We decided to join the trend of ranking the 25 best movies of the last 25 years, but we compiled this list differently than we normally do. We asked our writers to submit their own “best of” lists individually, and then we compiled and ranked the movies based on the number of lists they appeared on. The more lists they appeared on, the higher the ranking. Any ties went to a specially selected committee to decide the ranking of those films. We had 12 writers participate with a whopping 300 entries turned in, and some of the results were predictable while others were a bit surprising.
Here are a few random notes from the process: only one movie from the 2020s made the cut, with 2010s films slightly edging out the 2000s entries for representation; 2014 and 2016 both had three movies selected; four directors appear on the list with two movies apiece; 123 movies appeared only once on someone’s list, but none made the cut; 30 movies mentioned multiple times barely missed the cut; and our writers love them some Ryan Gosling, as he appears on the list three times.
Hope you enjoy our list of the 25 Best Movies of the Last 25 Years.
25. The Witch (2015)
There’s a lot of debate over what Director Robert Eggers’ top movie is— he has two A24 films under his belt in The Witch and The Lighthouse. For me, it’s The Witch by a landslide. Eggers has said he crafted the story out of real Puritan folk tales, and let me tell you, the result is some disturbing stuff. Anya-Taylor Joy experienced her breakthrough in this film as Thomasin as she watches a “witch” beset upon her family. The dedication to authenticity gives this film a real credibility, to the point where you can hardly understand the dialogue under the heavy accents and outdated language. Borrowing from Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, a haunting chorus fills the scenes with an overwhelming sense of dread, and Black Phillip remains one of A24’s most iconic characters.
–Jacob Holmes
24. Moonlight (2016)
Since almost no one saw his first film, Medicine for Melancholy, everyone naturally assumed Moonlight was Barry Jenkins’ debut, and while that’s certainly not the case, it might as well be. I can’t speak to the quality of Melancholy, but since I hadn’t heard of it before Moonlight, I feel safe assuming that it’s not as good or, at the very least, not as important. As loud an announcement of a new voice to cinema and as game-changing as The Sixth Sense (another film people forget isn’t a debut), Moonlight is a profound, tender, sympathetic look at a man finally coming to terms with who he is.
It’s a film that accurately portrays as well as celebrates what it means to be African American and the hardships that come with being homosexual. The film follows the same character at three different points in his life by three different actors. Alex R. Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, and Trevante Rhodes all give amazing performances, but the true standout is Mahershala Ali as his neighborhood drug dealer cum father figure. He doesn’t have much screen time, but that Oscar was well earned. It introduced the world to several new acting talents and marked the arrival of an important voice in film.
–Sailor Monsoon
23. Wall-E (2008)
Wall-E is not only one of Pixar’s crowning achievements, but it’s also one of the best science fiction movies ever made. The depth of this movie’s heart blew me away during my first viewing. It completely shifted my perspective on what a children’s animated movie could be. It made me realize that Pixar is in the business of making emotionally rich movies that tackle complex issues in ways that respect both adult and child viewers. The space dance sequence is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever witnessed. Who would’ve thought that a little robot guy would bring out so much human emotion?
–Raf Stitt
22. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
The one-shot, unbroken-take gimmick has rarely been executed as successfully as in Alejandro Iñárritu’s Birdman. The main reason it works so well is because it feels like it mirrors lead character Riggan Thompson’s spiraling psyche. As he battles with his ego and desire for relevance, we as the viewer are trapped in the wild ride, where the line between fantasy and reality is blurred. It’s an intense and sometimes draining experience, as the jazz music blares and the camera zooms around.
Everyone involved performs exceptionally. From Edward Norton, Naomi Watts, and Emma Stone, to Keating himself. Who ironically delivers what is a career-defining performance. It’s also a film that improves on repeat viewing. The biting satire seems to reveal itself on deeper levels the more familiar you are with the story and its characters. It’s extremely funny in places, yet can also be emotionally engaging. Through it all, Birdman takes bold risks, and boy, do they pay off.
–Lee McCutcheon
21. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind can be categorized as many things. It’s a love story, character drama, and dark comedy. It also has a vein of sci-fi running through it that’s critical to the entire story. That sci-fi element concerns a machine that allows the user to clinically erase memories. Through a non-linear narrative, we follow Joel and Clementine as they begin a relationship after a chance meeting during a bus journey, with both being unaware that they had previously dated for 2 years. A large chunk of the story takes place in Joel’s head during the memory-erasing procedure. The structure is fantastic as we witness memories literally disintegrating around Joel, and after a change of heart, he tries desperately to keep hold of the ones that matter. It’s a really interesting premise and a Charlie Kaufman film through and through. In the end, we are left with the question, is it better to live and learn from our mistakes and hardships, even if we had the choice to make ourselves forget it all?
–Lee McCutcheon
20. Get Out (2017)
Who would’ve guessed that one of the greatest horror movies ever made would come from the mind of comedian Jordan Peele? Yeah, the same guy famous for dropping “noice!” Get Out absolutely blew up the horror scene in 2017, not just because of its killer craftsmanship and razor-sharp social commentary, but also because it sparked so much debate and division. Get Out is a horror film packed with layers of meaning as Peele dives into heavy themes like the legacy of slavery, racial envy, and the way society overlooks missing persons from minority communities. No matter where you land on those tough issues, Peele still delivers a clever, weird, edge-of-your-seat thriller that never holds back on delivering the chills and scares horror fans crave.
–Vincent Kane
19. Oldboy (2003)
I was spoiled about Oldboy pretty early on, and I avoided watching the film for the longest time as a result. I was ready to dismiss it as simply exploitation cinema, a violent and transgressive for its own sake. That does the film a major disservice. Yes, it’s violent and transgressive, but it’s so much more than that. It’s Oedipus by way of John Woo (or, more accurately, by way of Park Chan-wook). It’s a morality play with hammers. It’s a classic tragedy with live octopi. I think you should watch Oldboy at least twice. The first time through, the visceral nature of the film is overwhelming, and you may be left with only memories of brutality and misery. Watching it again, you’ll be able to appreciate the emotion of the film, as operatic as it is at times. You may even pick up on mythological touches that Park Chan-wook has peppered throughout the film. Or you may just watch that scene in the hallway and go “holy shit.”
–Bob Cram
18. Whiplash (2014)
I can confidently say that everyone going into the theater to see Whiplash had no clue what they were walking into. It’s a classic story of a naive student vs. an experienced, angry professor, but the execution is what makes it great. JK Simmons is an absolutely terrifying force, and his slow loss of patience in the first scene really sets the tone for what this movie is going to be. We see Miles Teller’s character burn his hands raw practicing drills, but we understand why. He doesn’t just need to succeed; he wants to impress this man. I saw this in college as a third-year music major (LOL), and all I can say about the actual experience is that this movie is far too real for its own good. Even for those not in the world of music education, though, watching Teller’s drive to succeed and Simmons’ frustration is a compelling watch. Any future music college movies will be trying to create this dynamic, and they likely won’t even come close.
–Valerie Morreale
17. John Wick (2014)
Heartbroken and recently widowed, former hitman John Wick just wants to grieve in peace. When the son of a Russian crime lord robs him of that peace, John is shoved back into a life he once thought he’d left for good, and this time, he may not be able to get out. I’m not going to lie, I think this movie is the GOAT. Everything about it works: the acting, the story, and the ACTION.
My god, every scene in this film is like a work of art. The fight choreography is some of the best I’ve ever seen. And of course, Keanu Reeves gives one of the best performances of his career as John Wick, from the badass monologues to the tender moments of grief at the loss of his spouse. This one is worth watching, then watching again.
–Valerie Morreale
16. Blade Runner 2049 (2017)
Facing the impossible task of following on from the iconic original, Blade Runner 2049 somehow managed to pull it off. Throwing Denis Villeneuve, Ryan Gosling, Hans Zimmer, and Roger Deakins into the mix was always going to give it a fighting chance. But what they pulled off was nothing short of spectacular. It manages to honour the beloved original, while also forging its own identity.
It’s a beautiful-looking movie, with a range of visuals that take your breath away. The score fits perfectly with everything that you’re seeing on screen and helps bring it all to life. And Gosling is perfect in the lead role, with a restrained performance that oozes replicant. It’s also clear Harrison Ford isn’t phoning in a performance for an easy paycheck either, something he’s been accused of in some of his other comebacks.
Even with all these great qualities, Blade Runner 2049 still feels like more than the sum of its parts. The story is a fascinating, slow-burning mystery that treats the viewer with respect, not just relying on Sci-fi bombast. It almost feels like an indie movie that’s been graced with a multi-million dollar budget. Starting off as a noir-style investigation and finishing by once again posing the question of what it means to be alive, it’s a profound cinematic experience.
–Lee McCutcheon
15. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
A24 was already well established heading into 2022, carving out a role as a film distributor/studio with a penchant for curating engaging and original indie films. But the company absolutely exploded in 2022 with huge critical and box office successes, none bigger in either category than Everything Everywhere All at Once. For many, the Daniels directing duo of Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan broke the code with this movie, giving audiences not just one of the best movies of the year, but of all time. This movie is huge in scope, spanning the multiverse, and yet personal and intimate in its implications.
Every single member of the ensemble shines. Michelle Yeoh is everything as Evelyn Wang, a Chinese immigrant struggling to manage her family and laundromat, and wondering whether her life could be different. Ke Huy Quan is terrific, bouncing back and forth between a gentle and bumbling version of Waymond, Evelyn’s husband, and a commanding and skilled fighter, Alpha-Waymond. Stephanie Hsu gives an affecting performance as Evelyn’s gay daughter Joy, as well as an absolutely iconic turn as the “villain” Jobu Topaki. And we still haven’t even mentioned Jamie Lee Curtis as— I kid you not— Dierdre Beaubeirdre, the IRS agent turned villainous multiverse’s assistant.
–Jacob Holmes
14. The Incredibles (2004)
In 25 years, Brad Bird has only ever directed four animated films, believe it or not. But all four of those films appear on this list. What a legend. And amazing that this masterpiece is only his second-best film despite being in the Top 15 of all time! Many people have called The Incredibles the best Fantastic Four movie ever made because of how Bird really captured the family dynamic of the Parr family. But that still fails to capture the magic that Bird created here. A fat, old, out-of-shape superhero dad could have easily gone the wrong way. In fact, the teaser trailer was just Mr. Incredible struggling to buckle his old superhero belt because he gained weight. But Bird mines something much deeper here about the gifts we have and how we use them. And the family dynamic is so fun, the powers are brilliantly animated, Helen/Elastigirl kicks so much ass both as a hero and as a mom, and she flies a plane! It’s hard to really pinpoint a single thing that makes this movie so great, but it’s undeniable when watching it.
Plus, this has probably the darkest line in a Pixar movie ever: “You didn’t save my life, you ruined my death!”
–Jacob Holmes
13. Drive (2011)
If I controlled the dictionary, I would replace the definitions of certain words with just pictures or gifs because while those old fucks Merriam and Webster have done a pretty solid job thus far, Refn just rewrote the meaning of cool. Instead of reading some long-winded definition by some old geezer, future generations need to only look at a 4-minute clip of Gosling driving a cool car in his Scorpio Rising-inspired jacket, toothpick in mouth, while “Nightcall” plays on the radio, to understand what cool means.
Drive isn’t just a cool movie; it is cool. It is the cinematic embodiment of cool. It’s a film that does the ol’ Patrick Swayze, “one for him, one for her” combo, but in the same movie. It is a visceral action film with a good amount of violence and car chases, which appeals to the fellas, but it also has a tender unrequited love story for the ladies. It has the sexy guy from The Notebook (for the ladies) brutally stomp to death some assassins (for the guys) in order to protect a girl he likes (again, for the ladies). Few films can merge two different genres that appeal to both men and women, but Drive does so effortlessly. It’ll make you wince, it’ll make you swoon, but more importantly, it’ll make you go out and buy the soundtrack and that jacket to get just a modicum of the film’s coolness.
–Sailor Monsoon
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
The movie that kicked off an epic trilogy, resulting in a 3 billion dollar box office, 30 Academy Award nominations, 17 wins, and a legacy that still resonates with fans today. I admit I did not read the books before the movies were released, nor was I a huge fantasy genre fan. But I went to see The Fellowship of the Ring because my dad and husband were both excited about it. And now the movie and its successors are some of my favorites. The Fellowship of the Ring follows a hobbit named Frodo, who comes into possession of a powerful and dangerous ring designed to enslave his home of Middle-earth.
The ring must be destroyed in the fires of Mount Doom, and so a fellowship is formed to help aid him in his quest. For a film full of hobbits, elves, wizards, and dwarves, The Fellowship of the Ring is surprisingly grounded and poignant. I was utterly enthralled by its production and how easy it was to sink into the world of J.R.R. Tolkien, quickly becoming attached to the characters and their journeys. I think it’s safe to say Fellowship may be the weakest of the entire trilogy, but it’s still heads and shoulders above so many other films. Its legacy has been cemented, and it will be difficult for other films in the genre ever to top what The Fellowship of the Ring has done for cinema.
– Romona Comet
11. La La Land (2016)
An unfortunate case of life imitating art, the incident at the Oscars (in which a presenter read the wrong envelope and mistakenly gave La La Land the Best Picture Oscar) turned this film’s ending into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Damien Chazelle’s follow-up to Whiplash is a loving homage to the song and dance love stories of old. Where Hollywood was magical, everyone was beautiful, and the world was lit in Technicolor. His primary influences were The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and New York, New York, which is evident in its look and bittersweet tone. Make no mistake, this film is a love story, but it’s also a story about unhappiness. The film builds to a finale in which everyone gets the happy ending that they want, but just like La La Land in real life, maybe things would’ve turned out better if the right thing had been said at the right time.
–Sailor Monsoon
10. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
To me, Inglourious Basterds is Quentin Tarantino’s masterpiece. QT even winks at that being the case when Aldo Raine looks into the camera after carving the swastika in a Nazi’s forehead and says, “I think this just might be my masterpiece.” His characters, dialogue, framing—everything lands perfectly (well, maybe not Eli Roth, but I can let that slide). Every Tarantino film drips with his love of cinema, so a war movie was bound to be the same: a Jewish survivor owns a theater that becomes the stage for ending the war in a blaze of film reels. It’s a bold departure from his usual crime playground, yet exactly what you’d expect from Tarantino tackling World War II.
We get his signature intricate characters and razor-sharp dialogue, but fused into a historical revenge fantasy that blends gritty period realism with larger-than-life caricatures. He balances shocking violence, excruciating tension, and laugh-out-loud hilarity in a way few directors can match. Here, he nails it flawlessly, showing real growth as a filmmaker. That legendary opening interrogation at the dairy farm—Christoph Waltz’s Hans Landa dismantling a family with polite menace and milk—is pure suspense built on words and glances. From the basement bar standoff to “That’s a bingo!” and the fiery climax, the film celebrates movies as a weapon and delivers cathartic history-rewriting joy.
–Vincent Kane
9. Children of Men (2006)
What Children of Men does better than any other sci-fi film I can think of is portray a dystopian future that I can imagine living in. It’s nice to see spaceships, aliens, and neon lights, but the future that we see in this film is mesmerizing in a different way. It feels like we could really be experiencing it in a decade or two (or even less when looking at recent happenings around the world). Events take place in the UK in the year 2027. Women are no longer getting pregnant, and after two decades of human infertility, society is on the brink of collapse.
I won’t say any more to avoid the risk of spoiling things for anyone who hasn’t seen this masterpiece, but certain things happen, and Clive Owen finds himself in the thick of revelations and conspiracies, with a chance to save mankind. One of the standout features in Children of Men is the long-shot sequences captured throughout. They add a sense of urgency to the film with one lasting nearly 8 minutes long. I have to pause for a breath every time I watch it. And that happens to be quite frequently. A modern classic.
–Lee McCutcheon
8. No Country for Old Men (2007)
Every time I think of No Country for Old Men, it’s the scene where Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) is hesitating about entering a hotel room where the killer Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem) may or may not be hiding. He doesn’t know if Chigurh is in there or not. He doesn’t know if he’ll die or not. During the film, Chigurh asks people to choose heads or tails in the flip of a coin, basically asking them to wager their lives, as he’ll kill them if the toss goes against them. I think of that scene with the hotel as the same thing for Bell – he wagers his life on a chance. I think of that moment, and I get the same chill that I did when watching it for the first time. This was the Coen brothers’ first adaptation of a Cormac McCarthy novel – and remains one of their best and most impactful films. Every scene hits like a brick. Every word is meaningful. Every performance is a masterpiece.
– Bob Cram
7. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Guillermo del Toro’s sixth film is one of the most stunning dark fairy tales ever brought to the screen. Pan’s Labyrinth centers on a young girl named Ofelia, who escapes the brutal horrors inflicted on her and her mother by her vicious stepfather by retreating into a mythical world of her own creation. She forms an eerie bond with a faun and ventures deeper into this fantastical realm, eventually confronting the Pale Man—a creature that’s pure nightmare fuel. The sheer level of detail in every frame is staggering. From the meticulous set design and costumes to the CGI that still looks utterly convincing today, Pan’s Labyrinth is a visual masterpiece of the highest caliber. If you go in expecting a conventional horror movie, you might walk away a bit let down, but approach it with an open mind, and you’ll find a film that’s as close to perfection as they come.
–Vincent Kane
6. Inception (2010)
At this point in his career, Christopher Nolan’s name was all you needed to sell a film. The man had already released two franchise-defining Batman films, as well as several crowd-pleasing films like Memento and The Prestige. Inception, however, provided that Nolan could make a successful blockbuster without the Caped Crusader at the forefront. Inception is a riveting heist film with an A-list ensemble cast headlined by Leonardo DiCaprio. It has some of the best practical set pieces I have ever seen in a blockbuster film and enough intrigue to keep the audience paying close attention to even the most minute details. Am I dreaming, or is this film just damn good?
–Marmaduke Karlston
5. Arrival (2016)
Based on the 1998 short story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang, the film is one of the best time travel films to use the “block universe” theory. The past, present, and future all exist concurrently, meaning that it is impossible to change the past. Arrival adapts this theory through the relationship between linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams) and the extraterrestrials. The aliens reveal that they have come to help humanity because in 3,000 years, they will need humanity’s help in return. Through the alien language, Banks can change her linear perception of time and see future events in her life. Denis Villeneuve does not mess around when it comes to directing compelling and thought-provoking films, and this is another example of that talent.
–Marmaduke Karlston
4. The Dark Knight (2008)
The highly anticipated sequel to Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins isn’t just one of the greatest action films of all time — it might also be the greatest comic book movie and sequel ever made. The Dark Knight builds seamlessly on the foundation of the first film, raises the stakes with a villain for the ages, and delivers explosive set pieces balanced by a surprisingly thoughtful narrative. What sets it apart is how it never sacrifices story for spectacle, or vice versa — it’s that rare blockbuster that fully satisfies both the thinking audience and those just there for a bit of fun.
Famously snubbed for Best Picture and Best Director (an omission that helped push the Academy to expand the Best Picture category), The Dark Knight was nominated for eight Oscars, winning two. Heath Ledger’s Joker remains iconic — and, frankly, still outshines all other takes on the infamous villain — a masterclass in performance and menace. The Dark Knight is a modern classic that continues to inspire every superhero film that came after… whether they choose to admit to it or not.
–Thomas Riest
3. Parasite (2019)
Take the film Borgman, but remove the supernatural killer imp man and replace him with an entire family, and then add a less bizarre People Under the Stairs subplot, and you’ve got Parasite. That’s a completely reductive comparison because it’s far better than those films and because it’s way harder to classify, but that’s kinda Parasite in a nutshell. Trying to sell it with the cliched pitch of “it’s this plus that” is futile. It’s a con man thriller that’s part comedy, part social drama that shifts between tones so effortlessly, it also feels part ballet. Like the majority of the director’s work, it deals with the disparity between the rich and the poor, but again, it’s way more than that. After every act, you’ll be wondering where the hell the story is going to go, but you can’t– it’s impossible to predict the film’s ultimate endgame. It’s shocking without having to resort to twists, unpredictable without feeling manipulative, and good god is it suspenseful. It’s one of the few films that out-Hitchcock’d Hitchcock.
–Sailor Monsoon
2. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
I grew up watching Mad Max. In particular, I’ve seen The Road Warrior and Beyond Thunderdome dozens of times. And I could not imagine anyone playing Max Rockatansky but Mel Gibson. By the end of Fury Road, I couldn’t imagine anyone but Tom Hardy. The most purely action Action movie I’ve ever seen, it also has characters that are perfectly rendered in the most economical of strokes. The series has always been full of memorable characters (with Hugh Keays-Byrne playing two of them – Toecutter in the original Mad Max and Immortan Joe in Fury Road), but nobody – sorry Tina Turner – comes close to making the impact that Charlize Theron does as Imperator Furiosa.
Filmmaker George Miller came back to the property he’d created after most people thought it had been mined for all of its gold already, and showed that not only was there more story to tell, but it was possible to make the fourth film in a series the best one. It’s a film that always comes to mind when people ask about a perfect movie. Fury Road is perfect.
“Oh, what a day… what a lovely day!” To watch Fury Road again.
–Bob Cram
1. There Will Be Blood (2007)
A towering achievement in every regard. Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance as Daniel Plainview is perhaps the best big-screen acting anyone has ever done. Jonny Greenwood’s score is impeccable. The cinematography is delectable. Paul Thomas Anderson’s writing and directing are on an unmatched level of command. Like many of his movies, There Will Be Blood benefits from being a superbly crafted, layered, and rich drama that also happens to be extremely hilarious. The way that Day-Lewis’s Plainview and Paul Dano’s Eli play off each other is absolutely brilliant. There Will Be Blood isn’t an overwhelmingly influential masterpiece in the way that many other movies with that distinction are. But it’s impossible to deny its greatness as one of the few truly flawless films to ever exist.
–Raf Stitt
What do you think of our list? Which movies do you think we got right, and which movies that didn’t make the cut do you think deserved to be considered the best of the past 25 years?