I see over 300 movies each year, and every time, I am hoping for an especially rewarding experience.
Let’s start with 14 New Filmmakers to watch: As a blog, The Movie Gourmet has evolved to specializing in film festival coverage, with a concentration in filmmakers’ first feature films. The most exciting payoff from my coverage of this year’s Slamdance, Cinequest, San Luis Obispo, Frameline and Nashville film festivals were these discoveries. I was especially enthralled by Alexandra Simpson’s debut film No Sleep Till, which I viewed in a screener.
Here are the rest of my favorite movie-going experiences of 2025.:
- Because I tend not to gravitate toward sci-fi, I had never gotten around to watching Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar, even though lots of folks whom I respect rate it as a great movie. I got my chance on a Turkish Airlines flight to Istanbul, and, yes, Interstellar is a great movie indeed. BTW the movie selection on Turkish Airlines – with films in over 40 languages – is phenomenal. Aer Lingus, as well, has a better movie selection than any US airline..
- Noir City: Once again, I attended Eddie Muller’s festival of fim noir, in-person in Oakland, and I’ll be returning in January 2026. It was a real treat to introduce 99 River Street to The Wife – who has allowed the movie poster to hang in her house without having seen the movie. I got to re=experience two my favorite classics, The Narrow Margin and Out of the Past, on the big screen, and got to see two zany guilty pleasures, Hell’s Half Acre and The Long Wait, for the first time.
- San Luis Obispo International Film Festival: This year, the SLO Film Fest hosted personal appearance by Jay Duplass, with his newest film The Baltimorons, and Bob Mackie, the subject of Bob Mackie: Naked Illusion, along with the insightful documentary Made in Ethiopia, the completely singular indie thriller Sew Torn, and the Gaelic thriller Aontas.
- Not for the first time: I re-experienced three films that made big impressions on me in the 1970s – Fellini’s masterpiece 8 1/2 , Antonioni’s The Passenger with Jack Nicholson’s alienated protagonist, and the James Clavell’s medieval epic The Last Valley. I also got to introduce The Wife to my favorite French film noir, Touchez pas au grisbi, featuring the seasoned, cool magnetism of Jean Gabin.
- Thanksgiving weekend binge with the family: The women picked Love, Actually, and the next night, the men chose Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Very fun.
- Palm Theater: In a collaborative venture, the SLO Film Fest now operates my hometown arthouse as the the SLO Film Center, a year-round hub of film culture. This year, I enjoyed many films at the Palm, most notably Caught by the Tides, Sorry Baby, Architecton, East of Wall, Twinless, Eleanor the Great, Blue Moon, It Was Just an Accident, Jay Kelly, The Mastermind, Hamnet and No Other Choice. And the December 23 screening of It’s a Wonderful Life had a sold-out house!
- Netflix: I have mixed feelings about Netflix, and actually dumped it for a while in 2015. I find most of their content to be formulaic and, well, disposable. But I have to hand it to Netflix for finishing the year strong, with November-December releases of Frankenstein, Left-handed Girl, Jay Kelly, House of Dynamite, Nouvelle Vague, Cover-Up and Death by Lightning.
