So far this January, I’ve discussed the worst movies that released in 2025 and my favorite movies that came out in that same year. But it’s time to leave the past in the past, as we move on to looking at… the more distant past, I suppose?
My perpetual New Year’s Resolution for the past few years is to watch 200 movies in a calendar year that I have never seen before. Really broaden those cinematic horizons. And with my having seen 117 new release movies in 2025, all I needed to see of movies released prior to 2025 was 83! So of course, I watched *checks Letterboxd* 169. Which is more than double that. But hey! It’s easier to find older movies than newer ones!
I’m not quite doing as many old releases in a countdown as I did for new releases, where I looked at my top thirty. But I also figure it’s worth recounting the top twenty movies from yesteryear that I watched for the first time ever in 2025!
20. Rashomon
For my more thorough review of Rashomon, click HERE!
The first of what will be TWO Akira Kurosawa pictures by the time this list is complete, we have the incredibly influential Rashomon!
Inspiration of one of my favorite Simpsons jokes ever (among many other things), Rashomon is the forefather of the whole “story told from multiple perspectives” shtick. And it’s done as well the first time around as it has ever been done since. The idea that all of the individuals involved in a murder remember it so differently is fascinating. Is it lying? Is it faulty memory? What’s going on here?
The problem with Kurosawa films (such as there could ever be a “problem” with them) is that the first one I watched was Seven Samurai, and that (to me) is his tour de force. His opus. Everything else is losing a race to that movie. Rashomon is great! But it’s no Seven Samurai in my mind, unfortunately.
19. Thelma
I first heard of Thelma when a few websites and podcasts were covering their favorite movies and performances of 2024, and this little outing kept popping up on lists. I ultimately decided in 2025 to see what I missed out on.
What I got was possibly my favorite lead actress performance of the 2024 cinematic year, and it came from June Squibb, a legitimately 90+ year old actress playing a silly pseudo-action heroine of the same age. But the movie finds its way to being realistic; Thelma is not more capable or heroic than she should be. She is just a determined senior trying her best. And being hilarious along the way.
Thelma shows both the folly and the experience and heart that comes with age. Our titular main character is easily duped out of a large chunk of money by a modern scam, but when she is basically treated as inept by her family, she decides to get the money back on her own. The movie manages to have fun while also being respectful of its audience and their expectations.
18. The Raid 2
As someone who liked, but far from LOVED, The Raid: Redemption, I went into The Raid 2 with tempered expectations. I just wanted a good, easy watch with some solid action. Even as the runtime put me off a little, I remembered the 3/5 I gave its predecessor and hoped for at least that much.
What I got was a solid 4/5 sequel that I honestly thought blew away the original.
Whereas The Raid is incredibly simplistic in nature–a protagonist enters a building full of scum and has fight scene after fight scene–The Raid 2 has a lot more story. We are treated to the politics of a criminal organization and some backstabbing and plot devices. I will confess that some of the non-stop action is sacrificed at the altar of storytelling, but I didn’t mind that; I’ve always been more of a story guy myself.
Additionally, The Raid 2 has more varied fight scenes than its progenitor. We get a highway/car chase scene that is absurdly enjoyable!
17. Sing Street
For my more thorough review of Sing Street, click HERE!
Another movie I had heard about through the grapevine–I was putting together a draft list of the best motion picture soundtracks of all time, and this kept showing up on others’ lists–I got around to taking those mentions as a recommendation this year and sought out Sing Street.
Musically? Phenomenal, yes. But this also has the soul of a wonderful coming-of-age film about the youthful Conor and his life in 1980’s Ireland and his transfer to a new school. I was so into this one’s story. And then it just kept having brilliant musical numbers like “Drive It Like You Stole It” and “Brown Shoes”.
16. Lethal Weapon 2
For my more thorough review of Lethal Weapon 2, click HERE!
Along with The Raid 2, we find ourselves looking at another sequel I preferred over the first outing!
Now, Lethal Weapon the first is great. No question there. So imagine my surprise when I turned on its sequel and found myself digging it even more! The action set pieces were better, the characterization was more consistent, and the humor landed just as hard, if not more so with the introduction of Joe Pesci into the franchise.
I thought that maybe the villain in this one was a bit of a letdown, sure, but everything else worked. I know / have heard that parts 3 and 4 don’t live up to the first two in this series. Dare I move on in this franchise? Eh, I almost certainly will, so stay tuned…
15. What If
If there are two things I unabashedly love when it comes to movies, they are Daniel Radcliffe and low stakes, inter-personal dramadies about two characters finding each other and trying to work out what doing so means.
Enter: What If.
I will attest that I often prefer these kinds of movies have a more ambiguous ending than What If does. The resolution to What If feels a little wish fulfilment-y. Like, and this is entirely my speculating here, the screenwriter or director was creating a happy ending for themselves in another life. It’s a little too “easy” when this film reaches its conclusion. And it also has a bit of the “oh no, the FRIENDZONE!” type angst going for it back before that was as much of a thing as it would become.
But aside from that, you have a story with three marvelous performances from Radcliffe, Zoe Kazan, and Adam Driver. These kinds of flicks totally rely on their leads having impeccable chemistry and timing, and these three all play together so damn well. They carry the story and make it all worthwhile.
And aside from that, I don’t know… I just loved the tale this one spun. The characters are lively and well-written, and it’s all just a bit relatable to everyone. There are no aliens or superheroes or hallway fight scenes; it’s just misplaced affections and missed timing and unrequited love.
It’s good stuff.
14. Excalibur
For my more thorough review of Excalibur, click HERE!
I’m not typically a big Swords N’ Sorcery type of bloke. I don’t know why; I feel like I should be. Swords are cool! Sorcery is cool! Why don’t I like fantasy movies, I have no idea.
So there was some trepidation when I settled in to watch this two-and-a-half hour epic from the 1980’s this year, a viewing that came entirely from randomly remembering my dad LOVED this flick.
Maybe I just haven’t seen enough GOOD fantasy, because this was very, very good! For its runtime, I was never bored or checking my phone. I was just engrossed in the yarn about Arthur and Merlin and Lancelot and the rest. The acting was terrific (and it was a joy catching all the younger iterations of so many stars I love), and the action was realistic.
So I’m turning this over to you: what are some other fantasy films you’d recommend to get someone more into the genre? Asking for me.
13. The Great Dictator
For my more thorough review of The Great Dictator, click HERE!
One of the great film revelations I’ve had in the 2020’s is how much I have come to dig Charlie Chaplin movies. Like Akira Kurosawa, he was a talent I never bothered checking out in the pre-COVID era, and I really, really should have!
With The Great Dictator, I have now seen five of Chaplin’s productions, and I have at least liked them all (with The Kid being the “lowest” on my totem pole of Charlie). And none are quite as timeless (unfortunately) or modernly relevant (more unfortunately) as Chaplin’s takedown of Adolf Hitler’s early days of power.
It’s a testament to Chaplin’s talent (and the fact that not everything about the Third Reich had come to light when he made this) that he could make a Hitler stand-in as humorous as he does here.
12. Raiders Of The Lost Ark
For my more thorough review of Raiders Of The Lost Ark, click HERE!
Yes! I had never seen Raiders Of The Lost Ark prior to 2025! That’s weird, I know. I thought MAYBE I had seen it when I was a very young child (I know I had seen Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom, for instance), but there were swaths of this viewing that were unrecognizable to me. So I have to assume I’d never seen this at all.
Obviously, I liked it a great deal. It places pretty highly out of 169 movies, right? Top seven percent! It just hits every high that I’d heard about the movie my entire life. It’s arguably (inarguably?) the greatest adventure film ever made, and it’s a pitch perfect blend of action and humor and soul. Indy is truly an all-timer of a protagonist, as he is capable, but not nearly infallible. I was impressed at how he is portrayed as a realistic hero.
11. The Coffee Table
I’m sure you have, at various times in your life, watched a movie or read a book or played a game where you have immediately felt that “I need to talk to someone about what I just experienced” sensation. One of the most recent times that has ever happened for me was after finishing The Coffee Table.
It is a BALLSY movie, and that’s all I can say without getting into spoiler territory, which I would never do.
It’s a weird offering in that you need to go in as blind as humanly possible, but it’s also traumatic and probably should come with a trigger warning. How do you balance those two aspects? I have no idea. Luckily, it didn’t traumatize me, and I was just able to… well… I can’t say I “enjoyed” this…
But of all the films I watched in 2025, few have stuck with me as much as this one has.
What an odd selection of films to discuss, as we just covered ten movies that span from 1940 to 2024. We have comedy, action, drama, fantasy, and musical all bound together. Don’t mind me; I’m just giving myself props for being eclectic.
And that’s just parts twenty through eleven! Come back next time, and we will look at the top ten movies I watched for the first time last year.
Until then… take care!
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