Another year has passed, and somehow it’s time to list my favorite new releases once again. This was the first year that there weren’t a dozen movies coming to mind as worthy of being included; in fact, there were only about three or four. I watched 120 movies in 2025, and about 30 of those were new releases. Of those, I came to a final handful of highlights, in no particular order.
“Superman” returned to the silver screens for the sixth time this past summer, my projected crown jewel for the year. When the first trailer dropped for the film, featuring the guitar riff of the iconic John Williams score, I sent it to everyone I knew. Now, I’m recommending it to everyone I know—though if I’m honest, it didn’t quite reach the heights I hoped for personally. Still, I loved seeing Superman back on screen.
It was a fun summer blockbuster that checked a lot of boxes for the superhero fan and film enthusiast alike. David Corenswet, who played a supporting role in last year’s “Twisters” (still a great watch!), brought a humanity to the character of Clark Kent that had been missing since Christopher Reeve hung up the cape way back in 1987. (Personally, I would have liked more scenes of Clark Kent at the newspaper office, but to each their own.)
Nicholas Hoult, who likewise starred in one of my top movies of 2024 (“Juror #2”), similarly amped up the maniacal ego and evil brilliance of the antagonist Lex Luthor in a good performance.
The real highlight of the film might be Krypto the Superdog, who stole the show every time he entered the scene, as the best dogs seem to do. All in all, solid performances from two up-and-coming stars and the undeniable allure of Superman raised this film above the rest.
Of the 120 movies I watched in 2025, 10 of them starred Tom Cruise, making him my most watched actor for the year. Cruise continued his return to the peak of the film business in 2025, following Top Gun: Maverick (arguably the best movie of the decade so far) in 2022 and Mission Impossible 7 in 2023.
No movie in 2025 reached the (literal) heights and depths of Cruise’s “Mission Impossible—The Final Reckoning (MI8),” which has several of the greatest set pieces I have ever seen. In one scene, Cruise hangs onto a biplane, battling for the fate of the world hundreds of feet above the ground; in another, he swims through a sunken submarine, teetering on the edge of a great trench. While these scenes are not unique to MI8, knowing that Cruise was truly hanging onto a flying airplane and swimming underwater, gasping for breath, adds a sense of realism and terror I had not experienced before. It’s not you swimming through that submarine, but it might as well be.
By the end of the film, you believe with certainty that the fate of the world depends on Cruise.
An unexpected trio of animated films deserves to be recognized in addition to the other films on the list; “Zootopia 2” was an engaging buddy-cop flick from beginning to end and featured some real thrills; “The Day the Earth Blew Up,” starring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, was one of my favorites from the year, littered with “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” references along with classic Looney Tunes gags. “David” blended impressive visuals and storytelling.
“Wake Up Dead Man” is the latest installment in Netflix’s Knives Out series of whodunit films, starting with 2019’s “Knives Out” and followed by 2022’s “Glass Onion.” The original had a distinct Clue feel to it, while “Glass Onion” pursued parody. The latest is a return to form for the franchise and director Rian Johnson, who takes the audience to investigate the death of a priest in a rural New York community. There were certainly elements to the film I could have done without, but the leading character, a young priest portrayed by Josh O’Connor, provides a compassionate look at the church while still not sacrificing the film’s suspense. (Josh Brolin; not so much.)
As all great whodunits go, the highlight of the film is watching it all come together and truth (along with a hint of Truth) be revealed.
Ultimately, one of my favorite movies of the year wasn’t a film at all. “I Like Me,” a documentary detailing the life and career of John Candy, was a moving and wonderful tribute to a giant of a man, in stature and heart. The documentary features countless interviews from Candy’s Saturday Night Live and comedy cohorts from the years, each armed to the teeth with humorous stories about their late friend.
After watching this, I felt compelled to watch Candy’s seminal performance in “Planes, Trains and Automobiles.” He was just the best. I like you too, John Candy.
I really like watching good movies and reading books (12 in 2025; maybe I’ll share highlights from the Isaiah Atkins Book Club in February). I like me too. I don’t know if I always have, but in 2025 I did, and in 2026 I do too. But I like Jesus more, and I hope to be more like Him this year.
See you at the theaters!
