You know how nice it is that I can say I didn’t watch a single bad movie last year? That feels good. With a nice mix of animation, live action, new, and old. While I always wish I could watch more, I think I got to a solid amount. Just scrolling through, there were some amazing movies on here. But I’ve talked about all of these movies in length in their own separate reviews, so these are more quick thoughts and looking back over proper reviews. So without further ado.
#16 – The Gorge
There’s a solid amount to like about this movie. The first half is surprisingly strong and intriguing, the second just doesn’t hold up that well. With that being said, Anya Taylor-Joy and Miles Teller have some really good chemistry and the mystery while its there is super interesting. This is a solid movie.
#15 – How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
I watched the whole series last year and overall loved it. Unfortunately, I think the last movie was the weakest of the trilogy. There were just some moments and motivations that didn’t really hit with me, and it has the worst villain in the series by far. Still, the animation is beautiful, it’s full of sweet moments. It just doesn’t hit like the others.
#14 – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Narnia was a pleasant surprise. I had fractured memories of this movie from my childhood, and watching it as an adult, it held up pretty damn well. The performances were solid, and the CGI actually still looked pretty good. I had a good time with this movie, and it made me want to read the book.
#13 – How to Train Your Dragon 2
What a good sequel. It did what I was hoping for and expanded the world. That’s all I could ask for. On top of that, the villain was badass, and the final act of this movie was actually crazy. Out of the entire trilogy this has my favorite visual moments and some of my favorites overall but you can’t top the original.
#13 – How to Train Your Dragon
What a movie. First, I was blown away by how beautiful the animation was, then by how much I cared about the characters. Toothless is one of the cutest animated characters ever, and Hiccup and his relationship was so sweet. They have one of the best relationships, and the other characters are great too. The world that’s introduced here, that eventually gets expanded upon, is really cool. At the heart of it all are these great characters and relationships. While I love the trilogy as a whole, nothing beats the first movie.
#12 – KPop Demon Hunters
My gf showed me the trailer to this movie, and I watched it and saw the title and laughed. Immediately, I knew what this movie was and what it was going to be about. And you know what? It was exactly that, and it was dope as hell. Amazing animation, fun characters, top-tier soundtrack. This was a banger, and I need a sequel asap.
#11 – The Prince of Egypt
I have so many gaps in my childhood animation repertoire, and this was one of them. I had just flat-out never seen this movie, and we watched it on a whim. Good God, does it hold up so well as a story/fable, but also, its animation and voice work are really timeless. This was a really lovely watch. A must watch for any fan of animation.
#10 – Chainsaw Man The Movie: Reze Arc
It’s so refreshing to get a blockbuster-type movie, and it’s an anime. Of all the arcs to choose from, this one was perfect to get that movie-quality treatment. It was already one of my favorites from the manga, and I knew just a few minutes after we got that damn move intro song that this was going to be special. It nailed it and so much more. You’d have a hard time finding better animation than this. I’m so excited for the continuation of this story.
#9 – Black Swan
Drama Thriller Horror – Trailer – Released: 2010
I remember watching my mom watch this when I was a child, and it kind of scared me, and as an adult, it still kind of scares me. Natalie Portman puts on a performance. This is a crazy ass story about obsession, sacrifice and how much of yourself are you willing to give up to achieve your goal? And what that may cost you. A mind-bending story that’s pretty anxiety-inducing. This is a classic.
#8 – The Fantastic 4: First Steps
A lot of people will say this is the first good F4 movie, and they’re wrong. Both the 2000s movies are fantastic, and no, I won’t rewatch them as an adult. I’m gonna preserve their image in my head. But seriously, all in all, this is by far the best adaptation of these characters on the big screen. I found their chemistry to be amazing. I loved the else-worlds take on this, which allows for so much more freedom to tell a story. The vibes are dope, the action is too. Top-tier MCU stuff.
#7 – Bring Her Back
Horror – Trailer – Released: 2025
Having one movie I love can make me a fan, two movies I’ll watch whatever you release, and the Philippou brothers are now 2/2. Talk to Me was a very welcome surprise. This is equally as good. Somehow, they’ve created an even more intense, anxiety-inducing situation. There are a handful of scenes I just couldn’t watch. I had to look away, and horror is my favorite movie genre. There’s so gnarly stuff in this movie. But once again, they have mastered taking such personal and heart-wrenching situations and wrapping them in a horror skin. I felt for everybody in this movie. There was no feeling good at the end. I’m here for whatever they release next.
#6 – A Star Is Born
This movie made me cry. I have my gripes with it and its pacing, but once the second half of this film starts, it is truly amazing, and it never stops being so. The music is great. Lady Gaga is really good, but man, Bradley Cooper is a capital A actor. Their chemistry was so amazing, you just feel it.
#5 – Wicked: For Good
A moment. Whenever they release both movies as physicals, I have to pick them up. This was a wonderful conclusion to the story. The character development, especially from Glinda, was so good. Elphaba’s fool’s journey was amazing. The music, visuals, sets, everything. Wicked and Wicked: For Good are the gold standard for how to adapt a musical to a movie.
#4 – Superman
You know how nice it is to get a good Superman movie? I’m even in the small camp of people who haven’t done any revisionism on Man of Steel (really because I don’t think about that movie) and actually enjoyed Batman v Superman (the one time I watched it at 2am). But overall, I have absolutely hated how Superman was handled and portrayed in the Snyderverse. This was a breath of fresh air. The naive, good-hearted Superman is what I want. And this is what we got on top of a bunch of other amazing characters. I got to see Mr. Terrific, Guy Gardner, and Hawkgirl on the big screen. My life is complete. And Nicholas Hoult is just the perfect casting as Lex, just as perfect as – as Superman. As the beginning of this new universe, this is as great a start as you could ask for.
#3 – Weapons
This is a horror mystery dark comedy that masterfully blends all four of those aspects. I didn’t like Barbarian that much, but there were aspects of that movie that really did it for me. So after I saw the trailer for this, I knew it’d be something up my alley, but I had no clue how much I would love this. More than anything, this is a horror mystery. The plot setup and sequencing, man. It’s like this movie was custom-made in a lab for me. Just watch it.
#2 – Nosferatu
On the flip side, I know this movie is not for everyone. It’s long and slow. But man, does it take from its roots and give us an amazing modern adaptation of a classic story. The cinematography, the acting, the color palette. To date, I have seen all four of Robert Eggers’ major releases, and even the ones that I’m less high on, I still walked away wowed by some aspects of them. This is his best work yet. Everybody involved in every part of the process of this movie killed it. I genuinely believe this is a modern-day classic, and how fitting it is that the same can be said for the other vampire movie that I have at number one.
#1 – Sinners
This is one of the craziest movies I’ve ever seen in all the right ways. I’m a sucker for vampires, music, and cool ass characters, this movie has all 3 wrapped up in a Jim Crow era period piece. The attention to detail and history of vampires, black Americans, Irish people, how music has transcended different cultures, and the politics of America around that time is on another level. I really watched a lot of great movies this year and last year. But this movie, more than any other, left me shell-shocked during and after. I’m almost scared to watch it again because that experience in the theater was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I’ve never seen a crowd so stunned by certain moments like I did seeing this. I feel like there are so many elements that it’s not that they necessarily shouldn’t or can’t work, but feel weird being put together on paper, but Coolger crafted a genuine masterpiece. With amazing acting and vocal performances from the entire cast. Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler just continue to cement their hefty Hollywood legacies and Miles Caton is next up. Sinners is not only my favorite movie I watched last year, but one of my favorite movies ever.
