The first episode of the new year! On the fifty- fifth episode of All the Film Things, Emmy- winning photojournalist Cole Echevarria returns to look back and discuss 2025 in film! This episode is spoiler- filled. The 2025 films spoiled are Caught Stealing, Hamnet, Jay Kelly, Sinners... (this list will be updated once reviewed).

While 2023 continues to set a high bar for the 2020s decade, 2025, in my opinion, was a pretty solid year filled with a fantastic variety of unique, original films and stories. Cole and I disagreed greatly in regard to 2024 in film, but when it comes to 2025… we still disagree. Early in the year, Michael B. Jordan reunited with Ryan Coogler for Sinners, proving that they are one of the best actor- director collaborators of our time while Robert Pattinson's long- awaited sci- fi film directed by Bong Joon- Ho, Mickey 17, finally hit theaters. While several prominent actresses, Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, and Kristen Stewart each made their directorial debuts, Celine Song followed up her directorial debut, Past Lives, with another beautiful film that has endured as a favorite amongst audiences. And the Oscar season officially began with the return of two of the greats, Leonardo DiCaprio and Paul Thomas Anderson, for an epic, hilarious, and action- packed masterpiece beloved by film aficionados and general audiences in One Battle After Another. From then on, several brilliant films such as Sentimental Value, Hamnet, and Jay Kelly instantly became beloved by audiences and Oscar contenders. On previous year in review episodes, the concern of physical media's future was discussed and now, due to recent events, the future of movie theaters has become more grim than ever before.

This episode not only marks the 101st (!!) episode of All the Film Things, but also Cole’s 20th appearance on the show! He is far and away the most frequent guest and I’m very grateful for his friendship, banter and all, as well as, of course, being a part of ATFT since the early days in 2022. This is the fourth year in review episode on All the Film Things and I always look forward to these reflective episodes, not only because I get to chat with friends, but also because these episodes will act as sort- of time capsules someday. This episode was originally 130 minutes so much had to be cut, which especially affected the tribute segment, but it was recorded on December 23, 2025.

In this episode, Cole and I share our top five favorite films of the year and, much to our surprise since we never agree, we have the same number one pick . Weirdly enough, we have a few of the same films in our top five lists, though my fourth favorite of the year immediately made Cole laugh. We go on to discuss the favorite films of past ATFT guests from K- Pop Demon Hunters to Bugonia, ponder which other movie stars could have played the titular character of Jay Kelly, and pay tribute to the giant stars we lost in 2025 as well as two previous ATFT guests. You also won't want to miss Cole's Bob Dylan impression... because you won't be able to unhear it. All this and much more on the brand new episode of All the Film Things!

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