10 Movies I Will Finally See in 2025

by Patrick Bromley

I've gone long enough without seeing some movies.

Though I'm going to make an effort in 2025 to watch fewer movies -- I want to spend more time listening to music and reading books and figuring out what the fuck to do with my life -- there are a bunch of titles I do want to finally check off my list in the coming year. Here are 10 of them.

1. Totally Fucked Up (1993, dir. Gregg Araki)

Full disclosure: this article originally started as a "Take Two" column on writer/director Gregg Araki's 1995 black comedy The Doom Generation, at one point the movie I pointed to as being my least favorite. Because I knew I was being a baby, it hasn't held that title for years and certainly doesn't deserve to after revisiting it as part of Criterion's "Teen Apocalypse Trilogy" Blu-ray set. The first movie in the collection, Araki's 1993 breakthrough Totally Fucked Up, is the only movie in the set I still haven't seen (the other two, The Doom Generation and Nowhere, remain among the few Araki movie's I've ever seen) so I want to check it out in the coming year in the hopes that it will provide some context for his other work and further unlock the filmmaker for me.

2. Tokyo Story (1953, dir. Yasujiro Ozu)

If you're a Patreon subscriber at even the $1 level, you know that every month I publish a list of my favorite discoveries from the previous month and recently wrote about seeing my very first Ozu movie (Good Morning). It's probably an embarrassment that I haven't seen more Ozu, and the fact that I haven't seen Tokyo Story is probably the most embarrassing of all. We've owned it for a few years (I think?) so I really have no excuse.

3. Red River (1948, dir. Howard Hawks)

This one came up last week when JB and Jan were visiting and JB quoted it or something, to which I had to reply that I have still never seen it. Regular readers know that while I'm not the biggest John Wayne guy, I'm a sucker for a western, in particular a Hawks western. I don't know anything about it beyond who's involved in its making and that it's part of the Criterion Collection (and on our shelf downstairs). I know myself well enough to be one of the first titles from this list that I check off because I'm in a real watching westerns mindset.

4. Harum Scarum (1965, dir. Gene Nelson)

I love Elvis movies and this is one I have never seen, now available on Blu-ray from Warner Archive. I'm guessing it has not aged well just based on an image search (Elvis is wearing a lot of makeup to possibly look Middle Eastern?) but that's not stopping me.

5. The Last Circus (2010, dir. Álex de la Iglesia)

My jury is still somewhat out on Spanish filmmaker Álex de la Iglesia. I think I've liked everything I've seen of his, but there's still something holding me back from classifying him as one of my guys. I've wanted to see his 2010 movie The Last Circus since first becoming aware of his work some years back because it's always sounded fascinating to me but just haven't gotten to it. A fancy new Blu-ray of the movie was just announced today, reminding me that I still need to see it. Thankfully, it's streaming a bunch of places and I won't need to blind buy it from Vinegar Syndrome just to check it out. I try not to do that anymore. 

6. A Bittersweet Life (2005, dir. Kim Jee-woon)

There was a time when Kim Jee-woon was my favorite of the major South Korean filmmakers working today, and I held that opinion without ever having seen A Bittersweet Life, what many consider to be one of his best -- if not his very best -- movies. It hasn't been easy to see in the U.S. for a number of years, but now there's a Blu-ray from Umbrella that I hope to someday pick up. I literally know nothing about the movie save its reputation and I'd kind of like to keep it that way, because it's rare to be able to go in blind to a movie that's 20 years old. I didn't much care for Age of Shadows and have yet to see his Cobweb so I don't know that I still hold Kim in quite the same regard, but seeing this one could turn it around for me.

7. Slap Shot (1977, dir. George Roy Hill)

One of those movies that people can't believe I've never seen. I like sports movies, I like Paul Newman, I like George Roy Hill, I have no idea why I've never taken the time to watch this. I started it on Netflix once when it was streaming there (we don't own it) but got taken away from it almost right away and never had the chance to finish. I will admit I get a little annoyed when people say stuff like "I can't believe you've never seen Slap Shot!" Like, I've seen a lot of movies, I'm sorry Slap Shot isn't one of them. I want to see it this year because I want to see it, not to avoid hearing that response. That's just a bonus.

8. Pretty Polly (aka A Matter of Innocence) (1967, dir. Guy Green)

I didn't really even know this movie existed until a few days ago when my friend and friend of the site Chris Ceballos posted about watching a bunch of Haley Mills movies, including this one, on his social media. One look at the poster and I knew I had to track it down. I can't find it streaming and I'm not sure it's ever received a physical media release, but maybe it's on YouTube or something. I haven't tried very hard yet.

9. The Woman Next Door (1981, dir. Francois Truffaut)

I did a pretty big Truffaut watch/rewatch late last year when compiling a Director Essentials piece on his work, but the one I didn't get a chance to see and still haven't is his 1981 romantic drama The Woman Next Door starring Fanny Ardent (his partner at the time) and Gerard Depardieu. Unless you're a subscriber to the Criterion Channel (I am not), it's hard to track down and I didn't have the money to import the Blu-ray. It remains my White Whale from one of my favorite filmmakers.

10. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955, dir. John Sturges)

Another title that's been in our collection for a few years but remains unseen by me. Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, and Anne Francis in a noir western? What the fuck is wrong with me that I haven't seen this yet?

Got any movies you're going to be sure to see in this year? Let me know!