movie-review

2025 Movie Rankings

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In 2025 I was able to see 52 movies at the cinema, so an above average number.

Of those, two were old movies I was able to check out: Jaws, and Dogma. I’ve decided not to include them on the list, as Jaws is a classic – which was even better on the big screen – and Dogma is a personal favourite of mine, and both would just warp the 2025 rankings unfairly.

I also want to note Juror #2, which I saw on streaming rather than in the cinema so isn’t eligible to be ranked, but if it was about have been in the Top 10.

Overall I’d rank 2025 as a fairly average year in the cinema. The top of my list is dominated by Oscar contenders from 2024 I wasn’t able to see until January 2025, and there’s little I’ve seen this year I’m excited to watch come awards seen.

Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty of very good movies; everything in the top 30 I certainly enjoyed! But to much of the list is just “ok”, and not enough of the list is stand out.

Anyway….

1. A Complete Unknown

Once again, it is the Oscar movies of the previous year which I didn’t see until January which top the list.

There is nothing I can fault about A Complete Unknown; it is a lovely movie which tells a story in an interesting way, filled with real characters, and excellent set piece moments.

Timothée Chalamet is superb, and the film presents Dylan’s music to its best advantage.

A joy to watch.

2. Conclave

Another Oscar nominated film from 2024 I didn’t see until 2025, this was an excellent character piece performed by an amazingly good cast, notably Fiennes and Tucci.

It is elevated by a strong sense of drama where the outcome of the film is a genuine mystery to the audience as the plot takes each of its turns, and is heightened by some wonderful direction ensuring the film looks sumptuous.

The bizarre and unnecessary coda means that it falls to second place.

3. September 5

This movie didn’t seem to get the attention it deserved, but was excellent. The plot revolves around the news sports team sent to Munich to cover the 1972 Olympics, only to find themselves reporting on a terrorist attack.

The film successfully makes these feel like real people thrust into an extraordinary situation, with plenty of tension and drama to keep me hooked.

Deserved a lot more.  

4. Companion

Companion is a comedy-horror with an original premise, looking at the role of “companion” robots in a “near future” society, including their misuse.

The movie explores the morality of these companions without ever seeming heavy-handed, and has plenty of ideas to keep the plot moving steadily. A couple of the twists genuinely surprised me.

Great lead performances from Jack Quaid, Sophie Thatcher, and Lukas Gage.

Another which deserved more attention, although it was a minor box office success.

5. Weapons

A breakout success from 2025, earning $270m from a $38m budget, and deservedly so.

This movie brilliantly shifts between genuinely creepy moments of horror, and actual laugh out loud moments of humour.

The concept is different and interesting, with the pieces all falling into place neatly as the audience learns more.

Another strong cast playing things perfectly, especially Josh Brolin.

6. Wake Up Dead Man

The third of the Knives Out series from Rian Johnson and starring Daniel Craig, and in my view the best of the three.

It is simply a joy to watch.

Josh O’Connor is great, as are Josh Brolin (making his second appearance at the top of my list) and Glen Close.

Clever, funny, warm… just great.

7. Number 24

This Norwegian film looks at the resistance movement inside Norway, during their occupation by Germany in World War II.

In part a tense spy thriller, it doesn’t shy away from the complex morality of the decisions resistance members needed to make.

8. The Life of Chuck

I went into this movie not really knowing what to expect, and walked out having been deeply moved by the story, which at its core is an exploration of dying.

Tom Hiddleston underpins the film, but there are also some lovely performances from Mark Hamill and Jacob Tremblay.

For days after walking out of the cinema I was thinking about moments in this story, which is more than most movies can achieve.

9. Warfare

Although basically a simple Iraq War era war film, this is done so well that it deserves this high placing.

Strong ensemble cast, including Will Poulter and Kit Connor.

10. Quisling: The Final Days

The second Norwegian film in my top 10, and the second to deal with Norway’s experience in World War II, this time telling the story of Vidkum Quisling – the head of Norway’s pro-Nazi government during their occupation – from the liberation of Norway through to his trial and execution.

Gard Eidsvold is perfect as the lead, anchoring the whole movie, which explores effectively the moral ambiguities of occupation and collaboration.

11. The Housemaid

This was a really well-done film!

A strong psychological thriller, with plenty of twists, some obvious, some surprising. Amanda Seyfried is the stand out, but the cast is uniformly strong.

12. Superman

As someone who has not been a fan of Superman movies in the past, that this one was competing for the top 10 on my list is very impressive.

David Corenswet is wonderful as Superman (probably the best of the movie Supermen, for my money), bringing some humanity and some fun into a role all too often taken way to seriously.

Nicholas Hoult is also perfect as Luther.

But more than anything, this is just an enjoyable movie, lacking the dourness or seriousness – or, frankly, dullness – of a lot of entries into the superhero genre recently.

13. Caught Stealing

Although American, this feels like a classic British gangster film, with all the action and the fun you’d expect from that.

Austin Butler plays the lead, but it’s Matt Smith’s turn as the punk gangster which is the highlight of the film.

Plenty of car chases, shoot outs, and hilarious moments, especially the scenes with the Jewish gangster brothers.

14. Eternity

As well as an interesting conception of death, Eternity is at its heart the story of one woman having to make an impossible choice. The movie works in ensuring there’s always a sense of drama over which choice she’ll make, and also works because in the end doesn’t cheat.

The leading trio of Miles Teller, Callum Turner, and Elizaeth Olsen is as good as you’d expect.

I left the movie deeply sad, which shows it made a proper impact.

15. Fantastic Four

This was an enjoyable, fun, and colourful movie; I enjoyed watching it.

Had this come out ten years ago, it would have been a triumph. However, in 2025 it did feel like a lot of things we’ve seen before. It also required us to care about the family’s baby more than I did.

Very good, but not as fun as Superman.

16. Jurassic Work Rebirth

I love this franchise, and it did everything I wanted. Lots of cool dinosaurs, including some very different scenes with the attacks at sea.

Sometimes doing what it says on the tin is enough.

17. 28 Years Later

This movie worked really well. Scary, tense, horrible, touching, weird… and introducing enough elements over the course of the plot to keep things interesting, and with enough death to ensure I never assumed anyone was protected by plot armour.

Nice to see Edvin Ryding turn up, and Afie Williams is a strong enough young actor to carry the lead role at only 14.

Very interested to see what they do with part 2.

18. Wicked: For Good

I went in knowing that act 2 of the musical is by some measure the weaker act of the show, with – let’s face it – only one great song, so this was never going to be quite as good as the first movie.

Indeed, it also suffers because many of the plot contrivances which can be hand waved away in a stage musical don’t quite work in a movie.

Nevertheless, it looked gorgeous, is done well, and the music works.

19. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t

I know a lot of people aren’t fans of this franchise, but I’m a sucker for it.

I just enjoyed sitting back and going along with the ride here!

20. Regretting You

I’m not someone who’s big on romance films, and it’s rare for me to have one make the Top 20, but I really enjoyed this one.

The premise is a strong one, and the cast – notably Dave Franco – sells it well. It’s also helped by the inclusion of raising star Mason Thames, who is proving to be a considerable talent for only 18.

21. Merrily We Roll Along

A filmed release of the award-winning Broadway musical, and the most successful production of a show not seen as one of Steven Sondheim’s best.

Daniel Radcliffe and Jonathan Groff both won Tony Awards for this show, and it’s very easy to see why.

The filming gets the balance right of allowing us to see the performances up close, without losing the feel on a live performance in front of an audience.

22. The Brutalist

There’s a lot about this film I respect, but not as much that I enjoyed.

An amazing piece of cinematography and spectacle, but not always quite as engaging as it could be. Impressive, but not quite Top 20 worthy for me.

23. Naked Gun

I’m not someone who grew up with the original films, but walked into this and laughed plenty. So, job done!

24. The Long Walk

An impressive adaptation of a Stephen King short story, this film gets a lot of credit from me for pulling no punches, and avoiding any cheats.

Whilst the premise is just a little to cheesy to be credible, the execution is tense and brutal.

25. Anaconda

This was a lot more fun than I expected! Plenty of laughs, great meta jokes, and a cool snake.

26. Jay Kelly

I enjoyed this movie far more than I expected, and pretty much only because of George Clooney’s performance as a charming and talented arsehole.

27. Spinal Tapp 2

Another movie where I went in, and just laughed. It’s not the most brilliant piece of cinema, but as a comedy and satire, it works really well.

28. Predator Badlands

This was a very good Predator film – a franchise I wouldn’t often say that about. It looked great, the main characters worked even if they’re not human, and I was never bored.

On the downside it was all very disposable; looking back there really aren’t any set pieces which stayed in the memory.

29. Nosferatu

It looks amazing!

And Nicholas Hoult’s performance is truly excellent, conveying proper terror.

Lots of good moments, but I think did the plot meandered a little too much. A little more focused, and this would have been a standout.

30. F1

The plot is obvious and unoriginal, but it looks great.

31. Mission Impossible Final Reckoning

The central movie here works very well, and is a strong action adventure, with plenty of action.

It is WAY overstuffed though, especially with nostalgia for previous movies.

32. Nuremberg

An ok movie, but I didn’t feel it ever really landed the material it had (especially when contrasted with the 2000 miniseries).

I’m not really a fan of Russell Crowe, and this was another “good not great” performance… has he had a truly great performance since Romper Stomper?

I also don’t think that making Rami Malek’s character so pivotal really worked, and his performance was a weak point of the film for me.

33. Mickey 7

A weird and interesting premise with a good lead performance from Robert Pattinson. But that’s it.

34. The History of Sound

I wanted to like this film a lot more, and the central performances from Josh O’Connor and Paul Mescal are really good, and some of the settings really lovely.

However, it’s just very slow, and lacks a really strong central premise to connect it all.

35. Captain America: Brave New World

Another film that does its job really well, and 10-15 years ago would have been extraordinary, but in 2025 seems a bit run of the mill. Not at all bad, and in the moment a good popcorn movie. But, we’ve seen it all before.

Also not helped by the need to recast a key character with Harrison Ford.

36. I Know What you did Last Summer

A fan of the original, I enjoyed this well enough. Hits all the right notes, and doesn’t outstay it’s welcome. But, if you didn’t see it, you’ve not missed much.

37. Five Nights at Freddies 2

This was fine?

38. Tron: Ares

Wasn’t awful, but should have been better… so basically, another Tron film.

Evan Peters and Gillian Anderson do a great job, but Jared Leto is really not very good, and that’s a problem.

Looks good, and a great soundtrack, but never really rises to be much.

39. How to Train Your Dragon

I took my nieces, and they loved it. A perfectly fine kid’s movie. Mason Thames again strong as the lead.

40. Paddington in Peru

Another I took my nieces to, and as a kid’s movie it works. But all a bit twee for me.

41. Fight or Flight

As an action film this does a good job. But it’s incredibly shallow!

42. Thunderbolts*

I really felt like this was a movie of B-list characters. David Habour’s character is very one-note, and that note was already tired before this movie started. I’ve never been especially interested in the Winter Soldier, either.

A by the numbers superhero movie, which in the final act makes the “subtext” just “text”, meaning it lost interest.

43. Avatar: Fire and Ash

I will grant that this movie looks spectacular, especially the early scenes in the air.

However, after that it felt like a beat for beat remake of Avatar: The Way of Water, with more whales.

I just don’t care enough about these blue people to be invested for over three hours, and where The Way of Water at least moved to a new setting to keep up some interest, the interesting “Fire and Ash” setting was only in a couple of scenes, so we’re just going over the same territory.

By the end I was utterly bored, and kinda wishing they’d just kill that Spider kid and solve the problem.

44. Mr Burton

Just too twee and lacking charm, despite the strong cast.

45. Bonhoeffer

Lots of lecturing and a complete lack of subtlety, and historically a mess.

46. Bird

Whilst Barry Keoghan does well in the central role, this movie was trying too hard, was a little to esoteric, and never really landed for me.

47. Queer

You’d think a Luca Guadagnino film starting Daniel Craig would be great, but I have no idea what this film was trying to do, and was mostly bored.

48. Eddington

I can see what this film was trying to do, and what it clearly thought it was doing, but in the end was all a bit of a mess, and doesn’t really land any points well. At a full two-and-a-half hours in length, it certainly outstays its welcome.

49. One Battle After Another

Ok. I know a lot of people loved this, and I know it’s going to win all the awards.

But in the end, I wasn’t engaged by this film.

All the characters are horrible, and DiCaprio’s character especially gets no comeuppance as the lead baddie of the movie.

As a result, over three hours, I had no one to root for, and was unsatisfied by the lack of justice.

DiCaprio’s performance also didn’t work for me, and whilst Sean Penn has thrown himself into the role, I found some of his performance choices to be distracting.

I will concede that some of it looks great.

50. Babygirl

They took a risk with this, but it doesn’t work.

Too often, in important dramatic scenes, the audience I saw it with was laughing, so it doesn’t really land at all.

2024 Movie Rankings

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In 2024 I managed to see 50 movies in the cinema; a reasonable effort.

However, five of those were repeat screenings of long ago released films, so I won’t count them in my “2024 rankings”, resulting in only 45 ranked movies this year. 

(For the record, the five were Clerks, American Pie, Batman ’89, Pulp Fiction, and Star Wars, and they’re all classics!)

To be honest I found 2024 a fairly weak year at the cinema. The slow recovery from COVID, followed by the writers and actors strikes, meant that the first half of the year especially was more empty than usual. I think Hollywood is also still trying to work out what works, and what budgets to allocate, in the post-COVID era.

Whilst some big budget movies can still land well, more and more success is going to the $100m movie which can make $200m at the box office.

But overall, I found there were much fewer “must see” movies in 2024, and at several points in the year I’d reach the weekend and find there was nothing on I was keen to watch.

As a result, it’s been harder to pick a 2024 Top 10, not for the usual reason of struggling to decide what to leave out, but struggling to decide what to put in. 

Anyway, the list….

  1. Dune: Part 2

An exceptional piece of cinema, which tells a complicated story in a very watchable way. The look and sound of the film is simply incredible. Added to that is the lead performance of Timothée Chalamet, and the excellent guest turns from Florence Pugh and Austin Butler, along with a very strong cast generally. The black and white Harkonnen fight scene was especially memorable. 

Everything cinema should be.

2. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Another excellent piece of film, with a gripping story which kept me engaged throughout. The links to the previous films, as well as the 1960s original, were especially effective.

However, the scale of the story, and proper emotion and character given to each of the Apes, worked really well, whilst also just looking wonderful.

Left me wanting more.

3. A Real Pain

Written, directed, and starring Jesse Eisenberg, there really is nothing I can fault about this movie, about two Jewish cousins visiting their family’s history in Poland. The film captures the feel of Poland superbly, without ever trying to be showy. 

Each of the characters works wonderfully, and throughout the movie I felt the emotions Eisenberg was going for; this movie absolutely hits you in the heart.

Co-star Kieron Culkin is also brilliant in a role which very easily could have been a mis-fire.

A worthy top 3.

4. Civil War

This film deserves to be in the top 5 because of how well it does what it sets out to do. Wisely choosing not to make the story about the causes of the war, it focuses on the reality of a civil war, and does so without pulling punches. The sequence with Jesse Plemons is especially good.

I left the theatre at the end of this with my heart racing, as though I’d been in the final showdown myself, so something has clearly worked somewhere.

5. Zone of Interest 

Depicting the family of Rudolph Höss at Auschwitz, this film – made in German, Polish, and Yiddish – won the Oscar for Best International Film, with good reason. This is a movie which simply hits home. Sound is absolutely a character in this movie, creating the atmosphere and helping tell the story, and so it was also a worthy Oscar winner for Best Sound.

Does what it seeks to do very, very well.

6. Challengers

What could have been a very cheesy film works wonderfully because of the lead performances of Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist. 

Entertaining, fun, cleverly structured, with good sexual tension, and some very solid direction of the tennis matches which helps keep things interesting, and ensures the matches are intertwined with the characters. 

Not an intellectual piece of cinema, but great to watch.

7. Sunflower

Gay coming-of-age movies are a dime a dozen, and few offer something interesting, but this Australian movie tells the story remarkable well, perhaps hitting home in part because of its familiar Melbourne setting. Manages to balance the need for drama whilst still being grounded, and sweet hearted. 

Often Australian cinema tries too hard to be noticed, but sometimes just telling a nice story really well is enough.

Elias Anton (star of the mini-series Barracuda) makes my Top 10 two years in a row with a Melbourne set gay coming-of-age movie, which seems unlikely enough to be commented on!

8. Deadpool & Wolverine

With a lot of super hero moves struggling to find something interesting or new to do, this one just decides to have fun, and works all the better for it.

A few nice references and cameos, but always just entertaining.

9. We Live In Time

Extraordinarily good performances from Andrew Garfield and Florence Pugh, in a really well written story. I’m usually critical of non-linear narratives, but this one works really well, and at no time did I feel lost as to where the story was.

Hits the emotional beats it needs to without ever being forceful or overwrought. Really well done.

10. The Holdovers

    In a stronger year this wouldn’t have made my top 10, but in 2024 it’s worthy of a place, if only for the performances of Paul Giamatti, and newcomer Dominic Sessa. 

    Whilst there’s a good story told well here, I couldn’t help but think that the more interesting characters left in a helicopter a third of the way through the film.

    That said, there’s a lot to commend it, but perhaps a little too obviously Oscar-baiting at times.

    11. Wicked (Part 1)

      A film perhaps unlucky to miss top 10, but a very fun watch. 

      The first two-thirds is fun and entertaining, with plenty of colour and movement, but ultimately disposable. However, the final third steps up a gear and is properly epic; had the style and tone of the whole movie hit that hard, would have made the Top 10.

      Certainly better than the stage show, which I’ve always considered good rather than great (albeit with two stand out songs, only one of which is in Part 1). 

      12. Alien: Romulus 

        I thought this was a great film!

        Captures the visual feel of the original whilst still looking good. Has a good set of characters to be killed in escalating, nasty ways. Just the right amount of time with the face huggers and the aliens. Included a very strong, memorable set-piece scene.

        Loses points for the derivative final twenty minutes. 

        *(Streaming) Scoop

        The story of the news team who scored the Prince Andrew interview, this is a really engaging piece of drama. Well worth a look. 

        13. Assassin’s Plan

          Worth it just for the standout performance of Michael Keaton as a former assassin slowly succumbing to dementia, but made even better by the details of the plot which unfold, and at times genuinely surprised me.

          14. Saturday Night

            A fun film! I’m not someone who’s at all deep into the law of Saturday Night Live, but this told the story in a very entertaining way.

            15. Heretic 

              I’m not much of a horror aficionado, but sometimes there are films like this which work well as a piece of cinema, and also work as a creepy horror story. This movie allows you to feel the tension, and always left me in doubt as to what could – and would – happen.

              Hugh Grant is clearly loving his later career, and is really good here.

              Left me with some interesting thoughts. A good film. 

              *(Steaming) Carry On

              Taron Egerton is the lead in a good action movie. Neat premise, some good twists, and some quality action. Nothing amazing, but does its simple job really well.

              16. Trap

                Whilst this is not M. Night Shyamalan’s best movie, it is certainly one of his hits rather than his misses. Enough twists to keep things interesting, and a suitably creepy central performance from Josh Hartnett. I enjoyed it well enough, even if some of the ending is a little contrived.  

                17. Inside Out 2

                  This was never going to be as good and innovative as the original, but did a pretty good job, and certainly a good story. 

                  18. All of Us Strangers 

                    This is a very hard film to judge, as I’m still not entirely sure what was going on.

                    Certainly the performances of Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell, and Claire Foy are very good, and there’s a nice style to the writing and direction, and plenty to think about.

                    But in the end I’m not sure it all came together, so doesn’t make the top 10.

                    19. Mufasa

                      The original Lion King was iconic, and Mufasa is simply very good. 

                      The visuals are great, and the director and CGI designers successfully make each Lion and Lioness their own recognisable characters. 

                      The story works well, and gets Mufasa and Scar where they need to be. However, the framing story really wasn’t required.

                      20. Twisters

                      Did everything expected of it, and did it well! A simple, fun film!

                      21. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

                      I was never bored, and enjoyed the bonkers nature of the film. Some of the plot threads work better than others, but the musical climax worked well. Perfectly fine.

                      22. Gladiator 2

                      I enjoyed this as I watched it, and it looked great, but looking back, I can’t really remember much about it.

                      23. Joker: Folie à Deux

                      I didn’t think this was the utter stinker that many others did, but neither was it as good as the first one. The central ideas were quite interesting & worthy, and some of the dream sequences very well done. I also really liked the implications of the final scene.

                      However, the main plot didn’t hold together at all, and consequently the whole was less than the some of its parts. Not in the bottom half of the list, but not worthy of a Top 20 placing either.

                      24. The Beekeeper

                      Another action movie which did its job well. Can’t really say much more than that!

                      25. Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire

                      Never been a fan of the original Ghostbusters (indeed, can’t even finish the first movie), but these “next gen” movies are reasonably entertaining. I didn’t think this one quite had the heart of the previous one, but there was enough going on to make it all work well enough.

                      26. Next Goal Wins

                      I really liked this Taika Waititi film, and feel bad having it this far down the list. It was a sound premise, and had some classic Waititi humour. But in the end, it was all a bit lightweight to really be a great film.

                      27. Transformers One

                      Probably the best Transformers movie since 1986! A pretty conventional story, but it all worked.

                      28. Fall Guy 

                      A good mix of humour and action, and some very impressive stunt sequences. A little contrived, and in the end outstays its welcome. 

                      29. Ferrari

                      Whilst Adam Driver gives a good performance, and there’s some nice car scenes, I was left not really invested in the story.

                      30. Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line

                      An interesting look back at Midnight Oil, and I was especially impressed by the archival footage. Glosses over some of the negative parts of the story, especially Garrett’s time as a Minister, but a good watch.

                      31. The Boys in the Boat

                      Nicely shot and a nice story, but nothing Earth-shattering either.

                      32. Fly Me To The Moon

                      It’s hard to really know what didn’t quite work here, as all the pieces are quite good. But in the end it didn’t really do anything with them.

                      33. Ezra

                      A nice little movie, lifted by guest performances from Robert De Niro and Rainn Wilson. Lots of heart, but doesn’t really stick the landing.

                      34. The Apprentice 

                      The story of Roy Cohn is far more interesting than the story of Donald Trump, and Jeremy Strong is excellent in the role. Sebastian Stan makes the wise decision to not do a caricature of Trump, but still gives a knowing performance. 

                      35. Firebrand

                      Whilst there’s plenty of Henry VIII movies, one focusing on Queen Katherine Parr is unusual, and welcome. Jude Law does well portraying the King in the last year of his life. Let down somewhat by the overly contrived conclusion. 

                      36. Widow Cliquot

                      A nice idea, and lovely location filming, but trying so hard to be innovative with narrative that it’s easy to lose track of the characters. 

                      37. Before Dawn

                      A solid and well-acted World War I movie, with young Australian actor Levi Miller taking on a more serious role. Mostly overcomes the very obvious tiny budget. Mostly.

                      38. The Critic 

                      Whilst this is delightfully camp movie, and quite a bit of fun, the lack of any likeable characters is a shame, and makes it hard to enjoy.

                      39. Boy Kills World

                      I’m not really sure what this movie was about, or trying to do. But it looked good!

                      *(Streaming) How to Date Billy Walsh

                      Whilst it was nice to see Sebastian Croft in this movie, there wasn’t an original idea or plot point anywhere to be seen.

                      40. The Bikeriders

                      A strong lead performance form Austin Butler, and good to see Mike Faist in another film this year, but in the end, it was a fairly dull work.

                      41. Godzilla x Kong 

                      It was entertaining enough, but at no point in the movie can I say I particularly cared about anything happening.

                      *(Streaming) The Thing About Harry

                      A movie about truly awful people, that thinks it’s a quirky and charming, just because they’re gay. Spent the movie wanting them all to lose. Not enjoyable.  

                      42. Priscilla

                      Whilst Jacob Elordi does his best with this, the movie really doesn’t know what it wants to do, and just sort of meanders along in a very dull way.

                      43. Freud’s Last Session

                      It’s amazing that a cast this good delivered a movie this dull and pointless!

                      44. Lee

                      The movie clearly thinks it’s being profound, but totally misses.

                      45. Megolopolis

                      I really wanted to appreciate this movie, but wow is it bad. Bizarre characters doing baffling things, in a crazily directed way. Plot points simply abandoned. The tone is all over the shop, with each actor doing totally different things. And even with all that, it just drags. A real shame. But it is properly terrible.