The 10 Best Movies of 2025 (So Far)
From a gentle homage to Abbas Kiarostami to the most violent adaptation of Hamlet ever staged, here are the 10 best movies that have been released in America so far this year.
1. Armand (dir. Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel)
A gripping, claustrophobic character study, Armand marks a powerful debut from Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel, the grandson of Ingmar Bergman and Liv Ullmann. Starring Renate Reinsve, the film revolves around a parental conflict over a schoolyard spat that unravels into a storm of past resentments and buried secrets. Reinsve delivers a career-best performance, oscillating between defiance and psychological breakdown.
2. Black Bag (dir. Steven Soderbergh)
Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett shine in this stylish spy thriller, playing British Intelligence agents navigating the minefield of marriage and deception. Soderbergh crafts a sleek, intelligent drama where espionage mirrors the complexities of relationships. Can a couple survive in a world where truth is just another disguise?
3. Eephus (dir. Carson Lund)
A heartfelt ode to friendship, nostalgia, and baseball, Eephus follows a group of middle-aged men playing one final game before their beloved field is demolished. With a rich ensemble cast, Lund captures the melancholy of time passing and the unspoken bonds forged on the field.
4. Grand Theft Hamlet (dirs. Sam Crane & Pinny Grylls)
Imagine Hamlet staged within Grand Theft Auto Online—yes, really. This brilliantly irreverent documentary explores how Shakespeare meets digital anarchy. Between virtual gang wars and absurd in-game encounters, the film finds an unexpectedly poignant core: art’s resilience in an age of chaos.
5. Mickey 17 (dir. Bong Joon Ho)
Bong Joon Ho’s latest sci-fi epic, starring Robert Pattinson, takes the genre-bending brilliance of Parasite and Snowpiercer to intergalactic heights. Following a clone’s existential crisis aboard a dying space colony, the film balances Bong’s signature sharp satire and heart-wrenching drama.
6. Misericordia (dir. Alain Guiraudie)
A queer noir mystery, Misericordia follows a man’s eerie journey to a small French town to mourn his former boss—only to find himself entangled in a web of secrets, sexual tension, and murder. With cinematography by Claire Mathon (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), Guiraudie delivers a darkly funny and provocative thriller.
7. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl (dir. Rungano Nyoni)
Rungano Nyoni’s incisive drama dissects cultural identity and family trauma in a middle-class Zambian household. As the protagonist unearths painful family secrets, the film interrogates the weight of tradition versus personal truth in a world straddling modernity and deep-rooted customs.
8. One of Them Days (dir. Lawrence Lamont)
A joyful, vibrant comedy, One of Them Days is a star-making vehicle for Keke Palmer, whose hilarious and charismatic performance carries this day-in-the-life LA adventure. With a sharp script and stellar supporting cast, it’s the kind of feel-good, laugh-out-loud film that Hollywood desperately needs.
9. Universal Language (dir. Matthew Rankin)
A genre-defying metafiction, Universal Language imagines an alternate-reality Winnipeg where characters speak Farsi and 1980s Iranian cinema aesthetics collide with modern existential angst. Rankin’s surreal, hypnotic vision blurs language, memory, and identity, crafting a film as haunting as it is beautiful.
10. April (dir. Tom McCarthy)
A quietly powerful indie, April follows a woman retracing her estranged mother’s footsteps through a series of forgotten American towns. A meditative road movie in the vein of Nomadland, McCarthy’s latest captures life’s transient beauty and the ghosts of relationships left behind.
Despite industry challenges, 2025 has already delivered cinematic gems across genres. Whether it’s spy intrigue, Shakespearean absurdity, emotional drama, or inventive sci-fi, these films prove that the magic of movies endures.