WASHINGTON 鈥 As the , President Donald Trump added a highly personal stamp to this year's announcement of the recipients of the annual honors, whom he named as country music star George Strait, "Rocky" actor Sylvester Stallone, singer Gloria Gaynor, the rock band Kiss and actor-singer Michael Crawford.
Instead of the Kennedy Center revealing the names through a news release as usual, Trump announced the honorees himself during a Wednesday news conference at the site, where he was flanked by American flags and photo stands for each of the entertainers that initially聽were covered by red drapes.
President Donald Trump stands beside photos of Kennedy Center Honors nominees Wednesday showing,聽from left,聽country music star George Strait, actor-singer Michael Crawford and "Rocky" actor Sylvester Stallone at the center in Washington.聽The other recipients are singer Gloria Gaynor and the rock band Kiss.
Alex Brandon, Associated PressUnlike in his first term, when he didn't even attend the honors ceremony, he announced that he would be hosting it later this year and that he was deeply involved with the selection process.
People are also reading…
- 'Somewhere safe, somewhere fun': Auburn bar opens in space closed for seven years
- ICE detains worker in Auburn
- Auburn Planning Board OKs plan for new drive-thru coffee shop
- 11 Auburn Correctional Facility staff taken to hospital after substance exposure
- Truck driver dies in crash on Thruway in Cayuga County
- 'To build a legacy': Cayuga County winery purchased for $1.8M
- Cayuga County-area restaurant inspections for Aug. 8, 2025: One unsatisfactory
- 'Our neighbors are suffering': Auburn homelessness program relocates downtown
- Cayuga County-area police blotter: Aug. 9, 2025
- Auburn police: Stolen handgun recovered after struggle
- Cayuga County-area property transfers: Aug. 11, 2025
- Inside Hiawatha Institute's $12.7M offer to buy former Wells College campus in Aurora
- Man gets prison for attempted rape in Cayuga County Court
- Sheriff: Cayuga County man punched deputy responding to overdose
- Cayuga County sheriff: 18-year-old stole vehicles, credit cards on Thruway escape
He also suggested he might choose himself for a future award.
The spectacle marked a new era for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, which Trump with loyalists. He even hinted he'd like to see the venue renamed the Trump/Kennedy Center.
Trump made revamping the Kennedy Center 鈥 and what he calls its "woke" agenda 鈥 the center of an ongoing push to overhaul such cultural institutions as the and the .
The rock band Kiss is unveiled Wednesday as a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors at the center in Washington.
Alex Brandon, Associated PressA bipartisan history
The Kennedy Center Honors were established in 1978 and were given to a broad range of artists. Until Trump's first term, presidents of both major political parties traditionally attended the annual ceremony, even when they disagreed politically with a given recipient.
Prominent liberals such as Barbra Streisand and Warren Beatty were honored during the administration of Republican George W. Bush, and a leading conservative, Charlton Heston, was feted during the administration of Democrat Bill Clinton.
At least some of this year's winners have a history of backing Trump.
Stallone is a prominent supporter who called Trump "the second George Washington" and was named by the president, along with Jon Voight and Mel Gibson, as a . Founding Kiss member Ace Frehley endorsed Trump in 2020, calling him "the strongest leader we've got."
Meanwhile, fellow Kiss musician Paul Stanley often criticized the Republican president, notably to accepting to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.
"After numerous audits, debunked claims of rampant voter tampering, dead people voting & the countless cases thrown out by Trump appointed judges & others 鈥 When is not getting the hoped for result accepted?? Biden won," Stanley tweeted at the time.
Gloria Gaynor poses for a portrait Dec. 18, 2019, in New York.
Matt Licari, InvisionAll of the nominees have had substantial, even iconic, careers.
Stallone's portrayals of the underdog boxer Rocky Balboa and Vietnam veteran John J. Rambo are fixtures in popular culture.
Strait's dozens of chart-topping hits, including "Check Yes or No" and "I Cross My Heart," led to his nickname the King of Country Music.
Few bands sold more records or more famously covered their faces in makeup than Kiss, members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Crawford is a celebrated stage actor who won a Tony for his starring role in "The Phantom of the Opera," and Gaynor is a leading star from the 1970s disco era whose "I Will Survive" is a feminist anthem.
Breaking with longtime tradition, none of the honorees was from the fields of dance or classical musical.
This year's Kennedy Center Honors ceremony will take place Dec. 7, airing on CBS and stream on Paramount+.
President Donald Trump speaks Wednesday at the Kennedy Center in Washington.
Alex Brandon, Associated PressA personal approach
Historically, a bipartisan advisory committee selects the recipients, who over the years ranged from George Balanchine and Tom Hanks to Aretha Franklin and Stephen Sondheim.
Trump said Wednesday that he was "about 98% involved" in choosing the honorees and conferred with such handpicked Kennedy Center officials as Ric Grenell and Sergio Gor. He said he "turned down plenty" of names, saying those individuals were "too woke" or too liberal. He described the artists he announced on Wednesday as "great people."
Besides naming himself chairman and remaking the board, Trump indicated he'd take over decisions regarding programming at the center and vowed to end events featuring performers in drag.
The steps drew further criticism from some artists. In March, the the Broadway hit musical in 2026, citing Trump's aggressive takeover of the institution's leadership.
House Republicans added an amendment to a spending bill Trump signed into law in July to after first lady Melania Trump, but that venue has yet to be renamed. Maria Shriver, a niece of the late President Kennedy, a Democrat, criticized as "insane" a separate House proposal to rename the entire center after Trump.
- Director: Sally Aitken
- Metascore: 74
- IMDB user rating: 7.1
- Run time: 1 hour 33 minutes
A nature documentary at its core, "Every Little Thing" follows Terry Masear, a hummingbird rehabilitation specialist, as she goes about the day-to-day business of saving these delicate birds. Though it may sound light-hearted and fluffy (and it certainly does have those moments), the film is as much about overcoming trauma鈥攚hether inflicted by nature or by other humans鈥攁s it is about the birds.
While some critics called the film and monotonous, most found it dazzling, with gushing over how deftly the film manages to say something about humanity. After all, as Masear puts it, showing love and compassion when we aren't required to is a marker of one's greatness.
- Michael Loccisano // Getty Images
- Director: Kyle Hausmann-Stokes
- Metascore: 75
- IMDB user rating: 6.7
- Run time: 1 hour 43 minutes
"My Dead Friend Zoe" follows an Afghanistan vet whose dead comrade is a constant presence in her life as she faces conflict with her therapist and her ailing Vietnam vet grandfather. Based in part on director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes' own military experiences, the film is an exploration of PTSD that includes appearances from real-life service members. But as the puts it, it isn't "a love letter to the armed forces" so much as a movie that "emphasizes the need for community and a space to share trauma."
- Stewart Cook/Briarcliff Entertainment via Getty Images
- Director: Bruce David Klein
- Metascore: 76
- IMDB user rating: 7.8
- Run time: 1 hour 44 minutes
A behind-the-scenes look at the life of Liza Minnelli, this documentary showcases interviews with Minnelli and several members of her inner circle, giving an all-new perspective on the legendary performer. The film, broken into separate chapters looking at periods of her personal and professional life, feels intimate and affectionate, possessing what a critic calls a "lightness of style" that makes even the more difficult moments easy to watch.
Described as "scintillating" by , the documentary makes no effort to dodge those difficult moments, choosing instead to reveal how Minnelli found joy through it all.
- Dimitrios Kambouris // Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- Metascore: 77
- IMDB user rating: 6.1
- Run time: 1 hour 24 minutes
Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, and Callina Liang star in this supernatural thriller about a family who moves into a house haunted by a poltergeist. Though the movie is downright chilling, it's more subdued than a typical ghost movie鈥攖here are no jump scares, for one thing. Instead, "Presence" makes the viewer wrestle with whether the spirit is evil or simply exposing the maliciousness inside us all.
Some reviewers weren't keen on the film's approach, with audiences seeing everything from the ghost's perspective, but others have praised director Steven Soderbergh's , noting that it makes the climax all the more effective.
- John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images
- Director: Questlove
- Metascore: 77
- IMDB user rating: 7.7
- Run time: 1 hour 52 minutes
"Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius)" looks at the life and legacy of funk musician Sly Stone. The documentary, filled with rich archival footage and interviews, has been described as "" by Variety and for its honesty in depicting the alienating aspects of Black excellence.
Even for folks who know little about Sly and the Family Stone鈥攐r who have minimal appreciation for funk music鈥攖he film is an excellent primer on the ups and downs of the entertainment industry.
You may also like:
- Isaiah Trickey/FilmMagic // Getty Images
- Director: Andres Veiel
- Metascore: 78
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 55 minutes
"Riefenstahl" looks at the life of famed German director Leni Riefenstahl, focusing specifically on the way her artistic legacy has been tainted by her connections to Nazis. As one of Adolf Hitler's favorite filmmakers, Riefenstahl was considered a trailblazer on the wrong side of history.
Director Andres Veiel is in no way an apologist for Riefenstahl, taking pains to point out just how complicit and destructive she was, as a notes. Still, the documentary prompts viewers to think about a question that's been at the forefront of many minds lately鈥攃an an artist's life and beliefs be separated from their work or not?
- Tristar Media // Getty Images
- Director: James Griffiths
- Metascore: 78
- IMDB user rating: 7.8
- Run time: 1 hour 39 minutes
In "The Ballad of Wallis Island," a reclusive lottery winner invites his favorite folk band to play a private concert for him on the remote island he calls home. It's a simple enough ask, but the fact that the band consists of two exes鈥攊ncluding one who brings her new partner along for the ride鈥攎akes things much more complicated.
Starring Tim Key, Tom Basden, and Carey Mulligan, the quiet film is loosely based on a short film Basden and Key made with director James Griffiths nearly two decades ago. called it "a gentle ode to moving on," and the kind of movie that won't "dominate any cultural conversations 鈥 but [will] touch your soul if you let it."
- Gilbert Flores/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images
- Director: Ye Lou
- Metascore: 78
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 45 minutes
"An Unfinished Film" is referred to as "docufiction," meaning it's a fictional movie inspired by real events and incorporating documentary elements. Set in January 2020, the movie follows a film crew reuniting near Wuhan, China, to finish a project they were forced to abandon a decade earlier. Their plans are, of course, foiled by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are forced into lockdown.
Interspersed with real smartphone footage from Wuhan at the beginning of the pandemic, the movie perfectly encapsulates what it was like to live during that time, particularly at the epicenter. writes, "Few films have so skillfully captured the way COVID caused such traumatic temporal disruptions in its early days, wherein sudden changes in physical and emotional routine caused time to both stretch and collapse."
- Andreas Rentz // Getty Images
- Director: Miguel Gomes
- Metascore: 80
- IMDB user rating: 6.6
- Run time: 2 hours 8 minutes
A historical drama set in 1918, "Grand Tour" is about a young man who abandons his fianc茅e on the eve of their wedding, only to have her set out in search of him. As they each traipse across East and Southeast Asia, fictional scenes of their story are interspersed with real documentary footage (some from the turn of the century, some more modern).
Director Miguel Gomes told the film was meant to evoke "the spectacle of the world," prompting audiences to look more closely at their own worlds. The visually intoxicating movie resists the audience's need to understand what's going on, choosing instead to inspire wonder and the sense that "reality is often magical and inscrutable."
- Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
- Directors: Sam Crane, Pinny Grylls
- Metascore: 82
- IMDB user rating: 6.9
- Run time: 1 hour 29 minutes
One of the quirkiest movies to make this list, "Grand Theft Hamlet" follows two out-of-work actors who attempt to stage a full-blown production of "Hamlet" in Grand Theft Auto Online. Shot entirely in the video game, with all of the subjects portrayed by their digital avatars, the film won the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2024 SXSW festival. "constantly surprising, breathtakingly imaginative, and a great introduction to Shakespeare."
You may also like:
- Amy E. Price/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images
- Directors: Merlin Crossingham, Nick Park
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.5
- Run time: 1 hour 22 minutes
In "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl," an old nemesis鈥擣eathers McGraw, the penguin who first made his debut in the 1993 short "The Wrong Trousers"鈥攔eturns to challenge the title pair with an assist from some AI-infused gnomes. While delightfully entertaining for younger audiences, with chase scenes and laugh-out-loud jokes galore, the film will keep older viewers engaged with its insightful criticisms of technology and its place in our consumer society.
Available to stream on Netflix, the movie nailed the "nostalgia sequel," according to , "keeping the spirit of the animated series alive while paying tribute to the claymation duo's best moments." "Vengeance Most Fowl" was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards.
- Dave Benett // Getty Images
- Directors: Aws Al-Banna, Ahmed Al-Danf, Basil Al-Maqousi, and others
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.9
- Run time: 1 hour 52 minutes
One of the most urgent watches on this list, "From Ground Zero," is a collection of 22 different short films, ranging in style from documentary to animation, shot by nearly two dozen Palestinian directors over the past year in Gaza. Through true stories, the movie does a powerful job of humanizing the people of Gaza as they witness the destruction of their homes and the killing of their loved ones by the Israeli military.
"From Ground Zero" was shortlisted for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards, though it didn't make the final cut. critic called it "a rare work for which superlatives are not only inadequate but useless," writing that the film "shows that, after a catastrophe, art is not only still possible but necessary鈥攁nd that digital technology makes it possible for people to continue to preserve and share their stories even after they've lost almost everything else."
- KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images
- Director: Morissa Maltz
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.1
- Run time: 1 hour 26 minutes
Set in the same universe as director Morrisa Maltz's debut film "The Unknown Country," "Jazzy" is a coming-of-age drama that follows a young Oglala Lakota girl. The movie is based on the real-life experiences of Maltz's goddaughter, Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux, with the narrative following Jazzy and her best friend over six years as they navigate crushes, life's twists and turns, and the challenges of friendship. Called "scrappy," "loose-limbed," and "meditative" by , the film beautifully encapsulates those messy adolescent years.
- Jason Mendez // Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
- Director: Alain Guiraudie
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.9
- Run time: 1 hour 44 minutes
At the start of "Misericordia," a man arrives at a village in rural France to attend the funeral of his former boss. The widow, vaguely aware of the man's affair with her late husband, invites him to stay, only to see tensions arise between her new houseguest and her son.
as "a morbid comedy of errors" and "a metaphysical, character-driven drama about the mysteries and absurdities of human attraction." It's exactly the Hitchcockian sort of movie for which writer/director Alain Guiraudie, who made 2013's "Stranger by the Lake," has become known.
- Dia Dipasupil // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Carson Lund
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 39 minutes
Set in the '90s, "Eephus" centers on two amateur baseball teams playing one last game in their home stadium before it gets demolished. Subtle, slow-moving, and without the overtly emotional arc that's central to most sports films, the movie still manages to be a touching and funny tribute to the country's national pastime. WBUR called it "the since 'Bull Durham'鈥攐r maybe 'Bad Lieutenant'鈥攂ecause it explores this sport's peculiar ability to bend and distort time."
You may also like:
- Dimitrios Kambouris // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Matthew Rankin
- Metascore: 84
- IMDB user rating: 7.1
- Run time: 1 hour 29 minutes
"Universal Language" is an absurdist comedy set in a reimagined Canada where Persian and French are the official languages. The film contains three separate narratives that are seemingly unconnected. Reminiscent of the Iranian New Wave cinematic movement, the movie may be too bizarre for some—the action is interspersed with asides, like a faux '80s-style commercial selling turkeys. But for those willing to get on its wavelength, the film delivers a story that is ", welcoming but odd, funny, and tender," per .
- Dia Dipasupil // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Walter Salles
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 8.3
- Run time: 2 hours 17 minutes
Based on journalist Marcelo Rubens Paiva's memoir of the same name, "I'm Still Here" tells the story of a mother and activist trying to cope with the forced disappearance of her husband amid Brazil's military dictatorship. Starring Oscar nominee Fernanda Torres, the movie was also nominated for Best Picture and won the Academy Award for Best International Film. The urgency of the story, as well as the quietly emotional performances, are among the driving factors behind the film's acclaim.
- ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 33 minutes
Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, and Pierce Brosnan lead the cast of this spy thriller that follows a British intelligence officer who is tasked with investigating a list of possible traitors. One of the names on that list? The wife he's deeply devoted to.
"Black Bag" has tonal similarities to a James Bond movie, but with a subtler and more darkly comedic approach. the Steven Soderbergh effort "absolutely delicious, a svelte piece of entertainment that feels like a vintage yarn yet very much represents our own current anxieties, questions of sustaining trust in relationships and high-stake careers."
- Gareth Cattermole // Getty Images
- Director: Minh Quy Truong
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 6.4
- Run time: 2 hours 9 minutes
Two coal miners dream of a better future in this LGBTQ+ romantic drama. Banned in its home country of Vietnam for its "gloomy, deadlocked and negative" views of the nation and its people, the movie wrestles with the effects of the Vietnam War, the difficulties of immigration, and the realities of being in a same-sex relationship in a country where that is still widely regarded as taboo. The expressionist movie has been as "abstract" and "dreamlike."
- Michael Loccisano // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Rungano Nyoni
- Metascore: 87
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 39 minutes
"On Becoming a Guinea Fowl" opens with the main character stumbling across the body of her dead uncle, lying on the road in the middle of the night. As her extended Zambian family prepares for Uncle Fred's funeral, long-held family secrets begin to come to light and force a reckoning. A mix of dark comedy and serious drama, the movie has plenty to say about the challenges of processing complex emotions and the temptation to live in denial.
Data reporting by Wade Zhou. Story editing by聽Louis Peitzman. Copy editing by Tim Bruns and聽Kristen Wegrzyn.聽
You may also like:
- Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
The best movies of 2025 so far
The best movies of 2025 so far
As is so often the case, the first half of 2025 had some serious highs and lows. There were major box-office hits, like "Sinners," which is poised to be one of the of the past decade, along with some colossal disappointments, like Disney's universally panned live-action "Snow White," which is expected to .
While the early months of the year are generally slower in Hollywood, the summer season is where things really pick up. Looking ahead, there are still plenty of notable films on the horizon. Moviegoers will be treated to a ton of hotly anticipated sequels, including "Freakier Friday" on Aug. 8 and "Wicked: For Good" on Nov. 21.
Several family-friendly movies are also on the way, like the beloved children's show spin-off "Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie" on Sept. 26 and "Zootopia 2" on Nov. 26. And who could forget surefire hits like "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale" and "The Long Walk," both of which premiere on Sept. 12?
While there's much to look forward to, we shouldn't overlook the gems that have already hit theaters. rounded up the best movies of 2025 so far, ranked by scores. To qualify for the list, these movies must have been released and distributed in the United States by July 12, 2025, and have at least seven reviews by critics. Any ties were broken by Metacritic's internal weighting system. user ratings are provided for popular reception context.
From timely documentaries to animated comedies to gripping foreign films, these are the films from 2025 (so far) most deserving of your attention.
#20. Blue Sun Palace
- Directors: Constance Tsang
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 8
- Run time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
In the wake of a tragedy, two Chinese immigrants in Queens form an unexpected bond that helps them navigate their grief and hold on to the dreams that brought them across an ocean. Slow-moving and lyrical, the movie brings a perceptive subtlety to a classic immigrant story, according to critics. New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson praised the movie for creating " and its inhabitants, while letting us discover along with them what lies beyond."
#19. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
- Directors: Merlin Crossingham,
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.5
- Run time: 1 hour, 22 minutes
In "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl," an old nemesis鈥擣eathers McGraw, the penguin who first made his debut in the 1993 short "The Wrong Trousers"鈥攔eturns to challenge the title pair with an assist from some AI-infused gnomes. While delightfully entertaining for younger audiences, with chase scenes and laugh-out-loud jokes galore, the film will keep older viewers engaged with its insightful criticisms of technology and its place in our consumer society.
The movie according to Forbes senior contributor Dani Di Placido, "keeping the spirit of the animated series alive while paying tribute to the claymation duo's best moments." "Vengeance Most Fowl" was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards.
#18. Meeting with Pol Pot
- Director: Rithy Panh
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.4
- Run time: 1 hour, 52 minutes
In 1978, a small group of Western journalists was allowed into Cambodia for the first time since the Khmer Rouge took power three years earlier. The film dramatizes the book "When the War Was Over," which was written by one of the journalists in the delegation.
Variety praised the film for the way it frankly depicts the "emotional disconnect and compartmentalization" required to live in a world where disinformation abounds. "The result is a and its mechanisms, filtered down to an intimate tale of journalistic integrity," Siddhant Adlakha writes.
#17. Afternoons of Solitude
- Director: Albert Serra
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.3
- Run time: 2 hours, 5 minutes
's Glenn Kenny called "Afternoons of Solitude" ", emotionally unnerving, and鈥攁rguably鈥攊ntellectually confounding." Director Albert Serra's first feature-length documentary, the movie follows Spanish bullfighter Andr茅s Roca Rey. There is no commentary, no narration, and no interviews with those involved. Instead, the film offers a two-hour observation of the sport, in all of its gore and glory.
#16. Misericordia
- Director: Alain Guiraudie
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.8
- Run time: 1 hour, 44 minutes
At the start of "Misericordia," a man arrives at a village in rural France to attend the funeral of his former boss. The widow, vaguely aware of the man's affair with her late husband, invites him to stay, only to see tensions arise between her new houseguest and her son.
described the thriller as "" and "a metaphysical, character-driven drama about the mysteries and absurdities of human attraction." It's exactly the Hitchcockian rollercoaster for which writer-director Alain Guiraudie, who made 2013's "Stranger by the Lake," has become known.
#15. From Ground Zero
- Directors: Aws Al-Banna,
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.9
- Run time: 1 hour, 52 minutes
One of the most urgent works on this list, "From Ground Zero" is a collection of 22 different short films, ranging in style from documentary to animation, shot by nearly two dozen Palestinian directors over the past year in Gaza. Through true stories, the movie does a powerful job of humanizing the people of Gaza as they witness the destruction of their homes and the killing of their loved ones by the Israeli military.
"From Ground Zero" was shortlisted for Best International Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards, though it didn't make the final cut. critic Matt Zoller Seitz called it " for which superlatives are not only inadequate but useless," writing that the film "shows that, after a catastrophe, art is not only still possible but necessary—and that digital technology makes it possible for people to continue to preserve and share their stories even after they've lost almost everything else."
#14. Jazzy
- Director: Morrisa Maltz
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.1
- Run time: 1 hour, 26 minutes
Set in the same universe as director Morrisa Maltz's debut film, "The Unknown Country," "Jazzy" is a coming-of-age drama that follows a young Oglala Lakota girl. The movie is based on the real-life experiences of Maltz's goddaughter, Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux, with the narrative following Jazzy and her best friend over six years as they navigate crushes, life's twists and turns, and the challenges of friendship. Called by Variety's Tomris Laffly, the film beautifully encapsulates those messy adolescent years.
#13. Eephus
- Director: Carson Lund
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.7
- Run time: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Set in the '90s, "Eephus" centers on two amateur baseball teams playing one last game in their home stadium before it gets demolished. Subtle, slow-moving, and without the overtly emotional arc that's central to most sports films, the movie still manages to be a touching and funny tribute to America's national pastime. Writing for WBUR, Sean Burns called it "鈥攐r maybe 'Bad Lieutenant'鈥攂ecause it explores this sport's peculiar ability to bend and distort time."
#12. Viet and Nam
- Director: Minh Quy Truong
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.3
- Run time: 2 hours, 9 minutes
Two coal miners dream of a better future in this LGBTQ+ romantic drama. for its "gloomy, deadlocked and negative" views of the nation and its people, the movie wrestles with the effects of the Vietnam War, the difficulties of immigration, and the realities of being in a same-gender relationship in a country where that is still widely regarded as taboo. Chicago Reader Assistant Managing Editor Savannah Hugueley described the expressionistic movie as
#11. Universal Language
- Director: Matthew Rankin
- Metascore: 84
- IMDB user rating: 6.9
- Run time: 1 hour, 29 minutes
"Universal Language" is an absurdist comedy set in a reimagined Canada where Persian and French are the official languages. The film contains three separate yet seemingly unconnected narratives. Reminiscent of the Iranian New Wave cinematic movement, the movie may be too bizarre for some (the action is interspersed with asides, like a faux '80s-style commercial selling turkeys). But for those willing to get on its wavelength, the film delivers a story that is ", welcoming but odd, funny, and tender," per critic Monica Castillo.
#10. Sinners
- Director: Ryan Coogler
- Metascore: 84
- IMDB user rating: 7.7
- Run time: 2 hours, 17 minutes
Michael B. Jordan plays twins in this horror movie set in the Mississippi Delta in 1932. "Sinners" follows the two brothers, Smoke and Stack, as they return to their hometown hoping for a fresh start, only to find that a supernatural evil is lurking in the shadows. "Vibrant and richly acted," the movie is a " that's about something weighty and soulful," according to Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman. Its thematic depth and stunning aesthetic are two of the reasons it's , making it the biggest original horror movie since 2018's "A Quiet Place."
#9. I'm Still Here
- Director: Walter Salles
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 8.2
- Run time: 2 hours, 17 minutes
Based on journalist Marcelo Rubens Paiva's memoir of the same name, "I'm Still Here" tells the story of a mother and activist trying to cope with the forced disappearance of her husband amid Brazil's military dictatorship. Starring Oscar nominee Fernanda Torres, the movie was also nominated for Best Picture and won the Academy Award for Best International Film. The urgency of the story, as well as the quietly emotional performances, are among the driving factors behind the film's acclaim.
#8. Black Bag
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 6.7
- Run time: 1 hour, 33 minutes
Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, and Pierce Brosnan lead the cast of this spy thriller, which follows a British intelligence officer who is tasked with investigating a list of possible traitors. One of the names on that list? The wife he's deeply devoted to.
"Black Bag" has tonal similarities to a James Bond movie but with a subtler, more darkly comedic approach. 's Monica Castillo called the Steven Soderbergh effort " that feels like a vintage yarn yet very much represents our own current anxieties, questions of sustaining trust in relationships and high-stake careers."
#7. A Nice Indian Boy
- Director: Roshan Sethi
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 7.4
- Run time: 1 hour, 36 minutes
In this rom-com, an Indian American doctor brings his fiancé, a white man adopted by Indian parents, to meet his ultra-traditional family. Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff star in roles that are played with "," as described by contributing editor Nell Minow. The movie is heartwarming as it engages with classic genre tropes, but it has also earned praise for its gentle wisdom and the tender way it treats family and community.
#6. April
- Director: Dea Kulumbegashvili
- Metascore: 86
- IMDB user rating: 6.4
- Run time: 2 hours, 14 minutes
In this timely drama, a Georgian obstetrician who provides abortions to her patients despite the country's prohibitions must defend herself after being accused of negligence. Gripping and, at times, unbearably tense, the movie is a must-watch in the current political climate. Just be aware that it may leave you feeling unsettled, with IndieWire Reviews Editor David Ehrlich calling it a "."
#5. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
- Director: Rungano Nyoni
- Metascore: 87
- IMDB user rating: 7
- Run time: 1 hour, 39 minutes
"On Becoming a Guinea Fowl" opens with the main character stumbling across the body of her dead uncle, lying on the road in the middle of the night. As her extended Zambian family prepares for Uncle Fred's funeral, long-held family secrets begin to come to light and force a reckoning. A mix of dark comedy and serious drama, the movie has plenty to say about the challenges of processing complex emotions and the temptation to live in denial.
#4. To a Land Unknown
- Director: Mahdi Fleifel
- Metascore: 87
- IMDB user rating: 7.3
- Run time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
"To a Land Unknown" follows two Palestinian refugees attempting to make their way from Greece to Germany, and acquiring the money in any way they can. Gritty and tense, the movie doesn't shy away "from the , whether one makes it out or not," Hollywood Reporter contributing film critic Jordan Mintzer writes.
Alci Rengifo, CounterPunch film critic and filmmaker, said the movie "is one of those that feel so real as to transcend the idea that it is fiction," an assessment that makes perfect sense when you consider that this is documentary director Mahdi Fleifel's first narrative feature.
#3. Caught by the Tides
- Director: Zhangke Jia
- Metascore: 87
- IMDB user rating: 6.7
- Run time: 1 hour, 51 minutes
During the pandemic, Chinese director Jia Zhangke began sorting through the decades of archival documentary footage he had captured over the years. The end result of that project was "Caught by the Tides," a fictional drama about a driven woman who lives for herself, composed almost entirely of the director's existing footage interspersed with silent scenes featuring Zhangke's frequent collaborator (and real-life wife) Zhao Tao. A , NPR film critic Justin Chang praised the way the movie tells the story of a country and a film industry that are both in flux.
#2. Familiar Touch
- Director: Sarah Friedland
- Metascore: 88
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
In "Familiar Touch," we follow an octogenarian as she enters an assisted living facility, contending with the loss of her independence and the arrival of cognitive decline. The Santa Barbara Independent called it "a sensitive, moving, humor-speckled, and ultimately ." Because aging is so infrequently addressed in cinema鈥攁t least not with this level of frankness and optimism鈥"Familiar Touch" is a must-watch.
#1. Sorry, Baby
- Director: Eva Victor
- Metascore: 88
- IMDB user rating: 6.7
- Run time: 1 hour, 51 minutes
A dark comedy-drama, "Sorry, Baby" follows a college professor as she wrestles with the aftermath of a sexual assault. Told out of chronological order, the movie works to dismantle many of the assumptions around how victims of sexual violence should react to the trauma they've endured. NPR film critic Justin Chang wrote that the movie's thesis鈥"that [so] our stories should, also"鈥攊s made all the more poignant by Victor's thoughtful performance and sharp writing.
Story editing by Louis Peitzman. Copy editing by Meg Shields.
- Director: Sally Aitken
- Metascore: 74
- IMDB user rating: 7.1
- Run time: 1 hour 33 minutes
A nature documentary at its core, "Every Little Thing" follows Terry Masear, a hummingbird rehabilitation specialist, as she goes about the day-to-day business of saving these delicate birds. Though it may sound light-hearted and fluffy (and it certainly does have those moments), the film is as much about overcoming trauma鈥攚hether inflicted by nature or by other humans鈥攁s it is about the birds.
While some critics called the film and monotonous, most found it dazzling, with gushing over how deftly the film manages to say something about humanity. After all, as Masear puts it, showing love and compassion when we aren't required to is a marker of one's greatness.
- Michael Loccisano // Getty Images
- Director: Kyle Hausmann-Stokes
- Metascore: 75
- IMDB user rating: 6.7
- Run time: 1 hour 43 minutes
"My Dead Friend Zoe" follows an Afghanistan vet whose dead comrade is a constant presence in her life as she faces conflict with her therapist and her ailing Vietnam vet grandfather. Based in part on director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes' own military experiences, the film is an exploration of PTSD that includes appearances from real-life service members. But as the puts it, it isn't "a love letter to the armed forces" so much as a movie that "emphasizes the need for community and a space to share trauma."
- Stewart Cook/Briarcliff Entertainment via Getty Images
- Director: Bruce David Klein
- Metascore: 76
- IMDB user rating: 7.8
- Run time: 1 hour 44 minutes
A behind-the-scenes look at the life of Liza Minnelli, this documentary showcases interviews with Minnelli and several members of her inner circle, giving an all-new perspective on the legendary performer. The film, broken into separate chapters looking at periods of her personal and professional life, feels intimate and affectionate, possessing what a critic calls a "lightness of style" that makes even the more difficult moments easy to watch.
Described as "scintillating" by , the documentary makes no effort to dodge those difficult moments, choosing instead to reveal how Minnelli found joy through it all.
- Dimitrios Kambouris // Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- Metascore: 77
- IMDB user rating: 6.1
- Run time: 1 hour 24 minutes
Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, and Callina Liang star in this supernatural thriller about a family who moves into a house haunted by a poltergeist. Though the movie is downright chilling, it's more subdued than a typical ghost movie鈥攖here are no jump scares, for one thing. Instead, "Presence" makes the viewer wrestle with whether the spirit is evil or simply exposing the maliciousness inside us all.
Some reviewers weren't keen on the film's approach, with audiences seeing everything from the ghost's perspective, but others have praised director Steven Soderbergh's , noting that it makes the climax all the more effective.
- John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images
- Director: Questlove
- Metascore: 77
- IMDB user rating: 7.7
- Run time: 1 hour 52 minutes
"Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius)" looks at the life and legacy of funk musician Sly Stone. The documentary, filled with rich archival footage and interviews, has been described as "" by Variety and for its honesty in depicting the alienating aspects of Black excellence.
Even for folks who know little about Sly and the Family Stone鈥攐r who have minimal appreciation for funk music鈥攖he film is an excellent primer on the ups and downs of the entertainment industry.
You may also like:
- Isaiah Trickey/FilmMagic // Getty Images
- Director: Andres Veiel
- Metascore: 78
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 55 minutes
"Riefenstahl" looks at the life of famed German director Leni Riefenstahl, focusing specifically on the way her artistic legacy has been tainted by her connections to Nazis. As one of Adolf Hitler's favorite filmmakers, Riefenstahl was considered a trailblazer on the wrong side of history.
Director Andres Veiel is in no way an apologist for Riefenstahl, taking pains to point out just how complicit and destructive she was, as a notes. Still, the documentary prompts viewers to think about a question that's been at the forefront of many minds lately鈥攃an an artist's life and beliefs be separated from their work or not?
- Tristar Media // Getty Images
- Director: James Griffiths
- Metascore: 78
- IMDB user rating: 7.8
- Run time: 1 hour 39 minutes
In "The Ballad of Wallis Island," a reclusive lottery winner invites his favorite folk band to play a private concert for him on the remote island he calls home. It's a simple enough ask, but the fact that the band consists of two exes鈥攊ncluding one who brings her new partner along for the ride鈥攎akes things much more complicated.
Starring Tim Key, Tom Basden, and Carey Mulligan, the quiet film is loosely based on a short film Basden and Key made with director James Griffiths nearly two decades ago. called it "a gentle ode to moving on," and the kind of movie that won't "dominate any cultural conversations 鈥 but [will] touch your soul if you let it."
- Gilbert Flores/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images
- Director: Ye Lou
- Metascore: 78
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 45 minutes
"An Unfinished Film" is referred to as "docufiction," meaning it's a fictional movie inspired by real events and incorporating documentary elements. Set in January 2020, the movie follows a film crew reuniting near Wuhan, China, to finish a project they were forced to abandon a decade earlier. Their plans are, of course, foiled by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are forced into lockdown.
Interspersed with real smartphone footage from Wuhan at the beginning of the pandemic, the movie perfectly encapsulates what it was like to live during that time, particularly at the epicenter. writes, "Few films have so skillfully captured the way COVID caused such traumatic temporal disruptions in its early days, wherein sudden changes in physical and emotional routine caused time to both stretch and collapse."
- Andreas Rentz // Getty Images
- Director: Miguel Gomes
- Metascore: 80
- IMDB user rating: 6.6
- Run time: 2 hours 8 minutes
A historical drama set in 1918, "Grand Tour" is about a young man who abandons his fianc茅e on the eve of their wedding, only to have her set out in search of him. As they each traipse across East and Southeast Asia, fictional scenes of their story are interspersed with real documentary footage (some from the turn of the century, some more modern).
Director Miguel Gomes told the film was meant to evoke "the spectacle of the world," prompting audiences to look more closely at their own worlds. The visually intoxicating movie resists the audience's need to understand what's going on, choosing instead to inspire wonder and the sense that "reality is often magical and inscrutable."
- Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
- Directors: Sam Crane, Pinny Grylls
- Metascore: 82
- IMDB user rating: 6.9
- Run time: 1 hour 29 minutes
One of the quirkiest movies to make this list, "Grand Theft Hamlet" follows two out-of-work actors who attempt to stage a full-blown production of "Hamlet" in Grand Theft Auto Online. Shot entirely in the video game, with all of the subjects portrayed by their digital avatars, the film won the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2024 SXSW festival. "constantly surprising, breathtakingly imaginative, and a great introduction to Shakespeare."
You may also like:
- Amy E. Price/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images
- Directors: Merlin Crossingham, Nick Park
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.5
- Run time: 1 hour 22 minutes
In "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl," an old nemesis鈥擣eathers McGraw, the penguin who first made his debut in the 1993 short "The Wrong Trousers"鈥攔eturns to challenge the title pair with an assist from some AI-infused gnomes. While delightfully entertaining for younger audiences, with chase scenes and laugh-out-loud jokes galore, the film will keep older viewers engaged with its insightful criticisms of technology and its place in our consumer society.
Available to stream on Netflix, the movie nailed the "nostalgia sequel," according to , "keeping the spirit of the animated series alive while paying tribute to the claymation duo's best moments." "Vengeance Most Fowl" was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards.
- Dave Benett // Getty Images
- Directors: Aws Al-Banna, Ahmed Al-Danf, Basil Al-Maqousi, and others
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.9
- Run time: 1 hour 52 minutes
One of the most urgent watches on this list, "From Ground Zero," is a collection of 22 different short films, ranging in style from documentary to animation, shot by nearly two dozen Palestinian directors over the past year in Gaza. Through true stories, the movie does a powerful job of humanizing the people of Gaza as they witness the destruction of their homes and the killing of their loved ones by the Israeli military.
"From Ground Zero" was shortlisted for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards, though it didn't make the final cut. critic called it "a rare work for which superlatives are not only inadequate but useless," writing that the film "shows that, after a catastrophe, art is not only still possible but necessary鈥攁nd that digital technology makes it possible for people to continue to preserve and share their stories even after they've lost almost everything else."
- KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images
- Director: Morissa Maltz
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.1
- Run time: 1 hour 26 minutes
Set in the same universe as director Morrisa Maltz's debut film "The Unknown Country," "Jazzy" is a coming-of-age drama that follows a young Oglala Lakota girl. The movie is based on the real-life experiences of Maltz's goddaughter, Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux, with the narrative following Jazzy and her best friend over six years as they navigate crushes, life's twists and turns, and the challenges of friendship. Called "scrappy," "loose-limbed," and "meditative" by , the film beautifully encapsulates those messy adolescent years.
- Jason Mendez // Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
- Director: Alain Guiraudie
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.9
- Run time: 1 hour 44 minutes
At the start of "Misericordia," a man arrives at a village in rural France to attend the funeral of his former boss. The widow, vaguely aware of the man's affair with her late husband, invites him to stay, only to see tensions arise between her new houseguest and her son.
as "a morbid comedy of errors" and "a metaphysical, character-driven drama about the mysteries and absurdities of human attraction." It's exactly the Hitchcockian sort of movie for which writer/director Alain Guiraudie, who made 2013's "Stranger by the Lake," has become known.
- Dia Dipasupil // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Carson Lund
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 39 minutes
Set in the '90s, "Eephus" centers on two amateur baseball teams playing one last game in their home stadium before it gets demolished. Subtle, slow-moving, and without the overtly emotional arc that's central to most sports films, the movie still manages to be a touching and funny tribute to the country's national pastime. WBUR called it "the since 'Bull Durham'鈥攐r maybe 'Bad Lieutenant'鈥攂ecause it explores this sport's peculiar ability to bend and distort time."
You may also like:
- Dimitrios Kambouris // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Matthew Rankin
- Metascore: 84
- IMDB user rating: 7.1
- Run time: 1 hour 29 minutes
"Universal Language" is an absurdist comedy set in a reimagined Canada where Persian and French are the official languages. The film contains three separate narratives that are seemingly unconnected. Reminiscent of the Iranian New Wave cinematic movement, the movie may be too bizarre for some—the action is interspersed with asides, like a faux '80s-style commercial selling turkeys. But for those willing to get on its wavelength, the film delivers a story that is ", welcoming but odd, funny, and tender," per .
- Dia Dipasupil // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Walter Salles
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 8.3
- Run time: 2 hours 17 minutes
Based on journalist Marcelo Rubens Paiva's memoir of the same name, "I'm Still Here" tells the story of a mother and activist trying to cope with the forced disappearance of her husband amid Brazil's military dictatorship. Starring Oscar nominee Fernanda Torres, the movie was also nominated for Best Picture and won the Academy Award for Best International Film. The urgency of the story, as well as the quietly emotional performances, are among the driving factors behind the film's acclaim.
- ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 33 minutes
Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, and Pierce Brosnan lead the cast of this spy thriller that follows a British intelligence officer who is tasked with investigating a list of possible traitors. One of the names on that list? The wife he's deeply devoted to.
"Black Bag" has tonal similarities to a James Bond movie, but with a subtler and more darkly comedic approach. the Steven Soderbergh effort "absolutely delicious, a svelte piece of entertainment that feels like a vintage yarn yet very much represents our own current anxieties, questions of sustaining trust in relationships and high-stake careers."
- Gareth Cattermole // Getty Images
- Director: Minh Quy Truong
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 6.4
- Run time: 2 hours 9 minutes
Two coal miners dream of a better future in this LGBTQ+ romantic drama. Banned in its home country of Vietnam for its "gloomy, deadlocked and negative" views of the nation and its people, the movie wrestles with the effects of the Vietnam War, the difficulties of immigration, and the realities of being in a same-sex relationship in a country where that is still widely regarded as taboo. The expressionist movie has been as "abstract" and "dreamlike."
- Michael Loccisano // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Rungano Nyoni
- Metascore: 87
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 39 minutes
"On Becoming a Guinea Fowl" opens with the main character stumbling across the body of her dead uncle, lying on the road in the middle of the night. As her extended Zambian family prepares for Uncle Fred's funeral, long-held family secrets begin to come to light and force a reckoning. A mix of dark comedy and serious drama, the movie has plenty to say about the challenges of processing complex emotions and the temptation to live in denial.
Data reporting by Wade Zhou. Story editing by聽Louis Peitzman. Copy editing by Tim Bruns and聽Kristen Wegrzyn.聽
You may also like:
- Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Michael B. Jordan attends the European premiere of 鈥淪inners".
- Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures
Zhou You, Jia Zhangke and Zhao Tao attend the "Caught By The Tides" Photocall at Cannes.
- Neilson Barnard // Getty Images
Zhou You, Jia Zhangke and Zhao Tao attend the "Caught By The Tides" Photocall at Cannes.
- Neilson Barnard // Getty Images
