In my half point reflection back at the beginning of July, I noted the overall lack of releases in 2025, along with these films reflecting a slate of good to very good but not great releases with there being very little in the way of real standouts.
Following up on the first front, at the end of the summer I did a comparison between this year and last, showing a considerable drop off in the numbers. On the latter front, i would say that narrative has been holding strong, with a plethora of think pieces and analysts and critics noting similar thoughts.
We are however now in the thick of September, which is otherwise known as festival season. This is where those anticipated fall releases, typically made up of Oscar hopefuls, get their premiers and start to get seen. This offers us filmgoers a chance to shift our attention towards some anticipation
It’s also worth noting that there is some optimism on the box office front, albeit with certain qualifiers: the box office is up nearly 20 percent from where we were coming out of the pandemic. I’m not sure everyone is over the moon about the top performers, which include Disney’s Lilo and Stitch, A Minecraft Movie, Jurassic World: Rebirth, and the live action How To Train Your Dragon (while there’s nothing wrong with the others and they certainly have a place in the filmgoing ethos, this is the one four star entry for me), but there is another good news story to add to the mix that helps to buffer the never ending headlines about the struggling superhero genre. That’s the fact that WB has presently broken a record for the number of films that opened at number one. One of the reasons this should be seen as a good news story is not just because its bringing bodies and money to the theaters, but because it has done so while fostering diversity. They’ve demonstrated they can do it with a small film like Weapons, franchise films like Final Destination and The Conjuring, and are even taking risks with films like Mickey 17.
So where’s festival season at? Much of the buzz heading into the year was around the question of Netflix’s obvious move to go for broke on the Oscar front, aquiring a number of big time Directors and auteurs. Kathryn Bigelow’s newest A House of Dynamite. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein. Noah Baumbach’s Jay Kelly. Of the three, only Bigelow’s film has really been offering much in terms of potential, and even then has been premiering to tempered reaction, indicating its not likely to have much of a presence come awards season.
Outside of Netflix, three big hitters are aiming to shake up the conversation: Paul Thomas Anderson’s much anticipated One Battle After Another, which has been trending better than expected on the eve of its wide release, and Sentimental Value, the newest film by Joachim Trier and the follow up to the successful and popular Worst Person in the World. And lastly Chloe Zhao’s adaptation of Hamnet, the one standout darling from this years festival circuit.
Zhao is one of my all time favorite directors, and having recently finished the book it has definitely given me something to look forward to along with a new PTA. I would have thrown A Big Bold Beautiful Journey into the mix, given the pedigree of Kogonada, but while its still very good, it fell short of the massive expectations thrust on it by Columbus and After Yang (no doubt a film worthy of a whole discussion in its own right, as there is a ton there to reflect upon). There is also a ton of buzz surrounding Springstein: Deliver Me From Nowhere, along with Timothee Chalamet in Marty Supreme, the sure to be crowdpleaser from “The Rock,” The Smashing Machine. Jennifer Lawrence in the intriguing Die, My Love. New Richard Linklater (Nouvelle Vague), and a new one from the underseen Director of Little Woods called Hedda. And of course Bugonia.
And then of course there is that looming awareness of the next Avatar film, which say what you will is a cultural force (and also a franchise I unapologetically enjoy and love), along with part two of Wicked (Wicked For Good), two films sure to dominate discussions in the next couple months.
Which is to say, maybe too much is made of a “good to very good but not great” year. After all, there’s nothing inherently wrong with very good films, and in some ways this leaves room for more diverse reactions and reasoning as to what is resonating with different people and why. There is a handful of films that I’m eager to revisit as well, including Kogonada’s A Big Bold Beautiful Journey. I can see that one growing on a rewatch.The Legend of Ochi, which is probably the film I’ve been thinking about the most
There was a little bit of a shakeup from where my top 20 films were sitting at the halfway point. The films that got knocked out of my top 20:
Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning
The Order
Inside
Grand Theft Auto
The final MI film is a tough one, as there is no question it represents the biggest film of the year in terms of pure spectacle and accomplishment. I think that’s a case of feeling like it doesn’t need the attention that other films could desperately use. The Order, a solid, well crafted Canadian procedural, Inside, a small, provocative prison drama, and the inventive and suprisintly emotional Grand Theft Auto, would all fall into that category. Those are the ones I’m sad to see bumped out.
The films they were traded for:
Ari Aster’s Eddington at #12, which is without a doubt his most accessible film to date, and also his most ambitious in terms of theme and ideas. The only other film challenging it on those levels would be Zach Kregger’s Weapons, his follow up to Barbarian. Eddington manages to be a film that is as intriguing in its sructural presence as it is in what it wants to do and say with that structure. Its set in the pandemic, but its reaching far more broadly in order to say something about the greater issues running underneath society dysfunction. Its set in America, but it never stays trapped there, providing a fascinating grounds for discussion.
Spike Lee’s Highest to Lowest at #18, a fresh adaptation of a timeless novel and a true cinematic masterpiece (High and Low). It’s not as good as that aformentioned masterpiece, but the book is ready made for different interpretations on its central moral crisis, offering a template on which to explore moral complexity, issues of class, allegiances. A true “what if” scenario that lends Spike’s rendition a real legitimacy all its own. What I particularly loved about it was its religious symbolism, an intentional choice that affords the imagery in the film substantive layers. It’s exploring particular questions, but its also exploring big questions at the same time.
Vulcanizadora, Joel Potryska’s debut film, also tackles a moral crisis, and just might be the most intense single concept film I’ve seen in years. Where it goes is truly shocking. It’s the sort of film that doesn’t really settle until after its done and has time to fully sink in. Then the pieces start to come together in a very real way. I have this one at #19
The addition in the highest spot goes to the only superhero film in my top 20, The Fantastic Four: First Steps at #9. Mabye its the suprise of just how good and truly authentic the film is. I had no idea what to expect, but it managed to stake its claim on my emotions and my mind with its affecting blend of nostalgia and forward thinking commentary. What’s most impressive is that it never allows itself to get too big for its ideas, managing to keep the experience simple but profound. It’s about family, but its also about community, exploring how both of these things function within a given society. It’s also about motherhood, and about sacrifice, and about how these things can operate as symbols for greater truths that inform our existence as a shared humanity. If that sounds like a lot for a superhero film, it is. But it never feels like a lot, and that is to the great strength and credit of the film.
That means my top 8 remain the same:
The Ballad of Wallis Island
Sinners
28 Years Later
The Legend of Ochi
Black Bag
F1
The Penguin Lessons
Materialists
If I had to wager what I could see moving and shifting with some rewatches, I still feel unsttled by Sinners and Black Bag. I’m banking on them being in a decent spot, but I feel like both films were clouded by being experiences given to the moment. Especially with how much I keep thinking about The Legend of Ochi. F1 I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on. I know what kind of film it is, why I resonated with it and why its ranking that hi. The Penguin Lessons is one i feel similarly about. Materialists is the one that I could also see threatening to jump up a bit when I see it again. Its a film I found myself wrestling with, and that is a pretty good indication that there is more to mine.
And The Ballad of Wallis Island? There’s no need for me to question that one. When you know you know, and that’s a film that very quickly captured my senses right out of the gate. If it holds on and goes on to define my year, I couldn’t ask for a more positive vision.
The Stories of my Life 