You Should Also Watch - 2025
The second edition of my mid-year check-in post.
It's been a strange movie year thus far. The first half of the calendar is always a bit slow, as distributors tend to hold their big stuff for summer and/or awards season. Usually, there's a ton of buzz out of the festivals, but Sundance only seems to have boosted Together, and none of the Cannes movies feel poised to do as well as Anora. With the almost universally agreed upon exception of the near-perfect Sinners (and to a lesser degree 28 Years Later), the best have all been either fallen short of high expectations, or been very divisive.
It's started to pick up a bit in the last few weeks, and the rest of the calendar includes some hotly anticipated films from the likes of Paul Thomas Anderson and Yorgos Lanthimos and more. As such, I'm even more confident that all nine of the movies on this list will fall entirely off by the end of the year. They're all quite good, but most have already fallen out of the conversation, if they were ever present. They're defined by a quality execution of their idea, it's just that their ideas don't lead to anything particularly inventive. Their scripts are mostly good, but the cinematography or performances is what made them stand out. Which is to say all of them are missing an ingredient or two. Hence why they're here.
As a reminder, the premise of this list is to highlight the best films of the first six months of the year which I don't think will make my year-end best of list. I think they deserve a bit more notice beyond my initial review, but I don't anticipate having another opportunity. So instead of the more common mid-year best of list, this is essentially what I expect will be 2025's second tier films.
Let's get to it, shall we?
15. Armand
Full Review (Pop Culture Maniacs)
It's odd that none of Renate Reinsve's follow ups to her breakout performance in The Worst Person in the World have been noticed. Especially since this one in particular is such a showcase for her talents.
Reinsve is a mother whose young child was accused of sexually assaulting another boy at school, and now the parents and school administrators are meeting to discuss it. Only, none of them are comfortable talking about it, leading to an incredible bungling of the situation. Almost everything they say or do makes the situation worse, and elements from their pasts emerge to make that all the more complicated.
It reminds me of Thomas Vinterberg's 2012 film The Hunt; the subject matter is difficult and upsetting, it's slow and talky, and ends well but not cleanly. This isn't quite as confident as that earlier film, but it's bold and insightful regardless.
Available on AMC+ and VOD.
14. Bonjour Tristesse
This is one of those films I heard about on the day I went to see it. It got no buzz, and the only person involved who's recognizable to American audiences is Chloë Sevigny. But I'm so glad I did.
It's the kind of debut I love to see: one which displays immense confidence, letting shots linger to deepen their power, leaning heavily on its dialogue and actor reactions to tell the story. This is a slow, slow build, like the drawing of a bow string. You can feel it ratcheting up, even though you've no idea how it will possibly be released. It's thrilling. And meanwhile, each conversation is beautiful and poetic, ranging from life and philosophy to school and sex. Spending time with this family is a wonderful, cool summer breeze, with just a whiff of the coming tide implying all is not well.
Available on VOD.
13. Bring Them Down
Full Review (Pop Culture Maniacs)
A film starring Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott should have made a bigger splash. Granted, the resolution to their conflict is a bit underwhelming, hence its current position on my list. But watching it develop, experiencing both sides of the row in such a deep way which inevitably evokes at least some empathy, is enthralling. It's helps that both men are firing on all cylinders, even if it's neither's best performance.
It's a tale of two shepherds in modern-day Ireland. One is the scion of a family who produces the most highly sought after sheep in the area. The other is struggling shepherd, a gruff man who's raised a son who fancies himself a tough guy. Of course, it's his son who incites the mess in the name of helping out his dad. And the resulting tit for tat threatens to consume them all.
Available on MUBI and VOD.
12. Fucktoys
From the moment the curtain rises on AP receiving a tarot reading from Big Freedia in the middle of a swamp until just before the reality of their journey crashes in on them in the climax, I was laughing constantly. From sign gags to quick wit to editing jokes to clever compositions, there's an infectious energy throughout, driven home by its setting in a world that's just next to our own (specifically, in Trashtown). The story is silly and endearing, with its stated animating force more of a plot device to place its protagonists in increasingly wild situations and see how they react. All the while, they're figuring out who they are and what in the world they're to do with their lives.
It's rare to see cinematography this strong in a directorial debut. Same for dialog so confident and snappy and a plot so freshly told. Sure, its general structure is somewhat familiar. But the execution is outstanding, filling in scenes with details that are humorous, insightful on multiple levels, and contribute to character development. Such dedication to impressionistic storytelling is rare amongst established voices, never mind a brand new one. Annapurna Sriram is an undeniable talent to watch.
11. Mickey 17
It was always going to be impossible to craft a satisfying follow up a movie as universally adored as Parasite. But a disappointing Bong Joon-Ho film is still a fantastic movie-going experience.
It continues his recent trend of deeply satirical explorations of capitalism, mixing in a more direct critique of bumbling yet destructive fascists than his previous works. Pattinson is as game as ever, hurling himself into his dual lead role, delightfully performing a bunch of physical comedy. It lacks the sharp edge and careful control that's so enchanting in his Korean-language films, but has a bunch to say regardless.
Available on (HBO) Max and VOD.
10. September 5
A film which both came out at exactly the right and exactly the wrong time. Its premise destined it to get tangled up in current events, even more so as it endeavors to show the ways in which traditional media can struggle to properly cover complicated major issues. It's thrilling to watch them start to figure it out, and gutting to see the results of their numerous failures. The performances are outstanding, driving home the ways in which competence cannot save you when lack of specific experience and fall victim to perverse incentives.
It's frustrating to see so many people dismiss this as propaganda simply because it doesn't explain the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to that point. We spend the whole movie with a team of sportscasters, so why would you expect them to know the ins and outs?
Available on Prime, Paramount+, and VOD.
9. Presence
While its more experimental approach is a crucial part of the film and its approach to storytelling, it would be reductive to say that's all it has going for it. There's a small but compelling mystery at its core (both for the characters and the audience), but the family drama swirling around the disembodied camera is what holds everything together. As we're only getting little snippets here and there, we don't fully figure out what's going on with everyone, but we get enough to emotionally understand, which is both all we need and true to our everyday experience.
Well over thirty years and thirty movies into his career, Soderbergh remains playful and excited about filmmaking as ever, willing just try stuff. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's always interesting.
Available on Hulu and VOD.
8. I'm Still Here
After hearing about Walter Salles' latest throughout awards season, I was skeptical of its ability to live up to the hype. Fernanda Torres' performance in particular was talked up so much, even floated as a possible Oscar winner, making it all the more frustrating how long we had to wait for it to get a wide release. It finally did in January, which is why it qualifies for this list. And somehow, against all odds, it was not a let down. I didn't quite find it as towering as I'd been led to expect, but it left quite an impression nonetheless.
It's a story set as the Brazilian military dictatorship deepens, and follows a family whose lives are forever changed by its extralegal activities. After spending half the movie getting to know the Paiva family, patriarch Reubens is inevitably whisked away in a quietly heartbreaking scene due to his associations. The movie switches perspectives to Eunice, desperate to force the military to give up his whereabouts, while somehow holding her family together, and softening the reveal to her youngest children that their father is never coming home.
That it released mere weeks before our own strongman was sworn into office, landing in a climate of fearful anticipation, made it hit even harder. His immediate intensification of ICE activity and recent deployments of the National Guard will render future viewings even more scarily relevant.
Available on Netflix and VOD.
7. Materialists
What if romantic chemistry was just math? Strip away all the messiness of "falling in love" or "attraction", instead focusing on your own market value and finding someone who checks all your boxes. It's impersonal, sure, but marriage has long been a social ceremony for cementing business relationships and securing social/economic status. "Love" only became the driving factor relatively recently, so Lucy believes in sorting everything else out and letting love develop later.
It's an approach that makes for a strange and uncomfortable tone, so it takes a few scenes for viewer to lock in. But once you do, you'll find a lot about modern dating, the stresses of relationships, the importance of listening to your instincts, and the damage done by trying to Moneyball every element of our daily lives. It successfully navigates some incredibly dry humor and a handful of sharp emotional gut punches. Yes, it overstays its welcome, passing by a few far more impactful endings. But even that can only ding such an engaging tale.
Currently in theaters.
Best of the Year So Far
If you're interested in my full ranking, you can see that on Letterboxd. But the top five, which I'm confident will end up on my year end list, are: