PHILADELPHIA 鈥 The U.S. Federal Trade Commission sent out the聽聽to consumers it says were聽聽they didn鈥檛 want from Fortnite maker聽聽鈥 and eligible players who haven't been compensated yet still have time to apply.
In an聽聽this week, the FTC said it would distribute more than 969,000 refunds totaling over $126 million to consumers on Wednesday and Thursday. That followed the regulator's first round of payments amounting to more than $72 million, which聽.
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The refunds are聽聽that Epic agreed to pay back in 2022 鈥 to address complaints revolving around children鈥檚 privacy and payment methods on its popular Fortnite video game. At the time, the FTC alleged that the gaming giant used deceptive online design tactics to trick Fortnite players, including children, into making unintended purchases 鈥渂ased on the press of a single button.鈥
Consumers could be charged while doing something as simple as attempting to wake the game from sleep mode, for example, or by pressing a nearby button when trying to preview an item, the agency said.
The FTC also accused Epic of blocking some users who disputed the charges from accessing the content they purchased.
Video game players compete in an esports tournament March 31, 2017, at Caesars casino in Atlantic City, N.J.
Wayne Parry, Associated Press
Beyond a $275 million fine related to collecting personal information for players under the age of 13, the settlement, which was finalized in 2023, included $245 million in customer refunds. Between December's payments and the refunds sent out this week, about $198 million of that was sent out 鈥 leaving roughly $47 million left to be distributed.
The latest refunds were doled out to consumers who filed a valid claim before Feb. 14 鈥 meaning that any claims filed after that date are still under review,聽.
The FTC also said it reopened the claims process. Eligible consumers who have not been compensated yet now have until July 9 to file a claim. To apply and learn more about the settlement, affected consumers聽.聽If accepted, the refunds come in the form of checks or PayPal payments.聽
People who are eligible for these payouts include Fortnite players who were charged in-game currency for items they didn鈥檛 want or saw their account locked after complaining to a credit card company about wrongful charges between January 2017 and September 2022 鈥 as well as parents whose kids made charges on their credit cards without their knowledge from January 2018 through November 2018.
At the time the settlement was announced in December 2022, Epic聽聽it accepted the agreement because it wanted 鈥渢o be at the forefront of consumer protection and provide the best experience for our players.鈥 The Cary, North Carolina-based company added that it already聽was rolling out changes 鈥渢o ensure our ecosystem meets the expectations of our players and regulators, which we hope will be a helpful guide for others in our industry.鈥
- Director: Sally Aitken
- Metascore: 74
- IMDB user rating: 7.1
- Run time: 1 hour 33 minutes
A nature documentary at its core, "Every Little Thing" follows Terry Masear, a hummingbird rehabilitation specialist, as she goes about the day-to-day business of saving these delicate birds. Though it may sound light-hearted and fluffy (and it certainly does have those moments), the film is as much about overcoming trauma鈥攚hether inflicted by nature or by other humans鈥攁s it is about the birds.
While some critics called the film and monotonous, most found it dazzling, with gushing over how deftly the film manages to say something about humanity. After all, as Masear puts it, showing love and compassion when we aren't required to is a marker of one's greatness.
- Michael Loccisano // Getty Images
- Director: Kyle Hausmann-Stokes
- Metascore: 75
- IMDB user rating: 6.7
- Run time: 1 hour 43 minutes
"My Dead Friend Zoe" follows an Afghanistan vet whose dead comrade is a constant presence in her life as she faces conflict with her therapist and her ailing Vietnam vet grandfather. Based in part on director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes' own military experiences, the film is an exploration of PTSD that includes appearances from real-life service members. But as the puts it, it isn't "a love letter to the armed forces" so much as a movie that "emphasizes the need for community and a space to share trauma."
- Stewart Cook/Briarcliff Entertainment via Getty Images
- Director: Bruce David Klein
- Metascore: 76
- IMDB user rating: 7.8
- Run time: 1 hour 44 minutes
A behind-the-scenes look at the life of Liza Minnelli, this documentary showcases interviews with Minnelli and several members of her inner circle, giving an all-new perspective on the legendary performer. The film, broken into separate chapters looking at periods of her personal and professional life, feels intimate and affectionate, possessing what a critic calls a "lightness of style" that makes even the more difficult moments easy to watch.
Described as "scintillating" by , the documentary makes no effort to dodge those difficult moments, choosing instead to reveal how Minnelli found joy through it all.
- Dimitrios Kambouris // Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- Metascore: 77
- IMDB user rating: 6.1
- Run time: 1 hour 24 minutes
Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, and Callina Liang star in this supernatural thriller about a family who moves into a house haunted by a poltergeist. Though the movie is downright chilling, it's more subdued than a typical ghost movie鈥攖here are no jump scares, for one thing. Instead, "Presence" makes the viewer wrestle with whether the spirit is evil or simply exposing the maliciousness inside us all.
Some reviewers weren't keen on the film's approach, with audiences seeing everything from the ghost's perspective, but others have praised director Steven Soderbergh's , noting that it makes the climax all the more effective.
- John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images
- Director: Questlove
- Metascore: 77
- IMDB user rating: 7.7
- Run time: 1 hour 52 minutes
"Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius)" looks at the life and legacy of funk musician Sly Stone. The documentary, filled with rich archival footage and interviews, has been described as "" by Variety and for its honesty in depicting the alienating aspects of Black excellence.
Even for folks who know little about Sly and the Family Stone鈥攐r who have minimal appreciation for funk music鈥攖he film is an excellent primer on the ups and downs of the entertainment industry.
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- Isaiah Trickey/FilmMagic // Getty Images
- Director: Andres Veiel
- Metascore: 78
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 55 minutes
"Riefenstahl" looks at the life of famed German director Leni Riefenstahl, focusing specifically on the way her artistic legacy has been tainted by her connections to Nazis. As one of Adolf Hitler's favorite filmmakers, Riefenstahl was considered a trailblazer on the wrong side of history.
Director Andres Veiel is in no way an apologist for Riefenstahl, taking pains to point out just how complicit and destructive she was, as a notes. Still, the documentary prompts viewers to think about a question that's been at the forefront of many minds lately鈥攃an an artist's life and beliefs be separated from their work or not?
- Tristar Media // Getty Images
- Director: James Griffiths
- Metascore: 78
- IMDB user rating: 7.8
- Run time: 1 hour 39 minutes
In "The Ballad of Wallis Island," a reclusive lottery winner invites his favorite folk band to play a private concert for him on the remote island he calls home. It's a simple enough ask, but the fact that the band consists of two exes鈥攊ncluding one who brings her new partner along for the ride鈥攎akes things much more complicated.
Starring Tim Key, Tom Basden, and Carey Mulligan, the quiet film is loosely based on a short film Basden and Key made with director James Griffiths nearly two decades ago. called it "a gentle ode to moving on," and the kind of movie that won't "dominate any cultural conversations 鈥 but [will] touch your soul if you let it."
- Gilbert Flores/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images
- Director: Ye Lou
- Metascore: 78
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 45 minutes
"An Unfinished Film" is referred to as "docufiction," meaning it's a fictional movie inspired by real events and incorporating documentary elements. Set in January 2020, the movie follows a film crew reuniting near Wuhan, China, to finish a project they were forced to abandon a decade earlier. Their plans are, of course, foiled by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are forced into lockdown.
Interspersed with real smartphone footage from Wuhan at the beginning of the pandemic, the movie perfectly encapsulates what it was like to live during that time, particularly at the epicenter. writes, "Few films have so skillfully captured the way COVID caused such traumatic temporal disruptions in its early days, wherein sudden changes in physical and emotional routine caused time to both stretch and collapse."
- Andreas Rentz // Getty Images
- Director: Miguel Gomes
- Metascore: 80
- IMDB user rating: 6.6
- Run time: 2 hours 8 minutes
A historical drama set in 1918, "Grand Tour" is about a young man who abandons his fianc茅e on the eve of their wedding, only to have her set out in search of him. As they each traipse across East and Southeast Asia, fictional scenes of their story are interspersed with real documentary footage (some from the turn of the century, some more modern).
Director Miguel Gomes told the film was meant to evoke "the spectacle of the world," prompting audiences to look more closely at their own worlds. The visually intoxicating movie resists the audience's need to understand what's going on, choosing instead to inspire wonder and the sense that "reality is often magical and inscrutable."
- Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
- Directors: Sam Crane, Pinny Grylls
- Metascore: 82
- IMDB user rating: 6.9
- Run time: 1 hour 29 minutes
One of the quirkiest movies to make this list, "Grand Theft Hamlet" follows two out-of-work actors who attempt to stage a full-blown production of "Hamlet" in Grand Theft Auto Online. Shot entirely in the video game, with all of the subjects portrayed by their digital avatars, the film won the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2024 SXSW festival. "constantly surprising, breathtakingly imaginative, and a great introduction to Shakespeare."
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- Amy E. Price/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images
- Directors: Merlin Crossingham, Nick Park
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.5
- Run time: 1 hour 22 minutes
In "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl," an old nemesis鈥擣eathers McGraw, the penguin who first made his debut in the 1993 short "The Wrong Trousers"鈥攔eturns to challenge the title pair with an assist from some AI-infused gnomes. While delightfully entertaining for younger audiences, with chase scenes and laugh-out-loud jokes galore, the film will keep older viewers engaged with its insightful criticisms of technology and its place in our consumer society.
Available to stream on Netflix, the movie nailed the "nostalgia sequel," according to , "keeping the spirit of the animated series alive while paying tribute to the claymation duo's best moments." "Vengeance Most Fowl" was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards.
- Dave Benett // Getty Images
- Directors: Aws Al-Banna, Ahmed Al-Danf, Basil Al-Maqousi, and others
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.9
- Run time: 1 hour 52 minutes
One of the most urgent watches on this list, "From Ground Zero," is a collection of 22 different short films, ranging in style from documentary to animation, shot by nearly two dozen Palestinian directors over the past year in Gaza. Through true stories, the movie does a powerful job of humanizing the people of Gaza as they witness the destruction of their homes and the killing of their loved ones by the Israeli military.
"From Ground Zero" was shortlisted for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards, though it didn't make the final cut. critic called it "a rare work for which superlatives are not only inadequate but useless," writing that the film "shows that, after a catastrophe, art is not only still possible but necessary鈥攁nd that digital technology makes it possible for people to continue to preserve and share their stories even after they've lost almost everything else."
- KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images
- Director: Morissa Maltz
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.1
- Run time: 1 hour 26 minutes
Set in the same universe as director Morrisa Maltz's debut film "The Unknown Country," "Jazzy" is a coming-of-age drama that follows a young Oglala Lakota girl. The movie is based on the real-life experiences of Maltz's goddaughter, Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux, with the narrative following Jazzy and her best friend over six years as they navigate crushes, life's twists and turns, and the challenges of friendship. Called "scrappy," "loose-limbed," and "meditative" by , the film beautifully encapsulates those messy adolescent years.
- Jason Mendez // Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
- Director: Alain Guiraudie
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.9
- Run time: 1 hour 44 minutes
At the start of "Misericordia," a man arrives at a village in rural France to attend the funeral of his former boss. The widow, vaguely aware of the man's affair with her late husband, invites him to stay, only to see tensions arise between her new houseguest and her son.
as "a morbid comedy of errors" and "a metaphysical, character-driven drama about the mysteries and absurdities of human attraction." It's exactly the Hitchcockian sort of movie for which writer/director Alain Guiraudie, who made 2013's "Stranger by the Lake," has become known.
- Dia Dipasupil // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Carson Lund
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 39 minutes
Set in the '90s, "Eephus" centers on two amateur baseball teams playing one last game in their home stadium before it gets demolished. Subtle, slow-moving, and without the overtly emotional arc that's central to most sports films, the movie still manages to be a touching and funny tribute to the country's national pastime. WBUR called it "the since 'Bull Durham'鈥攐r maybe 'Bad Lieutenant'鈥攂ecause it explores this sport's peculiar ability to bend and distort time."
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- Dimitrios Kambouris // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Matthew Rankin
- Metascore: 84
- IMDB user rating: 7.1
- Run time: 1 hour 29 minutes
"Universal Language" is an absurdist comedy set in a reimagined Canada where Persian and French are the official languages. The film contains three separate narratives that are seemingly unconnected. Reminiscent of the Iranian New Wave cinematic movement, the movie may be too bizarre for some—the action is interspersed with asides, like a faux '80s-style commercial selling turkeys. But for those willing to get on its wavelength, the film delivers a story that is ", welcoming but odd, funny, and tender," per .
- Dia Dipasupil // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Walter Salles
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 8.3
- Run time: 2 hours 17 minutes
Based on journalist Marcelo Rubens Paiva's memoir of the same name, "I'm Still Here" tells the story of a mother and activist trying to cope with the forced disappearance of her husband amid Brazil's military dictatorship. Starring Oscar nominee Fernanda Torres, the movie was also nominated for Best Picture and won the Academy Award for Best International Film. The urgency of the story, as well as the quietly emotional performances, are among the driving factors behind the film's acclaim.
- ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 33 minutes
Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, and Pierce Brosnan lead the cast of this spy thriller that follows a British intelligence officer who is tasked with investigating a list of possible traitors. One of the names on that list? The wife he's deeply devoted to.
"Black Bag" has tonal similarities to a James Bond movie, but with a subtler and more darkly comedic approach. the Steven Soderbergh effort "absolutely delicious, a svelte piece of entertainment that feels like a vintage yarn yet very much represents our own current anxieties, questions of sustaining trust in relationships and high-stake careers."
- Gareth Cattermole // Getty Images
- Director: Minh Quy Truong
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 6.4
- Run time: 2 hours 9 minutes
Two coal miners dream of a better future in this LGBTQ+ romantic drama. Banned in its home country of Vietnam for its "gloomy, deadlocked and negative" views of the nation and its people, the movie wrestles with the effects of the Vietnam War, the difficulties of immigration, and the realities of being in a same-sex relationship in a country where that is still widely regarded as taboo. The expressionist movie has been as "abstract" and "dreamlike."
- Michael Loccisano // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Rungano Nyoni
- Metascore: 87
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 39 minutes
"On Becoming a Guinea Fowl" opens with the main character stumbling across the body of her dead uncle, lying on the road in the middle of the night. As her extended Zambian family prepares for Uncle Fred's funeral, long-held family secrets begin to come to light and force a reckoning. A mix of dark comedy and serious drama, the movie has plenty to say about the challenges of processing complex emotions and the temptation to live in denial.
Data reporting by Wade Zhou. Story editing by聽Louis Peitzman. Copy editing by Tim Bruns and聽Kristen Wegrzyn.聽
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The best movies of 2025 so far
The best movies of 2025 so far
As is so often the case, the first half of 2025 has had some serious highs and lows. There have been major box-office hits, like "Sinners," poised to be one of the of the past decade, along with some colossal disappointments, like Disney's universally panned live-action "Snow White," expected to . And the summer movie season is just getting underway.
While the early months of the year are generally slower in Hollywood, with most studios holding off on releasing the biggest titles, the summer season is where things really pick up. Looking ahead, there are plenty of notable films on the horizon. Moviegoers will be treated to a ton of hotly anticipated sequels, including Jurassic World: Rebirth" on July 2, "Freakier Friday" on Aug. 8, and "Wicked: For Good" on Nov. 21.
Several family-friendly movies are also on the way, like the musical reboot "Smurfs" on July 18 and "Zootopia 2" on Nov. 26. And who could forget the slew of superhero movies (like James Gunn's long-awaited "Superman" on July 11) and heart-pounding action films (like the sequel "Nobody 2" on Aug. 15) audiences will undoubtedly flock to as the heat rises?
There's so much to look forward to, but the gems that have already hit theaters should not be overlooked. rounded up the best movies of 2025 so far, ranked by scores. To qualify for the list, these movies must have been released and distributed in the United States by June 12, 2025, and have at least seven reviews by critics. Any ties were broken by Metacritic's internal weighting system. user ratings were provided for popular reception context.
From timely documentaries to animated comedies to gripping foreign films, these are the 2025 films most deserving of your attention.
#20. Deaf President Now!
- Directors: Nyle DiMarco, Davis Guggenheim
- Metascore: 82
- IMDB user rating: 8.0
- Run time: 1 hour, 40 minutes
"Deaf President Now!" is a documentary that chronicles the weeks of turmoil and protests that erupted after Gallaudet University, the only liberal arts university in the country for deaf and hard-of-hearing students, elected a hearing person as president over two more qualified deaf candidates. Weaving together archival footage and contemporary interviews of those who were involved in the 1988 movement, the movie illustrates how demoralizing life can be for those who are "othered" by our society. Ultimately, its message is, as The New York Times puts it, that ""鈥攁 powerful takeaway, along with the reminder that protests, no matter their size, can be a powerful tool for justice.
#19. Vulcanizadora
- Director: Joel Potrykus
- Metascore: 82
- IMDB user rating: 6.7
- Run time: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Vulcanizadora" continues the story of two characters from 2010's "Coyote" and 2014's "Buzzard" as they head into the forest to make good on a disturbing pact. After their plans go awry, they are forced to deal with the emotional and legal repercussions of the choices that led to that moment. Variety's Siddhant Adlakha yet "surprisingly moving in its depiction of mid-life crises and of two men who feel so betrayed by the world (and by their own actions) that they see no escape from their malaise."
#18. Grand Theft Hamlet
- Directors: Sam Crane, Pinny Grylls
- Metascore: 82
- IMDB user rating: 6.9
- Run time: 1 hour, 29 minutes
One of the quirkiest movies to make this list, "Grand Theft Hamlet" follows two out-of-work actors who attempt to stage a full-blown production of "Hamlet" in Grand Theft Auto Online. Shot entirely in the video game, with all of the subjects portrayed by their digital avatars, the film won the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2024 SXSW festival. NPR's Bob Mondello called it ", breathtakingly imaginative, and a great introduction to Shakespeare."
#17. Grand Tour
- Director: Miguel Gomes
- Metascore: 82
- IMDB user rating: 6.5
- Run time: 2 hours, 9 minutes
A historical drama set in 1918, "Grand Tour" is about a young man who abandons his fianc茅e on the eve of their wedding, only to have her set out in search of him. As they each traipse across East and Southeast Asia, fictional scenes of their story are interspersed with real documentary footage (some from the turn of the century, some more modern).
Director Miguel Gomes the film was meant to evoke "the spectacle of the world," prompting audiences to look more closely at their own worlds. The visually intoxicating movie resists the audience's need to understand what's going on, choosing instead to inspire wonder and the sense that "reality is often magical and inscrutable."
#16. Holy Cow
- Director: Louise Courvoisier
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.1
- Run time: 1 hour, 32 minutes
Set in a small town in France, "Holy Cow" follows an 18-year-old boy whose world is turned upside-down after he becomes the sole caregiver for his 7-year-old sister. To help themselves adjust to their new circumstances, the siblings prepare to enter a cheese-making contest. Writing for The Guardian, Cath Clarke called the film "a social-realist drama that is in its warm and often funny telling of a coming-of-age story."
#15. Blue Sun Palace
- Director: Constance Tsang
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.6
- Run time: 1 hour, 56 minutes
In the wake of a tragedy, two Chinese immigrants in Queens form an unexpected bond that helps them navigate their grief and hold on to the dreams that brought them across an ocean. Slow-moving and lyrical, the movie brings a "perceptive subtlety" to a classic immigrant story, according to critics. New York Times film critic Alissa Wilkinson praised the movie for creating " and its inhabitants, while letting us discover along with them what lies beyond."
#14. Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl
- Directors: Merlin Crossingham, Nick Park
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.5
- Run time: 1 hour, 22 minutes
In "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl," an old nemesis鈥擣eathers McGraw, the penguin who first made his debut in the 1993 short "The Wrong Trousers"鈥攔eturns to challenge the title pair with an assist from some AI-infused gnomes. While delightfully entertaining for younger audiences, with chase scenes and laugh-out-loud jokes galore, the film will keep older viewers engaged with its insightful criticisms of technology and its place in our consumer society.
The movie according to Forbes senior contributor Dani Di Placido, "keeping the spirit of the animated series alive while paying tribute to the claymation duo's best moments." "Vengeance Most Fowl" was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards.
#13. Misericordia
- Director: Alain Guiraudie
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.8
- Run time: 1 hour, 44 minutes
At the start of "Misericordia," a man arrives at a village in rural France to attend the funeral of his former boss. The widow, vaguely aware of the man's affair with her late husband, invites him to stay, only to see tensions arise between her new houseguest and her son.
as "a morbid comedy of errors" and "a metaphysical, character-driven drama about the mysteries and absurdities of human attraction." It's exactly the Hitchcockian sort of movie for which writer-director Alain Guiraudie, who made 2013's "Stranger by the Lake," has become known.
#12. From Ground Zero
- Directors: Aws Al-Banna, Ahmed Al-Danf, Basil Al-Maqousi
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.9
- Run time: 1 hour, 52 minutes
One of the most urgent works on this list, "From Ground Zero" is a collection of 22 different short films, ranging in style from documentary to animation, shot by nearly two dozen Palestinian directors over the past year in Gaza. Through true stories, the movie does a powerful job of humanizing the people of Gaza as they witness the destruction of their homes and the killing of their loved ones by the Israeli military.
"From Ground Zero" was shortlisted for Best International Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards, though it didn't make the final cut. critic Matt Zoller Seitz called it " for which superlatives are not only inadequate but useless," writing that the film "shows that, after a catastrophe, art is not only still possible but necessary—and that digital technology makes it possible for people to continue to preserve and share their stories even after they've lost almost everything else."
#11. Jazzy
- Director: Morrisa Maltz
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.1
- Run time: 1 hour, 26 minutes
Set in the same universe as director Morrisa Maltz's debut film, "The Unknown Country," "Jazzy" is a coming-of-age drama that follows a young Oglala Lakota girl. The movie is based on the real-life experiences of Maltz's goddaughter, Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux, with the narrative following Jazzy and her best friend over six years as they navigate crushes, life's twists and turns, and the challenges of friendship. Called by Variety's Tomris Laffly, the film beautifully encapsulates those messy adolescent years.
#10. Eephus
- Director: Carson Lund
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.8
- Run time: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Set in the '90s, "Eephus" centers on two amateur baseball teams playing one last game in their home stadium before it gets demolished. Subtle, slow-moving, and without the overtly emotional arc that's central to most sports films, the movie still manages to be a touching and funny tribute to the country's national pastime. Writing for WBUR, Sean Burns called it "鈥攐r maybe 'Bad Lieutenant'鈥攂ecause it explores this sport's peculiar ability to bend and distort time."
#9. Viet and Nam
- Director: Minh Quy Truong
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.3
- Run time: 2 hours, 9 minutes
Two coal miners dream of a better future in this LGBTQ+ romantic drama. for its "gloomy, deadlocked and negative" views of the nation and its people, the movie wrestles with the effects of the Vietnam War, the difficulties of immigration, and the realities of being in a same-gender relationship in a country where that is still widely regarded as taboo. Chicago Reader Assistant Managing Editor Savannah Hugueley described the expressionist movie as
#8. Universal Language
- Director: Matthew Rankin
- Metascore: 84
- IMDB user rating: 6.9
- Run time: 1 hour, 29 minutes
"Universal Language" is an absurdist comedy set in a reimagined Canada where Persian and French are the official languages. The film contains three separate yet seemingly unconnected narratives. Reminiscent of the Iranian New Wave cinematic movement, the movie may be too bizarre for some: The action is interspersed with asides, like a faux '80s-style commercial selling turkeys. But for those willing to get on its wavelength, the film delivers a story that is ", welcoming but odd, funny, and tender," per critic Monica Castillo.
#7. Sinners
- Director: Ryan Coogler
- Metascore: 84
- IMDB user rating: 7.8
- Run time: 2 hours, 17 minutes
Michael B. Jordan plays twins in this horror movie set in the Mississippi Delta in 1932. "Sinners" follows the two brothers, Smoke and Stack, as they return to their hometown hoping for a fresh start, only to find that a supernatural evil is lurking in the shadows. "Vibrant and richly acted," the movie is a " that's about something weighty and soulful," according to Variety film critic Owen Gleiberman. Its thematic depth and stunning aesthetic are two of the reasons it's , making it the biggest original horror movie since 2018's "A Quiet Place."
#6. I'm Still Here
- Director: Walter Salles
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 8.2
- Run time: 2 hours, 17 minutes
Based on journalist Marcelo Rubens Paiva's memoir of the same name, "I'm Still Here" tells the story of a mother and activist trying to cope with the forced disappearance of her husband amid Brazil's military dictatorship. Starring Oscar nominee Fernanda Torres, the movie was also nominated for Best Picture and won the Academy Award for Best International Film. The urgency of the story, as well as the quietly emotional performances, are among the driving factors behind the film's acclaim.
#5. Black Bag
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 6.7
- Run time: 1 hour, 33 minutes
Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, and Pierce Brosnan lead the cast of this spy thriller that follows a British intelligence officer who is tasked with investigating a list of possible traitors. One of the names on that list? The wife he's deeply devoted to.
"Black Bag" has tonal similarities to a James Bond movie but with a subtler, more darkly comedic approach. 's Monica Castillo called the Steven Soderbergh effort " that feels like a vintage yarn yet very much represents our own current anxieties, questions of sustaining trust in relationships and high-stake careers."
#4. A Nice Indian Boy
- Director: Roshan Sethi
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 7.4
- Run time: 1 hour, 36 minutes
In this rom-com, an Indian American doctor brings his fiancé, a white man adopted by Indian parents, to meet his ultra-traditional family. Karan Soni and Jonathan Groff star in roles that are played with "," as described by contributing editor Nell Minow. The movie is heartwarming as it engages with classic genre tropes, but it has also earned praise for its gentle wisdom and the tender way it treats family and community.
#3. April
- Director: Dea Kulumbegashvili
- Metascore: 86
- IMDB user rating: 6.5
- Run time: 2 hours, 14 minutes
In this timely drama, a Georgian obstetrician who provides abortions to her patients despite the country's prohibitions must defend herself after being accused of negligence. Gripping and, at times, unbearably tense, the movie is a must-watch in the current political climate. Just be aware that it may leave you feeling unsettled: IndieWire Reviews Editor David Ehrlich called it a "."
#2. On Becoming a Guinea Fowl
- Director: Rungano Nyoni
- Metascore: 87
- IMDB user rating: 7
- Run time: 1 hour, 39 minutes
"On Becoming a Guinea Fowl" opens with the main character stumbling across the body of her dead uncle, lying on the road in the middle of the night. As her extended Zambian family prepares for Uncle Fred's funeral, long-held family secrets begin to come to light and force a reckoning. A mix of dark comedy and serious drama, the movie has plenty to say about the challenges of processing complex emotions and the temptation to live in denial.
#1. Caught by the Tides
- Director: Jia Zhangke
- Metascore: 87
- IMDB user rating: 6.6
- Run time: 1 hour, 51 minutes
During the pandemic, Chinese director Jia Zhangke began sorting through the decades of archival documentary footage he had captured over the years. The end result of that project was "Caught by the Tides," a fictional drama about a driven woman who lives for herself, composed almost entirely of the director's existing footage interspersed with silent scenes featuring his frequent collaborator (and real-life wife) Zhao Tao. A , NPR praises the way the movie tells the story of a country and a film industry that are both in flux.
Story editing by Louis Peitzman. Copy editing by Paris Close.
- Director: Sally Aitken
- Metascore: 74
- IMDB user rating: 7.1
- Run time: 1 hour 33 minutes
A nature documentary at its core, "Every Little Thing" follows Terry Masear, a hummingbird rehabilitation specialist, as she goes about the day-to-day business of saving these delicate birds. Though it may sound light-hearted and fluffy (and it certainly does have those moments), the film is as much about overcoming trauma鈥攚hether inflicted by nature or by other humans鈥攁s it is about the birds.
While some critics called the film and monotonous, most found it dazzling, with gushing over how deftly the film manages to say something about humanity. After all, as Masear puts it, showing love and compassion when we aren't required to is a marker of one's greatness.
- Michael Loccisano // Getty Images
- Director: Kyle Hausmann-Stokes
- Metascore: 75
- IMDB user rating: 6.7
- Run time: 1 hour 43 minutes
"My Dead Friend Zoe" follows an Afghanistan vet whose dead comrade is a constant presence in her life as she faces conflict with her therapist and her ailing Vietnam vet grandfather. Based in part on director Kyle Hausmann-Stokes' own military experiences, the film is an exploration of PTSD that includes appearances from real-life service members. But as the puts it, it isn't "a love letter to the armed forces" so much as a movie that "emphasizes the need for community and a space to share trauma."
- Stewart Cook/Briarcliff Entertainment via Getty Images
- Director: Bruce David Klein
- Metascore: 76
- IMDB user rating: 7.8
- Run time: 1 hour 44 minutes
A behind-the-scenes look at the life of Liza Minnelli, this documentary showcases interviews with Minnelli and several members of her inner circle, giving an all-new perspective on the legendary performer. The film, broken into separate chapters looking at periods of her personal and professional life, feels intimate and affectionate, possessing what a critic calls a "lightness of style" that makes even the more difficult moments easy to watch.
Described as "scintillating" by , the documentary makes no effort to dodge those difficult moments, choosing instead to reveal how Minnelli found joy through it all.
- Dimitrios Kambouris // Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- Metascore: 77
- IMDB user rating: 6.1
- Run time: 1 hour 24 minutes
Lucy Liu, Chris Sullivan, and Callina Liang star in this supernatural thriller about a family who moves into a house haunted by a poltergeist. Though the movie is downright chilling, it's more subdued than a typical ghost movie鈥攖here are no jump scares, for one thing. Instead, "Presence" makes the viewer wrestle with whether the spirit is evil or simply exposing the maliciousness inside us all.
Some reviewers weren't keen on the film's approach, with audiences seeing everything from the ghost's perspective, but others have praised director Steven Soderbergh's , noting that it makes the climax all the more effective.
- John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images
- Director: Questlove
- Metascore: 77
- IMDB user rating: 7.7
- Run time: 1 hour 52 minutes
"Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius)" looks at the life and legacy of funk musician Sly Stone. The documentary, filled with rich archival footage and interviews, has been described as "" by Variety and for its honesty in depicting the alienating aspects of Black excellence.
Even for folks who know little about Sly and the Family Stone鈥攐r who have minimal appreciation for funk music鈥攖he film is an excellent primer on the ups and downs of the entertainment industry.
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- Isaiah Trickey/FilmMagic // Getty Images
- Director: Andres Veiel
- Metascore: 78
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 55 minutes
"Riefenstahl" looks at the life of famed German director Leni Riefenstahl, focusing specifically on the way her artistic legacy has been tainted by her connections to Nazis. As one of Adolf Hitler's favorite filmmakers, Riefenstahl was considered a trailblazer on the wrong side of history.
Director Andres Veiel is in no way an apologist for Riefenstahl, taking pains to point out just how complicit and destructive she was, as a notes. Still, the documentary prompts viewers to think about a question that's been at the forefront of many minds lately鈥攃an an artist's life and beliefs be separated from their work or not?
- Tristar Media // Getty Images
- Director: James Griffiths
- Metascore: 78
- IMDB user rating: 7.8
- Run time: 1 hour 39 minutes
In "The Ballad of Wallis Island," a reclusive lottery winner invites his favorite folk band to play a private concert for him on the remote island he calls home. It's a simple enough ask, but the fact that the band consists of two exes鈥攊ncluding one who brings her new partner along for the ride鈥攎akes things much more complicated.
Starring Tim Key, Tom Basden, and Carey Mulligan, the quiet film is loosely based on a short film Basden and Key made with director James Griffiths nearly two decades ago. called it "a gentle ode to moving on," and the kind of movie that won't "dominate any cultural conversations 鈥 but [will] touch your soul if you let it."
- Gilbert Flores/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images
- Director: Ye Lou
- Metascore: 78
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 45 minutes
"An Unfinished Film" is referred to as "docufiction," meaning it's a fictional movie inspired by real events and incorporating documentary elements. Set in January 2020, the movie follows a film crew reuniting near Wuhan, China, to finish a project they were forced to abandon a decade earlier. Their plans are, of course, foiled by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are forced into lockdown.
Interspersed with real smartphone footage from Wuhan at the beginning of the pandemic, the movie perfectly encapsulates what it was like to live during that time, particularly at the epicenter. writes, "Few films have so skillfully captured the way COVID caused such traumatic temporal disruptions in its early days, wherein sudden changes in physical and emotional routine caused time to both stretch and collapse."
- Andreas Rentz // Getty Images
- Director: Miguel Gomes
- Metascore: 80
- IMDB user rating: 6.6
- Run time: 2 hours 8 minutes
A historical drama set in 1918, "Grand Tour" is about a young man who abandons his fianc茅e on the eve of their wedding, only to have her set out in search of him. As they each traipse across East and Southeast Asia, fictional scenes of their story are interspersed with real documentary footage (some from the turn of the century, some more modern).
Director Miguel Gomes told the film was meant to evoke "the spectacle of the world," prompting audiences to look more closely at their own worlds. The visually intoxicating movie resists the audience's need to understand what's going on, choosing instead to inspire wonder and the sense that "reality is often magical and inscrutable."
- Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
- Directors: Sam Crane, Pinny Grylls
- Metascore: 82
- IMDB user rating: 6.9
- Run time: 1 hour 29 minutes
One of the quirkiest movies to make this list, "Grand Theft Hamlet" follows two out-of-work actors who attempt to stage a full-blown production of "Hamlet" in Grand Theft Auto Online. Shot entirely in the video game, with all of the subjects portrayed by their digital avatars, the film won the Grand Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2024 SXSW festival. "constantly surprising, breathtakingly imaginative, and a great introduction to Shakespeare."
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- Amy E. Price/SXSW Conference & Festivals via Getty Images
- Directors: Merlin Crossingham, Nick Park
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.5
- Run time: 1 hour 22 minutes
In "Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl," an old nemesis鈥擣eathers McGraw, the penguin who first made his debut in the 1993 short "The Wrong Trousers"鈥攔eturns to challenge the title pair with an assist from some AI-infused gnomes. While delightfully entertaining for younger audiences, with chase scenes and laugh-out-loud jokes galore, the film will keep older viewers engaged with its insightful criticisms of technology and its place in our consumer society.
Available to stream on Netflix, the movie nailed the "nostalgia sequel," according to , "keeping the spirit of the animated series alive while paying tribute to the claymation duo's best moments." "Vengeance Most Fowl" was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards.
- Dave Benett // Getty Images
- Directors: Aws Al-Banna, Ahmed Al-Danf, Basil Al-Maqousi, and others
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.9
- Run time: 1 hour 52 minutes
One of the most urgent watches on this list, "From Ground Zero," is a collection of 22 different short films, ranging in style from documentary to animation, shot by nearly two dozen Palestinian directors over the past year in Gaza. Through true stories, the movie does a powerful job of humanizing the people of Gaza as they witness the destruction of their homes and the killing of their loved ones by the Israeli military.
"From Ground Zero" was shortlisted for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards, though it didn't make the final cut. critic called it "a rare work for which superlatives are not only inadequate but useless," writing that the film "shows that, after a catastrophe, art is not only still possible but necessary鈥攁nd that digital technology makes it possible for people to continue to preserve and share their stories even after they've lost almost everything else."
- KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images
- Director: Morissa Maltz
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.1
- Run time: 1 hour 26 minutes
Set in the same universe as director Morrisa Maltz's debut film "The Unknown Country," "Jazzy" is a coming-of-age drama that follows a young Oglala Lakota girl. The movie is based on the real-life experiences of Maltz's goddaughter, Jasmine Bearkiller Shangreaux, with the narrative following Jazzy and her best friend over six years as they navigate crushes, life's twists and turns, and the challenges of friendship. Called "scrappy," "loose-limbed," and "meditative" by , the film beautifully encapsulates those messy adolescent years.
- Jason Mendez // Getty Images for Tribeca Festival
- Director: Alain Guiraudie
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 6.9
- Run time: 1 hour 44 minutes
At the start of "Misericordia," a man arrives at a village in rural France to attend the funeral of his former boss. The widow, vaguely aware of the man's affair with her late husband, invites him to stay, only to see tensions arise between her new houseguest and her son.
as "a morbid comedy of errors" and "a metaphysical, character-driven drama about the mysteries and absurdities of human attraction." It's exactly the Hitchcockian sort of movie for which writer/director Alain Guiraudie, who made 2013's "Stranger by the Lake," has become known.
- Dia Dipasupil // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Carson Lund
- Metascore: 83
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 39 minutes
Set in the '90s, "Eephus" centers on two amateur baseball teams playing one last game in their home stadium before it gets demolished. Subtle, slow-moving, and without the overtly emotional arc that's central to most sports films, the movie still manages to be a touching and funny tribute to the country's national pastime. WBUR called it "the since 'Bull Durham'鈥攐r maybe 'Bad Lieutenant'鈥攂ecause it explores this sport's peculiar ability to bend and distort time."
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- Dimitrios Kambouris // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Matthew Rankin
- Metascore: 84
- IMDB user rating: 7.1
- Run time: 1 hour 29 minutes
"Universal Language" is an absurdist comedy set in a reimagined Canada where Persian and French are the official languages. The film contains three separate narratives that are seemingly unconnected. Reminiscent of the Iranian New Wave cinematic movement, the movie may be too bizarre for some—the action is interspersed with asides, like a faux '80s-style commercial selling turkeys. But for those willing to get on its wavelength, the film delivers a story that is ", welcoming but odd, funny, and tender," per .
- Dia Dipasupil // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Walter Salles
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 8.3
- Run time: 2 hours 17 minutes
Based on journalist Marcelo Rubens Paiva's memoir of the same name, "I'm Still Here" tells the story of a mother and activist trying to cope with the forced disappearance of her husband amid Brazil's military dictatorship. Starring Oscar nominee Fernanda Torres, the movie was also nominated for Best Picture and won the Academy Award for Best International Film. The urgency of the story, as well as the quietly emotional performances, are among the driving factors behind the film's acclaim.
- ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images
- Director: Steven Soderbergh
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 33 minutes
Cate Blanchett, Michael Fassbender, and Pierce Brosnan lead the cast of this spy thriller that follows a British intelligence officer who is tasked with investigating a list of possible traitors. One of the names on that list? The wife he's deeply devoted to.
"Black Bag" has tonal similarities to a James Bond movie, but with a subtler and more darkly comedic approach. the Steven Soderbergh effort "absolutely delicious, a svelte piece of entertainment that feels like a vintage yarn yet very much represents our own current anxieties, questions of sustaining trust in relationships and high-stake careers."
- Gareth Cattermole // Getty Images
- Director: Minh Quy Truong
- Metascore: 85
- IMDB user rating: 6.4
- Run time: 2 hours 9 minutes
Two coal miners dream of a better future in this LGBTQ+ romantic drama. Banned in its home country of Vietnam for its "gloomy, deadlocked and negative" views of the nation and its people, the movie wrestles with the effects of the Vietnam War, the difficulties of immigration, and the realities of being in a same-sex relationship in a country where that is still widely regarded as taboo. The expressionist movie has been as "abstract" and "dreamlike."
- Michael Loccisano // Getty Images for FLC
- Director: Rungano Nyoni
- Metascore: 87
- IMDB user rating: 7.2
- Run time: 1 hour 39 minutes
"On Becoming a Guinea Fowl" opens with the main character stumbling across the body of her dead uncle, lying on the road in the middle of the night. As her extended Zambian family prepares for Uncle Fred's funeral, long-held family secrets begin to come to light and force a reckoning. A mix of dark comedy and serious drama, the movie has plenty to say about the challenges of processing complex emotions and the temptation to live in denial.
Data reporting by Wade Zhou. Story editing by聽Louis Peitzman. Copy editing by Tim Bruns and聽Kristen Wegrzyn.聽
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- Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
Michael B. Jordan attends the European premiere of 鈥淪inners".
- Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for Warner Bros. Pictures
Zhou You, Jia Zhangke and Zhao Tao attend the "Caught By The Tides" Photocall at Cannes.
- Neilson Barnard // Getty Images
