I'm late on this but it's something I've been thinking about a lot and wanting to record.
First, three honorable mentions: Superman, Fantastic Four: First Steps and Thunderbolts*. All were good and competent after we have had some superhero slop in the last few years. Nothing stood out so much as to make my list, but I was happy to have some good entries in a tired genre.
The list:
15) Warfare (HBO Max)
This is the most realistic depiction of war that I've ever seen. It doesn't really take sides. It just shows combat and a group of soldiers trying to survive, while also seeing the destruction and senselessness that their mere presence brings to another culture. I am very aware of the "destroying your homeland made us sad" trope of American war films and this definitely has that so the movie is a bit problematic in that it seems to want to be anti-war while praising the soldiers as heroes in a way that doesn't really sit right. But I still found the film affecting.
14) The Naked Gun (Prime)
This isn't my thing, at all. I generally don't like spoof movies like this, but I went and saw it with a crowd on opening night and I found a lot of it very funny. It was also nice to see a sequel comedy that told its own jokes, rather than trying to rehash other jokes from the series.
13) Mr. Nobody Against Putin (Hoopla)
The lone documentary on my list, this follows a schoolteacher that is forced to turn his school into a recruiting center and his skills as a videographer into propaganda. Instead, he uses the opportunity to get unparalleled access to Russian corruption and expose the lies of the regime as he tries to escape the country.
12) Black Bag (Prime)
Steven Soderberg is just a hyper competent director and he's a chameleon in that he can work in pretty much any style. This is a relatively short, simple, small thriller about spies who are married and the secrets they must keep between themselves and their friends.
11) 28 Years Later (Netflix)
Expanding on the zombie lore, this is an interesting film that actually has something to say. It has zigs and zags that feel out of place but become more clear as you watch the sequel that came out in 2026.
10) Predator: Badlands (Hulu, Disney+)
I really appreciate sequels that do their own thing and add to lore. This absolutely does. It breaks the Predator formula and puts you in the shoes of the creature, on a mission in a dangerous world. It's a big swing with a lighter, more fun tone. It works and I love that it isn't just rehashing old ideas.
9) Wake Up Dead Man (Netflix)
The third Knives Out movie, this centers on a priest's involvement in a murder. It's clever, funny, but also profound in how it treats a messenger of God and his attempt to speak to his flock.
F1 (AppleTV)
This is a pretty standard movie that doesn't go crazy to stray from the sports underdog story. However, the racing itself is top notch and the craft of the filmmaking is S tier. It's an entertaining movie that stars attractive, wealthy people doing cool stuff. And the racing scenes are super cool. It really captures the speed of F1.
7) Weapons (HBO Max)
This was a pretty big year for horror and Weapons is the closest thing to a traditional, classic horror movie. It has one of my favorite shots of the year featuring a fixed camera in a car and several very inventive, already iconic scenes and characters. The one witch character is an all-timer. Freaky and cool.
6) Train Dreams (Netflix)
This is a small, slow film about a lumberjack coming into the new century. It is a profound look at a simple, well-lived life being enough. This was quite moving, beautiful, and really surprised me.
5) Sinners (HBO Max)
Part The Color Purple, part vampire movie, part musical -- this has legitimately one of the best scenes of all-time, when the music is letting us peek through time -- when I was watching it, I remember thinking in the theater that it would be something we talk about forever.
4) Bugonia (Netflix)
Jesse Plemons plays a conspiracy theorist convinced that powerful CEO Emma Stone is an alien involved in the death of his mother, so he gets his slow-witted cousin to help kidnap her to get answers. This movie goes places and I'm glad it got nominated for awards because I would have missed it otherwise.
3) Marty Supreme (HBO Max)
In the spirit of Uncut Gems, Timothy Chalomet plays a true asshole, robbing Peter to pay Paul, all with the cocky intent of being the best ping pong player in the world. This movie is unpredictable from scene to scene. The next sequence could be on the moon, so it's impossible to get ahead of and I love that. Also, the casting is super notable as it puts all kinds of people in roles that you wouldn't expect, and they deliver.
2) One Battle After Another (HBO Max)
This is probably the best film of the year, in terms of an actual narrative and craft, with something to say. Leonardo Dicaprio plays a far-left militant in Bush-era America who is forced to go into hiding to raise his daughter, emerging in the present day after getting sniffed out. Another film that could go anywhere from scene to scene, you can't get ahead of it. Also, it features one of the most inventive chase sequences I've ever seen, a star-turn by Chase Infinity and an unhinged performance by Sean Penn. Also, the tone is quite funny, despite being really intense. The tone is spot-on.
1) Companion (HBO Max)
This was my favorite film of the year, with a bullet. I recommend knowing as little as possible before going in because some of the twists had me falling out of my chair. It's one of those movies where scenes mean different things upon multiple watches and I always love that. I can't recommend it enough and also, it's just enjoyable and short and not a slog to digest.
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