Tag Archives: 2025toptenmovies

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Song of the Day #6,459: ‘Ready or Not (Here I Come)’ – The Jackson 5

Concluding my countdown of last year’s best films…

Best Films of 2025
#1. One Battle After Another

Paul Thomas Anderson is one of my guys — one of a handful of filmmakers I consider among my very favorites. I consider him a modern American master, somebody whose name should and will be listed alongside Scorsese, Hitchcock, Welles, Spielberg, Coppola, and Kubrick.

That said, it had been four years since his last release, and 2021’s Licorice Pizza (despite its many charms) is probably my least favorite of his films. Before that, it’s all the way back to 2017 and the brilliant Phantom Thread. So when One Battle After Another was announced, I’d been waiting nearly a decade for a new PTA masterpiece with no guarantee I’d get one.

Well, I got one.

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Song of the Day #6,458: ‘Rocky Road to Dublin’ – Sinners Cast

Continuing my countdown of last year’s best films…

Best Films of 2025
#2. Sinners

Before Ryan Coogler’s Sinners came out last spring, I read a review with the writer/director in which he called it his most personal film yet. That seemed odd given that it appeared to be a straight-up vampire genre movie.

He explained that his debut, 2013’s Fruitvale Station, was documenting the true story of a young man killed by a police officer, so it was ultimately that man’s story and not his own. Creed was an offshoot of Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky. And the Black Panther films were part of the Marvel machine. This one came entirely from him.

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Song of the Day #6,457: ‘Crazy For This Girl’ – Evan and Jaron

Continuing my countdown of last year’s best films…

Best Films of 2025
#3. Twinless

Most of the movies on my list are by established filmmakers whose work I enjoy, and/or they’re critical darlings cleaning up on the awards show circuit. The usual suspects. Much of being a film fan is seeking out and liking the things I expect to like.

But once in awhile I’m blessed with the joy of a true discovery, and that’s what writer/director James Sweeney’s Twinless was last year. This is a sharply funny movie about grief and friendship with subtle performances and style to burn.

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Song of the Day #6,456: ‘Eu Não Sou Cachorro, Não (Com Falcão)’ – Waldick Soriano

Continuing my countdown of last year’s best films…

Best Films of 2025
#4. The Secret Agent

As far as I know, I’ve seen exactly three Brazilian films and every one of them knocked me on my ass. The first was 2002’s City of God, a movie I count among my favorites of its decade. The second was 2024’s I’m Still Here, which made it to #4 on that year’s top ten list. And the third is The Secret Agent, which coincidentally landed in the same spot this year.

That’s obviously a very small sample from which to make any generalizations, but all three films capture a cultural richness and vibrancy that’s enveloping. They all run over two hours but I’d happily spend two hours more basking in the rhythms, the music, and the visuals of each.

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Song of the Day #6,455: ‘Hold On, I’m Comin” – Sam & Dave

Continuing my countdown of last year’s best films…

Best Films of 2025
#5. No Other Choice

I’ve been unemployed for the better part of a year, dealing with all of the uncertainty that comes with being out of a job, so Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice was particularly impactful right now.

The film follows Yoo Man-su (played by Lee Byung-hun), an executive at a paper company who loses his job and goes to extraordinary lengths to land a new one. Desperate and helpless, he takes the concept of eliminating the competition to a whole new level.

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