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INTRODUCTION

I came on to the latest episode of After Hours: TLSN to talk about PTA’s Phantom Thread.

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Click Here to listen to the podcast, I should note this a premium podcast which requires a Patreon subscription to listen to.

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INTRODUCTION

Good day to you. My name is Luis A. Mendez. I’m a film critic based in Central Florida, and these are my PERSONAL Oscars Projections for the 2025 awards season.

If you want more detailed thoughts on my thinking on why I believe a certain film or performance may be a winner in certain categories, and why I have them ranked where I do, look out for my much more in-depth piece on the matter that might be over at Ordinary Times by the time this is published.

BEST PICTURE

• My Prediction: One Battle After Another

• Upset Alert: Sinners

• Dark Horse: Hamnet

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Sentimental Value; Marty Supreme; Frankenstein; Bugonia; Train Dreams; The Secret Agent; F1

• If I Had A Vote: 1. One Battle After Another; 2. Sinners; 3. Frankenstein; 4. F1; 5. Hamnet; 6. Marty Supreme; 7. The Secret Agent; 8. Sentimental Value; 9. Train Dreams; 10. Bugonia

BEST DIRECTOR

• My Prediction: Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)

• Upset Alert: Ryan Coogler (Sinners)

• Dark Horse: Chloe Zhao (Hamnet)

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value); Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme);

• If I Had A Vote: Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)

BEST CASTING

• My Prediction: Sinners

• Upset Alert: One Battle After Another

• Dark Horse: Hamnet

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Marty Supreme; The Secret Agent

• If I Had A Vote: One Battle After Another

BEST ACTOR

• My Prediction: Michael B. Jordan (Sinners)

• Upset Alert: Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another)

• Dark Horse: Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent); Timothee Chalamet (Marty Supreme)

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon)

• If I Had A Vote: Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another)

BEST ACTRESS

• My Prediction: Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)

• Upset Alert: Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You)

• Dark Horse: Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value)

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Emma Stone (Bugonia); Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue)

• If I Had A Vote: Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• My Prediction: Sean Penn (One Battle After Another)

• Upset Alert: Delroy Lindo (Sinners)

• Dark Horse: Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value); Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein)

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another)

• If I Had A Vote: Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• My Prediction: Amy Madigan (Weapons)

• Upset Alert: Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners)

• Dark Horse: Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another)

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value); Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value)

• If I Had A Vote: Amy Madigan (Weapons)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• My Prediction: Sinners

• Upset Alert: Sentimental Value

• Dark Horse: Marty Supreme

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: It Was Just An Accident; Blue Moon

• If I Had A Vote: Sinners

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• My Prediction: One Battle After Another

• Upset Alert: Hamnet

• Dark Horse: Frankenstein

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Bugonia; Train Dreams

• If I Had A Vote: One Battle After Another

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• My Prediction: KPop Demon Hunters

• Upset Alert: Zootopia 2

• Dark Horse: Elio

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Arco; Little Amelie

• If I Had A Vote: Elio

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

• My Prediction: The Girl Who Cried Pearls

• Upset Alert: Butterfly

• Dark Horse: Retirement Plan; Forevergreen

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: The Three Sisters

• If I Had A Vote: The Girl Who Cried Pearls

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

• My Prediction: Sentimental Value

• Upset Alert: The Secret Agent

• Dark Horse: It Was Just An Accident; Sirat

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: The Voice Of Hind Rajab

• If I Had A Vote: The Secret Agent

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

• My Prediction: Two People Exchanging Saliva

• Upset Alert: A Friend Of Dorothy

• Dark Horse: The Singers; Jane Austen’s Period Drama

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Butcher’s Stain

• If I Had A Vote: Two People Exchanging Saliva

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• My Prediction: The Perfect Neighbor

• Upset Alert: Mr Nobody Against Putin

• Dark Horse: The Alabama Solution; Come See Me In The Good Light

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Cutting Through Rocks

• If I Had A Vote: The Alabama Solution

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

• My Prediction: All The Empty Rooms

• Upset Alert: The Devil Is Busy

• Dark Horse: Armed With Only A Camera; Children No More: Were And Are Gone

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Perfectly A Strangeness

• If I Had A Vote: All The Empty Rooms

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• My Prediction: “Golden” (KPop Demon Hunters)

• Upset Alert: “I Lied To You” (Sinners)

• Dark Horse: “Dear Me” (Diane Warren: Relentless)

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: “Train Dreams” (Train Dreams); “Sweet Dreams Of Joy” (Viva Verdi!)

• If I Had A Vote: “I Lied To You” (Sinners)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• My Prediction: Sinners

• Upset Alert: One Battle After Another

• Dark Horse: Hamnet

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Frankenstein; Bugonia

• If I Had A Vote: Sinners

BEST SOUND

• My Prediction: F1

• Upset Alert: Sinners

• Dark Horse: Frankenstein

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: One Battle After Another; Sirat

• If I Had A Vote: F1

BEST EDITING

• My Prediction: One Battle After Another

• Upset Alert: Sinners

• Dark Horse: F1

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Sentimental Value; Marty Supreme

• If I Had A Vote: One Battle After Another

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• My Prediction: One Battle After Another

• Upset Alert: Sinners

• Dark Horse: Train Dreams

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Frankenstein; Marty Supreme

• If I Had A Vote: One Battle After Another

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• My Prediction: Avatar: Fire And Ash

• Upset Alert: Sinners

• Dark Horse: F1

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Jurassic World Rebirth; The Lost Bus

• If I Had A Vote: Avatar: Fire And Ash

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• My Prediction: Frankenstein

• Upset Alert: Sinners

• Dark Horse: Hamnet

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: One Battle After Another; Marty Supreme

• If I Had A Vote: Frankenstein

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• My Prediction: Frankenstein

• Upset Alert: Sinners

• Dark Horse: Hamnet

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: One Battler After Another; Avatar: Fire And Ash

• If I Had A Vote: Frankenstein

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP

• My Prediction: Frankenstein

• Upset Alert: Sinners

• Dark Horse: The Smashing Machine

• Just Happy To Be Nominated: Kokuho; The Ugly Stepsister

• If I Had A Vote: Frankenstein

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INTRODUCTION

These are quick impressions of some newly released films that I watched over the past month that I wasn’t able to write more in-depth reviews for. Please note that these are just some of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for these films may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on these ones, follow me on Letterboxd.

If you enjoy these impressions, I’d greatly appreciate it if you could share this newsletter with family and friends who might love receiving film reviews, classic movie lists, and Oscars projections straight to their inbox.

CRIME 101

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: When an elusive thief whose high-stakes heists unfold along the iconic 101 freeway in Los Angeles eyes the score of a lifetime, with hopes of this being his final job, his path collides with a disillusioned insurance broker who is facing her own crossroads, forcing the two to collaborate. Determined to crack the case, a relentless detective closes in on the operation, raising the stakes even higher.

• Quick Impressions: This plays very much in the same vein as classic crime thrillers like Heat, leaning into that deliberate, character-first pacing with an ensemble cast that helps smooth over some of the film’s weaker links. It’s a tad overlong and occasionally feels like it’s plotting rather than propelling, but when it locks in, it really locks in.

  What ultimately carries it is the chemistry and commitment from the cast, who treat the material with just enough gravitas to elevate what could’ve easily been a disposable genre exercise. There’s a sturdy, old-school craftsmanship to it, the kind of mid-budget adult thriller that doesn’t get made as often anymore, and that alone makes it feel refreshing.

  In the end, it’s a very enjoyable “dad flick” thriller in the best sense of the term - serious, muscular, a little indulgent, but genuinely engaging. For me, it’s the first major pleasant surprise of the year.

• Initial Grading: B+

GOAT

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: Will, a small goat with big dreams, gets a once-in-a-lifetime shot to join the pros and play roarball – a high-intensity, co-ed, full-contact sport dominated by the fastest, fiercest animals in the world. Will’s new teammates aren’t thrilled about having a little goat on their roster, but Will is determined to revolutionize the sport and prove once and for all that ‘smalls can ball’!

• Quick Impressions: The animation here is flat-out superb; honestly, on a pure technical level, it outclasses even some animated films that are overall superior movies. The textures, the movement, the way the action sequences are staged, it all has a fluidity and confidence that makes the whole thing pop off the screen.

  What caught me off guard, though, is how much heart the movie actually has. Beneath the bright colors and broad humor, there’s a sincere examination of not just chasing your dreams, but what it takes to build something with other people. It leans into themes of community, teamwork, and learning how to trust those around you instead of trying to lone-wolf your way to greatness. That element gives the story a little more weight than you might expect going in.

  Now, make no mistake, this is still a pretty predictable, paint-by-the-numbers underdog story. You can see most of the emotional beats coming from a mile away. But it’s executed with enough charm, energy, and visual flair that it stays engaging throughout. It never quite transcends the formula, but it works the formula well.

  And maybe most importantly, it’s paced and constructed in a way that parents won’t find their eyes glazing over while sitting through it at the local theater. There’s enough craft and sincerity here to make it a genuinely pleasant family outing rather than just something you endure for the kids.

• Initial Grading: B-

GOOD LUCK, HAVE FUN, DON’T DIE

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: A man from the future arrives at a diner in Los Angeles where he must recruit the precise combination of disgruntled patrons to join him on a one-night-six-block quest to save the world from the terminal threat of a rogue artificial intelligence.

• Quick Impressions: I’m in the minority on this one in the same way I was with last month’s Send Help. While a lot of people seem to be vibing with it, I found it to be a pretty grating experience. The heart is clearly in the right place, especially with its attempts to grapple with the dangers and pitfalls of AI, but it never quite figures out how to execute those themes in a way that feels sharp or cohesive. It gestures at big ideas without ever fully committing to them.

  To his credit, Sam Rockwell does his damnest to elevate the material. He goes all-in with a zany, go-for-broke performance that at least injects some chaotic energy into the proceedings. You can feel him trying to will the movie into something more memorable. Unfortunately, even that commitment can’t paper over a weak script.

  The film’s greatest sin, though, is its finale. Without getting into specifics, it completely lost me in the homestretch, to the point where I was actively cursing at the screen for what felt like a waste of time and potential. It’s one thing to miss the mark; it’s another to fumble the landing that badly.

  The only reason my final grade isn’t harsher is because there are flashes of real genius sprinkled throughout, moments where you can see the smarter, sharper movie it could have been. But those moments are too few and far between to salvage the whole. As it stands, this might very well be my least favorite project from Gore Verbinski, which is a real disappointment given his decent track record.

• Initial Grading: C+

“WUTHERING HEIGHTS”

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: Tragedy strikes when Heathcliff falls in love with Catherine Earnshaw, a woman from a wealthy family in eighteenth century England.

• Quick Impressions: The early frontrunner for Most Divisive Film of the Year, which, let’s be honest, is exactly the kind of space Emerald Fennell seems to relish operating in. I respected more than loved Promising Young Woman, but Saltburn ended up being one of my top favorites of 2023, so I genuinely had no idea where I’d land on this one.

  On a pure craft level, this thing is breathtaking. The production design, costumes, cinematography, all of it feels meticulously curated and borderline immaculate. It’s the kind of below-the-line work that practically begs to show up on a year-end personal ballot. Fennell and her team know how to build a world, and they build the hell out of this one.

  Performance-wise, Jacob Elordi is going all out. He understands the assignment and commits fully to the operatic intensity the film is reaching for. Margot Robbie, though, feels slightly mismatched in comparison. It’s not that she’s bad , but next to Elordi’s heightened energy, her performance feels comparatively restrained in a way that doesn’t always serve the dynamic the story is trying to sell.

  Structurally, the first half is the stronger film. It’s focused, atmospheric, and genuinely absorbing. The back half is where things start to get messy, not boring, not incompetent, just less disciplined. The thematic swings get broader, the pacing more uneven, and the emotional tragic payoff doesn’t quite land with the force it’s clearly aiming for.

  I ended up really liking it overall, even if I didn’t love it. As an adaptation of Wuthering Heights, it’s one of the weaker takes, especially compared to versions that hewed closer to the source material’s emotional core. Still, it’s ambitious, gorgeously made, and never dull. I’d probably rank it somewhere between Fennell’s previous two films. Really liked this. Didn’t quite love it. But I’ll absolutely be thinking about it for a while.

• Initial Grading: B+

HOW TO MAKE A KILLING

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: Disowned at birth by his obscenely wealthy family, blue-collar Becket Redfellow will stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, no matter how many relatives stand in his way.

• Quick Impressions: This is a loose modern remake of the 1949 British classic Kind Hearts And Coronets, and unfortunately it stumbles its way into being a far inferior take on that razor-sharp original. Where the earlier film balanced pitch-perfect black comedy with elegance and restraint, this version feels louder, broader, and far less precise about what it’s trying to say.

  Glenn Powell is dynamite, though. He understands the tone the movie should be operating in and brings a slick, charismatic edge that keeps the whole thing from completely derailing. Every time he’s on screen, the movie snaps into focus. The problem is that the film keeps undercutting that momentum by leaning on a string of cheap cameos that feel more like distractions than additions.

  The pacing doesn’t help either. It feels oddly rushed, as if it’s sprinting through plot points without trusting the audience to savor the satire. Margaret Qualley, meanwhile, feels underserved here; stuck delivering the same sort of stylized, detached dialogue she’s been handed in some of her lesser projects. It never quite clicks into something memorable.

  Most frustrating are the small but significant changes made to the source material. They may seem minor on paper, but they create massive dentations in the story’s thematic core. What was once a sly, darkly comedic meditation on class and ambition now plays meaner and more cynical, losing much of the wit and underlying message that made the original endure.

  There’s a ton of potential here,the premise still works, and the right cast is in place, but the final product left me more underwhelmed than entertained.

• Initial Grading: C+

NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008.

• Quick Impressions: I’ve never seen the previous skits this is based on, so I went in pretty much cold. But this darling from last fall’s festival circuit ended up being one of the more outright fun theatrical experiences I’ve had all year.

  The plot itself? Nothing groundbreaking. It’s fairly straightforward and doesn’t reinvent the wheel structurally. But that almost doesn’t matter. The dialogue absolutely crackles, and the comedic timing is so sharp that I found myself laughing out loud more than a few times.

  What really makes it work is the rhythm. The jokes build on each other, the performances commit fully to the bit, and there’s a loose, infectious energy that keeps the whole thing buoyant even when the story threatens to sag.

  This is the kind of movie that plays best with a crowd, ideally in a packed theater, maybe after a couple drinks, or at least with a big tub of popcorn and people ready to lean into the absurdity. It’s not aiming to be profound, but as pure communal entertainment, it absolutely delivers.

• Initial Grading: B+

SCREAM 7

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: When a new Ghostface killer emerges in the quiet town where Sidney Prescott has built a new life, her darkest fears are realized as her daughter becomes the next target. Determined to protect her family, Sidney must face the horrors of her past to put an end to the bloodshed once and for all.

• Quick Impressions: As someone who soured pretty heavily on Scream 5 and Scream 6, I was actually kind of looking forward to a clean slate with Scream 7. Yes, the road getting here involved some truly gross behind-the-scenes decisions by Paramount regarding Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, and that definitely left a bad taste. But creatively? I wasn’t going to pretend I was heartbroken to see the previous storyline, which never really worked for me, come to an end.

  Unfortunately, be careful what you wish for. Scream 7 ends up being a giant waste of time; a messy, nostalgia-baiting entry that feels more desperate than inspired. It leans hard into callbacks and legacy winks instead of building something compelling on its own. Worst of all, there’s a cheap use of AI baked into the plot that feels like a shortcut around what could have been a genuinely bizarre, swing-for-the-fences twist. Instead of elevating the film, it just makes it feel cynical and hollow.

  To the movie’s credit, the ultra-meta commentary that dominated the last two installments, and that I personally found exhausting, is dialed back here. That’s about where the positives end. The script’s pacing is all over the place, lurching from set piece to set piece without tension properly building. The new characters introduced this time around are paper-thin and interchangeable, giving you little reason to care who makes it to the third act.

  And then there’s the Ghostface reveal.

  Without spoiling anything, it’s easily the weakest in the entire franchise, not shocking, not clever, not even particularly fun. Just deflating. For a series that lives and dies on how well it sticks that landing, that’s a fatal flaw.

  If this was the grand plan after fucking over Barrera and Ortega, then honestly? It might be time to let the franchise rest. Sometimes the most merciful twist is knowing when to finally hang up the mask.

• Initial Grading: C+

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INTRODUCTION

These are quick impressions of some other newly released films that I watched over the past month that I wasn’t able to write more in-depth reviews for. Please note that these are just some of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for these films may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.

If you enjoy these impressions, I’d greatly appreciate it if you could share this newsletter with family and friends who might love receiving film reviews, classic movie lists, and Oscars projections straight to their inbox.

GREENLAND 2: MIGRATION

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: Having found the safety of the Greenland bunker after the comet Clarke decimated the Earth, the Garrity family must now risk everything to embark on a perilous journey across the wasteland of Europe to find a new home.

• Quick Impressions: Unlike its predecessor, Greenland 2: Migration lacks the more grounded approach that made the previous film one of the more pleasant critical surprises of 2020. In comparison, this sequel feels like something that should’ve stayed a straight-to-streaming option - or just shouldn’t have been produced in the first place. Wonky visual effects and a much more boring plot that leans harder into spectacle make this a mediocre experience that only hurts the existence of the previous film.

• Initial Grading: C+

PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: Poppy’s a free spirit. Alex loves a plan. After years of summer vacations, these polar-opposite pals wonder if they could be a perfect romantic match.

• Quick Impressions: I’m a bit taken aback by some of the praise I’ve seen for this. It comes off like any other straight-to-Netflix, Hallmark-style romance flick, with nothing much to offer beyond the usual story beats that always come with these. I came away feeling more apathetic than anything, rather than finding myself actually rooting for either of these two to end up together.

• Initial Grading: C+

THE RIP

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: Trust frays when a team of Miami cops discovers millions in cash inside a run-down stash house, calling everyone and everything into question.

• Quick Impressions: Not one of the top-tier acting collaborations between Affleck and Damon, but you still end up with a decent action flick from The Rip that you can easily recommend and watch with your dad. It’s an action thriller that mixes in mystery and intrigue, and ultimately ends up a pleasant surprise from the early part of the new film year.

• Initial Grading: B-

MERCY

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: In the near future, a detective stands on trial accused of murdering his wife. He has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to the advanced A.I. Judge he once championed, before it determines his fate.

• Quick Impressions: While not as atrocious as some reviews make it out to be, Mercy ultimately trips over itself. It takes its intriguing premise, using AI instead of a jury of one’s peers to judge a human being’s criminal trial, and then throws it in the trash by turning into pro-AI propaganda by the time the credits roll. This feels like a much lesser version of what we got with 2018’s Searching or 2023’s Missing.

• Initial Grading: C+

RETURN TO SILENT HILL

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: When James receives a mysterious letter from his lost love Mary, he is drawn to Silent Hill, a once-familiar town now consumed by darkness. As he searches for her, James faces monstrous creatures and unravels a terrifying truth that will push him to the edge of his sanity.

• Quick Impressions: It’s never a good sign when you’re being compared to a video game film adaptation like 2021’s disastrous Resident Evil: Welcome To Raccoon City, but Return To Silent Hill makes the same mistakes. It’s a loose adaptation of its source material with mediocre acting, a rushed story full of plot holes, and a vibe that feels like it belongs on a future Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode by the time the credits roll. Easily the first early candidate for worst film of the year.

• Initial Grading: D+

SEND HELP

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: Two colleagues become stranded on a deserted island, the only survivors of a plane crash. On the island, they must overcome past grievances and work together to survive, but ultimately, it’s a battle of wills and wits to make it out alive.

• Quick Impressions: I must confess that I was severely let down by Send Help, which has amassed much better critical scores among my colleagues. I honestly feel like I watched a completely different film than they did, because the one I saw was a jumbled mess that couldn’t settle on a consistent tone, filled with awkward, unlikable characters I never connected with, and an overall mean-spirited streak that I just couldn’t vibe with.

• Initial Grading: C-

THE WRECKING CREW

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: Estranged half-brothers Jonny and James reunite after their father’s mysterious death. As they search for the truth, buried secrets reveal a conspiracy threatening to tear their family apart.

• Quick Impressions: Like the aforementioned The Rip, The Wrecking Crew is a straight-to-streaming action flick that’s a big pleasant surprise for the early part of the year, delivering a final product that’s clearly coded as another “dad movie” in a way that makes it accessible to the exact audience it’s aiming for. Dave Bautista and Jason Momoa have solid chemistry as bickering brothers trying to solve the mystery of their father’s murder, and the film even finds time for a few genuine flashes of heart, along with a message about family and community. I’m low-key shocked, especially considering how incredibly mediocre the marketing for this one was.

• Initial Grading: B-

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VIDEO VERSION

EPISODE NOTES

• Details: The Reel Lounge opened its doors for the evening as film critic Luis A. Mendez of The Mendez Movie Report and game journalist Jose Mendez of 1Up Vault sat down to discuss their reactions to the nominees for the 98th Annual Academy Awards, celebrating the best in film for 2025.

• Timeline:

  00:00 Intro
  05:53 The Latest At The Mendez Movie Report
  25:49 The Latest At The 1Up Vault
  31:27 Reacting To The 2025 Oscars Nominees
  1:50:14 Finale

• Where To Find More From Luis

• Where To Find More From Jose

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VIDEO VERSION

EPISODE NOTES

• Details: The Reel Lounge opened its doors for the evening as film critic Luis A. Mendez of The Mendez Movie Report and game journalist Jose Mendez of 1Up Vault sat down to discuss predictions for the 98th Annual Academy Awards, celebrating the best in film for 2025.

• Timeline:

  00:00 Intro
  05:40 The Latest At The Mendez Movie Report
  17:24 The Latest At The 1Up Vault
  23:37 Predicting The 2025 Oscars Nominees
  1:40:58 Finale

• Where To Find More From Luis

• Where To Find More From Jose

Share

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INTRODUCTION

Good day to you. My name is Luis A. Mendez. I’m a film critic based in Central Florida, and these are my PERSONAL Oscars Projections for the 2025 awards season.

If you want more detailed thoughts on my thinking on why I believe a certain film or performance may be a nominee in certain categories, and why I have them ranked where I do, look out for my much more in-depth piece on the matter that might be over at Ordinary Times by the time this is published.

BEST PICTURE

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. One Battle After Another

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Sinners; 3. Hamnet; 4. Marty Supreme; 5. Frankenstein; 6. Sentimental Value; 7. Bugonia; 8. Train Dreams; 9. It Was Just An Accident; 10. The Secret Agent

• “On The Bubble” Contenders: 11. F1; 12. Weapons; 13. Wicked: For Good; 14. Blue Moon; 15. Nuremberg; 16. Sirat; 17. No Other Choice; 18. Avatar: Fire And Ash; 19. Jay Kelly; 20. Wake Up Dead Man

BEST DIRECTOR

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another)

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Ryan Coogler (Sinners); 3. Chloe Zhao (Hamnet); 4. Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme); 5. Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value)

• “On The Bubble” Contenders: 6. Guillermo del Toro (Frankenstein); 7. Jafar Panahi (It Was Just An Accident); 8. Kleber Medonca Filho (The Secret Agent); 9. Oliver Laxe (Sirat); 10. Park Chan-wook (No Other Choice); 11. Yorgos Lanthimos (Bugonia); 12. Richard Linklater (Blue Moon)

BEST CASTING

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. One Battle After Another

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Sinners; 3. Hamnet; 4. Marty Supreme; 5. Frankenstein

• Other Longlisted Nominees: 6. Wicked: For Good; 7. Sentimental Value; 8. The Secret Agent; 9. Sirat; 10. Weapons

BEST ACTOR

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Timothee Chalamet (Marty Supreme)

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Leonardo DiCaprio (One Battle After Another); 3. Michael B. Jordan (Sinners); 4. Ethan Hawke (Blue Moon); 5. Wagner Moura (The Secret Agent)

• “On The Bubble” Contenders: 6. Joel Edgerton (Train Dreams); 7. Jesse Plemons (Bugonia); 8. Russell Crowe (Nuremberg); 9. George Clooney (Jay Kelly); 10. Dwayne Johnson (The Smashing Machine); 11. Jeremy Allen White (Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere); 12. Hugh Jackman (Song Sung Blue)

BEST ACTRESS

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Jessie Buckley (Hamnet)

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Rose Byrne (If I Had Legs I’d Kick You); 3. Emma Stone (Bugonia); 4. Chase Infiniti (One Battle After Another); 5. Renate Reinsve (Sentimental Value)

• “On The Bubble” Contenders: 6. Kate Hudson (Song Sung Blue); 7. Cynthia Erivo (Wicked: For Good); 8. Amanda Seyfried (The Testament Of Ann Lee); 9. Jennifer Lawrence (Die My Love); 10. Tessa Thompson (Hedda); 11. Eva Victor (Sorry, Baby); 12. Julia Roberts (After The Hunt)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Benicio del Toro (One Battle After Another)

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Stellan Skarsgard (Sentimental Value); 3. Jacob Elordi (Frankenstein); 4. Sean Penn (One Battle After Another); 5. Paul Mescal (Hamnet)

• “On The Bubble” Contenders: 6. Delroy Lindo (Sinners); 7. Miles Canton (Sinners); 8. Andrew Scott (Blue Moon); 9. Adam Sandler (Jay Kelly); 10. Josh O’Connor (Wake Up Dead Man); 11. Jeremy Strong (Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere); 12. Alexander Skarsgard (Pillion)

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Teyana Taylor (One Battle After Another)

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Amy Madigan (Weapons); 3. Wunmi Mosaku (Sinners); 4. Odessa A’zion (Marty Supreme); 5. Ariana Grande (Wicked: For Good)

• “On The Bubble” Contenders: 6. Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas (Sentimental Value); 7. Elle Fanning (Sentimental Value); 8. Gwyneth Paltrow (Marty Supreme); 9. Emily Watson (Hamnet); 10. Regina Hall (One Battle After Another); 11. Hailee Steinfeld (Sinners); 12. Emily Blunt (The Smashing Machine)

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Sinners

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Marty Supreme; 3. Sentimental Value; 4. It Was Just An Accident; 5. Sorry, Baby

• “On The Bubble” Contenders: 6. The Secret Agent; 7. Weapons; 8. Blue Moon; 9. Jay Kelly; 10. Rental Family; 11. Is This Thing On?; 12. I Swear

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. One Battle After Another

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Hamnet; 3. Frankenstein; 4. Bugonia; 5. Train Dreams

• “On The Bubble” Contenders: 6. Wake Up Dead Man; 7. Nuremberg; 8. No Other Choice; 9. The Ballad Of Wallis Island; 10. Pillion; 11. Peter Hujar’s Day; 12. 28 Years Later

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. KPop Demon Hunters

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Arco; 3. Little Amelie Or The Character Of The Rain; 4. Zootopia 2; 5. Elio

• “On The Bubble” Contenders: 6. The Bad Guys 2; 7. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba Infinity Castle; 8. In Your Dreams; 9. A Magnificent Life; 10. Scarlet; 11. Lost In Starlight; 12. I Am Frankelda

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Snow Bear

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Eiru; 3. Butterfly (Papillon); 4. Forevergreen; 5. Cardboard

• Other Longlisted Nominees (In ABC Order): Autokar (Bus); Hurikan; I Died Of Irpin; Playing God; Retirement Card; The Girl Who Cried Pearls; The Night Boots; The Quinta’s Ghost; The Shyness Of Trees; The Three Sisters

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Sentimental Value

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. It Was Just An Accident; 3. The Secret Agent; 4. Sirat; 5. No Other Choice

• Other Longlisted Nominees: 6. The Voice Of Hind Rajab; 7. Left Handed Girl; 8. Kokuho; 9. Sound Of Falling; 10. Belen; 11. Late Shift; 12. The President’s Cake; 13. All That’s Left Of You; 14. Palestine 36; 15. Homebound

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. The Boy With White Skin

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Beyond Silence; 3. Ado; 4. A Friend Of Dorothy; 5. The Pearl Comb

• Other Longlisted Nominees (In ABC Order): Amarela; Butcher’s Stain; Butterfly On The Wheel; Dad’s Not Home; Extremist; Jane Austen’s Period Drama; Pantyhose; Rock Paper Scissors; The Singers; Two People Exchanging Saliva

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. The Perfect Neighbor

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Cover-Up; 3. 2000 Meters To Andriivka; 4. Mr Nobody Against Putin; 5. Apocalypse In The Tropics

• Other Longlisted Nominees: 6. My Undesirable Friends Part 1; 7. The Alabama Solution; 8. Come See Me In The Good Light; 9. Cutting Through Rocks; 10. Coexistence My Ass!; 11. Seeds; 12. Folktales; 13. Yanumi; 14. Holding Liat; 15. Mistress Dispeller

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Armed Only With A Camera

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. All The Empty Rooms; 3. All The Walls Come Down; 4. The Devil Is Busy; 5. Cashing Out

• Other Longlisted Nominees (In ABC Order): Bad Hostage; Chasing Time; Children No More: Were And Are Gone; Classroom 4; Heartbeat; Last Days On Lake Trinity; On Healing Hands, Birds Perch; Perfectly A Strangeness; Rovina’s Choice; We Were The Scenery

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. “Golden” (KPop Demon Hunters)

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. “I Lied To You” (Sinners); 3. “Train Dreams” (Train Dreams); 4. “The Girl In The Bubble” (Wicked: For Good); 5. “Dear Me” (Diane Warren: Relentless)

• Other Longlisted Nominees: 6. “Drive” (F1); 7. “Last Time I Seen The Sun” (Sinners); 8. “No Place Like Home” (Wicked: For Good); 9. “Dream As One” (Avatar: Fire And Ash); 10. “Our Love” (The Ballad Of Wallis Island); 11. “Salt Then Sour Than Sweet” (Come See Me In The Good Light); 12. “Dying To Live” (Billy Idol Should Not Be Alive); 13. “As Alive As You Need Me To Be” (Tron: Ares); 14. “Highest 2 Lowest” (Highest 2 Lowest); 15. “Sweet Dreams Of Joy” (Viva Verdi!)

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Sinners

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. One Battle After Another; 3. Hamnet; 4. Frankenstein; 5. F1

• Other Longlisted Nominees: 6. Marty Supreme; 7. Bugonia; 8. Wicked: For Good; 9. Nuremberg; 10. Sirat; 11. Hedda; 12. Train Dreams; 13. Jay Kelly; 14. Wake Up Dead Man; 15. A House Of Dynamite; 16. Avatar: Fire And Ash; 17. Tron: Ares; 18. Captain America: Brave New World; 19. Truth & Treason; 20. Diane Warren: Relentless

BEST SOUND

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Sinners

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. F1; 3. One Battle After Another; 4. Frankenstein; 5. Sirat

• Other Longlisted Nominees: 6. Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning; 7. Wicked: For Good; 8. Avatar: Fire And Ash; 9. Superman; 10. Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere

BEST EDITING

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. One Battle After Another

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Sinners; 3. Hamnet; 4. Marty Supreme; 5. F1

• “On The Bubble” Contenders: 6. Frankenstein; 7. Bugonia; 8. Weapons; 9. Sentimental Value; 10. No Other Choice; 11. A House Of Dynamite; 12. The Perfect Neighbor

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Sinners

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Train Dreams; 3. One Battle After Another; 4. Frankenstein; 5. Marty Supreme

• Other Longlisted Nominees: 6. F1; 7. Hamnet; 8. Bugonia; 9. Ballad Of A Small Player; 10. Die My Love; 11. Nouvelle Vague; 12. Sentimental Value; 13. Sirat; 14. Sound Of Falling; 15. Wicked: For Good; 16. Song Sung Blue

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Avatar: Fire And Ash

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. F1; 3. Superman; 4. Jurassic World: Rebirth; 5. The Lost Bus

• Other Longlisted Nominees: 6. Sinners; 7. Frankenstein; 8. Wicked: For Good; 9. TRON: Ares; 10. The Electric State

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Frankenstein

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Wicked: For Good; 3. Sinners; 4. Hamnet; 5. Marty Supreme

• “On The Bubble” Contenders: 6. Avatar: Fire And Ash; 7. One Battle After Another; 8. Bugonia; 9. Hedda; 10. The Testament Of Ann Lee; 11. The Fantastic 4: The First Steps; 12. The Phoenician Scheme

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Frankenstein

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Wicked: For Good; 3. Sinners; 4. Hamnet; 5. Marty Supreme

• “On The Bubble” Contenders: 6. One Battle After Another; 7. Bugonia; 8. Nuremberg; 9. Hedda; 10. The Testament Of Ann Lee; 11. Kiss Of The Spider Woman; 12. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP

• Predicted Frontrunner: 1. Frankenstein

• Other Predicted Nominees: 2. Wicked: For Good; 3. Sinners; 4. The Smashing Machine; 5. One Battle After Another

• Other Longlisted Nominees: 6. Marty Supreme; 7. Nuremberg; 8. Kokuho; 9. The Alto Knights; 10. The Ugly Stepsister

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INTRODUCTION

This is a quick review of the newly released film 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Please note that this is just one of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for this film may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.

If you enjoy these reviews, I’d greatly appreciate it if you could share this newsletter with family and friends who might love receiving film reviews, classic movie lists, and Oscars projections straight to their inbox.

PLOT

Via Letterboxd: Dr. Kelson finds himself in a shocking new relationship - with consequences that could change the world as they know it; and Spike’s encounter with Jimmy Crystal becomes a nightmare he can’t escape.

REVIEW

It’s been damn near seven months since the release of 28 Years Later, and if you read my review of that film at the time, you’ll remember that I openly admitted I’m not exactly the biggest zombie flick guy. The sub-genre has never really been my home turf. But that film managed to carve out such a distinct and confident voice, especially compared to both its genre peers and even the earlier entries in the franchise, that I ended up really liking it. I liked it enough, in fact, to place it on my personal 2025 awards ballot for both Best Horror Feature and Best Hair & Makeup. Now we get the next chapter in this ongoing sequel trilogy with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

Picking up right where the previous film left off, the movie’s central premise revolves around our young protagonist Spike (played by Alfie Williams, who gave one of the best young performances of last year) after he’s violently “taken in” by a group known as the Jimmys. Their leader, Sir Jimmy Crystal, is a very clear, and very unsettling, riff on real-life prolific sexual abuser Jimmy Savile, both in appearance and affect. Crystal believes himself to be the son of Satan, and he forces his inner circle, referred to as his “fingers,” to carry out acts of cruelty that rank among the most disturbing things I’ve seen a cinematic villain orchestrate onscreen. We’re talking full-on serial killer cult territory; stuff that’s genuinely horrifying and will likely be a hard watch for some audiences.

Jack O’Connell, coming off his iconic turn in Sinners, plays Crystal, and it’s another absolute home run. He’s terrifying in a way that feels grounded rather than theatrical, which somehow makes it worse. This is the kind of villain performance that sticks with you long after the credits roll.

That said, the decision to make Spike a captive throughout the film does have a downside. It results in him feeling more like a background character this time around, and I definitely felt less agency from him than I did in the previous installment. Alfie Williams still does solid work, but the script simply doesn’t give him as much room to show his range here, making this one of the film’s few notable flaws.

The real standout of the movie, though, might be Ralph Fiennes in his return as the eccentric yet benevolent Doctor Nelson. We follow him as he stumbles onto a potential cure for the virus through an unlikely friendship that gives him the opportunity he’s been chasing. Fiennes goes all out in this role, there’s a full-frontal scene that will undoubtedly get people talking, and another sequence where he pretends to be a supernatural being that is going to absolutely kill with metal heads in the audience. It’s funny, strange, and oddly moving, all at once. Fiennes clearly understands the assignment and then pushes it even further.

Thematically, the film leans heavily into a humanistic, anti-religious cult framework, honing in on the idea that the uninfected can be just as monstrous, if not more so, than the infected themselves. This entry dials back the hero’s journey elements that I really connected with in the last film and instead embraces a much harsher, bleaker post-apocalyptic wasteland horror. While I missed some of that, the overall story arc still felt like a natural progression from the previous installment, and it leaves the trilogy in an intriguing place heading into the final film.

Director Nia DaCosta, fresh off Hedda (which also landed in a couple categories on my personal awards ballot last year) steps behind the camera here. After two straight IP-driven directorial efforts from her that didn’t work for me at all, this felt like a course correction. She’s clearly been given more freedom to inject her voice into the material, and it shows in the film’s tone, pacing, and willingness to get genuinely uncomfortable.

Like its predecessor, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple strikes a compelling balance between auteur sensibility and franchise horror, resulting in something that feels ambitious and impressive. The shift from a heroic survival story to a terrifying cult-escape narrative is handled seamlessly, making the transition from film to film feel earned rather than jarring. After being underwhelmed by the first few movies I’ve seen this year, this easily stands as the early standard-bearer for my favorite film of the early year so far. I’m landing on a very solid B+ for this, right in line with its predecessor.

“TL;DR”

• Pros: Nia DaCosta’s voice is better able to shine in this versus her previous IP directorial efforts; Ralph Fiennes owns role as Doctor Nelson; Jack O’Connell’s Jimmy Crystal is a terrifying new villain to add to horror’s catalog; Those seeking full frontal gore are going to get it; Auteur cinema meets IP horror that makes it stand out just like its predecessor did

• Cons: If you’re not a huge fan of gore and ultra violence in film this won’t be for you; Alfie William’s Spike is regarded more to a background character in this with less agency; Abrupt cliffhanger ending just like the previous film

GRADING

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VIDEO VERSION

EPISODE NOTES

• Details: The Reel Lounge opened its doors for the evening as film critic Luis A. Mendez of The Mendez Movie Report and game journalist Jose Mendez of 1Up Vault sat down to discuss Jose’s favorite video games coming out of 2025.

• Timeline:

  00:00 Intro
  04:14 The Latest At The Mendez Movie Report
  22:08 The Latest At The 1Up Vault
  28:10 Jose’s Favorite Video Games Of 2025
  1:52:34 Finale

• Where To Find More From Luis

• Where To Find More From Jose

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INTRODUCTION

This is a quick review of the newly released film Primate. Please note that this is just one of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for this film may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.

If you enjoy these reviews, I’d greatly appreciate it if you could share this newsletter with family and friends who might love receiving film reviews, classic movie lists, and Oscars projections straight to their inbox.

PLOT

Via Letterboxd: Home from college, Lucy reunites with family, including pet chimp Ben. Ben contracts rabies during a pool party and turns aggressive. Lucy and friends barricade in the pool, devising ways to survive the vicious chimp.

REVIEW

I’ve always found it a bit bizarre when a new film year begins and I realize that my entire slate for ranking movies and performances has completely reset; especially given that we’re still right smack in the middle of awards season, as films from the year you’ve technically said goodbye to are still getting their flowers. But it’s also exciting to wipe the slate clean and not have to compare the same movies to one another, or carry over the same judgments about how the year in film seems to be shaping up.

2026 kicks off for me with a new creature-feature horror flick from frequent genre director Johannes Roberts, Primate. As you might’ve guessed from the title, the film’s subject and “monster” is a primate, mainly a pet chimp named Ben. I couldn’t help but wonder how much the Gordy subplot from Nope played a role in this film’s conception, but to be fair, it also feels like a direct homage to Cujo, except instead of a broken-down car, the bottleneck centers around a pool hanging on the edge of a cliff.

If you know me, you know how much of a fan I am of creature features. I just wrapped up a weeks-long rollout of revised countdowns of my favorite films from each year in the 2020s, and there’s plenty of creature-feature representation in those lists. So while the first film of the year, almost always a horror flick, very rarely ends up being a strong start, I was kinda’ hopeful this would be an outlier, especially given some of the glowing reviews and the buzz it picked up coming out of film festivals late last year.

Well, now that I’ve seen it, and I may be in the minority here, I can’t say I was a fan of Primate. The concept on paper is intriguing, the film does genuinely have some cool creature-feature moments, the gore can absolutely make you wince in your seat, and the score is incredibly eerie, instantly starting the year off right when it comes to film music in 2026. Troy Kotsur also shows up as our protagonist’s father, which was fun to see, especially after his Oscar win.

That said, I’d be lying if I claimed I felt much of anything for these characters. It wasn’t even that I found them particularly unlikable, they just came off as complete blank slates with no real dimension beyond whatever role they were meant to serve. You’ve got the “final girl” who keeps surviving things other characters don’t, her sister who constantly needs protecting, the jock guys who are served up to the chimp in ways that felt extremely contrived, the best friend who you just know is going to keep putting herself in danger solely to keep the protagonist safe, and the unlikable girl you’re clearly supposed to find annoying and patiently wait to see get hers.

The plot itself is carried by so many contrivances that it repeatedly took me out of the movie. I found myself rolling my eyes at how events would play out in ways that felt overly predictable, forced, or clearly engineered just to keep the story moving and stretch it to feature length. The horror and gore have their moments, but there were times where it crossed into territory that felt like shock for shock’s sake.

Ultimately, what you end up with is a creature feature that has a solid concept, a strong score that sets the mood, and occasional glimpses of the movie I was hoping this would be. Unfortunately, the writing is paper-thin, the characters lack depth, and the story beats are so contrived that I left my screening feeling more underwhelmed than not. I give Primate an initial grade of C+.

“TL;DR”

• Pros: An incredibly haunting and creepy score; Some great creature feature effects when it comes to the chimp; Nice to see Troy Kotsur in a major film role again

• Cons: Characters are completely blank slates; The horror ratches up gore in a way that came off like shocking for shock’s sake; The entire runttim’s events feel very contrived, specifically the third act

GRADING

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VIDEO VERSION

EPISODE NOTES

• Details: The Reel Lounge opened its doors for the evening as film critic Luis A. Mendez of The Mendez Movie Report and game journalist Jose Mendez of 1Up Vault sat down to discuss Luis’ favorite films coming out of 2025.

• Timeline:

  00:00 Intro
  15:17 The Latest At The Mendez Movie Report
  20:08 The Latest At The 1Up Vault
  35:04 Luis’ Favorite Films Of 2025
  2:30:42 Finale

• Where To Find More From Luis

• Where To Find More From Jose

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INTRODUCTION

Good day to you. My name is Luis A. Mendez. I’m a film critic based in Central Florida, and these are my PERSONAL awards ballots for the year 2025 in film. If a favorite film or performance of yours from the year is missing from any preferred categories, chances are I probably liked it, I just happened to have liked at least a few films or performances a little more.

Now without further adieu here are my nominees for the best of the year:

BEST PICTURE

• Avatar: Fire And Ash

• Black Bag

• F1

• Frankenstein

• Hamnet

• Highest 2 Lowest

• Is This Thing On?

• Marty Supreme

• One Battle After Another

• Sinners

• Wake Up Dead Man

• Wicked: For Good

My Personal Winner: One Battle After Another

BEST DIRECTOR

• Paul Thomas Anderson; One Battle After Another

• James Cameron; Avatar: Fire And Ash

• Jon M. Chu; Wicked: For Good

• Ryan Coogler; Sinners

• Guillermo del Toro; Frankenstein

• Chloe Zhao; Hamnet

My Personal Winner: Paul Thomas Anderson; One Battle After Another

BEST ENSEMBLE

• Black Bag

• Frankenstein

• Nuremberg

• One Battle After Another

• Sinners

• Wicked: For Good

My Personal Winner: Black Bag

BEST ACTOR

• Will Arnett; Is This Thing On?

• Timothee Chalamet; Marty Supreme

• Leonardo DiCaprio; One Battle After Another

• Joel Edgerton; Train Dreams

• Dwayne Johnson; The Smashing Machine

• Wagner Moura; The Secret Agent

My Personal Winner: Leonardo DiCaprio; One Battle After Another

BEST ACTRESS

• Jessie Buckley; Hamnet

• Laura Dern; Is This Thing On?

• Cynthia Erivo; Wicked: For Good

• Chase Infiniti; One Battle After Another

• Amanda Seyfried; The Testament Of Ann Lee

• Tessa Thompson; Hedda

My Personal Winner: Jessie Buckley; Hamnet

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Benicio del Toro; One Battle After Another

• Jacob Elordi; Frankenstein

• Delroy Lindo; Sinners

• Paul Mescal; Hamnet

• Josh O’Connor; Wake Up Dead Man

• Stellan Skarsgard; Sentimental Value

My Personal Winner: Josh O’Connor; Wake Up Dead Man

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Odessa A’zion; Marty Supreme

• Ariana Grande-Butera; Wicked: For Good

• Nina Hoss; Hedda

• Amy Madigan; Weapons

• Wunmi Mosaku; Sinners

• Teyana Taylor; One Battle After Another

My Personal Winner: Ariana Grande-Butera; Wicked: For Good

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Black Bag

• Is This Thing On?

• Jay Kelly

• Marty Supreme

• Sinners

• Sorry, Baby

My Personal Winner: Black Bag

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Frankenstein

• Hamnet

• One Battle After Another

• The Life Of Chuck

• Wake Up Dead Man

• Wicked: For Good

My Personal Winner: One Battle After Another

BEST HORROR FEATURE

• 28 Years Later

• Frankenstein

• Predator: Badlands

• Sinners

• The Long Walk

• Weapons

My Personal Winner: Sinners

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• Arco

• Elio

• Little Amelie Or The Character Of Rain

• Predator: Killer Of Killers

• The Bad Guys 2

• Zootopia 2

My Personal Winner: Elio

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

• It Was Just An Accident

• La Grazia

• No Other Choice

• Sentimental Value

• Sirat

• The Secret Agent

My Personal Winner: La Grazia

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• 2,000 Meters To Andriivka

• Apocalypse In The Tropics

• Orwell 2+2=5

• Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk

• The Alabama Solution

• The Perfect Neighbor

My Personal Winner: Orwell 2+2=5

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• “As Alive As You Need Me To Be”; Tron: Ares

• “Clothed By The Sun”; The Testament Of Ann Lee

• “Drive”; F1

• “Highest 2 Lowest”; Highest 2 Lowest

• “I Lied To You”; Sinners

• “The Girl In The Bubble”; Wicked: For Good

My Personal Winner: “I Lied To You”; Sinners

BEST SOUNDTRACK

• F1

• Highest 2 Lowest

• Kiss Of The Spider Woman

• Sinners

• The Testament Of Ann Lee

• Wicked: For Good

My Personal Winner: Wicked: For Good

BEST SCORE

• Frankenstein

• Hamnet

• La Grazia

• Marty Supreme

• One Battle After Another

• Sinners

My Personal Winner: Sinners

BEST SOUND

• Avatar: Fire And Ash

• F1

• Sinners

• Sirat

• Warfare

• Wicked: For Good

My Personal Winner: F1

BEST EDITING

• A House Of Dynamite

• F1

• Marty Supreme

• No Other Choice

• One Battle After Another

• Wicked: For Good

My Personal Winner: One Battle After Another

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Avatar: Fire And Ash

• F1

• Frankenstein

• One Battle After Another

• Sinners

• Train Dreams

My Personal Winner: One Battle After Another

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Avatar: Fire And Ash

• F1

• Predator: Badlands

• The Fantastic 4: First Steps

• Tron: Ares

• Wicked: For Good

My Personal Winner: Avatar: Fire And Ash

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Avatar: Fire And Ash

• Frankenstein

• Hamnet

• Hedda

• The Phoenician Scheme

• Wicked: For Good

My Personal Winner: Wicked: For Good

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Frankenstein

• Hamnet

• Hedda

• Sinners

• The Testament Of Ann Lee

• Wicked: For Good

My Personal Winner: Wicked: For Good

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP

• 28 Years Later

• Frankenstein

• Sinners

• The Smashing Machine

• Weapons

• Wicked: For Good

My Personal Winner: Wicked: For Good

BEST STUNT WORK

• Ballerina

• F1

• Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

• Nobody 2

• One Battle After Another

• The Running Man

My Personal Winner: Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning

WIN TALLY

• 6: One Battle After Another

• 5: Wicked For Good

• 3: Sinners

• 2: Black Bag

• 1: Avatar: Fire And Ash; Elio; F1; Hamnet; La Grazia; Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning; Orwell 2=2=5; Wake Up Dead Man

NOMINATION HAUL

• 14: Sinners; Wicked: For Good

• 12: One Battle After Another

• 11: Frankenstein

• 8: F1; Hamnet

• 6: Avatar: Fire And Ash; Marty Supreme

• 4: Hedda; Is This Thing On?; The Testament Of Ann Lee

• 3: Black Bag; Highest 2 Lowest; Wake Up Dead Man; Weapons

• 2: 28 Years Later; La Grazia; No Other Choice; Predator: Badlands; Sentimental Value; Sirat; The Secret Agent; The Smashing Machine; Train Dreams; Tron: Ares

• 1: 2,000 Meters To Andriivka; A House Of Dynamite; Arco; Apocalypse In The Tropics; Ballerina; Elio; It Was Just An Accident; Kiss Of The Spider Woman; Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning; Jay Kelly; Little Amelie Or The Character Of Rain; Nobody 2; Nuremberg; Orwell 2+2=5; Predator: Killer Of Killers; Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk; Sorry, Baby; The Alabama Solution; The Bad Guys 2; The Fantastic 4: The First Steps; The Life Of Chuck; The Long Walk; The Perfect Neighbor; The Phoenician Scheme; The Running Man; Warfare; Zootopia 2

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INTRODUCTION

Good day to you. My name is Luis A. Mendez. I’m a film critic based in Central Florida, and these are my PERSONAL top 20 favorites from the year 2025 in film. If a favorite of yours from the year is missing from this list, chances are I probably liked it, I just happened to have liked at least 20 films a little more.

2025 will go down as a turbulent year for the cinematic experience. Netflix and streaming in general continued to erode the theatrical model, the box office staggered along for much of the year before exploding during the holidays, and international cinema did much of the heavy lifting as many American blockbuster tentpoles either disappointed or deeply divided critics and audiences. It was a complete one-eighty from the year prior, when I felt underwhelmed by the international slate and American legacy sequels were making it onto my “Best Of” list.

And yet, the twenty films that ultimately resonated with me the most in 2025 still formed an eclectic mix of massive box-office blockbusters and international cinema. It was also a year in which learning I would become a father, paired with watching the world around me feel like it’s burning to the ground amid encroaching fascism, clearly shaped my tastes; my favorites gravitating toward themes of parenthood, community, and rebelling against authority. Though this ended up being the year with my lowest overall meta score since 2020, there were still plenty of films from it that became new personal favorites.

I should note that this piece will be updated after the 98th Academy Awards have their ceremony, so that I can point out certain awards season milestones that any of these films achieved. I also put together and published my personal awards ballot for this year in film, in case you’re interested to see how I have been voting this awards season in the awards bodies I get a vote in.

Now without further adieu here are my choices:

20. Weapons

Kicking off the countdown is one of the best horror films of the year, Weapons. Telling the story of a neighborhood coming undone after an entire classroom of children mysteriously disappears in the middle of the night, the film watches a community turn on itself; pointing fingers at everyone from the kids’ teacher and the school principal to the father of one of the missing children, a scummy cop, and even a local vagrant. The mystery takes a sharp turn in the second half, shifting into full-blown supernatural horror when Amy Madigan’s Aunt Gladys enters the picture. The result is a genuinely creepy new villain who captured the imagination of mainstream culture and even became a popular Halloween costume for the year. This feels like a true return to eighties horror, and it’s an instant new horror classic.

19. Paddington In Peru

Admittedly a weaker film than its two predecessors, Paddington In Peru nonetheless overcomes the loss of its previous director and lead actress to still deliver a family-friendly, timeless adventure featuring everyone’s favorite marmalade-eating bear. This time around, Paddington and the Brown family travel to Peru in search of his missing aunt, but as you’d expect trouble quickly finds the little bear in the form of Antonio Banderas as a down-on-his-luck treasure hunter. Even if it never quite reaches the heights of the first two films, I still found this to be another great comfort movie, one that works as a warm and worthy companion within the franchise. As I always have to point out with these Paddington movies, this was technically released during the holidays the year before in the UK but we Americans didn’t get it released to our shores until early this year.

18. Elio

One harsh criticism I have of 2025 is that it ended up being an incredibly middling year for animated films. The only animated flick that stood out enough to earn a spot among my favorites was Pixar’s Elio. This small gem of a movie, which was criminally underseen, tells the story of a young boy who feels out of place on Earth and sends a signal into outer space in hopes that aliens might accept him. Instead, he’s discovered by a group of extraterrestrials who mistakenly believe he’s the leader of Earth, setting off an adventure that explores identity, friendship, and the search for belonging. While some dismissed this as “lesser Pixar,” it was the only animated film of the year that truly stuck with me, and frankly it got a few tears out of me.

17. Sentimental Value

2025 will go down as one of the all-time great years for international cinema, and among that standout slate was the Danish film Sentimental Value. Directed by Joachim Trier, whose previous work hadn’t quite connected with me the way this did, the film boasts an all-star cast and centers on an aging director attempting to reconnect with his estranged daughters. He does so by trying to cast one of them, along with the young son of the other, in a film project about his late mother. When one daughter rejects the role, he instead turns to an American actress, setting off a deeply touching story about intergenerational cycles of trauma. What stood out to me most was Stellan Skarsgard’s performance as the director, Gustave, and the quiet devastation in watching him slowly realize just how much of his life has already passed him by.

16. It Was Just An Accident

Continuing with the incredible international slate of 2025, next on the countdown is It Was Just An Accident, perhaps the greatest Middle Eastern film I’ve ever seen. Directed in secret by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, the film is a tense thriller about a group of people who were once tortured while in the custody of the Iranian regime and now suspect they may have one of their former torturers in their grasp. What follows is nearly two hours of arguing, bickering, and moral debate over whether they actually have the right person. It all culminates in an astonishing long-take interrogation sequence that stands as one of the best scenes of the year. And somehow, against all odds, the film also finds moments of levity amid the tension, an achievement that turns it into a crowd pleaser.

15. The Secret Agent

This Brazilian film from director Kleber Mendonca Filho, who also delivered one of my top favorite films of 2020 with Bacurau, is set during the military dictatorship of the seventies and follows a protagonist, played brilliantly by Wagner Moura, as he attempts to find passage out of the country. Along the way, he hides out in a home for eccentric refugees that just so happens to house a two-faced cat with two names, while also evading corrupt police officers and a father-and-stepson hit team. The film has plenty of moments of levity amid the drama, but it ultimately delivers a devastating gut punch in its final act, when you begin to fully grasp where the story is headed and what it’s really trying to say.

14. La Grazia

My favorite international film from an incredible year for global cinema is an Italian movie that didn’t even factor into the awards conversation like the previous three I just mentioned, and that film is La Grazia. Directed by Paolo Sorrentino, whom some consider this generation’s Fellini, the film follows a President in the final days of his term as he’s forced to weigh two pardons, confront a euthanasia bill that puts him at odds with his devout Catholic faith, and try to uncover who had an affair with his late wife. All of this unfolds alongside a pulsing, techno-inflected score and moments of unexpected comedy, including a subplot in which the President finds himself oddly drawn to the music of a rap artist. This is ultimately a film about a man in his twilight years coming to grips with his legacy in public service and as a man.

13. Nuremberg

This little gem, which earned some of the best audience scores of the year, comes from the writer behind the Scream rebooted sequels of all people and features an all-star cast. It tells the story of the Nuremberg trials through the perspectives of the Nazis accused of war crimes and the psychologist tasked with studying them, who ultimately comes away with the haunting realization that fascism could one day find its way to America. It’s a true-story film that somehow balances familiar Hollywood flair and moments of levity with harrowing sequences, including the gut-wrenching decision to show real-life evidence of the concentration camp atrocities to the audience.

12. Wake Up Dead Man

Rian Johnson’s 2019 Knives Out left me underwhelmed, and yet his follow-up sequels have done anything but. While the third film in the franchise, Wake Up Dead Man, lacks the propulsive fun and stacked ensemble of Glass Onion, it still delivers; becoming the first film to land on my personal expanded Best Picture ballot of 2025. Wake Up Dead Man doesn’t just offer another Detective Benoit Blanc mystery caper; it uses the genre to deliver a genuinely fascinating examination of faith from multiple angles, the kind I wish faith-based studios actually dared to explore instead of simply preaching to the choir. This comes mainly in the form of Josh O’Connor’s Father Jud, who ended up my favorite film character of the year and his performance is my personal winner for Supporting Actor. Insightful, funny, and consistently entertaining, the film even has me wondering if it’s time to revisit the 2019 original Knives Out after loving both sequels so much.

11. Highest 2 Lowest

Coming in just outside my top ten is Spike Lee’s remix of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 masterpiece High and Low, aptly retitled Highest 2 Lowest. Swapping a shoe salesman for a record executive, Denzel Washington plays the protagonist in a story that initially seems like a straightforward kidnapping-for-ransom of his son, but quickly becomes an accidental ransom scheme involving the kidnapped son of his chauffeur. Like Kurosawa’s original, the film starts as a tense ransom thriller and evolves into a procedural mystery as the hunt for the kidnapper unfolds. While it earned decent critical reviews, audiences were deeply divided, but I loved this new joint from Spike Lee. He certainly takes liberties compared to the classic, but the film manages to stand on its own, capturing the culture and atmosphere of the streets of New York just as much as it honors one of the most iconic crime films of all time.

10. Marty Supreme

Entering the proper top ten of the countdown is Marty Supreme. Directed by one-half of the Safdie brothers duo, this fifties-set period piece follows the cocky and arrogant Marty Mueser as he hustles and swindles his way toward becoming one of the world’s greatest table tennis players. What you get is an electrifying film packed with underground table tennis matches, armed robbery, exploding gas stations, mobster activity, baby-momma drama, a cameo-filled ensemble that’s a love letter to New York, and pure, unrelenting chaos. Timothee Chalamet delivers an incredible performance, continuing to prove he’s this generation’s newest movie star. And despite the madness, the film lands on a finale that will leave many viewers satisfied, and perhaps even teary-eyed.

09. Is This Thing On?

Bradley Cooper’s third directorial effort wasn’t ever meant to be an awards play, just a small film he quickly put together with some friends. But as far as I’m concerned, he delivered yet another awards-worthy banger from a filmmaker who clearly knows how to tell the stories of long-term relationships in a raw, authentic way. Is This Thing On? follows a couple deciding to separate and head toward divorce. While apart, they each discover new callings in life, particularly our protagonist, Alex, played so well by Will Arnett opposite Laura Dern as Alex’s wife Tess, who finds himself drawn to stand-up comedy. What unfolds is the rawest depiction of long-term marriage struggles I’ve ever seen; the highs, the lows, and the utterly awkward reality of separation, something I know from experience. The result is one of the most unconventional rom-coms I’ve seen in years, and one of my top favorite films from 2025.

08. Hamnet

Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet is an adaptation of the bestselling novel, following the story of how William Shakespeare’s loss of his young son inspired the creation of his masterpiece, Hamlet. But the story is mostly told through the perspective of his wife, Agnes, played brilliantly and devastatingly tragic by Jessie Buckley, who ends up my personal Lead Actress pick of the year. Paul Mescal portrays Shakespeare, and the film moves through various stages that helped it become the big audience award sweeper at festivals. Hamnet blends romance, elements of pagan lore, glimpses of an afterlife, and builds to an incredible finale where we see what Hamlet does for the grieving couple, helping them accept their son’s death. It’s a film that will leave you with happy tears with the cathartic experience it finishes with.

07. F1

The ultimate “Dad Movie” of the year, F1 is director Joseph Kosinski’s follow-up to Top Gun: Maverick. Starring Brad Pitt alongside a stellar ensemble that includes Javier Bardem and Kerry Condon, what I expected to be a pretty standard racing movie with Pitt’s character Sunny Hayes just winning races, turns out to be a true underdog sports story, as Hayes is trying to help a Formula One team win a single race to save his best friend from losing ownership of the team. The film is elevated by one of the year’s best soundtracks and breathtaking racing sequences, along with revealing glimpses into all the behind-the-scenes effort it takes for a team to succeed in this sport. I was thoroughly “sports entertained” by this one, and it stands out as one of the best blockbuster experiences of the year.

06. Avatar: Fire And Ash

Entering the third film in James Cameron’s ambitious and wildly successful financially Avatar franchise, there is a noticeable issue that the sense of awe and wonder he captured so effortlessly in the first two films isn’t quite as potent this time around. And yet, this chapter ultimately becomes the Return Of The Jedi of the franchise; dividing critics more than its predecessors, but offering more than enough for “hardcores” like me to latch onto. Cameron remains a master of blockbuster spectacle, and he proves it once again with Avatar: Fire And Ash. A major reason for that success is the introduction of an intriguing new villain in Varang, leader of the Ash Clan of the Na’vi, the first tribe we’ve encountered that isn’t rooted in peace. What you’re left with is another strong addition to Cameron’s filmography, even if it doesn’t rank quite as high for me as the previous two Avatar films.

05. Frankenstein

Kicking off the proper top five is Guillermo del Toro’s long-gestating dream project brought to life with his adaptation of one of my all-time favorite novels, Frankenstein. I see this as comparable to when Francis Ford Coppola took his own swing at adapting Dracula. Like Coppola, del Toro largely sticks to the source material more than most film adaptations, but he’s also unafraid to make it his own by tinkering with certain elements to add new dimensions and richer character arcs. He even finds ways to weave in plenty of Easter-egg homages to the many prior film adaptations that have shaped this story throughout cinema’s history. The final product is yet another great gothic horror from the mind of one of the medium’s finest directors, and easily one of my top favorites of the year.

04. Sinners

We’ve now reached the point in the countdown where we’re talking about my absolute favorite films of the year. If there’s an argument to be made for what 2025’s big mainstream and cultural film was, I’d make the case for Sinners. This early-thirties period piece fuses musical and horror elements to tell the story of twin bootleggers who return from the North with plans to open a juke joint. Unfortunately, their cousin’s ability to invite spiritual ancestors from both the past and future into the living realm draws the attention of a group of vampires intent on turning the entire guest list. Director Ryan Coogler delivers a new horror masterpiece and an instant classic. With its blend of blues, Black culture, Irish folklore, and even heavy metal woven into the score, this vampire flick stands on its own as something fresh, original, and unforgettable.

03. Wicked: For Good

Last year’s big cultural breakthrough film, and my personal favorite of 2024, was Wicked. Just a year later, director Jon M. Chu and the cast returned to complete the epic musical adaptation with Wicked: For Good, which covers the second half of the Broadway play. As with the source material, Act Two proved to be the most divisive part of this ambitious project. It didn’t receive the same euphoric critical praise or audience scores as the first film, and this time around I felt like I was on an island ranking it so high on my year-end list. Admittedly, that reaction is understandable. Act Two has always been the weaker link of the stage version, with pacing issues and less popular songs (no pun intended). That said, I think this film has received an overly harsh response from some of its detractors. I’ve already rewatched it multiple times now, and I’ve found it more enjoyable, and more rewatchable, with each viewing. Ariana Grande delivers my personal pick for Best Supporting Actress of the year for the second year in a row, while Cynthia Erivo continues to be absolutely dynamite. Viewed as the second half of a double feature with the first film, I still consider this an overall musical masterpiece. Regardless of the discourse or disappointment surrounding this follow-up, these Wicked films will endure for decades, drawing in new generations of young musical fans and serving as a gateway into the wider world of The Wizard Of Oz. By themselves these movies rank differently, but together they might be my favorite cinematic happening of the last two years.

02. Black Bag

It had been a long while since I walked out of a Steven Soderbergh film truly blown away. With Black Bag, a hidden gem of an early-year release, he and writer David Koepp fully immersed me in a world where spies are married, office politics are lethal, and dinner parties can end with someone getting stabbed or shot. Black Bag follows husband-and-wife spy duo George and Kathryn, played by Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett, who become entangled in a mysterious web when George is tasked with hunting down a suspected departmental leaker, who may very well be his own wife. George’s intense hatred of liars, paired with his unwavering love for his wife, makes him one of the year’s most fascinating film characters. The end result is a sexy, slick, and stylish thriller; perfect to watch with a date over a glass of bourbon or a fine wine. For a large stretch of the year, this was my favorite film of 2025…and then the master decided to drop yet another masterpiece…

01. One Battle After Another

Paul Thomas Anderson is my favorite director of my lifetime, and with One Battle After Another, the man I call “The Master” has officially elevated himself into the tier of Akira Kurosawa for me. This action comedy-thriller feels like a defining film of its time, taking on the hellscape American politics has become in the Trump era while skewering it with outrageous satire, most memorably by turning a white supremacist group into a collection of oddballs who call themselves the “Christmas Adventurers.” Loosely based on Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland, the film follows Bob Ferguson, an ex–leftist revolutionary played by Leonardo DiCaprio, whose brain has been thoroughly fried by years of alcohol and drugs. When a former fascist enemy, played with such absurdity by Sean Penn, resurfaces with his sights set on Bob and his daughter, Bob is forced to rely on instincts and coded survival tactics he can barely remember anymore. DiCaprio delivers my favorite lead male performance of an already stacked year for the category; Benicio del Toro is a scene-stealer as Sensei Sergio, one of my favorite characters of the year; and PTA’s direction is my pick for the best of the year. This is a funny, wildly entertaining film about the realities of fighting authority and the self-inflicted mistakes that plague revolutionary movements. It’s a crowd-pleaser that feels perfectly tuned to the Trump era during the first year of his second presidency, even though Anderson has been developing this script for decades and the film never explicitly names anyone in power. The final result is an easy choice for my favorite film of 2025. It’s timely, it’s important, and it’s entertaining as hell. All hail Saint Nick.

RECAP

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2025 has come and gone, and it felt like the right time to sit down, just me and the readers, to talk honestly about the state of the newsletter and where it’s headed going into 2026.

My desire to write about film really began back in 2020. I experimented with podcasting film reviews in 2021, and I officially launched this newsletter in 2022. That means we’re coming up on three years of this project existing in some form, which is pretty wild to think about when I look back at where I started.

What’s even wilder is seeing how much growth happened this year. 2025 marked the largest increase in eyeballs the site has ever had, reaching a monthly average of around 4,000 Substack views. My Wicked: For Good review also became the most-read article I’ve ever published on here, which is something I’m genuinely grateful for. It’s incredibly affirming to know that people are not only finding the work, but sticking around to read it.

That said, there’s still plenty of room to grow. My subscriber count, while steadily increasing, remains lower than I’d ultimately like it to be. And even after rebooting the podcast to better focus on the topics people seem most interested in, the show I do with my brother (The Reel Lounge) continues to pull weaker numbers compared to most other podcasts in the space (our YouTube numbers are atrocious too). None of that is discouraging so much as it is motivating, but it does factor into how I need to think about the future.

Looking ahead to 2026, my hope is that the growth continues. At the same time, this upcoming year is going to bring some major life changes that I can’t ignore. Those of you who follow me on social media already know that I recently lost my day job of five years. The severance I received is no longer enough to cover the bills, which means my job search is about to become far more intense and time-consuming over the next month-plus.

On top of that, I’m also becoming a first-time dad in late February, assuming our daughter arrives on schedule. That alone is going to reshape my daily life and, naturally, my writing schedule. And that’s not even accounting for other personal matters that I’ve admittedly put on the back burner for much of the past year and now need to finally address.

So, in short, I’m trying to grow this newsletter while also needing to give more time and energy to “real life.” That means some adjustments are inevitable. My schedule will be tinkered with, but my goal is still to deliver at least one or two new pieces a week whenever possible.

I’ll continue watching and reviewing films, but I won’t be consuming them at the same volume I have over the last few years. Since 2020, I’ve averaged close to, or even over, three hundred films a year, and that pace simply isn’t sustainable anymore. Expect far fewer smaller and straight-to-streaming titles, with full written reviews reserved mostly for major releases. Other noteworthy films will still be covered, but more often through monthly impression roundups rather than full-length standalone reviews.

The podcast will also shift. Starting in late March or early April, it will move to a once-a-month stream between my brother and me. This is a temporary change while I figure out how to better balance personal life with film criticism. Along similar lines, my Oscar coverage will scale back slightly, with fewer frequent projection updates, at least for the 2026 awards season.

All of this is to say that 2026 will bring some minor changes to how I cover film here, but not a retreat. I’ll still be writing reviews, tracking the awards race, and hopefully diving into more “Best Of” lists for pre-2020s years in film. I just can’t promise the same level of aggressive output you’ve seen from me over the past few months.

In the immediate future, I’ve got my “Best Of 2025” list dropping this upcoming Tuesday, my final Oscar nomination projections coming in about two and a half weeks, and a few early year podcast episodes lined up with my brother. I’m also aiming to hit the ground running with 2026 film reviews by mid-January and beyond.

Anyway; here’s hoping 2026 can finally bring an end to what’s been a pretty brutal run of years for the world at large. I genuinely hope everyone reading this is able to achieve most (if not all) of their goals in the next twelve months. And as always, thank you for sticking around and supporting the work.

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INTRODUCTION

I came on to the latest episode of Mike, Mike, And Oscar to talk our picks for the best films of 2025.

PODCAST

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INTRODUCTION

Good day to you. My name is Luis A. Mendez. I’m a film critic based in Central Florida, and these are my PERSONAL awards ballots for the year 2024 in film. If a favorite film or performance of yours from the year is missing from any preferred categories, chances are I probably liked it, I just happened to have liked at least a few films or performances a little more.

Just a heads up, this version of the ballots was published a year after I first made them in late 2024, and I did tweak a few of the nomination slots since then.

Now without further adieu here are my nominees for the best of the year:

BEST PICTURE

• Anora

• Conclave

• Dune: Part Two

• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

• Gladiator II

• Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

• Nickel Boys

• Nosferatu

• Sing Sing

• The Brutalist

• The Substance

• Wicked

My Personal Winner: Wicked

BEST DIRECTOR

• Jon M. Chu; Wicked

• Brady Corbet; The Brutalist

• Robert Eggers; Nosferatu

• Coralie Fargeat; The Substance

• RaMell Ross; Nickel Boys

• Denis Villeneuve; Dune: Part Two

My Personal Winner: Denis Villeneuve; Dune: Part Two

BEST ENSEMBLE

• Conclave

• Nosferatu

• Saturday Night

• Sing Sing

• The Piano Lesson

• Wicked

My Personal Winner: Sing Sing

BEST ACTOR

• Adrien Brody; The Brutalist

• Timothee Chalamet; A Complete Unknown

• Daniel Craig; Queer

• Colman Domingo; Sing Sing

• Ralph Fiennes; Conclave

• Sebastian Stan; The Apprentice

My Personal Winner: Adrien Brody; The Brutalist

BEST ACTRESS

• Lily-Rose Depp; Nosferatu

• Cynthia Erivo; Wicked

• Angelina Jolie; Maria

• Mikey Madison; Anora

• Demi Moore; The Substance

• Naomi Scott; Smile 2

My Personal Winner: Demi Moore; The Substance

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Nicolas Cage; Longlegs

• Chris Hemsworth; Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

• Guy Pearce; The Brutalist

• Bill Skarsgard; Nosferatu

• Jeremy Strong; The Apprentice

• Denzel Washington; Gladiator II

My Personal Winner: Guy Pearce; The Brutalist

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Danielle Deadwyler; The Piano Lesson

• Aunjuane Ellis-Taylor; Nickel Boys

• Ariana Grande-Butera; Wicked

• Felicity Jones; The Brutalist

• Margaret Qualley; The Substance

• Isabella Rossellini; Conclave

My Personal Winner: Ariana Grande-Butera; Wicked

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• A Real Pain

• Anora

• Hard Truths

• His Three Daughters

• The Brutalist

• The Substance

My Personal Winner: The Brutalist

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Conclave

• Nickel Boys

• Sing Sing

• The Piano Lesson

• The Room Next Door

• Wicked

My Personal Winner: Conclave

BEST HORROR FEATURE

• Abigail

• Alien: Romulus

• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

• Longlegs

• Nosferatu

• The Substance

My Personal Winner: Nosferatu

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• Flow

• Inside Out 2

• Memoir Of A Snail

• The Wild Robot

• Transformers One

• Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

My Personal Winner: The Wild Robot

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

• All We Imagine As Light

• Flow

• I’m Still Here

• Kneecap

• The Count Of Monte Cristo

• The Seed Of The Sacred Fig

My Personal Winner: Flow

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• Look Into My Eyes

• No Other Land

• Separated

• Soundtrack To A Coup d’Etat

• The Remarkable Life Of Ibelin

• Will & Harper

My Personal Winner: Soundtrack To A Coup d’Etat

BEST ORIGINAL SONG

• “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma”; Twisters

• “Double Life”; Despicable Me 4

• “Harper And Will Go West”; Will & Harper

• “Kiss The Sky”; The Wild Robot

• “Like A Bird”; Sing Sing

• “Piece By Piece”; Piece By Piece

My Personal Winner: “Kiss The Sky”; The Wild Robot

BEST SOUNDTRACK

• Better Man

• Piece By Piece

• The End

• The Wild Robot

• Twisters

• Wicked

My Personal Winner: Wicked

BEST SCORE

• Challengers

• Conclave

• Dune: Part Two

• Nosferatu

• The Brutalist

• The Substance

My Personal Winner: The Brutalist

BEST SOUND

• Blitz

• Civil War

• Dune: Part Two

• Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

• Wicked

My Personal Winner: Wicked

BEST EDITING

• Challengers

• Conclave

• Nickel Boys

• The Brutalist

• The Substance

• Wicked

My Personal Winner: Wicked

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Dune: Part Two

• Monkey Man

• Nickel Boys

• Nosferatu

• The Brutalist

• The Substance

My Personal Winner: Nosferatu

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• Alien: Romulus

• Dune: Part Two

• Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

• Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes

• Mufasa: The Lion King

• Wicked

My Personal Winner: Dune: Part Two

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

• Dune: Part Two

• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

• Gladiator II

• Nosferatu

• Wicked

My Personal Winner: Wicked

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

• Dune: Part Two

• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

• Gladiator II

• Nosferatu

• Wicked

My Personal Winner: Wicked

BEST HAIR & MAKEUP

• Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

• Nosferatu

• Sasquatch Sunset

• Sonic The Hedgehog 3

• The Substance

• Wicked

My Personal Winner: The Substance

BEST STUNT WORK

• Dune: Part Two

• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

• Gladiator II

• Hundreds Of Beavers

• Monkey Man

• The Fall Guy

My Personal Winner: The Fall Guy

WIN TALLY

• 7: Wicked

• 4: The Brutalist

• 2: Dune: Part Two; Nosferatu; The Substance; The Wild Robot

• 1: Conclave; Flow; Sing Sing; Soundtrack To A Coup d’Etat; The Fall Guy

NOMINATION HAUL

• 13: Wicked

• 11: Nosferatu

• 10: The Substance

• 9: Dune: Part Two; The Brutalist

• 7: Conclave

• 6: Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga; Nickel Boys

• 5: Gladiator II; Sing Sing

• 4: Bettlejuice Beetlejuice;

• 3: Anora; Flow; Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire; The Piano Lesson

• 2: Alien: Romulus; Challengers; Flow; Longlegs; Monkey Man; Piece By Piece; The Apprentice; The Wild Robot; Twisters; Will & Harper

• 1: A Complete Unknown; A Real Pain; Abigail; Better Man; Blitz; Civil War; Despicable Me 4; Hard Truths; Hundreds Of Beavers; All We Imagine As Light; His Three Daughters; I’m Still Here; Inside Out 2; Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes; Kneecap; Look Into My Eyes; Maria; Memoir Of A Snail; Mufasa: The Lion King; No Other Land; Sasquatch Sunset; Saturday Night; Separated; Smile 2; Sonic The Hedgehog 3; Soundtrack To A Coup d’Etat; Queer; The Count Of Monte Cristo; The End; The Fall Guy; The Remarkable Life Of Ibelin; The Room Next Door; The Seed Of The Sacred Fig; Transformers One; Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl

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INTRODUCTION

Good day to you. My name is Luis A. Mendez. I’m a film critic based in Central Florida, and these are my PERSONAL top 20 favorites from the year 2024 in film. If a favorite of yours from the year is missing from this list, chances are I probably liked it, I just happened to have liked at least 20 films a little more.

I’ve shared my top picks for this year a few times already, but with the year quickly coming to a close, I wanted to take a step back and really lock in my thoughts on what I consider the best films of each year in the 2020s so far. That meant doing some re-watches, going through every single Letterboxd log from each year, and seeing whether my original grades still held up or needed adjusting for any one movie. I also put together a new version of my personal awards ballot for this year in film, which I published quietly, without sending it to the readers’ inboxes, so I wouldn’t flood anyone’s email with too much “Best of” movie talk from just one year.

On a personal note, 2024 was a bounce-back year for me, as the separation period between my wife and I came to an end; but the nation and the film industry weren’t quite as fortunate. Inflation continued to rip through people’s wallets, and the wildest election since 1968 brought the return of a formerly defeated president who was convicted of multiple felonies just months before. Meanwhile, Hollywood was still feeling the aftershocks of the previous year’s industry-wide strikes, and a chaotic awards season would be capped off by a fire that directly hit the heart of Hollywood. It was also a year that seemed to be held together by a wave of legacy IP sequels and spin-offs, a trend reflected in several of my favorites from the year. While I’d personally consider 2024 a step down from the previous two years in terms of overall quality, it still managed to deliver a few new personal favorites that stood out amid the noise.

I should note that some passages here are rewritten almost exactly as I originally wrote them in my original year-end list for 2024. Now without further adieu here are my choices:

20. Hundreds Of Beavers

Technically released in the fall of 2022 via the film festival circuit, Hundreds Of Beavers is a small indie debut that built some light buzz before finally receiving a wide release in early 2024. This slapstick silent comedy evokes the era of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd, twenties-era films where physical stunts and comedic hijinks blended to make audiences laugh and gasp. Centered on a man who must hunt down hundreds of beavers in order to wed a local shop owner’s daughter, the film is an absolute riot. It brought me back to when I first discovered those classic silent comedies and ultimately became one of my favorites of the year.

19. Flow

The year’s Oscar winner for Animated Feature, Flow was my personal pick for Best International Film of the year, despite not a single word being spoken, effectively masking its origins as a Latvian production. Telling the story of a cat and its companions trying to survive a cataclysmic flood, the film’s heart shines through without the need for dialogue, capturing the passion and affection of cinephiles and even some mainstream audiences who discovered it. It’s a charming little film and a great gateway for younger viewers to expand their cinematic palate and explore stories from around the world.

18. Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

For years, Tim Burton’s filmography had been labeled as “washed” following a string of mixed reviews and a catalog defined by hits and misses. With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a legacy sequel to his late-eighties Halloween season classic Beetlejuice, Burton finally ended that streak in 2024 - at least for me. Set decades later, the sequel introduces a new generation of the Deetz family while much of the original cast returns. Among them is Michael Keaton, who clearly has an absolute blast bringing the mischievous, troublemaking demon back to life. New characters are added through performances by Willem Dafoe, Monica Bellucci, among others, resulting in a worthy follow-up to the eighties classic.

17. Alien: Romulus

Up until 2024, I would have told you that only the first two films in the Alien franchise belonged among the best of their respective years. Alien: Romulus became the third, as this legacy sequel, set between those two films, returns the franchise to what it does best: creature-feature horror. In the film, young space colonizers discover a derelict ship that happens to be infested with Xenomorphs. As expected, many of them fall victim to the creatures, and the movie admittedly leans heavily on callbacks to previous entries, including a controversial use of AI technology to recreate a performance by the late Ian Holm. Still, the Xenomorphs remain the most terrifying creature villains in cinema to me, and this film captures the magic of the first two installments in ways other franchise entries have failed to do so.

16. Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes

The first entry in a planned trilogy sequel to the 2010s Planet Of The Apes prequel trilogy, Kingdom Of The Planet Of The Apes jumps ahead hundreds of years to a period in which apes and their various clans are now waging war against one another. The film follows Noa, a young ape from a peaceful clan who is forced into an adventure to reunite with his family. Along the way, he uncovers secrets about the legacy of Caesar and the state of the human race after the plague that supposedly robbed them of their voices. Altogether, it sets up exciting possibilities for a new era of the franchise, as this reboot series moves closer and closer to the timeline of the original Planet Of The Apes storyline.

15. Monkey Man

Speaking of monkeys, Monkey Man marks actor-turned-director Dev Patel’s directorial debut, as he takes on an action thriller in which he stars as a young man seeking revenge in India amid political and religious upheaval. Along the way, he encounters eccentric characters and ruthless villains, all while the film delivers some of the best action stunt sequences in recent memory, rivaled only by the John Wick franchise. The film is further bolstered by great cinematography and a banger of a soundtrack. The final product stands as one of the best actor-turned-director debuts I’ve ever seen, especially within the action flick genre.

14. The Wild Robot

My favorite animated feature from this year was The Wild Robot. It’s not just the breathtaking animation or the stellar voice work from an incredible cast, it’s the storytelling that truly sets this film apart. The Wild Robot draws you in emotionally, investing you in Roz’s journey of self-discovery and her baby goose’s path toward growing up and learning to fly. The film is filled with a delightful supporting cast of characters, including a cynical fox and a beaver convinced his teeth can save the whole island from impending doom. This is a simple, heartfelt story that will captivate children while bringing a tear or two to adults by the end.

13. The Piano Lesson

The Washington family has made it their life’s mission to adapt all of the late August Wilson’s plays into films. They already had succeeded with 2016’s Fences and 2020’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, both of which rank among my favorite films of their respective years. In 2024, The Piano Lesson joined this ambitious lineage. This time, Malcolm Washington steps into the director’s chair for his feature debut, while his brother John David Washington takes the lead role. The film also boasts a stellar ensemble, including Danielle Deadwyler, Corey Hawkins, Ray Fisher, and the legendary Samuel L. Jackson, among others. While this entry had proven to be the most critically divisive of the “series” by its release, it personally hit me the hardest. At its core, it’s a family drama wrapped in a ghost story, one that delves deeply into generational trauma and the enduring sins committed against an entire community. The film explores how the experiences of our ancestors shape us, how the trials and tribulations they endured continue to haunt us across generations, and the internal, often painful familial struggles over the legacies we choose to carry forward.

12. The Substance

When I came out of my first viewing of the Best Picture nominated The Substance in the early Fall of 2024, I wasn’t sure how it was digesting with me. Yet despite my gripes with its self-indulgent final act, the film lingered in my mind during the final months of the year, steadily climbing the ranks of my favorites, right into being the first film in this countdown to get into my personal expanded Best Picture ballot. It’s a body-horror tale executed with slick, stylish craftsmanship across cinematography, editing, sound design, music composition, makeup, and some of the year’s best directorial work. It’s the kind of movie you could play in a club. Beneath all that style, though, lies substance (no pun intended), anchored by phenomenal performances from Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley. The film dives into themes of body image and the professional biases women in the film and television industry face, pairing every grotesque body-horror moment with sharp commentary on the gaze imposed on women by both others and themselves. This is horror with a purpose. If a guy like me can grasp the film’s layered messages, I can only imagine how much more deeply many female viewers have connected with its insights.

11. Anora

Indie director Sean Baker has long excelled at exploring the fringes of society through a blend of comedy and drama, but he’s often struggled to make films that feel both thematically rich and accessible to mainstream audiences. With Anora, he finally cracked the code so much so that it won the Oscar for Best Picture; think Pretty Woman meets Nights Of Cabiria meets The Three Stooges. While I didn’t fully connect with the first thirty or so minutes, the rest of the film more than makes up for it. What begins as a sex comedy built around a Cinderella-like premise quickly transforms into a laugh-out-loud romp through the streets of New York. Ani (short for Anora) finds herself entangled with a Russian oligarch’s rebellious punk son, his bumbling henchmen, and a quiet, reserved tough guy who unexpectedly falls for her. I found myself laughing out loud, fully immersed in the pitch-perfect dialogue and running jokes. It’s a Cinderella story, a mob tale, an adventure, a tragedy, a romance, and a comedy all rolled into one. Anora just might end up being Sean Baker’s magnum opus when all is said and done on his career.

10. Nickel Boys

It feels strange to say I “loved” this Best Picture nominated film, because Nickel Boys is easily the hardest movie to recommend on this list of favorites. It tackles incredibly heavy subject matter; abuse and corruption at a boarding school, systemic racism, and a late twist that lands like a gut punch. The story unfolds through a shifting point-of-view structure, alternating between its two protagonists and interweaving documentary-style edits, flashbacks, and flash-forwards. Yet even amid the harsh, ugly realities these boys endure, their friendship shines through as a genuine beacon of hope. It’s a powerful experience that initially left me conflicted, unsure of how to process what I’d just watched. But the story lingered long enough to warrant a rewatch, ultimately solidifying my appreciation for its impact. Nickel Boys isn’t an easy film to watch, but it isn’t meant to be, and that’s precisely what makes it unforgettable.

09. Sing Sing

There’s a moment in Sing Sing so profoundly moving that you’ll find yourself in tears, not simply out of joy for a character’s happiness, but because the film makes you feel as though you’ve just undergone a soulful experience. This cathartic scene arrives after two hours of deeply insightful storytelling that explores the lives of men enrolled in a prison theater program. Through their heartfelt confessions of regret and their celebrations of life’s small joys, the film becomes a powerful portrait of redemption and humanity, driven by the transformative power of art and self-expression. What makes Sing Sing even more extraordinary is its authenticity as nearly every cast member has been part of this real-life theater program. The story follows a group of incarcerated men as they collaborate to produce a play, from auditions to opening night, while weaving in Divine G’s poignant journey toward the possibility of freedom. As the production takes shape, we come to understand not only the mechanics of the program, but its profound impact on these men’s lives. This is the most heartfelt and impactful film of the year, one that will leave nearly everyone in tears as the credits roll.

08. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

Almost a decade after blowing everyone’s minds with Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller returned to his post-apocalyptic Mad Max universe with the prequel Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Featuring Anya Taylor-Joy as a younger version of the title character, the film shows how Furiosa became the badass female hero we later see alongside Max. The film is further elevated by an outstanding performance from Chris Hemsworth as the main villain, as well as the exhilarating action sequences we’ve come to expect from this franchise. While it initially ranked a bit lower on my list, it has aged into cracking my personal Best Picture ballot. It’s a shame it didn’t achieve the same awards success as its predecessor.

07. Gladiator II

The original, Best Picture winning Gladiator is probably my favorite film from 2000, as it strikes all the right chords of the “sword-and-sandals” epics that I love. Its legacy sequel, directed by Ridley Scott, and featuring an ensemble cast that includes Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, and Pedro Pascal, didn’t receive the same awards glory and was met with much more mixed reviews. Personally, though, I’ve really come to enjoy this bloated epic. I was thoroughly “sports entertained” by this revenge tale, which casts Mescal as the son of the original film’s protagonist and features Washington delivering a sly, sadistic villainous performance. While it may not be as finely tuned as its predecessor, the film has steadily climbed into becoming one of my favorites of the year; a satisfying popcorn flick companion to the original.

06. Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

No one is going to argue that Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is among the most finely crafted films of this year. At its core, it’s a “turn your brain off and watch monsters stomp around” popcorn flick; this isn’t Godzilla Minus One–level filmmaking. But as someone who grew up on Showa-era Godzilla films, where he battled and teamed up with other giant monsters, this felt like reliving my childhood with a massive Hollywood budget. Watching it in a packed theater brought me right back to being five years old, glued to the TV at my grandma’s house. I genuinely found myself bouncing with excitement during the scene where these monsters are suplexing themselves onto the Egyptian pyramids. How much more brainless fun could you ask for? That said, these films deserve credit for something many non-kaiju fans might overlook in that they understand that the monsters themselves are characters. Kong, in particular, has undergone a surprisingly emotional journey across the Monsterverse, driven by his longing for family. No longer doomed to a purely tragic fate, the iconic ape’s arc comes full circle here as he bonds with others of his kind, giving the film an unexpected amount of heart. And, of course, watching Godzilla, Kong, and Mothra strike an Avengers-style pose together is a spectacle I never thought I’d get to witness on the big screen.

05. Dune: Part Two

We now enter the part of the countdown that includes my absolute favorite films of the year. I firmly believe that what Denis Villeneuve has achieved with his Dune adaptations is the greatest directorial accomplishment of the 2020s. In 2021, he took an “unadaptable” sci-fi epic and transformed it into one of the biggest hits of the pandemic-era box office. Now, three years later, he followed it up with what I genuinely consider to be The Empire Strikes Back of this generation. From the masterful direction, breathtaking cinematography, and Hans Zimmer’s incredible score to the amazing sound design, stunning visuals, and a powerhouse ensemble cast, every element of the Best Picture nominated Dune: Part Two screams peak epic genre cinema. And, of course, the moment where Paul learns to ride a sandworm was amazing to watch on the big screen. I made it a point to watch this multiple times, and each time I walked away awestruck, wondering if anything could surpass it as my top film of the year. From my first press screening in late February to late October, this held its place at the summit. This is the kind of grand, awe-inspiring sci-fi spectacle I wish we saw more of these days.

04. Nosferatu

Robert Eggers is solidifying his status as this era’s master cinematic storyteller of dark folklore. From his debut with The Witch to The Lighthouse and The Northman, his films have only grown more refined and, surprisingly, more accessible to mainstream audiences while remaining fiercely true to his own voice. With Nosferatu, Eggers may have delivered his finest work yet. I’ve revisited the film multiple times, and it stands as my favorite straight-up horror movie of the decade (if we’re not counting Godzilla Minus One as one). It’s not just the haunting cinematography, where every frame feels like a gothic painting. It’s not just the meticulous production design, the chilling score, or the remarkable performances from a stellar ensemble. Nor is it only the brilliantly crafted characters, each so distinct that I found myself reacting to their every quirk. What makes Nosferatu truly special is how it taps into the kind of horror films I grew up loving. Experiencing this remake of the 1922 silent-era masterpiece feels both like a reverent tribute to cinema history and a thrilling plunge into its eerie, shadow-soaked depths. Succumbing to the darkness of this film has never felt so good. This is peak gothic horror.

03. The Brutalist

We’re living in a political climate where immigrants are routinely treated with disdain and fear, even by members of the public who don’t identify as Trump supporters. After the 2024 election, that context lingered with me while watching Brady Corbet’s nearly four-hour immigrant period epic, The Brutalist. The Best Picture nominated film dismantles the mythology of the “American Dream,” scrutinizing the immigrant experience while also interrogating class, power, and the legacies artists leave behind. The film’s impeccable direction and breathtaking cinematography are matched, if not surpassed, by a bombastic, unforgettable score. Its powerhouse ensemble delivers extraordinary performances, with Adrien Brody and Guy Pearce standing out as my personal male acting honors. Brody’s portrayal of Laszlo is transformative, featuring emotional depth. Pearce’s Harrison, meanwhile, is a masterclass in villainy; a charming facade concealing something monstrous beneath, cementing his place among cinema’s great antagonists. This is the kind of film we used to see more often; a sprawling, purposeful epic made by adults, for adults. If I had to name the most flawlessly crafted film of the year, The Brutalist takes the crown without question.

02. Conclave

Aside from Challengers, perhaps no other film received the full “memefication” treatment in 2024 quite like the presumed Best Picture runner-up, Conclave. As Erik Anderson of AwardsWatch aptly put it on his podcast, it plays like a group of divas battling for the crown on a reality TV show; except here, the “crown” is the papacy, and the divas are cardinals tasked with electing the next Pope. The film doesn’t shy away from the political intricacies of the process, diving headfirst into factional divides, each candidate’s hubris and flaws, strategic opposition dumps, tense ballot counts, and the meteoric rise and fall of various contenders. There’s even a wry joke about political conventions. In an era when faith-based films often preach exclusively to their own bubbles, Conclave took a refreshingly nuanced approach. It interrogates the nature of faith itself by testing it, challenging it, while still leaving room for the possibility of divine intervention. The film plays beautifully with an audience; the crowd I watched it with laughed at its moments of levity and sat rapt during the tense exchanges and intricate plotting. Every story beat delivers a twist, and just when you think it’s reached its conclusion, another turn sends you out of it full of questions. In a year that was defined by global political upheaval, Conclave may be the film that most sharply captured the spirit of 2024.

01. Wicked

Arguably the mainstream and cultural film of the year, no movie in 2024 pulled me in for more repeat viewings than the Best Picture nominated Wicked; getting nearly ten viewings from me when it first released. This film is everything I crave in a cinematic experience - the soaring build-up to the grand title card sequence, jaw-dropping musical numbers, intricate choreography, and stunning costume and production design that fully immerses you in its world. The performances are nothing short of phenomenal; Cynthia Erivo is pure dynamite as Elphaba, and Ariana Grande’s comedic timing as Glinda (“the Ga is silent”) is a revelation that makes her my personal choice for Supporting Actress in 2024. From the opening chords of “No One Mourns The Wicked” to Elphaba’s breathtaking high note in “Defying Gravity,” this is two hours and forty minutes of pure movie magic. Much of the credit to this film’s box office and critical success should belong to director Jon M. Chu for delivering something that could have easily been a by-the-numbers studio cash grab. Instead, he’s given us yet another masterpiece in the genre, and proven himself the true wizard behind the curtain. Between In the Heights, The Color Purple, and now Wicked, the film musical has been on an incredible streak for me in the first half of this decade.

RECAP

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INTRODUCTION

These are mini reviews of a collection of some of the last few films from the year that I wrapped up this movie season with, on top of the “big ones” I’ve individually reviewed. Please note that these are just a few of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for any one of these films may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on these, follow me on Letterboxd.

If you enjoy these reviews, I’d greatly appreciate it if you could share this newsletter with family and friends who might love receiving film reviews, classic movie lists, and Oscars projections straight to their inbox.

ANACONDA

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: A group of friends facing mid-life crises head to the rainforest with the intention of remaking their favorite movie from their youth, only to find themselves in a fight for their lives against natural disasters, giant snakes, and violent criminals.

• Mini Review: Halfway through Anaconda, I was actually thinking to myself, “Why am I actually vibing with this?” I was genuinely enjoying the absurd comedy of a few friends trying to remake the 1997 flop while chasing goals they’d long abandoned.

  
  And then the film completely implodes in the second half, abandoning that story to turn into a creature-feature horror comedy that got away from the first half’s strengths. I went from chuckling to checking my watch, wondering when it would end.

  
  Not as god-awful as the trailers suggested, but not good either. Completely forgettable, empty cinematic calories at the movies. Definitely not the strongest way to cap the year in film.

• Initial Grading: C+

IS THIS THING ON?

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: As their marriage quietly unravels, Alex faces middle age and an impending divorce, seeking new purpose in the New York comedy scene while Tess confronts the sacrifices she made for their family; forcing them to navigate co-parenting, identity, and whether love can take a new form.

• Mini Review: Is This Thing On? is one of the rawest films I’ve ever seen in its exploration of what a long-term marriage actually looks like. As someone who went through a trial separation myself, it captures all the highs, lows, and awkwardness of that experience with startling honesty.

  Bradley Cooper is now three-for-three for me when it comes to his directorial works. He has an incredible handle on depicting relationships in his filmography, and right now, nobody is touching him in that regard.

  Arnett and Dern both deliver terrific performances, while Cooper himself is funny as hell in his few scenes. Searchlight really dropped the ball by not campaigning this more aggressively. One of the best films of the year.

• Initial Grading: A-

RENTAL FAMILY

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: An American actor in Tokyo struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig - working for a Japanese “rental family” agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that blur the lines between performance and reality.

• Mini Review: We absolutely failed Rental Family. Once thought to be the frontrunner to come out of TIFF with the People’s Choice Award and be in Best Picture contention, the film’s strong audience scores make it clear just how deeply it connects with those who seek it out.

  This is a movie about human connection in an era where a loneliness epidemic is all the talk. It hits you squarely in the feels while prompting reflection on how deeply we all long to be seen and connect with. If I had to nitpick, the final act does feel a bit rushed in its attempt to wrap everything up, but overall this is a warm, audience-friendly film that is easy to recommend.

• Initial Grading: B+

THE HOUSEMAID

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: Trying to escape her past, Millie accepts a job as a live-in housemaid for the wealthy Nina and Andrew Winchester. But what begins as a dream job quickly unravels into something far more dangerous; a sexy, seductive game of secrets, scandal, and power.

• Mini Review: I’ve admittedly never been the strongest supporter of Paul Feig’s filmography outside of Bridesmaids. I still don’t understand how he somehow became Hollywood’s choice for “female thriller whisperer” after building his career on comedies, and yet here he is again, adding another entry to that side of his catalog with The Housemaid.

  Unfortunately, this did nothing to win me over to Feig’s approach to thrillers. Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney do what they can to keep the audience invested, but Feig’s irritating tendency to dress tawdry trash up as eroticism, and his clumsy, eye-roll-inducing twists, hasn’t improved at all. The same issues that have bled into much of his work that hasn’t clicked for me. I genuinely wish he’d give it a rest with these bad thrillers, but Hollywood execs seem hell-bent on continuing to hand him the keys to waste my time with them.

• Initial Grading: C-

THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE

• Plot, Via Letterboxd: The extraordinary true legend of Ann Lee, founder of the devotional sect known as the Shakers.

• Mini Review: The Testament Of Ann Lee boasts a banger soundtrack I can’t wait to revisit, incredible dance choreography, and some of the best costumes of the year. Seyfried is exceptional here.

  That said, the movie’s overly linear storytelling and heavy reliance on narration cause it to blend in with countless other biopics. When the musical numbers aren’t happening, I found myself struggling to fully lock in with the plot and the character arcs.

  Overall, I liked this more than not, but the music is unquestionably its strongest asset, and it ends up doing a lot of the heavy lifting for the elements of the film that didn’t work as well for me.

• Initial Grading: B+

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INTRODUCTION

Good day to you. My name is Luis A. Mendez. I’m a film critic based in Central Florida, and these are my PERSONAL awards ballots for the year 2023 in film. If a favorite film or performance of yours from the year is missing from any preferred categories, chances are I probably liked it, I just happened to have liked at least a few films or performances a little more.

Just a heads up, this version of the ballots was published a few years after I first made them in late 2023, and I did tweak a few of the nomination slots since then.

Now without further adieu here are my nominees for the best of the year:

BEST PICTURE

• American Fiction

• Elemental

• Godzilla Minus One

• Killers Of The Flower Moon

• Maestro

• Oppenheimer

• Poor Things

• Saltburn

• The Color Purple

• The Holdovers

• The Iron Claw

• The Taste Of Things