The disadvantage of being a moviegoer living in India is that we don't get to see every single release, whether it’s in the English or foreign languages. 2025 ends with the realisation that there are more films left to watch that haven't been released either in theatres or on digital platforms. So, of the English-language titles that came out, we picked the ones that stood out above the rest.
Black Bag (JioHotstar)
Steven Soderbergh has been making low to mid-budget movies in various genres for the longest time, producing them at an enviably fast rate. And yet, despite the minimalist approach, none of his films appear "cheap." Black Bag is the latest example of this. Set in the world of spycraft, the tightly plotted thriller is as classy as they come, evoking classic 1960s British espionage fare ("The Ipcress File") with emphasis on character dynamics and suspense over spectacle. Its strengths lie in its gripping dialogues, mind games, and shifting alliances. Moral ambiguity is the order of the day. There's an elaborate dinner table sequence that's essentially a mole hunt. It's also surprisingly quite romantic, courtesy of the quietly smoldering chemistry of Michael Fassbender and Cate Blanchett.
Predator: Badlands
The most brilliant quality of filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg is his telling of a very human story with two unlikely comrades: an extraterrestrial being who sees "sensitivity" as a weakness and an android with "feelings". When the former eventually realises it's time to do away with archaic ideas, it leads to some of the film's most stunning action set pieces, which include a remarkably ingenious callback to the finale of Aliens, the James Cameron-directed sequel to which Badlands is a perfect mirror image, thematically speaking. The deeper you go into Badlands, the parent-child bond — fractured or otherwise — is revealed as a recurring motif, making the Dan Trachtenberg film the most moving entry in the Predator franchise yet. Even the Schwarzenegger original cannot boast of the various astonishing feats managed by Badlands in the emotional department.
Sinners (JioHotstar)
Sure, there is much to praise about the immersive, IMAX-friendly experience (shot by Coogler's frequent collaborator, cinematographer Autumn Durald Akapaw), but the horror epic also gets us to care about its strong emotional core. Coogler's singular storytelling approach impresses in the manner in which he dispenses pieces of information about his characters' backgrounds. He gives us stories both seen and unseen. Note the moment in the car when Delroy Lindo's Delta Sim recounts a horrifying incident in which his friend, a fellow black artist, was tortured and killed by a group of white men. While Lindo narrates it, we hear feeble cries of the victim in the background. Here, Coogler seems to be combining two storytelling forms, one with moving images and the other evoking the radio days when the 'realistic' audio narration had to be 'enhanced' with our imagination.
F1: The Movie (Apple TV)
A glorious, extremely glamorous racing movie featuring expensive vehicles, good-looking actors, striking locations, plush restobars, high-end technology... all combined with Hans Zimmer's reliably epic score and significant contributions from the sound department. The final output is a worthwhile big-screen, IMAX-friendly experience. However, the film doesn't forget to remind us of the blood, sweat, and tears that go into sharpening an F1 driver's skills and maintaining his winning streak. It shows that a racecar driver also runs the risk of losing a job... and his life. It wouldn't be a good sports movie otherwise. The failures are as important as the trophies. One of the main takeaways from this Joseph Kosinski directorial is that you're not going to last in any profession if you're in it only for the fame and money.
Weapons
The horror movie equivalent of Pulp Fiction. You enjoy watching these characters, but don't feel close to them. You are more interested in seeing how their paths cross in the most unexpected ways and how they manage to get out of the mess created by all the twists and turns beyond their control. It is characterised by a non-linear narrative, split by multiple chapters; in this case, named after the key players. Weapons is relatively more wicked in its design, with a wicked sense of humour to go along with it. What makes everything more interesting is how it delves into occasionally surreal territories that get you wondering if everything is an allegory for something else, in the same way that storytellers like Stephen King, Stanley Kubrick, Jordan Peele or David Lynch did before.
One Battle After Another
The Leonardo DiCaprio-starrer is another audacious work from Paul Thomas Anderson, proving yet again that he is the kind of filmmaker capable of opening up doors and pathways in your mind that hitherto didn't exist. It has some of the funniest performances, courtesy of DiCaprio—wearing an outfit resembling Jeff Bridges' from The Big Lebowski—and Sean Penn (Col. Lockjaw is his most memorable character in a long time), and competent turns from Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and Chase Infiniti. PTA is the kind of filmmaker blessed with the powers to rewire your overstimulated brain, which has been corrupted by the toxic, exhausting after-effects of numerous reels and information overload.
Predator: Killer of Killers (JioHotstar)
Dan Trachtenberg proved with Prey that he possesses the same degree of virtuosity as the above filmmakers when it comes to creating immersive spectacle. And with Predator: Killer of Killers he firmly re-establishes himself as a visionary who seems to have a vast reservoir of brilliant ideas waiting to be unleashed in due time. An animated triptych comprising encounters between three different forms of the Yautja and warriors from three eras — one a Viking, another a samurai, and the third a World War II pilot — each tale in Predator: Killer of Killers is marked by lively animation, eye-popping colours, and inventive action choreography with a clear sense of geography
The Lost Bus (Apple TV)
The kind of pulse-pounding, tension-packed ride that manages to enthrall despite our awareness of the outcome of the real events it’s based on. A protagonist based on an actual character, Matthew McConaughey delivers one of his finest performances as a father and school bus driver juggling the anticipation of reuniting with his family and a personal mission to rescue 23 kids from a raging wildfire. Combining live-action filmmaking, convincing CGI, and possibly actual news footage, filmmaker Paul Greengrass delivers his best work since The Bourne Ultimatum, evoking similarly panic-inducing sequences that recall similar situations from films like Speed, The Wages of Fear, and Sorcerer.
Materialists (Netflix)
Materialists arrives at a time when many of us single folks have turned skeptical about the whole dating game and, of course, bitter experiences in love. It also comes at a time when romantic dramas (or romantic comedies, for that matter) no longer hold the same appeal as they did when some of us were much younger, save for a few mature exceptions like Richard Linklater's 'Before' trilogy. And with a film like this, I think it's necessary to bring the age factor into the discussion since I'm curious how someone in their early/late 20s would respond to this film, unlike someone in their early/late 30s. As a single man in his late 30s, I found a lot in Materialists that strongly resonated with me.
Highest 2 Lowest (Apple TV)
Highest 2 Lowest is more than just a showcase of Spike Lee's and Denzel Washington's talents—it's a thoughtful meditation on art, integrity, and the tension between old-school values and modern pressures. This makes it, in my view, not only one of their most accomplished works but also among the year's best. Grace, elegance, and old-school charm are found throughout, from thematically resonant establishing shots to the carefully staged character interactions. Suffice to say, cinematographer Matthew Libatique understood the assginment. It also boasts some of the most striking production design I've seen this year. Avoid comparisons to the Kurosawa version.
Play Dirty (Prime Video)
Some will find it off-putting. Others will be entertained despite its imperfections. I fall in the latter camp. And I happen to be a devotee of Donald E. Westlake, the crime writer whose books were previously adapted into Hollywood crime classics — Point Blank (1967), The Outfit (1973), and Payback (1997) — and most recently, Park Chan-wook's No Other Choice. Those adaptations specifically mentioned their source material. Black's film, on the other hand, simply cites the “Parker book series” — featuring the tough guy criminal Parker, the versions of whom were played earlier by Lee Marvin, Robert Duvall, and Mel Gibson — as inspiration. Coming from the director behind Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys, this one features multiple Shane Black-isms, including the Christmas setting, all events staged with a deadpan, cartoonish approach. It's aware of its cartoonish behaviour and takes glee in that knowledge. Suffice to say, it's Black's wildest crime comedy adventure so far. It's dark comedy done right.