It’s that time of year, movie lovers! After Christmas and New Year’s, I have to go back to work or they’ll just find a bloated corpse, reeking of bourbon and covered in butter tart crumbs. But that also tells me it’s time to drop my picks for the best (and worst) movies of the (previous) year.
I’ll give you the same disclaimer I have to give each year: living in Saskatchewan, I don’t always get to see everything inside of that calendar year. Some of the best foreign and independent movies trickle in as the new year moves forward. And in some cases, I ran out of time. So, the list may be missing some important films. I haven’t had a chance to see Sentimental Value, The Mastermind, No Other Choice, Train Dreams, and a few others. More than usual, which tells me it was quite a good year for film!
And conversely, there’s at least one movie on this list that was technically released in 2024, though it didn’t go wide until 2025 (major outlets are counting it as 2025 as well). So, I’ve included it on my list for this year instead of last year because I couldn’t let such a brilliant film fall through the cracks.
Read the Best Films of 2025 – #11 to #30 here.
Read the Worst Five Films of 2025 here.
And now, without further adieu, here are my Top 10 Films of 2025!
10) Secret Mall Apartment
Secret Mall Apartment is a fascinating documentary directed by Jeremy Workman, about a group of young artists who secretly built and for years lived in a hidden apartment inside Providence Place Mall. It’s a story that’s as weird and wonderful as it sounds. It’s more than a quirky prank: the film explores creativity, community, and resistance to gentrification with charm and depth, using archival footage and thoughtful interviews that make you root for these DIY rebels.
9) Companion
I’m going to sound vague about this one because you really should go in blind. Companion, the 2025 sci‑fi thriller written and directed by Drew Hancock in his feature debut, is a tense, clever genre mash‑up that turns a weekend getaway into something much stranger and sharper than you expect. Think Black Mirror (while not exactly original, that’s still a compliment here). Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid lead a standout cast in a movie that mixes sharp social commentary with horror‑comedy energy. The story is well told, exploring all sorts of nooks and crannies of its central concept, even if there are the occasional lapses in logic you just have to roll with. These kinds of mind-bending, idea-driven movies are right up my alley, and I had a blast with this one.
8) Weapons
Weapons sees director Zach Cregger moving beyond straight horror into a tense, sprawling ensemble drama. When almost an entire class vanishes overnight, the film tracks the town, the media, and the remaining child with a sharp, character-driven focus. It’s anchored by a fantastic cast including Josh Brolin, Julia Garner, and Alden Ehrenreich. Referencing Magnolia and Pulp Fiction, with slow-burn suspense, it’s more about paranoia, grief, and human flaws than scares, and it proves Cregger is one of the most intriguing voices in horror-adjacent filmmaking today. Here’s the full review!
7) Mickey 17
Mickey 17, directed by Bong Joon Ho, is a darkly funny (in a dry, deadpan way), sci-fi satire that blends big ideas with very human absurdity. Robert Pattinson plays a disposable worker who keeps dying and being reprinted, and Bong uses the premise to poke at capitalism, identity, and how little value systems place on individual lives. Pattinson is spectacular, anchoring the film with charm and gravitas. The anti-Trump sentiments, clearly penned a few years back, feel triple prescient in today’s climate. Beyond the laughs, it’s a thoughtful movie with plenty to say about politics, capitalism, ecology, and the ways humans treat both each other and the planet. It’s strange, smart, and uneven in spots, but when it works, it has that familiar Bong mix of humour, cruelty, and empathy.
6) Sirat
Sirat, directed by Óliver Laxe, is a hypnotic desert journey that won the Jury Prize at Cannes, and it’s a film that refuses to settle into anything predictable. It feels like a spiritual cousin to Climax by Gaspar Noé. Less confrontational, maybe, but similarly driven by mood, music, and a creeping sense of unease. Just when you think you understand where it’s headed, it swerves, again and again, turning what seems like a simple search into something stranger, heavier, and more haunting.
5) Predator Badlands
Predator: Badlands leans hard into the franchise’s oddball side, telling a surprisingly likable underdog story about a runt Predator trying to prove himself on a brutal alien world. With no humans in sight, the film expands the lore, mixing heavy action, pulpy humor, and imaginative creature design into something fast, violent, and unapologetically fun. It’s messy, silly, and occasionally wobbly, but it knows exactly what it is: a high-energy popcorn movie that makes you root for a very ugly alien. Hey, here’s my full review!
4) Marty Supreme
Marty Supreme is about a young hustler that dreams of ping pong, a dream that no one respects. The film hums with that signature Josh Safdie energy and anxiety, though it’s less punishing than Uncut Gems. It’s constantly zigzagging just when you think you’ve got it figured out. Timothée Chalamet is terrific, selling both Marty’s suffocating narcissism and his boyish charm, while a wildly eclectic supporting cast (including Gwyneth Paltrow, Fran Drescher, Tyler, the Creator, and a surprisingly effective Kevin O’Leary) adds to the movie’s oddball energy. What really makes it sing is the filmmaking itself: fast-talking, funny, weird, and very alive, refusing to be just a sports movie, or a comedy, or a parable about capitalism, but somehow being all of them at once. Here’s my full review.
3) One Battle After Another
One Battle After Another is a big, strange, ambitious Paul Thomas Anderson film that mixes dark comedy, violence, and family drama. It takes a while to find its footing, but once Leonardo DiCaprio teams up with Benicio del Toro, the movie comes alive, powered by great performances, momentum, and Jonny Greenwood’s driving score. You could argue that an edit wouldn’t hurt and it’s not top-tier PTA, but it’s smart, gripping, and lingers enough to feel like one of the year’s standout films. Even mid-level PTA is still better than almost anything out there. Here’s my full review.
2) Superman
James Gunn’s Superman had a lot to prove, and it mostly pulls it off by making the character kind again, ditching the lame, grim dark avenger of Zak Synder’s DC Universe in favour of a Man of Steel who is unmistakeably human, corny even. This is a Superman who struggles, gets knocked around, and keeps choosing to do the right thing, even when it’s hard, especially when it’s hard. The cast is excellent and David Corenswet brings warmth and vulnerability to the role. The movie is messy and overstuffed in very Gunn-like ways, but it’s energetic, funny, and sincere, with real belief in decency as a radical act. In a world drowning in cynicism and hate, it became downright emotional to see a Superman who reminds us that it’s cool to be kind. Read my full review here.
And the number one film of 2025? (Drum roll!).
1) All We Imagine As Light
Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light is a quietly powerful film about three women trying to carve out space for themselves in the chaos of Mumbai. With clear lines to the work of Wong Kar Wai, All We Imagine as Light captures the city as overwhelming and lonely, while focusing on very grounded struggles around love, privacy, and independence. Dreamlike and beautifully shot, it’s moving without being heavy-handed — a film that understands how hard daily life can be, but still finds moments of warmth and hope. Here’s my full review.
