Moonlight is a complex, haunting coming-of-age story unlike anything else this year.

Strip away the rich scenery, catchy tunes and now familiar, beloved characters and Pinocchio amounts to little more than a series of awkwardly strung-together morality tales. It's likely that young viewers just discovering this film for the first time won't notice or care, but as adults considering where the film stands among the great animated classics, it's fair to say this still a masterpiece, albeit an imperfect one.

Kubrick originally planned Dr. Strangelove as a straight drama. That he realized the absurdity of the whole thing is a testament to his intelligence; that he pulled it off so brilliantly is a testament to his talent.

It’s a heartbreaking tale of why the haves and have-nots will stay that way, crafted by a virtuoso director at the very top of his game.

There's a sense of beauty and dread that's cleverly injected into George Lucas' American Graffiti, a tone poem and ode to the music, cars and culture of the early '60s. On one level, the film is a staggeringly thoughtful slice of Americana – one night in the eyes of several young teens looking for love, adventure and fun. But on another level, there's a genuine sense of apprehension. The world is quickly catching up to our heroes, and soon they'll be flung head-first into Vietnam, the hippie movement, and a social revolution

A time-honored classic filled with love, happiness and excitement.

The exploration of political upheaval, class and gender inequalities make this an important film, but the fact that it always remains grounded in its personal story makes Roma a compelling and emotional film, shot masterfully by a veteran director who finally created his masterpiece.

Director Steve McQueen's eye is better than his sense of pacing in the nevertheless devastating drama 12 Years a Slave, featuring a standout performance from Serenity's Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Where Citizen Kane changed the way live action films were looked at and made forever, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs did the exact same thing for animation. It remains one of the finest examples of the art form, and anyone who considers themselves a film snob or animation fan must have this on their shelf.

Envisioned as a musical symphony come to life, Fantasia is a bizarre, almost trippy experience rich with hypnotic visuals, dazzling animation and beautiful music.

As a piece of political filmmaking, Lovers Rock is deft and nuanced, a celebration of joy and community built in response to oppression.

There are so many little details, seemingly inconsequential touches – the filmmaker’s style, if you will – that all add up bit by bit to turn this amazing movie into a masterpiece.

Quentin Tarantino’s decades-in-the-making ultimate release of Kill Bill has been worth the wait. Across four hours and change, it retains all the exuberant action highlights that made the duology an instant classic while allowing the saga’s emotional pieces to fall more neatly into place.

Double Indemnity is a masterpiece of Hollywood storytelling.

Dunkirk is a monumental, unconventional, and frequently stunning war movie.

The master filmmaker has made an introspective, thoughtful, even somber film that manages to be just as entertaining as his classics, even while diving deep into the darkest souls and finding some semblance of a heart.

From its powerful opening line to the very end, Grave of the Fireflies is an important film that will prove to even the most stubborn naysayer that animated films can move you just like the "real stuff".

It’s a good movie too chronically polite to achieve anything like greatness.

Call Me By Your Name is a romanticized coming of age film, for better and worse. It’s a lovely place to visit but not particularly absorbing as a narrative, even though Armie Hammer gives an impressive performance.

Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson give their all to Marriage Story, a smart exploration of the emotional intricacies of divorce and how they can rip love to shreds. As characters, they’re a little too extraordinary in their careers to be as relatable as the film wants them to be, but that doesn’t get in the way of the sheer power of the writing and acting on grand display.

It is a damn good detective movie.

Saoirse Ronan gives a standout, brilliant performance and so does Laurie Metcalf as her long-suffering, big-hearted mother. It’s a remarkable solo directorial debut from Greta Gerwig.

The Safdie brothers continue their winning streak of making harshly real films about everyday New Yorkers with fatal flaws. But this time, they’ve also given Adam Sandler a platform to show just how good he is with the right collaborators. The results are as stylish as they are affecting.

The times they are a-changin’ but the Coens keep bringing the hits back home. A masterpiece.

Cate Blanchett’s forceful performance as a world-famous composer makes TÁR a richly detailed exposé of ego.

The scene where Dorothy opens the door of the house and steps into Oz and into color is striking.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers is an excellent movie about paranoia, conformity, and the need to "stay awake," or else become jaded, emotionally dead.

Chinatown's deep focus cinematography, dialogue direction and long takes are identifiably Polanski.

The Zone of Interest is a formally precise yet completely shattering cinematic intervention that emerges as one of the most monumental films ever made.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre chopped up our expectations more than 30 years ago, and for that we will always remember - and be thankful that some experiences do stay up on the screen.

There are too many classic moments in this film to possibly count, and I won't even bother trying to quote lines or describe gags.

A work of shattering empathy, Drive My Car makes you stare long and hard at people’s withholding exteriors as it carefully chips away at them, revealing how they patiently bear their burdens, working without rest.

Gerwig mostly plays it safe with this adaptation but a stellar cast and her impressive directorial eye mean that it's a total joy to watch.

Hayao Miyazaki delivers the perfect coda to his illustrious career with a stunning animated adventure that reminds us how lucky we are to live at a time when Studio Ghibli is making movies.

Hit the Road is a quietly powerful yet very funny film about the sacrifices we make for family.

Peter Jackson's technical ambitions sometimes muddy his otherwise moving WWI documentary They Shall Not Grow Old.

Baker cuts straight to the feeling – and because of his fearless filmmaking, this career-best film, in all its crushing and chaotic glory, demands to be felt.

Despite its age, Bambi continues to dazzle and amaze.

Like the imposing, unadorned structures of brutalism (think: Boston City Hall, the blocky public housing of the Soviet Union, modern additions to any university campus), it can feel at times intentionally ugly or rudimentary. But it’s also a breathtaking work that’s simultaneously maximalist and minimalist – a searing movie that’s poetic on a formal, storytelling, and thematic level.

The Worst Person in the World is a concentrated emotional dose of living through the last half-decade of uncertainty.

What Anderson doesn’t give us is the inner lives of anyone in the film.

You’ve likely never seen a movie that tackles the specific loneliness many gay men still face today, and this one is laudable for that alone. However, All of Us Strangers airs on the side of saccharine, especially towards the end, and it would benefit overall from some more human ugliness.

If the first film could be considered to glorify violence and organized crime, this one shows the consequences of that life. It also serves as a thinly veiled metaphor for American capitalism and its destructive effect on family, cultural heritage, community identity and morality.

Gorgeous and unpredictable, and maybe a little indulgent, Phantom Thread is another fascinating drama from Paul Thomas Anderson, with captivating lead performances by Daniel Day-Lewis and Vicky Krieps.

A full-tilt biopic unlike any before it, Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer is as stunning as it is terrifying.

An extraordinary first feature and one of the best films of 2025 so far, Sorry, Baby pulls off astounding feats of storytelling.

De Niro's performance is one of legend.

It's a very good adaptation of the original novel that maintains the core themes and characters while at the same time making it distinctly "Disney". I

It’s one of Scorsese’s most brutal films, yet one of his most thoughtful and self-reflexive, as he crafts a subversive murder “mystery” that leaves no lingering questions save for one.

The film was designed to be an homage to the John Wayne classic Rio Bravo directed by Carpenter's idol Howard Hawks.The parallels between the film and the westerns that Carpenter holds dear are clear from the get go, none more so striking then the sight of the gang warlords mingling their blood in a bowl in for a symbolic blood oath that echoes similar scenes that found Indians becoming blood brothers in westerns long since forgotten.

White Heat is to the gangster genre what The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly was to Westerns: it took all the clichés, tropes and general violence of its genre and made it into art.

More than just a retrospective of himself (and his relationship with his sprightly grandmother), Minari feels like Chung gazing into the past to recognize and empathize with the kind of hardships and sacrifices his immigrant parents had to endure. In the process, he creates a riveting drama about hope, family, and the difficulties of change.

Equal parts fun and stressful, Marty Supreme combines the chaotic directing style of Josh Safdie with the charisma of Timothée Chalamet to make a one-of-a-kind ping pong movie that is, without a doubt, one of the year’s best films.

Jane Campion serves up a nervy psychodrama set against an astonishing cattle country backdrop with impressive performances from Benedict Cumberbatch and Kirsten Dunst, but an obvious plot trajectory that dulls the storytelling impact.

Romero’s zombies are terrifying in black and white, but one could even argue who was the true monster in the movie: the undead or the living?

Paddington 2 goes all in on the charm and wit established in the first film and comes up with yet another winner.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is Martin McDonagh’s most emotional and profound film to date.

Train Dreams is a gentle but poignant pastoral Western chronicling a life lived over many years. Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones are excellent, Adolpho Veloso’s cinematography is gorgeous, and Clint Bentley’s direction is far more careful and considered than you might expect for a filmmaker with so few features under their belt.

A refreshing take of this classic showbiz rise and fall tale, with updated character work, fantastic performances by Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga, and a soundtrack that will be stuck in your head for days.

Hamilton the stage musical may be a 10/10. But this filmed version falls short by repeatedly reminding the audience of what we missed by not being there.

The Father is a devastating masterwork by first-time director Florian Zeller.

Parallel Mothers is a really engaging watch with plenty of unforeseen story turns that seem incredibly random at first, but ultimately come together in a very intentional way. Penélope Cruz gives a powerful and beautifully relatable performance as a woman navigating some very messy life choices with wisdom and empathy.

Poor Things is sex-comedy Frankenstein by way of Jules Verne, and one of the most imaginative comedies in years.

The film never slips into cheap melodrama, and ultimately offers a remarkable portrait of humanity at its best and worst, not to mention an ideal to which all people should aspire.

It's funny. It's sad. It's imaginative. It's great sci-fi, and terrific family entertainment. In short, Back to the Future is brilliant.

Black Panther delivers the goods as an adventure film, a political statement, and a cultural celebration. It shakes off a sluggish start thanks to a memorable cast of characters going up against Marvel’s best-realized villain in almost a decade.

What holds Mary Poppins back from being absolutely perfect (as opposed to practically perfect) is due to the episodic structure of the story. Since scenes and songs were drawn from a range of stories from the book series, they play as a series of random adventures, not an organic progression of a single tale.

Barry Jenkins' If Beale Street Could Talk is beaming with style and detail, but at its core, it’s a mindful meditation on human beings seeking the greatest gift we can give each other—love.

Melissa McCarthy gives one of her best performances in a surprisingly relatable story about a criminal misanthrope with a heart beating deep inside her.

The movie is simply luxurious: huge, ornate stage settings; bright, colorful circus like street scenes; gorgeous costumes. [2002 Director's Cut]

Torn between the avant-garde and the traditional, Todd Haynes’ The Velvet Underground is an intentionally fragmented documentary that’s less about facts, and more about the feeling of being alive in a specific time and place. While more accessible to those in the know, it’s still hypnotic enough to be inviting.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout is a fun but very familiar entry in the long-running franchise.

While the film boasts a strong ensemble, all of whom give fantastic performances, especially Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is Boseman’s movie from beginning to end. He shows his full range. All the tools, from his charm to piques of anger, that fated him for stardom.

Nomadland is a radiant celebration of humanity and community.

Colin Farrell plumbs emotional and comedic depths in Martin McDonagh’s witty and wistful period drama, with Brendan Gleeson and Barry Keoghan on solid supporting duty. Set against the stunning vistas of Ireland, The Banshees of Inisherin tells an effective and corrosive tale of friendship.

Hereditary is one of the scariest movies around, and a spectacular showcase for actors Toni Collette and Alex Wolff. The film’s subtle shocks and realistic drama combine to create a dreamlike atmosphere, drenched in psychological horror, which builds and builds to a climax that you won’t forget anytime soon.

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse delivers a dynamic visual experience unlike any other.

A gorgeous black-and-white film that harkens back to several cinematic eras, Joel Coen’s The Tragedy of Macbeth twists an old tale just enough to keep it fresh, but relies on tremendous lead performances by Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand to make the familiar feel exciting.

Guillermo del Toro’s engrossing fairy tale The Shape of Water offers so much to be enamored of in terms of performance, execution and design that it’s disappointing when its story veers into formula.

For all of its social, political and cinematic significance, Dog Day Afternoon is a terrifically entertaining and emotionally devastating film to boot.

Justine Triet's courtroom drama-thriller Anatomy of a Fall choreographs a riveting dance between tragedy and the transference into survival mode via the manipulation of reality and the power of invention. With star Sandra Hueller in full control of a bold and emotional script by Triet and and co-writer Arthur Harari, the consequences of a fractured marriage make for a deeply engrossing watch impossible not to get sucked into.

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse surges with visual inventiveness and vibrance in an undeniably strong evolution of the style established in Into the Spider-Verse. Miles and Gwen’s search for their place in the multiverse is relentless and exciting, almost to a fault, and though the plot is often an afterthought to the pure chaos of creation on display, strong performances and character arcs that feel true to the heroes we met last time help ensure that Across the Spider-Verse is a more-than-worthy follow-up to an all-time classic.

Mason Reeves delivers one of the most stunning child performances in recent memory, while Channing Tatum and Gemma Chan lean into their familiar acting hallmarks but find uncomfortable new layers as a mother and father bound by their own upbringings. The result is visceral, gentle, and ultimately, shattering.

Showing Up is the wonderfully muted tale of an artist struggling with expectation while dealing with her own insecurities.

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert is a riveting, immersive experience that brings the King back to life for one last show.

The movie is filled with great music, original choreography, and memorable songs. Along with a story that's a great update of Romeo & Juliet, it's really no surprise that the film is considered to be one of the best musicals ever made.

Astonishingly beautiful and vulnerable, I Saw the TV Glow's surreal art-horror speaks to lonely teenagers, past and present.

It takes a remarkably self-assured filmmaker to turn such a lurid tale of abuse into something so wildly entrancing and entertaining, but Todd Haynes’ mix of tenderness and camp is a perfect fit for May December.

The Lost Daughter is a stunning and unflinching portrait of a woman swimming against the tides of social expectation.

Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon have told their own story in a funny, highly engaging way that doesn’t feel precious or sanitized, but instead is relatable and engrossing from start to finish. And you’ll laugh a hell of a lot.

Big ambitions inspire great designs; little things bring them to life. Nausicaa has both in abundance.

Even though the story isn't as impactful as its stylized packaging, Wright creates a delightful new film that is sure to satisfy his legions of fans.

No Other Choice is another great film from Park Chan-wook, featuring excellent performances and the auteur’s signature directorial acumen.

A Real Pain is a hilarious and tender drama that shows us that truly living is the only way to honor those we've lost.

The Green Knight is truly astounding.

Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story is a dazzling complementary piece to the original.

At its core, Kiki's Delivery Service is about the conflict between becoming your own, independent person and relying on the support and comfort of others. Not every child who watches it will get that message, but like so many other Miyazaki's films, it strikes a chord deep down. And that's not the kind of thing you ever grow out of.

A deeply human film with no human characters, The Wild Robot is a tear-jerking and unpredictable animated adventure.