We’re only halfway through 2025, and I already feel like I’ve watched a decade’s worth of heartbreak, horror, beauty, and brilliance flicker across the big screen.
This year’s slate of films has been loud: emotionally, politically, stylistically. Some of them left me reeling, others frustrated, a few completely terrified. And while many deserve praise, only one reached deep enough into my ribs and gently twisted: Pixar’s Elio. But more on that later.
First, let me walk you through the journey that led me there, because it’s been a year.
Back in January, I made a quiet New Year’s resolution: watch more movies. Not just the occasional Oscar pick or whatever happened to be trending on streaming, but really watch. In theaters. Alone sometimes. Often with friends. As often as I could.
I missed the feeling of being immersed, of stepping into someone else’s world for two hours and walking out changed, confused, moved, or simply stunned. So I joined AMC A-List, dusted off my long-neglected Letterboxd account, and made it a priority.
And it worked. Halfway through 2025, I’ve seen over 70 movies—many in theaters, some at home, all tracked and reviewed. I’ve watched films that scared the hell out of me, made me laugh out loud, made me sob quietly into my sweatshirt. I’ve seen blockbusters, indies, animation, horror, rom-coms, war epics, and whatever the hell Companion was. I’ve written blurbs, full reviews, and late-night notes-to-self in the dark on my phone, just to hold onto the feelings a little longer.
This post is my reflection on the movies that have stayed with me the most so far this year, and the one that changed me. Not just my favorite films, but the ones that marked this little cinematic pilgrimage I’ve taken in 2025.
If you’ve ever considered watching more films, making time for yourself in the dark with a bucket of popcorn and a screen full of dreams, this is your sign. It’s been one of the best choices I’ve made in a long time.
Now, let me tell you about the ones I can’t stop thinking about.
Materialists
Watched June 15 | AMC Metreon 16, San Francisco
Romantic comedies have been declared dead, reanimated, and dissected for years, but Materialists made me believe in the genre again. It’s sharp, stylish, and achingly current. Dakota Johnson plays Lucy with the perfect blend of wit, insecurity, and bite. Her wardrobe alone could carry the film, but luckily the story and script are equally captivating.
From its strange, poetic prehistoric prologue to that perfect final frame in Central Park, this was one of the most emotionally satisfying films I’ve seen all year. It’s clever without being smug, romantic without being saccharine, and feminist without preaching. And Chris Evans? Unbearably charming.
I left the theater glowing.
5/5 Stars
Sinners
Watched April 17 | AMC Metreon 16 (IMAX)
I didn’t know I was walking into a vampire movie set in 1930s Mississippi. But that’s exactly what made Sinners such a wild ride. A film that begins like a slow-burn Southern period piece and morphs into a relentless, blood-soaked fever dream. It’s brutal. It’s terrifying. And it’s good.
Michael B. Jordan’s dual performance is career-defining, and Hailee Steinfeld’s quiet devastation as Annie grounded the supernatural chaos in raw human grief. The IMAX sound design made every scream feel like it was in the row behind me.
It’s one of the scariest movies I’ve ever seen. And one of the most original.
4/5 Stars
Warfare
Watched April 12 | AMC Metreon 16 (Dolby)
There are war movies that try to make you understand conflict. And then there are war movies like Warfare, that make you feel it. From the first gut-punch of gunfire to the unbearable soundscape of a rising panic attack, this film doesn’t flinch. It drops you into the center of chaos and never lets you catch your breath.
D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai and Will Poulter are phenomenal. The entire thing rattled me. And yet, as someone with Middle Eastern ties/friends/family, I couldn’t help but feel the sting of erasure, how Iraq and its people remain background figures in stories about American grief. That tension didn’t ruin the film for me, but it kept me from giving it a perfect score.
Still, this one shook me to my bones.
4.5/5 Stars
Companion
Watched Twice | AMC Metreon 16
This movie is a mess—but it’s my kind of mess.
Companion is the kind of chaotic, high-concept sci-fi film I’d normally skip. But something about Sophie Thatcher’s performance as Iris completely pulled me in. Jack Quaid’s “nice guy” tech bro made my skin crawl (in a good, intentional way), and the film’s descent into revenge horror made me question what I’d even signed up for.
The story jumps between tones and tropes like it’s speedrunning Black Mirror, but it works. Especially in that final shot, robotic hand raised, freedom finally earned. It’s one of the most haunting images I’ve seen this year.
3.5/5 Stars
Bring Her Back
Watched June 1 | AMC Metreon 16 (Laser)
I covered my eyes through half of Bring Her Back and cried through the rest. This is grief horror at its most vicious, drenched in blood, rot, and desperation. Sally Hawkins delivers a career-best performance as a mother consumed by loss and twisted by it.
The symbolism, circles, decay, boundaries, was layered but never pretentious. The freezer and pool scenes will haunt me forever. And the final line? Shattered me.
Talk to Me walked so Bring Her Back could crawl screaming through the dark. Absolutely brilliant.
4.5/5 Stars
28 Years Later
Watched June 21 | AMC Metreon 16 (Dolby)
Danny Boyle is back, and the rage virus is worse than ever.
28 Years Later is bleak, gorgeous, and relentless. The landscapes are desolate. The temples of sterilized skulls? Pure nightmare fuel. It’s more atmospheric than emotionally rich, but the prologue and Spike’s arc hit hard.
It didn’t shake me like Sinners or devastate me like Warfare, but I admired its scale, its guts, and the way it dares to end on a note of unholy anticipation: “Sir Jimmy” lives.
4/5 Stars
Elio
Watched June 21 | AMC Metreon 16 (Dolby)
And then came Elio.
On paper, it’s a Pixar movie about a lonely boy accidentally abducted by aliens. But in execution, it’s one of the most moving, gentle, and spiritually generous films I’ve seen this year. I didn’t just cry—I sobbed.
There’s a particular magic to Elio—a softness that doesn’t mute its emotional complexity. The relationship between Glordon and his war-hardened father mirrored so much of my own coming out story: the quiet rebellion of wanting to be good, not obedient. That tension wrecked me.
And then there are the tiny details: the concha bread, the awkwardness of intergalactic diplomacy, the longing on a beach under stars. The moment Elio chooses Earth, despite everything, was a gentle act of self-acceptance I didn’t know I needed to see.
This is a film for anyone who’s ever felt distant, different, or wrong. It met me where I was. It reminded me what it means to belong.
(For context: A few weeks ago, Jake and I tried to watch Finding Dory, and within five minutes, I was full-on sobbing in the fetal position. So, yeah…Pixar still has a chokehold on me. lol)
5/5 Stars
Final Thoughts
2025 has been a year of films that want to feel—to make you squirm, cry, tremble, reflect. Whether it was in the shriek of the infected, the quiet between a mother and son, or a robot’s final wave goodbye, these movies asked a lot from me. But they gave a lot back, too.
And if the year ended today, it’d be a toss-up between Sinners and Materialists.
One gripped me by the throat, the other held my hand. One dragged me through blood-soaked Southern dirt, the other twirled me through a rainy New York street in the perfect coat. Both haunted me in totally different ways—and both reminded me just how expansive, daring, and emotionally alive cinema can be.
Want to see everything I’ve watched this year, including ratings and lengthy reviews?
Until next time,
Jared ❤
Jaredbiz.Blog 
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