Why Sinners is still the best movie of the year

So, I have to start this out by saying that the best movie that came out this year for me is Bad Btch. That's a film I wrote and directed, and I simply love it. That's why I made it, of course! It would be nearly impossible for someone else's film to dethrone the feeling in me that Bad Btch is the best film released this year. But if there's a movie that's close enough to compete with my own creation, it's definitely Sinners.

Sinners is more than just a horror film, it's a story of love, loss, and music.

Sinners follows two criminal brothers trying to open a juke joint. They want to give their community a place to enjoy themselves after the long toils of work and the oppressive tolls of living in a racist culture. This opening is interrupted by brewing evil forces that want to steal the power of music from one of the juke joint's guests. Michael B. Jordan delivers a dynamic performance playing both brothers, Smoke and Stack. Hailee Steinfeld shines as Mary, while Miles Caton as Sammie and Delroy Lindo as Delta Slim provide wonderfully crafted performances.

Breathing Cinematography: The 1.43:1 to the 2.76:1

Sinners’ cinematography epitomizes what Jon Alton called “painting with light.” Autumn Durald created one of the most unique rhythms and pacing in a film I’ve ever seen. It felt like the film was respirating. You could almost feel the in-breath as shots came in at 1.43:1, and then get a cathartic out-breath as the film transitioned to 2.76:1. They didn’t always follow that sequence, but there was enough interplay between them that it really felt like the film had its own breath, its own rhythmic heartbeat. Given the topic of the film, which centers largely around music and blood, it was undeniably a perfect way to shoot it. The 2.76:1 aspect ratio adds so much to the theatrical experience. Ben Hur, even over 60 years old, is still one of my favorite films, and the cinematography is a huge part of that.

Sinners 2025 | Ben Hur 1959

Music as Mythic Trance Inducer

The music is rightfully a character of its own. Ludwig Göransson captured the South, the time period, and the feel of each moment so poetically. Yes, I said poetically about a vampire movie because that’s really what it is. There’s a sincere poetry to many of the moments, even the violent ones. It’s more operatic violence than gritty, but that choice, which the music is an essential part of, helps elevate the movie to astounding cinema.

There is one scene in particular, which I won’t detail in case you haven’t seen it, but the music and visuals meld together to create this mythic spell that casts itself over the audience. It feels like a visual and auditory trance. I mean, how cool is that? I don’t think I’ve ever had that exact experience in a theater in thirty years of consistent movie-going.

Weaving together the performances, cinematography, and music, Coogler’s masterful writing and directing are felt throughout. Whether it’s the emotionally anxious and beautifully shot scene where Stack, Delta Slim, and Miles ride through the cotton fields or the subtle angle Coogler chooses to shoot Grace Chow, played by Li Jun Li, as she walks from the Black side of town to the white side of town, you can’t help but both understand and have an emotional response to what’s going on on screen.

It’s rare to watch a film that feels like it was dreamed and remembered at the same time. Sinners is that kind of film. It endures, not because it’s flawless, but because it dares to reach for something lasting.

The Impact of Sinners

Honestly, after Sinners, the cinematic landscape feels pretty dry. I’ve seen F1, the new Mission: Impossible, and the latest Jurassic Park. I actually really enjoyed all of them. F1 has a great give and take between the two leads, Brad Pitt and Damson Idris. Mission: Impossible had one of the most intense scenes I’ve ever seen in an action movie (the submarine scene), and Jurassic Park felt more like a return to the original series. But I don’t know that I’d go back to them in a year, let alone five years.

Now, The Ballad at Wallis Island is another standout this year! I would say it’s easily the best comedy I’ve seen in five or six years. Its editing is sharp, and the acting is incredible, but it still doesn’t have that lasting cinematic quality that Sinners does. It’s close, though! I highly recommend seeing it, and I would totally watch it again in five years. Sinners, though, is just operating on a level of cinema that few movies achieve.

So yeah, Bad Btch is still my favorite from this year. It always will be because it’s mine. Sinners*, though, is a special kind of magic, and I hope I can make a film with that kind of cinematic prowess in the years to come.

Awards, Oscars, and Come on!

I know it doesn’t mean everything, but I think Sinners should win many of the top-tier awards, including Oscars. If they don’t win for cinematography and original screenplay, I’ll lose it. But honestly, I’ll lose it if Coogler doesn’t win for Best Director. Sinners is a visionary project and should win Coogler the Best Director Oscar with an exclamation point. It is a genre film, though, and the Academy doesn't always favor those. I do remember Del Toro won for Shape of Water (2017), and The Substance was nominated for many of the big categories last year, including director, so we will see. I’ll definitely come back to this Director’s Journal to comment when we start the awards season.

Awards or not, it will be a movie I come back to again and again. I will say there is still time for a movie to come along and knock my socks off and climb into contention with Sinners this year. From what I've seen of the fall slated releases, I don't see any contenders yet, but you never know.

My hope is always that great movie after great movie is released, making it so difficult to decide what's best that we just have to go back and watch all those great movies again to try and find out. Until then, Sinners has my endorsement as the best movie I've seen this year and in some time.