Honourable Mentions: KPop Demon Hunters, 28 Years Later, A Minecraft Movie, Thunderbolts*, The Naked Gun, Predator: Badlands, Superman, Black Bag, John Candy: I Like Me, Companion, Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, Hamnet, Avatar: Fire and Ash, The Long Walk

10. Mickey 17

Director Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) provides a sci-fi tale of space travel, class warfare, alien creatures and excessive cloning. Mickey (Robert Pattinson) volunteers to be an “Expendable” on a space voyage, meaning he’ll be doing dangerous jobs, frequently die, and then be cloned. One day Mickey 17 gets lost, doesn’t die, and returns while they’ve already cloned Mickey 18. Meanwhile, the heads of the voyage, Kenneth (Mark Ruffalo) and Ylfa (Toni Collette) try to exterminate the native creatures, causing Mickey and friends to intervene. With lots of black comedy (the various ways that Mickey ends up getting splattered is inventive) and intense class warfare and space alien environmentalism, Mickey 17 is a gaggle of cool ideas and moments in a darkly amusing package.

9. The Fantastic Four: First Steps

This 3^rd version of Marvel’s first family and the 4^th film in 20 years turns out to be the best. With a retro futuristic vibe, the Fantastic Four of Reed (Pedro Pascal), Johnny (Joseph Quinn), Sue (Vanessa Kirby) and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) are shining superheroes capable of fantastic feats. Along comes the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), the Herald of Galactus (Ralph Ineson), saying the God-like entity will eat their world. As a new mother, Sue’s confrontation with Galactus is tied up with her newborn son, something that Sue and family take very personally. Each member of the FF has a moment to shine with an engaging family dynamic. The finale showdown with Big G and the Surfer has moments of fantastic power and drama that hit hard.

8. Marty Supreme

Timothée Chalamet is riveting as ping-pong player Marty Mauser, someone who is absolutely convinced at his greatness. He has pure skill but keeps running his mouth against influential people like businessman Milton Rockwell (Kevin O’Leary) and avoiding responsibility. Marty can barely contain his contempt for doing the halftime show for the Harlem Globetrotters where he literally plays against a trained seal. But things keep going wrong when he hooks up with an actress (Gwyneth Paltrow) and refuses to admit he’s the baby daddy for Rachel (Odessa A’zion). With crazy moments like violence for a kidnapped dog and Marty refusing to take a dive, all set to a rocking 1980s synth sports movie soundtrack (even though the flick is set in the 1950s), Marty Supreme is a wild ride of deception, obsession and flying balls.

7. Wake Up Dead Man

With the third Knives Out Mystery, writer and director Rian Johnson again twists genres for Wake Up Dead Man, leaning into gothic horror and religious contemplation. Jud Duplenticy (Josh O’Connor) is a priest assigned to the very mean Monsignor Wicks (Josh Brolin), and it doesn’t look good for Josh when Wicks turns up dead. Wicks’ followers, made up of authors, groundskeepers, disabled musicians, and more, have it in for Jud. Called into the case is master sleuth Benoit Blanc, who delves into the dark history of Wicks’ church as “miracles” happen. There are great performances, like Glenn Close as a religious fanatic, as Craig’s Blanc is still entertaining to watch, and the supernatural twists and revelations about religion make Wake Up Dead Man another unique entry in a unique series.

6. One Battle After Another

Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio), a revolutionary against a fascist U.S. military government power, has a kid with Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) but she eventually disappears from their life. Sixteen years later Bob is a burnout dad trying to save his daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti), who is being tracked by the corrupt military commander, Lockjaw (Sean Penn). Battle is often hilarious as Bob frustratedly is trying to remember Revolutionary code phrases from 16 years ago, Benicio del Toro is gold as the chill Sensi helping Bob, and Penn’s Lockjaw is a bizarre hyper military mush of toxic masculinity. There is great action, twists and humour for a heartfelt story about a father connecting with his daughter, via kidnapping and overcoming fascists.

5. Bugonia

A wealthy CEO, Michelle Fuller (Emma Stone) is kidnapped by the paranoid Teddy (Jesse Plemons) and his cousin, Don (Aidan Delbis) as Teddy believes Michelle is a space alien. They engage in a crazy back and forth as Michelle unsuccessfully tries to convince Teddy she isn’t an alien as he gets more extreme in his interrogation methods. Delbis conveys a sadness to Don, Plemons shows Teddy is scarily resolute in his conviction down as Stone runs an emotional gamut as Michelle gives different answers to get Teddy to back down. Featuring increasingly insane twists as things spiral out of control, and a jaw-dropper of an ending, this is a twisted tale of maybe alien conspiracies.

4. Frankenstein

A horrifically beautiful vision by Guillermo del Toro of the classic monster tale. Doctor Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac) is obsessed with overcoming death to create new life. With funding from the very rich and very sickly Harlander (Christoph Waltz) Victor literally pieces together the dead and creates his own Adam, in the very disturbing looking Creature (Jacob Elordi). At first overjoyed, Victor spurns its apparent lack of intelligence leading to a fiery break-up as the Creature evolves on his own. The movie splits between the tale of Victor and the tale of the Creature to show their unique perspectives. Guillermo del Toro’s visuals are amazing as this packs a powerful emotional punch.

3. Weapons

Written and directed by Zach Cregger, Weapons is a bananas horror, thriller, comedy, character study that cobbles together multiple plotlines for an enthralling and spooky story. When 17 kids run away in the middle of the night, the town blames their teacher, Justine (Julia Garner). What follows is an intricate weave of alcoholic relapses, bad cops, drug addicts, witchcraft as the arrival of Gladys (Amy Madigan) causes insane moments of people being possessed and used as weapons to enact her evil will. Culminating in one of the most cathartic acts of dismemberment ever seen on cinema, Weapons is an insanely inventive juggling act.

2. Chainsaw Man -The Movie: Reze Arc

Technically the second season of the Chainsaw Man series, this works perfectly as a singular film that is heartfelt, romantic and anime carnage. Denji / Chainsaw Man (Ryan Colt Levy) is a Devil Hunter who is infatuated with Ms Makima (Suzie Yeung) but he meets a cute waitress named Reze (Alexis Tipton). They seem perfect for each other, but Reze is actually the Bomb Devil and wants to take Denji’s Chainsaw Heart. Soon the Bomb Devil massacres multiple devil hunters leading to a massively destructive confrontation with Chainsaw Man. The opening credits montage “Iris Out” is a complete banger, up there with “Golden” for 2025’s cinematic songs as Reze Arc delivers heartbreak, bonkers characters and messy monster splatter for one of the craziest experiences of the year.

1. Sinners

Music, race and vampires collide in this visually lavish and horrific tale by writer and director Ryan Coogler (Black Panther). In the 1930s, twins Smoke and Stack (Michael B Jordan) open a juke joint music bar, and they get the assistance from the music prodigy Sammie (Miles Clayton) and the elderly drunken musician, Delta Slim (Delroy Lindo). While Stack is dealing with a returning bitter ex, Mary (Hailee Steinfeld) the opening night is crashed by Remmick (Jack O’Connell) and his crew of bloodthirsty vampires. Jordan’s performance as both twins, with one eventually going vampiric, is amazingly deft, and Steinfeld devolves from loving to monstrous and the way the vampires gleefully descend upon the bar is positively hellish. With some soaring tunes that turn into anguished screams, Sinners keeps twisting for a horrific and enthralling experience.