Category: Movies

2025: My Year In Movies

On By Amy Lordan-TrippIn MoviesLeave a comment
An excerpt of my Letterboxd Year In Review

This past year, I watched 174 films. That’s down from the 216 I watched in 2024. Since I started using Letterboxd, my number of movies logged has gone down each year. Unfortunately, with a degenerative illness, I’m leaving the house less and less to go to the movies. At home, I’m more apt to choose watching a television show over a feature-length film.

My most watched actor, Nicolas Cage, is no shock. He’s in my pantheon of actors that I’ll watch in pretty much anything. Others of that caliber include the entire Skarsgård family, Jason Statham, Parker Posey, Joel Edgerton, Laura Dern (and her parents), and Tom Hardy.

My most watched director, Makoto Shinkai, was a surprise. I had to look him up! Turns out that he directed the 2002 anime film, Voices of a Distant Star, which I watched at home with my husband. We watched two of Shinkai’s short films that were on the Blu-ray that we borrowed from the library. And ta-da: Three films made him the most popular director in our household!

The nanogenre is the vibe I’m bringing into the new year

As for my favorite films of 2025, that’ll be a work in progress for a few months. Like I said, I’ve been going out to the movies less because of my health, so there are loads of 2025 movies that I haven’t gotten to see yet. Visit my Favorite Films of 2025 list on Letterboxd for updates.

Here are my Favorite Films of 2025 as of January 2, 2026.

  1. Sinners
  2. Train Dreams
  3. Dust Bunny
  4. Weapons
  5. Bring Her Back
  6. Frankenstein
  7. Presence
  8. Wake Up Dead Man
  9. The Fantastic 4: First Steps
  10. The Life of Chuck
  11. Companion
  12. Mickey 17
  13. Every Time You Lose Your Mind: A Film About Failure
  14. Caught Stealing
  15. Thunderbolts*
  16. Novocaine

Best of 2023: Film

On By Amy Lordan-TrippIn Movies, Pop CultureLeave a comment

Sadly, I didn’t get out to movie theaters as much as I used to. When you’re dynamically disabled, you have to conserve your energy. Going to the movies might not seem like it takes that much effort, but when the disabled toilet is broken and the only functioning one is on the other side of the theater and you’re using a wheelchair … you can guess why I haven’t seen Killers of the Flower Moon yet. I did manage to see Barbenheimer on different weekends though!

Here’s the list of my favorite films of 2023. This list is dynamic (like me!) so follow me on Letterboxd for updates. Parentheses show how I watched the film.

15. Talk to Me Creepy Australian horror flick with a diverse young cast. (Borrowed from library)

14. Red, White & Royal Blue This was fun. Of course the book is better, but I love seeing queer lit being adapted. (Prime)

13. Nimona A sweet adaptation of N.D. Stevenson’s graphic novel. (Netflix)

12. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour I missed out on tickets for the real thing, so seeing Eras in the theater was second best. Being in a theater filled with women and girls was refreshing. There was dancing, clapping, and of course, singing. (In theater)

11. Renfield Nic Cage as Dracula. Nicholas Hoult as Renfield. Plus Awkwafina! Need I say more? (Borrowed from library)

10. The Killer Michael Fassbender stars as a serial killer who constantly listens to The Smiths. My social media handle is an ode to The Smiths, soooo yes, this movie was made for me. (Netflix)

9. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse A great sequel to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Stunning animation. (In theater)

I don’t care what anyone says, I love flerkittens

8. The Marvels More of a sequel to the excellent Ms. Marvel TV series than Captain Marvel, I found this movie to be a delight. Who doesn’t love a superhero who has a flerken as a sidekick? (In theater)

7. Infinity Pool Doppelgängers and Alexander Skarsgård. Yes, please. (Borrowed from library)

6. Saltburn Barry Keoghan and Jacob Elordi smolder in the sophomore film from director Emerald Fennel (Promising Young Woman). (Prime)

5. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar This short film clocks in at 39 minutes and is everything you’d want from Wes Anderson and Benedict Cumberbatch. Henry Sugar was my favorite of Anderson’s Roald Dahl adaptations. (Netflix)

4. Oppenheimer Am I the only one who gets “Oppenheimer,” by the Old 97’s stuck in their head at the mere mention of Christopher Nolan’s epic opus? (In theater)

3. Beau Is Afraid I’m probably an outlier, but I adored this bizarre film. (Borrowed from library)

2. Asteroid City I even like The Darjeeling Limited. That’s how much I like Wes Anderson, so of course I loved his latest outing. Blink and you’ll miss Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker as a cowboy singer. (Borrowed from library)

1. Barbie Much like seeing Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour in theaters, it was a joy to be in a theater filled with women (though I attended with two men). Yes, I cried. (In theater/MAX)

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her

On By Amy Lordan-TrippIn Amy's Movies Watched in 2017, MoviesLeave a comment

Jessica Chastain, James McAvoy, Viola Davis, William Hurt, and Isabelle Huppert all in the same flick. What’s not to love? Unfortunately, Ned Benson’s The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her suffers from a weak and hackneyed plot.

I really wanted to like Eleanor Rigby: Her because it’s one of three films that tell the same story. Its companions are The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him and The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby. Cool concept, right?

There were some great scenes featuring Chastain/Davis and Chastain/Hurt, but otherwise, I was bored. I found myself paying more attention to Chastain’s swell wardrobe and fantastic hair cut. [She was making me miss my red hair!]

Maybe I’ll enjoy The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him more? Maybe I would have liked Her if McAvoy had his Scottish accent? Or at least an English one? Alas, alack.

SPOILER ALERT!

I recently re-watched The Accidental Tourist, starting Hurt and Geena Davis. I saw it at least a couple of times when I was a kid and became emotionally attached to the score by John Williams. I even learned some of it by ear and would play it on the piano. Anyhow, I digress. Back on track now!

While watching Eleanor Rigby: Her, I thought it was interesting to see Hurt playing the grieving grandfather rather than the grieving father. And then I thought, “I wish I was watching The Accidental Tourist instead!”

END SPOILER

Verdict: Watch the first season of The Affair and The Accidental Tourist instead. Though I might soldier through Eleanor Rigby: Him because I quite like that McAvoy chap.