As 2025 comes to a close, there have been some excellent movies, but also some disappointing ones. Now, I haven’t seen every movie released this year, but I have seen quite a few, and I have formed many opinions about them. Fair warning, there will be some spoilers in this, so if you haven’t seen some of these movies, I would skip ahead.
Best movies of 2025
- Sinners
“Sinners” was my favorite movie of the year by far. It was just about everyone’s favorite, and rightfully so. The film is set in the deep South during the Great Depression and follows the Smokestack twins on their journey to open a juke joint with the money they obtained after robbing gangsters in the North. The twins both rekindle with their past loves, and they bring along their cousin Sammy and a few other friends to help run the place. During their music, vampires are summoned who terrorize them until morning. It takes a very open mind to understand the film and its meaning. Regardless of whether they were vampires or not, the twins and their friends weren’t supposed to leave the joint alive because the men who sold it to them were a part of the KKK. Since they knew where they would be, they knew how to deal with them. Coogler just added vampires to make people more interested. If you haven’t watched “Sinners” yet, I highly recommend it.
- Weapons
Cregger’s “Weapons” works because it avoids over-explaining its themes. The film opens with 17 children mysteriously fleeing their homes at night, a chilling event that fractures their community. Julia Garner plays Justine, a teacher whose missing class leads the town to wrongly target her instead of seeking the truth. Told through shifting character chapters, the story jumps between Justine, a grieving father; Archer, a troubled cop; a junkie; and a principal. The nonlinear structure allows the audience to reinterpret events, deepening the film’s sense of secrecy and paranoia. Strong performances are matched by energetic cinematography and editing, which keep the movie tense, surprising and occasionally funny. In the end, “Weapons” blends scares, dark humor and social tension into a sharp, unsettling ride. I definitely recommend “Weapons” if you’re looking for a good horror movie to watch.
- Bridget Jones Mad About The Boy
If you don’t love funny and silly that’s done well, then maybe this isn’t for you. The film opens by catching us up on Bridget’s life: she’s now a mother of two, still delightfully chaotic, and surrounded by familiar faces, including Hugh Grant’s Daniel Cleaver, who once again steals every scene. But the tone quickly shifts when we learn that Mark Darcy has died on a humanitarian mission, leaving Bridget to navigate single parenthood, work and dating. Renée Zellweger remains the soul of the series, bringing a mix of humor and warmth. Her new romantic prospects also add charm: Chiwetel Ejiofor as a strict, endearing teacher, and Leo Woodall as a younger, carefree love interest. Cameos from past characters add nostalgic fun, even if they’re brief. The script seamlessly blends comedy, grief and modern rom-com tropes, and the story unfolds with humor and a great soundtrack. While some romantic beats may feel predictable or rushed, the movie’s exploration of loss, aging and starting over lends it a genuine heart. “Mad About the Boy” ultimately proves far more moving and satisfying than anticipated, an emotional, funny Valentine’s Day watch that justifies returning to Bridget’s world once again.
- Superman
Many people have mixed emotions about this movie. A lot of weight fell on James Gunn with this film. The pressure of it to be good was high. The good news: it’s genuinely, refreshingly good. Gunn leans into the bright, hopeful, comic-book tone he loves, delivering a film that’s colorful, romantic, funny and earnest in a way superhero movies rarely allow themselves to be anymore. Set three years into Clark Kent’s life as Superman, the story follows his clashes with Lex Luthor and the fallout from an international incident that forces him to question his role as a hero. Gunn keeps the narrative character-driven and straightforward; Clark’s conversations with Lois Lane and his small acts of kindness say more than any massive fight scene. The cast shines, especially David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult. The film’s biggest flaw is that it rarely “wows,” partly because the trailers spoiled much of the spectacle, but its emotional context still lands. More importantly, “Superman” provides something the DCU desperately needs: stability, hope and a strong foundation for the future. After years of messy universes and audience fatigue, Gunn delivers a film that feels both new and classic, bright, sincere and confident. It’s not just a good Superman movie; it’s the reset DC needed.
Worst movies of 2025
- The Materialist
I really wanted to like this movie. It featured three great actors, was a romantic comedy, and had a love triangle with two handsome men. What more could you ask for? Maybe a plot that didn’t set women back 100 years. Why would you choose the man whom you initially broke up with because you wanted him to change his ways, and five years later, he has yet to change at all? Now, the movie is framed as a second-chance romance, with the question: Do you marry for love or do you marry for money? Obviously, the answer is love, but what we don’t talk about is how Lucy essentially settles for a guy who broke up with her because he didn’t like that she made more money than he did, but he never did anything to fix that. Years later, he still has an issue with it, but now it’s ok because he loves her. If you can’t tell, I wasn’t a fan of this movie at all.
- Regretting You
I went into this with low expectations, given my history with Colleen Hoover’s books and her last adaptation, “It Ends With Us.” I’m not a fan of her writing style, nor was I a fan of the previous movie. With “Regretting You”, it’s one of those cases where the cast is excellent, but the plot just doesn’t quite live up to expectations. You find out the majority of the plot from the trailer itself. Morgan’s husband, Chris, and sister Jenny both died in a car accident. Her daughter, Clara, is distraught, and she ends up in an entanglement with the cutest, most popular student at school, Miller, who essentially takes advantage of a very sad Clara’s emotions by acting like he wants to be there for her in this hard time, but then runs away when Clara opens up to him. Oh, and the reason Chris and Jenny were together in the first place is that they had been having an affair for years, but it’s fine because Morgan and Jonah, Jenny’s fiancé, have been in love with each other for years. The plot itself sounds really drama-filled, but it wasn’t executed very well in my opinion.
- Captain America: Brave New World
As a Marvel fan, I was very excited for this movie. Sadly, I was very disappointed. Wilson never questions the system that wrongfully imprisons Bradley; instead, he defends Ross, whose attempt at redemption is disrupted by a forgettable villain in Samuel Sterns. Much of “Brave New World” becomes a dull investigation with little humor or tension. The action is the film’s only real strength. Onah occasionally delivers solid, physical fight scenes and Giancarlo Esposito briefly energizes the screen before the movie sinks back into flat visuals. The ending is the film’s biggest failure. It pushed an empty message of forgiveness and reduced Captain America to a stereotype meant to soothe white audiences, making its gestures toward Black representation feel shallow. Even Harrison Ford’s Ross is squandered, despite a brief spark during his Red Hulk transformation. Ultimately, “Brave New World” is timid, heavy-handed and one of the MCU’s most lifeless entries.
- Lilo & Stitch
Disney’s new “Lilo & Stitch” remake may be its most misguided redo yet. Unlike “Snow White”, which is at least a reinterpretation of a classic fairy tale, “Lilo & Stitch” is a uniquely original piece of Disney animation, one defined by expressive hand-drawn art, watercolor backgrounds and a perfect mix of sci-fi chaos and heartfelt family drama. The new live-action version keeps the basic story and Stitch’s design, but everything around him falls apart. The remake loses the charm and nuance of the original Lilo and Nani, replacing their layered performances with flat sitcom-style acting and cutesy one-liners. The scenes are rushed, poorly edited and visually awkward, especially the opening sequence featuring Jumba and the Galactic Council. Even when the story slows down, the movie feels empty and disconnected from the lush Hawaiian setting that once defined it. Lilo & Stitch is one of my favorite Disney movies, and the fact that they changed the ending for the worse and toned down Stitch’s chaotic personality was really disappointing.