1) Seed of the Sacred Fig
Director-Mohammad Rasoulof
A Disturbing and timely political thriller about an investigating magistrate in Iran who is torn between his job and his family. He finds out that his job promotion came with some terrible strings attached. He is expected to lie about his investigations so the judge can unfairly convict or railroad innocent peaceful protesters, one of whom was a girl whom soldiers murdered. His daughters start to side with the innocent victimized, mostly female protestors who are demanding women’s rights (many of whom are her classmates), and the family, which had been close, begins to unravel. Although this film is technically a work of fiction, it includes real footage of student protesters being beaten and abused by police. This is reminiscent of the great family dramas of Asghar Farhadi, like The Salesman. It was the most emotionally resonant and scathing film I have seen so far this year. It was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars in 2024, and for the perceived crime of making the film, the director, Mohammad Rasoulof, received a sentence of 7 years in jail, the loss of all his property, and a whipping. Luckily, he was out of the country and is not going back. In Persian with English subtitles.

Available for rent on Amazon.

2) Sentimental Value
Director-Joachin Trier
Emotionally shattering story of a filmmaker who has spent most of his life ignoring his resentful daughters. His mom was a Holocaust survivor who hung herself in the very house he is living in. He writes a script for a biopic about his mom, specifically written to star his daughter, who is a talented stage actress. The father hopes this will help him reconnect with his daughter, but she turns him down and later tells others that, because of who he is, her dad would be impossible to work with. He hires another actress to play the role (Elle Fanning from The Great and Alien Badlands). But this leads to other problems. This Bergmanesque drama often shows us scenes that seem to be happening, then pulls back to reveal they're part of a play or film, so the movie frequently pulls the rug out from under us. There is an excellent scene in which the face of the director merges with the faces of his two daughters, which could have come out of Ingmar Bergman’s Persona. All the scenes of the script work together like a clock that runs perfectly and builds to something magnificent and sublime, in a way I have not seen since Conclave.

Currently playing in selected theatres. In Norwegian, Swedish, with English subtitles.

3) the Shrouds
Director-David Cronenberg
A bizarre and darkly funny body horror masterpiece which was written and directed by Dave Cronenberg, is a somewhat autobiographical film about a man mourning the death of his wife (Cronenberg also lost his wife a few years back) who makes a fortune streaming footage of dead people decomposing to their living loved ones. He is involved in a highly unusual love quadrilateral between his wife’s sister, who is the spitting image of his wife, his AI companion, who also looks like his late wife, and a woman with a dying husband who is going blind. As you can tell from this and many other films, our neighbors from Canada have a perverse sense of humor that is totally different from anything you’d find in America. This potent masterpiece is one of Cronenberg’s most personal films, and it might end up being his signature work.

Streaming on the Criterion Channel and VOD.

4) Highest 2 Lowest
Director-Spike Lee
Spike Lee’s fascination with Asian cinema continues. But unlike his remake of Old Boy, this intense, exciting, and irresistible reimagining of Kurosawa’s thriller, High and Low, knocks the ball out of the park. It features a reunion of Denzel Washington and Spike Lee, who also worked together on Malcolm X, He Got Game, Mo' Better Blues, Inside Man, and Bamboozled. The film is about a retired record producer who has dreams of reentering the business and taking control of his old company. But his friend’s son is mistaken for his son and taken for ransom by kidnappers, so he has to decide between his dream and his love for his friend. Instead of paying the ransom, he decides to hunt down the kidnappers. This is less experimental and edgy than some of Lee's other works. Still, it is his most consistent and winning film in years, and it turns out to be surprisingly spiritually uplifting. One of the best scenes includes a great homage to Scorsese’s Taxi Driver in which violence unexpectedly breaks out at a Puerto Rican parade, complete with a delicious cameo by Lee’s former collaborator, Do the Right Thing’s Rosie Perez. One of the most incredible moments in any film this year is when Denzel’s character has a rap battle with a kidnapper. As always, Washington brings more gravity and weight to his role than almost any other actor could have managed. The film was briefly released in theatres but has not received any Oscar promotion.

Now streaming on Apple TV and Amazon Prime.

5) Pavements
Director-Alex Ross Perry
 A highly entertaining and riveting music film that fully captures the quirky appeal of Pavement, one of the most iconic 90s Indie rock bands. Pavement, composed of ordinary museum workers, was one of the most critically acclaimed bands of its era, but it never had much commercial impact. This unconventional film combines documentary footage with hilariously invented false sequences (including one about a play based on their songs, which I’m almost sure is false), and another questionable sequence is about a ridiculous biopic. All of this will be hysterical to their fans, who will get all of the in-jokes. In its own way, this is as hilarious and as illuminating a film about rock culture as This is Spinal Tap.

Streaming on MUBI, Fandango at Home, and Apple TV

6) Caught Stealing
Director-Darren Aronofsky
One of the most promising young actors, Austin Butler, portrays an alcoholic and failed ex-athlete who foolishly agrees to watch his punk rock neighbor’s cat. This turns out to be one of the worst mistakes of his life. He ends up getting embroiled in a crime story and is hunted by both the Russian and Jewish mobs who want to get back stolen drug money, Darren Aronofsky’s absurdist hybrid of punk rock and Hasidic Jewish culture recalls the best films of the Coen Brothers and Quentin Tarantino, and it perfectly captures a getting by with by the seat of the pants lifestyle, After I heard the UK post punk band I was so impressed by The Idles’s contributions to the soundtrack, I listened to all of their recordings. One of the year’s weirdest, wackiest, most enjoyable movie experiences.

Streaming on Netflix, YouTube, Apple TV, Amazon, and Fandango at Home.

7) One Battle After Another
Director-Paul Thomas Anderson
Leonard Di Caprio, in one of his best roles, is a retired hippy terrorist who will do anything to help his daughter. Up and coming militant white supremacist (played by Sean Penn, who is simply brilliant and a likely Oscar contender), tries to hunt her down so he can kill her for his own reasons, another home run by maverick filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood), which masterfully combines family drama, topical politics, and action. When you strip away all the terrorist and immigrant themes, this is like a terrific, updated version of John Ford’s The Searchers with two men in conflict over the destiny of a woman made for more modern audiences. The terrific, off-putting Avant-Garde jazz soundtrack was crafted by longtime Paul Thomas Anderson collaborator, Johnny Greenwood of Radiohead.

Streaming on YouTube, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, Google TV, and Amazon Prime.

8) Novelle Vague
Director-Richard Linklater
Texas-based filmmaker Richard Linklater has produced a charming and loving cinematic tribute to one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Jean-Luc Godard, who allegedly partially funded his first film, Breathless, with money he stole from the magazine he wrote for, Cahiers du Cinema, which was the birthplace of the French New Wave movement. The film was primarily shot in Godard’s trademark style without a script. Like Godard’s classic, this was shot in black and white, with lots of jump cuts and improvisation by both Audrey Dullin, playing Jean Paul Belmondo, and Zoey Deutch, playing Jean Seberg. Godard angers almost everyone he works with his chaotic, spontaneous work habits. He irritates his lead actress, Jean Seberg (Zoey Duetch), who was a big star at the time, by refusing to give her a script or dialogue in advance, and it’s particularly memorable when Godard angers his producer by playing pinball all day when he’s supposed to be shooting. All this could have ended in disaster, but instead it produced the masterpiece Breathless (1960). When an important character gets introduced, the action freezes, and their name appears on screen, interrupting the action in a way Godard and the Monty Python group did in their work. Director Richard Linklater (Before Sunset) proves once again that he is one of the greatest filmmakers of his generation. All of this playfully captures the anarchy and madness of experimental guerrilla filmmaking perfectly. And it is in English or French with English subtitles.

Exclusively streaming on Netflix.

9) Sinners and K-Pop Demon Hunters (Tie)
I refuse to choose between these two outstanding genre-blending pop culture classics, each of which might end up being the two most influential genre films of the year.

Sinners
Director-Ryan Coogler
Ryan (Black Panther and Creed) Coogler puts together a thrilling, exhilarating, and unique horror/western/crime/musical film hybrid with a plot reminiscent of another genre-jumping film, From Dusk till Dawn. It is about a pair of rascally thugs who use their ill-earned mob money to open a bar and eventually go up against a gang of singing Irish vampires. If you have been dreaming of a film that explores post slavery African American culture with Irish folk dance sequences and vampires, this is for you. Coogler’s unique, visually dazzling movie is dripping with period flavor and all kinds of strangeness, which helped it rule the box office for a few weeks. While it isn’t perfect, the script is very ingenious, and the film has an undeniable energy that sweeps you away. Michael B Jordan is exceptional playing two twin brothers, one of whom is a vampire, and one is human. The film explores a similar theme to that of the Hammer film Twins of Evil. This race-themed horror popcorn film is a worthy successor to Get Out and is in the same spirit.

Streaming on Apple, Google Play, and Amazon Prime.

K Pop Demon Hunters
Directors: Maggie Kang & Chris Appelhans
Delightful film about a trio of singing demon hunters that are somewhat reminiscent of the Scooby Gang in the Buffy the Vampire series, one of my favorite TV shows ever. Complications arise when the lead singer, who is part demon, starts falling for a bad guy who is part of a demonic boy band (think of them as an even more hellish N; Synch). The boy band plans to destroy the world during a big song contest; I’m not a big fan of K-pop, but this film completely won me over. It seamlessly merges action, music, romance, and drama in a quirky, top-notch animated film. This film does everything right that most recent fantasy films aimed at a female demographic have done wrong. The Marvels sure did it wrong. A massive streaming hit, this is now the most-watched Netflix film ever, and will be the start of a bold new film franchise.

Streaming on Netflix.

10) No Other Land
Directors-Basel Adra,Hamdan Ballal, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor
This powerful and unforgettable dramatic documentary made by an Israeli and Palestinian crew of artists records the horrific real-life destruction of buildings and schools in the West Bank. The film was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2025 Oscars but has had trouble finding a distributor. It refused to die and has been revived for several short runs and single screenings in the Chicago area. In Arabic, English, and Hebrew.

Streaming on YouTube, Fandango at home, Amazon Prime, and Apple TV,

Honorable Mentions (#11-25)

11) On Becoming a Guinea Fowl, Perplexing and enigmatic African film about loss, funeral traditions, and sexual abuse. It all starts with a joyous bird scene in which the lead character emulates the dress style of popular rapper, Missy Elliot, but she soon stumbles upon a dead body, which sours her night. Then it grows increasingly somber as the town's dark secrets come to light. A devastating critique of tradition and hyper-masculinity, in Bemba with English subtitles. From Punano Nyoni, the talented director of I Am Not a Witch.

Available on HBO/Max, YouTube, Hulu, Sling TV, Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV, and Google TV.

12) Life of Chuck, This film shows segments of an ordinary man’s life after his death, and it has a kind of moral weight and gravity lacking in most films. It also unexpectedly contains the year’s most glorious dance sequence. Featuring a winning but brief performance by Tom Hiddleston, this is probably his best role yet (sorry, Loki fans). This film may help you appreciate the value of life and its little moments—one of the year’s most underrated and unjustly ignored films. Based on a Stephen King novel.

Streaming on YouTube TV, Google TV, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and Amazon Prime Video.

13) Hamnet, Moving and emotionally volatile tale about the relationship of William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) and his wife. Agnes (Jessie Buckley in one of the year’s best performances). She starts as a kind of neo pagan wild child who is spurned by others for practicing witchcraft. The initial scenes of a young Shakespeare wooing her with the tale of Orpheus are nearly as fresh and thrilling as a real-life romantic relationship. The loss of their son, who the cinematographer usually shoots in an idealized way, while Shakespeare is off in Stratford, almost shatters the mother’s delicate psyche and comes close to permanently destroying their relationship. Jessie Buckley’s performance is extraordinary, and she has a serious shot at winning a best actress Oscar. Some of the exquisite landscape shots by cinematographer Lukas Zai are almost unbearably beautiful and recall the paintings of Johannes Vermeer. Hamnet is a high point for Chinese-born director Chloe Zhao (Nomadland, The Rider, and Eternals), who is much better at art films than superhero flicks. The film earned eight Golden Globe nominations.

At press time this was playing in a select theatre.

14) Bugonia, Two conspiracy theorists kidnap a corporate CEO because they think she is an extraterrestrial. They want to prevent her from destroying the world. Emma Stone is simply splendid in her fourth collaboration with weird-wave director Yorgos Lanthimos, and this film features one of the year's most shocking and satisfying endings.

Streaming on Netflix, Google TV, Apple TV, Fandango at Home, and Amazon Prime Video.

15) The Brutalist, Epic length but powerful and absorbing biopic about a brilliant architect who was a part of the brutalist movement. He gets a big job designing a corporate building for a billionaire. Still, he was mentally damaged by his negative experiences in Europe, which caused problems in his career and personal life. Despite his financial and artistic success, he retains psychic scars from his oppression and experiences with anti-Semitism, and he tries to forget with alcohol and drug addiction. There was controversy over the use of AI to alter Adrien Brody's accent, but his performance was undeniably magnificent.

Streaming on Max.

16) Eddington, Ari (Hereditary) Aster’s dark comedy/anti-western benefits from an acceptable Joaquin Phoenix performance. He plays a sheriff who has a conflict with a bitter risk, the mayor, who is on opposite sides of a COVID controversy. It’s often difficult to watch, but it’s worth the effort. It tackles some of the same contemporary themes as Bugonia, such as paranoia and conspiracy theory, almost as well, and it might anger some because it is equally critical of the left and right. And it features a town in New Mexico whose divisions mirror pretty much all of post-COVID America.

Streaming on HBO/Max, YouTube, Hulu, Sling TV, Amazon Prime, Google TV, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home.

17) Girls Will be Girls, This gorgeous India/French co-production depicts the sexual awakening of a young woman in a Himalayan boarding school. She rebels against the school’s strict rules in a touching, humanistic, and well-acted feminist coming-of-age drama. New director/writer Shuchi Tallati is like the film’s subject, full of potential, and this is one of the year’s best directorial debuts. In Hindi with English subtitles,

Streaming on Amazon Prime and Fandango at Home.

18) Henry Fonda for President, This doc focuses on the career of Henry Fonda, who, like Gary Cooper and Jimmy Stewart, came to embody all that is good and noble in America. The title comes from a Maude episode in which the title character asks the actor to run for office. Seeing clips of Fonda’s greatest films from Grapes of Wrath to Once Upon a Time in the West to On Golden Pond, the viewer is immediately struck by the immensity and greatness of the man’s career—one of the undisputed highlights of the Chicago Underground Film Festival, which is always worth a look.

Streaming on MUBI and JustWatch..

19) The Black Bag,  A British intelligence agent/James Bond type is ordered to find and eliminate the spy who betrayed his country and sold state secrets, plus stole a dangerous apparatus. One of the main suspects is his loving, competent, and seemingly perfect wife, who is also a spy. He invites all the suspects to an eventful dinner, and not all of them make it home alive. This terrific thriller by Steve (Sex, Lies, and Videotape) Soderbergh benefits from nuanced performances from the great Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender, and an intelligent, suspenseful script that is top-notch.

Streaming on Peacock, Apple TV, and Amazon.

20) Jay Kelly,  Extremely well-acted drama about an actor who is invited to an awards program to get a high honor. He wants to spend time with his family, but he has ignored them for years. So, his daughters doubt his sincerity, and they treat him with barely contained contempt while his manager and only close friend often acts like his babysitter. His manager (Adam Sandler) has to decide whether to save his crumbling marriage or help his friend who is having a personal crisis. With its film festival setting and its commentary on the emptiness of celebrity life, it echoes Fellini’s classic La Dolce Vita. A terrific little old-fashioned film, packed with stellar performances,

Streaming exclusively on Netflix.

21) Together,  A fictional couple played by a real couple (Alison Brie and Dave Franco) live out a human creation myth from Plato’s Republic. They are exposed to a virus-like curse and try to resist reverting to a primordial state as they begin to merge—a good metaphor for what happens in some relationships when some people lose themselves.
Streaming on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Fandango and You Tube.

22) One of Them Days, Entertaining female buddy film/comedy about two roommates who experience terrible luck as they scramble to find enough money to make rent after one of the girls’ boyfriends steals all their cash. It features a surprisingly good, lively star-making debut from the popular R&B singer SZA. Her co-lead, Keke Palmer, who plays her more responsible roommate, is just as good, and the two actresses have excellent chemistry. Comedian Kat Williams is also amusing as a seer/ homeless guy who gives the two women advice. The film was so successful that a follow-up has already been announced for production.

Streaming on Netflix

23) River of Toads, Fascinating and hypnotic documentary about a healer in Veracruz who carries on the traditions of ancient magicians, exorcists, and magicians and participates in a never filmed death ritual every year. Soaking in the exotic locale, seeing this film is like visiting another planet that has little in common with ours. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Available for streaming on MUBI.

24) Companion, Two couples meet in a secluded retreat where an unexpected murder occurs after a Russian guy tries to rape one of the females. At least one of the characters is an artificial companion and the film does a good job blending a basic neo noir pattern with high tech sci-fi elements asit also explores current social issues. The audience may think they know where this is going but this suspenseful film turns the tables several times This is no Blade Runner, but it is smarter, less conventional and better developed than last year’s similar themed, Subservience, but after this film is over, you may end up liking humans less. Terrific cast of little-known actors give flawless performances including Jack Quaid from The Boys and Sophie Thatcher from Yellowjackets and The Heretic who plays a convincing and memorable in the lead.

Streaming on MAX. Amazon Prime, Hulu and Apple.

25) Superman, The man of steel who is more vulnerable than usual must battle his clone as his image is tarnished online by Lex Luthor, but he gets some help from Mr. Terrific, Guy Gardner, Metamorpho and Hawkgirl (the first two are very effective, well developed and comic accurate.) But he must also take care of his sister’s super strong dog, Krypto who is usually used well as comic relief. While this is not the greatest Superman film (it never reaches the heights of the first two Christopher Reeves films), it is still an enjoyable and action-packed gag filled romp that should please most fans. And the last-minute appearance of Supergirl, as an irresponsible teenager, is hilarious. This is a much better adaptation of Superman than the Henry Cavil Superman films. To me this shows (along with Creature Commandos) that James Gunn’s Instincts are good, and the DC universe is headed in the right direction. I’m dying to see more of Nathan Fallon’s Guy Gardner in the upcoming Lanterns HBO/Max series.

Streaming on HBO/Max

Of note in 2025: Alien: Badlands, Companion,  Friend, Legend of Ochi, The Penguin Lesson, Presence, River of Toads, The Bike Riders, 28 Years Later, Thunderbolts.
 

While I watch a lot of films each year, not all of them are gems. Below is my TOP 10 list of the most disappointing films of the year. They are listed alphabetically...

1) Captain America: Brave New World, Plays like a combination of mismatched leftover parts from better films. The strategy is to dump Sam Wilson into the script of a bad, unmade Hulk film and call it a Captain America film, to keep the series going. I like the Anthony Mackie Sam Wilson character, but there is only one Captain America and he ain’t it. Also, the new Falcon is pointless. Why do the Avengers and the MCU need another guy who flies? Also, trying to make a film that makes a political statement without offending anyone is a bad idea.

2) Electric State, Ugly, juvenile, big-budget dystopian sci-fi film set in an alternate reality that resembles the 90s grunge-era USA. It wastes the talents of both Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), who plays a less interesting version of Star-Lord, and Millie Brown (Stranger Things). I wish the script were as good as the cast. Streaming on Netflix

3) Happy Gilmore 2, I hated the first one, and I laughed even less this time. If you think seeing lots of people getting hit with golf balls is the height of humor, you should like this. The wife character from the first film is unceremoniously and disrespectfully disposed of as if she had no importance. Still, Sandler does deserve kudos for a good performance in another movie this year, Jay Kelly. Streaming on Netflix.

4) Him, a lukewarm attempt at a sports-based horror film about an aspiring college football player who has to decide whether he wants to go through a cult initiation to improve his game. This film has a decent idea, but it's very poorly executed, with terrible lighting and direction—a failed attempt to do a Jordan Peele-type horror film.

5) In the Lost Lands, a slightly fun but incompetent dystopian action film, the acting and direction are abysmal. David Battista, who plays Drax, is the best actor in the movie and the only person who is believable in any scene. The whole ultra-low-budget film looks like a film a failing film student shot. Almost, but not quite, bad enough to be entertaining.

6) My Husband’s Mistress, an utterly mediocre all-African American revenge fantasy film aimed at women, about a wealthy, competent, and cold corporate CEO. She finds out that her husband is cheating on him and he also schemes to double-cross her and sell his products to another company. I genuinely hope I never see any other film that uses anyone associated with this film on Tubi.

7) Old Guard 2, This film is a little over an hour and a half, but I kept watching the clock, wondering all the way through when it would end. Any movie that features Charlize Theron can’t be a total washout, but this one comes close, Inferior to the entertaining original film in all ways—streaming on Netflix.

8) Popeye the Slayer Man, an evil corporate industrialist, violates environmental rules and abandons a dangerous, contaminated spinach factory. A burly sailor who looks like the cartoon character who lives there goes insane and eats toxic spinach. He hunts down anyone who intrudes on the factory, which he considers his home. I don’t think I was supposed to laugh when Popeye crushes a man’s neck with an anchor. This is part of a reprehensible trend in which filmmakers take beloved children’s cartoon characters like Winnie the Pooh and make them into serial killers. Streaming on Tubi

9) Snow White, Not the unmitigated disaster people say it is, but the script does not work, and it takes out all of the good parts of the fairy tale. The star Rachel Ziegler is not terrible, and she sings very well. But Gail (Wonder Woman) Gadot shows the limitations of her talent, and she is unconvincing as the wicked queen. But she IS the fairest of them all. It was irritating when, in all the old movies, every woman had to get married in the end to feel fulfilled, but it is equally annoying in newer films where no woman ever gets married or finds love in the end.

10) Wolf Man, Not terrible, but a pointless remake adds nothing to the old 1941 version, and it lacks a really compelling lead performance like the original. The film does include a decent performance by Julie (Ozark) Garner, who was in Weapons, an actual worthwhile horror film this year. Where are Lon Chaney Jr., Oliver Reed, or Michael Landon when you need them?
 

New for 2025, My Picks for the Best Music Videos of the Year

1. House by Charli XCX and John Cale-An unlikely collaboration between the former Velvet Underground violinist and UK dance sensation bears fruit in this video preview of the upcoming Wuthering Heights . A perfect combination of pop sensibilities and the Avante garde which gives voice to a fictional ghost . Filled with great droning noise guaranteed to make listeners uncomfortable.

2. The Happy Dictator by Gorillaz and Sparks -This dance track by the non/anti-band has a danceable Kraftwerk influence musical backdrop matched with chanting lyrics about resisting oppression. This video was inspired by protests against a former Turkmenistan dictator.

3. Berghai by Rosali with Bjork-Genre bending song by the multilingual artist sounds even more much like classical than pop and it features a haunting gust vocal by the Icelandic singer Björk who also appears in the video.

4. It’s Amazing to be Young by Fountains DC-New video by favorite post punk Irish band is goth influenced and tells a dark love story about lovers that face obstacles and the story was continued from two other videos, The song sounds like a lost Brit Pop classic.

5. Young by SIMs-The rather young UK rapper sings about youth while in grotesque makeup that ages her Minsky . In a senior citizen fantasy, she goes about town getting in trouble with police and eventually she fronts a punk band.