Best of 2025: Jonathan Sim’s Top 10 Movies

2025 was yet another year of incredible films. As you read my top ten favorites of the year, you may be surprised. You’ll see picks that you’ll agree with and some that will have you scratching your head. You’re not going to find some of these on any other top 10 list. But that’s the beauty of art—it speaks to us all differently. And this is what spoke to me.

10. Companion

One of the first movies of the year was my biggest pleasant surprise. Sophie Thatcher and Jack Quaid nail this irreverent, hilarious sci-fi thriller of sorts. Perfectly written punchlines make Drew Hancock’s directorial debut not just a captivating story and commentary on toxic relationships, but a hysterical one that knows exactly how to take its premise and use it for maximum punch. It had me belly laughing in some moments and wincing in others.

9. Rosemead

This is a smaller film, but it wound up being one of the most emotionally affecting films I’ve seen all year. Lucy Liu gives the best performance of her career in this tragic true story about a single mother trying to help her son who’s dealing with schizophrenia. She transforms into someone we’ve never seen from her before, and young Lawrence Shou plays the part of her son perfectly. It’s a serious thriller about the risks of what can happen to people dealing with untreated mental health issues, and the challenging situation it puts loved ones in.

8. Tron: Ares

It may not have worked for everyone, but I saw this film three times in theaters, including a showing in 4DX complete with moving chairs. Tron: Ares is perhaps the most fun I’ve had watching a movie in the theater all year. This is a riveting action movie, perfectly constructed for maximum excitement. It takes the world of Tron as we know it and merges it with the real world, which allows for practical stunts and non-stop excitement. The last hour of the film is propulsive, using an in-universe ticking clock as an excuse to slam its foot on the gas and never let up for a second.

7. A Nice Indian Boy

I’m a sucker for a good rom-com, and while this year had some great ones like The Baltimorons and The Threesome, my favorite was this hilarious, heartfelt movie about an Indian doctor who brings his white boyfriend home to his traditional family. It’s not only a beautiful LGBTQ+ story, but it’s about cultural differences, and how with an open mind, understanding can be met between anyone. Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff give great performances in a movie that takes rom-com clichés and updates them just enough.

6. Ballerina

Action movies rarely get the love they deserve during awards season. Sure, you can make the argument that this John Wick spin-off film starring Ana de Armas has a thin story, but sometimes, simplicity works. This is a movie about pure revenge. There aren’t too many narrative twists; we just have a captivating protagonist with one singular goal in mind. Action choreography and stunt coordination are two of the most underrated talents of the film industry, and this movie has some of the best of the 21st century. From ice skates to grenades to plates, everything becomes a weapon in this movie filled to the brim with masterfully crafted fights.

5. Marty Supreme

Josh Safdie and Timothée Chalamet are a match made in heaven here. Chalamet’s best performance of his career lies within this thriller about a table tennis player’s odyssey to reach his big game. Safdie has such an impeccable style, bringing in breakneck pacing and a somewhat detestable protagonist who just can’t seem to catch a break. Those who liked Good Time and Uncut Gems are sure to have enjoyment in this film where Chalamet is playing a selfish, smooth-talking individual constantly pulled in different directions. You don’t quite root for him, but you can’t look away from him.

4. Rental Family

If I had the choice to give Brendan Fraser his well-deserved Oscar for this movie or The Whale, I would choose Rental Family. His work here is better than it has any right to be. This is a smart, emotional story about a struggling actor who takes a gig pretending to be a long-lost father for a young girl. A true connection forms, and the inevitable truth becomes harder to disclose. It’s a sweet, tender tale with an unconventional idea at the center of it.

3. Avatar: Fire and Ash

James Cameron could make 20 more movies in Pandora with Jake Sully and Miles Quaritch battling it out, and I’ll show up every time. With the Avatar franchise, this seasoned filmmaker keeps outdoing himself in scale. It’s such a beautifully constructed world, and even if some have felt like Cameron has repeated himself a bit with this franchise, he’s constructing some of the most gorgeous action set pieces that you can witness on the big screen. Perhaps my favorite Avatar movie yet—this movie goes bigger and better than we’ve ever seen while keeping its emotional core at the center.

2. The Shadow’s Edge

One of the most incredible action icons in cinematic history is Jackie Chan. American audiences know him for his work in Rush Hour and The Karate Kid, but you have not lived until you’ve seen him in his prime as a younger man in movies from Police Story to Drunken Master. I thought he’d reached his peak many years ago, but I was so happy to be proven wrong. This film brings in more than just harder-edged violent Jackie Chan action; we have suspenseful sequences and a magnificent villain played by Tony Leung Ka-fai. This movie gives you everything you want and more from an action film.

1. The Long Walk

Every time I watch a new movie, I take notes on my thoughts, and usually, they’re a mix of positives and negatives. When I watched The Long Walk, I wrote nothing but positives in my notebook. I don’t have a single negative thing to say about Francis Lawrence’s harrowing adaptation of a Stephen King novel. A simple premise about characters who must keep walking or they die. The characters never get a chance to breathe; they are always in so much danger and that makes this the most haunting experience of the year, especially as they begin to form friendships with an inevitable end.

Source: Comingsoon.net