Hello again, dear readers! The Plain, Simple one is back yet again with his annual end-of-year review, having written . . . (checks notes) . . . nothing else on this site all year! As has been the case with previous years, I’m not writing as much, owing to general laziness and the increasing difficulty of actually forming several thoughts about any given film, beyond “yeah, it was alright”. Still, I’m always active on Letterboxd and there, if you so desire, you may sup on my sentence-long reviews there! But anyway . . .

2025. This year, I watched fewer films than in previous years, old and new, and considering those new releases, I have to admit that I haven’t been as impressed with this year’s crop of movies and, big shock, I didn’t give out any five star reviews to any new releases this year. Is that because films aren’t as good anymore? Or is it because I’m just grumpy and/or too simple to recognise greatness in films anymore? Don’t answer that.

But there were plenty of good new releases this year and here are twenty of the most notable ones, in my opinion.

All have 2025 UK releases.

* * * * *

20. Caught Stealing (2025)

A little “tame” for an Aronofsky film, Caught Stealing rarely has a dull moment and is a continually engaging and tense crime film that’s bolstered by a solid leading performance from Austin Butler, as well as a memorably eccentric turn from Matt Smith.

19. 28 Years Later (2025)

Decades-later sequels can surely be hit-and-miss but Danny Boyle’s successor to his popular zombie flick manages to prove its worth by giving us a whole new dangerous location and new characters to care about; the leads peform well and the always excellent Ralph Fiennes here treats us to a memorable supporting performance, once again showing us how interesting of an actor he is.

18. The Running Man (2025)

Yes, many remakes are unnecessary and tiresome, but when the original is only okay, the possibility exists for the re-imagining to really improve upon its predecessor and I’d say that Edgar Wright has accomplished this here because his adaptation of Stephen King’s/Richard Bachman’s novel is an effective amalgamation of the original novel as well as the 1987 Schwarzenegger film and the final product is a perfectly exciting piece of popcorn entertainment and it moves along at Wright’s signature zippy pace, also boasting impressive performances from Glen Powell, Michael Cera, and Colman Domingo.

17. Megan 2.0 (2025)

A film that wins this year’s award for “everyone else hated it, but I loved it”, the sequel to 2022’s horror flick goes in a drastically different direction to its predecessor as, while the original went down the traditional, surprise-free “killer doll causes havoc” route, Megan 2.0 makes the sassy doll the anti-hero as she teams up with the heroes in order to combat an intimidating new force. Sure, it’s all so silly and the plot contrivances are difficult to ignore, but there’s so much more ambition on display than there was in the previous film and the whole thing is an entertaining, colourful and bonkers sci-fi thriller that takes a few risks and for me, crazy though it may sound, the mad decisions work in the film’s favour.

16. Predator: Badlands (2025)

A 12a rated Predator film sounds truly insane but under the reliable vision of Dan Trachtenberg, Badlands really works as it’s an odd, but enjoyable, buddy movie with a solid story, an intimidating villain, supportable characters, and a winning dual performance from Elle Fanning.

15. Black Bag (2025)

A solid feature from Steven Soderbergh, Black Bag is a slick, patient, talky, twisty-turny, “who’s playing who” slowburn espionage thriller with a mature, complex plot and plenty of sturdy acting.

14. Flow (2024)

The rightful winner of the most recent “Best Animated Feature” Academy Award, Flow manages to do so much with zero dialogue and free animation software, giving us a relatively brief, but excellent, feature about a motley crew of several different animals who share a boat during an apocalyptic flood. Yes, we are only given (genuine) animal noises but it’s so easy to see the personalities of each critter (and equally as easy to support them and pray for their safety) and the relatively basic animation actually looks gorgeous.

13. The Long Walk (2025)

The second King/Bachman feature to make the list, The Long Walk simply consists of several young men walking and talking, but thanks to the great writing and the performances of the young cast (especially its leads Copper Hoffman and David Jonsson), it manages to remain continually fascinating and thankfully, there’s not a trace of sequel baiting to be found.

12. Roofman (2025)

True, before watching, I wasn’t particularly enthused about seeing this film but it ended up being a feature that continually held my interest, despite its protracted length and the fact that many scenes don’t really advance the plot; it tells an original story about a man who’s forced into evading the authorities by hiding out in Toys R Us and the feature is also bolstered by both Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst, the former being particularly charming and likeable in this instance.

11. Superman (2025)

Much material relating to the man of steel has lately been inconsistent, considering the demise of the much maligned DC Extended Universe, but under the stewardship of the ever reliable James Gunn, the future now looks promising as Superman is a rock solid superhero flick that has something to say about warmongering countries and the bigots that are allowed to lead and furthermore, it has plenty of that welcome Gunn humour, it’s all very colourful and visually striking, and it benefits from very well cast roles, which include David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, and MVP Edi Gathegi.

10. Thunderbolts* (2025)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has arguably been in a bit of a slump since Endgame, with many now experiencing superhero fatigue, so when a new MCU flick hits theatres, there’s always the possibility that it will be just another forgettable endeavour, simply existing to make money.

But that’s not the case with Thunderbolts* because, though it’s not gold standard, it’s still a refreshingly fun feature that features a roster of flawed outcasts who inevitably join forces by the end, becoming an odd little family unit who all have to deal with trauma, shame and depression. It’s a particularly grounded and mature comic book feature and it’s also bolstered by performances from the likes of Lewis Pullman and, of course, the always incredible Florence Pugh.

9. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning (2025)

The final chapter of the hugely popular action franchise sees Tom Cruise’s Ethan Hunt do battle with a fierce AI entity and although it takes a little time to get into its groove, having to recap the events of the previous film, it eventually proves itself to be a spectacular big screen event, ideally suited to an IMAX screen, as well as a truly nail biting, edge-of-your-seat adventure.

The powerful score also works in the film’s favour, really ratcheting up the tension when required, and, as can be expected, all of the stuntwork is top tier. Plus, you know, Tom Cruise is an undeniable action force.

8. Wake Up, Dead Man (2025)

Yes, I simply had to add a comma into the title!

Rian Johnson’s latest feature gives Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc a potentially unsolvable case involving a sect of right wing Christians, a locked room murder, and a mysterious resurrection, and, as we’ve seen in the previous two instalments, this Knives Out mystery has an always interesting twisty-turny plot as well as a whole new crop of scheming, duplicitous characters for our favourite Southern detective to butt heads with, the big name cast having fun with the roles that they’re given, particularly MVP Josh O’Connor.

7. Weapons (2025)

The first of two (three?) high profile horror films that have made a big impact this year, Barbarian director Zack Cregger’s latest gives us a dark and disturbing mystery involving several missing children and, as it was with his previous film, the different chapters and non-lunear structure provides plenty of intrigue and with this feature, we also have a memorable antagonist in Amy Madigan’s frightful, detestable Aunt Gladys.

6. Warfare (2025)

Alex Garland, alongside veteran Ray Mendoza, gave us this noticeably authentic war film in 2025, basing it on the experiences of those who were actually there and the feature proves itself to be a powerful and technically proficient film, starting off by showing the “mundanities” of warfare as we see the soldiers simply waiting (much like the opening of Once Upon a Time in the West, it’s a sequence about boredom that isn’t at all boring), before all hell breaks loose and the guys face a nightmarish, seemingly inescapable ordeal; the main cast is great, the sound design is excellent, and it’s surely far more accurate than your average war film.

5. A Real Pain (2024)

A simple, yet effective, film about two cousins reconnecting and learning about their family history whilst travelling through Poland, A Real Pain is a particularly easy film to watch and get absorbed in and the main reasons for its appeal lie in both Jesse Eisenberg’s award winning script – one that’s both effectively humorous, as well as being thoughtful and meaningful – and the acting talents of Kieran Culkin, whose Benji can be a loveable livewire of a human, lighting up any room he enters, but who also clearly harbours some hidden pain.

4. Nosferatu (2024)

Remaking a highly acclaimed and iconic horror feature is a tricky business (get it wrong and you’re in a whole heap of trouble) but cinema audiences had nothing to fear this year because the ever reliable and talented Robert Eggers is the man behind this particular adaptation and under his understanding and proficient writing and directing, this version of Nosferatu is very impressive indeed.

It’s technically very brilliant, with the deliciously gothic atmosphere and overt eroticism given to us so very effectively, and leading actors like Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Willem Dafoe and Lily Rose-Depp shine so very brightly, especially the latter who commits to the physicality of the role so very wonderfully.

3. Sinners (2025)

Arguably the most critically acclaimed and popular horror feature of 2025, Ryan Coogler’s Sinners succeeds because it excels in its task of being a genuinely good vampiric horror feature, confidently delivering on the fright, tension and intrigue, but the film will surely be most remembered and praised for its clear love of music, making use of frequent collaborator Ludwig Göransson’s accomplished score/songs, as well as a certain musical sequence that I know has impressed so many cinephiles. Performances are also on point, especially the winning appearances of Hailee Steinfeld, Jack O’Connell, and, of course, the dual performances from Michael B. Jordan. You know, him with the HUGE biceps!

2. I Swear (2025)

In the wrong hands, a film about a young man struggling with Tourette Syndrome could be overly sentimental and manipulative, but thankfully, that’s not the case here because Kirk Jones’ film is genuinely affecting and it’s even remarkably tense and uncomfortable in those (early) moments where we’re just waiting for the inevitable outburst and when it arrives, it really is such a shock and, thanks to the admirable writing and the performances of both Robert Aramayo and the younger Scott Ellis Watson, the audience just can’t help but feel deeply for the main protagonist.

This film’s intention is clear – to shine a light on Tourette Syndrome – and in this regard, it really succeeds because I Swear is a lovely film with genuine heart and humour, tense and uncomfortable when it needs to be, but also winningly lighthearted and funny plenty of times throughout.

The biggest compliment that I could pay the film is that it made me smile quite a bit and at the conclusion, I even felt the urge to cry a little!

1. One Battle After Another (2025)

I’m going to start by being honest and say that in general, I’m not one of those who gets instantly excited at the thought of a new Paul Thomas Anderson film, having been underwhelmed by the relatively recent Licorice Pizza, though obviously recognising the greats such as Boogie Nights and Phantom Thread, but with One Battle, Anderson has delivered another mighty cinematic feature and it succeeds because of its mature and continuously compelling plot, which sees a former revolutionary strive to rescue his daughter from a vindictive Colonel, making such an impact when it sends its message about those worrying right wing shadow organisations that wield too much power, and the cinematography and Anderson regular Jonny Greenwood’s score are undeniably top tier.

The film is also notable for its mighty cast and, shining a light on a few, Leonardo Dicaprio is almost guaranteed an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the addled, perpetually dressing gown-clad protagonist and Sean Penn may also be in with a chance at the awards for portraying the vile and intimidating racist Colonel so very memorably. Elsewhere, Benicio Del Toro is a memorable side character and actors like Teyana Taylor and relative newcomer Chase Infiniti confidently shine as bright as the bigger stars of the feature.