The best movies of 2025

Director Paul Thomas Anderson's career-long evocation of what he loves about the movies of the 1970s reaches new heights with this fist-pumpingly righteous call to action that reminds us that films actually used to, you know, be about stuff.

As a stoned former radical forced out of hiding when his daughter (Chase Infiniti in the most star-making role of the past decade) is targeted by a military psycho (Sean Penn, channelling Elmer Fudd into a nefarious embodiment of American political hypocrisy), Leonardo DiCaprio gives one of his liveliest ever performances.

Part of the film's appeal is how difficult it is to boil it down into one thing, but I saw a patriotic, marvellously chaotic ode to the spirit of rebellion - Dominic Corry

A wonderful modern throwback to conspiracy thrillers like Three Days of the Condor and The Parallax View, this barely-released slow-burner deserved a much wider audience.

Riz Ahmed plays Ash, an ultra cautious broker for corporate whistle-blowers who've changed their minds but want to be able to live their lives without fearing that their former employers are going to come for them.

So Ash anonymously negotiates settlements while retaining copies of the damning information to keep the companies in line. Much of the plot revolves around the postal service and train travel, and just seeing all these tangible processes depicted is invigorating in an overly digitized cinematic world. Even phone calls feel old school here. - DC

I have no proof, but I remain convinced that Danny Boyle's follow-up to his 2002 zombie hit wasn't screened for critics ahead of its release because the the studio was afraid of how good the film was.

Specifically, that it's an incredibly affecting and emotional story that will have reduced you to a whimpering mess by the end. I reckon they thought this would turn horror fans off, and didn't want word to get out.

It very much qualifies as a horror film also, but I certainly wasn't ready for how deeply felt the characters and their arcs would be. It was just one of many flourishes Boyle and writer Alex Garland brought to the film, which demonstrated just how wide open the possibilities of the sci-fi/horror genre can be. - DC

After 15 years of being replaced in the culture by small, nasty, horror movies that take place in dark concrete cellars, the Final Destination franchise roared back to life with gusto, restating how much fun a big, nasty, horror movie that takes place in broad daylight can be.

I was skeptical that the crowd-pleasing magic (these films MUST be seen with a big audience) of the first five Final Destination movies could be recaptured, but the people who made this one, which functions as both a sequel and a franchise reboot, are clearly huge fans and brought big production values to the imaginatively sadistic set-pieces. Cinema! - DC

Front loading your local film with international stars is usually something that works better commercially than artistically but James Ashcroft hit the jackpot when he cast American John Lithgow (two-time Oscar nominee) and Australian Geoffrey Rush (Oscar winner) as the battling oldies at the centre of his horror story set in a New Zealand retirement village.

The added bonus is that local legend George Henare more than holds his own alongside them.

Adapted from an Owen Marshall short story, the marketing suggested something more supernatural than we got when, in fact, much of the horror comes from the ordinary details of old folks home life, not least the food. - Dan Slevin

Also a contender for ‘the best film you probably didn’t see’ award, it’s nice to be able to recognise a film that’s genuinely original, with no franchise, or plastic toys to rely on (although there is a spinoff app that can help you animate your own sketches).

It’s in that ‘kids get into trouble, kids get themselves out of trouble and learn something on the way’ genre and while the monsters are mostly goofy and amusing – they are 10-year-old Amber’s drawings brought to life by a magic pond near her house – there are some genuinely scary moments that are perfect for youngsters who are ready for something a bit edgier than Paw Patrol. - DS

Written and directed by the creator of Succession Jesse Armstrong, Mountainhead feels like it consists of ideas that were considered too outlandish for even that jaw-dropping show, but the presence of the Succession team behind the camera and an outstanding ensemble in front of it, puts it a cut above the usual streaming fare.

A quartet of tech billionaires gather for their annual Utah retreat where net worth is going to be measured and world domination plotted while simultaneously their products are causing the downfall of society. When one starts to have second thoughts, the psychopathic tendencies of the billionaire class are exposed in horrific and hilarious ways. - DS

Mountainhead is streaming on Neon and available to rent on Prime.