Phew. I’ve written this year’s annual review before midnight. Hooray. Get the low down on the films of the year. Or the films I’ve watched that were released in the UK this year. 76, according to Grandmaster Letterbox. Check it out. 3,8528 words of cinematic prose for ya.
76 Tron: Ares
I hate Jared Leto
Jared Leto I Hate
If I Could Find Jared Leto
Then I’d Whack His Head
With A China Plate
Yeah…that’ll do pig, that’ll do.
75 Bugonia
Yorgos got bottom billing last year with Kinds of Kindness, and he’s narrowly missed out this year too, saved by the bell. The bell being my hatred for Jared Leto. But yeah, I know Yorgos is quickly gaining a kind of auteur status, but I don’t get it, dude. Poor Things was great, The Favourite was very good too, but the rest of his output is varying degrees of shite.
74 Mountainhead
This one just felt intensely hollow, and it’s living proof that a star-studded cast does not a great film make. It can’t really decide if it’s serious or funny, and the wit isn’t really there anyway. None of the characters are empathetic, and maybe that was part of the point, but that point landed like a…head on a mountain. Yeah, let’s go with that.
73 Snow White
I don’t get the whole trend with turning animated films that are already highly acclaimed into live action films that will inevitably be inferior and disappointing. I mean, I get it from the cynical ‘let’s extort as much cash as we can out of this cow’ viewpoint, but..meh. This version took the original in weird and unwelcome directions too, and it’s also just a bit dull and lifeless. This apple’s pretty toxic.
72 Captain America: Brave New World
This joint just crashed and burned, joining a lineage of stale superhero joints that also just crashed and burned. I like Harrison Ford, don’t get me wrong, but he couldn’t utilise his ‘grumpy old man’ schtick with a paper-thin screenplay and underwhelming villain. The CGI felt kind of meh too. I didn’t like it, but I wasn’t particularly angry, so I guess that avoided me turning green and smashing up my local Cineworld.
71 The Thursday Murder Club
With this one, I wasn’t particularly angey either, although I was pretty disappointed considering how much I enjoyed the original source material. Then again, I shouldn’t have been too surprised, because it’s directed by Chris Colombus, who has a penchant for screwing up British joints (see: the first two Harry Potters).
70 F1
I guess the rizz of a certain Brad Pitt is the only reason why this film got this high. It’s more an advert for F1 racing with a shoddy plot awkwardly shoved into the machinery. All of the cameos from real-life racers are cheesy as hell, and the whole endeavour just feels pretty lazy and cynical.
69 The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants
There’s some solid voice acting here and there, but in terms of the overall themes and even multiple animation sequences and quotes, it’s a pretty shameful carbon copy of the infinitely superior original. Not to mention that a lot of the characters are out of whack with their OG personalities back in the Hillenberg day. Overall, it’s just not the SpongeBob spirit. Pretty weeny.
68 Locked
This dude wears its Cube and Saw influences on its shoulders. It might be a vaguely fun watch if I was drunk, but as a person who’s never consumed the boozy stuff, I wouldn’t know such a feeling. I guess Anthony Hopkins puts in acceptable villain work, but Hannibal Lecter quality this ain’t.
67 Friendship
I probably should have done my research with this lad, considering I had no prior knowledge of I Think You should Leave, which main actor Tim Robinson is particularly known for. According to Rotten Tomatoes, it’s a good film, but the awkwardness wasn’t that effective, and kind of irritating with a paper-thin cancer plot. Maybe I missed the point. But to paraphrase Father Fintan Stack, I didn’t have fun, and that’s what matters.
66 The Balloonist
This one may be concerned about a guy who flies hot air balloons, but for me it fell like a lead balloon. See what I did there, eh? But, uh, anyway, the romance element here was unconvincing and nothing here really puts enough air into the, uh, balloon. Lame.
65 Lilo & Stitch
Better than the Snow White live action one, I guess, but that’s not saying a whole lot. Spirited performances from the central cast, but I just don’t find the whole plot that engaging, in the same way I didn’t find the original that engaging either. Sure, I’m not the target audience, but it’s still a bad film.
64 The Life of Chuck
I really didn’t get the whole vibe of this lad, I’ll be honest. Three separate stories with vague links, I get it. But I feel like it was just trying to be more zany and creative than it actually was. A pretty impressive cast but, as we know, cast doesn’t necessarily equal quality.
63 Heads of State
John Cena’s definitely got comic potential. He’s great in Jeopardy! and his mini Pluribus cameo. Idris has comedy skills too with his deadpan style. But the screenplay doesn’t allow either of the leads to shine their um, shiniest in this silly thriller.
62 Eden
Some folks go to a deserted island that’s an apparent paradise (look at the title) and things go bad quickly. Based on a true story, apparently. True story or not, it wasn’t massively engaging and Ana de Armas deserved better screen material. It looks nice, I guess?
61 The Man in My Basement
This had some potential, but it didn’t really go anywhere interesting. Willem Defoe was definitely the highlight, mostly because he’s a master of weird. But yeah, not as thrilling as it should be.
60 The Mastermind
This joint just landed slightly flat. There’s a heist, heist goes wrong, then main orchestrator of said heist spends the rest of the films running from authorities and avoiding the consequences for his actions in said heist. Josh O’Connor’s got the riz, I can’t deny that, but he’s more effective as thirsty horny farmer dude in God’s Own Country , or equally as thirsty horny tennis dude in Challengers. Maybe I’m missing something here…
59 Flight Risk
I guess it’s fun if you’re on board with the goofy premise. Mark Whalberg channels that goofy over the top shiz as a guy who hijacks a helicopter to try and kill a prime witness before the vechile gets to its destination. Kinda has Speed vibes, but it’s also not as entertaining as Speed. So…maybe not.
58 Play Dirty
I was expecting more from Shane Black, considering his previous high quality output with Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and particularly The Nice Guys (Ryan Gosling’s comedic magnum opus, in case you’re not in the know). This heist flick is still vaguely entertaining, but it’s certainly vintage Black.
57 Giant
It’s got some decent boxing sequences, but it ultimately can’t escape the tried and trusted tropes of the sports movie to do anything different. An interesting premise ultimately falls flat despite a decent performance from Amir El-Masry, and a thankfully adequate turn from Pierce Brosnan where his accent doesn’t fly all over the place.
56 Honey Don’t!
An enjoyable joint from a single Cohen brother, even though it doesn’t come near the quality of their joint collabs. It’s great to see Aubrey Plaza in more films too, she’s awesome. I enjoyed this one slightly more than Drive Away Dolls, but they’re both decent B-movie flicks.
55 Elio
It was nice to see something a slightly different from the usual Pixar joint, and the animation style’s fun and creative. A solid hero and partner duo, too. It’s not gonna change the animation world any time soon, but it’s an acceptable effort.
54 Night Always Comes
I haven’t seen much of Vanessa Kirby’s work, but she’s pretty solid here as a poverty-stricken woman trying to provide for her brother by working multiple jobs. It can’t really balance thriller and dramatic elements well all the time, but it’s a decent watch.
53 The Amateur
This could’ve been a lot worse than it is, but a dude like Rami Malek has enough rizz to carry a fairly substandard plot into something interesting. Not groundbreaking, but an entertaining watch with decent fight scenes.
52 Mickey 17
I didn’t hate this quite as much as most Bong aficionados did, but I’d agree it’s not his greatest effort. I guess it feels extra disappointing considering his last joint was Parasite. This one skews comedy and drama together more in the line of Okja, a Bong film I felt was kind of average too. Yep, Parasite and Memories of Murder remain my Bong besties.
51 Sorry, Baby
A MeToo kind of drama that’s more meditative and engaging than I was expecting. It came up in some of my film friend’s top 3 lists, and I’ve gotta give a hard disagree on that one. Still, it’s a measured and powerful drama that makes an impact.
50 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle
Gotta be honest, I had no context for this joint going in, and didn’t have a lot more context going out. Overall, I’m just a major league anime noob. I’ve only scratched the surface with a few Ghiblis here and there, and they’re considered entry level flicks in the wide world of anime. But yeah, this was a lot of dramatic scenes with dramatic dialogue (yes, I watched it with subtitles, I’m not one of those dubbing goobers who won’t tolerate subtitles) and nice visuals.
49 KPop Demon Hunters
This was more enjoyable (and comprehensible) than the above. I’m not a KPop stan like most of the audience watching this will be, but it’s got nice kinetic visuals and intriguing songs. Fun stuff.
48 After the Hunt
More MeToo stuff, although pretty weak by Luca’s general standards. The dude needs to return to joints with plenty of sexual tension. But shout out to Andrew Garfield for…shouting. The dude’s a great shouter, and it’s lot of fun to watch him playing against type as an irredeemable a-hole.
47 Eddington
It ain’t Midsommer quality, and it sure as heck ain’t Hereditary quality. Still, there’s something intriguing going on with Ari Aster’s latest, and there’s plenty of rizz to go around with Juaquin and Pedro on decent form. And it’s cool to have our first proper Covid film out in the world, I suppose.
46 The Alto Knights
Two Robert de Niros for the price as one. That seems to be the main selling point of this joint, I suppose. The gangster stuff doesn’t really hit a nerve, and de Niro still hasn’t hit a stone-cold classic in a main role since Heat (controversial, I know).
45 Black Bag
This has got pretty high in some folks’ 2025 list, and I don’t get that. Are there strong performances from the leads and surrounding actors? Sure. But the whole project feels a bit too cold and a bit too clever for its own good to actually create a strong narrative.
44 Brick
I watched this joint for *streaming service I’m not officially allowed to name because I had to sign a contract* first in the original German language (did not understand) and then with subtitles (did understand). Pretty solid horror, even if it isn’t actually original.
43 Highest 2 Lowest
Spike Lee’s latest, and not his best. It’s based on the film High to Low. Denzel’s got some serious rizz though, that can’t be denied. The characterisation just needed a bit more work for me.
42 Merv
Kind of harmless. And the drama revolves around a dog. WOOF. Dogs are great. And if you don’t like dogs, or you’re more of a cat person, well, BEGONE. I don’t fancy talking to you right now. It’s funny seeing Charlie Cox do his standard posh British accent after watching him do American in Daredevil and Irish in Boardwalk Empire and Kin, but hey, it’s entertaining stuff if you just fancy some easy watching and a predictable plot.
41 A House of Dynamite
I was expecting a bit considering this is Bigalow’s return to the cinema, but it doesn’t hit quite as powerfully as The Hurt Locker and Detroit (In know most folks hate Detroit, but I didn’t. So there). I thought it was going to turn into an intriguing Rashomon structure, but then it was just the same narrative over and over again. Slightly feels like a wasted opportunity.
40 Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
Hey did you know Tom Cruise did his own stunts because these films never tell you that and that’s so cool and definitely true I’m sure it is and Tom Cruise wow he’s the greatest action hero and uh yeah. It might be true, it might not be true. But I can appreciate the dollar that this series has pumped back into the movie industry, I can’t deny that. And it’s pretty entertaining too.
39 Superman
Gunn’s revamp definitely benefits from skirting through that whole original story stuff, and Nicolas Holt makes a good Lex Luthor. Takes the lore in a slightly different direction and is generally an interesting move in the right direction. Better than the usual supe fare. And there’s a dog, so that’s a plus.
38 Havoc
When I heard that the director of The Raid (Gareth Evans) was behind this shiz, I had to give it a look. And I was somewhat disappointed, considering The Raid is among my favourite action films of all time. There are some decent fight scenes here and there, and you’ve gotta love Tom Hardy. But there’s too much unnecessary exposition. Get on back to Indonesia, Evans
37 The Assessment
Intriguing sci-fi that didn’t go in the directions I thought it would. Something wasn’t quite working, but it was entertaining to watch Alicia Vikander go full whacko in this dystopian tale about a couple trying to adopt a child.
36 The Naked Gun
The original films hold a warm place in my heart. Would they get made in today’s progressive era? Perhaps not. But Liam Neeson puts in a good effort as Frank Drebin’s son, and Pamela Anderson’s pretty hilarious as the femme fatale. Most of the best jokes are kind of ruined in the trailer, but it’s still a good slice of slapstick tomfoolery.
35 The Smashing Machine
Hello hello, it’s this year’s Oscar bait. Give me an Oscar, guys, please. Although the Oscar baiting can’t meet the pathetic heights of a certain actor in Maestro not so long along ago. LOOK AT ME, LOOK AT MY METHOD ACTING, I’M SO TALENTED. Oof, I don’t like Bradley Cooper. Didn’t you know. Anyway, SM isn’t bad by any means, but it’s not Oscar worthy either.
34 Predator: Killer of Killers
So, Letterbox counted this one as a film. So I’ll also be counting it as a film. It’s by the same dude who did Prey, which I enjoyed. Creative animation, interesting concept, pretty engaging narrative.
33 Wicked: For Good
I’m not a huge musical fan, but this guy’s uh, good at what it does. Lots of singing, lots of colour, lots of drama.
32 Frankenstein
I was expecting more from this, but it’s more style over substance. I remember loving Pan’s Labyrinth, but this just feels more lost in ‘look at me’ fancy visuals. Jacob Elordi’s pretty good though, and Oscar Isaac ain’t bad either.
31 Love Untangled
I just slapped this on Netflix when I didn’t know what to watch and it was surprisingly engaging. No, the plot isn’t exactly Nolan level complex, but it’s just a nice bit of kooky and quirky
30 The Lost Bus
Fire happens, bus gets lost. It’s more entertaining than that, I promise. Not that entertaining, but entertaining enough.
29 The Phoenician Scheme
The latest Wes isn’t vintage, but it’s also much better than Asteroid City and The French Dispatch. Not that hard to do, since those films were pretty shite. But yeah, it’s great to see Benicio in the star role, and it seems like a sign of Wes getting back on track.
28 The Fantastic 4: First Steps
This supe joint felt nice and refreshing. Like Superman, it makes the sensible decision to cut out the origin stuff and adds an effective nostalgia aesthetic too. Like Superman, signals a hopeful return to decent quality for superhero films.
27 Caught Stealing
It hasn’t got the Safdies Brothers energy it thinks it has, but it’s still a fun film. Particularly fun witnessing Matt Smith going full crazy with the accent and general visual aesthetic. High octane, tense and kinetic. Just not on the same level as Good Time or Uncut Gems.
26 Materialists
It ain’t no Past Lives, I realise that. But I enjoyed it more than a lot of folks did. Pedro, Chris, Dakota? C’mon. Lots of attractive folks to stare at and distract you from a not quite perfect plot. And the general aesthetic just won me over. Aesthetics are cool sometimes, k?
25 28 Years Later
An interesting extension of the 28 lore. Definitely build for a sequel, but there’s several entertaining zombie scenes and Ralph Finnes is pretty good. Uh, yeah, that’s the summary.
24 Deep Cover
This was a lot of silly fun. Not vintage, but some nice silliness. Plus my house member didn’t notice Orlando Bloom was Orlando Bloom until the end credits. A nice bit of escapism.
23 Thunderbolts*
Probably the best supe entry this year. According to yours truly. Just a bit of goofy action, but the central villain’s more interesting than usual and there’s a bit more pep here. Yep.
22 HIM
Now. Onto the better 4-star Letterbox entries. This didn’t seem to get great reviews, but I enjoyed it. Pretty gruesome body horror stuff, but I throughout it was effective. Generally not the type of horror I try, but this was definitely worth the watch.
21 Ocean with David Attenborough
Again, Letterbox classed this as a film, so I’ll go with that. It’s always nice to hear Attenborough’s voice, especially when he’s discussing key issues about climate change and how we still have time to use the ocean to make meaningful change. Good stuff.
20 The Running Man
A lot of Edgar Wright diehards didn’t like this one. Well, tough shit. I liked it. Tougher shit? Spaced was Wright’s magnum opus. Saun of the Dead was great but not quite as good as Spaced. Hot Fuzz was great but not quite as good as Sean of the Dead. And the rest of his work, besides this new entry, is a whole load of meh. Yep. Deal with it.
19 How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies
This had a powerful effect when I watched it. But I’ll level with you. I’m racing through these reviews at the moment to try and send off this post before midnight. So yeah, I’ll just say that this was effective film with an enjoyable narrative. You’re welcome.
18 I Swear
This was in a lot of my friend’s best of year lists, and it is a goodun’. Effective storytelling without falling into sentimentalism.
17 The Penguin Lessons
This one went under the radar a bit, but I really enjoyed it. Like the above, manages to avoid sentimentalism while telling a compelling story.
16 Zootopia 2
I loved this guy. Just a bit of jolly storytelling with good humour and enjoyable film references for the older audiences. Sweet.
15 The Surfer
The Cage joint was pretty whacky and doesn’t seem to get discussed much. But it’s a great surfer movie, and I highly recommend it. Especially if you’re a Cage fan.
14 Wake Up Dead Man
Another great detective outing, with Daniel Craig putting in another fine performance as the murder mystery unfolds, this time around a church. Cool.
13 Die My Love
Sure, it may be my least favourite Lynne Ramsay joint, but I love every Lynne Ramsay joint, so that’s not really saying much. Jennifer Lawrence’s best performance since Winter’s Bone.
12 Companion
Fun sci-fi with an effective plot and an equally effective Jack Quaid as a major league douchebag. Smooth.
11 Tornado
A subversive Western that didn’t get the attention it deserved. Seek it out if you can.
10 Bring Her Back
It was a tough choice between this and the next entry as my favourite horror of the year. This was great. I won’t be watching it again anytime soon because it was pretty damn disturbing, but nonetheless, it’s great.
9 Weapons
Now, here’s my fave horror. A Rashomon structure on drugs full of dread and surprise, this is a little gem.
8 The Long Walk
Really powerful stuff. Two fantastic central performances that make a pretty beige plot super colourful. Even if it is relentlessly bleak.
7 One Battle After Another
A great return from PTA. Everyone’s great, the plot is crazy as hell in the best of ways. Very original stuff which you don’t get enough at the cinema anymore.
6 Sinners
This joint slapped. It reminded me of how great it is to see original storytelling on the big screen that’s not joined to a moneymaking franchise. Great stuff. Vampire films how they should be done. Heck, it’s not even as simple as a vampire film. Great. Original.
5 Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
A great biopic that focuses on internal struggles more than the music. Sure, everyone loves last year’s Dylan biopic, but Jeremy Allen White injects Bruce with a special kind of quiet and pain.
4 The Ballad of Wallis Island
A lovely, wistful, amusing, sad tale of fandom and lost time. It was great seeing this again at the Prince Charles Cinema recently with a Q+A by the cast. Wonderful stuff.
3 Flow
Now. The top three. An outstanding film with incredibly novel animation, and was rightfully nominated for awards. No dialogue at all, just amazing imagery and narrative novelty. So cool.
2 Julie Keeps Quiet
This won’t be on anyone’s list, and it’s very much a ‘me’ film which focuses on imagery over dialogue (in case you haven’t picked that up from the film’s title. Not much happens, but in a really cool way. Not a way most would find cool. But I find it cool, k? Exposition is the death of intrigue. Yeah, breathe in those words of wisdom for a moment, why don’t you?
1 Steve
And here’s the number one. Cillian made it to the number two spot last year with Small Things Like These, but got to the top spot now. This is like if the Safdie Brothers had done a UK version of Uncut Gems with a group of schoolteachers and badly performing students. But it’s fantastic, better than my description sounds. Loud, chaotic and touching, it’s too arthouse to get the big commercial attention, but it’s a fantastic work of art that deserves more attention.