60. FUCK MY SON!

Yes, it's called Fuck My Son!, I wasn't expecting much. But despite all the gross-out humour and attempts at edginess, this felt like a big troll. And it might've been, but the least you can do is make me laugh beyond its opening meta bit. Operating on just rape humour and body fluids, Fuck My Son! reaches another low with its shameless reliance on generative AI, taking away any semblance of goodwill I can give. I may have seen it with the right crowd, but once it was over, I just felt gross, and not in the intended way.

59. KARMADONNA

I was aghast at how a movie with so much intent, while infusing genre thrills, can be borderline unwatchable. Karmadonna has some entertaining camera work, and the blood and gore can be exciting, but that's about as much praise as I can give. It's far too long for this type of film, it takes far too little time to set up its concept, and the protagonist is far too willing to go on this killing spree. The 'commentary' is beyond flat, and every character is just cartoonishly evil. It's the worst kind of movie. One that thinks it's clever when it's actually stupid.

58. TO THE VICTORY!

I often don't like the phrase "self-indulgent" to describe a directorial vision, but it's the phrase that rings the most true for writer/director/star Valentyn Vasyanovych's confounding To The Victory! The portrait of post-war Ukraine that's presented here is only interesting when it delves into the familial dynamics of a married couple, but that subplot is barely there. The movie's strange meta-narrative and stagnant, standstill filmmaking are too cold to actually have anything meaningful to add to the horrors in Ukraine, just pockets of intrigue that quickly get buried by entirely out-of-place randomness.

57. BLOOD LINES

Whatever Blood Lines set out to do (I say “whatever” because I'm not entirely sure what it was), it's bogged down by a bad script. The movie has multiple plots handled equally poorly, giving no breathing room in its misplaced structure to any character outside the protagonist, who is overacted to extremes by Dana Solomon. And if that doesn't get any worse, there's a reveal that's both easy to see coming but also just a bizarre choice for the tender tone attempted. It has some promise, but whatever good movie is hidden in here is long lost.

56. CHRISTY

I acknowledge these movies are not for me, but still, I despised Christy. Sydney Sweeney's fine, mostly doing the cry face she often does, but she has some strong moments towards the end. Beyond the fact that this goes lazily through the typical sports biopic tropes, Christy mainly exists to prop-up Christy Martin's abuse from her husband and mother (played admittedly great by Ben Foster and visibly horrible by Merritt Wever). I know these were terrible people, but the complete lack of nuance assures my stance that this is trauma porn masquerading as inspiration.

55. BALLAD OF A SMALL PLAYER

With All Quiet on the Western Front and Conclave, director Edward Berger is seemingly on a hot streak. Well, here's Ballad of a Small Player to effectively end that streak. Colin Farrell is terrific, but he can't save this obnoxiously empty film. Berger infused this with flair and style, but forgot to put in substance or anything meaningful at all, beyond excessive depictions of addiction and a plot gimmick that comes with a twist you can instantly call. I can't even say the film's well-intentioned, because the movie insists on leaving us in the dark on what its intention is.

54. NORMAL

I mourn the potential of Normal and what it promised. After taking nearly 40 minutes to set up, we get thrown into a balls-to-the-walls, one-man-army flick where a sheriff must take on a whole town, giving Bob Odenkirk more ammo to show off his action hero chops. The moments when it fulfills the promise are when the movie is at its most watchable... and then it stops. I swear to God, it fully just gave up and wrapped the movie before we even got a climax, which ruined whatever fun I had in the first place.

53. NOUVELLE VAGUE

Aside from the budget, Nouvelle Vague is not that dissimilar to a fan film. The Breathless-esque cinematography is stunning, and the performances all around are pretty great. Still, thematically, director Richard Linklater seems strangely incurious about Jean-Luc Godard (Guillaume Marbeck) or the French New Wave. While you can interpret this as a fun hangout movie on the set of Breathless, the movie begins to follow a tedious pattern of Godard self-assuredly wanting to do something interesting, everyone saying it's a bad idea, and then he's right. Even as a Godard fan, I found Nouvelle Vague just pointless.

52. MADDIE’S SECRET

As a fan of most of the funny people here, I was surprised how much Maddie's Secret didn't work for me. I got some laughs in, and there is a level of sincerity to the body-positivity messaging, at least when it wasn't making light of it. I didn't find anything here offensively bad, but John Early's (who leads the movie cross-dressed for some reason) debut direction felt a little too amateur to feel anything, especially with its soap opera parody tone. Maybe you'll like this more than me, but I was disappointed.

51. EASY’S WALTZ

As much of a joy it is to see Vince Vaughn earnestly belt out Pat Benatar, Easy's Waltz has a big problem: it can't stick to one thing to save its life. As good as it looks, writer/director Nic Pizzolatto throws in a love story, a scam plot, a crime plot, and a "finding your place" plot. None of them mesh together; in fact, the way the movie escalates feels forced, and I didn't quite get a feel of Vaughn's character in the way the movie thought I did. It's not offensively bad, but it certainly misses the mark.

50. DEAD LOVER

I truly admire the unflinching creativity of director/co-writer Grace Glowicki's Frankenstein interpretation. Dead Lover is delightfully weird, even gross at times, with a nice aesthetic and intriguing narrative angle. I just wasn't the target demographic for this. I didn't particularly have that much fun with this style of filmmaking, but nearly everyone around me did, so maybe it's personal preference more than quality, and I'm totally fine with that. I didn't find anything about Dead Lover inherently terrible, and I even find the ambition commendable; I just didn't vibe with it, but maybe you will.

49. EPIC: ELVIS PRESLEY IN CONCERT

Based on this and his 2022 biopic Elvis, it seems like Baz Luhrmann's interest in Elvis Presley is much more geared towards his impact on culture and less on his personal life. In EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert, that's a little more forgiving. Aside from the tacked-on opening 20 minutes, this concert movie achieves what you'd hope it achieves: watching Presley perform with magnum electricity. In IMAX, you can really feel the seats move, and there are wonderful editing choices that blend simultaneous performances. That's all this movie really is, but that's all I really asked for.

48. ERUPCJA 

The excellence of Erupcja is implied but cut short, but I see where the film could've been more successful. The ensemble is great, the breezy vibe of Poland is unique, and I liked the themes it suggested. However, it's just over an hour long, and that's simply too short. Not that it wasted any time, but I wish I had gotten more of a sense of the relationship between Charli xcx’s and Lena Góra's characters or the crisis and symbolism presented had more weight. Instead, it felt like more of a hangout movie than maybe intended.

47. PEAK EVERYTHING Peak Everything is at its best when the absurdist comedy mixed with the eco-anxiety plotline takes over. In the back half, while Patrick Hivon and Piper Perabo have excellent chemistry, that gets taken over entirely by a romance plot, and not that it comes out of left field, but it abandons the film’s identity and becomes much less compelling. I do want to see a feature-length version of the first half, even if I don't think it's ruined per se, it just didn't live up to its full potential.

46. GOOD FORTUNE

After showing outstanding directorial chops on his excellent Netflix series Master of None, I was disappointed to see Aziz Ansari go down a visually generic route for his feature debut. There's not a lot about Good Fortune that sticks out, aside from Keanu Reeves' fish-out-of-water running gag that elicited the most laughs and a sincere (albeit not that effective) life-affirming message for people in hard times. But I didn't laugh enough, and I found a lot of the story beats unengaging. I appreciate the attempts by Ansari, but I'll forget about this movie sooner than I had hoped.

45. WHISTLE 

Whistle is one of the easiest documentaries you'll watch this year, for better and for worse. The film's competition doesn't even come along until 40 minutes in, but in the meantime, we get to know the contestants, with little to no judgment for them. Although based on where the film ends, some of the choices on whom they focus become questionable. Even though Whistle plays it safe, it still is a sweet film with a strong sense of community imbued in there, so check it out if you have an hour and a half to spare.

44. JOHN CANDY: I LIKE ME

John Candy: I Like Me is your typical celebrity documentary about a beloved figure. The sentimental interviews, the celebrities telling stories, the behind-the-scenes tales from his iconic movies and shows, and the attempts to make you cry when we get to his passing – it’s all there. It's not a risky film, other than maybe the attention to his insecurity about his weight, but suffice to say, your enjoyment of this will depend on your appreciation for Candy. And I do love him. It made me laugh, it made me cry. It's a worthy tribute to Candy, as basic as it is.

43. RENOIR

Renoir's emotional force comes striking down in the end, but it wasn't quite as moving to get there. Writer/Director Chie Hayakawa imbues the film with a nostalgic warmth, but the pacing is all over the place, some moments meandering and other moments thriving in an out-of-reality child-like wonder. Those two tones didn’t mesh together well, and that made Renoir start to feel lopsided. The ending is a lot more well-rounded, making a beautiful portrait of how a kid can process loss, but is it worth it if it takes so long to get there?

42. THE WIZARD OF THE KREMLIN

The Wizard of the Kremlin is worth watching for Jude Law's brief yet uncanny performance as Vladimir Putin. Every time he's on screen, my eyes were peeled. Paul Dano also is excellent, but the movie starts to get a little scattershot over the course of its two-and-a-half-hour runtime. As a lover of political thrillers, the dialogue very easily sucked me into the film at times; however, the statement it wants to make on political power in the modern age and the rise of Putin felt lost to a point of no return, creating a forgettable experience.

41. THE FENCE

Claire Denis is a filmmaker who seems to be on a bit of a downward spiral, and The Fence doesn't help to pull her back up. I didn't mind this one quite that much. There is an underlying tension that permeates throughout, and the performances are all great, especially from Isaach De Bankolé, who expresses a whole lot with sullen silence. The colonialism metaphor gets very lost in the uninteresting character drama, however, and at a point, the plot gets lost almost entirely. In the end, nothing Denis wanted us to take away stuck with me in any meaningful way.

40. MODERN WHORE

I don't quite know how I felt about Modern Whore's mix of documentary and scripted skits. Not that it's a bad idea, it's more how it was executed. The best parts of the movie are when the subject, Andrea Werhun, opens up about her experiences and speaks to other sex workers and her loved ones. Those were the moments where the film's themes were the most effective, but the momentum halts whenever these scripted moments come up, as they just felt amateur, making me wish more effort had been put into making sure it was all done right.

39. TUNER

I admittedly wasn’t floored with Tuner  like others were, and that may have been a victim of expectations more than anything. That said, I still had a blast and found it perfectly serviceable at worst. Clearly playing in Edgar Wright's toybox, the editing and sound work are frenetic and draw you into the protagonist's perspective, with Leo Woodall giving his all. I also found it well written with engaging characters and story progressions, but there was a kick that others had which I didn't get. Hopefully, a second watch will get me there, but for now, I still really liked Tuner.

38. HEDDA

After being in a franchise/IP hole for the past couple of years, it's nice to finally see writer/director Nia DaCosta stretch the capabilities of her talents. In Hedda, she directs the film with a wicked ferocity that keeps every conversation and conflict alive. It looks incredible, the pacing is perfect, and the trio of Tessa Thompson, Nina Hoss, and Imogen Poots are great. That said, the script didn't quite work. There's an interesting 'poke the bear' narrative in there, but nothing ever made me want to grab onto it, even if I did have a fun time watching.

37. POETIC LICENSE

Clearly taking after her father, Maude Apatow's directorial debut, Poetic License, is a breezy slice-of-life comedy that takes joy in digging into the funniest and most painful impulses of broken people. I'll admit, there were moments where this felt aimless, especially in the beginning, but once Apatow finds a chaotic sweet spot, Cooper Hoffman, Andrew Barth Feldman, and Leslie Mann's infectious performances feel the most alive, and I felt for these people on human levels beyond the obvious absurdity of the situations they’re in. I do hope Apatow expands on her directorial singularity because this was a great start.

36. EXIT 8

As someone who has never played the game on which it's based, I think Exit 8 works because it's completely unashamed of its video game origins. The film's weird escape room concept feels like it's operating under the mechanics of a video game, giving us a fun escape thriller that works on incredible levels... when it's a thriller. Whenever it leans into the metaphor about fatherhood, it isn't effective, taking me out of an otherwise very engaging film. That, unfortunately, did affect my overall enjoyment of Exit 8, but it was still a fascinating experience nonetheless.

35. THE NAPA BOYS

The Napa Boys, in all honesty, feels like a feature-length inside joke pretending to be a legacy sequel to a fake beloved franchise. I would understand why some wouldn't find that sense of humour very funny, but when the movie casually throws out that the boys have to go 'find Stiffler's brother' without any prior context, that's when I knew this American Reunion meets Lord of the Rings parody film was gonna land for me. It feels very aimless at times, but I did come to laugh, and I laughed more often than I didn't. 

34. THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE

There are moments in The Testament of Ann Lee where director/co-writer Mona Fastvold is on fire. In these moments, the choreography, enhanced by Daniel Blumberg's score, is a magnificent sight. It’s the kind of musical magic I can feel in my chest. Unfortunately, those moments can't save the Wikipedia-esque script. Amanda Seyfried plays Ann Lee with amazing humanity, but as the film progressed, I couldn't help but wonder what I was supposed to feel about Lee, the Shaker movement, or Christianity in America. In the end, the production values and Fastvold's filmmaking are the only memorable parts of the film.

33. THE SMASHING MACHINE

With all the chatter of Dwayne Johnson's big Oscar transformation, I was shocked to see just how un-awards-bait The Smashing Machine was. Director Benny Safdie shoots this film in a documentary kind of way, not so much watching a typical triumph sports film, but a stripped-down look at what makes Mark Kerr (Johnson) tick. Johnson himself, while physically unrecognizable, gives off more of a gentle giant performance, a soft nuance I wasn't aware he was capable of. All that to say, despite it coming off as rather stake-less, I fell for the calm approach here.

32. GOOD NEWS

Talk about overstaying your welcome... Good News sports wicked editing, absurd humour, wild political satire, and a fun thriller concept involving a plane hijacking. It’s like if Park Chan-wook directed Airplane!. That said, it is maybe an hour longer than it needs to be, but it's hard not to have a lot of fun with this premise and execution. Even when it feels like it's going hard on non-sequitors, the energy keeps it watchable. At a certain point, though, watching people scream for two-and-a-half hours becomes exhausting. This can be fun on streaming, when you can pause it and stretch your legs.

31. ORWELL: 2+2=5

The statement of Orwell: 2+2=5 couldn't be clearer: George Orwell's writings are as prescient as they ever were. The film evokes Orwell's messaging through graphics and Damian Lewis’ narration as Orwell, but the movie is most effective when it compares Orwell's quotes to images that hit close to home, like using footage from the Gaza invasion or the January 6 riots. If you've never read Orwell, this is an important documentary, but if you're like me, who's already well-versed, I got the message pretty quickly — then it went on for another hour. This is a vital documentary, nonetheless.

30. ROOFMAN

Based on the trailer for Roofman, I was afraid director/co-writer Derek Cianfrance was gonna ditch his knack for emotionally driven character stories for a more studio-driven comedy. While the film doesn't shy away from the absurdity of this true story, mainly due in part to Channing Tatum's charming goofiness, what grabbed me the hardest about Roofman was Cianfrance's writing that mixed the weirdness with true humanity. Even when it leans into the "criminal with a heart of gold" idea, the empathy it decides to focus on in regards to Jeffrey Manchester leads to effective emotional beats.

29. COVER-UP

The story of Cover-Up is certainly a politically relevant one. Beyond being a very charismatic subject, the importance of Seymour Hersh is well-expressed, showing us well-documented pieces of journalism from him that revealed shady military practices in Vietnam and Iraq, and as the film shows us him beginning to write something on Gaza, Cover-Up's relevance shines at its absolute brightest and most hard-hitting. I did find the movie unremarkable beyond its politics, and I wish it offered a bigger punch, as a lot of what we learn is surface-level, but I'd still say this is an important watch.

28. SOUND OF FALLING

I'll admit it: not all of Sound of Falling clicked on my first viewing. Not that I didn't understand it, but it's (sort of) an anthology film, and what I missed was what the multiple stories have to do with each other. I have working theories, but until I get the chance to see it again, all I can say is I was sucked into it in spite of my confusion. The slow-burning atmosphere, the sound design, Fabian Gamper's cinematography: all of it captured my interest, so much so that whatever writer/director Mascha Schilinski does next, I'm all in.

27. CAROLINA CAROLINE

I could tell you where Carolina Caroline was headed by frame zero. But how does a film recover from being wholly predictable? Being cool as hell, that's how. Through the stylish direction of Adam Carter Rehmeier and the sexy chemistry between Samara Weaving and Kyle Gallner, you’re given a believable, steamy romance and an emotionally charged crime thriller through small-town America. The narrative takes little-to-no swings, but the tone and vintage look of the film make up for that in spades, and this became a thoroughly watchable film throughout.

26. THE LITTLE SISTER 

While not too much is narratively distinct from most coming-out stories beyond the Muslim perspective, The Little Sister's strength is in the subtle nuances. Writer/director Hafsia Herzi plays around with the type of insecurities and fears plaguing a closeted lesbian in various environments, and some of these moments carry a lot of heartbreak in them, none as devastating as the film's gut punch final moments, which exacerbate the wonderful performance given by Nadia Melliti. While the pacing isn't always consistent, there was never a moment when I wasn't sucked into the emotional profundity of this coming-of-age story.

25. ARCO 

Arco breaks no barriers in any sense, either in animation or thematically, but it's another piece of evidence that maintaining a level of genuine care for itself will yield great results. The narrative about finding connection at a young age is nothing new, and the animation clearly takes from Studio Ghibli at times. Still, I couldn't help but feel warmth from the story and look in awe at some of the film's visuals, mixed in with creative world-building and mythology that caught my attention. At some point, Arco’s familiarity just didn't even faze me anymore.

24. RENTAL FAMILY 

There was a fear of mine that Rental Family would lean too sentimental and perhaps even emotionally manipulative, and I was pleased to say that's not the case. Brendan Fraser's teddy bear performance is easy to melt your heart, but director/co-writer Hikari’s patient and often funny writing gives each character a well-fleshed out arc and emotional stake in the narrative. While I never reached the point of tears, I certainly felt the beauty in this story that utilizes an otherwise pretty silly concept. Rental Family is a nice, feel-good film that's genuine and worthwhile in many regards.

23. HEN

Hen: A live-action cross between Homer's Odyssey, The Shawshank Redemption, Goodfellas, and Over the Hedge. Dare I say more? Through this unflinching look at a hen's fight for survival (shoutout to the performance from the titular hen), director György Pálfi takes no shame in telling this story with as much kookiness and fun as possible, taking this fearless hen to dark places and beautiful ones, too. Despite the bizarre concept, this is a genuinely captivating story. It's certainly one of the weirder films you'll see all year, but one that's easy to grab onto and get something out of.

22. PUT YOUR SOUL ON YOUR HAND AND WALK

A lot of films about the current genocide in Gaza are expected to elicit strong emotional feelings. Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk's approach will inspire an interesting kind of heartbreak. The entire film is seen through FaceTime calls between director Sepideh Farsi and a Gaza citizen named Fatma Hassona, and her words will make you ponder the conflict in a new light, watching Hassona's fears and, more importantly, her hope while drone strikes are happening just outside her window. The film's devastation is magnified by knowledge of Hassona's murder after the film was completed.

21. THE TALE OF SILYAN

The relationship between man and animal is often portrayed on film, especially in documentaries. The Tale of Silyan's angle on this idea is, yes, healing, but more than just an emotional one. It's not your typical "aww, he's friends with a bird" type of deal; the relationship comes together under more tragic circumstances, and through beautiful cinematography, we get a well-observed glimpse of Macedonian life, both domestic and politically, and through this newfound relationship, we get a profound look at the strife farmers deal with regularly. You'll have your hearts strung, you have my word on that.

20. IF I HAD LEGS I'D KICK YOU

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You is likely to be a very alienating film for many people, but I can't stress enough how worth it this experience is, if not just for the tour-de-force performance from Rose Byrne. She guides this stressful, at times excruciating (by design) exercise in maternal frustration, as we follow Byrne's character through some of the most aggravating series of events, told with expert tension and visual splendour by director/writer Mary Bronstein. I have mixed feelings about how it wraps up, but the way Byrne guides this difficult experience is a sight to behold.

19. BLUE MOON

Typically, with a chamber piece like Blue Moon, you can't help but feel like you're watching a play. But director Richard Linklater embraces that, almost making sure you feel that way. His direction, mixed with the whip-smart script from Robert Kaplow, immerses us in the staginess of this bar setting, with Ethan Hawke's flamboyant character work giving this extra life with all his monologues, making this one of my favourite Hawke performances. I can understand if this won't work for you, but the energy and pizzazz this had despite its limited setting made for an entertaining and emotional powerhouse.

18. A POET

A Poet snuck up on me in a massive way. With a vintage handheld style of filmmaking from director Simón Mesa Soto that shapes its tightrope act, this film shoves the audience into the fractured narcissism of Oscar, played with perfect sliminess by Ubeimar Rios. A Poet's strength is not just in its sense of humour or intentional frustration, but in the rather interesting approach to art, and through this character study, Soto makes the case that at the root of any artist is an inherent ego. This was one of the biggest surprises I've had in a while.

17. MY FATHER’S SHADOW 

Operating on a similar logic to Aftersun, My Father's Shadow's depiction of Lagos in 1993 under political turmoil, as well as fatherhood through the unaware eyes of children, is a memorable and even heartbreaking examination. Director/co-writer Akinola Davies Jr.'s direction is precise but, by design, rusty. Our perspective is through the kids, so the limited information enhances the beauty and horror of the plot. Sopé Dìrísù's performance blends masculinity with tenderness perfectly, and the child performances from Chibuike Marvellous Egbo and Godwin Egbo are great as well. By the end, it made me cry and reflect, the hallmark of a job well done.

16. BLKNWS: TERMS & CONDITIONS 

It's hard to think about the last time I saw a movie and thought, "This isn't like anything I've ever seen." BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions acts like a fast-paced slideshow of historical footage, pop-culture references, and even memes, but it also features scripted original scenes to creatively make the audience view black art and history through a singular entrancing experience. I can say with confidence that you could show this to multiple people, and each person will take something different away from the film. It's that kind of experimentation from director Kahlil Joseph that makes BLKNWS unforgettable.

15. WAKE UP DEAD MAN: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY 

Wake Up Dead Man is Benoit Blanc's (Daniel Craig) most ambitious mystery yet. Continuing the trend of writer/director Rian Johnson's Knives Out films, Johnson flips audience expectations on their heads in ways that had my eyes glued. Even if you guess who the killer is, the “how” will still shock you. Easily the darkest of the franchise so far, it has great Poe-esque iconography and an interesting take on the radicalizing power of organized religion, all while keeping that Knives Out humour intact. You could argue this is the best of the franchise, and I wouldn't fight you on that.

14. THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB

Using the real audio of Hind Rajab, a 6-year-old girl killed by Israeli soldiers in Gaza, it's very easy to see how The Voice of Hind Rajab is highly effective. Any movie that brings audience attention to the active genocide is worthwhile in my opinion, but showcasing as many perspectives as possible is as well. In this film, the dramatization of an emergency call centre showcases the desperation to save as many people as possible in Gaza, and combined with the heart shattering reality that it's just not possible sometimes, it's a heavy but necessary watch. 

13. THE FURIOUS

I saw The Furious at midnight, and it's a testament to the sheer bone-crushing insanity of director Kenji Tanigaki's martial arts epic that I had so much energy walking out. The story is fairly simple, but you're here for the action, and I can sincerely say this has some of the best action choreography I've ever seen. Several times, I wasn't sure how someone could conceptualize these fight scenes, let alone shoot them, all building up to a two-on-two-on-one sequence where I didn't blink once. An easy movie to get hyped on by just hearing the name after watching it.

12. SENTIMENTAL VALUE 

Sentimental Value's impact is an interesting one because it took me a minute to fully get hit by the film's multi-layered writing. While watching it, I was taken aback by Joachim Trier's direction; however, his writing, while grounded and interesting in its depiction of a broken family, didn't get that stunning realization out of me until I considered Trier was saying that, like a home, a family is something that will forever need to be worked on. Pair that with exceptional performances and ambitious filmmaking, and Trier has created another beautiful instant classic.

11. SILENT FRIEND 

Silent Friend took a while for me to understand what these three stories about plant preservation had to do with each other. Once it did, all the pieces started to connect in a beautiful manner. It's got wonderful themes of connecting to the environment and to each other, and even through its experimental nature, the tenderness of Ildikó Enyedi's direction is hard to miss. All three stories are engaging in their own way (shot with period authenticity by Gergely Pálos), but just experiencing this connected vision was something unique in its own beautiful way.

10. FRANKENSTEIN 

Writer/director Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein is long. There was never a moment when I wasn't engaged, but I'll admit there's some fat that could've been trimmed. But the ends justified the means here. As expected from a del Toro film, the crafts are magnificent, from set design to Dan Lausten's cinematography that fully immerses us into this world. But it's the compassionate writing that accurately brings Mary Shelley's book to life, pondering the difference between man and monster, with a stunning performance from Jacob Elordi as The Creature. This Frankenstein is another stunning creature feature from the master del Toro!

9. OBSESSION 

Watching Obsession, it felt like I was witnessing a new horror hit. Weaponized with debut director Curry Barker's awkward sense of humour, he cannonballs onto the scene with confidence and a fantastic eye for creepy imagery. What makes this one so wonderful is the awfully relatable terror of having a hopeless crush, mixed with the highs of optimism that soon reveal some gross scares from the mere sight of Inde Navarrette. She is a true revelation, as her supernatural attachment becomes a nightmare. I hope for dear life that audiences embrace Obsession for the treat it is because it's special.

8. LITTLE AMÉLIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN

At under an hour and a half, Little Amélie or the Character of Rain takes audiences on a gorgeous coming-of-age journey with beautiful animation and wondrous emotions. Following baby Amélie’s (Loïse Charpentier) point-of-view, we get to see both a child’s growing love for life and their discovery of heartbreak, as she sees things through a continuous new lens. The writing offers her a creative viewpoint to reveal life's challenges, both domestically (being a Belgian girl living in post-war Japan) and mythically. I won't hide it; this incredible movie made me cry, and I need everyone to see it.

7. IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT

There's something very fascinating when you walk out of a movie not sure how to talk about it, yet you know that you just watched something extraordinary. Writer/director Jafar Panahi's Palme d'Or winner It Was Just an Accident is structured like a comedy of errors, yet it's a haunting and wonderfully acted reflection of the scars left on the victims of Iran's government. Its morally interesting plot questions humanity's ability for cruelty in an unjust society, and if you don't leave the film staggered by its final 20 minutes, I'll be impressed.

6. HAMNET 

Being that this is the hardest a movie has made me cry in recent memory, you'd think Hamnet is just a plea for your tears. But director/co-writer Chloé Zhao's meditation provides more than just a tear-jerker. Taking her time to show the love of this family before tragedy befalls them, we get to see incredible performances from Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, and Jacobi Jupe, and stunning cinematography from Łukasz Żal. Hamnet shows us what catharsis after unspeakable loss can look like and the healing power of art. It's hard not to see where the love is coming from here.

5. TRAIN DREAMS 

Through its hazy narrative structure, which is like watching a collection of memories accompanied by a stunning score from Bryce Dessner, Train Dreams emerges as one of 2025's best films. Featuring a career-high performance from Joel Edgerton, director/co-writer Clint Bentley takes audiences through the stunningly shot life of a post-20th-century labour worker, through the highs and devastating lows. It's an emotional tour de force, showcasing tender meditation and powerful perseverance; you won't find a film that balances stark realism with an alluring dream-like atmosphere like this. If you can get on its wavelength, Train Dreams will stick with you.

4. THE SECRET AGENT 

After last year's I'm Still Here detailing the Brazilian military dictatorship in the 1970s, The Secret Agent is here to give us an interesting perspective on that period of time. Anchored by a subtle but excellent performance from Wagner Moura, writer/director Kleber Mendonça Filho takes us headfirst into the sun-soaked world of the average Brazilian citizen, enjoying life despite the terror going on. As slow as it is, it finds novel ways to never be boring, including creative noir-style editing choices and a memorable sequence involving Brazilian folklore, which makes this one of the more engaging titles of this year.

3. NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE 

As a Torontonian, I acknowledge my bias for a film so littered with Toronto easter eggs, but Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie is a blast I'd recommend to anyone. Yes, there are inside jokes not everyone will get, but there's still a lot to laugh at. From a sheer filmmaking standpoint, I wondered "how did they do this?" multiple times. The writing alone is truly brilliant, weaving in time travel, comedy, and a sincere friendship narrative all into one uniquely enjoyable package. At the risk of sounding hyperbolic, this movie is sort of a miracle.

2. SIRĀT 

Sirāt is so bleak, I was in a trance-like state watching it. It's also one of the best films of 2025. Like the raves the characters seek out, Sirāt feels like a high with no actual resolution, just feeling the vibrations of director/writer Óliver Laxe's unforgettable odyssey through the Moroccan desert. The first half is a nice meditative film that follows these nomads and a desperate father/son, but the second half devolves into hell in a way that made my heart race rapidly. I had to cover my eyes a lot, which made this an existentially dreadful yet singular work of art.

1. NO OTHER CHOICE 

To the surprise of nobody who knows the name of director/co-writer Park Chan-wook, No Other Choice is another masterful piece of genre cinema. Starring Lee Byung-hun in one of the year's most compelling performances, Park uses his signature style of absurd editing and morally ambiguous characters to create a slapstick comedy-thriller with some bleak class commentary, taking the film in smart directions that go beyond the simple concept of lower-class desperation. He makes a devastating point that you'll have to see to believe. It's also very funny, and a glowing testament to the type of madman filmmaker Park is.