I Just Rewatched 5 Of My Favorite Movies Of 2025, And I Have New Feelings About Sinners

Can you believe it? Another year of movies has nearly come and gone. When I look back at all the 2025 movie releases I've seen so far (which is 70+ at the time of writing this) I knew I needed to revisit some of my favorite movies before deciding what my official top ten is. That final ranking is still in flux for me, but as I'm in the process of figuring that out, I chose five that left a big impression on me from the first half of the year. My thoughts on Sinners in particular saw a shift.

I Rewatched 5 Of My Favorite Movies Of 2025, And Here’s How It Went

So, here's what I watched, aside from Sinners: Stephen King adaptation The Life Of Chuck, James Gunn's blockbuster superhero movie Superman, Netflix smash hit KPop Demon Hunters, and Celine Song's Materialists. Each of these movies felt like real memorable moments upon first viewing, between rounding up people I loved to see them and the really impressive filmmaking and storytelling at the heart of each one across multiple genres.

While I originally had The Life Of Chuck higher than Sinners for how life-affirming and emotional it made me, I must admit on my second watch it didn't hit quite the same for me, and was kind of a slog in some parts. Superman remains an awesome start to the new DCU, but I see myself appreciating it more than actually venturing back to it often.

My thoughts on KPop Demon Hunters remains relatively the same: it's a perfect animated movie by my measure that I'll be rewatching for years to come (and I won't be getting tired of the soundtrack anytime soon). As for Materialists, it still made me cry, but the "controversy" sets it back a bit after all the conversations I've had with people about it.

Why I Think Sinners Crawled To The Top Of My List

However, my opinion on Sinners is what changed the most. In terms of the Ryan Coogler film in contrast to the rest of my list, it's the first movie out of them I watched, which was back in April, and I perhaps didn't know what was in front of me upon first viewing. I definitely liked the movie, but I didn't fully grasp how genuinely perfect it is on the first go around (though our Sinners review got it right at 5 out of 5 stars).

I think part of that is because it was so hyped when it first came out, and I had my own ideas of what the movie was going to be I hadn't set aside. For one, I thought Sinners was going to be a lot more horror-leaning than it actually is, and with that in mind, the whole movies taking place at the juke joint was somewhat underwhelming to my expectations. I felt as if there were so much commentary within it's narrative that it bit more than it could chew on that front.

But upon my rewatch, my opinions soon changed. For one, I absolutely love that it takes place mainly in the juke joint, and think it's particularly impressive that such a contained story feels so cinematic and big. Second, I realized that what I first read as disjointed actually speaks to the layered quality of the movie. Every time I watch it, I'm going to have new things I can focus on and will get out of it. (The second time, I was really moved by its commentary on legacy, and I know there are more details I have yet to uncover.) When I look for a favorite, rewatchability, is a huge factor, and Sinners has it tenfold with its many great scenes, songs and quotes.

Sometimes, great movies just need a second watch to be appreciated, and man, am I happy I watched if before the end of the year. Because now it's at the very top of my list, and I now consider to be a rare masterpiece and future classic.