Top Musical of 2025

"K-Pop Demon Hunters" (Maggie Khan, Chris Appelhans, Netflix)

One Battle After Another (2025) *****

Paul Thomas Anderson's masterpiece. Incredibly entertaining. Superbly directed. Visually stunning. Profound, mesmerizing and provocative.

It Was Just An Accident (2025) *****

Jafar Panahi's greatest film, shot in secret in Iran, without a filming permit. It's a story of former political prisoners who face the question of whether to exact revenge on their tormentor. Gripping, suspenseful and constantly surprising.

The Secret Agent (2025) *****

An amazing thriller about a hunted man in Brazil in 1977 during the military dictatorship. The story is fascinating in itself, but the way it is told make it even more exciting, and the weird surrealistic touches only add an extra level of complexity.

Train Dreams (2025) ****

A unique film. Beautiful and poetic, but also extremely sad.

Sinners (2025) ****

Impressive film. It starts slow, but stick with it, because it becomes very good very quickly in the second half.

Marty Supreme (2025) ****

Incredibly dynamic, constantly surprising roller-coaster of a movie, starring Timothée Chalamet in one of the greatest performances of his career.

Left-Handed Girl (2025) ****

Excellent film from Taiwan. Sean Baker edited it and co-wrote the script.

Weapons (2025) ****

Superlative horror movie about missing children. An intricate narrative structure, memorable characters and daring shifts in tone.

Folichonneries (2025) ****

Very daring comedy of manners about a middle-age couple trying to spice up their sex life.

The Testament Of Ann Lee (2025) ****

Amanda Seyfried gives the best performance of her career in this amazing musical drama about a remarkable woman who founded the Shakers. Superbly directed, absolutely riveting piece of pure cinema.

Sotto le nuvole (2025) ****

Superb documentary about Naples and Pompei.

Die My Love (2025) ****

Mesmerizing, haunting and poetic.

Sentimental Value (2025) ****

Interesting Norwegian film about a film director and his two daughters.

Nouvelle Vague (2025) ****

Brilliant picture about the filming of Jean-Luc Godard's "A bout de souffle" in 1959.

The Voice Of Hind Rajab (2025) ****

A 6-year old Palestinian girl is trapped in a car under Israeli fire in Gaza.

Materialists (2025) ***

Excellent romantic comedy directed by Celine Song ("Past Lives"). Intelligent, surprising and sophisticated.

Jay Kelly (2025) ***

Oddball and eccentric, but also touching and deeply felt sort-of-comedy about a famous actor and the regrets of his life.

Roofman (2025) ***

Based on a true story, an incredible film about a criminal hiding in a Toys R Us.

Play Dirty (2025) ***

Ultra slick action-packed heist comedy. Clever, satiric, parodic and completely nuts.

A House Of Dynamite (2025) ***

Way better than "Fail Safe" (1964), but nowhere near as good as "Dr Strangelove" (1964). A tense, edge-of-your-seat thriller with an ending that is both perfect and infuriating.

Song Sung Blue (2025) ***

Excellent musical film about Lightning and Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute act from Wisconsin.

The Housemaid (2025) ***

A strange film. The first half is so over-the-top, it's almost not credible, but stick with it because there is a huge plot twist right at the half-way mark that forces the viewer to see everything from a completely different angle. However, the second half of the film is just as over-the-top as the first half, but now there are no credibility problems. Quite a thrill ride, quite violent and very sexy.

The Smashing Machine (2025) ***

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson gives the greatest performance of his career as UFC champion, Mark Kerr. 

Sorry Baby (2025) ***

Very original sort-of-comedy about a young woman who refuses to see herself as a victim, despite a very traumatic event affecting her life.

Hamnet (2025) ***

Was William Shakespeare's greatest play, "Hamlet", written as a means of processing his grief over his son’s death ?

Bugonia (2025) ***

A crazed conspiracy theorist (Jesse Plemons) kidnaps a CEO of a pharmaceutical company (Emma Stone) and accuses her of being an alien from Outer Space.

Avatar: Fire And Ash (2025) ***

There is a growing sense of "deja vu" in this third instatement of the popular sci-fi saga, but the action scenes are still top-notch.

Blue Moon (2025) ***

The life of Cole Porter, first told in "Night And Day" (1946), got a necessary correction in "De-Lovely" (2004), filling in the blanks concerning the great songwriter's homosexuality. Now, the life of Lorenz Hart, first told in "Words And Music" (1948), gets a similar correction in this fascinating film directed by Richard Linklater.

The Lost Bus (2025) ***

Based on a true story, an exciting film about a school bus caught in the middle of a forest fire ravaging a small California town.

The Alabama Solution (2025) ***

A devastating indictment of the Alabama prison system.

Frankenstein (2025) ***

Guillermo del Toro's adaptation of the famous horror novel is uneven, but visually stunning. Set direction and cinematography are flawless. However, it's much too long, and a bit slow, especially in the second act.

The Perfect Neighbor (2025) ***

Harrowing documentary about a murder in Florida.

Honey Don't (2025) ***

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Black Bag (2025) ***

Tense spy thriller. Taut, exciting, precise and moody.

Jurassic World: Rebirth (2025) ***

The dinosaurs are awesome, and the actors are great. The scenery is fantastic as well. And yes, it is predictable.

K-Pop Demon Hunters (2025) ***

Terrific animated film directed by Maggie Khan and Chris Appelhans. A wild mix of showbiz musical, supernatural horror flick, action film extravaganza and wise-ass buddy comedy.

After The Hunt (2025) ***

Complex and ambiguous film about cancel culture and victimhood. Its radical determination to explore every possible shade of grey is definitely impressive, even if it's often maddeningly unclear what exactly has happened in this film, and what real-life events have inspired it.

Father Mother Sister Brother (2025) ***

Nice little film directed by Jim Jarmusch. Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Hiver à Sokcho (2025) ***

Impressive psychological drama set in a South Korean town not far from the DMZ.

Lumiere le cinema (2025) ***

Jeunes meres (2025) **

Set in a maternity home, this Belgian drama tells the stories of five single mothers and their struggles.

Amélie et la métaphysique des tubes (2025) *

A French animated film about a very young child.

Jane Austen a gâché ma vie (2025) ***

Low-key French comedy of manners set in a writers' retreat in England.