Editorial: Halfway There, The Best of 2025 So Far
Written by Grady Fiorio Original Publishing Date: July 1st, 2025
The 10 best films of the first half of 2025
Survive till 25? Looks like we’re going to “exist till 26”. Yes, ladies and gents, we are back to the first half slump of the cinematic season. The box office is struggling, the industry is on fire, and Coca Coca-Cola has opened the corn syrup flood gates to shitty AI slop commercials. But it’s not all bad! No matter how hard a bunch of C-Suite executives try, the power of storytelling stops for nobody. The summer season is looking up for the movies, with Superman, Fantastic 4, and F1, giving a jolt to the box office, while The Naked Gun, Eddington, and One Battle After Another give movie fans something to chew on. The indie scene is moving slowly but surely, as new artists are starting to arise from studio collapse. No new household names yet, but a few faces popping out of the festival circuit have promising futures, if audiences are willing to commit. While not major upcoming features, I was quite impressed by some episodic shorts out of LALIFF 2025. Carlos Cardona’s Born 2 Lose and Annabelle Mullen Pacheco’s @Amor, are solid starts to hopefully fruitful careers. Yet, that’s not what you came here for. You want the best, the biggest, the most amazing knock your socks off, hold your breath, run around the corner, and scream to the skies movies of the year. Well… keep running around the corner, because what I got for you is a solid but modest look at the hits from Side A of 2025.
Just like years prior, I'll be counting films with both a limited and wide release. Some of these are festival films that might not get a wide release until next year, or only just got their wide release this year, but had a limited premiere in 2024. Other than that, don't take the ordering too seriously. Only my favorite film I'm saving for last.
As usual, time is money and I’m broke as shit, so I wasn’t able to see every movie on my wishlist. Friendship, The Life of Chuck, and Materialists escaped my Sauron-like, critical eye. If your favorite movie of 2025 didn’t show up, then I probably didn’t see it, or it wasn’t that great. Either way, cry me a river. I could use a nice kayaking trip about now. Just don’t get too weepy-eyed, because in six months we’ll take another look at Side B of 2025. Catch you on the flip side!
Honorable Mentions
The first half of the year is always a bit on the slow side (especially if you release in January). However, as Oscar season waits and Summer blockbusters start to get their feet wet, there are still plenty of great films worth seeing, even if they aren’t factory-farmed to make a billion dollars and start 30 different toy lines. Front, center, and dangling off the side of a damn plane, is Tom Cruise’s Scientology funded death wish, Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning. Really rolls off the tongue, doesn’t it? In this final entry to the 30+ year running franchise, Tom Cruise answers the question we’ve all been dying to know. How do you follow up hanging off a plane, hanging off a helicopter, and hanging off a train? Hanging off a plane… again, of course! Jokes aside, the biplane scene in MI:8 is worth the price of admission alone. Flopping from side to side and getting smacked around by wings, Tom gives us a stunt for the ages, even if the plot is so convoluted it’ll leave you questioning if a MacGuffin is a narrative device or a long-forgotten item from the McDonald’s menu. But Tommy Boy didn’t bring us the only genre film worth honoring this year, as Drew Hancock’s Companion was a fun callback to campy thrillers and horror comedy. Sophie Thatcher’s performance continues her winning streak of genre films after last year’s Heretic, solidifying Companion into a 90-minute bubble of high-concept good times.
As Marvel finds itself continuing its uneven footing among the past failures and the coming pressure of Fantastic 4, their sleeper hit Thunderbolts* proved to be a much stronger film than most had expected. David Harbor solidifies himself as the film’s heartbeat, playing a washed-up Soviet version of Captain America, a.k.a. The Red Guardian. His scenes gave me some of the biggest laughs I’ve had in theaters this year. Thankfully, the rest of the film is no slouch. Jake Schreier’s direction proves to be solid, giving us an MCU movie that feels pulled out of a different, much simpler era.
Last but not least was a surprise documentary from Discovery TV. Implosion: The Titanic Sub Disaster is a straight-to-streaming documentary, chronicling 2023’s OceanGate submarine disaster, which killed five passengers on a voyage to the Titanic wreckage. Director Pamela Gordon takes this documentary a step above its TV movie status by simultaneously telling the build-up to the disaster and its aftermath. It’s a story of hubris, ego, and murder, proving that money can take you high, but it can’t go six feet deep.
10. The Legend of Ochi
A24 strikes again, this time with their first-ever family film, The Legend of Ochi. Director Isaiah Saxon, bravely asks audiences “What if E.T. was a little shitbag gremlin?” To a surprisingly resounding effect, Ochi answers this with a Spielbergian action adventure film that feels pulled right out of the 80s. The film follows the adventure of teenage runaway Yuri, as she takes a fuzzy little critter named Ochi under her wing to return him to his family. Hot on their tails is Yuri’s father, Maxim (played by Willem Dafoe), who leads a band of dimwitted huntsmen trying to retrieve his daughter. Using its tried and true fantasy setting, Ochi breaks down the complex relationships between child and parent, as we all seek to understand what makes the other tick and find meaning in our lives. It’s a clearly handcrafted film, filled with enough matte paintings and Frank Oz-inspired puppetry to get every former film student foaming at the mouth. While it’s a story that you’ve probably seen more than once before, Saxon brings his own unique brand of storytelling that will melt even the coldest of hearts, and probably get you at least a little teary-eyed by the end. Watch with your parent/child for maximum effect.
You can read my full Sundance 2025 breakdown by clicking here.
8. Mickey 17
Trying to follow up a movie like Parasite is a tall order. Sweep the Oscars, make film history, and introduce Korean cinema into the larger movie-going consciousness. How the hell do you even approach something like that? Well, you don’t. You just keep on being the artist you want to be. And be an artist, Bong Joon Ho has with his latest film, Mickey 17, a sci-fi slapstick comedy about the dangers of unchecked capitalism. Joon Ho takes us aboard a vessel on its way to manifest destiny the shit out of a recently discovered planet, where billionaire Kenneth Marshall will reign supreme, unattached by meaningless rules and regulations. But he can’t do it alone. Along comes Mickey Barnes, a down-on-his-luck shmuck in debt with the mob. He enlists on the space journey as an “expendable” who is tasked with dying for the company during various tests and experiments, only to be “reprinted” to live, die, and live again. While the dangers of capitalism aren’t exactly the newest theme for recent artists to explore (especially Joon Ho, for that matter), Mickey 17’s cruelty towards its characters and world loops it back around to a disturbingly funny and poignant satire, that unfortunately hits a bit closer to home than anybody would want. While that might not sound like a raging endorsement, the ensemble cast led by dual protagonists Robert Pattinson and… Robert Pattinson, gives Mickey 17 enough life to make it worth your while. It’s probably not the film audiences wanted after Parasite, but its originality, humor, and gonzo storytelling earn it a place amongst Joon Ho’s filmography, and the strongest of the year so far.
7. Life After
Life is hard. That much is true for everybody. But life is even harder when you are trying to die. Assisted suicide has long since been taboo worldwide, called in by ethics groups, religions, and everyday people. But what about those seeking this right in the first place? Life After finally asks those directly affected by this issue, “Do you want the right to die?” In the middle sits director Reid Davenport, as he is literally caught between life and death, in the pursuit of freedom and happiness. But true happiness is much muddier than we could ever expect when placed in death. The film starts in 1983, when severely disabled Elizabeth Bouvia sought the right to die at the beginning of one of the most famous legal battles on the matter. She was even held captive against her will, force-fed, and put on a ventilator inside government-mandated asylums. While eventually disappearing from the public eye, Bouvia would face her natural death in 2014 at the age of 67. Yet her question and journey remain central to Davenport’s film. Do we have the right to die? Never giving a single answer, Life After pushes viewers to the brink in an attempt to understand their empathy and the struggle of others. Equally gut-wrenching and heartbreaking, Life After had me questioning many of my own beliefs, as misinformation, eugenics, and abuse plague what should ultimately be a clear-cut medical issue. But seldom in real life is anything clear-cut. We can only hope that it all makes sense in the life after.
You can read my full Sundance 2025 breakdown by clicking here.
6. Hans Zimmer & Friends: Diamond in the Desert
Concert films are the true underdog genre of the film world. Underappreciated, but boy, when they hit, they hit hard. Leave it to Hans Zimmer to hit with wailing guitar solos, dancing cellists, and psychedelic sets built in the middle of Dubai. Taking a step in front of the screen instead of behind the speaker, arguably the world’s most famous composer graces screens once again with an epic onscreen concert. Diamond in the Desert takes audiences directly into the heart of Dubai for a mix of live performances, elaborate sets based on scored films, and documentary interviews to inter-splice with the music. There’s not much to say in terms of plot, but Zimmer’s showmanship shows no bounds, as he takes every opportunity to customize each performance to the tone of the film they represent, with custom sets that complement the visuals and motifs created by their respective directors. Cellist Tina Guo gives a standout musical and dance performance, as she uses her specially modified cello to twist, turn, and flip, with the cello in ways that I have never seen done before. Despite being a concert film, Diamond in the Desert earns its status as a Jerry Bruckheimer production by being just as thrilling, engaging, and awe-inspiring as the films inspired by Zimmer’s musical writings. Here’s hoping we get a Blu-ray release soon.
5. The Ballad of Wallis Island
I can’t stand cheesy movies. Those types that are prime for a 4:00 pm two-hour block on Lifetime, so moms can watch them and shed a tear while folding laundry. Filled with fake sentimentality and overly dramatic music to make you think what you're watching is genius, but an hour later, you forgot that you even watched the movie in the first place. On the surface, The Ballad of Wallace Island reads exactly like that. All I could see were giant neon signs that said “stay away”. But after being swayed otherwise at Sundance, I was convinced to not only watch the film, but attend an 8:30 am screening. Obviously, as you can tell by looking at this list, it was worth it. It’s a classic fish out of water story, where a has-been rockstar finds himself on a rural island with a lone fan, who tries to reunite him with his former bandmate and ex-lover. The secret sauce is acting and writing duo Tom Baden and Tim Key, whose sharp writing and undeniable chemistry punch this flick a step above. You know they're the highlight of the film when they outshine co-star Carey Mulligan. It’s a rare crowd pleaser that sticks with you for more than its 100-minute runtime. It also proves that Focus Features is on an incredible roll, being the sleeper hit-maker of the indie film scene.
You can read my full Sundance 2025 breakdown by clicking here.
4. Opus
A 40% on Rotten Tomatoes, but a number 5 on my best of list?! Looks like it’s time to be the contrarian. Yes, it’s that time of the list again where I start to get funky with my recommendations. If you’ve been reading with me for a while, you know that Opus was one of my favorites from Sundance 2025. Yet audiences and box offices alike seemed to disagree. Seemingly sent to die during the March box office season with nearly no marketing, Opus now lives in the bowels of bargain bins and the A24 section of HBO Max. Yet I say, don’t disregard this wonderfully twisted ride to the bizarre side, or you might just be missing out on a great time. While many criticized Opus as another “Get Out” rip-off, I don’t think that’s necessarily such a bad thing. As someone who admittedly was not a fan of Get Out (sue me, I know!), Opus takes this “rich people are crazy” motif and puts it in a much more believable set of circumstances. This time were taken out of the white countryside and into the pop star desert, where a famous musician comes out of hiding to reveal his latest project to a select group of individuals, inside his desert compound. Slowly but surely, not everything is as it seems, as money, power, and twisted kicks become the main stars of this ego trip.
Yes, you’ve probably seen a whole bunch of films following this formula by now. But as someone who’s been in the entertainment industry, I can guarantee you that there are crazy assholes just like this. Look at all the Diddy party stuff going on. Where other films go a bit too comical and over the top with their depictions of the ultra-rich, Opus is much more accurate in its depiction of twisted reality. Of course, things eventually go off the rails by the end, but it starts in a place that is much closer to the truth than most audience members realize. At a certain point, money drives ego into a god like status, where everyone else is an ant to be smited. Worst of all, anyone can be sucked into this mindset when the right combination of money and power send the dopamine slot machines racking up into all 7s. The ending of Opus comes full circle, tying the knot on this whole catastrophe, asking if, at the end of the madness, have you learned anything? Have you looked at the man in the mirror?
You can read my full Sundance 2025 breakdown by clicking here.
4. André is an Idiot
Rarely do you have a documentary crowd pleaser. Even rarer is that documentary about dying of cancer, but leave it to the king of the docs, Sundance, to prove that narrative wrong once again. André is an Idiot takes us into the final moments of the wildly lived André Ricciardi, as he dies of cancer after missing a colonoscopy. While André Is an Idiot is quite bleak on its surface, titular subject, André, faces death with his irreverent brand of self-aware humor and raw perspective gained over an incredibly experienced life. But yes, André Is an Idiot indeed, and he fully owns up to his mistakes here. Wether it’s through a comedic series of colonoscopy ads or bluntly telling the story of how he got a splinter in his dick, you can call André many things, but dishonest is not one of them. In fact, through the misgivings, trials, and tribulations of André’s life, he had been wholly true to himself, his work, and the family he clearly loved. He’s the type of man who lived on impulse alone, but thankfully, this impulse was driven by love, adventure, and the mystical question of “why not?”. André is a testament to the type of honesty and adventure we should all strive to live our lives by, even if we should maybe skip the part about being an idiot (or getting splinters in our dicks).
You can read my full Sundance 2025 breakdown by clicking here.
3. Predators
There are some documentaries that, once you’ve seen, never go away. Grizzly Man, Blackfish, Beyond Utopia. Some sounds and images are impressed upon your mind like a chisel into stone. David Osit’s Predators unflinchingly stands among them. Since my viewing of the film at Sundance, I have not been able to get this documentary out of my mind. It’s a brutal and unfiltered look into the mental and sexual exploitation during the production of Dateline NBC’s infamous To Catch a Predator, both in front of and behind the camera. What makes Predators such a radical film is that it confronts you with sexually perverse men in search a child abuse, only to flip around and ask the audience for your empathy. It’s a bold claim, but it shockingly works, as a long line of seedy behavior, illegal evidence, and a publicly televised suicide lead right back to the lap of Chris Hansen and his Dateline NBC crew. Osit follows this trail all the way to the man himself, where Hansen dodges, weaves, and defends himself to the very end like an NBA superstar. Osit, a survivor of childhood sexual exploitation, offers a gentle touch into a vile world, using his camera to explore the vileness that permeates through our modern culture. Predators never forces your hands or tells you what to think, but it does ask you to witness and take a seat.
You can read my full Sundance 2025 breakdown by clicking here.
2. Sinners
In what will go down as one 2025 premiere cinematic events, bloodsucking bastards get their due in Ryan Coogler’s ode to genre flicks, grindhouse, blaxploitation, and of course, Robert Rodriguez’s From Dusk Till Dawn. It’s Sinners. Utilizing every inch of the widest 70mm film and the tallest 15/70mm IMAX available, Coogler takes a tale of the racial prejudice of 1930s Mississippi, and fills it with the classic Transylvanian tradition of vampires. It’s an odd mix on paper, but on celluloid it’s nothing short of movie magic, as Coogler crafts his tale with blues, hip-hop, Irish jigs, and rock’ n’ roll. Spending its first half character building and its second half character killing, Sinners does the heavy lifting that many other genre films avoid, and creates a meaningful world of characters before sending them off into the trenches. Michael B. Jordan flexes his acting muscles as dual-twin protagonists Smoke and Stack. Accompanying Jordan is a stacked ensemble, including Hailee Steinfeld, Delroy Lindo, and new to the scene, Jack O'Connell as a viciously fun vampire villain. Sinners is electric on every level, serving as both a crowd pleaser and a cinephile’s delight. The world may not know it yet, but this is also Coogler’s secret audition tape to direct the (hopefully) upcoming Blade reboot.
1. Bring Her Back
At this point, surprises seem like a given when it comes to the comings and goings of the cinema seasons. One year it’s Past Lives, another it’s The Brutalist. These small films that seem to come out of nowhere, but take over your central nervous system directly through the silver and screen and into your eyeballs. Granted, I should have expected this with the Philippou brothers’ sophomore feature, Bring Her Back. I was pretty blown away by their last film, Talk To Me, with it even scoring pretty high in my Best of 2022 list. When I heard they’d be back, I kept my eyes closed and ears shut, to give myself the same blind experience that made Talk to Me such a wild ride. While I tempered my expectations at how they could possibly follow up their debut, I never expected that I’d be so blown away by their next film. Where Talk to Me sets itself directly under your skin with a haunting premise, Bring Her Back grounds itself closer to reality to make its horror more real than ever. The story follows two step-siblings put in an unstable foster home after the death of their father. There are so many indie films that try to capture the idea of “grief” but can’t seem to overcome the weight of their ambitions. Bring Her Back takes this theme and makes it it’s bitch. It pulls back the veil on how grief blinds us to both anger and love equally. Every character is fully fleshed out with understandable motives despite their often horrific actions. By the end, I had gone through the full range of emotions, having literally jumped out of my seat at one point, and on the verge of tears at another. From the first to the final shot, this was so well crafted. Despite there being so much bloodshed, Bring Her Back is a surprisingly hopeful film about bringing closure to a world left wide open.
