My Top 25 Albums of 2025

Posted on December 22, 2025 by necromoonyeti

Some years go heavier than others. Per last.fm, I listened to more music in 2025 than any prior year of my adult life, but much of that is due to my inevitable spring vgm binge extending well into the fall. In terms of new releases, I don’t think I kept up less than usual, but I maybe never keep up quite as much as I let on and just landed on fewer gold mines than usual throughout the process? Then about a month ago some friends took me to task to listen to their collective ~40 favorite new releases, none of which were metal besides that uh new Deafheaven album that left a lot to be desired for me personally. So I ended up with a list that’s a fair bit less metal-heavy than usual. That’s fine and the trend might continue because a lot of the things they led me to are fantastic. Unique 2025 full album play through count was 125 releases and I probably sampled 100 other things that didn’t interest me enough to pick up.

Honorable Mention! Sleep Paralysis – Sleep Paralysis

avantgarde black metal for spiders

Sample track: Stress

I did a lot of write-ups for albums I ended up cutting and I’m going to say I cut this one too because 25 is a nice number, but I enjoyed its unique weirdness enough that I didn’t want to actually remove it. Piano and chiptune and some guy whispering about his nightmares trim a black metal package with dissonant passages you probably won’t expect but shouldn’t struggle to associate with the theme.

25. Ancient Mastery – Chapter Three: The Forgotten Realm of Xul’Gothar

black metal

Sample track: The Dread of Xul’Gothar

If Chapter Two hadn’t missed my radar until January it would have had a strong case for my 2022 AOTY, and Erech Leleth’s other project Narzissus did claim the title last year. Suffice to say I greatly enjoy what this guy does… ok his excessively 80s heavy metal project leaves a lot to be desired, but Ancient Mastery is great and this album is pretty decent. As an entry in a high fantasy world concept, it presents a darker, less earthy vision than Chapter Two. It’s a fair bit less original for that, but the songs are catchy and tickle a bit of my love for later era Falkenbach. Not my favorite Erech release but I have consistently enjoyed revisiting it throughout the year. I’d say it’s… really quite basic if I think about it? Not in a negative way, but I could see myself blowing it off if it was my first encounter with him. It definitely helps that I’m already a bit invested in his project as a whole, but whatever the case it’s here because I enjoyed it more than most.

24. Arkhaaik – Uihtis

massive viking doom

Sample track: Geutores Suhnos

I cannot listen to this album at work because it overwhelms my cell’s cheap headphone jack and I just get a downtuned dial-up connection. Arkhaaik have shipped one of the biggest sounds I have ever heard. Sick viking metal anthems and grinding grooves keep the novelty from wearing out on me, but this production is so higher level that I recommend checking it out a bit to test the quality of your speakers even if the style isn’t really your thing. It’s a good idea trust

23. Vörnir – Av Hädanfärd Krönt

dissonant black metal

Sample track: II

Frequently throughout the year I will scan through lists of other people’s favorite metal and new releases on bandcamp and sample dozens of things and throw the five or six that strike me the most in the cart. More often than not, these don’t disappoint but don’t leave a lasting impression either. This was one of those pick-ups, and it stuck around as the rest of its class drifted away. Dissonant experimental atmospheric black metal that reminds me a bit of Veilburner’s sound before they were trending, when I still really liked their music lol. A bit more walled off than that. The experimentation is less in my face more draped in black metal noise, but it might be better off that way. The encompassing harshness makes it more accessible for me? Instead of getting pummeled into irritation by overmixed drums and guitar crunches it just all kinda melds together and I can enjoy their eclectic intensity from my comfy spot.

22. Night Vigil – Night Vigil

atmospheric black metal, ambient

Sample track: Into the Absurd

I am a long established sucker for everything Ayloss does. This album was an instantly satisfying background piece for me that I kept putting on over and over again while telling myself I should check out something new instead, and it amassed 10 plays through as of writing this despite it only dropping in mid-November. In the grand scheme of his music I don’t think it’s his most innovative or melodically compelling work, but that did not prevent me from enjoying it more than most. It still has that ancient feeling core to his sound–that sense of listening from the threshold of a vast stone temple of a bygone age. It’s aesthetically sublime, as always.

21. Synaptic – Enter the Void

prog tech death

Sample track: The Lost Continent

Very fun and seemingly underappreciated debut album from a band that claims they formed in 2004 ???. Tech death metal with hints of a mellowed out Archspire and classic melodeath more focused on playful prog than grinding my ears into the pavement? I have no idea what that means but yeah. Whenever I’ve put this on it’s been kind of a hype me up experience with no thinking involved, but reflecting on it now I feel like the prog influence is maybe even on equal footing with the death metal, not really in what they’re doing but in the attitude they’re doing it with. There’s something clean to it, not in a bad way, just puts on all the focus on the rhythmic and melodic silliness. And that’s fine because they’re pretty good at it.

20. Grima – Nightside

melodic folk black metal

Sample track: Skull Gatherers

Grima continuing to write incredibly satisfying black metal that trades off the genre’s raw origins for a clean, refined sound. Unmistakably wintry vibes paint an idealized landscape I fell in love with on Frostbitten and feel even more viscerally here. Love the accordion in place of traditional synth to really bring the scenes to life.

19. Phrenelith – Ashen Womb

death metal

Sample track: A Husk Wrung Dry

Probably my favorite no frills straight forward death metal album since Immolation’s Acts of God in 2022. I spun the hell out of it all year and am still not remotely tired. It just does everything right–memorable tracks that crunch between my eardrums with such a satisfying tone. Everything blends nicely to let me enjoy it, nothing overbearing, no single element overreaching the others.

18. Earthencloak – The Glistening Mist Betwixt

comfy synth

Sample track: Honeypot Daydreams & Sugarplum Lullabies / How Puckish, These Puddle Pixies

Seriously well conceived comfy synth album that ditches the genre’s inclinations to pick an aesthetic vibe and roll, instead crafting a variety of distinct scenes and settings to bring the gnomeverse to life through creative song-writing. Best experienced as a complete album, if you have any love for classic 90s RPG music or diy D&D campaign compositions, this is a playful reminder that the scene is still alive and well.

17. Deftones – private music

alt metal

Sample track: Milk of the Madonna

Nu metal was not a mistake because it gave us Deftones. I adore the encompassing aura of this album. It wraps me up and lifts me into its moody heavens, bleak perhaps but never lonely. The guitar tones are so lush and satisfying. When “Milk of the Madonna” gets rolling the energy is so gripping I’m approaching classic Billy Corgan tier fulfillment. Ohms completely slipped off my radar, so this is my first run in with Deftones since Gore nearly a decade ago. Nothing went stale with age, that’s for sure. They’ve continued to perfect their sound, and this has been a joy to listen to every time.

16. Trollslottet – Kryptan

dungeon synth

Sample track: Maskträdet

While it is rare for a single dungeon synth album to rise through the ranks of my absolute favorites, I listen to a hell of a lot of dungeon synth. It’s just a thing to be enjoyed in bulk, all queued together without rhyme or reason, a little bit of hobbitcore here, a little bit of mermaid synth there. This is, however, extraordinarily and exceptionally good in my opinion, and I know it must be true because it has the most boring album cover in the entire record label. Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys music in the 10-15 bpm range.

15. Vauruvã – Mar da Deriva

folk post-black metal

Sample track: Legado

It’s post-black with an often Krallician infinite tremolo inclination except there’s a bunch of Brazilian folk music in the mix too. If that is not sufficient to intrigue you I dunno get good.

14. Gingerbee – Apiary

Of Montreal for edgy nerds instead of art majors

Sample track: Petal Dance

I don’t know wtf this is.

13. Rebecca Roger Cruz – Río Abajo

stuff gringos call world music

Sample track: Alcaraván

This was a late discovery for my primary music recommendations hub and unfortunately appears to be our best kept secret because no one else is listening to it. Beautiful, moody, delicate, subtle, really brilliant hybrid of classical arrangements and Latin American folk that kinda knocked me off my feet on first encounter and might be riding a liiiiiiittle bit of recency bias but I think probably isn’t because these aren’t sounds I traditionally gravitate towards. Maybe it’s just that good.

12. Byonoisegenerator – Subnormal Dives

jazz bdm

Sample track: 5mgInspiredVibes

A bunch of ridiculous nonsense. 🎷 \m/

11. Kexelür – Epigrama de un pasado perdido

experimental atmospheric black metal

Sample track: Ningún resplandor evitará el final

Start with a satisfying holistic sound that makes me want to keep listening for the black metal mood, but actually write songs that convey a progression of emotional experiences with memorable melodies and unexpected but fluid transitions. This is such a well-conceived album. Their commitment to an overarching atmospheric bm sound unlocks a world of potential to inject creative passages without sounding disjointed or overproduced, or particularly chaotic either despite a demonstrable capacity for the eclectic. I find so much experimental black metal to take a blunt approach that demands I focus on what it’s doing. This, on the other hand, I can enjoy without effort. All of the interesting things they’re doing come as a bonus to be discovered after I’m already content with my experience.

10. Willi Carlisle – Winged Victory

old-time bluegrass and folk country

Sample tracks: Winged Victory / Big Butt Billy

It’s not often a country album pulls off this level of consistency. Winged Victory holds together from its most serious to its most whimsical moments without a downer to speak of. Even my least favorite track has sufficiently strong vocals to carry, and every song offers a distinct experience. Willi’s voice is outstandingly refined. His lyrics are competent at their weakest and often brilliant. His arrangements span the full country spectrum from traditional oldtime to just shy of contemporary, but they never collapse over into the pit of modern mediocrity. Winged Victory isn’t my first encounter with Willi Carlisle. I missed out on his 2024 album but had pretty high regards for Peculiar, Missouri, and I feel I can confidently say Winged Victory surpasses it.

9. Blut Aus Nord – Ethereal Horizons

atmospheric black metal

Sample track: Shadows Breathe First

I haven’t gushed over every album Blut Aus Nord has ever released, but it happens a lot more often than not. These guys have been killing it since the mid-90s and are continuing to ramp up what could be considered their third great era. This is their third album in four years, and each one has been better than the last if you ask me. This is just sublime from start to finish, and if I’ve been saying that for a couple of releases now, I mean it more each time. Undreamable Abysses was a wonderful experience but the tracks didn’t forge their way into my memory uniquely. On Nahab they started to grow, but two years removed I can’t honestly say I remember them. Whether I’ll be saying the same about Ethereal Horizons eventually, they’re really resonating and stick around in my head right now. Never mind that with Blut Aus Nord that’s really just a bonus, because it’s the encompassing feeling of their songs that always captivates me. It’s been out less than a month, but I’ve been spinning it regularly since the day it dropped and it’s sometimes hard to even want to listen to anything else.

8. Mechina – Bellum Interruptum

symphonic djent

Sample track: On the Wings of Vecterra

I first encountered Mechina through Empyrean in 2013, and they’ve released nine albums since. Outside of two specific songs, I don’t remember any of them, but that was never an issue. They scratched my scifi itch with a high fantasy worldcrafting that both guaranteed continuity and generated an immersiveness beyond the scope of the sound. How much I got into any given album–and it has varied a lot–was never a concrete definable thing. It was a matter of whether the music sucked me in and took me to the world they’ve developed or just left me superficially going “yeah cool glad they’re still doing their thing”. I have never tried or focused. I let it do what it wants to me. And from that perspective, Bellum Interruptum is easily their best release since Siege and maybe their best to date. I’ve been absolutely hooked on this one.

7. Besna – Krásno

post-black metal

Sample track: Hranice

While everyone else was jumping on the new Harakiri For The Sky album early in the year this became my personal go to for highly melodic and emotionally-driven plodding black metal. It’s big and beautiful and instrumentally keen and the vocal style fits tightly. Just all around really well written and executed post-black metal album that hasn’t been getting half the love it deserves. I dunno like, this style has grown stale on me over the years but Besna are taking me back hard to when it was my favorite sound on earth.

6. Scimitar – Scimitarium I

black ‘n roll

Sample tracks: click play from track 1 for the sick intro and let it roll into Aconitum

Imagine peak Peste Noire album intro and hold that thought for about four minutes, then replace Famine’s sardonic French croaking for slightly seductive slightly sinister clean female vocals that keep it tastefully non-theatrical without holding back a shred of intensity. Now maintain that raw power for forty minutes with no deviation from a full heavy metal trajectory and if you are satisfied with the outcome you might be a metalhead at heart. It doesn’t pursue a subgenre or try to do anything but write kick ass songs end to end and succeeds phenomenally.

5. Lorien Testard, Alice Duport-Percier – Clair Obscur: Expedition 33

folk, ambient, electronic

Sample tracks:
Lumière – The Departure
Ancient Sanctuary – Bonzaie Clairing

Despite being the thing I actually listen to the most, game soundtracks rarely make my year-end list. I suspect it’s in large part because I don’t really play games much. I tend to encounter new soundtracks after they’ve made waves, not when they first drop. Expedition 33 happened to come early in the year with enough instant renown that I did not miss out. And in a year where I spent more time listening to game soundtracks than ever before and had to really struggle to make myself want to hear other things, this cemented an obvious spot the moment I scanned my folders and realized it was a valid option. It’s an 8 hour collection of music, so if you want to dive in for the full journey be prepared to set aside a full work shift for it.

4. Hesse Kassel – La Brea

Isaac Wood learns Spanish and forms a bcnr splinter cell but this one kid likes post-hardcore and eventually everybody fucking dies

Sample tracks: Anova / Yo La Tengo

It’s a full Vegas buffet.

3. Shearling – Motherfucker, I Am Both: “Amen” and “Hallelujah”

dissonant noise rock, man screams about horses

Sample track: it’s just one song

This is a labrador song, spinning around the orbit of my mind. Max and Ruby; one yellow, one black. If either one barks, the whole world is blown off its axis and several thousand centuries pass by in seconds. And that is all you need to know.

2. Ninajirachi – I Love My Computer

electronic

Sample track: All I Am

I do not have a well informed perspective on electronic music. See: tagging this electronic music instead of some microgenre with three adjectives. Pretty confident I don’t need one to recognize how great this is. Easily the most fun album I encountered this year, I can bop it all night every night and not get bored.

1. Ciśnienie – [angry noises]

in my head these are zeuhl doom bands but it’s probably just tagged post-rock

Sample track: My childhood was a period of waiting for the moment when I could send everyone and everything connected with it to hell

The new Neptunian Maximalism album this year didn’t leave much of an impression on me, so these lads stepped up to fill all of my live instrumental zeuhl-adjacent Efrim-reverent droning avantgarde doom jazz needs for the season. I like that the cover looks the same with and without my glasses. I was asked to not listen to it so someone can win my next music discovery game. I respect that. Now that I’m over 40 I can’t remember anything anyway though so why not both.

Avatar: Fire and Ash Review (dir. by James Cameron)

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Arleigh

“The fire came from the mountain… Eywa did not come. So I went to the fire, and I learned its way” – Varang

Avatar: Fire and Ash plays like a massive, molten crescendo for Cameron’s Pandora saga—visually overwhelming, emotionally heavier than the last two entries, but also very familiar in ways that will either feel comfortingly mythic or a little déjà vu, depending on your tolerance for repetition. The ash-choked skies, lava rivers, and volcanic Na’vi clans are often more compelling than some of the story beats, and the final stretch delivers the kind of operatic, war-movie scale that makes the three-plus-hour runtime go down easier than it should, even though the film clearly didn’t need to run this long.

This time around, the series leaves behind the cool blues and oceanic calm of the previous chapter for a harsher, volcanic corner of Pandora that feels like a nature documentary shot in a furnace. Jagged black rock, roiling lava, and smoke-stained skies dominate the frame, with creatures and plant life that look as if they evolved to survive heat and ash rather than coral reefs and open water, giving the movie an immediately distinct visual identity even when the story rhythms feel familiar.

At the center of this environment are the Ash People, or Mangkwan clan, a Na’vi group shaped by relentless scarcity and violence. They ride creatures adapted to fire and ash instead of waves, cover themselves in soot-black markings, and fight using a deliberate blend of traditional Na’vi weaponry and repurposed human tech, putting them ideologically at odds not just with the human invaders, but with other Na’vi clans who still cling to older, more spiritual ways of living with Eywa.

The story picks up with Jake and Neytiri’s family still reeling from Neteyam’s death, and the film leans hard into unresolved grief as its emotional baseline. Jake doubles down on his protector persona, treating every decision as a matter of survival, while Neytiri’s pain expresses itself as barely controlled rage, and that emotional weather trickles down to their children, who are increasingly frustrated at being treated like liabilities. The problem is that a lot of this family dysfunction was already unpacked in the second film, so instead of evolving those arcs, the script often feels like it is rehashing earlier conflicts.

The dynamic between Jake and Lo’ak is the clearest example of this repetition. Jake’s exasperation with Lo’ak’s impulsive, run-toward-the-bullets mentality resurfaces again and again, echoing arguments audiences have already seen: the father insisting his son isn’t ready, the son bristling at never being trusted. These moments still have emotional sting, but they circle the same drain so often that entire conversations could have been trimmed or removed without sacrificing character depth, and tightening that thread alone would have shaved a noticeable chunk off the runtime.

Where the film becomes more thematically interesting is in how it reframes Pandora’s conflict. Instead of a simple “Na’vi versus humans” setup, it pits the more traditional Na’vi clans—those still committed to a symbiotic relationship with Eywa—against the Ash People, whose warlike nature and embrace of human weaponry make them ideological outliers. That split plays as a pointed echo of historical events in the Americas, where European colonial powers armed and favored specific Indigenous nations to fight their neighbors, turning native communities into proxies in conflicts that ultimately benefitted outsiders more than the people doing the actual bleeding.

The analogy becomes sharper in how human forces hang back and quietly exploit these new divisions. By giving the Ash People access to superior firepower and nudging them toward confrontation, the outsiders effectively inflame existing grievances and reshape local power dynamics, much like colonial regimes once did by supplying guns and promises to one group while framing another as the enemy. The result is a Pandora that feels more fractured and politically complex, where internal Na’vi conflict is as dangerous as external invasion.

Varang, the leader of the Ash People, is one of the film’s strongest assets. She’s portrayed as a true believer who has taken real suffering and twisted it into a doctrine of purifying destruction, convinced that burning the world is the only way to save it. The character blends zealotry and charisma in a way that makes her both frightening and compelling, and she wields faith, desire, and fear as weapons with unnerving ease, giving the movie a volatile energy whenever she’s on-screen.

Her alliance with Quaritch pushes the story into darker, more uncomfortable territory. What begins as a pragmatic arrangement—a trade of firepower and influence for help tracking Jake—evolves into a twisted, intimate partnership that underlines just how far both are willing to go to achieve their goals. Their connection is meant to feel toxic and predatory, and it succeeds on that front, though some viewers may find the intensity of those scenes off-putting compared with the relatively straightforward romance and family dynamics of earlier entries.

On a craft level, the film is almost absurdly polished. Even if it no longer feels like a quantum leap in visual effects, the execution is meticulous: volcanic vistas glow with molten light, ash storms swirl with tactile grit, and the interplay of fire, smoke, and bioluminescence gives many shots a painterly quality. The action sequences rely on clear geography and patient staging, so even when the screen is full of creatures, machines, and chaos, it remains surprisingly easy to track who is where and what’s at stake.

The final act is where the movie unleashes everything it has: parallel battles on land, in the air, and over volatile seas, stitched together into a long, escalating crescendo. Familiar James Cameron signatures return—heroic last-second saves, nature itself intervening, climaxes that mirror earlier films—but the pacing of these sequences is handled with enough control that they rarely collapse into pure noise. Still, you can’t help but feel that with a leaner, more disciplined buildup, that climax would have hit even harder.

Structurally, the story leans heavily on patterns that loyal viewers will recognize. There is yet another relocation to a new culture, another period of uneasy assimilation, another slow slide into open warfare, and another sacrificial, emotionally charged finale. Whether that comes across as mythic repetition or simple recycling depends on how patient you are with Cameron’s tendency to “rhyme” his narratives rather than reinvent them.

Most of the main character arcs feel like refinements rather than reinventions. Jake remains the guilt-ridden warrior father terrified of losing his children; Lo’ak edges closer to full-on protagonist status as the reckless but big-hearted son; Kiri’s mystical bond with Eywa deepens while remaining intentionally enigmatic; and Quaritch once again fills the role of relentless, personal antagonist. With the same father–son friction repeatedly dragged back into the spotlight, the emotional landscape can feel stuck in place, and a stricter editorial hand might have refocused attention on the fresher elements—like Varang and the Ash People’s worldview.

Tonally, the film pushes into darker territory while still staying within a mainstream rating. The battles feel more brutal, with a greater emphasis on the physical cost of arrows, explosions, and close-quarters fighting, and there’s a persistent sense that no one is truly safe. That harshness extends to the emotional side as well, as the Sully family finds itself cornered into choices where every option exacts a price, reinforcing the idea that survival in this version of Pandora demands constant compromise.

Thematically, Avatar: Fire and Ash weaves together ideas about faith, extremism, and the way trauma can be weaponized. The Ash People act as a distorted mirror of earlier Na’vi cultures: a society that has taken genuine pain and turned it into an excuse for cruelty, abandoning balance in favor of cleansing violence. Layered on top of that is the divide-and-rule dynamic, where more technologically advanced outsiders stoke internal conflicts for their own advantage, mirroring how colonial powers in the Americas encouraged Indigenous groups to fight one another while expanding their control and extracting resources.

Despite all the digital wizardry, the performances still manage to cut through. Jake and Neytiri’s scenes carry the weight of years of loss and sacrifice, and there’s a believable exhaustion in the way they argue and compromise. The younger characters, especially Lo’ak and Kiri, feel more rooted and central than they did before, which helps sell the gradual shift toward a new generation, even if the script keeps dragging them back through conflicts that feel like reruns instead of genuine evolution.

At the same time, the movie sometimes undercuts its best character work in its rush to reach the next big set piece. Quieter moments that might have deepened side characters or given the Ash People’s beliefs more nuance are often compressed or sidelined, while scenes rehashing Jake and Lo’ak’s issues are allowed to run long. If the film had trusted audiences to remember the family dysfunction carried over from the second installment and cut down on repeated arguments, those smaller, richer beats could have had more space—and the whole piece would likely feel tighter and more focused.

For viewers already invested in Pandora, Avatar: Fire and Ash is clearly built for the biggest screen available: the volcanic vistas, layered sound design, and carefully staged action set pieces are all engineered to overwhelm in the best way. It delivers a darker chapter without abandoning the earnest, sometimes corny sincerity that has always defined this series, and as a conclusion to this phase of the story, it feels emotionally full even as it insists on revisiting familiar territory and stretching its narrative longer than necessary.

For more casual viewers or anyone who found the earlier films predictable, this is unlikely to be the conversion point. The structure is recognizable, the dialogue is often workmanlike rather than sharp, and the movie leans so hard into repeating certain family conflicts that it can feel like the story is padding itself instead of evolving. But if you can live with those flaws—the repetition, the length, the occasional heavy hand—the combination of technical craftsmanship, volcanic imagery, heavy emotional stakes, and that quietly pointed commentary on colonial-era divide-and-rule tactics makes Avatar: Fire and Ash a fiery, flawed, but undeniably impressive ride.

Here Are The 2025 Nominations of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are the 2025 nominations of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists!

BEST FILM
FRANKENSTEIN
HAMNET
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
THE SECRET AGENT
SENTIMENTAL VALUE
SINNERS
TRAIN DREAMS

BEST DIRECTOR
Paul Thomas Anderson – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Ryan Coogler – SINNERS
Jafar Panahi – IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT
Joachim Trier – SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Chloe Zhao – HAMNET

BEST SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT – Jafar Panahi
JAY KELLY – Noah Baumbach
SENTIMENTAL VALUE – Joachim Trier
SINNERS – Ryan Coogler
SORRY, BABY – Eva Victor

BEST SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED
BUGONIA – Will Tracy
FRANKENSTEIN – Guillermo del Toro
HAMNET – Maggie O’Farrell & Chloe Zhao
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Paul Thomas Anderson
TRAIN DREAMS – Clint Bentley & Greg Kwedar

DOCUMENTARY
COME SEE ME IN THE GOOD LIGHT – Ryan White
MY MOM JAYNE – Mariska Hargitay
ORWELL 2+2=5 – Raoul Peck
THE LIBRARIANS – Kim A. Snyder
THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR – Geeta Gandbhir

ANIMATED FEATURE
ARCO – Ugo Bienvenu & Giles Cazaux
IN YOUR DREAMS – Erik Benson & Alexander Woo
KPOP DEMON HUNTERS – Chris Applehaus & Maggie Kang
LITTLE AMELIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN – Liane-Cho Jin Kuang & Mailys Vallade
ZOOTOPIA 2 – Jared Bush & Simon Howard

BEST ACTRESS
Jessie Buckley – HAMNET
Rose Byrne – IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU
Renate Reinsve – SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Emma Stone – BUGONIA
Tessa Thompson – HEDDA

BEST ACTRESS, SUPPORTING
Nina Hoss – HEDDA
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – SENTIMENTAL VALUE
Amy Madigan – WEAPONS
Teyana Taylor – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Wunmi Mosaku – SINNERS

BEST ACTOR
Leonardo DiCaprio – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Joel Edgerton – TRAIN DREAMS
Ethan Hawke – BLUE MOON
Michael B. Jordan – SINNERS
Wagner Moura – THE SECRET AGENT

BEST ACTOR, SUPPORTING
Benicio Del Toro – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Jacob Elordi – FRANKENSTEIN
Paul Mescal – HAMNET
Sean Penn – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Stellan Skarsgård – SENTIMENTAL VALUE

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST & CASTING DIRECTOR
HAMNET – Nina Gold & Lucy Amos
MARTY SUPREME – Jennifer Venditti
NOUVELLE VAGUE – Stéphane Batut
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Cassandra Kulukundis
SINNERS – Francine Maisler

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
FRANKENSTEIN – Dan Laustsen
HAMNET – Łukasz Żal
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Michael Bauman
SINNERS – Autumn Durald Arkapaw
TRAIN DREAMS – Adolpho Veloso

BEST EDITING
F1: THE MOVIE – Stephen Mirrione & Patrick J. Smith
HAMNET – Affonso Gonçalves & Chloe Zhao
MARTY SUPREME – Ronald Bronstein & Josh Safdie
ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER – Andy Jurgensen
SINNERS – Michael P. Shawver

BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT – Jafar Panahi
NO OTHER CHOICE – Park Chan-wook
SENTIMENTAL VALUE – Joachim Trier
SIRÂT – Oliver Laxe
THE SECRET AGENT – Kleber Mendonça Filho

FEMALE FOCUS AWARDS
Presented Only to Women

FEMALE FOCUS: BEST FEMALE DIRECTOR
Kathryn Bigelow – A HOUSE OF DYNAMITE
Mary Bronstein – IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU
Mona Fastvold – THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE
Eva Victor – SORRY, BABY
Chloe Zhao – HAMNET

FEMALE FOCUS: BEST FEMALE WRITER
Mary Bronstein – IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU
Nia DaCosta – HEDDA
Hikari & Stephen Blahut – RENTAL FAMILY
Eva Victor – SORRY, BABY
Chloe Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell – HAMNET

FEMALE FOCUS: BEST VOICED PERFORMANCE IN ANIMATED FILM
Ginnifer Goodwin – ZOOTOPIA 2
Loïse Charpentier – LITTLE AMELIE OR THE CHARACTER OF RAIN
Arden Cho – KPOP DEMON HUNTERS
Fortune Feimster – ZOOTOPIA 2
Zoë Saldaña – ELIO

FEMALE FOCUS: BEST BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE
Odessa A’Zion – MARTY SUPREME
Chase Infiniti – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Teyana Taylor – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Wunmi Mosaku – SINNERS
Eva Victor – SORRY, BABY

FEMALE FOCUS: BEST STUNTS PERFORMANCE
Ana de Armas – BALLERINA
Hayley Atwell – MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING
Chase Infiniti – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Teyana Taylor – ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Pom Klementieff – MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – THE FINAL RECKONING

Here Are The 2025 Nominations of the North Texas Film Critics Association

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Here are the nominations of the North Texas Film Critics Association.

BEST PICTURE
Hamnet
Marty Supreme
One Battle After Another
Sentimental Value
Sinners

BEST ACTOR
Timothée Chalamet – Marty Supreme
Leonardo DiCaprio – One Battle After Another
Dwayne Johnson – The Smashing Machine
Michael Jordan – Sinners
Ethan Hawke – Blue Moon

BEST ACTRESS
Rose Byrne – If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Jessie Buckley – Hamnet
Cynthia Erivo – Wicked: For Good
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Renate Reinsve – Sentimental Value
Emma Stone – Bugonia

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jacob Elordi – Frankenstein
Delroy Lindo – Sinners
Paul Mescal – Hamnet
Sean Penn – One Battle After Another
Stellan Skarsgård – Sentimental Value
Benicio del Toro – One Battle After Another

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Elle Fanning – Sentimental Value
Ariana Grande – Wicked: For Good
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Amy Madigan – Weapons
Wunmi Mosaku – Sinners
Teyana Taylor – One Battle After Another

BEST DIRECTOR
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Paul Thomas Anderson – One Battle After Another
Josh Safdie – Marty Supreme
Joachim Trier – Sentimental Value
Chloé Zhao – Hamnet

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
It Was Just an Accident (France)
No Other Choice (South Korea)
Sentimental Value (Norway)
Sirāt (Spain)
The Secret Agent (Brazil)

BEST DOCUMENTARY
2000 Meters to Andriivka
Deaf President Now
Orwell: 2+2=5
The Alabama Solution
The Perfect Neighbor

BEST ANIMATED FILM
Arco
KPop Demon Hunters
Little Amélie or the Character of Rain
Ne Zha 2
Zootopia 2

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Michael Bauman – One Battle After Another
Autumn Durald Arkapaw – Sinners
Dan Laustsen – Frankenstein
Adolpho Veloso – Train Dreams
Łukasz Żal – Hamnet

BEST NEWCOMER
Miles Caton – Sinners
Chase Infiniti – One Battle After Another
Jacobi Jupe – Hamnet
Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas – Sentimental Value
Alfie Williams – 28 Years Later

BEST SCREENPLAY
Paul Thomas Anderson & Thomas Pynchon – One Battle After Another
Ryan Coogler – Sinners
Zach Cregger – Weapons
Jafar Panahi – It Was Just an Accident
Josh Safdie & Ronald Bronstein – Marty Supreme
Will Tracy – Bugonia
Chloé Zhao & Maggie O’Farrell – Hamnet

GARY MURRAY AWARD (BEST ENSEMBLE)
Hamnet
One Battle After Another
Sinners
Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Weapons

Christopher Nolan takes us to Ancient Greece in The Odyssey Trailer!

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Leonard Wilson

I grew up on stuff like Jason and the Argonauts, Clash of the Titans and Jim Henson’s The Storyteller. Part of me looks at Christopher Nolan’s new Trailer for The Odyssey and is hopeful for crazy Harryhausen-like CGI and what his take may be on the Greek Gods. I’m also wondering if it’ll just focus on the humans and will give us something practical like Wolfgang Petersen’s Troy. Either way, The Odyssey will look amazing on the IMAX, I’m sure. The trailer keeps things simple, which is good.

This film hasn’t been on my radar much, but looking at the cast list, the line up is pretty nice. Nolan’s called a few friends back with Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises & The Devil Wears Prada 2), Elliot Page (Inception & Close to You) and Benny Safdie (Oppenheimer & The Smashing Machine). They are joined by Robert Pattinson (The Batman), Jon Bernthal (The Accountant 2), Lupita Nyong’o (A Quiet Place: Day One), Charlize Theron (Atomic Blonde), Mia Goth (Frankenstein) and Zendaya & Tom Holland (Spider-Man: No Way Home).

The Odyssey releases in theatres next Summer.

Holidays On The Lens: Christmas Twister (dir by Peter Sullivan)

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

The 2012 film Christmas Twister tells the story of what happens when several twisters hit North Texas on Christmas Day. For a film taking place in the DFW area (a region that is called the flatlands for a reason), there’s a surprisingly large amount of mountains around.

I mean check out the road leading to Fort Worth:

Check out the town of Gransbury!

Guess which movie was definitely not filmed in Texas!

That said, Casper Van Dien manfully drives across the city, saving his children from the tornado and encouraging folks to stay inside. Plus, the film features a perfect shot that shows that the filmmakers did understand at least one thing about Texas:

Hell yeah! The flag of Texas and some other country!

Enjoy Christmas Twister:

Join #MondayMania For A Wife’s Nightmare!

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Hi, everyone! Tonight, on twitter, I will be hosting one of my favorite films for #MondayMania! Join us for 2014’s A Wife’s Nightmare!

You can find the movie on Prime and then you can join us on twitter at 9 pm central time! (That’s 10 pm for you folks on the East Coast.) See you then!

Song of the Day: Spirit in the Sky by Norman Greenbaum

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

Apparently, when Norman Greenbaum wrote today’s song of the day, he wasn’t quite writing a parody but, at the same time, he wasn’t being totally serious either. Greenbaum wrote the song after watching a gospel performance on television and thinking, “Yeah, I could do that.” By his own recollection, it took him 15 minutes to come up with the lyrics for Spirit In The Sky.

Originally, he was going to perform the song with a jug band. (Yikes!) He also tried to do a folk version. (Double yikes!) Fortunately, he ultimately went for the hard rock sound that made the song a legend.

Holiday Scenes That I Love: Making Christmas From The Nightmare Before Christmas

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Dazzling Erin

It’s almost time!

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Freddie Francis Edition

Posted on December 22, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films is all about letting the visuals do the talking.

On this date, 108 years ago, Freddie Francis was born. Though Francis may be best remembered as a cinematographer (who worked on three David Lynch films), he was also a director who did memorable work for both Hammer and Amicus in the 60s and 70s. It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Freddie Francis Films