The Signal Watch Presents: Favorite Movies of 2025

Well, here's our wee, personal best-of list for 2025.  

• We broke down the movies we watched by-the-numbers
• We talked about what we really didn't like

These are not necessarily new movies, but they are new-to-me movies.  Of the 246 unique movies I watched this year, I also watched like 175 new-to-me movies, so these are selections from that list.

We're going to break these up into categories.

Horror 

Jakob's Wife: vampire films offer quite a bit of variety.  This one has a fantastic lead in Barbara Crampton as a middle-aged wife of a pastor who is *changed* by her transformation - and witnessing that character arc is great stuff.

Possession:  this one is going to stick with anyone who watches it.  It may not be a joy to watch, exactly, but it's strength as a film is remarkable, and the reputation completely earned.

Alucarda:  now THAT is how you end a movie!  Highly recommended weirdo stuff.  Vampires AND nunsploitation!

The Substance:  if I was concerned this movie was going to be a pat little meditation on aging in Hollywood, that's just the entry into the movie.  I wasn't a fan of the director's movie Revenge, but this one won me over completely.  ALSO a hell of an end to a movie.

Documentary

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story:  a look at who Christopher Reeve as an actor, as a person and eventually how he funnelled all of that into his role as a survivor and advocate.  Profoundly moving.

My Mom Jayne - a film by Mariska Hargitay:  Hargitay was there when her mother died in a car accident when she was a small child, but was so young she has few to no memories of her.  An exploration of who our parents really are and how it can inform who we are.  Stunning work.  Whatever you think this is, it's better than that.

Titan: The Oceangate Disaster / Implosion: the Titanic Sub Disaster:  two separate docs (one on HBOmax, one on Netflix) that should be watched back-to-back.  A study in hubris and our worship of entrepreneurship, technology and cults of personality - and how it can lead to, as the titles suggest, disaster.

Drama

Little Women:  the 2019 version by Greta Gerwig - this is a stunning bit of movie making.  The distance you can feel in period films is non-existent, keeping the movie immediate while preserving the story.  A phenomenal cast helps carry the work.  This Gerwig may be on to something.

Conclave:  shaped like a thriller, this story about selection of the next pope deals with the insular culture of the Catholic power circles, the archaic rites and rituals as they collide with the modern needs of the church and politics behind locked doors.  An A+ cast, restrained direction and some wild plotting make for a movie I expected to like into something I thought was great.

Noir and Thriller

Ace in the Hole:  across noir and neo-noir, I watched too little in the way of new-to-me films, and will need to fix that.  This is barely/ maybe-not noir at that.  Billy Wilder directs and the story feels horrendously relevant in 2025 - lessons we haven't learned in the 70 years since this movie arrived about mass media, circuses and how it all shapes narratives rather than simply shedding light on the events of the day.

Black Bag:  These days, I love a one-off film like this.  As I metaphor'd in my post - everything in it works like a perfectly machined watch.  The actors are all in, and director Soderbergh made it sexy, stylish and cool AF.  Not some 13-year-old's idea of cool.   That this movie was not more widely discussed makes me sad.  Cate Blanchett crush remains evergreen.

Action/ Adventure/ Westerns

Forty Guns:  Stanwyck plays a merciless land baron who rules with her army of forty men, all of whom want a piece of her, one way or another.  It's pretty close to a western noir - but not quite there (but it is a Sam Fuller movie, which may explain it).  A reminder of how great Stanwyck was and that she could play anything.

True Grit:  I don't know why it took til 2025 for me to finally watch this John Wayne movie, but holy hell... great movie.  I'm not shocked this movie had the impact it did - the book is great, the re-make is phenomenal (I'd seen that one), and now they're making it as Supergirl.  

Superhero Movies

Fantastic Four: First Steps:  I had a great time with this one.  I was opining to MBell recently that the current wave of backlash about Marvel is something I feel like I trained for since I was 10 years old.  Unlike younger adults, I grew up with people telling me the superhero stuff I liked was wrong, bad, made me a bad person, etc...  Not unlike where we're landing with superhero movies now, instead of comics.  

But in 2025 I got an FF movie with great casting, a Ben Grimm I could believe in, a proper Sue Storm and Galactus stomping through Manhattan.  The film was gorgeous and had some of the best design in a movie in years, along with a soundtrack that made me want to cheer.  

But it was also about what a world looks like when the supers help bring the world together and genuinely work to build a better tomorrow.

My only regret is that it wasn't four hours long to play out all the ideas and threads that are only hinted at.  Also, needed 10x more Natasha Lyonne.

Superman:  I know folks will be shocked this isn't my number one pick for the year.  And in some ways - it absolutely is.  I finally, finally got a Superman movie that I didn't have to rationalize (Superman Returns) and didn't make me sad (you know what I'm talking about).  This was a Superman movie I had never believed was ever possible.  I loved the casting, the characterization, the design, the supporting character decisions... and I loved the overall messaging and positioning of Superman.  But I also wish it had breathed more.  Is wanting more a problem?  In this case, I would have liked way more time with Clark and the Daily Planet gang, more time with Lois AND Clark, not them separate.

I guess...  My only regret is that it wasn't four hours long to play out all the ideas and threads that are only hinted at.  And I really feel like whatever Gunn does next will blow the doors off this movie, which is largely table-setting for his DCU.

Holiday and Comedy:

The Naked Gun:  I wasn't expecting much of anything, but this movie stuck the landing.  That the studio actually put it out in theaters gives me hope.  Neeson and Anderson nailed it.  More of this sort of thing is very welcome.

The Christmas Baby:  Every once in a while a movie is made for Hallmark that just feels like a regular flick and not a snowglobe pic.  The movies show up with characters and an actual story with stakes and whatnot.  I'm not quite sure how this one happened, but it was a solid dramedy.  Really good performances all around.

Best of Chabert

It seems a disservice, especially after tagging a few Chabert movies as my "worst of 2025", to not also give our star of the year her props.  Part of the challenge is that much of what Chabert has done since transitioning to the Queen of Hallmark isn't really in my wheelhouse except as "yeah, that's kind of pleasant".   But she does a wide variety of stuff within her lane.  

Of the "new to me" Chabert movies I watched this year, my favorites were:

All of My Heart:  a situation comedy in which she inherits half of an old farm house that she wants to turn into a B&B, but the other half is given to a Wall Street broker she doesn't know.  She's really good as the caterer given a fresh start.  They made two more on the strength of this one.  Co-star is Brennan Elliot.

Crossword Mysteries series:  well, y'all know I like a murder movie, and these are five of them.  The first three are better than the ones shot during difficult COVID conditions.  Yes, these are Hallmark mysteries.  Chabert is a crossword puzzle-editor who gets wrapped up in murders she has to help solve using her puzzle brain.  Look, I'm making it sound dumb in a way it is not.  Once again, co-star is Brennan Elliot.

The Brooke Ellison Story:  the true-life story of a young woman confined to a wheelchair who goes on to great academic and professional success.  Chabert is in a wheelchair and can only act from the neck up, and she delivers.  Director is Christopher Reeve.

Special "Well, *I* liked it" Mention

Drive-Away Dolls:  You squares.  This movie was hilarious, pulpy goodness.  Just ridiculous.  

I do need to watch Honey Don't!  

Movie Theatre Experience

I saw more than twenty movies in the theater in 2025, but three events were worth a re-mention (both new films and anniversary screenings):

Superman at AMC IMAX:  We went to a marginally early screening of Superman, Tuesday before the Thursday evening opening.  People were *psyched*.  I'd never seen so many Superman t-shirts in one place.  Plenty of cheering, plenty of applause.  A terrific experience.

Re-Animator at the Paramount:  Barbara Crampton and Jeffrey Combs presented Re-Animator at the Paramount for a 40th Anniversary screening.  We had zombies wandering around the theater, I came within five feet of Crampton (whom I left alone), a great Q&A and an audience treating the screening like a concert.  No notes.  

Showgirls at the Paramount:  Elizabeth Berkley got eviscerated for 1995's Showgirls, but in 2025, she was on a redemption tour.  Look, I've come around quite a bit on the movie, and I'll debate you on it, but it was also a complete joy to see it with a loyal fanbase - whether there for camp or genuine movie appreciation (and is there really any difference?).  Berkley was a terrific host and crowd an absolute delight. 

I highly recommend going to these celebrity-hosted screenings if they're in your area.  It's always been worth the money and time.

Honorable Mention

Sinners 

I'm on the Sinners train.  Like I said about Jakob's Wife, there's so many options with vampires, and Coogler absolutely knocked it out of the park with his allegorical take on the vampirism of cultural appropriation, race and homogeneity.  It is not just an American story, but it is very much an American story.  

Absolutely outstanding performances by all involved, with a soundtrack and thread of music throughout that resonates with the themes and informs the story as much as anything in the dialog.  

While I like a good Nosferatu, showing how you can use the vampire as allegory while still telling a compelling/ moving story is the kind of stuff that turns me on about movies.

My Favorite Movie of 2025:  

Flow

Speaking of what film can do with story, with images, allegory and music...  

Back when we watched this movie, I knew Flow would be near the top of my list.  And though I've only seen it once - and my Criterion disc showed up during the holidays so I haven't had time to watch it yet, I've thought about this movie every day since we gave it a spin.  

It's a beautiful film in so many ways, from the visuals to the sound-scape to the characterization.  And, of course, the wonder and mystery of the perilous journey with no destination in mind - just survival, minute by minute, of an ever-increasing number of animals.  The cooperation, the selfishness, the many aspects of the characters, and the film's refusal to anthropomorphize the animals more than absolutely necessary - makes it a sort of lovely epic poem.  

That the movie embraces uncertainty - survivable through companionship - is something that I am not sure the American studio system would even allow as a story idea.  But here it's the core.  We're not trying to get back to some caretaker human, we don't know if the flood will ever end or we'll find dry land...  we have to just live in the flow.  And make meaning of that experience. 

It's a deeply lovely film.

And that's it!

I know I said I liked a lot, which is funny.  I really didn't come to the end of the year certain what I'd cover aside from two superhero movies, Flow and Sinners.  But the movie I looked at the list, and the more I thought about the year, the more I thought - hey, there's a lot to discuss.  

Not sure this list helps anyone, but there you go.

What did I miss?