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Kristopowitz’s Top 10 Movies of 2025 (#10 – 6)
Image Credit: Jessica Miglio
The Top 10 Movies of 2025 Part 1: #10-6
It’s that time of year again, when internets writers the world over put together their “Best Movies of 2025” lists, and I’ve decided to make absolutely sure I do one for 2025 as I forgot to do one for 2024 (the best movie of 2024, according to me, for the record, was the horror comedy Crust followed closely by the awesome Jason Statham action vehicle The Beekeeper). And, so that’s what this is, the first part of a two part breakdown of what I think are the ten best movies of 2025. The first part will deal with spots #10 through #6, and then the second part of the list will deal with spots #5 through #1. Now, I didn’t see every movie that came out, but I did see a good mix of theatrical releases, direct-to-video/video on demand/streaming releases, and some film festival movies, and that is what the list will be made up of. There will be no honorable mentions.
And so, without any further what have you, what made spots 10 through 6 on my Top 10 Movies of 2025 list?
The Top 10 Movies of 2025 Part 1: #10-6
10. Superman: Easily one of the, if not the, most anticipated movies of the 2025 summer movie season, the James Gunn directed Superman movie turned out better than I thought it would. While I generally enjoyed Gunn’s three Guardians of the Galaxy movies, I didn’t care for his The Suicide Squad at all, and I really didn’t know what to expect going into Superman. Would the movie deliver on the sort of heartfelt corniness present in the various trailers that led up to its release, or would Superman directed by James Gunn be more hip and edgy and cynical somehow? Thankfully, Superman directed by James Gunn delivered on the corniness, and was a funny, colorful romp. David Corenswet does a great job as both Superman and Clark Kent, Rachel Bronsnahan is fantastic as Lois Lane, and Nicholas Hoult is brilliantly despicable as Lex Luthor (Hoult really leans in on making Luthor a piece of shit, which is perfect for the sort of movie Gunn made). And Nathan Fillion, Ed Gathegi, and Isabella Merced all do fine jobs as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Mr. Terrific, and Hawkgirl. Now, is the movie way too convoluted for its own good? Yes. There’s a lot that the movie has to deal with and set up for the “new” DC movie universe, and I’m not entirely sure it’s completely successful doing that. Some characters don’t get to do all that much, like Wendell Pierce’s newspaper boss Perry White, and most everyone else outside of Superman, Lane, and Luthor seem to be in the movie solely to set up whatever else is upcoming in the “new” DC movie universe. At least Superman’s dog, Krypto, is cool. The CGI heavy action mostly works, and I’m a big fan of how Superman doesn’t look all dark and depressing (the superhero movie world could use a few more “colorful” superheroes). Overall, Superman mostly worked, and that’s cool. I’m very curious to see the new Supergirl movie that’s next, and then whatever else happens after that. Will the “new” DC movie universe be as engaging as the Marvel Cinematic Universe was when it started?
9. Dead White & Blue: I saw this brilliantly bizarre comedy at the Amazing Fantasy Fest this past September. Written and directed by Mike Davis, Dead White & Blue is a “green movie,” meaning writer/director Davis created a movie out of footage from public domain movies, stock footage, and, specifically for Dead White & Blue, FBI and U.S military recruitment films. Davis then added in various voices from a team of voice actors to create the Dead White & Blue story. Making a movie like this probably shouldn’t work, but Davis and company manage to create a comedy that has to be seen to be believed. Basically, the movie is about an FBI agent that has to team up with the US Army to take on the Ku Klux Klan in Atlanta, Georgia, after the KKK gets its hands on a new technology that allows them to shrink themselves down to microscopic size. The KKK wants to use this technology to retrieve a bullet from a dead Black man that was killed by racist cops. That, essentially, is the Dead White & Blue story. While the movie would probably be more successful if it was about ten minutes shorter (I think this “green movie” concept works best the shorter and tighter the movie), Dead White & Blue is very funny, chock full of jokes that come quick and nasty, as well as sharp political commentary concerning the world that we currently live in. The various bits of footage used are fascinating all by themselves, especially what appears to be FBI guidance on how to properly deal with a crime scene and an autopsy. And it really, really, really looks like Robert Prosky is portraying the head of the Ku Klux Klan (and if that isn’t Robert Prosky, man, that guy really looks like him). Dead White & Blue is the third “green movie” Davis has made, according to his IMDb page. I can’t wait to see the other two, and then whatever “green movie” he wants to do next. I’m sure it will rock. Dead White & Blue, as far as I know, is still making the film festival rounds, so be on the lookout for it there (I’m sure that it will eventually appear on home video or on a streamer of some sort). You really do have to see Dead White & Blue. You really do.
8. A Working Man: This Jason Statham led action flick, directed by David Ayer, with a script co-written by Ayer and Sylvester Stallone and based on a book series by Chuck Dixon, is exactly the sort of action star driven action flick that we used to get all of the time theatrically back in the day. Statham is a retired/former British Special Forces badass turned construction worker that gets back into the ass kicking business when the daughter of his boss is kidnapped. In the process of trying to find the kidnapped girl, Statham’s Levon Cade takes on various criminal gangs, mows down bad guy after bad guy, and eventually rescues the kidnapped girl. For whatever reason, A Working Man doesn’t end with Statham’s Cade taking on the main bad guy in a final fight of some sort, it just sort of peters out, but up until the final quarter or so it’s beyond awesome. Statham knows exactly how to play Cade, both in terms of the copious action moments as well as the “quiet” moments where we find out about his daughter and somewhat messy personal life (I assume we’ll find out more about this stuff if we ever get a sequel). And director Ayer, as we saw in his previous collaboration with Statham The Beekeeper, knows how to stage a down and dirty action sequence (A Working Man is full of them). I just wish the last quarter of the movie was better. Still, A Working Man is a fine action flick featuring one of the last real deal action stars working in movies that get actual theatrical releases. Definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of Statham, Ayer, or well-made action flicks.
7. Beth + Jeremy and Steve: Written and directed by Daniel Hill, Beth + Jeremy and Steve is an often hilarious dark comedy about three incredibly flawed people that find themselves in a strange and messy relationship. First there’s Jeremy (Lucas Friedman), a 17-year old high school kid that is unsure of himself after breaking up with his girlfriend. What the heck happened? Why don’t things work out for him? Next, there’s Beth (Briana Ratterman), an unhappy 35 year old married woman who hates her job, hates her husband, and just hates her life in general. What the hell happened to her life? And finally there’s Steve (Matthew Dibiasio), Beth’s husband, who has no idea why his wife is unhappy, think she’s cheating on him, and constantly comes off as a belligerent jerk. But was Steve always like that? What the heck happened to him? Beth meets Jeremy in a record store one day, they hit it off, and they start seeing one another. Steve eventually finds out that Beth is hanging out with Jeremy, and Steve threatens to expose that relationship to Jeremy’s family if Jeremy doesn’t stop seeing Beth. On one hand, the relationship between Jeremy and Beth is kind of gross, as she’s 35 and he’s 17. What the hell is Beth, a grown woman, doing hanging out with a goddamn teenager? As the movie progresses, though, you begin to see and understand why this whole situation happened, and it makes its own sort of sense. The movie, at its core, is all about three very different people who find themselves in a situation that they don’t really know how to respond to, and when they do decide to respond to it, all three of them end up making the wrong decision. Friedman, Ratterman, and Dibiaso are all terrific in their roles, with Dibiaso’s belligerent jerk Steve providing most of the movie’s dark comedy (Dibiaso is hilarious in a very messed up way here). The movie also has a fantastic soundtrack. Beth + Jeremy and Steve is funny, weird, unpredictable, and will make you feel uneasy in multiple ways when it’s over. When was the last time you saw a truly unpredictable comedy of any sort? I loved Beth + Jeremy and Steve.
6. Ballerina: This John Wick spinoff, which takes place between John Wick: Chapter 3: Parabellum (2019) and John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023) and is also known as From the World of John Wick: Ballerina, features a badass female assassin named Eve played by Ana de Armas. We see Eve as a child before she starts training as a ballerina and an assassin, we then see her train as both a ballerina and an assassin, and then we eventually see her seek revenge. Anjelica Huston’s The Director character from Parabellum is part of the story, as is Ian McShane’s Winston, Lance Reddick’s Charron (because you can’t have a John Wick movie of any sort without a stop at The Continental), and even John Wick hisself, Keanu Reeves, shows up to kick some ass. The big bad guy is played by the great Gabriel Byrne, Daniel Bernhardt shows up as a different character than the one he played in the first movie (presumably), and Norman Reedus rocks a shotgun for a bit, which is cool. You’ll read online about how this movie was delayed a year or so, after it was determined that director Len Wiseman’s initial cut of the movie was unacceptable, and franchise mastermind Chad Stahelski was brought in to “fix” the movie by re-shooting most of it, adding more big deal action moments and making it seem more like a John Wick movie as opposed to whatever it is Len Wiseman allegedly made. The best action sequence in the flick involves flamethrowers, and it’s goddamn insane. Ana de Armas does a great job as Eve, and I would be completely happy if we got another Ballerina flick. I don’t think we will, though, as Ballerina wasn’t as big of a hit as any of the John Wick movies. I think that’s a damn shame because the world could use more John Wick type action flicks. We are supposed to get a Donnie Yen led John Wick spin-off featuring his Chapter 4 character Caine, which I’m sure will be fantastic, and there are rumors of Reeves coming back as Wick despite the ending of Chapter 4, which I will be happy to see even if, in the big scheme of things, it doesn’t make any sense. It would be cool, though, if we got another Ballerina. If you get the chance, please check it out. If you’re an action movie nerd and/or a John Wick fan, I think you’ll enjoy Ballerina.
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