Best (and Worst) Films I Saw Last Year

Hello again! It's the beginning of a new year, and that means looking back at 2025 with an air of relief... or perhaps nostalgia, depending on how 2026 proceeds.

With that, of course, comes MOVIES! What did I watch? What was the weirdest movie experience I had? What was funny? What was terrible? Read on to discover...

a gif of a spinning wheel of film

WORST OF THE YEAR

[insert thunderbolts rant]

the poster of 'from dusk till dawn', with george clooney and tarantino

From Dusk Till Dawn promo material.


MOST DISAPPOINTING

[cemetery man]

(Dis)honourable mention: [werewolves on wheels]

patrick wilson being haunted by a red and black demon, positioned ominously behind him

A shot from Insidious.


MOST SURPRISING

[the fast and the furious]

Honorable mention: [conan the barbarian] [the hitcher]

russell crowe as a priest, having just broken down a brick wall with a hammer

A shot from The Pope's Exorcist.


MOST FUN

[queens of the dead]

Honourable mention: [Killer Klowns From Outer Space]

the rock and karl urban (along with other actors) pose in tactical gear with huge weapons

A shot from Doom (2005).


BEST SEQUEL

[star trek iv]


BEST REWATCH

[casablanca]

Honorable mention: [sweet smell of success]

christian bale as patrick bateman in a rain poncho, carrying a fire axe

A shot from American Psycho.


BEST NEW RELEASE

[sinners]

Honourable mention: [companion]

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

[first reformed]

Honorable mention: [amarcord]

a darkly-dressed man walking in a field, shot in black and white

A shot from A Field In England.


BEST SOUNDTRACK

[strange days]

Honorable mention: [the night of the hunter ('leaning, leaning')]

four young men sit at a shitty bar

A shot from Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels.


OTHER HONORABLE MENTIONS

[creep, dead ringers, inland empire, brainscan, go, the black tower, ginger snaps, endless cookie, tange sazen]

a blonde woman's brain is plugged into a strange device

A shot from Ghost in the Shell.


BEST OF THE YEAR

[strange days]

a woman crawls through a wall, which is graffitied on the other side to appear that she is crawling out of a man's mouth

A shot from the original Candyman film.


Well, that's it: my top picks for the year. If I do this again, maybe I'll include this December in next year's round-up.

P.S.: You can follow me on Letterboxd here, if you'd like.

gif ofa spinning wheel of film

That's all I have to say, I think.