The Sixth Annual Awards Radar Awards (Part Two): The Ten Best Films of 2025

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s of course that time again! There are few things a writer in this industry looks forward to more than doing their year end Top Ten list. Even with the sort of unusual years that were the last few, I still manage to see over 300 films each year, and that includes here in 2025, when things were pretty much what they’ll be like going forward. As such, it all makes for a list that culls from nearly every corner of the cinematic world. So, I’m, as always, incredibly fond of the movies that make up my Top Ten list. I’m actually very excited to share it with you all today, continuing (after Part One yesterday here) the Sixth Annual Awards Radar Awards! In prior years, my favorite film of a given cycle ranged from Blinded by the Light to Hell or High Water. The Disaster Artist to A Star is Born. Blue Valentine to her. Five years ago, we added Promising Young Woman to the mix, with Red Rocket joining four years ago, alongside The Fabelmans three years ago, Barbie two years ago, and finally Anora last year. What will join them this time around? Well, it’s time to find out!

For part two of this awards series (part one is right here from yesterday), we’re going to run down my ten favorite films of 2025. Basically, anything I saw this year (or that has an eligible release date), was in the running, aside from what I considered for my prior 2024 list. That created quite the list to pull from, though it pretty quickly narrowed down to 25 or 30 movies that were a cut above.

The moment is now at hand. Out of 303 or so eligible titles seen for me (which, insanely, is easily one of my lowest totals, if you can believe that), here are the ten best films of 2025:

10. Superman

A Superman movie is harder to pull off than it might appear at first glance. When you look back on all of the films that have featured the character, only a small amount have actually showcased Kal-El/Superman/Clark Kent in his best light. Now, it’s fair to say that “truth, justice, and the American way” is an antiquated term, but James Gunn sure knows how to feature the ideals that make this superhero one of our very best and brightest. Superman is all about hope, with a sense of joy that allows the clear political themes to go down easy. There’s a lot going on here, as this is also launching a new DC Universe theatrically, but when you get right down to it, what we have in this flick is a love for comic book characters, superheroes, and blockbuster cinema. I absolutely adored it and found it to be among the best works of 2025 so far.

Superman is a busy blockbuster, in terms of actual events and plotting, but it never feels overstuffed. A lot of that is due to Gunn and company making the themes very simple. Superman is an alien, so, yes…he’s an immigrant. He looks at Earth and sees the best in us, knowing all the while that we have a capacity for the worst, but still wants to save us anyway. That this is happening while America is literally sending people to foreign prisons is not lost on anyone, but the joy for the character allows this to still be an incredibly fun experience. Superman works as a character because of his earnestness, not in spite of it, which too few works hav understood.

9. Are We Good?

Grief is a funny thing. How one processes a loss really varies from person to person. There’s no right or wrong way to grieve, after all. Personally? I used dark humor a lot when I dealt with the sudden loss of my mother a few years ago. So, I completely relate to what Marc Maron is doing in Are We Good? as he lives in the aftermath of the death of his partner Lynn Shelton. Playing at the 2025 Tribeca Festival, this is a wonderful documentary, with heart, humor, and even some profundity.

Are We Good? is far more than just a biographical doc about Maron, in that it’s far more interested in his current state than what happened prior. That’s an aspect of the work, sure, but all of the best parts focus on his healing process. That process involves tears, pain, and humor, with the latter aspect fueling his return to stand up comedy in the post COVID landscape.

8. Train Dreams

Sometimes, you have no way of knowing how a film will affect you. Train Dreams is, all told, not a depressing movie, and yet, when the credits rolled, I found myself deeply sad. Something about the deceptively simple story of one man leading a life of unexpected depth had me deep in my emotions. Was I said because his story was over? Was I bereft at the thought that my own life might not have the meaning I want it to have? That all remains elusive, as the experience wasn’t about pinpointing why I felt how I felt. Train Dreams is a movie that doesn’t tell you how to feel. However, it does ask you to feel, whatever that entails. In that regard, it’s wildly successful, as much as any other bit of cinema this year.

Train Dreams has a quiet power to it that sneaks up on you. In some ways, it’s an interesting companion piece to The Life of Chuck from earlier this year. Both flicks are about the extraordinary nature of an ordinary life, though tackling things, aside from a notable voice as narrator, in very different manners. Still, I think The Life of Chuck is a masterpiece and likely the crowning achievement of 2025, so to put this work on a similar level is high praise, indeed.

7. Bugonia

There is something very special going on between Yorgos Lanthimos and Emma Stone. Not only do they bring out the best in each other, something Lanthimos has also done with Colin Farrell in the past, they also seem to be challenging each other to go in new and exciting directions. Now, with Bugonia, we can add Jesse Plemons to that as well. Surely one of the wildest titles at the Telluride Film Festival this year, it’s challenging and extreme at times, but also still massively entertaining. For all its madness, I loved it.

Bugonia is absolutely insane, yet also for much of the runtime easily Lanthimos’ most grounded work in some time. When things get wild, they really get wild, but nearly two thirds of this film is a verbal duel between Plemons and Stone. The movie is not shying away from political overtones, though it also allows you to put your own view of the world on to the characters and their worldviews. In that way, there’s more humanity and anger on display from Lanthimos, centered on an intimate and largely contained story.

6. A House of Dynamite

Given how much we rely on just assuming/hoping that the people in charge of the government know what to do in a crisis, the central conceit of A House of Dynamite is as unsettling as it gets. Watching what we’re presented with as competent and hard working officials struggling to make sense of a potential doomsday scenario should leave you absolutely shaken, especially now. Just the mere idea of this film works wonders, though in the impeccable hands of Kathryn Bigelow, the movie is flawlessly made. For a little under two hours, she doesn’t let you breathe. When the credits rolled, I was barely able to exhale and was drenched in sweat. This may well be her best flick. Either way, it’s easily one of the best works of the 63rd New York Film Festival and among the crowning achievements of 2025 overall. It’s absolutely riveting.

A House of Dynamite is one of the most terrifying and upsetting film experiences that I’ve had in some time. Stripping away almost anything that would be cinematic dramatization, if not for the well known faces populating the movie, you could be mistaken for thinking you’re watching the scariest documentary ever made. The “what if?” scenario depicted here should give anyone pause, but seeing how we are and aren’t prepared for this potential situation will keep you up at night. Plus, and this is not nothing, it’s just as riveting a cinematic experience as you can have. You might need a drink afterwards, but you’ll also know you’ve seen something special. For many, it will prove impossible to shake.

5. One Battle After Another

If there was ever a doubt that Paul Thomas Anderson is a master filmmaker, let One Battle After Another settle that for good. This movie is a full cinematic meal, with PTA at the height of his powers. Not only is he crafting his first blockbuster sized project, he’s doing it in a way that mixes screwball comedy with timely political commentary. In lesser hands, this film could have seemed like a tonal mishmash, fusing together a thriller and a chase flick with stoner comedy moments. Instead, each element raises up the other. Anderson has crafted one of the very best pictures of the year, one that immediately enters into the conversation of his best work to date.

One Battle After Another finds PTA at his largest scale yet, though somehow also at his most entertaining as well. Despite massive stakes, a body count, and a deep rooted anger within it, you’re also constantly laughing and smiling. There are moments that are as funny as anything he’s ever done, while others are as heavy as anything he’s ever done. It’s only the rare master craftsman who can make it all seem this effortless.

4. Jay Kelly

It’s easy to discount the plight of actors, particularly famous ones. After all, they’re rich and beloved, so what problems could they possibly have, especially compared to normal folks? At the same time, is their emotional needs any less valid? In Jay Kelly, we see a movie star, as well as his dedicated manager, come to terms with their life choices, personal relationships, treatment of loved ones, and ultimately their legacies. Under the guidance of filmmaker Noah Baumbach, it becomes profound journey, one full of laughs, but also soul. Playing at the Telluride Film Festival, this is one of the very best movies of the fest, as well as 2025 on the whole.

Jay Kelly is a wonderful film, one that has an emotional quotient that sneaks up on you. A Hollywood tale that becomes a road trip flick, while echoing many a meta tale, there’s tricky material at play here, though always presented in a highly entertaining manner. Baumbach is more than capable of tackling it all, though it doesn’t hurt that he has two of the best performances of George Clooney and Adam Sandler‘s respective careers. Clooney and Sandler are perfectly cast and do phenomenal work, as does the entire cast. It’s from top to bottom a magnificent piece of cinema.

3. Sinners

Okay, listen up folks. For anyone who ever complains that Hollywood never does anything original, Sinners is for you. This is the type of film that spits in the face of those who say cinema has nothing new to offer. By taking one of the oldest movie monsters there is, spinning them on their ear, and filtering it through a setting/time period that’s never utilized them before, and you have something completely singular. There has never been anything quite like Sinners. Not only is this 2025’s first truly great blockbuster, it’s also the best film of the year so far.

Sinners absolutely rocks. Bloody, horny, musical, and full of genre-bending on the part of filmmaker Ryan Coogler, it’s all the right kinds of audacious. What begins as a light period drama, with plenty of reverence for the power of music, it slowly but surely transforms into horror, with the third act becoming an actual bloodbath. Through it all, there’s impeccable technical aspects, first rate acting, and a true feeling that you’re watching the full possibilities of film. Coogler makes movies for the big screen, with Sinners being just the latest example of an event picture, meant to be seen with the best sound and on the biggest screen possible.

2. Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

Depression can cripple a person. It’s also something any of us can struggle with, whether it’s clinical and consistent, or time to time. Having the ability to talk about it and overcome it is what matters, and that is a more recent occurrence in society. That even someone like Bruce Springsteen can suffer from devastating depression at the heights of success speaks to its universality. It also provides the backbone for Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, a meditative and stunning musical biopic that’s one of the best films of the year, let alone the Telluride Film Festival (where it kicked off the fest with its world premiere), as well as, in its climax, one of the most important. The Boss’ story has the potential to save lives.

Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere takes one Springsteen’s darkest and most formative moments, as well as a period of creative inflection, and crafts a portrait that’s deliberate, solemn, and positively captivating. It would have been easy, if reductive, to make a traditional biopic here. Instead, we have a moment in time that’s almost like an internal chamber piece, as Springsteen not only struggles with his demons, but struggles to even understand them, let alone fight them. Even knowing that he’ll find a light at the end of the tunnel, given how he’s thriving to this day, takes nothing away from the emotion and pain that you feel for his suffering. The acting, filmmaking, and soul of this movie all combine to take your breath away.

1. The Life of Chuck

A movie like The Life of Chuck doesn’t come along very often. Films can do all sorts of things, but it’s the rare work that can be a balm for your soul. Mike Flanagan, working off of the Stephen King source material, has achieved this feat. In the tradition of Frank Darabont, Flanagan has taken King’s non-horror output and made an instant classic. A double feature between this and The Shawshank Redemption would not be out of place. Not only is this film one of the best I’ve seen in some time, easily the best of 2025 so far, it’s potentially an all-timer. The flick just packs that much of a wallop.

The Life of Chuck absolutely bowled me over. Taking an incredibly simple message and premise, one we all too often forget, and expanding it out to cosmic and universal proportions is stunning to witness. Flanagan engages just about every emotion one can have while engaging with cinema. It’s not an exaggeration to say that this is one of the most fulfilling films to come along in a great long while. It’s the type of movie that may actually save lives, that’s how important it could become to viewers that let it in.

Honorable Mentions