5.Toy Story 4 (2019)

To put it simply, there are a lot of poor and lazy kids’ movies made every year. Movies that are just colors and lack any depth to help the development of a child. Toy Story 4 is not that and it deserves to be celebrated for that reason. Toy Story, on its worst day, is better than 90% of content made for children. Whether or not audiences really needed another film in this franchise is up for debate, especially since the third instalment is a perfect ending. 

Toy Story 4 is far from perfect, but the voice cast from both new and returning players is great. Toy Story 4 works as a thoughtful exploration of how we find purpose when life starts to change, which is a thematic idea that is probably relevant for most of the fans who grew up with this franchise and are not in their adult life. If you haven’t seen Toy Story 4 in a while, it is worth the rewatch and reexamination. 

4.Toy Story 5 (2026)

The latest installment in the Toy Story franchise follows the gang of toys as they are threatened by technology replacing what children know as “play time”. Bonnie, the toy’s owner, has recently been given a tablet called “Lily Pad”, as her parents hope that this will help Bonnie fit in with all of the other children who have devices. 

All things considered, Toy Story 5 feels like a more appropriate follow-up film to the third installment than Toy Story 4 did. It was inevitable that Pixar would have to acknowledge that technology is arguably more important to the modern child than toys are. While it might seem like this film would take a completely anti-technology stance, it does not. What this installment has to say is a bit more nuanced than “throw your phone in the trash”. The film centers on Jessie and the idea of female friendship, which marks new territory for the franchise. Some of the film’s most exciting moments come in the form of imaginary play sequences, where the animation changes to something that looks a bit like watercolors. Those moments are a lot of fun and show that Toy Story can continue to experiment with the animation medium all these years later. 

That said, it is the only Toy Story film that does not feel like a finale. This just feels like another installment and while it does not work to set up a sixth film, do not be surprised in five years when Toy Story 6 is announced. 

3.Toy Story 2 (1999)

Once again, Woody has gone missing; this time, he is taken by a toy collector named Al. The gang must go on a daring rescue mission to save the cowboy. Toy Story 2 is a movie that works best when expanding the world of the toys and how exactly the life of the toys works. The toys leave Andy’s home and go out into the world, showing the audience just how interesting and weird Pixar can get with these movies. This is the film that introduces one of Pixar’s core characters, Jessie. It often feels forgotten that a character so iconic is introduced in the second film and has not been there since day one. 

While Toy Story 2 is one of the great films to come out of Pixar, it does not quite pack the emotional punch that other films in the franchise do (aside from the Jessie backstory). 

2. Toy Story (1995)

Toy Story is a perfect movie. Truthfully, that’s all that really needs to be said (but I will keep going). Toy Story is not brought up enough in the discussion for the most important films to come out of the 90s. It does not seem like it would be most people’s gut response if they were asked what the 5 or 10 best movies to come out of the decade are. This is a film that completely changed the world of animation and blockbuster storytelling forever. Maybe aside from The Matrix, is there another more influential movie from that time period? This animation style is the dominant mode for these types of movies, so many children’s movies want to have screenplays as perfect as this one and ensemble casts as memorable as this one. No notes, there is no need to elaborate any further.

1.Toy Story 3 (2010)

This movie has a certain magic to it that few other movies have. There is an argument to be made that Toy Story and Toy Story 2 have more perfect screenplays, but there is a level of emotionality brought to 3 that the others do not have. 

We follow the toys as they grapple with Andy growing up and moving on. This is one of the smartest moves the Pixar team could have made, as the audience members who grew up with the first two films will now be in the same age range as Andy. It feels like a natural evolution, especially since this is far and away the most mature film in the bunch. It is a movie that has grown with its audience and is not taking any shortcuts. It is a perfect conclusion to this original three-movie run and a franchise can rarely pull off a perfect trilogy, especially with a third movie. 

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Fargo is interested in small-town America. The film takes its audience to a rather desolate, cold and snowy location in the Midwest. A setting that gives Fargo a unique storytelling angle when compared to other films in the same genre. We follow the story of Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), a car salesman, trying to make a business deal. Jerry hires two henchmen (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife, in hopes that Jerry’s father-in-law (who is also Jerry’s boss) pays the ransom. This way, Jerry can use the money to save himself from bankruptcy. 

Based on this description, it would be safe to assume Jerry is the film’s protagonist, but after everything that can go wrong goes wrong, we are introduced to Marge Gunderson (Frances McDormand), a pregnant cop in this small town. One of the most interesting aspects of Fargo is the film’s structure as Marge doesn’t enter the frame of the story until the 34-minute mark of the movie. How many other 90s crime thrillers introduce the film’s main character at the start of the second act? It is a break in storytelling structure that would make any screenwriting professor lose their mind. It should not work, but it does, and it makes the movie better in doing so. 

Fargo rides the line between realism and dark-comedy in a way that is always engaging for audience members. At points, the film is a rather cynical look at the endless cycle of random acts of violence. At other times, the film is interested in two henchmen having pancakes for the second time in one day. It both feels absurd and completely real at the same time, which is definitely benefited by the film’s opening blurb, which claims that the film is a true story. It is easy to imagine that in 1996, there was no other choice but to believe that the crazy, yet very human, events in Fargo could have happened in a small Midwest town. 

The performances that the actors bring to Fargo are another highlight of the film. Most of the cast dons a somewhat exaggerated midwestern accent that gives the film a real sense of charm. The accents and way of speaking feel so inviting and safe, which makes the moments of violence all the more jarring. 30 years later, Fargo is one of those 90s movies that, no matter how many times you have thrown it on, always has something new to offer in its characters and small-town feeling.

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10. Hamnet

For many, Hamnet is nothing more than an acting showcase for Jessie Buckley. Personally, I disagree with that sentiment. While Hamnet is a movie that takes its time getting going, the highs in this film are some of the highest of the year. We follow the tale of Agnes and William as they live lives isolated in a forest. William, or should I say, William Shakespeare, is a tortured artist, and his wife Agnes might be a witch of sorts. The story follows the perspective of Agnes as she raises her three children while William spends most of his time in London working on various plays. 

To be forward, Hamnet is a film about loss and features some of the most devastating scenes to come out in a movie this year. While much of the praise has been given to the two leads of the film, some of the child performances in Hamnet are arguably one of the strongest aspects of the film. There are a few sequences to show up in a film this year that moved me as much as the final stretch of the film. While I cannot say that I love every moment of Hamnet, the parts that need to move audiences work, which in this case is all I really need for the film to be considered a success in my eyes. 

9. Eddington

Ari Aster’s fourth feature film is one of the most divisive films of the year. It comes in a trend of modern films that examine the 2020s and its current social landscape as social media booms stronger than ever. Eddington is focused on the early days of the COVID-19 Pandemic; this alone opens the film up for eye rolls from either political side. But Eddington is never interested in what you think, which might be the most frustrating part of the film for some viewers. 

My experience seeing Eddington back in July was one of the most fascinating viewing experiences of my lifetime. It was a Sunday afternoon and when I entered the theater, I was only expecting a handful of people to also be in attendance with me, but to my surprise, it was closer to 20 people (which feels like a lot for this type of movie). I could feel the energy in the room as audience members figured out if the film was frustrating or if they would be in on the joke. I could hear people in the audience whispering to their friends about whether or not the film worked or if it was funny. There were a handful of walkouts, but also people who seemed to be having the time of their lives. For me, Eddington is a fascinating look at one of the weirdest times in recent US history. I will never say that every piece of this neo-western works, but I sure do have a lot of fun picking it apart. 

8. Train Dreams

Train Dreams was a film that had a lot to live up to. It first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and opened to a lot of praise. From there, I continued to hear about Train Dreams and people’s love for the film. When the film finally dropped on Netflix a couple of months back, I was moved by the performances, the look of the film, its episodic nature, and the overall scale the story covers. 

Train Dreams follows the life and career of a logger, played by Joel Edgerton, from the early-mid 20th century. Which on the surface, might not sound like the most exciting thing in the world, but the film does a great job at presenting memorable characters that are easy to lose yourself in. The film features some of the most impressive cinematography from the year. There is a very digital look to Train Dreams that I would normally find a bit boring, but the film uses it in such a way that it elevates the beauty of nature and the world that the loggers work in. There is just a level of care and precision to the look and feel of Train Dreams that is absent from a lot of modern movies. All of this creates a deeply moving, yet tragic look at the working man in the 20th century. 

7. Bugonia

When I first saw Bugonia a few months ago, I felt positive it would not be in my top 10 for the year, despite how much fun I had watching it. Since that viewing, the latest from Yorgos Lanthimos has not left my mind. Bugonia is similar to Eddington in how it handles modern times, the internet and paranoia in modern culture. Except Bugonia is a film about a loner and his autistic cousin discovering that the CEO of a powerful company might be an alien. 

Bugonia features two very complicated performances from Emma Stone and Jesse Plemons. The scenes are dialogue-heavy and ask a lot of their actors. Performances aside, Bugonia’s screenplay is the true achievement of the film. With a weaker screenplay, the question of whether or not Stone’s CEO character is an alien would be easy to answer early on in the film. This is not the case, with the screenplay keeping the question open in the air the whole time. There were multiple instances in which I went back and forth on whether Stone was the alien that Plemons claims her to be. Bugonia’s ending is one of the most divisive talking points of the whole film; it is deeply nihilistic, but it leaves a lot for the viewer to consider once it is all said and done, which is one of my favorite aspects of filmmaking. 

6. Marty Supreme

One of my favorite parts of being a movie fan in 2025 was watching the sort of breakup between directors Josh and Benny Safdie, who made two of my favorite films to come out of the 2010s, Good Time and Uncut Gems. The previous films from the brother duo are some of the most intense thrillers to come out in the past decade, which explore vile protagonists that you cannot help but keep your eyes on. This year, Benny Safdie made The Smashing Machine, a sports drama starring Dawyne Johnson that didn’t pack the punch it probably should have. On the other hand, Josh Safdie made Marty Supreme, a sports drama starring Timothée Chalamet that packed the punch I was hoping for. 

I love the way that Marty Supreme takes the basic premise of sports films and completely contorts it into one of the tensest films of the year. It is a story about a young athlete finding the greatness he knows that he has, but truth be told, he just really sucks at being a person. He is in a great deal of debt, has a baby on the way that he denies is his, screws over his friends, and just cannot seem to make ends meet. While the film takes place over the course of about a year, it feels like a one-crazy-night movie, which is one of the most impressive parts of the storytelling in Marty Supreme. 

5. Sorry, Baby

Eva Victor’s Sorry, Baby first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and caught momentum as one of the strongest directorial debuts in a while. Sorry, Baby takes on the task of not telling the story in a linear format, which can often be to a story’s detriment, but not here. There is a very personal and deeply emotional story at the center of Sorry, Baby. It hides all of these feelings behind a sense of humor that is both hilarious and devastating. 

Sorry, Baby is a film about finding yourself and accepting the way the world is during a period of life that can often come off as confusing, which is the part of the story that resonates with me the most. There are conversational scenes amongst friends that I cannot quite relate to at this point in my life, but feel that I likely will in the next 5-10 years. There is an awkwardness to the way that these old peers speak with each other and act like they still might have something in common. Victor’s writing style is simply a style that appeals to me. Victor is a new writer/director I hope to still be talking about in 20 years. 

4. Superman

I have a theory about James Gunn’s Superman. Two and a half years ago, I visited Warner Bros. Studio in Hollywood. I think that during my visit to the backlots of the studio, a strand of my hair or a swab of my saliva was found on a water bottle. Someone, maybe James Gunn, maybe an executive at Warner Brothers, got my DNA and, through that DNA, was able to craft a film that would appeal to me in a way few other films have. For starters, Superman is a movie that believes in the power of journalism, it’s a movie that celebrates punk rock (something I love), and finally, it evokes the same emotions that watching DC cartoons like Justice League: The Animated Series did when I was a child. I grew up in the 2010s, during the height of the Marvel reign, and as a fan of comic books, I do have a love for most of those movies, but I have always felt that Marvel was afraid to lean into the comic book aspects of superhero storytelling. That fear might be part of the success of the MCU, watered-down superhero storytelling that will appeal to all audiences, but Superman doesn’t want to be watered down. Gunn loves comic books and so do I. I am just overjoyed that we have a director who isn’t afraid to be a bit weird with some of the most popular IPs to ever exist. Does Superman have issues? Probably, but this is a movie that feels like it was crafted just for me. 

3. One Battle After Another

To put it simply, Paul Thomas Anderson is my favorite filmmaker, but I felt cautious about One Battle After Another. The more I heard about the film’s ambition and budget, the more worried I felt. What if One Battle After Another doesn’t feel like a PTA film? What if the film plays it safe because of the massive budget? What if the contemporary setting, something PTA has not explored since 2002, does not translate in 2025? I’m glad to say that I had no real reason to worry. 

That said, One Battle After Another didn’t entirely click for me on the first watch. I liked it, but didn’t love it, and certainly could not figure out why many were calling it the best of the decade and a “modern-American classic”. It was my second watch of One Battle that brought it all together. All the performances clicked, the complexity of the morally gray characters made sense, and the sincere ending worked in a way that did not make me roll my eyes. One Battle After Another feels important; it is a film that is not afraid to talk about modern issues in society, while also being set in modern society. A modern society that feels authentic to the real world, a concept that many filmmakers struggle to tackle in a rapidly growing digital age. 

2. Weapons

Weapons is another film that feels like it was made for me. My favorite type of horror isn’t necessarily a genre, but a setting, and that setting is the suburbs. You can call it relatability as someone who grew up and resides in the suburbs, but I have a lot of fond memories wondering about what is going on in the shady house at the end of the block and being scared of the basement. Weapons premise is like this, at 2:17 A.M. a classroom of 17 children disappear into the night, with the exception of one student. Weapons has an unconventional storytelling format. It feels like Magnolia or Pulp Fiction the way that the story jumps around from different character perspectives and points in the timeline. This makes for one of the most interesting puzzle films in many years. 

There is so much attention to detail in these characters. The way that they speak and present information to other characters says so much about the type of person they are. The characters are just as lost in this story as we are. It is a wonderful feeling to have no idea where the movie is going to go next. Once the mystery starts to unravel is when the horror parts of the story kick into high gear. At points, the horror is subtle and at other times it becomes more extreme. I saw Weapons twice in theaters, each time with a packed theater, creating one of the best movie-going experiences of the year as this twisted mystery plays out. 

1. Sentimental Value

As I put together this list of my personal favorite films I saw this year, I am finding that my top film is the only movie on that list where I am struggling to put into words why I love it. Sentimental Value is a film about two sisters and their strained relationship with their father, who is a European filmmaker loved by the critics. Renate Reinsve plays Nora, one of the daughters who is also a stage actress. Her father brings her a screenplay for a role he wants her to play in his upcoming film. She denies his offer and he replaces her with an American actress played by Elle Fanning. Sentimental Value is a relatively slow but thoughtful character study. 

I find that one of my favorite things about Sentimental Value is the way that we connect through filmmaking and storytelling. It in many ways is a movie about the process of making a movie and the personal cost that comes with making movies. Under the surface of this character drama is a larger discussion about the place that filmmaking holds in modern society and the way that films are made at this point. One of the smartest aspects of Sentimental Value is the way that the film is able to make you understand and feel for every character. To some capacity, every character here is written in a way that feels personal and relatable, which is likely the reason it connected with me the way that it did. 

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Directed by David Osit, Predators has a very simple setup: Was the Dateline NBC spin-off, To Catch a Predator, an ethical television show? To Catch a Predator ran from 2004-2007. It featured TV journalist Chris Hansen luring child predators into a home or private setting and then confronting said predator, which generally led to an arrest. In its time, To Catch a Predator was a sensation; people were fascinated and entertained by the premise, even if you were watching a person’s life come to an end. At one point in the documentary, archive footage of Jimmy Kimmel describes the show as Punk’d, but for child predators. 

Predators examines the process of how a show like this came together. Chris Hansen and his team are not law enforcement; they are entertainers and journalists. Law enforcement would get involved with these operations, but these stings were put together by an organization called “Perverted-Justice”. The documentary interviews a handful of decoys, the young adults who would play the minors that lure in the predators, to see how they feel about the show, almost two decades removed. 

While the first half of Predators is an interesting examination of this 2000s pop culture relic, the documentary takes a hard shift at the midway point of the film. To Catch a Predator came to a close in late 2007 after a major incident in one of the episodes. The show never truly ended; it went off air right as platforms like YouTube took popularity, leading to the clips and memorable moments from the series being reuploaded to the internet. The ethical questions also become deeper in this second half. “Perverted-Justice” was never law enforcement but was always backed up by law enforcement and a major television network, but when content creators took the model of To Catch a Predator and made it their own, it got more complicated. In the current digital landscape, it is easy for anyone to commit to an act of vigilantism and lure a predator into a public space for internet content. Whether or not it is well intentioned or just for getting internet attractions is certainly up for debate. 

The documentary looks at a high-profile To Catch a Predator-inspired YouTuber, Skeeter Hansen. Skeeter has been catching predators for over four years now and has gained over 2 million YouTube subscribers. Skeeter dresses like Hansen and does his best to imitate the energy that Hansen would bring to these awkward and intense social situations. Even if Skeeter is taking down child predators, there is no denying how embarrassing he is when he tells a predator, “You just got Skeeted”. 

Predators takes another creative shift during the final moments. Director Osit, who has remained absent from the documentary, inserts himself into the story. In a tense conversation with Hansen, he discusses why he found To Catch a Predator to be a point of fascination for him. It creates a harsh ending, and whether the documentary answers any of its major questions is left up for interpretation. 

Predators is currently streaming on Paramount+. 

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9. A Fistful of Fingers (1995)

Look, no one has ever heard of Edgar Wright’s debut film, “A Fistful of Fingers”. Unless you feel like completing the Wright filmography, there is no real use in checking this film out, that is, if you can even find a copy of it on the depths of the internet. To give a quick summary, the film is about a cowboy who is seeking revenge on another bandit who killed his horse. It is largely a play on “The Lone Ranger”. 

That said, a lot of what people would come to love about Wright as a director can be found in “A Fistful of Fingers”. You can see the bones of the camera work and editing style that his films would be known for in the following few decades. It screams student film, but it is kind of admirable in its efforts. It features early examples of the offbeat comedy that he would later master with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. There are a fistful of funny jokes in the film, but there are also a few racial undertones that have not aged well in the slightest. 

8. Last Night in Soho (2021)

It feels like there was a lot weighing on “Last Night in Soho”. The film had the task of being the follow-up to Wright’s most financially successful film of his career, “Baby Driver”. The film also had the struggle of coming out in October of 2021, where it had to compete against both COVID and “Dune”. 

The box office struggles of “Last Night in Soho” aside, I wish there were an argument to be made that this film is an underrated gem in the Wright catalog, but that just is not the case. We follow the story of an aspiring fashion designer who discovers she can travel back to the 1960s, where she embodies an aspiring singer. It is a clever premise and the film is ambitious with its camera work and editing. A lot is going for “Last Night in Soho” in terms of visuals and performances. The film’s ending struggles to be anything memorable and the commentary on women being exploited in the entertainment industry feels like it might be the least thought-out part of the film, which is not ideal. 

7. The Sparks Brothers (2021)

“The Sparks Brothers” is the definition of a passion project. This nearly two and a half hour documentary covers the many highs and many lows of the musical duo “Sparks”. This is the first time Wright has worked in the documentary space from a feature-length film standpoint. 

“The Sparks Brothers” is a charming documentary that does a good job painting the portrait of these two brothers if you are not already familiar with their work, which, in that sense, makes the film successful. The film uses various animation styles, archival footage, and several interviews from noteworthy celebrities to tell the story of these musicians. As of the filming of this documentary, the band has 25 albums and the documentary makes an effort to touch most, if not all of them, in quick segments. While the history of the various eras of the group’s career is not the most in-depth, you get the big picture of the band, which is equally as interesting. 

6. The Running Man (2025) 

“The Running Man” is the most recent addition to the Wright filmography. The film is an adaptation of a Stephen King novel and is a loose remake of a 1987 film of the same title starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. In a lot of ways, “The Running Man” feels like one of the most ambitious Wright films, especially when it comes to talking about politics and the state of the world. It marks new territory for Wright, which is exciting. 

That said, “The Running Man” can be a bit messy at points. Some of the film’s tone and humor are all over the place, and Glen Powell does the best he can to be an action star. There are a handful of great action sequences and a remarkable supporting cast that breathe a lot of life into the film. What might be the most bizarre part of “The Running Man” is that it does not feel like a Wright film. Even “Last Night in Soho”, a film that has a lot of issues, still has the life that Wright brings to his movies. “The Running Man” is not a bad film; it just feels like Wright toned down, which is unfortunate. 

5. World’s End (2013)

“Worlds End” is the final chapter in the Cornetto Trilogy, which started with Wright’s creative collaboration with Simon Pegg and Nick Frost in 2004’s “Shaun of the Dead”. The final installment is far from a bad film, but it does not have quite the same energy and strength as the other two films. 

“Worlds End” is a get-the-band-back-together movie. We follow Simon Pegg’s character, who plays an immature man in his 40s who wants to go pub hopping with his buddies from his youth, like they are in their 20s again. While a film about middle-aged people feeling nostalgic does not seem like something Wright would normally make, the film makes an aggressive twist that causes “World’s End” to be one of the most underrated sci-fi films of the 2010s. Wright’s lean into the science fiction genre is a lot of fun, but that’s kind of all it is. 

4. Hot Fuzz (2007)

The second film in the Cornetto Trilogy is “Hot Fuzz”, a film that raises the stakes and filmmaking of Wright to new heights. Wright works alongside Simon Pegg and Nick Frost once again for this movie that parodies the action genre. Pegg and Frost play a buddy cop duo who have recently been relocated to a small village in Europe. The duo uncover a dangerous conspiracy in the small town and they must work together to take down the operation. 

“Hot Fuzz” is one of the densest movies to come out of Wright’s filmography. It moves fast and feels like it is speaking to comedies such as “Airplane!” or “Naked Gun” in the way that there is a visual joke in almost every moment of the film. The film ends with one of the most over-the-top action sequences, which is one of the highlights of the Wright films. 

3. Baby Driver (2017)

“Baby Driver” operates as Wright’s most successful film to date from a commercial standpoint. It is also the most grounded film he has made. We follow the story of a getaway driver who needs to pay off his debts with a very powerful crime boss and he uses music to help his driving abilities. 

Wright reaches new heights in his filmmaking on “Baby Driver” as he is able to blend the chaotic editing and camera work that dominate his previous films, with a more mainstream look and feel. The use of music and sound editing in “Baby Driver” is a real achievement; it creates an aesthetic for the film that is engaging for the viewer and unique. If you have never seen a film from Wright before, “Baby Driver” is probably the best one to start with. It features all the common hallmarks of his filmmaking style, but is a bit toned down and more focused on a compelling narrative. 

2. Shaun of the Dead (2004)

There is an argument to be made that the screenplay for “Shaun of the Dead” might be one of the best pieces of work to come out of the 2000s comedy scene. “Shaun of the Dead” is the best type of parody film; it manages to celebrate the thing that it is also poking fun at. The film’s humor is what makes “Shaun of the Dead” so rewatchable. There are plenty of gags and bits that might go over the viewer’s head on first watch. While only Wright’s second film, “Shaun of the Dead,” is the first major splash that the director made in the film industry. It is remarkable how well-made and well-crafted a film this early in someone’s career is. While it might be Wright’s most grounded film, it is probably the film on this list that is worth rewatching the most. 

1. Scott Pilgrim Vs The World (2010)

“Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World” takes all of the greatness of how Wright makes movies and puts it all into one package. The Cornetto Trilogy focuses on celebrating and poking fun at the horror, science fiction and action genres; “Scott Pilgrim” follows into that same lineage with its ability to celebrate comic books and video games. We follow the story of Scott Pilgrim, the bass player in an indie-rock band, who has fallen for a mysterious girl named Ramona Flowers. To win the heart of Ramona, he must fight her seven evil ex-partners. 

While previous films from Wright have a kinetic energy to how they are presented, “Scott Pilgrim” dials it up to 11 and never stops. At the center of the film is one if not the best, Michael Cera performances, who is at his most awkward, yet charming. It is the funniest Wright has ever been, the craziest and has some of the best action to come out of the 2010’s. There is nothing more you could ask for in a Wright film that is not on presentation in “Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World”. 

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Weapons

Whether or not you think Weapons works, there is no denying that it is one of the most unique films of the year. Weapons has the unique storytelling choice of jumping around to different characters’ perspectives in the story, creating an episodic film that feels like it takes influence from Magnolia or Rashomon. 

The film’s setup is as follows: an entire classroom of third graders disappeared into the night at 2:17 a.m. with the exception of one student. This causes a small town to be torn and divided by this mysterious event. The students’ teacher, a principal, a cop, a parent, a junkie, and the one remaining student all have stories that intertwine to reveal what is happening in this small town. Weapons features exciting twists and turns at every point in the story and continues to prove that director Zach Cregger is one of the most interesting new voices in horror. 

Sinners

From a genre standpoint, Sinners might be one of the most interesting movies on this list; is it horror, action, a musical, a drama, a potential awards contender? Regardless, Sinners was one of the most crowd-pleasing films to come out during the first half of the year. We follow the story of twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who have returned to the Mississippi from Chicago to open a nightclub in 1932. 

Sinners takes a second to get going when it comes to the parts of the film that make it horror, but everything leading up to the genre switch-up is compelling. Ryan Coogler crafts a very lived-in world, which is one of the film’s strongest aspects. As it stands, Sinners is the highest-grossing original film of the decade, which makes the movie one of the most exciting to come out this year. 

Together

Together is the body horror film starring real-life couple Dave Franco and Alison Brie that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. Together follows the story of a couple in a long-term relationship that is running into some friction. Franco plays a struggling musician who still has aspirations of making it big, despite pushing 40. Brie plays a school teacher who wants to make a difference in the lives of her students. The couple moves out of a big city and to the countryside, where they discover that not everything is what it seems. 

Together is primarily a body horror film, but one of the most exciting aspects of the film is when it deviates and changes the style and tone of its horror. The film offers tense, nail-biting scenes, while also being a great showcase for practical and visual effects. 

Final Destination: Bloodlines 

There is something very rare and exciting about a late-era sequel to an otherwise dead franchise being one of the biggest surprise hits of the year. At the start of the year, I was not expecting a film like Final Destination: Bloodlines to review as positively as it did, while also still being a success at the box office. 

Bloodlines has all the hallmarks of classic films in the Final Destination franchise, while pushing the boundaries of what these films can do from a storytelling standpoint. Bloodlines features anxiety-driven kills and set pieces with a lot of wit, and also expands how death’s design works. What more could fans of the franchise want? 

The Ugly Stepsister

The Ugly Stepsister is a film that feels like it has largely flown under the radar this year after first premiering at Sundance. The film is the directorial debut of Norwegian filmmaker Emilie Blichfeldt. The Ugly Stepsister is a satirical and twisted version of Cinderella, taking very obvious inspiration from the classic Grimm Brothers folk tale. 

The film is more sympathetic to its protagonist, Elvira, than the source material might lead the viewer to believe. Elvira has plans to be married off to this film’s prince charming, but to do so, she must make a series of changes to be considered “beautiful”. The film uses body horror and a sense of realism to get under the viewers’ skin. While the horror aspects of the film are noteworthy, the film also features lavish sets, costumes, and design. All this together makes for a very impressive directorial debut. 

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10. Inherent Vice (2014)

Inherent Vice might come in last, but it is easily the funniest PTA has ever been. The film follows a private investigator in a hazy 70’s California. Adapted from a Thomas Pynchon novel of the same title, Inherent Vice can often come off as an incoherent story. As audience members, we just bounce back and forth between two plot lines, and characters come and go rather quickly. 

Inherent Vice looks incredible and features a great performance from Joaquin Phoenix, and also one of Josh Brolin’s most underrated performances. When it comes down to it, aside from a few comedic moments, there just is not a whole lot of reason to return to Inherent Vice. 

9. Hard Eight (1996)

Hard Eight is PTA’s directorial debut, and it is an impressive one, especially considering the filmmaker was in his mid-20s when it was filmed. It is a sign that someone has a lot of talent when they are able to land Samuel L. Jackson, Phillip Baker Hall, and Gwyneth Paltrow in their first film. 

Hard Eight is far from perfect, though. Homage is something that PTA has always had in his films, but this is one that feels the most like a copy-and-paste of his influences. Many of the tracking shots and overall look of the film feel directly ripped out of Scorsese films. There is nothing inherently wrong with that, but it is clear that PTA is still trying to find his footing as a director. Hard Eight is a film that feels laid back in what it has to say, again, not a bad thing, it just makes the film one of PTA’s lesser projects. 

8. The Master (2012)

The Master is probably the most mysterious film that PTA has made. The film follows a World War 2 veteran who finds himself at the center of a cult called The Cause. The film features two of the best performances from Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix. 

The film explores masculinity in a post-World War 2 landscape, as Phoenix and Hoffman go back and forth in a bizarre friendship. Hoffman plays the leader of the cult, a person who is full of lies and deceptions. Phoenix plays a veteran who needs to find a purpose in life. The Master works as a fascinating puzzle movie, where you learn a bit more about the characters and the world they live in with every revisit. 

7. Licorice Pizza 

Licorice Pizza is the most straightforward film in this ranking. The film looks at the early 70s through a nostalgic lens. We follow a few months in the life of Gary Valentine, a teenage businessman and hustler. The film takes an episodic approach to its storytelling as if it were small stories from the youth of PTA.

Licorice Pizza is a fun watch with a charming supporting cast, but truthfully, that is about all the film has going for it. There is nothing wrong with that; in fact, it is quite successful at being exactly what it sets out to be. For a lot of fans of PTA, a bit more is expected.

6. Magnolia (1999) 

Magnolia might not be the best film to come from PTA, but it is certainly a film that is taken for granted, because there is no way a major studio would ever take a risk with this type of movie in the year 2025. Magnolia has a large cast of characters all connected in some way, creating a narrative that feels like a web. Coming in at just over three hours long, Magnolia covers a lot of ground, and unfortunately, not all of it is engaging. 

The first hour of Magnolia is a bit clunky with its pacing, and its audiences may struggle to be invested in the different stories being set up, even if they all get the time to shine during the second half. Magnolia’s second hour is one long feeling of dread as all the characters suffer from their actions. The score during the second hour looms over the characters and creates a wonderful feeling of tension; it is easily one of the highlights of the movie. The third hour wraps up the story in a way that will divide audiences depending on how open they are to the weirdness of the story. 

PTA’s ambitions are always something worth respecting with any revisit of Magnolia, even if the movie does start to feel a bit too big for its own good. 

5. One Battle After Another

One Battle After Another is the most recent entry in the PTA filmography. OBAA is the most expensive film to come from PTA and follows the story of an ex-revolutionary trying to get his daughter back. This is the first film from PTA that takes place in contemporary times in over 20 years. The film does a great job at showing what the modern world looks like. It is a timely film; there are few films that feel as important as this one does to the current social landscape. 

Similar to There Will Be Blood, this most recent film feels like PTA working at a new register and mode of filmmaking he has yet to tap into. OBAA has some of the most interesting PTA characters to date. Hopefully, the film receives award recognition at the Academy Awards next year. 

4. Phantom Thread

Phantom Thread is probably the most underrated movie in the PTA filmography. The film takes place in 1950s Europe as a well-respected dressmaker struggles in his relationship. The movie tackles themes of love and the hardships of marriage. It is one of the best-looking and sounding films of the 2010s. 

In comparison to other films in the PTA catalogue, it is most like Punch Drunk Love. Both films follow a complicated and difficult man who meets a woman who causes the man to tailspin and reconsider who he is as a person. Both are twisted subversions of the romantic comedy drama, and both have an intriguing sense of mystery at their center. 

3. There Will Be Blood (2007) 

After making Punch Drunk Love, PTA took five years off from directing and came back with one of his most monumental films to date. There Will Be Blood, the story of a villainous oil tycoon, is a complete level up in the director’s ability to make a film. It is a film that feels different than any of his prior work. TWBB feels more mature in its characters, performances, and pacing. It handles its anger in a way that feels different than the likes of Magnolia and Boogie Nights. There is a more reserved nature to TWBB, but when it lets loose, the film starts moving at 100 MPH. 

There is an easy argument to be made that TWBB is the most impressive film in the PTA filmography, but when it comes down to it, TWBB is not always the most rewatchable film he has made. 

2. Punch Drunk Love (2002)

Punch Drunk Love comes at an interesting point in PTA’s career. It is right after the three-hour epic, Magnolia, and right before the movie that reinvigorates his career, There Will Be Blood. Compared to those two other films, Punch Drunk Love is a very simple movie about a socially awkward man who meets a woman and falls in love. It is the simplicity of the film that puts this in the number two spot of my ranking. It shows that PTA can make remarkable films, whether they are ensemble casts, an exploration of capitalism in America, or something as small as Adam Sandler collecting pudding cups from the store. 

This film is also a major moment for Sandler. This shows that the actor has a bit more range than just playing Billy Maddison. There is something more complicated with Sandler, and it is on full display in Punch Drunk Love. 

1. Boogie Nights (1997)

What is there to say about Boogie Nights that has not already been said? The movie is instantly iconic from the opening one-take shot that brings the audience through a nightclub, showing off most of the movie’s cast and introducing us to this morally skewed found family we will spend the next two and a half hours with. 

There is a lingering sense of dread and melancholy throughout all of Boogie Nights. That feeling feels masked during the first half of the film, but when the story progresses into the 1980s, it becomes overwhelming. It creates a powerful and very real look at how addiction and false hope can break down a community. 

Within the scope of PTA’s entire filmography, Boogie Nights might not feel as grand or lavish as something like There Will Be Blood or One Battle After Another, but there is an energy to the movie that makes Boogie Nights feel like something truly special. 

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Timothée Chalamet

Timothée Chalamet might be the most obvious choice for a list like this. Still, his filmography more than justifies his placement as one of the most exciting new talents working in Hollywood. Chalamet first made an impression with general audiences in Christopher Nolan’s “Interstellar” in 2014, where he played a supporting role as Matthew McConaughey’s son. Since then, Chalamet has only risen in popularity. Following “Interstellar,” Chalamet played a series of roles for arthouse films like “Lady Bird” and “Call Me By Your Name”. His performance in “Call Me By Your Name” got him his first Oscar nomination. Chalamet has broken through as a major star and has now led blockbuster movies such as “Wonka” and the “Dune” franchise. Chalamet was nominated for Best Actor again in 2025 for his performance as Bob Dylan in “A Complete Unknown”. Later this year, Chalamet will star in the ping-pong sports drama, “Marty Supreme”. 

Cooper Hoffman 

Cooper Hoffman is the youngest entry on this list at 22 years old. Hoffman is the son of the late Philip Seymour Hoffman, who died in 2014 at the age of 46. Philip Seymour Hoffman was the Best Actor Winner and a frequent collaborator with directors like Paul Thomas Anderson. Cooper Hoffman made his acting debut in Paul Thomas Anderson’s early ’70s hang-out movie “Licorice Pizza”, which got nominated for Best Picture in 2022. Hoffman plays 15-year-old Gary Valentine, a younger hustler in the San Fernando Valley.

Hoffman also played SNL’s Dick Ebersol in “Saturday Night”, a very high-strung supporting performance that does feel like a role his father would have taken in previous times. Most recently, Hoffman appears in the Stephen King adaptation “The Long Walk”, giving what is likely his most intense performance thus far. 

Justice Smith

Justice Smith has had a handful of supporting roles in some of the biggest blockbuster movies of recent times. Smith has made appearances in “Jurassic World Dominion” and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom”; both movies they may have had middling reception, but both films crossed the billion-dollar mark. Smith also starred alongside Ryan Reynolds in “Detective Pikachu”, another moderately successful video game adaptation. 

What really makes Smith stand out is his performance in the Lynchian 2024 queer horror film “I Saw the TV Glow”. In this film, Smith is able to show off his range as an actor in a way that the Jurassic World films cannot. Smith gives a rather manic performance, at times quiet and introverted, and at other times, the most anxious you will ever see someone. It is an exciting performance that shows the roots of what will likely be a highly regarded actor one day.  

David Jonsson 

David Jonsson is a bit different from the rest of the actors on this list. He got his start in TV, breaking out in HBO’s hit show “Industry”, where he had a main role. Jonsson has since made his way into a handful of movies, all of which show great range as an actor. 

Jonsson made his feature film debut in the 2023 romantic comedy “Rye Lane”, which is one of the most unique films to come out in the romcom genre in quite some time. Jonsson, alongside the rest of the cast, gives an effective and memorable performance. Jonsson also appeared in “Alien: Romulus” as the android Andy. Jonsson is one of the best parts of “Romulus” as he plays a rather timid character, but it is the physical performance he gives that truly makes him stand out as a performer. Jonsson also appears alongside Cooper Hoffman in “The Long Walk” and gives a very compelling and intense performance. 

Alex Wolff 

Alex Wolff is one of the busiest actors to make this list. Wolff has been acting for close to 20 years at this point and continues to be an interesting presence in movies. “Hereditary” is a standout performance from Wolff, playing a teenage boy trapped in one of the darkest chapters of his family’s life. He gives both a very terrifying and physical performance in the film. Alongside Toni Collette, Wolff is one of the best parts of the Ari Aster horror film.  

Wolff also stars alongside Nicolas Cage in the 2021 drama “Pig”. In this film, he can hold his own against one of the more bizarre Cage performances in recent years. 

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Summer 2025 saw the release of three major superhero blockbusters. Two new Marvel films, “Thunderbolts*” and “Fantastic Four: First Steps”, and one new DC film in the form of “Superman”. While the recent Marvel films were received positively by both critics and audiences, both films struggled at the box office by Marvel standards. While not a billion-dollar movie by any means, “Superman” proved to be the most successful comic book movie from a financial standpoint. “Superman” also received positive reviews from audiences and critics alike, hailing a new era for DC Comics. 

While Disney’s superhero movies might not have been the most profitable for the corporation, they do have the only American movie to cross a billion dollars this year, in the form of the live-action “Lilo and Stitch” remake. It is also worth noting that Disney-Pixar’s “Elio” struggled to cross $100 million at the box office. Whereas 2024’s Pixar film, “Inside Out 2,” took a little under three weeks to cross the billion-dollar mark. 

One of the winners of the 2025 summer movie culture is the Netflix original “KPOP Demon Hunters,” which was added to the streamer in June. As it currently stands, “KPOP Demon Hunters” is the second most-watched Netflix movie of all time under 2022’s “Red Notice”. The film has grown so successful that the original songs from the film have made it onto the Billboard Top 200 Charts. 

One of the most fascinating tent-poll blockbusters of the summer is “Jurassic World: Rebirth,” a film that did not resonate with critics and had mixed-to-positive reviews from general audiences. Of the major blockbusters to release in July, it made the most at the global box office. That being said, it is the first film in the “World” era to not cross the billion-dollar mark. 

The biggest success story to come of the summer comes from Warner Bros., which has now had six films in a row be the top movie during their opening weekend. This unprecedented hot streak started back in late March, with “A Minecraft Movie,” and was quickly followed up with “Sinners”. 

“Final Destination: Bloodlines,” the sixth entry in the “Final Destination” franchise, came out in May and breathed new life into an otherwise irrelevant horror franchise. “F1”, the Formula 1 movie starring Brad Pitt, is an exciting original film that has grossed nearly $ 600 million at the global box office. It was also distributed alongside Apple. “Superman” was Warner Bros. July movie that proved to be successful. Finally, “Weapons”, a thrilling new original horror movie, has stayed at the top of the box office for two weeks in a row. 

This raises the question of whether Warner Bros. can maintain this remarkable streak. Later this year, the studio has the final film in the Conjuring franchise, “The Conjuring: Last Rites”, the new Paul Thomas Anderson film, “One Battle After Another”, and “Mortal Kombat 2”. 

While it does seem that the billion-dollar movie might become a thing of the past, Summer 2025 proved to be a decent time for the box office with films resonating with audiences, such as “Weapons”, “F1”, and “Superman”. 

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The film’s premise is simple: a high schooler accidentally goes back in time. What makes the story novel is the choice to make the time travel revolve around Marty McFly’s parents’ time as teenagers. This creates the emotional crux of the film as Marty learns about himself through the younger versions of his parents, and they learn from him. There is something magical about a film with time travel that feels so timeless. 

The central location in “Back to the Future” is a small town square. The 1980s version of the city location features homelessness, graffiti, a broken clock tower, and adult video stores. The town is popping with activity, but it is clear that the location was a shell of what it once was. On the other hand, the 1950s version of the town square feels dreamlike. It has an almost playhouse feeling, and it becomes clear that it is a callback to the melodramas that dominated 50s culture. Even with the film being an examination of 1950s cultures through the nostalgic lens of the 1980s, it never once feels dated. 

It is remarkable how dialed in actor Christopher Lloyd is with his portrayal of the crazy scientist, Dr. Emmet Brown. Lloyd spends most of the film giving over-the-top line readings about Marty’s future and the creation of time travel, but when the movie asks for more of a sentimental performance, he delivers. 

On the other hand is Michael J. Fox, who is hot off one of the biggest sitcoms of the 1980s, “Family Ties”. Fox plays the cool but kind of awkward 17-year-old Marty McFly. Of course, someone with the name of “Marty McFly” skateboards, is in a rock band, and has a girlfriend. Fox is pretty much perfect in the role; he has the comedic timing needed to elevate the film to a new level. Actor Eric Stoltz was initially cast for the role of Marty and even shot a few scenes for the film before Fox was chosen instead. The scenes filmed with Stoltz make it clear that Fox was the right choice for this character.

The screenplay crafted by director Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale is clever and charming, which makes the film’s atmosphere inviting. Fun character moments aside, it is the structure of the screenplay that has made the film such a great time revisiting over the past 40 years. In the first act of “Back to the Future,” Zemeckis makes the choice of telling the audience everything they need to know about the rest of the movie, without making it obvious. This way, when the film makes a reveal, there is a moment of satisfaction for the audience members. It feels likely to be piecing together a puzzle in all the right ways. It all culminates in a science fiction story that is accessible for everyone, not just the geeks and nerds that the film both celebrates and pokes fun at. 

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