Top 5 Favourite Movies of 2025

Hi all, let's discuss our top 5 favourite movies of the year…so far. I feel like my list is essentially locked in and I'm not sure if there's anything in this final month that will massively change my mind, but who knows? I may be making changes come the end of the year.

So here goes for me:

1. The Long Walk – this might be an odd pick for some people but I really enjoyed Bachmann's (King's) short novel years ago and to see it translated onto the screen with a capable, at times, exceptional young cast and a well written, modern script is a joy. As is the constant dread, camaraderie and rivalry that builds with every mile walked. Francis Lawrence, of Hunger Games fame does an excellent job in bringing those elements together and David Jonsson hits it out the park yet again. Mark Hamill is somewhat wasted as the villain of the piece but then again, there is more than just one bad guy. The whole world is gone to…
2. F1 – I was not expecting to enjoy this as much as I ended up doing so. Brad Pitt is perfectly cast, if a bit old, to be a returning F1 driver looking for redemption but the real star of the show is the attention to details from the VFX team. They deserve the Oscar here, switch on any of the breakdowns currently available on YouTube and you will be blown away by the practical effort, the insane amount of actual race footage and the sublime CGI that culminate in arguably the best, most realistically race movie of all time.
3. MI: Final Reckoning – It came and went without much of the bluster the series used to draw. It was more an ignored reckoning, especially with the penultimate instalment received in mediocre fashion but in the current climate of limited, often braindead blockbuster fare this is a pretty darn good film. The plane sequence is exceptional and not covered by unnecessary CGI, allowing the excellent stunt work to shine and even though the story stutters to a predictable end, the usual flair and exciting set piece action is here and accounted for. Not the best in the franchise but good enough.
4. Friendship – Remember when odd ball comedies were common and big hits? Well keep remembering because these movies are no longer big hits and they aren't so common but every now and then, one comes a long. Friendship pits the creepy, awkward comedy workings of Tim Robinson with the easy going charm of Paul Rudd in a movie which, albeit is supposed to be about friendship, ends up being about nothing but a continuous series of increasingly strange Tim Robinson skits. That is NOT a bad thing. It doesn't quite achieve the greatness I was hoping for but it is a solid laugh in these dark times.
5. Train Dreams – I wasn't quite sure what to expect here and in all honesty, I think even the movie makers didn't quite know what they were doing here. Time shifts, screen shifts, tonal shifts, the movie flits between being a serious, contemplative piece to arthouse to wannabe PTA and yet, mainly due to Joel Edgerton's excellent performance and a breezy 102 minute running time, it succeeds. Much like every film on this list and pretty much most of the movies I have really enjoyed in the last few years, this verges on being great but falls before far superior predecessors. But it is good and well worth the watch.