Vic’s Top 20 Films of 2025 - a magical year at the cinema
For me, 2025 was a terrific year for film-watching, not least because I watched far more films than in any of the past ten years, having viewed over 80 films released in 2025 (including film-festival films that won’t be released until this year). The overall quality of those films was exceptional (I don’t believe I have ever awarded four stars to thirteen films in one year), thus making it necessary to do a top-20 list this year. Last year, I wrote a very long introduction to my top-films list due to the ‘revelation’ that I seem to appreciate darker films far more than lighter films. Perhaps that revelation contributed to the even bigger revelation I experienced in 2025 (with Walter’s help), namely that I seem to watch films primarily with the right hemisphere of my brain. This helps to explain why so many of my favourite films over the years are not critically acclaimed and why some critically-acclaimed films (e.g. 2025’s One Battle After Another ) don’t make it on my list at all. I...
