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A Year in Review: The Best, Worst, and Favorite First Watches from 2025


The statistics are in for 2025's first-time watches! There were 204 feature films (including 2 TV movies), 79 short subjects, 2 TV episodes isolated from their series, and a singular comedy special (Richard Pryor, in case you were curious).


We started with 1932's Shopworn and ended with the 1966 short Qolga. There were eight national film industries that I got my first taste of in 2025. Seventeen first-time watches received my highest rating distinction (4 stars) and 45 first-time watches received my lowest rating distinction (a dollar sign crossed out signifying that it was Worthless). There was one film re-evaluated this year, A Bigger Splash (1973), which regressed from 2 stars to Worthless. The shortest short watched this year for the first time was Roundhay Garden Scene (1888), which is approximately 2.65 seconds long. (And for any interested cinemaniac, this is the oldest existing cinematic work that meets the established technological distinction of what constitutes a film.) On the other end of the time spectrum, the longest film watched for the first time was Crude Oil (2008), a Chinese documentary that tops out at a runtime of 14 hours. (For those interested, this is the second longest film I've ever seen. The only work beating it is the near 15-hour theatrical cut of Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980).) Roundhay Garden Scene would obviously be the oldest film I saw for the first time in 2025. Meanwhile, there were four 2025 releases I watched last year: Sly Lives! (AKA The Burden of Black Genius), Ocean with David Attenborough, K-Pop Demon Hunters, & My Mom Jayne.


What follows are the rankings of the 20 best first-time watches from the past year, the 20 worst, my personal 10 favorite viewings, a smattering of guilty pleasures, and a spotlight for the national film industries that introduced themselves to me. As a little side note, some of the titles will have blurbs attached with their first appearance on one of the following lists, depending on if there's any timing significance with them or if I had any written correspondence about the films with family and friends.

(Apologies for some formatting inconsistencies below. A few list headers had impossible to remove indentations 🙃)

The 20 Best Films Watched in 2025:

  1. Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus (2023)

    1. It's a concert documentary. Ryuichi Sakamoto was the first Japanese composer to win an Oscar. Six months before he succumbed to cancer, his son filmed him performing 20 of his most noteworthy compositions. The camera glides around Sakamoto while he pours all his passion and focus into his grand piano, pausing only to retune [sic] the piano and collect himself when he overexerts his dwindling strength and energy. Featuring silky black & white cinematography, it is the most beautifully shot and intimate documentary I've ever seen.

  2. Long Line of Ladies (2022) (short)

    1. This was the last great cinematic work I watched in 2025

  3. Anatomy of a Fall (2023)

  4. Bayard & Me (2017) (short)

  5. Supermarket Woman (1996)

  6. Seven Chances (1925)

    1. Rather strangely, Keaton hated this one more than any other film he made. He felt that the only thing that saved it from being completely deplorable was the avalanche scene at the end.

    2. I feel that it is his funniest film, increasing in its humor as the deadline he's chasing gets closer and closer... The supporting acting in it is incredibly strong and the deepening descent into absurdity as he tries to make it to his beloved's house before the clock chimes seven times is brilliantly developed.

    3. It's also a quick feature, running just under 57 minutes. The General (1927) is definitely his masterpiece from a filmmaking and storytelling perspective, but Seven Chances surpasses The Cameraman (1928) as his premiere comedic effort... even if he was displeased with it once filming wrapped up.

  7. The Killer (1989)

  8. Free Solo (2018)

  9. Hummingbirds (2023)

  10. Another Hayride (2021) (short)

  11. A Sammy in Siberia (1919) (short)

  12. Hard Boiled (1992)

    1. Insanely action-packed and intense, it's like if Die Hard (1988), [the] Infernal Affairs [trilogy], The Towering Inferno (1974), and the Police Story trilogy, were all wrapped into one. It was also [John] Woo's final film before relocating to Hollywood.

  13. Sly Lives! (AKA The Burden of Black Genius) (2025)

  14. Everybody's Watching (2024) (short)

  15. The Cat Concerto (1947) (short)

  16. Elmer Gantry (1960)

    1. [Burt] Lancaster and [Shirley] Jones both deserved their Oscars. Jean Simmons, Arthur Kennedy, and Dean Jagger all should have received nominations but didn't. The only real knock against [it] is it has the worst score of any great film I've ever seen.

  17. The Original Kings of Comedy (2000)

    1. This was the first great cinematic work I watched in 2025

  18. Sugarcane (2024 -- 3.5 stars)

  19. Tomboy (2011 -- 3.5 stars)

    1. Throughout the entirety of this film, all I could think was that this was a Dardennes' feature, just with the welcomed additions of sentimentality and subtle comedic elements.

  20. The Full Monty (1997 -- 3.5 stars)


The 20 Worst Films Watched in 2025:

  1. Two Sons and a River of Blood (2021) (short)

  2. Do You Know Kotsuni? (1979)

  3. Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a Woman (1973)

  4. Ydessa, les Ours et etc... (2004) (short)

  5. Puppets Under Starry Skies (1978)

  6. Riki-Oh: The Story of Ricky (1992)

    1. Released in Japan in 1991, but didn't receive its release in Hong Kong (its production nation) until the following year, hence the 1992 listing

  7. ping pong ping pong ping pong ping pong ping pong (2024) (short)

  8. The Check Is in the Mail (1986)

  9. The Guitar Mongoloid (2004)

  10. Khandhar (1984)

    1. While a truly awful, meandering picture, it does feature one of my favorite film quotes: "I have many promises to keep and miles to go before I sleep"

  11. at the bamboo green (2024) (short)

  12. Numéro Deux (1975)

  13. Xiao Shan Going Home (1995)

  14. The Tiger Moth (1965)

    1. It is a mess... Some direction of focus or investment by the lead could have helped, but it was a heaping supply of film noir ennui instead. It felt like the actor himself knew that it wasn't a good script, so he coasted through it with minimal effort and a disaffected face.

  15. The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (1972)

  16. Crimes of the Future (1970)

  17. Fata Morgana (1971)

  18. The Beast (2024)

  19. Señoritas (2013)

  20. Heroes Shed No Tears (1986)

    1. While it was completed in 1984, Heroes Shed No Tears was initially shelved by its production company Golden Harvest. It only received a theatrical release in its production nation of Hong Kong following the success of director John Woo's film A Better Tomorrow (1986) two years later. Woo has gone on record stating that he has never sat through the final cut of Heroes Shed No Tears.


My 10 Favorite First-Watches in 2025:

  1. Tucker & Dale vs. Evil (2010)

  2. Dinosaurs: The True Story (2020) (short)

  3. The Girl on the Broomstick (1972)

  4. Ryuichi Sakamoto | Opus (2023)

  5. As Long as You've Got Your Health (1966)

  6. His Royal Slyness (1920) (short)

  7. Once a Thief (1991)

  8. A Sammy in Siberia (1919) (short)

  9. As Tears Go By (1988)

  10. Notes for a "Critofilm" (1966) (short)

A few honorable mentions, in the order I saw them: Chicken for Linda! (2023), Spencer (2021), The Cat Concerto (1947) (short), My One and Only Love (1957), Sahara (1943 -- USA), Sound of the Night (2021) (short), Free Solo (2018), Ocean with David Attenborough (2025), Sam Kinison: Why Did We Laugh? (1999), Supermarket Woman (1996), Seven Chances (1925), Hard Boiled (1992), Qolga (1966) (short)


My Guilty Pleasure Watches in 2025:

These movies are presented in the order I saw them, with the star rating they received listed after their year of release.

  • Daddy Long Legs (1955 - 1.5 stars)

  • The Last Dragon (1985 - 1.5 stars)

  • Mr. Vampire II (1986 - Worthless)

  • Heroes Shed No Tears (1986 - Worthless)

  • Cipher Bureau (1938 - 1.5 Stars)

For me, a guilty pleasure movie must have a star rating of 1.5 or below, as this would signify a film that was below average.

On my rating scale: 1.5 stars = tolerable; 1 star = bad; Worthless = 0 stars


My National Cinema Introductions in 2025:

Dominican Republic-

  • My Mother Resents Me (2019) (short)

Burkina Faso-

  • A Certain Morning (1992) (short)

Latvia-

  • Flow (2024)

Angola-

  • Sambizanga (1972)

    • Technically speaking, the official nation of production for Sambizanga is Portuguese Angola, the State of Angola of the Portuguese Empire. However, this is historically recognized as the first Angolan film, so for the sake of simplicity, I am considering it my first Angolan film. Also, Sambizanga is culturally important in the cinema world, as it holds the distinction of being the first African film directed by a woman.

Lebanon-

  • Warsha (2022) (short)

Cambodia-

  • Sound of the Night (2021) (short)

Tunisia-

  • The Girl from Carthage (1924) (short)

Algeria-

  • Avant Seriana (2024) (short)


And now, a little bonus treat...

Some of the Films on My 2026 First-Watch Docket:

  • Une Femme Douce (1969)

  • Barton Fink (1991)

  • The Crime of Monsieur Lange (1936)

  • The Italian Straw Hat (1928)

  • Blonde Crazy (1931)

  • Heimat (1984)

  • Cheyenne Autumn (1964)

  • The Exiles (1961)

  • Brother Orchid (1940)

  • São Paulo, Sociedad Anônima (1965)

  • The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

  • Unbreakable (2000)

  • Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938)

  • Interiors (1978)

  • Annie Get Your Gun (1950)

  • Typhoon Club (1985)

  • Adventures of Don Juan (1948)

  • The Last Days of Disco (1998)

  • Anthony Adverse (1936)

  • Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

  • Avalon (1990)

  • Paranoid Park (2007)

  • White Christmas (1954)

  • Fresh (1994)

    ...and many, many more



 
 
 

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