00:00Happy New Year! To bring in 2026, let's talk about last year's movies.
00:04The criteria for this list is as follows. Films must have been released in 2025.
00:08Awards films that had their wide release in the UK in January and February will not be on this list
00:12as they had their limited releases in 2024 and are not 2025 films.
00:16Nor will international films that were released in their country of origin in 2024 will be on this list as
00:21well.
00:22But festival films that premiered in 2024 during the festival circuit but got released to the general public this year
00:27have a place on this list. This is my list and those were my rules, so let's start this with
00:31the Honourable Mentions.
00:42With those films out of the way, let's move on to the main list in alphabetical order, starting with...
00:49Frankenstein. A Match Made in Heaven, Gamaliel del Toro's adaptation of the Enduring Novel,
00:54managed to be a glorious film draped in gothic extravagance, but still contained del Toro's humanistic touches.
00:59Jacob El Rualdi gives us one of the best interpretations as the monster,
01:03and Oscar Isaac is equally good as his madcap curator.
01:09Jay Kelly. While it might be a bit too winked to the camera, Noah Baumbach's character's study
01:14managed to be a heartfelt but bittersweet journey, examining the roles, both travelled and not.
01:18George Cleen gives one of his best performances,
01:20and his delivery of the film's final line will stick with you. I know it did for me.
01:27Left-Handed Girl.
01:28Shi Ching Seol's intimate kitchen sink drama is a beautiful piece of filmmaking.
01:32The use of an iPhone camera to film the movie gives the film an up-close and personal feel to
01:36it,
01:37but it's performances from Janelle Tsai, Xing Yuan Ma, and Nina Yee,
01:41who makes this film with each having their own distinct little tableaus,
01:43but all weaved together seamlessly.
01:48Materialists.
01:49Celine Song's follow-up to past lives was a great deconstruction of romantic comedies,
01:52rather than what most people expected.
01:54Managed them to pick apart different aspects of the genre,
01:55but comes out as a strong example of it,
01:57with a lot of heart and great performances from Dakota Johnson and Chris Evans.
02:03One battle after another.
02:05Paul Thomas Anderson delivers a hilarious, but timely, political pinch-on polemic.
02:09Leonardo DiCaprio's mad dash, Odyssey to save his daughter,
02:12managed to touch upon various current political subjects that didn't feel preachy nor watered down.
02:16Add in a villainous turn from Sean Penn and her breakout performance from Chase Infinity,
02:19one battle after another will be the film that will be looked back as one of the films of the
02:23decade.
02:27Sinners.
02:27Ryan Coogler's vampire film was many things.
02:29Apart from being a great vampire movie, it was a great hangout movie,
02:32it was a great piece on cultural herge enemy,
02:34it was a good treat to see on the communal power of music,
02:35but most importantly of all, it was a damn good movie.
02:38Michael B. Jordan impresses doing double duty,
02:40and Miles Canton was a great discovery.
02:45Superman.
02:46James Gunn managed to bring the Man of Steel into the 2020s with a timely and exciting adventure.
02:50Managed to combine his unique sensibilities as a filmmaker,
02:52and build upon what comes before Gunn manages to make Superman feel fresh and relevant,
02:56and most importantly hopeful in a world seemingly less so more and more.
03:02The Long Walk.
03:032025 was a banner year for Stephen King adaptations.
03:05Glenn Powell was running, man.
03:08Mike Flanagan showed us Chuck's life,
03:09and Osgood's Perkins got out to some monkey business,
03:12but it was this adaptation of one of his earliest novels that stood out.
03:15Simple in its premise, brutal in its execution,
03:18The Long Walk was an unrelenting watch,
03:20but at its heart contained a great ensemble cast,
03:21putting a lot of effort on screen.
03:23The film's use of energy evokes Vietnam,
03:25but still feels striking and timely all the same.
03:30Train Dreams.
03:31Clint Bentley's Train Dreams gives us a great performance from Gerald Edgerton,
03:34a beautiful look at the changing landscape in America
03:36from the point of view of one man.
03:38Beautiful cinematography,
03:39and for a simplistic story,
03:40managed to pack some interesting and surprising turns.
03:43It's a small, intimate epic.
03:4728 years later,
03:48Danny Boyle and Alex Garland's return to the rage virus,
03:51infected England,
03:52was a fascinating examination of modern Britain.
03:54Taken or J. Romero route,
03:55by leaning into the social commentary than the previous films,
03:5828 years later,
03:59managed to cover a lot of contemporary topics,
04:00like the effects of Brexit,
04:01the pandemic,
04:02toxic masculinity,
04:03and even assisted diners.
04:04That was a topic raging on the parliament as the film was released.
04:07The film played around in its apocalyptic playground as well,
04:10doing some more interesting things with the rage zombies,
04:12also having both moments of great terror,
04:14and great beauty in one film.
04:15Those were my favourite films of 2025.
04:17What were yours?
04:18Please comment below,
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04:23Here's to 2026.
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04:59I'll see you next time.
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