Is this a bottom 5 year for movies in the modern era? (Rolling Stone top Movies of 2025 released) (1 Viewer)

[Ilov80s]

Also just like when we look at writing, one of the first things we need to know is the purpose. Same for a movie. Different movies have different purposes. To appeal to a mass audience, it's main purpose has to be entertainment. Some movies are aiming to do something other than entertain or entertain is secondary. I think critics would naturally be better at parsing that out and being willing to engage with movies on the movie's terms.

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

Probably but I wouldn’t base it on any list from Rolling Stone. Did they have a quota for how many foreign films to include or something?

They aren't supposed to list the best movies?

I’m familiar with Rolling Stones MO. They’re just behind Pitchfork for putting out BS lists just to seem hip and cool.

I always find these types of comments odd. Because there are foreign movies and a lack of action and comedy? Do you think that Joe Critic for RS and Pitchfork don't think those movies the best?

I sometimes feel we (as a group) complain about the crap in the theater and the dependence of known IP and sequels, but also complain about the snooty critcs that seem to agree and put out lists of different options.

100%, great post. People want something original and new but then complain when there are movies they have never heard of on a list. I honestly think it's more of a pervasive culture of whining and complaining.

To be fair, there are critics and sites that do have an agenda. Just because something is new and somewhat original doesn't necessarily make it good. I think that's what people want, slightly original AND good. Just as an example, that Guinea Fowl movie? Critics love the snot out of it..100% on RT. My fellows plebs? not so much 7.0 on IMDB, 3.8 on letterboxd, 67% on RT. I, for one, have never heard of it. It is a British movie so it might have not gotten a wide release but it could also mean that it wasn't a super great movie and the word of mouth campaign never picked up.

7.0 and 3.8 aren't bad scores at all. I am not super familiar with the IMDB trends but 3.8 on Letterboxd is what I would consider a strongly liked movie. 4.0 is a tough bar to hit there.

You are right some critics have agendas but so do the audience members too.

yea, 7.0 is decent but I think it shows the massive divide between plebs and critics.

 

[Ilov80s]

Probably but I wouldn’t base it on any list from Rolling Stone. Did they have a quota for how many foreign films to include or something?

They aren't supposed to list the best movies?

I’m familiar with Rolling Stones MO. They’re just behind Pitchfork for putting out BS lists just to seem hip and cool.

I always find these types of comments odd. Because there are foreign movies and a lack of action and comedy? Do you think that Joe Critic for RS and Pitchfork don't think those movies the best?

I sometimes feel we (as a group) complain about the crap in the theater and the dependence of known IP and sequels, but also complain about the snooty critcs that seem to agree and put out lists of different options.

100%, great post. People want something original and new but then complain when there are movies they have never heard of on a list. I honestly think it's more of a pervasive culture of whining and complaining.

To be fair, there are critics and sites that do have an agenda. Just because something is new and somewhat original doesn't necessarily make it good. I think that's what people want, slightly original AND good. Just as an example, that Guinea Fowl movie? Critics love the snot out of it..100% on RT. My fellows plebs? not so much 7.0 on IMDB, 3.8 on letterboxd, 67% on RT. I, for one, have never heard of it. It is a British movie so it might have not gotten a wide release but it could also mean that it wasn't a super great movie and the word of mouth campaign never picked up.

7.0 and 3.8 aren't bad scores at all. I am not super familiar with the IMDB trends but 3.8 on Letterboxd is what I would consider a strongly liked movie. 4.0 is a tough bar to hit there.

You are right some critics have agendas but so do the audience members too.

yea, 7.0 is decent but I think it shows the massive divide between plebs and critics.

Definitely a divide. Critics have much greater affinity for things different or new. General audiences prefer familiar. Doesn't mean one is better than the other. Just the nature of the situation.

 

[Ilov80s]

2020 had to be worse, right?

 

[KarmaPolice]

Also just like when we look at writing, one of the first things we need to know is the purpose. Same for a movie. Different movies have different purposes. To appeal to a mass audience, it's main purpose has to be entertainment. Some movies are aiming to do something other than entertain or entertain is secondary. I think critics would naturally be better at parsing that out and being willing to engage with movies on the movie's terms.

Also to go with your other post about the divide of critics and the masses - each of those groups often have a different purpose. All groups love movies, but if I had to write about them for a living I would see the draw of writing about movies like One Battle After Another over a Marvel movie or Jurassic Park.

 

[KarmaPolice]

2020 had to be worse, right?

There were a couple bleak years during covid.

 

[Juxtatarot]

Movies takes years to make and cost millions upon millions to produce.

A racy/funny/weird video uploaded to social media takes seconds to make and receives millions upon millions of eyeballs within 8 hours.

The writings on the wall...

I do wonder what will happen when AI gets so good that movies can be made without having to pay for actors and expensive sets. Movies in the theater will die but excellent stories will be able to be produced for minimal cost.

It will be interesting- the whole trajectory of AI is. Looks like a huge bubble about to blow up and wreck the economy. Or it works out perfectly and destroys the economy.

There is also the possibility that various technologies allows for such productivity and efficiency gains to provide everyone unimaginable wealth (compared to today's standards).

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Probably but I wouldn’t base it on any list from Rolling Stone. Did they have a quota for how many foreign films to include or something?

They aren't supposed to list the best movies?

I’m familiar with Rolling Stones MO. They’re just behind Pitchfork for putting out BS lists just to seem hip and cool.

Pitchfork probably has the best "albums of the year" list every year.

This? https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/best-albums-2025/

I’ve literally only heard of 5 of those artists.

Thanks for reaffirming my point

Maybe you should listen to some new musical artists? Maybe you will find something new you like

Constantly adding new music to my catalog, but Pitchfork typically isn’t writing about music for me

Maybe I’ll check a few out but I doubt it’ll resonate with me. Im also curious to go back and look at their previous lists and see what albums actually had some staying power

There is nothing wrong your tastes not aligning with Pitchfork but also vice versa. Not sure why you assume because someone likes something you don't, that they must be pretentious or fake.

Yeah, I get what you’re saying, I just don’t respect them as a publication. I mean they gave Lateralus a 1.9/10 and they’ve always reeked of pretentiousness to me

 

[Ilov80s]

Also just like when we look at writing, one of the first things we need to know is the purpose. Same for a movie. Different movies have different purposes. To appeal to a mass audience, it's main purpose has to be entertainment. Some movies are aiming to do something other than entertain or entertain is secondary. I think critics would naturally be better at parsing that out and being willing to engage with movies on the movie's terms.

Also to go with your other post about the divide of critics and the masses - each of those groups often have a different purpose. All groups love movies, but if I had to write about them for a living I would see the draw of writing about movies like One Battle After Another over a Marvel movie or Jurassic Park.

For sure. Of course there is a difference in how a person who watches 200 new movies a year and writes about half them as a job views movies compared to someone who sees maybe 5-10-25 new movies and maybe plays around on their phone through some of them.

 

[Ilov80s]

Probably but I wouldn’t base it on any list from Rolling Stone. Did they have a quota for how many foreign films to include or something?

They aren't supposed to list the best movies?

I’m familiar with Rolling Stones MO. They’re just behind Pitchfork for putting out BS lists just to seem hip and cool.

Pitchfork probably has the best "albums of the year" list every year.

This? https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/best-albums-2025/

I’ve literally only heard of 5 of those artists.

Thanks for reaffirming my point

Maybe you should listen to some new musical artists? Maybe you will find something new you like

Constantly adding new music to my catalog, but Pitchfork typically isn’t writing about music for me

Maybe I’ll check a few out but I doubt it’ll resonate with me. Im also curious to go back and look at their previous lists and see what albums actually had some staying power

There is nothing wrong your tastes not aligning with Pitchfork but also vice versa. Not sure why you assume because someone likes something you don't, that they must be pretentious or fake.

Yeah, I get what you’re saying, I just don’t respect them as a publication. I mean they gave Lateralus a 1.9/10 and they’ve always reeked of pretentiousness to me

Sir have you seen some of your movie reviews?

 

[KarmaPolice]

Movies takes years to make and cost millions upon millions to produce.

A racy/funny/weird video uploaded to social media takes seconds to make and receives millions upon millions of eyeballs within 8 hours.

The writings on the wall...

I do wonder what will happen when AI gets so good that movies can be made without having to pay for actors and expensive sets. Movies in the theater will die but excellent stories will be able to be produced for minimal cost.

It will be interesting- the whole trajectory of AI is. Looks like a huge bubble about to blow up and wreck the economy. Or it works out perfectly and destroys the economy.

There is also the possibility that various technologies allows for such productivity and efficiency gains to provide everyone unimaginable wealth (compared to today's standards).

IMO that puts way too much trust in the hands of whoever will be the first to crack the AGI -> ASI code and our government. IMO it also puts too much faith in us being able to control the AI enough to harness that huge net gain.

 

[Dan Lambskin]

Probably but I wouldn’t base it on any list from Rolling Stone. Did they have a quota for how many foreign films to include or something?

They aren't supposed to list the best movies?

I’m familiar with Rolling Stones MO. They’re just behind Pitchfork for putting out BS lists just to seem hip and cool.

Pitchfork probably has the best "albums of the year" list every year.

This? https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/best-albums-2025/

I’ve literally only heard of 5 of those artists.

Thanks for reaffirming my point

Maybe you should listen to some new musical artists? Maybe you will find something new you like

Constantly adding new music to my catalog, but Pitchfork typically isn’t writing about music for me

Maybe I’ll check a few out but I doubt it’ll resonate with me. Im also curious to go back and look at their previous lists and see what albums actually had some staying power

There is nothing wrong your tastes not aligning with Pitchfork but also vice versa. Not sure why you assume because someone likes something you don't, that they must be pretentious or fake.

Yeah, I get what you’re saying, I just don’t respect them as a publication. I mean they gave Lateralus a 1.9/10 and they’ve always reeked of pretentiousness to me

Sir have you seen some of your movie reviews?

I’ll whip up an extra pretentious one next time

 

[Ilov80s]

Movies takes years to make and cost millions upon millions to produce.

A racy/funny/weird video uploaded to social media takes seconds to make and receives millions upon millions of eyeballs within 8 hours.

The writings on the wall...

I do wonder what will happen when AI gets so good that movies can be made without having to pay for actors and expensive sets. Movies in the theater will die but excellent stories will be able to be produced for minimal cost.

It will be interesting- the whole trajectory of AI is. Looks like a huge bubble about to blow up and wreck the economy. Or it works out perfectly and destroys the economy.

There is also the possibility that various technologies allows for such productivity and efficiency gains to provide everyone unimaginable wealth (compared to today's standards).

Sure would be nice but I look around the world and don’t see a place just on the of verge utopia.

 

[Hastur]

Movies takes years to make and cost millions upon millions to produce.

A racy/funny/weird video uploaded to social media takes seconds to make and receives millions upon millions of eyeballs within 8 hours.

The writings on the wall...

Sure but those eyeballs don't usually equate to much money. Most people with a video like that get a few hundred dollars and then if they hustle really hard they can maybe get some endorsements, infleuncer work for a bit. If you want to make good real money posting online, it's a career and you are spending the same amount of time (or more) than you would at any full time job. It's not like you just pull your phone, press record, post it and make a million dollars. There were 11 movies this year that $500 million just at the Box Office and that is before we get into rentals, airline sales, blu ray sales, subscriptions to streaming services it supports, etc.

People aren't making the videos hoping for a paycheck. They're making them for laughs and their own ego.

My point was: it is costly and takes time to make a movie. It takes 5 seconds and no money at all to produce a tictok video. My 'writing on the wall' part was directed at how society is gravitating towards short videos that are extremely timely to current world events.

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

2020 had to be worse, right?

Maybe? I haven't seen most of them but there were some really good ones. Haven't seen Sound of Metal yet but your boi @KarmaPolice likes it as well as Hubie Halloween. I'm a big fan of Love and Monsters as is @Gatorade I think. The Bill & Ted movie was enjoyable to me. Also liked The King of Staten Island.

 

[Ilov80s]

2020 had to be worse, right?

Maybe? I haven't seen most of them but there were some really good ones. Haven't seen Sound of Metal yet but your boi @KarmaPolice likes it as well as Hubie Halloween. I'm a big fan of Love and Monsters as is @Gatorade I think. The Bill & Ted movie was enjoyable to me. Also liked The King of Staten Island.

True, I really like Palm Springs and Shiva Baby for comedy. Promising Young Woman, One Night in Miami and The Father were really good dramas. I thought Minari and Nomadland were overrated. Though I’m judging 2020 movies after having had 5 years to watch them. Some of the best 2025 movies might not even be out yet.

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

Critics have much greater affinity for things different or new. General audiences prefer familiar.

Do they? Haven't really noticed but they could. Another factor could be that they are offered free screenings as opposed to us commoners which probably won't get that and might not want to throw down $10+ on a movie ticket. Also, like you've said before, what the Hollywood Industrial Complex likes and wants may be different than what my fellow plebians want.

 

[fruity pebbles]

Pretty terrible yeah. I love going to the movies but I’m getting discouraged that this is going to be a trend. Been awhile since there’s been a movie I’ve really looked forward to seeing. Black Bag was probably my favorite of this year and it was just better than ok.

 

[Ilov80s]

Critics have much greater affinity for things different or new. General audiences prefer familiar.

Do they? Haven't really noticed but they could. Another factor could be that they are offered free screenings as opposed to us commoners which probably won't get that and might not want to throw down $10+ on a movie ticket. Also, like you've said before, what the Hollywood Industrial Complex likes and wants may be different than what my fellow plebians want.

The Hollywood industrial complex wants money. They are just corporations like everything else at this point. Netflix just now won the bid for Warner Brothers and HBO. Who knows what this means for the future of streaming and if Warner Brothers will even continue to make movies for theaters any more. Very likely we see their theatrical and physical media businesses wrap up and it all go streaming.

 

[BLOCKED_PUNT]

The Hollywood industrial complex wants money. They are just corporations like everything else at this point.

Well, yes. I was actually including "critics" in that. Maybe it's just conspiracy on my part but I believe (though I don't really have any evidence) that some of them may be more like "influencers" to ya know push the idea that said movie is good.

 

[Ilov80s]

The Hollywood industrial complex wants money. They are just corporations like everything else at this point.

Well, yes. I was actually including "critics" in that. Maybe it's just conspiracy on my part but I believe (though I don't really have any evidence) that some of them may be more like "influencers" to ya know push the idea that said movie is good.

I think most critics just love movies and see them different than the pleb. Just like how someone who really loves football and covers it for a living sees the game differently than a casual fan or how a chef or food critic thinks differently about a meal than someone who just occasionally goes out for dinner. Critics are probably more externally motivated to carry water for big studio big budget stuff like Disney and Marvel than they are for any indie foreign film. For many critics, the possibility that Marvel stops inviting them to screenings or cuts them off from interview access with their stars would potentially destroy their careers. Very few critics are making all that much money or really have that much influence. They depend on things like getting those 10 minutes with Ryan Reynolds before a new Deadpool movie. Also there are those rabid fan bases who will harass them online if they don’t like how they reviewed their beloved new Star Wars movie.

 

[KarmaPolice]

2020 had to be worse, right?

Maybe? I haven't seen most of them but there were some really good ones. Haven't seen Sound of Metal yet but your boi @KarmaPolice likes it as well as Hubie Halloween. I'm a big fan of Love and Monsters as is @Gatorade I think. The Bill & Ted movie was enjoyable to me. Also liked The King of Staten Island.

True, I really like Palm Springs and Shiva Baby for comedy. Promising Young Woman, One Night in Miami and The Father were really good dramas. I thought Minari and Nomadland were overrated. Though I’m judging 2020 movies after having had 5 years to watch them. Some of the best 2025 movies might not even be out yet.

This is key. While some of us watch a **** ton of movies, none of us are movie critics who have probably seen 80%+ of most of the movies released in a year (including already having seen some of the typical Oscar bait type fare that is still coming out this month). It's a little odd to me to judge a movie year's quality before it's over and based on a list of movies another person saw and liked. Personally, I usually don't get a decent opinion formed on a year's movies for a couple years after as I slowly find and watch the movies that came out.

 

[KarmaPolice]

The Hollywood industrial complex wants money. They are just corporations like everything else at this point.

Well, yes. I was actually including "critics" in that. Maybe it's just conspiracy on my part but I believe (though I don't really have any evidence) that some of them may be more like "influencers" to ya know push the idea that said movie is good.

I think most critics just love movies and see them different than the pleb. Just like how someone who really loves football and covers it for a living sees the game differently than a casual fan or how a chef or food critic thinks differently about a meal than someone who just occasionally goes out for dinner. Critics are probably more externally motivated to carry water for big studio big budget stuff like Disney and Marvel than they are for any indie foreign film. For many critics, the possibility that Marvel stops inviting them to screenings or cuts them off from interview access with their stars would potentially destroy their careers. Very few critics are making all that much money or really have that much influence. They depend on things like getting those 10 minutes with Ryan Reynolds before a new Deadpool movie. Also there are those rabid fan bases who will harass them online if they don’t like how they reviewed their beloved new Star Wars movie.

10000%, and it's interesting culturally how we view the different things too. That sports fan is probably a "true fan" that wants to understand and follow the game, but the movie or art critic are probably thought of as an uptight nerd putting on airs. I also think in 2025 and because of sites like RT and the like the term 'critic' means something different than the old days. Sometimes when I look through closer at the ratings it seems there is a loose definition of what is included, or a least a lower threshold to get that label. (what it took to be a NYT or RS movie critic in the 90s vs today and the wide variety of websites and podcasts that are sometimes included in those rankings)

How a typical critic who watches 10x the movies we do views movies and what they typically want out of a movie is much different than what a typical Joe Moviegoer sees and wants. It's natural.

 

[Ilov80s]

The Hollywood industrial complex wants money. They are just corporations like everything else at this point.

Well, yes. I was actually including "critics" in that. Maybe it's just conspiracy on my part but I believe (though I don't really have any evidence) that some of them may be more like "influencers" to ya know push the idea that said movie is good.

I think most critics just love movies and see them different than the pleb. Just like how someone who really loves football and covers it for a living sees the game differently than a casual fan or how a chef or food critic thinks differently about a meal than someone who just occasionally goes out for dinner. Critics are probably more externally motivated to carry water for big studio big budget stuff like Disney and Marvel than they are for any indie foreign film. For many critics, the possibility that Marvel stops inviting them to screenings or cuts them off from interview access with their stars would potentially destroy their careers. Very few critics are making all that much money or really have that much influence. They depend on things like getting those 10 minutes with Ryan Reynolds before a new Deadpool movie. Also there are those rabid fan bases who will harass them online if they don’t like how they reviewed their beloved new Star Wars movie.

10000%, and it's interesting culturally how we view the different things too. That sports fan is probably a "true fan" that wants to understand and follow the game, but the movie or art critic are probably thought of as an uptight nerd putting on airs. I also think in 2025 and because of sites like RT and the like the term 'critic' means something different than the old days. Sometimes when I look through closer at the ratings it seems there is a loose definition of what is included, or a least a lower threshold to get that label. (what it took to be a NYT or RS movie critic in the 90s vs today and the wide variety of websites and podcasts that are sometimes included in those rankings)

How a typical critic who watches 10x the movies we do views movies and what they typically want out of a movie is much different than what a typical Joe Moviegoer sees and wants. It's natural.

Even about the sports thing you mentioned I think some of the negativity against those fans exist. If they look at a lot of advanced stats they get labeled some kind of dork who doesn’t get real football. The whole analytics thing.

Of course it goes the other way too. People who are really into something often do look down on people who aren’t as into it. It seems to be a natural friction across so many human interests. One side saying, “you’re uncultured or dumb” and another side saying “you’re a snob or just pretending to like this so you can think you’re are so cool”. I mean the music thread with the discussion of Pitchfork is basically the same conversation.

 

[KarmaPolice]

The Hollywood industrial complex wants money. They are just corporations like everything else at this point.

Well, yes. I was actually including "critics" in that. Maybe it's just conspiracy on my part but I believe (though I don't really have any evidence) that some of them may be more like "influencers" to ya know push the idea that said movie is good.

I think most critics just love movies and see them different than the pleb. Just like how someone who really loves football and covers it for a living sees the game differently than a casual fan or how a chef or food critic thinks differently about a meal than someone who just occasionally goes out for dinner. Critics are probably more externally motivated to carry water for big studio big budget stuff like Disney and Marvel than they are for any indie foreign film. For many critics, the possibility that Marvel stops inviting them to screenings or cuts them off from interview access with their stars would potentially destroy their careers. Very few critics are making all that much money or really have that much influence. They depend on things like getting those 10 minutes with Ryan Reynolds before a new Deadpool movie. Also there are those rabid fan bases who will harass them online if they don’t like how they reviewed their beloved new Star Wars movie.

10000%, and it's interesting culturally how we view the different things too. That sports fan is probably a "true fan" that wants to understand and follow the game, but the movie or art critic are probably thought of as an uptight nerd putting on airs. I also think in 2025 and because of sites like RT and the like the term 'critic' means something different than the old days. Sometimes when I look through closer at the ratings it seems there is a loose definition of what is included, or a least a lower threshold to get that label. (what it took to be a NYT or RS movie critic in the 90s vs today and the wide variety of websites and podcasts that are sometimes included in those rankings)

How a typical critic who watches 10x the movies we do views movies and what they typically want out of a movie is much different than what a typical Joe Moviegoer sees and wants. It's natural.

Even about the sports thing you mentioned I think some of the negativity against those fans exist. If they look at a lot of advanced stats they get labeled some kind of dork who doesn’t get it. The whole analytics thing.

Of course it goes the other way too. People who are really into something often do look down on people who aren’t as into it. It seems to be a natural friction across so many human interests. One side saying, “you’re uncultured or dumb” and another side saying “you’re a snob or just pretending to like this so you can think you’re are so cool”. I mean the music thread with the discussion of Pitchfork is basically the same conversation.

Very fair. I could see those people getting a reaction from others like "jeez, just sit back and enjoy the game! " from a group of fans as well. Probably just fair to say it's human nature to consume these things and view these things differently, and not fully understand people who don't do it in a similar way (or even be slightly annoyed by them).

It's probably not fully accurate, but IMO the more likely you are to read a book/article about a director, watch behind the scenes features on a disc (or bother with a physical disc), obsess over a movie podcast, etc. - the more likely you are to agree with more of the movies on a "critics" list.

 

[Gatorade]

2020 had to be worse, right?

Maybe? I haven't seen most of them but there were some really good ones. Haven't seen Sound of Metal yet but your boi @KarmaPolice likes it as well as Hubie Halloween. I'm a big fan of Love and Monsters as is @Gatorade I think. The Bill & Ted movie was enjoyable to me. Also liked The King of Staten Island.

You must be thinking of someone else. I don't even know what "Love and Monsters" is .

 

[Gatorade]

I must say, I have not seen any of the 20 movies on that list and after reading the article about them, there are none on the list that I really want to see. I don't like horror movies or super hero movies.