Every holiday season, it is important that we all keep in mind the things that are truly important. Like cataloging the movies we've seen as if it was some kind of contest.
The usual disclaimer: My lists are not necessarily in order of best to worst. Movies
that have the same number of stars can probably be reordered depending
on how I feel and what kind of day it is. But a four star movie is
unambiguously better than a two star movie. If you disagree with me, let
me know. There is no shame in being wrong!
2025 movies
This was a very good year for seeing movies in theaters. This year, I saw 23 new releases, and three old films in theaters.
Most of my top movies this year are on lots of people's lists of acclaimed movies. But I think one of the top movies this year was overlooked by many: Novocaine was very funny, and extremely well made. Go see it.
The biggest disappointment of the year was Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning. It is not necessarily a bad film. But the huge drop off in quality from the previous five Mission Impossible films was almost shocking.
Luckily, most of the new movies that I saw this year were able to deliver on their premises. And some were actually great.
★★★★ Sinners
★★★★ Wake Up Dead Man
★★★★ Novocaine
★★★★ Nosferatu (2024)
★★★★ Marty Supreme
★★★★ F1
★★★½ Superman (2025)
★★★½ Last Breath
★★★½ Wolfs [on TV]
★★★½ Zootopia 2
★★★½ The Phoenician Scheme
★★★½ Thunderbolts*
★★★½ Death of a Unicorn
★★★☆ The Fantastic Four: First Steps
★★★☆ The Running Man (2025)
★★★☆ Predator: Badlands
★★★☆ Jurassic World Rebirth
★★★☆ The Naked Gun (2025)
★★★☆ The Comeback Trail [on TV]
★★★☆ Captain America: Brave New World
★★½☆ Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
★★½☆ Cleaner
★★½☆ The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie
★☆☆☆ Flight Risk
★☆☆☆ The Legacy of Schwarzkopf [on TV]
★☆☆☆ The Brutalist (2024)
Older Movies
This year, I watched a number of Jackie Chan films, since I had heard that the first two Police Story films were amazing. They were both pretty great! But the movie that impressed me most was Miracles. It is a delightful fish out of water crime comedy with great action scenes and a fantastic script.
★★★★ His Girl Friday (1940)
★★★★ Back to the Future Part II (1989)
★★★★ Sunset Boulevard (1950) [in theater]
★★★★ Jaws (1975) [in theater]
★★★★ Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
★★★★ Miracles (1989)
★★★★ The Muppet Movie (1979)
★★★★ Road to Perdition (2002)
★★★★ Airplane! (1980)
★★★★ Carrie (1976)
★★★★ Mary Poppins (1964)
★★★½ Police Story (1985)
★★★½ Extra Ordinary. (2019)
★★★½ The Wages of Fear (1953)
★★★½ My Favorite Wife (1940)
★★★½ Foreign Correspondent (1940)
★★★½ The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967)
★★★½ The Walk (2015)
★★★½ Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
★★★½ Muppets Treasure Island (1996)
★★★½ When Ladies Meet (1941)
★★★½ Police Story 2 (1988)
★★★½ Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) [in theater]
★★★½ Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar (2021)
★★★½ An American Werewolf in London (1981)
★★★½ Trading Places (1983)
★★★½ The Founder (2017)
★★★½ The Fog (1980)
★★★½ Vengeance (2022)
★★★☆ Back to the Future Part III (1990)
★★★☆ The Mad Miss Manton (1938)
★★★☆ Stagecoach (1939)
★★★☆ Lady Be Good (1941)
★★★☆ Twentieth Century (1934)
★★★☆ My Dinner with Andre (1981)
★★★☆ Sherlock Jr. (1924)
★★★☆ Saturday Night (2024)
★★★☆ Smart Money (1931)
★★★☆ The Man Who Knew Too Little (1997)
★★★☆ Juror No. 2 (2024)
★★★☆ Naked Gun 33 1⁄3: The Final Insult (1994)
★★★☆ Young Frankenstein (1974)
★★★☆ Drive-Away Dolls (2024)
★★★☆ The Pentagon Wars (1998)
★★★☆ The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 (2012)
★★★☆ See How They Run (2022)
★★★☆ Ginger Snaps (2000)
★★★☆ Lady Killer (1933)
★★★☆ The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (1991)
★★★☆ Field of Dreams (1989)
★★½☆ Starship Troopers (1997)
★★½☆ King Solomon's Mines (1950)
★★☆☆ Sleepaway Camp (1983)
★★☆☆ Volunteers (1985)
★★☆☆ Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981)
★★☆☆ The Nitwits (1935)
★★☆☆ Dragon Seed (1944)
★★☆☆ The Suicide Squad (2021)
★½☆☆ Cool as Ice (1991)
★½☆☆ The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (2011)
★½☆☆ Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (2018?)
★☆☆☆ Friday the 13th (1980)
★☆☆☆ Chopping Mall (1986)
★☆☆☆ Popcorn (1991)
In Memoriam of the Theater from My Youth
This year has also been somewhat tough. The theater I frequented in high school closed for good this August.
In 2021, I discovered that it had maintained excellent presentation quality through covid when many other theaters cut maintenance budgets. So, whenever I went to see a movie in my home town, this theater was my first choice.
The theater originally opened the same day as Spider-Man (2002), and I am pretty sure I was there that weekend.
On the summer a close family member passed away, I went to see Ratatouille and Hot Fuzz five times each at this theater. It is where I took my wife on many of our early dates. And it is where my friend who worked there made me see Transformers (2007). So, I guess some of the memories there weren't as important. But Transformers wasn't the theater's fault!
In 2025, it closed the Monday after The Naked Gun opened. So, I was there to see it off. It will be missed.
Closing Thoughts
Overall, 2025 was a pretty good year for me to see movies. But with 91 total for the year, it was a step down from last year's 102. Hopefully, in 2026 I will be able to prioritize the important things in life over things like family, work, and friendship.
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