2025 Ranked - Here's the top ten from the list of films I watched that were released in Irish cinemas or on VOD in 2025 (...well Dec 2024 to Dec 2025) or also appeared in film festivals
Full list over on:
Letterboxd
The Year in Stats
10. Black Bag - dir. Steven Soderbergh ★★★½
While the latest Soderbergh may be a bit more style over substance, just maybe, it's full of actors I enjoy watching (shout out to Tom Burke) so I went with it.
9. I'm Still Here ('Ainda Estou Aqui') - dir. Walter Salles ★★★½
Featuring an incredible central performance from Fernanda Torres, whose character deals with the fallout when her former politician husband who disappears, after being interviewed by the military police.
8. Friendship - dir. Andrew DeYoung ★★★½
On reflection, probably a bit of a mess but I was laughing for most of it to be fair and I'll watch Tim Robinson do his thing any time, day or night. The film deals with a guy who struggles to make friends who gets enamoured with his new neighbour, played by Paul Rudd.
7. The Ballad of Wallis Island - dir. Jamie Griffiths ★★★½
Unlike Mickey 17, this film had the right amount of Tim Key. Heartwarming, low budget comedy that has the right balance of heart and, most importantly, laughs.
6. A Real Pain - dir. Jesse Eisenberg ★★★½
A road movie that deals with two cousins who re-unite in order to honour their grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, by touring Poland. Both leads are fantastic and manage to smooth over changes in tone, which isn't easy.
5. Hard Truths - dir. Mike Leigh ★★★★
Marianne Jean-Baptiste plays a woman so full of rage that the people around her struggle to cope. Not just the 'Modern Life is Rubbish' film I thought I was signing up for, the film deals with some heavy feelings, so the title is very apt.
4. The Phoenician Scheme - dir. Wes Anderson ★★★★
Whatever people say about how his style grates, I'm still very much on board and his latest has plenty of fun moments. Never change Wes.
3. Bugonia - dir. Yorgos Lanthimos ★★★★
Two conspiracy obsessed men kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company, convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth. Great work all round from everyone, plenty of laughs, held my attention for the full running time
2. Weapons - dir. Zach Cregger ★★★★
A film that deals with a mass disappearance of children, in fact everyone from one class except one child, leaves a community struggling to figure out what happened. Now this will divide a lot of people, the framing device is the only thing I wasn't sure about to be honest, but in the end I just enjoyed the so many great memorable bits and scenes.
DRUM ROLL:
1. One Battle After Another - dir. Paul Thomas Anderson ★★★★★
PTA does it again, after not really liking 'Licorice Pizza' that much, this was way more my cup of tea. He's doing Pynchon again, great. Everyone on screen looks like they're loving every second and I must admit I thought the rest of the film was going to struggle to match the opening half hour or so, but boy does it. Mix of great cinematic scenes and great character work, five stars all the way