It’s been quite a year for movies. Well, maybe it’s been quite a year for International and independent films. To be fair, Hollywood’s contributions were less than ideal outside of Warner Bros.’ outstanding run, including the massively underrated “Mickey 17,” “Sinners,” “One Battle After Another,” and “Weapons.” Oh, and Sony Pictures letting Danny Boyle let loose with “28 Years Later” deserves some kudos as well. And, yet, you know it’s still a good year when quality indies such as “Black Bag” (legit one of the best reviewed movies of the past 12 months), “Warfare”, “The Ballad of Wallis Island,” and “Friendship” have barely been brought up in year-end conversations.
READ MORE: The Playlist’s 25 Top Television Programs of 2025
On the television side, it was a different story as the fall of Peak TV finally reared its ugly head. There were a bunch of fine programs, but series one might describe as “stellar” took a major dip over the frame. It’s not that streamers and networks weren’t attempting to make quality fare, but too many just didn’t stick the landing. That being said, our top five? Arguably, five of the best seasons or series of television so far this decade.
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Keeping all that in mind, my top 10 Films and Television Programs for 2025…with one tiny tie…
1. Sirat
Oliver Laxe’s desert rave descends into a metaphorical journey of outsiders attempting to make their way through hell and to relative salvation. Haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since Cannes. It’s pretty damn close to a masterpiece. [Our review]
2. Hamnet
Chloe Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel is, simply, cinema at its best. Incredible performances from Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, and Emily Watson, and a heart-stopping, euphoric ending that hits you like a hammer. No one does it like Chloe. No one. [Our review]
3. Resurrection
Bi Gan’s exploration of 20th-century cinema throughout six distinct chapters is a wonder of contemporary filmmaking. Gan’s visual eye is unparalleled, and his collaboration with cinematographer Dong Jingsong and production designers Liu Qiang and Tu Nan is consistently jaw-dropping. Somehow, Gan and his collaborators, including fantastic turns from Jackson Yee and Shu Qi, prove you can create new worlds that resonate in an era of sensory overload. “Resurrection” will leave you transfixed like no other cinematic experience this year.
4. Sentimental Value
Joachim Trier doesn’t completely break your heart as he did with “The Worst Person in the World,” but boy, does he come close. Oh, and cast Renate Reinsve in everything, please. [Our review]
5. Train Dreams
Over the span of 80 years, Clint Bentley and Joel Edgerton craft a startling portrait of a man watching the world transform around him. All as the decades of heartbreak that weighs on his shoulders increasingly takes its toll. A film that is simply exquisite.
6. It Was Just An Accident
Jafar Panahi’s Palme d’Or winner is a compelling morality tale that will resonate for decades. And how about that kicker of an ending?
7. Sinners
What makes Ryan Coogler’s genre mash-up so stellar is that it constantly surprises and, most importantly, in the best ways possible. To pull that off within the context of a studio release? My lord.
8. Dreams | Sex | Love Trilogy
Dag Johan Haugerud‘s own version of an Oslo Trilogy got lost to most Western cinephiles, but it shouldn’t have. The third film, “Dreams (Sex Love),” deservedly won the Golden Bear at Berlin in February. The trifecta, including 2024’s “Sex” and “Love,” are vivid portraits of characters questioning their desires and how they attain them in an increasingly isolated world. Set in Norway, but a terrific snapshot of Western society coming out of the pandemic.
9. The Secret Agent (tie)
Kleber Mendonça Filho’s thriller features a firecracker performance from Wagner Moura, introduces the legend of the hairy leg, and, wonderfully, doesn’t give audiences all the answers. It will linger with you for days.
9. No Other Choice (tie)
“No Other Choice” is another South Korean tale of economic disparities taken to dramatic and, often, hilarious extremes, from master filmmaker Park Chan-wook. As events unfold, you’ll soon be rooting for our hero (Lee Byung-hun), an unemployed paper mill executive who is slowly forced to take out his competition for a rare open position. Timely and often haunting, it remarkably becomes more believable as it heads toward a somewhat surprising conclusion. But considering the state of the world, not that surprising.
10. Lurker
In his directorial debut, Alex Russell crafts a fictional thriller that is likely one of the most accurate depictions of the music industry this century. The absolutely sublime performances from Théodore Pellerin, Archie Madekwe, and, sneakily, Havana Rose Liu, don’t hurt either. We’ll never understand why MUBI basically dumped it in August. One of those movies that, if it were on Netflix, everyone would be talking about it. [Our review]
Honorable mention: “Arco,” “Pillion,” “Nouvelle Vague,” “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” “The Mysterious Gaze of the Flamingo,” “Sorry, Baby,” “Twinless,” “Weapons,” “All That’s Left Of You,” “The President’s Cake,” “F1: The Movie,” “Rebuilding,” “Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake),” “Wake Up Dead Man: A Kives Out Mystery,” “Mickey 17,” “One Battle After Another,” “Is This Thing On?,” “28 Years Later,” “Highest 2 Lowest,” “The Mastermind,” “DJ Ahmet,” “Urchin,” “Predator: Badlands,” “Zootopia 2”
