Last week when we started this list, I noted I had seen 117 movies released in 2025, and I was counting down my top 30 (or just about the top 25%) of those that I had watched. With 117 being my new record for new movies watched in a year, I’m curious as to whether I’ll be able to top that in 2026. I’m sure I’ll give it a hell of a try either way, though!
But for now, let’s get back to the list. The 21 / 20 break-up in the list wasn’t just a great division point because that’s how round numbers and countdowns by ten work; number twenty here is officially where my list starts with flicks that scored 4.0 out of a possible 5.0 for me.
So starting off with the “worst” of the 4.0 lot is…
20. Predator: Badlands
Less a “Predator” movie than a really kick-ass sci-fi action flick than happens to star a Yautja, Predator: Badlands definitely divided fans of the franchise. Some thought it was a bit too Disney-fied and cutesy; others were just happy with the action and the brutality that only earned a PG-13 because no red blood is spilled in an outing where there are no humans. Count me among the latter, obviously.
Dan Trachtenberg’s second Predator movie of 2025 (will we also see his first? Stay tuned) showed he has a tremendous grasp of the series and is going to be the guy handling it into the future. I’m extremely curious where it all goes from here, though; he has done three very different attempts at Predator stories, and each one was more than capable in its own way. What else does he have in his vision?
I actually thought the interplay between Thia and Dek was a good bit on fun that the movie had really earned, so that did not bother me as much as it may have some others. Elle Fanning did a brilliant job as a snarky Weyland-Yutani android, and I didn’t realize until this that Xenomorphs and Predators still inhabited the same universe. I thought they retconned all of that away years ago. But who knows? Maybe we will get a Trachtenberg-helmed AvP soon!
I’m definitely on board for that.
19. Clown In A Cornfield
Yes, this is very high, but listen! I… uh… I love slashers, and I always, always will.
That’s really all I got as a defense.
In a world where horror writers and directors have absolutely loved going back to the films of their youth and dissecting them, and breaking the down, and re-imagining them… Clown In A Cornfield does all of that, too. But it does a gratifying job of it!
The story starts off with a very basic “Isn’t Gen Z terrible?” kind of approach where it leans into bashing the youth of today, but the story grows more nuanced in the later acts and becomes a tale of generations needing to reach across the divide to one another. As an older viewer–like me, the kind of folks who were raised on slashers–it starts off as easy joy poking fun at youngsters, but then it gets you on board with them. I was surprised how tactfully this one worked!
And in between all of that, there is a maniac clown going around and murdering people in exciting ways. Often from within a cornfield! Huzzah!
18. Summer Of 69
The plot: an unexperienced high school senior who wants to win the heart of the boy she pines for finds out he is into the sex position 69, so she hires a stripper to teach her about sex.
Remember when the teen sex comedy was entirely made for boys and was shot from their perspective about “winning” sex from the girls over whom they lusted? I kind of love that we have taken those movies and flipped the script and started making them about girls with their own goals. Between this, Blockers, and Sweethearts, it’s a great twist on the genre.
The reason this works is because Chloe Fineman and Sam Morelos are so damn game and they leave it all out there on the film for you. Their dynamic and chemistry is palpable, and they both go all-out to make this effort worth watching. It’s a great comedy with two stellar leading ladies.
17. The Gorge
Anya Taylor Joy and Miles Teller in a sci-fi action romance? Yes. All of the yes.
Another movie bought and sold entirely on the way the two leads work together, there is something about The Gorge that feels like maybe you’ve seen all of this before, but definitely not in this way, and definitely not with these actors. Joy and Teller provide a spark that sets this one aflame.
The story is interesting, too, as it sets up a massive mystery as to what lies in the titular gorge between our protagonists. Is it the end of the world? Is it anything at all? And the answer ends up being worth the wait when our heroes finally find themselves face-to-face with the perils within.
The effects work, the stars are doing all of the heavy lifting… I ended up digging this one. Is it a bit overlong at two-plus hours? It is. But there’s also surprisingly little fat to cut, so I am not sure what should have been edited out to shorten it.
16. The Draft!
Definitely the most unseen movie of my top 30, Indonesia’s The Draft! is one I had a hard time writing a full length review on when I received it as a screener earlier in 2025 (but don’t worry: I was able to get it done!).
The problem here is that the picture relies HEAVILY on a massive surprise reveal that, even though you get it relatively early on, takes the film to entirely new levels. It takes what seems like a basic premise–a group of friends travel out into seclusion to take a vacation in an old villa–and twists it all on its head.
Argh, I want to say so much more, but I can’t! Read my linked review, find and watch this one, and enjoy. That’s all I can tell you!
15. Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning
According to Letterboxd, this was the longest movie I watched in 2025, at 170 minutes. So… yay?
I actually ranked the M:I franchise earlier this year after watching Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, and I had this wrap-up to the series as squarely in the middle. The action beats and some of the set pieces were phenomenal (Ethan underwater where there is no dialogue for about ten minutes of film time, and the bi-plane battle in the climax), but I thought this entry missed the humor of the previous entries that really let the audience breathe a bit and accept the ridiculousness of everything they are seeing.
Still, you can’t tell me that Tom Cruise doesn’t love what he does. He seems to have a genuine passion for his performances in movies, and he also seems to direly want to save cinema, which I am all for! His desire to do the best that he can for his fans translates right onto the screen, and he plays Ethan Hunt for all that he is worth. It’s admirable.
14. Fantastic Four: First Steps
Did I really like this movie that much that it places here? I guess I did. I really am curious as to how well this flick will hold up to a rewatch when it inevitably gets drawn for the Stew World Order podcast.
But yes, I remain an unapologetic MCU fan, even though I admittedly thought Phase Five was the weakest in the series’ history. Fantastic Four: First Steps was the first entry in the behemoth’s Sixth Phase, and I have to say that it got off on the right foot.
It’s nice to get an occasional solo movie that stands on its own and doesn’t require loads of previous outings’ backstory to get into. First Steps does not need you to have seen any other MCU flick to enjoy it. It’s all there for you in this one, in an alternate Earth to our MCU. Is that the future of the franchise? Who knows? But it worked here.
There are some truly great scenes in this one, most notably the chase through space and Galactus coming to Earth. This one feels grand in scope, and the effects team and director Matt Shakman made sure it came across that way on screen. Do ALL the effects look outstanding? No, but that’s still par for the course in 2025. And ultimately, 90%+ of the picture is a sight to behold. It’s only a few times things don’t work out.
So yeah, I guess I did dig this one this much. I keep having nice things to think about it, anyway.
13. Train Dreams
Train Dreams probably should not be as good as it is. I mean, there is no plot to it. No real conflict or story. It’s just the tale of a man’s life, a man born around 1900. He lives a hard-scrapping life of physical labor and a cabin out in the woods. He gets married, has a kid, stuff happens. It’s not plot intensive.
And yet… it’s so damn engrossing. As I watched this, I went from “Well this is slow” to “What is the central conflict going to be here?” to “Well, I guess I’m very interested in this” to “I kind of love this movie”. It just wormed its way under my skin and got to me. By the third act, I was all in on Robert’s life and his struggles.
None of this works without Joel Edgerton as the lead. He plays Robert as the character is: an old-timey man from an old-timey era who pushes his feelings down and works a hard, honest day for a hard, honest dollar. But his emotions are always there on his face for any astute viewer to see. You can always tell what he is feeling. He is subdued and vulnerable. Edgerton really becomes his character in this one.
12. K-Pop Demon Hunters
It’s the worldwide phenom that came out of nowhere and just enraptured audiences from two to ninety years old in its wake.
I actually watched this the day it dropped on Netflix and wrote a longer review of it when it came out, and I had no idea how big it was going to get. And over time, my appreciation of it as a cultural juggernaut just grew and grew… probably because I kept listening to the soundtrack.
The fact that even by Christmas time, toys were hard to find for K-Pop Demon Hunters shows that no one expected this to be the hit that it was. Luckily we managed to get a few items online for our niece!
11. The Long Walk
I told you last time that The Monkey was not going to be the last we heard of Stephen King adaptations.
The Long Walk probably seemed unadaptable for years. How do you make a movie that is just about people walking exciting to a mass audience? Then along came director Francis Lawrence and stars Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson (and others), who all rolled up their sleeves and told us they got this.
What we got was a movie full of not only high tension and drama, but some absolutely exceptional acting. Jonsson and Hoffman carry the picture as two strangers who become fast friends in a dystopian competition. They won’t get acknowledged by The Academy for this genre flick, but they really should. Hopefully they escape awards season with at least a few nominations under their belts. Like I said… they made a movie about walking exciting!
And that is it for the second act of this list. Join us next time as we count down my top ten movies of the year!
In the meantime, sound off in the comments: what are your thoughts on these films? Are they deserving to be in a top 30? Which have you seen, and which do you still need to see?
Until next time… take care!
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