Fio's 2025 Notable Watches
2025 is over and it was shit, but I watched some really good stuff at least (and a few giga dookies). Here are the ones that stood out, for one reason or another (I keep a log of every movie I watch on Letterboxd).
Best Watches
Tokyo Godfathers (2003)
Man. Almost every scene in this would sound so mundane on paper. It was my best film watched in 2025, and one of my top films of all time.
Millennium Actress (2001)
I haven't seen another film that was so abstract without feeling like it was only trying to stand out. An otherwise basic premise becomes an off-the-rails adventure, but the wackiness has purpose.
Poor Things (2023)
Unlike Millennium Actress, I do think this one tries too hard to be weird - but that doesn't stop it from being a completely wacko ride that has some of the funniest scenes I've ever seen in a movie. It had more sex than I've ever seen in a film, but none of it is sexy. You'd have to see it to understand.
One Battle After Another (2025)
Very fun ride with a lot of exaggerated characters. There's an undertone of humor throughout, despite that the whole plot is overtly serious.
Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms (2018)
Grave of the Fireflies didn't crack me, but this one cranked the waterworks. If bittersweet is your weak point this is an atomic bomb.
The Substance (2024)
The visual style of this movie is uncanny and impeccable. The gimmick is great and leaves you constantly wondering what will happen next. The ending is... I don't know man, maybe we can just not talk about that.
Alien: Romulus (2024)
The ads for this made me avoid it when it first came out, it came off as a Gen Z horror version of Alien. Its main fault is being too derivative of its source material, but as someone who didn't like Prometheus or Covenant I was just happy to get a solid entry that was better than I expected it to be.
KPop Demon Hunters (2025)
My friends who think I hate everything popular can shove it up their asses.
Weapons (2025)
It's a little overrated, but it's definitely good. The car scene was one of the creepiest and most memorable scenes in a horror flick.
Sinners (2025)
This one was fun because it was so chaotic, and the bad guys (not the racist ones) were actually very cool and likable?
Worst Watches
Mickey 17 (2025)
This was a steaming pile of dogshit, I couldn't believe I sat through it. I actually get annoyed when I think of it. I hated almost every single character in this, and was hoping the main character would die within 10 minutes of meeting him. The one blessing this movie gives is that I won't see many movies as bad as it in my life.
The Fanatic (2019)
It wasn't that bad and then ended so suddenly that I was actually confused. It's like they ran out of money and decided to roll the credits instead of finishing it. There is no point to this movie existing, it doesn't reach any meaningful resolution, no character develops into a new person, there is nothing. Credit where it's due: I've never laughed so hard at the very first line a character says before.
The Dead Don't Die (2019)
The writing was such a boiling pot of turds I think ChatGPT might be able to beat it.