THE END OF 2025 IS NIGH…literally, as it’s less than a week away! Yes it’s that time of year once again, when we look back on the year that was, and the year that is to come. It’s like A Christmas Carol, but with only two ghosts, as the first is available all year round.
2025 has been an interesting year for movies, featuring several terrific movies, from new franchises, old franchises, and remakes of die hard classics. And as the year is wrapping up, it all comes down to this; the main event, an event that all the award ceremonies choose to do the following February for some unexplored reason. But not me, as it’s actually around about now when the movie going year is over, so to me; now is the proper time to select and highlight the best films of the year.
As usual, this list referes entirely to films I saw at the cinema this year (which explains why two of the films seen below weren’t released this year, but which I saw for the first time this year), where as any that I have watched in my Sunday afternoon movie watching spot, will be featured in a later list.
But as is always the case, I would still like to highlight those other seriously good movies, that were tragically not strong enough to make it into the Top 5. Those films being:
Die Hard (saw it for the first time ever this year), The Running Man (the recent one), Nobody 2, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Superman, Jurassic World: Rebirth, Sinners (Best Soundtrack), Captain America: Brave New World, and Sonic The Hedgehog 3.
And so with the memorable mentions out of the way; here are My Top 5 Favourite Films of the Year that many Historians, and Non-Historians will refer to as 2025; Enjoy!
5. The Naked Gun – I was rather sceptical at the idea of a new Naked Gun film, without the late great Leslie Nielsen in it. I was also sceptical in the casting of Liam Neeson, as I don’t really see him as a comedy actor. Well, I can’t remember the last time I saw a film that made me laugh as much as this! It was seriously funny, and for the right reasons. It was classic Naked Gun, but set in the here and now. It had a good story, and plenty of cast cameo’s. But every scene had more than one thing to laugh about, and I was in hysterics all the way through (and even more so during the scene with the Snowman)!
4. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t – It’s been 10 years since the release of Now You See Me 2; and this new entry reunites the original gang (barring one notable absence), plus adds some new members, trying to uncover the antics of a wealthy diamond miner. I was super excited for this films release, but still a little annoyed by a certain absence. But the film still had room for plenty of magic, some nice surprises, and a well thought out heist like plot. And best of all…Lula returned (although sadly she wasn’t there from the start; she’s the real star of the franchise afterall)!
3. Thunderbolts* – Once again, the year was littered with plenty of superhero movies. It’s hard to think when there wasn’t a year with at least one in. Well, at least this year’s slate was not heavily disappointing. The only weak one was Captain America: Brave New World, but it was still a largely enjoyable movie. Thunderbolts* meanwhile, was Awesome. It’s the best Marvel film in a very long time. Instead of focussing on heroes, it focussed on a team of misfit mercenaries, who find themselves caught up in a strange scientific conspiracy fuelled by a government official. But what’s clever is that the big villain isn’t defeated in a big fight, but more defeated by helping his good side, fight back against their dark side. Thunderbolts* was such an enjoyable movie, and a frequently funny too, easily making it the best superhero film of the year!
2. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time – Much like Die Hard above, this was the first time I ever saw The Girl Who Leapt Through Time; and it was terrific! A very clever take on time travel stories, which also highlights the implications of doing it several times, and the deadly consequences that could happen as a result. At first it starts off rather silly, but then gets more dramatic, and then heavily serious, but all culminating in a smashing ending which wraps it all up in a satisfying bundle!
1. Flow – In all honesty, I never heard of this film, until a good friend suggested it to me. So I went to see it the next day, and ever since, it’s been my film of the year! Flow is a beutifully crafted animated film from Latvia, which is also a non-speaking film, as the cast is made up of animals, talking like animals. It tells the tale of a Cat, who makes friends with some other animals during a cataclysmic event. And together, they go on a journey across a flooded world, and discover some magical moments on the way. It was a very sweet film, which showed that animals can make friends with other species, and in turn highlights that possibility in humans too, no matter how different. But be warned, as it’s also a very sad film. Towards the end, it brought up my own inner feelings of loneliness (which I find a frequent struggle), but still allowed time to inject an element of hope too!
What was you favourite film of 2025?
Things I Like 
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