A list of 2025 releases seen this year at theaters in SF and Sydney, and on VOD.

Initial bluesky-reactions to the higher rated films included. You can find reviews of everything on letterboxd. In alphabetical order, by star rating…

5⭐

28 Years Later
A consistently surprising film, both in its beauty and where it goes thematically.

I’m sad I saw this on a bloody plane instead of a loud and large theater.

Garland and Boyle’s talents pair perfectly.

Boots, boots, boots… how did that audio come together? It’s magic.

Hamnet
Utter, utter devastation. A masterpiece of emotions from Chloe Zhao.

Jessie Buckley gives one of the best performances I have ever seen. Ever.

Felt a literal weight on me as the credits rolled.

That darn kid Hamnet actor has a bright future ahead of him.

Ugh, even the bird farewell!

Hard Truths
Rays of warmth and uproarious, cutting insults before the cold comes in. And does it ever.

Marianne Jean-Baptiste is like Mother Nature herself.

I’ve never felt a depiction of back pain as acutely.

If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Rose Byrne gives herself to the screen in remarkable fashion. A tour de force that leaves you reeling.

One of those films where you can walk out happy before the opening title comes in.

It Was Just an Accident
Searing. Defiant. And some incredible bureaucratic humour!

Panahi is peerless in what he creates, given his circumstances.

I thought Soderbergh’s Presence had ending of the year locked up. LOL. Unbearable tension and the scariest squeak bookends perfectly.

The Mastermind
Kelly Reichardt is one of the most interesting directors working today, and this is another deliciously crafted slice of Americana from her!

Josh O’Connor plays a consummate, dour douchebag of a family man.

Lovely editing, and that playful, propulsive score.

No Other Land
The cowardly and systematic dehumanisation of a community, who somehow, endure.

Impossibly infuriating and dispiriting.

There is power in the camera, for those brave enough to keep on filming.

Pathetic it can’t get distribution. Thank you, Roxie!

One Battle After Another
They say timing is everything, and whew! Overwhelmingly chaotic good being channeled by PTA and his reputation.

How’d he convince WB to bankroll this?

DiCaprio has never been more likeable. Ensemble of the year surround him.

That bangin’ Greenwood score reaches far and wide!

Most interesting car chase I’ve seen in a while.

Walked out of the theater to a huge Mexican wedding happening outside. Divine.

Some dialogue and jokes sadly recalled Licorice Pizza, his worst by far.

Sorry, Baby
Well, that’s one way to announce yourself to the world, Eva Victor!

Actor, writer, director to a tender, complex gift of a film that overflows with warmth.

A tight, but mighty ensemble round it out. Cannot go wrong casting Hedges as a good dude!

4½⭐

The Brutalist
Plenty to admire in Brady Corbet’s style and command, right down to how the opening and closing credits are laid out.

Adrien Brody is magnetic. We need more Guy Pearce.

Above it all, Daniel Blumberg’s score looms and steals the show. The way it builds towards the end is an instant classic movie moment!

Waned a little post-intermission.

Bugonia
What’s the difference between an alien and an out of touch CEO? Lanthimos is so back.

That intercutting opening hit the spot. Plemons can do no wrong, turning in another intriguing character you get sucked into feeling for.

The writing skewers everyone.

And we got a 35mm strip!

Flow
Adored this carefully considered post-human world!

Perilous, playful, and quietly provocative.

Hope that life can, and will, go on without man.

Frankenstein
A cinematic feast for the senses from Del Toro!

Tremendous scale and presence. No detail left unturned.

The way Elordi brings wonder and suffering to the creature is electrifying.

Mia Goth sure knows how to wear those dresses.

Highest 2 Lowest
The start had me questioning why Spike is remaking it beat for beat, in lesser fashion.

The way the news breaks is silly, music intrudes on every scene.

And then!

An electric sequence that’s all love letter to NYC transforms it!

Dug the second half more than Kurosawa’s.

Killer homage with face-offs one and two.

Stay Black, Spike. Stay Black.

BRB listening to A$AP Rocky’s Trunks.

Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair
RZA’s music and the soundtrack as a whole could be my favourite thing about this, and a reminder of how often I’ve listened to it over the years.

Chapters 4 and 5 are as good as anything in cinema to me. Appreciated Sonny Chiba WAY more this time around.

I liked how he recut things here.

All the fight scenes hold up. Again, the editing!

The lost chapter is… weak. Adds nothing, despite the cool animation style.

Lurker
There’s many a scene where I was watching Théodore Pellerin and trying to decipher what kind of creature he is, because it’s not human. A searing performance!

Madekwe is a polar opposite charisma machine.

Would make a good pairing with Whiplash.

Nosferatu
An undertaking of joyfully deranged love. Everyone’s on board with Eggers.

Special mention to Lily-Rose Depp’s convulsions and Simon McBurney’s mania.

Blaschke’s framing and use of shadows has to come from a higher power. Beyond good!

The choice to have Orlok almost be a creation of her sadness and desire totally worked for me.

Presence
Soderbergh’s crafted a gem of a ghost story here.

The unique conceit is skillfully handled in how he moves the camera, and that ending reframes in horrifying, mournful fashion.

Sinners
That one musical sequence in the middle is like none I’ve seen. Peak use of the medium. Killer collaboration between Göransson and Coogler.

Let me give Coogler some more flowers for that script and all he has to say.

Ends rushedly to give the crowd one big moment to cheer. There’s a better version in the editing room that’s 3hrs I reckon.

Train Dreams
This one’s a looker! Adolpho Veloso’s camera captures the most luscious of images. Every frame a painting.

Malick-esque philosophising. Fine editing.

Materialists
Hollywood execs better be rating Celine Song a unicorn, because she ticks all the boxes and then some.

Sneering, witty writing on marriage and relationships, that gives way to more layered questions.

I’d take a Sliding Doors version of Dakota and Pedro.

Zoe Winters completely crushes it! Hope Celine works with her again, in a bigger role.

Instantly rewatchable!

Universal Language
Bursting at the seams with kookiness, charm, and brutalist architecture!

Winnipeg, who knew?

Gotta give it up to the specificity Rankin brings.

The beginning is an avalanche of laughter. It gives way to something else, but I’d have been happy in that classroom.

Loved all the layered frames of movement!

Weapons
Cregger upends how you expect scenes to play out because his characters aren’t your normal horror types.

Chilling imagery that’ll keep the conversation going. Generous helpings of humour throughout!

A must-see in a packed theater, everyone nervously laughing for what’s about to happen.

4⭐

Babygirl

Caught by the Tides

Die My Love

Good Boy

Kiss of the Spider Woman

Misercordia

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

The Naked Gun

One of Them Days

The Order

Orwell: 2+2=5

Red Rooms

Sentimental Value

Superman

Twinless

Warfare

The Wild Robot

3½⭐

A House of Dynamite

Black Bag

Blue Moon

Eephus

Friendship

I’m Still Here

The Life of Chuck

The Long Walk

Mountainhead

Preparation for the Next Life

Sister Midnight

Together

Wake Up Dead Man

3⭐

Drop

Eddington

Eternity

The Housemaid

The Fantastic 4: First Steps

TRON: Ares

2½⭐

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Companion

Mickey 17

Transformers One

1½⭐

Captain America: Brave New World

½⭐

Megalopolis
Definitively the worst movie I’ve ever seen.

A masterclass in tone mismanagement and incoherence.

Glad I got to watch it at home, Outta Sight pizza in hand.

Aubrey Plaza, why?

Adam Driver, what??

Shia LaBeouf, fair enough.

The three column view was fun.