Tag: Rhian Johnson

• Top 30 Films of 2025: A Year Defined by Risk, Reckoning, and Reinvention

  

  A personal ranking of the 30 films that defined my 2025 — shaped by risk-taking, reinvention, and moral reckoning. From intimate character studies to bold genre experiments, these are the films that lingered, challenged expectations, and revealed where cinema felt most alive this year.

  Rolando Illanes Jr.

  January 22, 2026

  2025 Movie Reviews, A24 Movies, Action, Comedy, Drama, Entertainment, Film Reviews, Franchise Revivals, Horror, Independent Film, Movie Analysis, Psychological Drama, Romantic Comedy, Sci-Fi, Superhero, Thriller, Women Directors

  2025, 2025 Films, 2025 Movies, 28 Years Later, A24, Alex Garland, Alex Russell, Alfie Williams, Amanda Seyfried, Amazon MGM Studios, Archie Madekwe, Ari Aster, Óliver Laxe, Bi Gan, Brady Corbet, Bring Her Back, Bugonia, Carson Lund, Charlie Polinger, Chase Infiniti, Chloé Zhao, Clint Bentley, Cooper Hoffman, Daniel Craig, Danny Boyle, Danny Phillippou, David Jonsson, Die My Love, Dylan O’Brien, Eddington, Eephus, Emma Stone, Eva Victor, film, Film Criticism, Film Critique, Film Recommendations, Film Review, Film Reviews, films, Focus Features, Francis Lawrence, Frankenstein (2025), Guillermo del Toro, Hamnet, Hedda, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Imogen Poots, Independent Film Company, It Was Just an Accident, Jacob Elordi, Jafar Panahi, James Sweeney, Jennifer Lawrence, Jesse Plemons, Jessie Buckley, Joachim Trier, Joaquin Phoenix, Joel Edgerton, Josh O’Connor, Josh Safdie, Kaouther Ben Hania, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Kristen Stewart, Lee Byung-hun, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lurker (2025), Lynne Ramsay, Marty Supreme, Mary Bronstein, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Phillippou, Mona Fastvold, Movie Recommendations, Movie Review, movies, MUBI, Music Box Films, Neon, Netflix, New Movie Releases 2025, Nia DaCosta, No Other Choice, One Battle After Another, Oscar Isaac, Park Chan-wook, Paul Mescal, Paul Thomas Anderson, Pedro Pascal, Ralph Fiennes, Renate Reinsve, Resurrection, Rhian Johnson, Roadside Attractions, Robert Pattinson, Rose Byrne, Ryan Coogler, Sally Hawkins, Searchlight Pictures, Sentimental Value, Sinners, Sirāt, Sony Pictures Releasing, Sorry Baby, Stellan Skarsgård, Teyana Taylor, Théodore Pellerin, The Chronology of Water, The Long Walk, The Plague, The Secret Agent, The Testament of Ann Lee, The Voice of Hind Rajab, Thessa Thompson, Timothée Chalamet, Train Dreams, Twinless, Wagner Moura, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Warner Bros. Pictures, Weapons, Yorgos Lanthimos, Zach Cregger