Every year, I keep a running list of the best movies I’ve seen this year. By the end of the year, I usually end up with a Top Ten and another 5-15 mentions. Here are my list of Best Movies of 2024 and Best Movies of 2023. To get on my year-end list, a movie has to be one that thrills me while I’m watching it and one that I’m still thinking about a couple of days later.
I’m had difficulty ranking the top four films, very different from each other, who are essentially tied for first place.
THE BEST OF 2025
Frankenstein: who is the real monster? Netflix.
It Was Just an Accident: trauma, justice and complications. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango
Caught by the Tides: China evolves, she persists. Amazon, AppleTV, Fandango, Criterion.
One Battle After Another: sometimes hilarious, sometimes thrilling, always outrageous. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
The Secret Agent: we’re all back in 1977, and he’s running for his life. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
A House of Dynamite: a master filmmaker reminds us of the terrifyingly plausible. Netflix.
Train Dreams: quietly thinking and quietly feeling. Netflix.
Hamnet: a grieving couple finally aligned. In theaters.
Left-Handed Girl: a family’s path to to catharsis. Netflix
Pee-Wee as Himself: a man hidden in his own invention. HBO Max.
No Other Choice: keeping up with the Parks. In theaters.
A Little Prayer: comfortable, then bewildered. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube.
Sentimental Value: generational healing. In theaters.
Twinless: smart, funny, satisfying. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango
My Dead Friend Zoe: getting to resilience. Amazon, AppleTV, YouTube, Fandango.
No Sleep Till: turbulent weather, turbulent lives. hoopla.
FESTIVAL FILMS
These films, which I’ve screened at US film festivals this year, qualify as among the best films of the year, but, to this point, they haven’t been available to see in a theater or online. I’m reluctant to tease my readers with a list of movies that they can’t see, so I created this new special category. When they get theatrical distribution or a streaming platform, I’ll move them up to the regular list.