{"id":375438,"date":"2025-12-29T16:21:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T16:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/375438\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T16:21:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T16:21:12","slug":"chaz-eberts-30-best-movies-of-2025-and-one-guilty-pleasure-features","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/375438\/","title":{"rendered":"Chaz Ebert\u2019s 30 Best Movies of 2025 (and One Guilty Pleasure) | Features"},"content":{"rendered":"

For me, 2025 was the Year of FECK, my acronym for Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion and Kindness<\/a>. These principles have proven more vital than ever amid such divisiveness, anger, and cruelty in our society. Even Santa gave a nod to the FECK principles with the Christmas ornament he added to my tree!<\/p>\n

I truly believe, as Roger did, that art can be a healing and enlightening force by enabling us to experience the world through the perspectives of people different from ourselves. Thirty\u00a0of my favorite films of the year are listed below in alphabetical order. Most are, in one way or another, empathy-generating machines that demonstrate what cinema can achieve at its highest level. Others are pure entertainment. And then one is just so much fun to watch that it is simply my Guilty Pleasure.<\/p>\n

While at the Cannes Film Festival, I selected one film as a recipient for my Inaugural FECK FILM AWARD because it stood out in its ability to exhibit all four of my FECK Principles: That film is \u201cIt Was Just an Accident<\/a>\u201d by Iranian director Jafar Panahi<\/a>. I watched in astonishment as Panahi\u2019s film breathlessly took us through aspects of forgiveness, empathy, compassion, and kindness in unexpected ways. Back home, I saw another film to which I will grant a FECK Film AWARD. That film is \u201cThe Man Who Saves the World?<\/a>\u201d by American director Gabe Polsky. The journey in that film reminded me of our relationship with Mother Earth as seen through the eyes of Indigenous peoples in South America, and of how we are all connected.<\/p>\n

Now, here in alphabetical order are my Top Thirty Films of 2025:<\/p>\n

\u201cArco<\/a>\u201c\u2014My favorite animated film of the year is French writer\/director Uno Bienvenu\u2019s visually stunning gem about a ten-year-old who uses a rainbow to time-travel back through the centuries. Upon arriving in the year 2075, he befriends a young girl, Iris, voiced in the English dub by the film\u2019s producer, Natalie Portman. This is a film to seek out on the biggest screen possible.<\/p>\n

\"Avatar:<\/p>\n

\u201cAvatar: Fire & Ash<\/a>\u201c\u2014Aside from perhaps James Cameron\u2019s groundbreaking first \u201cAvatar\u201d film, which was a complete surprise in its cutting-edge visual splendor, this is my favorite installment in the series to date. As our larger-than-life heroes, the Na\u2019vi, find themselves pitted against a rival group. Cameron has once again crafted a timely and life-affirming parable for these increasingly difficult times. Some people assumed that the people in the Avatar films were AI creations. But before the press screening, Cameron hosted an introductory video detailing his intricate process for creating the Na\u2019vi through motion capture, which I found utterly brilliant. Each character in the movie is played by a real-life actor. Though the film ran over three hours, I was never restless. By utilizing the best possible 3D, Cameron illustrates just how close cinema can come to immersing us in a parallel reality, one we may want to escape to whenever our own has become difficult to bear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Ballad of Wallis Island<\/a>\u201c\u2014One of 2025\u2019s most endearing sleepers was this British comedy from director James Griffiths about a duo of folk singers, played by co-writer Tom Basden and Oscar-nominee Carey Mulligan, who travel to a Welsh island for a gig. Basden\u2019s writing partner, Tim Key, plays the rich fan who encourages the duo to reunite for this performance. What follows is a film filled with big laughs and a startling amount of heart.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBlue Moon<\/a>\u201c\u2014The first of Richard Linklater\u2019s two exceptional films this year stars Ethan Hawke in one of his best performances as Lorenz Hart, the songwriter who\u2014with his partner Richard Rodgers\u2014crafted some of the most iconic songs of his era. But when Rodgers scores a massive hit with his new writing partner, Oscar Hammerstein, Hart begins to feel his relevance coming to a close. Watching the film is akin to spending an evening with a witty, catty, supremely intelligent pal whose exuberance is tinged with melancholy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBugonia<\/a>\u201c\u2014Based on Jang Joon-hwan\u2019s 2003 film, \u201cSave the Green Planet!\u201d, Yorgos Lanthimos\u2019 latest collaboration with actress Emma Stone is a galvanizing apocalyptic satire. She plays a chilly pharmaceutical CEO abducted by an irate employee (played frighteningly by Jesse Plemons) who is convinced that she is an alien hellbent on conquering humanity. From one scene to the next, the film keeps us guessing about the true nature of its characters, eliciting laughs that occasionally get caught in the viewer\u2019s throat.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cDie My Love<\/a>\u201c\u2014I admire filmmaker Lynne Ramsay for never attempting to make her movies palatable for the masses. She remains true to the soul of her characters, even when their actions prove difficult to watch. As a wife and mother struggling to appear functional despite her mental illness, Jennifer Lawrence delivers a raw, fearless performance that earns our empathy despite her character\u2019s occasionally repellent behavior. In a year filled with fierce work from veteran actresses, Lawrence is among the closest to the spirit of their late colleague, who set the bar, Gena Rowlands, in \u201cA Woman Under the Influence.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cEddington<\/a>\u201c\u2014This past summer, I had the pleasure of moderating a Q&A with director Ari Aster at the sold-out Chicago premiere of his polarizing new film. I began our onstage conversation by asking, \u201cWho\u00a0are\u00a0you?\u201d, and it wasn\u2019t simply intended as a laugh line. To watch Aster\u2019s work is to marvel at the imagination of a man who clearly sees the surrounding world but filters it through a lens unlike any other we\u2019ve seen. In this seriocomic, startlingly violent parable on the divisiveness tearing our country apart at the seams, Joaquin Phoenix stars as a sheriff eager to run for mayor of his small town in New Mexico. His disbelief that COVID-19 will have any impact on his community is only one step he makes toward his Shakespearean undoing. The film is like a slow-motion car crash, and you cannot tear your eyes away from it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cFrankenstein<\/a>\u201c\u2014On the heels of Lanthimos and Stone offering their own feminist spin on Mary Shelley\u2019s legendary horror novel with \u201cPoor Things,\u201d it makes sense that the modern master of creature features, Guillermo del Toro, would be eager to helm his own adaptation. Oscar Isaac plays the monstrous doctor whose creation, played beautifully by an unrecognizable Jacob Elordi, has a capacity for love that makes him instantly sympathetic. The Father-Son rivalry is also at play, and Guillermo del Toro, in interviews, acknowledges that theme. Mia Goth is cleverly featured here in a dual role, inhabiting the third corner of the film\u2019s love triangle.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHamnet<\/a>\u201c\u2014 Chlo\u00e9 Zhao is back in top, tear-jerking form with this captivating adaptation of Maggie O\u2019Farrell\u2019s novel. Using fragments of history as their inspiration, Zhao and O\u2019Farrell explore how the personal loss endured by William Shakespeare (played winningly by Paul Mescal) and his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley, sure to be a Best Actress Oscar nominee) led the Bard to find catharsis in writing his immortal play, Hamlet. In an ingenious bit of casting, Noah Jupe plays the actor cast in a role inspired by Shakespeare\u2019s son, who is portrayed in the film by Noah\u2019s real-life brother, Jacobi.<\/p>\n

\u201cHighest 2 Lowest<\/a>\u201c\u2014As a longtime professor at NYU, Spike Lee has been illuminating film history for the next generations of directors. One of his favorite filmmakers is Akira Kurosawa, whose 1963 masterpiece, \u201cHigh and Low,\u201d uses a suspenseful kidnapping plot to explore class divisions. Now Lee has remade the picture as only he could, re-teaming with his celebrated collaborator, Denzel Washington, who plays a wealthy mogul faced with an intimidating moral dilemma. The film is as much a celebration of Lee\u2019s beloved New York City and Black culture as it is a gripping thriller, culminating with a wholly unexpected and soul-cleansing musical sequence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cA House of Dynamite<\/a>\u201c\u2014Possibly the most disquieting film of the year is Kathryn Bigelow\u2019s film chronicling what would happen if a nuclear weapon were launched at an American city, which just so happens to be the one in which I live. Bigelow follows the events from three perspectives while stopping short of providing any closure, leaving us to contemplate and debate the moral quandaries at the heart of its narrative.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I Had Legs I\u2019d Kick You<\/a>\u201c\u2014Just as David Lynch externalized the anxieties of fatherhood with his nightmarish imagery in \u201cEraserhead,\u201d filmmaker Mary Bronstein delivers a similarly bold vision with this portrait of a mother on the verge of a nervous breakdown. For much of the movie, the camera is uncomfortably close to Linda\u2019s face (a sensational Rose Byrne) as she attempts to navigate an endless series of obstacles while caring for her ailing, perpetually offscreen daughter.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIs This Thing On?<\/a>\u201c\u2014After being front and center in his first two acclaimed directorial efforts, Bradley Cooper takes a backseat to leading man Will Arnett, who delivers the best work of his career as Alex, a stand-up comedian inspired by real-life British comic John Bishop. With his marriage to Tess (played empathetically by Laura Dern) at an end, Alex seeks solace in the limelight by embracing comedy as a form of therapy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cIt Was Just an Accident<\/a>\u201c\u2014This year\u2019s Palme d\u2019Or winner is yet another courageous act of defiance from Iranian auteur Jafar Panahi. Despite being arrested multiple times, Panahi managed to make this cinematic rebuke against his country\u2019s authoritarian regime without his government\u2019s permission. When a man severely damaged from his years as a political prisoner spots the person he believes caused him such pain, a revenge plot is hatched. Yet rather than rely on easy payoffs, Panahi has the characters\u2014and the audience\u2014wrestle with their high-stakes moral choices. This film expertly displays all four FECK Principles (Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion, and Kindness). Yet, it leaves you on the edge of your seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cJay Kelly<\/a>\u201c\u2014One question some have asked while watching Noah Baumbach\u2019s new star-studded dramedy is just how close its titular character is to George Clooney, the man playing him. Like Clooney, Jay Kelly is an internationally celebrated actor who knows how to turn on the charm for the cameras. When a festival compiles footage from Jay\u2019s career, their tribute montage consists\u00a0of clips from Clooney\u2019s own films. That makes the film\u2019s exploration of the character\u2019s troubled inner life, his broken family, and his relationship with his longtime manager (played by Adam Sandler) all the more intriguing.\u00a0Adam Sandler gives a heart-tugging performance as the manager who sometimes has to put his client\u2019s needs ahead of his own family\u2019s.<\/p>\n

\u201cA Little Prayer<\/a>\u201c\u2014Angus MacLachlan, who penned the script for one of Roger\u2019s favorite films, 2005\u2019s \u201cJunebug,\u201d wrote and directed this equally endearing gem about the strength of familial bonds during turbulent times. One of our finest character actors, David Strathairn, delivers a career-crowning performance as Bill, a devoted husband and father who attempts to offer his daughter-in-law, Tammy (Jane Levy), emotional support after learning that his son, David (Will Pullen), is having an affair. Our Managing Editor Brian Tallerico has been a tireless champion of this film since its Sundance premiere two years ago, and it deserves not to be forgotten during the current awards season. I love this film, and I had to give it another viewing to realize that the compassionate relationship between Straitharn as the father-in-law and the clear-eyed advice he provides his daughter-in-law is what caused the catch in my throat.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Man Who Saves the World?<\/a>\u201c\u2014Former Ebertfest guest Gabe Polsky has crafted one of the year\u2019s\u00a0most compelling documentaries, following the life of a human subject who would have undoubtedly fascinated the director\u2019s previous collaborator, Werner Herzog. The film centers\u00a0on Patrick McCullom, a peace activist who believes he\u2019s discovered an ancient prophecy that will enable him to save the Amazon by bringing together opposing Indigenous tribes in South America. Among the fascinating figures who appear in the film is the late primatologist Jane Goodall, whose ability to connect\u00a0with other species will forever stand as a source of global inspiration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Other Choice<\/a>\u201c\u2014Korean director Park Chan-wook once again affirms himself as one of modern cinema\u2019s most playful stylists with his Hitchcockian spin on Donald Westlake\u2019s book, The Ax. After being unfairly ejected from his job in the paper industry, family man Yoo Man-su (played by Lee Byung-hun) decides he has to eliminate his competition by any means necessary to win his job back. His gradual loss of humanity is eerily reflected by his industry\u2019s prioritization of AI over flesh-and-blood employees.<\/p>\n

\u201cNouvelle Vague<\/a>\u201c\u2014There are some films that are impossible for me to watch without wondering what Roger would have thought of them. I have a feeling he would have been utterly delighted by Richard Linklater\u2019s meticulous recreation of the radically unconventional production days for Jean-Luc Godard\u2019s profoundly influential 1959 masterpiece, \u201cBreathless,\u201d the picture often credited with birthing the French New Wave. Each legendary figure of the movement is so impeccably cast that there are times the film feels akin to time travel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOne Battle After Another<\/a>\u201c\u2014How could Paul Thomas Anderson have known how timely his long-in-the-works adaptation of Thomas Pynchon\u2019s novel would be upon its release? In her film debut, Chase Infiniti, a graduate of Columbia College Chicago, stars as Willa, the daughter of an ex-revolutionary (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), who finds herself in the crosshairs of the same authoritarian thugs hunted by her parents. Reflecting on how today\u2019s younger generations are fighting the same battles their parents did, Willa emerges as a beacon of hope through her bravery and ingenuity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRental Family<\/a>\u201c\u2014Hikari\u2019s big-hearted crowd-pleaser is undoubtedly not a picture for cynics. Brendan Fraser stars as a struggling actor in Tokyo who finds employment in the city\u2019s \u201crental family\u201d business, where he is tasked with inhabiting roles in the everyday lives of clients. When he finds himself starting to care too deeply for the girl (newcomer Shannon Gorman) he\u2019s pretending to father, the line between reality and artifice becomes hopelessly blurred. What starts as a seemingly broad comedy eventually reveals an emotional depth and resounding humanism that I found impossible to resist. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Secret Agent<\/a>\u201c\u2014Another enormously timely highlight from 2025 is Kleber Mendon\u00e7a Filho\u2019s thriller about a man\u2019s numerous attempts to outwit Brazil\u2019s military dictatorship during its final years. Filho won the Best Director prize at Cannes, while its star, Wagner Moura, was named Best Actor. It must also be noted that the film now marks one of the late, dearly missed actor Udo Kier\u2019s final screen appearances. (Besides his role as an actor, I have fond memories of him generously playing the piano and singing at my house in celebration of our Libra birthdays one October.)<\/p>\n

\u201cSentimental Value<\/a>\u201c\u2014Joachim Trier was a director whose career Roger was eager to follow. Wish he could have seen this riveting portrait of estranged family members brought back together, as in \u201cHamnet,\u201d through art\u2019s therapeutic power. A few years after suffering a stroke, Stellan Skarsg\u00e5rd delivers what may be the performance of his career as a director eager to work with his daughter (Renate Reinsve), a celebrated actress, on a personal project that hits extremely close to home.<\/p>\n

\"Sinners<\/p>\n

\u201cSinners<\/a>\u201c\u2014Bravo to Ryan Coogler for creating this very original and ambitious genre-bending blockbuster that fuses horror tropes with a provocative meditation on race and blues music. No movie creates such a backdrop of a time and place that not only makes you want to drop in to one of the juke joints but also astonishes you with the parade of incongruous musicians when they pop up on the screen. I can\u2019t describe it further without giving it away, but it is my favorite scene of any movie this year. Michael B. Jordan seamlessly portrays twin brothers who find themselves battling creatures whose unholy lifestyle proves to be seductive amidst the inhumanity of the Jim Crow South. Be sure to stick around until the very end of the credits for a scene with a Chicago Blues legend. It adds a further layer of depth to the picture.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSong Sung Blue<\/a>\u201c\u2014As he did with his 2019 gem, \u201cDolemite is My Name,\u201d director Craig Brewer portrays another fact-based story about endearingly unconventional artists. Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson portray singers from Wisconsin who mostly perform cover songs of famous singers. They join forces to tour as a Neil Diamond \u201cExperience\u201d (not imitator, as they stress). A quarter-century after her breakthrough role in \u201cAlmost Famous,\u201d Kate Hudson plays \u201cThunder,\u201d to Hugh Jackman\u2019s \u201cLightning.\u201d Brewer\u2019s picture chronicles the highs and lows of their career and relationship, while providing numerous memorable musical numbers along the way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSorry, Baby<\/a>\u201c\u2014In addition to being one of the most acclaimed filmmakers working today, Barry Jenkins has been helping launch the careers of promising young directors through his production company, Pastel. This year, Jenkins produced the directorial feature debut of Eva Victor, who also stars in the picture as Agnes, a college student blindsided after a traumatic encounter with her professor. Victor mines a surprising amount of humor in Agnes\u2019 predicament, as she attempts to heal while life moves on around her. In a sublime single scene, John Carroll Lynch plays a stranger who quickly empathizes with Agnes and intuits precisely how to remedy her suffering. Sometimes all we need is a compassionate ear\u2014and a good sandwich\u2014to anchor us back to Earth.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Testament of Ann Lee<\/a>\u201c\u2014After co-writing last year\u2019s Oscar-winner, \u201cThe Brutalist,\u201d directed by her partner Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold has helmed an epic musical unlike any I have ever seen. Amanda Seyfried fully transforms herself as the religious Shaker Movement leader, Ann Lee, whose belief in gender equality put her well ahead of her time. The score, composed by Academy Award-winning musician and composer Daniel Blumberg, is magically, organically woven into the film. The choreography by Celia Rowlson-Hall is an exhilarating spectacle of Shaker-inspired movements that propels the congregants into spiritual ecstasy\u2014a must-see.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrain Dreams<\/a>\u201c\u2014After co-writing last year\u2019s great prison drama, \u201cSing Sing,\u201d Clint Bentley switches to the director\u2019s chair for this equally life-affirming triumph. Based on Denis Johnson\u2019s book of the same name, the film stars Joel Edgerton as Robert, a logger in Idaho whose work continuously takes him away from his devoted wife (Felicity Jones) and young daughter. Rather than follow a standard narrative formula, the film chronicles the ebb and flow of Robert\u2019s life, with all of its unforeseeable twists and turns, culminating in a blissful moment of clarity and acceptance that is sublime to witness.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWeapons<\/a>\u201c\u2014Perhaps no film in 2025 had as striking a cultural impact\u2014especially around Halloween\u2014as Zach Cregger\u2019s suspenseful, creepy, and explosively funny entertainment. Part of its appeal lay in the ambiguity of its marketing. All that the teaser and poster revealed was its narrative hook: the sudden disappearance of 17 children who all left their homes at the same time in the middle of the night. To say more would be spoiling the fun, though you\u2019re more than likely to have already seen images of the cast\u2019s surprise MVP, Amy Madigan, whose character of Aunt Gladys will likely be haunting costume parties for years to come.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cYoung Mothers<\/a>\u201c\u2014Two of cinema\u2019s great humanists, the filmmaking duo of Belgian brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, have scored another winner with this drama centering on five impoverished mothers at a maternity shelter. They are all teens, yet their spirits are far from bleak. Winner of the Best Screenplay prize at Cannes, the film is another ode from the Dardennes to those hard-working, resilient souls often left out of mainstream blockbusters. There is no question in my mind that these brothers give a FECK.<\/p>\n

And my one guilty pleasure\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Housemaid<\/a>\u201c\u2014Paul Feig\u2019s cheerfully macabre adaptation of Freida McFadden\u2019s bestselling novel stars Sydney Sweeney as Millie, a troubled woman in need of employment, who finds it by nabbing a job as \u201chousemaid\u201d to a seemingly perfect wealthy family. The rich family employing her is headed by handsome husband, Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar), and wife Nina (in a surprise performance by Amanda Seyfried that is light years away from her role in \u201cThe Testament of Ann Lee\u201d). Nina\u2019s happy exterior harbors untold demons. The film is photographed beautifully in full frame or large frame by John Schwartzman. To say more would be criminal, as the film\u2019s numerous twists and turns are part of the fun. Just go with it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For me, 2025 was the Year of FECK, my acronym for Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion and Kindness. These principles…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":375439,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[49,48,75,337],"class_list":{"0":"post-375438","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-movies"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=375438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/375438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/375439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=375438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=375438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=375438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}