Column: Revisiting my top 10 films of 2025

With anticipated releases like Marty Supreme and Saipan hitting Irish theatres in the first days of 2026, there’s plenty for moviegoers to look forward to as the new year kicks off.

These films follow up on momentum from a solid year at the box office where action, horror and drama all had strong representation throughout 2025.

As a semi-regular attendee at the Barrack Street Cinema in Kilkenny I’ve taken it on myself to put together a completely non-exhaustive list of my top picks from the last 12 months in this paper as I’m outrageously yet to be admitted to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

10. The Long Walk

Director: Francis Lawrence

Starring: Cooper Hoffman, David Jonsson, Mark Hamill

Global Box Office: $62.9m

Adapted from the 1979 Stephen King novel under the pseudonym, Richard Bachman, the film takes place in a dystopian 1970s America in which 50 young men compete in a deadly annual endurance contest.

The participants must maintain a pace of three miles per hour and stay on the road or else be shot in the head with the winner being awarded any prize of their choosing. Not much is revealed about the nature of the authoritarian regime and state of the country as the grim fate of 49 of the boys looms large.

The friendship and camaraderie between the participants is a standout feature of The Long Walk and reminiscent of many other King adaptations, but a sense of foreboding cuts through these brief moments of calm as the executions become ever more frequent and visceral.

The film is greatly aided by strong performances from the two young leads Cooper Hoffman and David Jonsson as their backgrounds and motivations for taking part are explored. In an era where flashy, high stakes competitions like Squid Game and the Hunger Games are increasingly popular, The Long Walk offers something a little more authentic.

9. The Brutalist

Director: Brady Corbet

Starring: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce

Global Box Office: $50.4m

Adrien Brody gives an Oscar-winning performance in this post-war epic which focuses on themes of immigration, antisemitism and artistic vision as he plays holocaust survivor and celebrated architect László Tóth.

After travelling to the United States and finding work with his cousin, the story follows László as he rebuilds his career and endeavours to bring his wife and niece to join him in his new country.

However, after meeting a wealthy patron and being commissioned for a potential magnum opus project, the darker side of the American Dream begins to reveal itself through the gargantuan building taking shape and his relationships with his benefactors.

Despite a three hours and thirty six minute runtime, The Brutalist doesn’t outstay its welcome while the jaw-dropping cinematography of Lol Crawley also brought him an Oscar and provides to some already legendary imagery.

8. Nosferatu

Director: Robert Eggers

Starring: Bill Skarsgard, Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult

Global Box Office: $181.8m

Released on New Year’s Day of last year, this wonderfully gothic interpretation of the 1922 silent classic is a worthy tribute to both its film predecessors and Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel.

Set in 1830s Germany, the protagonist is Ellen Hutter, a young woman troubled by visions of an evil presence which she herself summoned in childhood. Her woes are just beginning however, as her husband is tricked into signing her life over to her tormentor, Count Orlok, during a business trip to Transylvania, leading to Nosferatu or ‘The Evil One’, descending on their city.

In typical fashion, Eggers creates an atmosphere of dark, gloomy dread throughout the film while Bill Skarsgard follows up his role as Pennywise the Clown in IT, by bringing Nosferatu’s vampire to life with a chilling performance.

The eerie mood that is maintained throughout stays true to the source material and brought the gothic novel to life on the big screen in a way which Frankenstein failed to do later in the year.

Image: Liam Neeson starring in The Naked Gun. Credit: Paramount Pictures

7. The Naked Gun

Director: Akiva Schaffer

Starring: Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson, Paul Walter Hauser

Global Box Office: $102.1m

The world had been crying out for a return to form for the spoof genre, lamentably out of fashion for the better part of 20 years. The latest entry in the Naked Gun series scratches this itch and then some as Liam Neeson attempts to fill the very large shoes of former leading man, Leslie Nielsen.

The Ballymena native plays Detective Frank Drebin Jr, the son of Nielsen’s character as he attempts to get to the bottom of the demise of a man found behind the wheel of an electric vehicle in Los Angeles.

Neeson nails the deadpan delivery and absurd physical comedy of the original films while co-star Pamela Anderson’s steady presence also fuels the 80s nostalgia even if she moves into unfamiliar territory from her Baywatch days with the performance of jazz scat number among other things.

The pressure was on for The Naked Gun to deliver and breathe new life into the genre, a mission on which it certainly delivered, paving the way for the return of some much needed silliness to our screens.

6. I’m Still Here

Director: Walter Salles

Starring: Fernanda Torres, Selton Mello, Fernanda Montenegro

Global Box Office: $36.2m

Set against the backdrop of Brazil’s military dictatorship in the 1970s, I’m Still Here follows Eunice Paiva as she struggles to locate her husband, former liberal politician Rubens, and hold her family together after his kidnapping by the authorities.

Fernanda Torres was deservingly awarded a Golden Globe for her performance as Eunice who shines particularly in her own abduction sequence, later working tirelessly for her husband’s release, even as hope fades.

The film’s opening stages document the idyllic life enjoyed by the Paivas on Rio’s sunny beaches and although this is contrasted with army helicopters and checkpoints, the joyous scenes make you wish you were part of the family. Something which makes the film’s later events all the more difficult to stomach.

Based on the book by Eunice and Rubens’ son Marcelo, I’m Still Here gives a raw view of the nature of authoritarianism, the devastation of forced disappearances and the need for unceasing campaigning for justice.

5. Train Dreams

Director: Clint Bentley

Starring: Joel Edgerton, Felicity Jones, Kerrie Condon

Global Box Office: Limited release

Adapted from the novella of the same name by Denis Johnson, Joel Edgerton plays logger Robert Grainier, a simple but earnest man who plies his trade in the lush forests of the American wilderness.

After marrying Gladys, played by Felicity Jones, the pair make a home together in a remote log cabin beside a river with their young daughter, but even with the great happiness this brings Robert, he struggles with long periods away and yearns for a deeper meaning to his life.

The slow-paced film is visually breathtaking, as Robert works through pivotal moments in American history like railroad expansion and the First World War, meeting plenty of memorable characters and dealing with more than his fair share of tragedy along the way.

The stoic but heartfelt performance of Edgerton, conveyed with few words, elevates Train Dreams to a wonderful mix of peace and chaos, making it a standout film of the year despite its limited release.

4. One Battle After Another

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro

Global Box Office: $205.2m

Continuing the pattern of book adaptations running throughout this list, One Battle After Another is a loose interpretation of Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel Vineland, following jaded former revolutionary Bob and his teenage daughter Willa.

Years on from leaving the revolutionary life behind after the betrayal of Willa’s mother, Bob is forced back into action when old enemy Colonel Lockjaw, creepily played by Sean Penn, targets the family once again.

Very often over the top, but not dull for a moment, the film hones in one ever more relevant themes including ICE roundups, culture war and state overreach while DiCaprio’s stoner Bob’s wild oscillating between competence and a complete lack thereof gives One Battle After Another an equally compelling comedic element.

Near perfect pacing and set-pieces like that climatic threeway car chase and thrilling bank robbery gone awry make this an instant classic which is certain to take home plenty of acclaim in the upcoming awards season.

Image: Elle Fanning and Timothée Chalamet in A Complete Unknown. Credit: Searchlight Pictures

3. A Complete Unknown

Director: James Mangold

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Monica Barbaro, Elle Fanning

Global Box Office: $140.5m

In an age where the musical biopic is becoming an increasingly saturated arena, A Complete Unknown is the benchmark to which the many upcoming copycats will be aspiring to as director James Mangold follows up 2005’s Walk the Line with another top-tier addition to the genre.

The film is focused on a young Bob Dylan as he establishes himself in New York City at the forefront of the folk scene in the early 1960s. Quickly making a name for himself in political songwriting, tension grows as the brilliant but abrasive performer begins to feel constrained by his peers, culminating in the divisive electric performance at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival.

Timothée Chalamet's performance as Dylan, for which he did all his own vocal work, should have gotten him an Oscar last year and makes for captivating viewing while Monica Barbaro and Boyd Holbrook pull off similarly impressive feats as Joan Baez and Johnny Cash respectively.

Though it could have only benefited from including Dylan’s Nowlan Park appearances, A Complete Unknown will have you itching to dig up Highway 61 Revisited for days after viewing.

2. 28 Years Later

Director: Danny Boyle

Starring: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer, Ralph Fiennes

Global Box Office: $151.3m

Danny Boyle’s zombie horror series returns for its third installment after an 18 year hiatus with its most ambitious entry yet. Set nearly three decades after the rage virus devastated Britain, society has collapsed on the mainland across the water from the well protected community of Holy Island.

Twelve year old Spike must quickly learn to survive the dangers posed by the infected as he rushes to bring his ailing mother to be treated by the mysterious Dr Kelson, played by former Kilkenny resident Ralph Fiennes.

28 Years Later leaves the immediacy of the outbreak from the first two films behind, plunging us into a world where the old way of life is a distant memory and the prospect of a horde of blood-thirsty zombies appearing at any moment gives the film some incredibly unsettling images and moments.

Fans of the series won’t have long to wait to get their fix once again as the film’s sequel, The Bone Temple, hits theatres later in January, just over six months after its predecessor in a remarkably quick turnaround.

1. Sinners

Director: Ryan Coogler

Starring: Michael B Jordan, Hailee Steinfeld, Miles Caton

Global Box Office: $368m

How could a film that brings together Mississippi Delta blues, Irish folk songs and lots and lots of vampires not end up at number one? Centered in the Deep South during the depression, Michael B Jordan plays twins, Smoke and Stack, who have returned home to open their own juke joint.

Joined by their younger cousin Sammie, a prodigious blues singer and guitarist, they lay the foundations for their opening night. However, attracted by Sammie’s raw talent, an ancient evil lays siege to the joint, leaving the group fighting for their lives until dawn. 

With a stellar soundtrack including a vampire rendition of Rocky Road to Dublin, mind-bending sequences blending black music of past, present and future and themes such as segregation in the Jim Crow era, Sinners is one of the most unique and memorable films of 2025 or any year.

If you have yet to see it for yourself, Jack O’Connell’s dusting off of his Irish dancing shoes is worth the price of admission alone in this From Dusk Till Dawn meets O Brother Where Art Thou masterpiece.