It’s been a long road this cinematic year, yes, I know it’s not over yet, but It’s time for my year in cinema. The films I have seen in 2025
Nosferatu-Dark gothic take that is both scary and thoughtful. A good job well done
We Live In Time- A surprise. The second-best British film about a couple this year
Alba Rose – A great little movie about loss with a subtle lead performance from Nicola Wright
Luther Never Too Much-A must if, like me, you are a fan of Mr Vandross
Nightbitch- A bit more miss than hit but a original ideas are worth celebrating
Hard Truths – Spot on and timely performance from Marianne Jean- Baptiste. Mike Leigh does it again
Captain America Brave New World – Entertaining fluff. Perhaps it’s a franchise film too far though
The Monkey – I liked it. Very much a retro feel to this tight horror
Maxxxine – The last instalment in the trilogy. Aspires to All About Eve status
Mickey 17 – Disappointing from the great Bong Joon-ho. A blemish on his career
Black Bag – The best British Couples movie of the year. Compelling with uniformally good performances
Alto Knights – Not sure why it needed the multiple roles gimmick. Fell short of the qualities the leads possess
Thunderbolts – The other Marvel team take a bow. Hokum, but fun
Drop – High concept, well executed
Sinners- Strong shout for film of the year. Singular horror gangster noir from Ryan Cooglar
Mission : Impossible The Final Reckoning – A worthy send-off that ties up a lot of loose ends and proves again that nobody is better at being Tom Cruise than Tom Cruise
28 Years Later – Great, great sequel. Enthralling and elegiac at the same time
The Ballad Of Wallis Island – A gem of a film that should have had more coverage
Hot Milk -Excellent film that uses the old trope of ‘quirky non-conformist meets ordinary girl’ with fresh breath
Superman – Enjoyable and for once we don’t have to go through the whole origin thing. For fans of Silver Age Superman and All-Star Superman this is essential viewing. Great supporting cast of heroes by the way
Fantastic Four: First Steps – Tough one for me. My favourite comic becomes flesh for the fourth time, so expectations were high. Superb retro design underpins a story of family with a light touch Let’s see where this goes
Friendship – An odd couple dark comedy that is well worth your time
Weapons – Originality again and a sense of dread pervades this film that packs a punch
The Life Of Chuck – Left me feeling “is that all there is”
The Last Showgirl - Pamela Anderson is fantastic in this story of faded glamour and parenthood
The Roses – This, for me is the worst film that I have seen this year. The two leads give the expectation that one is about to see something special, but it’s far from it. It’s impossible to feel anything about its cast of characters and the moribund story. Hard to know what went wrong. I would imagine ‘everything’
Highest 2 Lowest – Spike Lee returns with another solid performance from Denzel Washington. Doesn’t reach the heights of Lee’s best work but still very watchable
Companion – The perils of AI made real. Unusual to see humans stalking a robot, and that robot has more soul than the humans involved.
Chungking Express – An Oldie but Goldie. Could have been made yesterday. Loved seeing it again on the big screen. Outstanding
The Long Walk -Very good Stephen King adaptation, that has some similar themes to Stand By Me
Presence – Strangely unemotional but a one-off experience that leaves you guessing
One Battle After Another – Film of the year. Paul Thomas Anderson gives us his usual excellence in storytelling, pacing and emotional intelligence and as for the car chase; wow!
A House Of Dynamite – Outstanding from Kathryn Bigelow. A premise and delivery of that premise that is exceptional
Bugonia – Strong performance from Emma Stone in a wonderful film that, like most of Lathinos’ work is unique.
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