry deliberate dialogue), but like the best elements of his earlier works these films dive into deeper introspections of the human spirit. Does that sound a bit pretentious at first? Yes, but let me explain. The French Dispatch was an ode to writers and authors with the messy lives they lead and how they operate in search of truth through passion. Asteroid City was about the breadth of storytelling and performance, but also to what level are we all performing in this play of life? Asteroid City also juggles handling grief, and pondering if we understand the parts given to us or if we’re doing any of this right at all.
Now with The Phoenician Scheme, Anderson tackles family, business, faith, money, religion itself, and redemption. In this story Zsa-zsa Korda (Benicio del Toro), a maverick businessman with ruthless tendencies who has many near death experiences throughout the film due to assassination attempts, must navigate a new financial strain on his empire. Through this effort he recruits his only daughter, a nun named Liesl (Mia Threapleton), as he has his sights set on her inheriting his throne. The pair are on opposite ends of philosophical and moral arguments but Korda has been changing his ways and seems to be sincere about making things better. Which is the point of the film, true redemption through sincerity. I encourage anyone that missed this one to give it a watch, if only for the best pairing of actor and director in quite some time with Michael Cera’s first role in an Anderson film — a collaboration that seems so perfect you don’t know why it hasn’t happened until now.
8. Ballad of a Small Player
Maybe I just enjoy characters that are so obsessed with their particular focus that they put everything on the line to succeed. Because that’s very much the case here with Ballad of a Small Player from Director Edward Berger whose last film was the quietly beautiful Conclave. Tonally Ballad of a Small Player is the exact opposite of Conclave. Instead of a contemplative series of well reasoned discussions with a big ensemble cast set in conference halls in the Vatican, Ballad is more akin to a James Bond flick in the visuals, intensity, score, and the sole focus on one major character. That character is Lord Doyle played in a brilliant turn by Colin Farrell. Lord Doyle is on one hell of a losing streak when we meet him in the hotels and casinos of Macao, China. Over confident, but still able to acknowledge that he’s painted himself into a corner, Lord Doyle is beset by debtors, international law on his tail, and most of all- himself. Watching this doomed man keep making all the wrong choices, spiraling deeper into anxiety with sweaty frenzied bouts of over consumption of high end delicacies- it’s enough to make your stomach turn but it is fascinating to watch. The high stakes gambling scenes alone are worth the price of admission in my opinion.
7. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
With this latest entry in the Knives Out series, my ranking of the three films, after some consideration, is as follows. Wake Up Dead Man, Knives Out, then Glass Onion. Wake Up Dead Man has the best mystery of the bunch and the most satisfying third act yet! As with Rian Johnson’s other two murder mystery films, Wake Up Dead Man boasts a phenomenal cast, a perfectly appropriate setting, but this time we get a situation that challenges Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) more than ever before. Between all of the misdirection, lies, boastful performances, and revenge I found this film to be the one that has the most to say. Johnson wisely pairs Daniel Craig’s eccentric and naturally suspicious Detective with the true lead of this film, the sincere yet serious Reverend Jud Dupenticy (Josh O’Connor). He’s a younger priest sent to the remote New York Parish after punching a particularly repellent Deacon in the face. He’s a former Boxer after all. However, a moment of reaction does not encapsulate the full character of Jud. He’s much more about acceptance and understanding than his superior upon joining the small parish, Monsignor Jefferson Wicks (Josh Brolin). Wicks prefers ruling his flock with an iron fist, using the tools of shame, guilt, and fear to control his parishioners. So when Wicks dies in the middle of a sermon, there are many questions to be had. Between the noted uptick of quality in lighting, cinematography, and even in Rian Johnson’s writing (The man is truly understanding the craft exceptionally well), this murder mystery is just another superb addition to his franchise.
6. Superman/The Fantastic Four: First Steps
I usually don’t allow for two films to fill one spot in the top ten, especially because then it’s an eleven film list, however I will give an exception this time around as both films are on this list for almost the exact same reasons. Superman and The Fantastic Four have both had film adaptations before this year’s batch, and while Superman has at least had a couple good ones before this, The Fantastic Four haven’t quite had the same level of adoration or quality on the silver screen. This time around both films heavily embraced their optimistic comic-book tones and visuals. They both reworked their title characters into ones that seem more in line with the core traits and personalities of each franchise while maintaining a simple message that family is something worth fighting for. For Superman it was from the child’s perspective of seeing the good in his found family over the frankly insane ethos of his actual parents while in First Steps the focus was from the parental point of view with the villainous Galactus Hell bent on kidnapping the powerful son of Reed and Sue. Not to mention the casting in both films was frankly impressive. For these reasons I am including both films on the best of year list, they earned it.
5. Weapons
Zach Cregger’s second film was a fascinating experiment in horror. Having not seen Barbarian, I only knew of his work in the sketch comedy series The Whitest Kids U'Know. Now I must watch Barbarian, because I quite enjoyed this creepy flick. Cregger excels with depicting the mystery at the core of Weapons, that one night seventeen children ran out of their houses at 2:17am and into the darkness with arms outstretched, with no apparent reason why. A very simple premise that Cregger then runs rampant with as we get the story told to us in character-centric chapters that overlap each other in time, revealing new aspects to the mystery. There’s a bit of Lynchian dust sprinkled over the film in that behind those white picket fences, in your neighbor’s attic, or the local elementary school lie unknown horrors lurking just beneath the surface. With a fractured town overturned by this amorphous mystery, the knives come out and are set against friends, community members, teachers, and local businesses. This divided response to tragedy only makes matters worse, but getting to watch it all unfold is a real treat. I feel like the less said about the film regarding plot the better, but trust me, the resolution of it all had me cackling with glee in my movie theatre. It might be the most satisfying ending of the year. In any case, Weapons comes highly rated from me, give it a watch!
4. One Battle After Another
Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest is a film that I initially enjoyed well enough but didn’t immediately strike me as the heralded epic that was the talk of the town. However, One Battle After Another has stayed with me since that viewing. I think about it frequently, actually. American life these days does legitimately feel like the title. It’s exhausting. Not to mention corrosive. The film may be an adaptation of Vineland, a Thomas Pynchon book, but only loosely so. Anderson turns that premise into a modern, humanist, story of rebellion. There’s a chance that this film could have been higher on the list, and maybe it should be higher on the list, but after much consideration, it lies here in the top five. This is due to many things but mostly the performances. Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob Ferguson feels more authentic and tangible than some of his larger than life roles, but it’s his relationship with Willa (Chase Infiniti), his teenage daughter, in the back half of the film that truly makes this film work. If you don’t believe the love that he and his daughter share then none of this would work. Chase Infiniti also deserves accolades because as a first role this is a highly impressive performance. However once Awards season kicks off the performance that seems most likely to be nominated and win is for Sean Penn’s role as Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw. Holy Hell, what an evil bastard. His role is crucial to the danger inherent in the film, and it’s often unsettling nature when he is in pursuit of Bob and Willa. From the score to the cinematography, it all folds together to create an unforgettable cinematic experience, one that’s worth watching again, if only for Benicio del Toro’s eternally chill revolutionary role as Bob’s Sensei Sergio.
3. Nouvelle Vague
Honestly, this came as a huge surprise for me personally. I respect Jean-Luc Godard quite a lot, but I’ve only really enjoyed a few of the films of his that I’ve seen so far. In fact I remember distinctly being unimpressed with Breathless the first time I watched it, but a revisit is now required as I adored this rendition of the making of that film. From Richard Linklater, no less! So much love and research went into recreating the life and times of the legendary cadre of French Filmmakers that all swam in the same circles and crowds at that time. In fact Linklater was even given permission to film Nouvelle Vague with the same camera that Godard used to make Breathless. More than anything else if you have watched the films of the New Wave, Nouvelle Vague itself feels ripped straight out of a Parisian cinema in 1960. It also feels extremely in line with Godard himself as he was then. Flippant, stubborn, smug, intellectual, radical, punk, and uncommercial- Jean-Luc Godard was all of these things and Guillaume Marbeck portrayed the iconoclast to perfection! I was swooning over this one folks, check it out!
2. Sinners
Ryan Coogler’s first original work had to be the biggest and best surprise of 2025. While Coogler has already had an excellent track record with the various adaptations he’s taken on in multiple historic cinematic franchises, Sinners stands out as uniquely compelling. Not least of which is due to the fact that Coogler expertly uses classic genre convention to weave a story about the almost cosmic generational connection some people have with music, and how that power can lure dangerous intent. Sinners is also very much about the terrors of racism, identity, and forging your own path in life. While we’re all better off for having two Michael B. Jordan’s for the price of one, in the twin characters of Smoke and Stack (brilliant), the magic lies in the distinct ways that the characters stand apart that makes Jordan’s approach so succinct. These performances feel sculpted in real time, and paired with Coogler’s sharp writing the script melds to create an instant classic. The barn burner scene alone, in which Sammie Moore (Miles Caton) plays the blues so soulfully that his spirit connects throughout time to other musicians, performers, and players– is worth the price of admission. I sincerely hope that after closing out his Black Panther trilogy with Marvel Studios he returns to original works like this because we already knew Ryan Coogler was a gifted filmmaker, but now it is wholly affirmed, he’s one of the great filmmakers of our time.
1. Marty Supreme
Talk about your last minute surprises! Josh Safdie’s film starring Timothée Chalamet as Marty Mouser, a young man in 1950’s America whose complete and total obsession with Ping Pong, err Table Tennis, is a fascinating film that had me locked in from the first frame to the final scene. Safdie’s Marty Supreme has that same strain of unrelenting anxiety that fueled past Safdie films such as Uncut Gems and Good Time in particular. Though while Gems may be the most pure nerve wracking experience- Supreme eschews total unease for a more balanced approach to the laser focused obsession with winning. The film also boasts a uniquely strong cast including Gwyneth Paltrow in her return from retirement, The Rap Artist Tyler the Creator (Tyler Okonma), Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary, longtime independent Filmmaker Abel Ferrara, half of a famous magic duo in Penn Jillette, Fran Drescher mostly recently known for being President of SAG-AFTRA Union and her successful 1990s sitcom, and even Philippe Petit (The guy who walked a tightrope between the World Trade Center Towers in the ‘70s)- AND infamous playwright and director David Mamet! Not to mention the fact that this synth-heavy soundtrack and score mesmerizes and blends with the 1950’s setting astoundingly well, all while the film barely has a focus on the actual Ping Pong matches until the very second when everything lives and dies with the swing of Marty’s paddle. This film is simply wondrous and transporting. Marty Mouser himself may be an over-talking, arrogant, and prideful asshole- but he’s willing to put everything on the line for the love of the game and that makes him fascinating to watch.
Films I missed (but wanted to see): Hamnet, Sentimental Value, No Other Choice, Jay Kelly, Train Dreams, Bugonia, A House of Dynamite, Sisu: Road to Revenge, It Was Just an Accident, Sorry Baby, The Secret Agent, Eddington, and many more that I’m sure I am unaware of, or forgetting in the moment.
Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.