The ever-rising temperatures mean that summer is in full swing. It also signals that we’ve reached the bottom of the hour of 2025. To mark the occasion, several MNFCA members shared their opinions on what they think has been the best of the year so far, as well as their overall thoughts on cinema. Everyone was given free rein with the assignment, so you’ll see different approaches throughout the article. Use these prompts to dig deeper into each member’s work and experience the rest of the year with them!
Dallas Fisher – Dallas Goes To The Movies
Whether or not you think 2025 has been a strong movie year, you can’t deny that it has brought forth what it means to be human in many genres. From a married couple mixed up in a spy drama to brothers fighting their way through racists and vampires, the human spirit prevails through these films. I say all that just to give you my top ten of the year, through June.
10. Materialists
9. Presence
8. The Gorge
7. Bring Them Down
6. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
5. The Life of Chuck
4. The Assessment
3. Sinners
2. Black Bag
1. Warfare
I’m excited to see what the next six months hold and what changes may happen to this ranking.
Hunter Friesen – The Cinema Dispatch
Normally, my mid-year/end-of-year write-up would consist of a ranking of the ten best films, plus a few honorable mentions. Considering that the first half of 2025 has been a bit of a letdown, I’m only going to talk about one film that stands head and shoulders above the rest: Dea Kulumbegashvili’s April.
April is the cruelest month, and, despite my best efforts, Minnesota audiences had to experience that as this Georgian masterpiece failed to make an appearance in any of our great cinemas. It’s a great shame, because this is a film that demands to be seen within the confines of four darkened walls, not because of extravagant visual effects and booming sound effects, but for the opportunity it gives us to break away from our world and be transported to a different one. Absolute patience and concentration are a prerequisite, with any glances at your phone or minor distractions at home stripping away the spellbinding effect Kulumbegashvili has crafted.
Ia Sukhitashvili reunites with Kulumbegashvili after their 2020 film Beginning, this time playing an OB-GYN named Nina who performs secret abortions for girls who need them. Viewers of Vera Drake back in 2004 may have been able to assuage themselves that the harrowing events took place in the 1950s before The 1967 Act made abortion legally protected in the United Kingdom. No such relief comes from within April, with the hostility towards women being felt in every frame.
The boxed-in and closed-off nature of all these proceedings keeps both us and Nina isolated as to what is fully happening in this part of the world. Between the unsettling abstract visuals at the beginning of the film and the brutal real-life truths about bodily autonomy, this is one of the most bone-chilling films of the year.
My full review of the film can be read at The Cinema Dispatch and the Eden Prairie Local News.
Jay Gabler – Duluth News Tribune
Uncertainty reigns in 2025, as the film industry continues to reel (so to speak) from the recent strikes, with more disruptions to come. What does it even mean to put a “100% tariff” on a movie? Still, there are developments that give hope. Production is recovering here in northern Minnesota, with the potential for cameras to roll soon on the highest-budget film to be made here since North Country (2005).
Nationally, it’s been heartening to see the commercial and critical success of Sinners, Ryan Coogler’s richly atmospheric vampire movie. The fact that Coogler won contract terms that will lead to him ultimately owning the movie is further evidence that not all changes happening in Hollywood are for the worse.
Zach Hammill – Movie Friend
I think 2025 is off to a solid start, and with exciting films from Spike Lee, Paul Thomas Anderson, Guillermo Del Toro, Edgar Wright, Ari Aster, and many more, I think the best is yet to come. Admittedly, I’ve been a bit more selective about what I see than I have been in the past, but the best of what I’ve seen are:
Sinners – Ryan Coogler serves the best of 2025 so far, and the most original film in years, by a mile. The fact that I don’t immediately think of it as a horror film first is a testament to its power.
Friendship – Best comedy in a decade. I’ve seen it three times now, and it gets better with each viewing, peeling back layers that reveal issues such as narcissism and loneliness, cleverly buried in big, stupid laughs and an absolutely bonkers lead performance.
The Phoenician Scheme – Feels like the Wes Anderson who made THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL remaking his own THE ROYAL TENENBAUMS. Exquisite and ornate as usual, but with a pall of death over it that brings about urgency to correct the wrongs of the past, no matter who convoluted the scheme. Many laugh-out-loud scenes.
Black Bag – Steven Soderbergh’s sly spy thriller that’s more interested in the inner workings of relationships, but intimate (like the marriage at the center) and everyday (at the agency).
Mickey 17 – Bong Joon-Ho’s follow-up to PARASITE is an absolute gas: it’s one part EDGE OF TOMORROW and one part STARSHIP TROOPERS but with a gentle soul, and a very sweet performance by Robert Pattinson.
Materialists – Celine Song’s sly, clinical, pragmatic, and ultimately romantic follow-up to her achingly beautiful debut PAST LIVES is freshly popped popcorn (albeit with more salt) that both bucks and satisfies the trends and tropes of “chick flicks.”
Thunderbolts* – The most exciting Marvel movie in years. Steadfast, clear-headed, impeccably designed, exceedingly well-acted, and deeply moving. I’m not a Marvel diehard… and I loved it.
Erik Larson – Hamline Oracle
The first six months of 2025 have had some great films released, far more so than last year. My top 5 favorite films from the first half of the year are:
- “The Phonecian Scheme” by Wes Anderson.
- “Materialists” by Celine Song.
- “Sinners” by Ryan Coogler.
- “The Life of Chuck” by Mike Flanagan.
- “Mickey 17” by Bong Joon-ho.
Ruth Maramis – FlixChatter
Instead of doing mini reviews, I’m merging this post with my mid-year overview of the movie landscape of the first half of 2025. I can’t really say if it’s a great year for movies or not, given that some of the biggest, most-anticipated films haven’t come out yet (Superman, Fantastic Four, Running Man, TRON: Ares); as well as a few non-tentpole movies I’m looking forward to: A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, Frankenstein, even The Naked Gun remake with Liam Neeson looks like fun.
Paul McGuire Grimes – Paul’s Trip to the Movies
We’re halfway through 2025, and there have been some terrific movies in theaters. Original stories! Blending genres! Life-changing, inspiring stories! Movies that push the boundaries of filming! Here are Paul’s Top 5 Movies of 2025 (So Far…)
As always, follow me across social media @PAULSMOVIETRIP, follow me on Letterboxd, and check out my website and YouTube channel for more movie reviews and celebrity interviews
Keep your eyes peeled for the latest film critiques, reviews, and news from the Minnesota Film Critics Association! 🎬🍿
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