WILLIAM BRANGHAM: The holidays are a great# time to catch up on the year's best films,## whether streaming at home or# heading to a movie theater.

Jeffrey Brown recently sat down# with two film critics who shared## their top picks of the year.

It's part# of our arts and culture series, Canvas.

JEFFREY BROWN: It's that time of the# year when we spotlight some of 2025's## best movies from big blockbusters to a few# hidden gems that you might have missed.

For that, I'm joined by Linda Holmes, host of# NPR's "Pop Culture Happy Hour," and Mike Sargent,## host of the podcast "Brown & Black" and# co-president of the Black Film Critics Circle.

And it's nice to see both of you# again.

Thanks for joining us.

Let's start with some of the# bigger movies of the year.

Linda, you want to start?

LINDA HOLMES, Pop Culture# Correspondent, NPR: Yes.

To me,## movie of the year in a few ways is "Sinners,"# which is from Ryan Coogler.

It's about .. brothers played by Michael B. Jordan who# end up having to battle some vampires.

ACTRESS: The vampires is different, maybe the# worst kind.

The soul gets stuck in the body.

LINDA HOLMES: Not only do I think# it's a really, really good movie,## but it's also a really good story of a movie.# It's really a situation where Coogler, I think,## was able to get the deal that he wanted to# make the movie he really wanted to make.

It is original.

It is not from# existing intellectual property.## It felt completely fresh to me.

JEFFREY BROWN: OK, how about one more# while you're at it, of a big movie?

LINDA HOLMES: Yes.

I always try# to give a little bit of love to## the superhero genre when it does a good job.

JEFFREY BROWN: Why not?

LINDA HOLMES: I .. the best movie of the year?

Maybe not.

But I think## this is truer to who I think Superman is# than some of the other recent efforts.

DAVID CORENSWET, Actor: Everybody OK?

Hey, buddy, eyes up here.

LINDA HOLMES: Good film.

Enjoyed it.

JEFFREY BROWN: All right.

Mike Sargent, wh.. MIKE SARGENT, Co-President, Black Film# Critics Circle: "Wake Up Dead Man:## A Knives Out Mystery," which is the third# fi.. Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc.

This is# written and directed by Rian Johnson.

And this is actually, I think, maybe the best# of the three.

It's an interesting premise.## It's about a priest who's killed and everybody# in the parish is potentially a subject.

This## leans strong into character.

And it really shows# that this series could go on for a long time.

The other film I have to mention is# "Weapons."

And this is a film by Zach## Cregger.

It stars Josh Brolin, Julia Garner.# And what this film reminds me as a storyteller## and a lover of stories is, it's not just# the story.

It's how the story is told.

ACTRESS: You're either negligent or complicit.

MIKE SARGENT: Yes, there are plot points,## there are plot holes and things,## but you don't care because it's so much fun# to sit.. JEFFREY BROWN: All right, well, that# leaves us wanting more.

Thanks for that.

So, Linda, how about it among the indie or# smaller films.

Pick one that's stuck with you.

LINDA HOLMES: It's hard to define# indie and small for me sometimes.

But I did think one of the quieter#films that I very much enjoyed this year was## "Blue Moon," which is directed by Richard# Linklater, and it stars Ethan Hawke as... JEFFREY BROWN: The two of them# back together again, right?

LINDA HOLMES: Back together again# after a number o.. Hawke plays the lyricist Lorenz Hart, and it's# set on the night that "Oklahoma" opened.

And## "Oklahoma" is when Richard Rodgers, who had# been Hart's songwriting partner, was pairing## up with Oscar Hammerstein.

And obviously they# went on to have a lot of success together.

So this is sort of the night# that Hart feels his partnership## slipping away from him.

And it's just# very moving and it's very much about## art and people who make art.

And I enjoyed# it a great deal.

And I really recommend it.

JEFFREY BROWN: All right, Mike,# have you got a smaller film for us?

MIKE SARGENT: I do.

Actually, it's a film called "The.. writer-director Kleber Mendonca Filho.# And it's about a tech specialist who's## in his early 40s.

He's on the run from an# authoritarian regime.

Takes place in Brazil.

ACTOR (through translator): This is the person.

ACTOR (through translator):# I want a hole in his mouth.

; MIKE SARGENT: Now, what makes this# film work besides Wagner Moura's## award-winning performance is that --# how it's shot.

This -- you almost feel## like you're watching a documentary.

It's# very little artifice.

Things are dirty.## It seems very real.

Every single actor,# you completely believe them in their role.

This is one of those films when you watch# it and then you go and you watch some kind## of Hollywood movie, it just seems --# like, wow, seems like totally false.

JEFFREY BROWN: All right, so# speaking of documentaries,## it was a good year for documentaries.

Linda,# what -- give us a couple that you liked.

LINDA HOLMES: There's one that I# really liked called "The Perfect## Neighbor," which is a very upsetting film,# I will say, out of the gate.

It is about a## white woman who lived near a Black woman and# her kids and a lot of other people's kids.

And this woman just became very agitated by the## kids and was harassing them.

And# ultimately it ends in this tragic,## violent end.

And it's just a terrible story.

It# was mishandled, but it's just an awful situation.

MAN: Sheriff's office!

Come# outside with your hands up!

LINDA HOLMES: The other one that I would# mention on a kind of a happier note... MARISKA HARGITAY, Actress: I have spent my whole## life distancing myself from# my mother, Jayne.. LINDA HOLMES: It is a documentary that the# actress Mariska Hargitay, who is on "Law & Order:## SVU," made about her mother, Jayne# Mansfield.

It's called "My Mom Jayne."

I'm so skeptical when famous people# make documentaries about their families.

But she absolutely redeems#the whole project.

It's very honest.

It's## very fair to everybody.

It's a beautiful story# with some surprises, but also a lot of just very## heartfelt storytelling about her mother and her# kind of relationship with her mother's memory.

JEFFREY BROWN: All right, Mike, what jumped# out at you in the documentary world this year?

MIKE SARGENT: Two documentaries I will mention.

One is called "Sly Lives!

(AKA The Burden of Black# Genius)," .. this is a documentary about Sly of Sly and the# Family Stone.

And they are a band that fused funk,## soul, rock, and they broke racial and gender# boundaries in the late '60s and early '70s.

MAN: Guys and girls and black and# white.

So you get all that input.

MAN: They sounded like nothing else sounds.

MIKE SARGENT: This goes beyond just the# usual musical doc.

It explores the emotional,## cultural burden placed on Black genius in America.

And it really paints a very# vivid portrait and really## makes you appreciate the genius of Sly Stone.

The other documentary by the great Raoul# Peck is a documentary called Orwell:## 2+2=5."

And it's about George Orwell and# his life.

And what's interesting about this## documentary is that it juxtaposes what's going# on today along with his writings from over 67## years ago and what was inspiring him to write the# pieces he wrote like "Animal Farm" and "1984."

And this is really life is like science# fiction, because what you see him talking about,## what he was writing about, what he's# saying is disturbingly prescient today.

JEFFREY BROWN: All right.

I want to give you both# a shot at a film to see with the whole family.

LINDA HOLMES: Absolutely.

If you're looking for# a movie for kids, "Zootopia 2" is out.

And even## though it's big, it's Disney, I do think# it's visually inventive and a lot of fun.

The other one I would mention, there's a film# coming out at Christmas called "The Choral,"## which stars Ralph Fiennes as the director of a# community chorus during World War I. Some people## absolutely are going to find it a little bit# corny, but I found it beautiful and really moving.

JEFFREY BROWN: All right, Mike Sargent,# what do you have in the family fair?

MIKE SARGENT: There's a film called "Arco.

"# It's about a little boy who travels from the## future into our future and meets a little# girl.

And he needs to get back home.

And without saying much more, the animation# is terrific, very much a beautiful film worth## watching.

And I have to say another film that# I did not expect much from is "The Bad Guys 2."

ACTOR: How are we supposed# to get a fresh start when## we get blamed for every bad thing that happens?

MIKE SARGENT: It's a sequel to the DreamWorks# animated heist comedy.

And this is really such## an enjoyable film.

It's really -- I# think it sets the bar pretty high.

JEFFREY BROWN: A good list for all of us.

Mike Sargent and Linda Holmes,# thank you both very much.

LINDA HOLMES: Thank you.

MIKE SARGENT: Thank you.