Knock on Wood

Twinless

A movie that works better the less you know about it, Twinless centers around a support group for twins who have lost their siblings. James Sweeney, the writer and director of the film, stars as Dennis, a lonely new addition to the twin support group with a few secrets lurking beneath the surface. Watching the plot unfold is emotional, thrilling, hilarious, and wholly unexpected based on the premise alone. The movie covers such a wide range of emotional experience, even beyond the obvious themes of grief and loneliness that one would expect. Even with all of Sweeney’s unexpected charm as both the film’s director and lead, it is Dylan O’Brien’s layered performance that completely makes the film. It is probably the best performance he has given on film and should completely put to rest any thought of O’Brien as an actor only suited for YA adaptations and music videos. (Foster Harlfinger)

The Glassworker

Pakistan’s first hand-drawn animated feature (and from an indie studio, no less), The Glassworker is a marvel of cinematic achievement, the likes of which we rarely see anymore. Influenced by anime stylings, but wholly its own thing, the film takes everything meticulous and magical about this very personal medium and translates it beautifully, creating a story that could appeal to any audience anywhere in the world. A much more grounded depiction of young love and flights of fancy than we’re used to, The Glassworker ties together a quasi-fantastical world with a thoughtful tale about the beauty of life’s simple and natural miracles. It’s a love letter to beauty itself, and the forces that, despite existing antithetically to the pure human spirit, are forced to exist alongside it. The score, largely comprised of diagetic violin and some piano music (co-composed by Carmine Diflorio and director Usman Riaz) has been on repeat since this past summer. (Rowan Wood)

UFO Sweden

Titled Watch the Skies in the US and UK, this Swedish sci-fi adventure was more thrilling than anything I’ve seen this past year. The movie is about a kooky group of conspiracy theorists and the lengths they will go to, to prove the existence of aliens, especially for main character Denise who believes her father was abducted by them. Throughout the film, themes of family and belief are explored so fully that the unfolding narrative is deliciously inscrutable. Interestingly, UFO Sweden was released in 2022, but received an AI-generated “visual dubbing” process to release in English in May of 2025. The actors re-recorded their lines in English, and AI analyzed their mouths to animate the scene to look as if they were originally speaking English. This could prove a slippery slope if more AI is implemented, but for this superb movie, I am happy that its accessibility was boosted, and was deeply impressed that I never could tell. Inez Dahl Torhaug and Jesper Barkselius, the two leads of the movie, bring great realism in the face of both this new audio technique and what could have been a kitschy genre flick, instilling a driving heart that warms against the cold unknown of space. (Ian Hubbard)

Watch it on Prime Video

She’s the He!

A low-budget coming-of-age comedy about queer identity and self discovery with an all queer cast and crew? A trans story from a trans writer/director and a cast so trans that even the douchey cis characters are played by trans actors? It definitely sounds too good to be true. And it sort of is – in that it currently has no distribution. But when it does become available to watch, I could not recommend this film more. It’s wacky and uninhibited when it comes to the comedy and grounded in truth and heart in the exploration of identity. Misha Osherovich is a revelation as Ethan. Nico Carney is hilarious as the selfish and insensitive best friend with a heart of gold. Explorations of gender identity are deep and thoughtful, and absolutely do not stop at the trans characters. If you’re open to something a little Superbad, a little Mean Girls, and very, very queer, She’s the He! has my strongest recommendation. (Davis Mathis)

The Ballad of Wallis Island

One of the best movies of the year that has largely gone unnoticed by the masses, The Ballad of Wallis Island is the definition of an underseen gem. This is a lovely dramedy about a lonely man who sits in isolation in his mansion on a largely private island. Sounds off-putting it first. How many movies do we need nowadays that make us sympathetic for the rich and elite? Well, get that out of your mind, because it’s nothing like that at all. This is about a man who grew up poor, lucked himself into wealth with a lottery win, only to have the only thing that actually mattered in his life tragically taken away from him, and the lengths he’ll go to to find happiness and love once more. All of this ties into his appreciation for a musical group from his youth and trying to reunite them for one last show. It’s witty, smart, passionate, moving, funny, and emotional. Everything you would want from a good dramedy. You’ll be laughing your ass off just as much as you’ll be crying and contemplating the effects of grief. With powerful performances, and genuinely beautiful music to boot, you should definitely carve time out of your schedule to watch this. (Heath Lynch)

Watch it on Prime Video

Tatami

Tatami is a harrowing sports film that goes well beyond the expectations of this genre with its timely and poignant thematic elements. The film focuses on the experience of a young female Iranian judoka, Leila, who is competing in the World Judo Championship. The issue? She will have to go toe-to-toe with the Israeli athlete which could cause an international incident. Leila is given no other option than to fake an injury to bail out of the competition. But she sees only one option for herself…compete. The conflict between Leila and the Iranian government becomes more and more complicated as this powerful and tyrannical regime threatens not only Leila and her family but also her coach Maryam (Zar Amir Ebrahimi, the co-writer and co-director of the film). The tension between Leila and Maryam is palpable, and the moral quandaries are quite fruitful. The performances from both Ebrahimi and Arienne Mandi (Leila) are incredible. An unexpected injury causes Leila’s chances of competing to become more suspect and Mandi sells every bit of emotion and suffering. The judo sequences are incredibly intense, with visceral and intimate camera work and the black-and-white cinematography is so striking and engrossing. This is one of the best sports films out there as it digs so much deeper in its thematic work. It’s a shocking and thrilling ride from start to finish. (Shane Conto)

The Damned

Who ever said that January horror movies needed to be bad?! The Damned was the first new release film I saw in theaters last year, and it set and eerie tone for the rest of 2025. A chilling meditation on sin and regret, this 90-minute folk horror film isolates every one of its characters at every possible opportunity, maximizing the scare potential and utilizing shadow for storytelling. Set in the 19th century, the film stars Odessa Young as Eva, a young widow who wrestles with a moral conundrum as a shipwreck threatens to exhaust her impoverished Icelandic village’s already meager supplies during a severe winter. Young is the perfect lead, emanating fear and raw nerve with every difficult decision made, and she makes for a striking figure in the film’s bitter, near-constant darkness. It’s thoroughly gorgeous in addition to terrifying. (Rowan Wood)

Watch it on Hulu

Tornado

Fans of Chloé Zhao, lovers of revenge narratives, and bemoaners of Quentin Tarantino’s self-imposed 10-film limit, rejoice! Tornado, a British-Japanese Western, is a film full of multi-hyphenates, fully capable of carrying the impossible feat off like a thief in the night. Tornado wreaks its path of destruction beautifully; every word in the spare screenplay a testament of razor-sharp minimalism. This minimalism is juxtaposed by the grandeur-ified cinematography; Tornado’s evidently deliberate pace allows Robbie Ryan (of The Favourite and Poor Things acclaim) full freedom to explore the highland scenery at its most awe-inducing. There are whole scenes where you’d be forgiven for thinking it was a photography collection by Dorothea Lange. But Ryan and Maclean know not to give themselves so much rope as to hang the quality of the film, and the story shines just as brilliantly as its backdrop. The film begins near the middle of the action, and every minute a new element is revealed, impacting the relationship we have with the titular Tornado, her father, and the gang she is running from. The lead foursome of Koki, Takehiro Hira, Tim Roth and Jack Lowden are all fantastic here. This marriage of visuals, story, direction and acting is quite simply perfection! (Ian Hubbard)

Watch it on AMC+

Sound of Falling

One of the lesser-discussed international films of this awards season, Sound of Falling is a rich tone poem, effortlessly interweaving the stories of four generations of girls, all connected through their time spent living at a farmstead in Altmark, Germany. The film is long and does not abide by typical narrative structure, but it is all the better for it. Over the course of the runtime, you start to feel who each of these characters are, and you understand what it is like to look at the world through their eyes. No scene feels pointless. Even when the snippets chosen from each of the characters’ stories are not always remarkable on paper, they are made engaging and meaningful from the ways in which they are brought to life cinematically. It takes a really talented filmmaker to turn a seemingly mundane scene like watching a family set up a group photograph into something deeply compelling. Watching as each of the four generations’ stories come to reflect back moments of each others’ stories is nothing short of magic. To quote the film’s evergreen tagline, “The past doesn’t fade. It echoes.” (Foster Harlfinger)

Resurrection

Resurrection is one of the most bold and creative films to be released this past year. Bi Gan’s science-fiction epic is also one of the strangest and most unnerving cinematic experiences of 2025. The set-up is intriguing – society is defined by its lack of dreaming (to extend the lifespans of the human race) but a few dangerous individuals take a dive into dreamland. What Bi attempts to accomplish is crafting an experience that accentuates the different human senses, and he does it through sheer bold and creative filmmaking. From the film’s opening scenes, you will feel like you have been transported back into time to the 1920s with the vivid German Expressionism on display. The visual experience is something to behold as Bi commits to an all encompassing experience. Each of the five dream sequences (and the wraparound) focuses on a different sense of Buddhist thought – sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch, and mind – and accentuates the effects on that sense. The bold approach to genre-bending and delivering revolutionary work in the technical aspects makes this a cinephile’s dream movie. This is not the most accessible film out there at this moment, but for those who love and appreciate the art of film will lose themselves in this epic cinematic experience. (Shane Conto)

Jane Austen Wrecked My Life

Yo, I heard you like Jane Austen. So, I made a Jane Austen movie where the main character finds herself in a Jane Austen-esque romance, that’s very similar to Pride and Prejudice, and then I tied that back into the themes of writing a Jane Austen story, so that you could Jane Austen movie in your Jane Austen movie! Did you like that? Does that sound interesting? Cool, then this movie’s for you! Jane Austen Wrecked My Life is a treat. A surprising, out-of-nowhere throwback to classic romance movies that we really don’t get anymore. Its meta knowledge of the romance movie genre, and even further the Jane Austen adaptation subgenre, makes this feel like Scream for romance enthusiasts. The contemporary setting allows for a modern interpretation of classic storylines, with a bit more of an honest, and at times vulgar interpretation of how dating works today, complete with false expectations of the perfect partner, awkward sexual encounters, and unrequited love. If you like romance movies that make you cry, are a sucker for Jane Austen, or you’re just tired of swiping right on a dating app and you want to channel your dating frustrations into a movie, this might be for you. (Heath Lynch)

Watch it on Netflix

The Baltimorons

Home for the Holidays and The Family Stone get some competition with The Baltimorons. Co-written by star Michael Strassner based loosely on his own experiences with comedy, alcoholism and suicide, this indie dram-com is an absolute delight and completely inimitable. Starting with the classic meet-cute premise of “Man needs a dentist on Christmas,” Strassner’s Cliff falls for Didi (played by the standout Liz Larsen), a recently divorced mother who wishes she was not alone. The two have superb chemistry, being drawn magnetically back to each other as subsequent madcap scenarios struggle against personal attraction. Imagine a rom-com starring John Candy and Carol Kane and you get a good idea of the irrepressibility and off-kilter charm that Strassner and Larsen exhibit. Beyond the pair, the film is a love letter to Baltimore, knowledgeably weaving through landmarks iconic and mundane during the Christmas Day gone awry, letting the city itself interact as both wingman and instigator. Jay Duplass, that champion of American indie and early proponent of mumblecore, directs The Baltimorons with strength and purpose, lending comforting familiarity where it is needed, and letting sparkling, surprising wit be the backbone of the piece. (Ian Hubbard)

Watch it on AMC+

In Our Blood

In Our Blood has some layers in terms of what the title truly means. The story centers on a young filmmaker looking to find her true blood and reconnect with her estranged mother. Working with her partner (in multiple senses of the word), Emily (Brittany O’Grady) wants to make a film about this reconnection and her mother’s journey to overcome addiction. What happens over this 89-minute horror/thriller is both shocking and engrossing. The mockumentary approach has been overdone at this point in the horror genre, but the rich themes about addiction, the impactful metaphors, and the shocking twists and turns the narrative takes makes this quite a special film. O’Grady delivers such an impactful performance at the core of the film as she must navigate complex emotions towards her mother. Alanna Ubach makes an impact as well as her addict mother who is desperately trying to turn things around. The final 15 minutes or so substantially reframe the experience and makes this an ideal candidate for a rewatch and see how this twisted and bloody tale all comes together. (Shane Conto)