A Year of Going to the Movies 2025 (Best and Worst)

 It's been another great year for engaging with art. I attended 76 films in theaters, double that and you have the amount of 2025 released films I have seen in all. Cinemas are struggling, but many of the films I viewed I viewed in packed houses.

I was also lucky enough to see 7 concerts including Garrison Keillor who told a great story about being one of the last people to see Babe Ruth play, The Temptations, Dracula Annotated, David Spade (doing an exactly one hour set) and two touring drag shows.  I will save the best concert I attended for later in this write up because it has a great deal to do with cinema. My best and worst of the year will be discussed, as ever, month by month. It was a good year personally.  We added a bearded dragon (Sinatra) and two kittens (Jane and Bug) to the family. 

January     films watched in theaters

The Damned, Rope (1948), The Room Next Door, Shockma (1990), One of Them Days, Hard Truths

My wife and I attended a screening last night. Trailers for three January releases were shown. These were the among the  worst trailers I have ever seen. Dumping ground is often the January vibe.  And that is why one focuses on classics or December Oscar releases.  That being said,  no January release ranked in the bottom for me, and One of Them Days was not bad at all (a minor hit too). SZA is really charismatic and beautiful.  

February     films watched in theaters

The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Heart Eyes, Twin Peaks Fire Walk With Me (1992), David Lynch Odds and Ends short films (1970-2000), Waxworks (1988), The Toxic Avenger (1984)

Two months in and I've seen almost nothing but revival screenings. Heart Eyes being the one 2025 release this month, and it was pretty bad.  Still, I have much to say about February. 

David Lynch died in January, and the local art theater, The Loft, devoted much time to this throughout 2025 including eventually decorating the new fourth screening room to resemble the Twin Peaks red room. The best thing an art cinema can do is a tribute screening because it brings together fans and new cinema lovers who want to see a work by a late star or director in the best presentation possible. It is a  celebration, and that is cinema at its best. The Loft did two Redford screenings but has yet to do a Diane Keaton screening or, a bigger problem, a Henry Jaglom screening.

On the opposite side of Jaglom's creative indies, Riff Raff came out this month and ranks number ten on my worst of the year list. 

Dino Montiel makes generic genre inspired indies with impressive casts. He can really put a cast together but then so could Uwe Boll at one time.   The only intriguing thing about this film is the romantic pairings. 

On the opposite side of  creative indies, there is Netflix which is as studio as they come without being a proper studio. The worst I saw from them this year (and that is saying something) is Honeymoon Crasher. It ranks at number nine on my worst of the year list. 

This film involves a sad loser whose fiancee dumps him, so he takes his mom on his planned honeymoon. It is gross jokey eroticism . 

Sometimes, I will see someone struggling and admire that they continue to keep on keeping on. The characters in this kind of film, I can only ask , Why bother going on?

On the positive side of eroticism, Audrey Diwan's Emmanuelle was released in the United States this year.  This is an odd one about aesthetics, yet all the sex scenes take place in dingy offices, sheds and bathrooms. Noemie Merlant is so beautiful though and the business plot about running a hotel is quite interesting, makes one forget the male lead is impotent and weird.

Speaking of weird,  Partenope is a film of magical realism that is erotic. Celeste  Dalla Porta is gorgeous as the title character. Her love scene partners are a mangled woman in a steam room and a corrupt old cardinal who dresses her up in jewels belonging to the church. All of this ends as a celebration of academia that mostly works but not enough for this list.

The erotic film I am going with is from do it yourself maverick Joe Sherlock.  Russ Meyer highlighted large breasts. Tinto Brass highlighted supple asses.  Oregon based Joe Sherlock highlights full figured women. They all all beautiful, but Kate Schmidt has a special place in my heart. The amazing thing about Sherlock is the older supporting lady in one film will be the sexual goddess in the next. It all works. Strange Things Happen at the Weird House 2 ranks number seven on my best of the year. It is a hangout movie, very similar to late period Jess Franco. The Haunting of Heather Black , another 2025 Sherlock release featuring a great, showy role for Ms. Schmidt is also worth seeking out.

March     films watched in theaters

The Rule of Jenny Pen, The Alto Knights, Rose, Bell, Book and Candle (1960)

Rose, a it's never too late to have an adventure in life French dramedy from 2023 but released in the States in 2025,  deserves to be celebrated for its celebration of dinner parties and enlightened conversation. The rest of the month was just a display of dumb shit. 

                                         

The least rush out and see it title of the year had to be The Woman in the Yard. The films demerits are not a fault of the actors involved. The writing betrayed them and this ranks seventh on my worst of the year list. Locked ranks one spot lower because it is just as ponderous a parable but wastes a truly talented cast.

April     films watched in theaters

Screamboat, Flow (2024), Hell of a Summer, Are You There God; It's me God, Cheech and Chong Last Movie, The Shrouds, Pink Floyd Live at Pompei (1972)

In April, I finally caught up with Flow in one of its last screenings. It played for months, breaking a Loft record. I would guess because its calming and resembles a video game. The best scene of the year is a heartbreaking sexual scene in The Shrouds, but the second half of that (when all the paranoia comes to a head) did not land for me. 

Speaking of not landing Screamboat is a disaster and not a fun one. I love the idea of copy right horror, but this is among the worst examples and ranks fifth worst for the year. This kind of thing can be done well, Popeye the Slayer Man was fun, and Peter Pan's Never land Nightmare had a touching characterization of Tink.

May     films watched in a theater

Rosario, The President's Wife, Final Destination 6, Chatterbox (1973), A Man and a Woman (1966), Mission Impossible Final Reckoning, Interview with a Vampire (1994)

The President's Wife is an excellent film and would have made the list at nine if it didn't release in many other regions last year.  As a 2o24 release, I would put it somewhere just outside the top ten. A Man and a Woman was another impressive French film, the best race car movie I saw this year, and I did really like F1. I would be lying though if I did not admit to having the most fun at Chatterbox (1973), the cult comedy about a talking vagina. It desperately needs a 4K.

June     films watched in a theater

The Ritual, Friday the 13th (1980), Song of Love (1950), Pink Narcissus (1971), 28 Years Later, Sinners, F1, Meagan 2.0

Chatterbox did not end my adult themed curiosity . I watched a double bill. Song of Love (1950), a Jean Genet romance film well ahead of its time featuring nude prisoners and capturing longing for closeness. Lucien  Senemaud (Genet's real life lover) is unforgettable in it.  The second film was Pink Narcissus (1971) and that one was an achievement for its budget and scope but the soundtrack, it's dialog free, had me on edge.

July     films watched in theaters

Jurassic World Rebirth, They Live (1988), Smurfs, Viva Las Vegas (1964), House on Eden, The Naked Gun (2025)

I am glad House of Eden exists. YouTube is more popular than ever, and financing its stars with films will pay off one day. YouTube is one of the few channels I watch, it and NightFlight.  Last year, Sam and Colby made a film. This year their content friends made this C- level Blair Witch knockoff. It and Shelby Oaks (which had a great aesthetic) were first weekend catches. Now, I will denounce two films that feature IP (does Alicia Silverstone count as IP?) whose heyday was before YouTube. 

Smurfs is as awful as it looked. It ranks as the second worst film of the year. Only in Smurf Village could one say Jonathan Winters played a role better than John Goodman. Pretty Thing plays a frumpy seductress (so much pretty later this year in A Merry Little Ex-Mas) who falls for a creepy stalker. The worst thing he does is drag her to an off off Broadway play that features his friend. Pretty Thing ranks 3rd worst of the year. If you want to talk really old IP, Sheri  and Lamb Chop ranks as ninth best of the year

I thought I knew something about Sheri Lewis, but this film taught me a lot. It did a grand job of describing a magical childhood and the wonders of live television. It is a great clip collection. The Dudley Moore scene is my favorite. Was there a more unlikely sex symbol?  I thought it was fascinating, looking at puppets and dummies in this film, how it was the compactness of Lamb Chop that made him unique, what I got out of this anyway. The way she could put him close, children related to that.

August     films watched in theaters

Cat Video Fest 2025, Strange Harvest, Grateful Dead The Movie (1978), K-pop Demon Hunter Singalong, Ebony and Ivory, Gummo (1987), Stir Crazy (1980), The Toxic Avenger (2025), Jaws (1975)

I was thrilled to see Gummo on a big screen, and since it had crowds at both screenings, can a julien donkey boy screening be far behind? The most fun I had though if I am being honest is Stir Crazy. Sure the film is very silly in parts, but other parts are entirely unique and sweet. Once the characters settle into prison, Wilder's easy going attitude towards trouble is so damn likable. Pryor's interactions with Grossberger are hilarious and his potential queer love interest is handled with a lot of care. There's a scene where the four are now friends sharing a cell. Pryor is helping his guy to knit. The King Kong Bundy like Grossberger is singing beautifully while Wilder watches in wonder. It is so idyllic you could cry. Another reason one might cry is they got stuck watching  Freakier Friday.

It ranks eighth on my worst of the year list and might be the biggest sequel comedown on record. Only Mark Harmon leaves with his dignity. 

Perhaps no one has dignity in Jim Hoskin's Ebony and Ivory, easily the funniest movie of the year , where two stars (Skye Elobar and Gil Gex) and the director of The Greasy Strangler explore the meeting of minds between Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. It all turns into a sort of horror film about hot chocolate, nudity, weed and vegetarian frozen dinners. I hope that is actually how it all went down. It is the third best film of the year.

Riefenstahl, the antithesis of the last film, is ranked one higher. Her life of constant refusal to engage with regret is fascinating. The Sudan footage was the best documentary footage of the year.  The Olympia footage is also compelling.  

Another documentary about a film director  Mike Figgis' Megadoc,  ranks tenth best.

I was one of a relative (in relation to the population of film goers) few that paid to see Megalopolis. I am glad I did, but this behind the scenes of the film is better because it captures a sad chaos. Coppola has invested all of this money but seems to give up when he does not get his way. I was shocked at how passive aggressive he was  during production, and I found myself siding with Shia a lot. Seeing the actual film helped with my perspective on this quiet a bit. When Coppola directed The Rainmaker to mainstream success. That was probably akin to Aronofsky directing  Caught Stealing a film that ranks sixth on my best list.

I am not going to make a Paul Dano level insult towards Chalamet (an actor I only bought in A Rainy Day in New York). I will just say Austin Butler is the greatest under 40 male movie star. This film suits me because I love Mickey Spillaine novels, and every minute of this pulse pounding (don't expect everyone to live) film plays like a prequel to one, how the hero with a fake identity ended up in Mexico.

September      films watched in a theater

The Conjuring: Last Rites, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, The Long Walk, The Strangers Chapter 2, Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror, Young Frankenstein (1974) Eleanor the Great

The Summer Book I caught at home. It just dropped on streaming one day, but it is about aging and taking care of others. It is about relishing freedoms, being nude in nature. The child actress gives an anxiety-ridden performance that feels real and Glenn Close as the grandmother deserves a nomination,  8th best film of the year.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show played in DBOX for two nights here. I did not get to go because I used the time I had that weekend to catch the Rocky Horror documentary, Strange Journey.  It captures the film from conception to phenomenon and should be shown at 10pm before each midnight screening. It is that good, the best film of the year. We are treated to Richard O' Brien being directed by his son. He is open and charming in his singing and his recollections. All of the other talking heads provide meaning, the film kept some folks safe and off the street at times, showing them a community. Art can save lives. We must be as open as possible to it.

One artist I have always made time for is Rex Reed. My wife and I were privileged to see him in September with a group of singers (including Ann Hampton Callaway) at a theater in Scottsdale, sharing stories and film clips. It was a 3 hour event and one of the warmest evenings of my life.

October     films  watched in theaters

Good Boy, Jason and the Argonauts (1963), Tucson Film Festival Shorts Program, Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), The Family McMullen, Queens of the Dead

October had its ups and downs. Edward Burns has a hard time writing young people or at least did this time. Tina Romero  would have made her father proud. Indy is indeed a good boy, but the only reason to watch the film is the last five minutes. 

Also, Marc Maron is a crank. I liked his podcast, but somehow, spending time with him in a documentary form was torture.  I learned his actual jokes spark no joy. Are We Good ranks as the forth worst movie of the year.

November     films watched in a theater

Violent Ends, Stepping into the Unknown: Films From the Bob Dylan Center, Shelby Oaks, One Battle After Another, Angel's Egg (1985), The Red Shoes (1948) Another Sweet Christmas

I caught the Bob Dylan program while recovering from tonsillitis.  The only other time I went to a movie sick was Salinger (2013). I had walking pneumonia then. All this is to say, only a legend can drag a sick me out to the theaters. I have decided to include Stepping into the Unknown, a collection of rare and so far unseen Dylan performances as a 2025 release because the exact program was put together for the Arizona locations only. It was incredible to see Girl From North County performed on a diner set 1964 Quest Canadian television. I never before heard his 1990's rendition of  a strange song called Vigilante Man either.  The audience clapped and cried through an hour of clips. This ranks fifth best of the year.

I have also decided to include a Great American Family film as the absolute worst of the year because I was foolhardy enough to catch a theatrical screening of it.

Another Sweet Christmas is the kind of film where if a character is said to be a method actor that term must be explained because producers have no faith in the south. Cameron-Bure is proposed to after a game of hide and sneak in the snow. This is the second film this year where I thought maybe a main character is supposed to have an intellectual disability. The other was Final Destination Bloodline. 

December     films watched in a theater

Kill Bill the Whole Bloody Affair, Ella McCay

And now a few words on One Battle After Another. I have the film as a 7/10. As a PTA film, it is certainly better than Licorice Pizza. Sean Penn gives a great performance. But it is a messy film. Nothing in here works as cleanly as the hippie to Reagan comparison in Pynchon's Vineland.  The French 75 is just a name without a good backstory. Even the best character  (Lockjaw) has a relationship that never reaches the highs or complications of Vond and Francie. The film has its charms, but it is lacking a rooted interest as an action film. (Bob does nothing heroic to propel the plot. He's largely incidentally--this is actually similar to the book's character Zoyd Wheeler.) and as a comedy, only the concept of the Christmas Adventure Club brings a grin. People are saying this is PTA's best, and he's still ascending.

People are saying Ella McCay is the low point of  James L Brooks who is now finished at 85. But in James L Brooks I trust.  This film is as messy as One Battle. It did not need a narrator. Some psychological deals could have used a rewrite. Nobody knew what to write for Kumai Nanjani. And a different villain would have served the story better because the nooner plot point should have been deeply romantic. One thing this film has though is heart. It is Capra-lite. The scenes of her navigating politics with Gov. Bill (a fantastic Albert Brooks) or learning not to forgive her father have a bit more meaning than Chase Infinity becoming a part-time activist. Emma Mackey is adorable, pure AOC vibes, but she's also moral. Melvin Udall would admit that like Carol Ella is all about being "direct and good."  James L Brooks films always make me cry. This one had two major scenes that could cause a relapse if I thought of them again. There is a scene with Ella as a teenager that I love where she encourages her brother, Chase, to look up a word for his edification.  Too many people , Ella explains, pretend they know something so don't look it up and that is the only way to be stupid in life. It's true. Much is made about the concept of normal families and great parents and how one can feel lesser if they never experienced those things. I have lived that as well. The saddest scene involves Chase (Spike Fearn) deciding after a year of being a shut-in, he is ready for a girlfriend. This scene is on par with the Katherine Hahn scene in How Do You Know, just lovely stuff. This ranks fourth best of the year for me.

Best Films of 2025

10. Megadoc (Mike Figgis) 107 mins

09. Sheri and Lamb Chop (Lisa Dapolito) 92 mins

08. The Summer Book (Charlie McDowell)  95 mins

07. Strange Things Happen at the Weird House 2 (Joe Sherlock) 75 mins

06. Caught Stealing (Darren Aronofsky) 107 mins

05. Stepping into the Unknown Films From the Bob Dylan Center (various) 60 mins

04. Ella McCay (James L Brooks) 115 mins

03. Ebony and Ivory (Jim Hoskin) 87 mins

02. Riefensthal (Andres Veiel) 115 mins

01. Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror (Linus O'Brien) 90 mins

Worst Films of the Year (directors and running times omitted to protect the innocent)

10. Riff Raff

09. Honeymoon Crasher

08. Freakier Friday

07. The Woman in the Yard

06. Locked

05. Screamboat

04. Are We Good

03. Pretty Thing

02. Smurfs

01. Another Sweet Christmas