2025

By Anders Olsen Sandvik on December 31, 2025

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General comments of the year 2025

Some general comments here.

Movies

In 2025 I watched 21 movies. It was a year with steady, regular viewing rather than binges, and with a clear mix of cinema trips and streaming at home. I saw films at Odeon, Ringen Kino and Colosseum, but a large share came from Netflix, Jellyfin, NRK and other streaming services. The list spans brand new releases, older favorites, documentaries and a noticeable number of family films.

Animation was by far the most watched genre. Nine of the films were animated, ranging from big international productions like The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Ron's Gone Wrong to Nordic titles such as Louis & Luca - The Big Cheese Race, Rufus and Lotte & Totte. Drama was the second strongest category, often mixed with mystery, thriller or social realism. Pure action and spectacle appeared less often, even when counting films like Gladiator II, The Equalizer and the Troll movies.

The highest rated film of the year was The Great Amazon Heist, which stood out both because it was a documentary and because it directly tackled modern power structures and technology. The lowest rated film was Troll 2, which ended the year on a noticeably weaker note. Several critically acclaimed films landed lower in my own ratings, including Uncut Gems, while smaller Nordic productions like Loveable and Tre menn til Vilma scored relatively high despite limited international attention.

Looking at the year as a whole, the list shows a clear split between situational family viewing and more deliberate adult choices. Animated and family films dominate by volume, but the strongest personal reactions came from grounded dramas and documentaries. Big franchises and sequels appeared, but they rarely became highlights. Overall, 2025 was less about chasing the best reviewed films and more about watching what fit the moment, the company, and the mood.

I asked an AI to analyse my movie ratings for 2025 and this is what it came up with:

1. A strong pull toward systems under pressure Many of your higher rated films revolve around institutions or systems breaking down or being challenged. Conclave is about power and secrecy inside the Catholic Church. The Great Amazon Heist directly challenges a modern corporate giant and you rated it the highest of the year. Mountainhead looks at elites during economic turmoil.Even Gladiator II fits this pattern with empire, power, and legitimacy. You seem consistently drawn to stories that ask who is really in control and what happens when that control cracks.
2. You separate quality from enjoyment very clearly There is a clear gap between critical acclaim and your personal ratings. Uncut Gems is highly praised by critics but you rated it low. The Super Mario Bros Movie and Troll also have decent audience or critic scores but landed poorly with you. On the other hand Loveable has very little IMDb data but you rated it an 8. This suggests you are confident in your own taste and do not anchor strongly on consensus or hype.
3. Family and child friendly viewing is a parallel track A large cluster of animated and family films appears throughout the year. Many are Nordic productions like The Giant Pear, Louis and Luca, Lotte and Totte, Rufus, Teddy's Christmas, and A Mouse Hunt for Christmas. These are clearly not exploratory cinephile picks but situational viewing likely tied to watching with children. Interestingly you tend to rate these slightly above average even when production values or ambition are modest, suggesting context matters a lot for your enjoyment.
4. Nordic stories resonate more than Hollywood spectacle Norwegian and Scandinavian films are overrepresented and generally rated solidly by you. Loveable, Tre menn til Vilma, Heks on the Beach, and the animated Nordic titles all sit in the middle to upper range of your scores. In contrast big Hollywood spectacle like Mario, Troll 2, and Uncut Gems often score lower. You seem to value emotional realism, tone, or cultural closeness over scale and intensity.
5. You like drama with restraint more than intensity Your lower scores cluster around films that are loud, stressful, or aggressively paced. Uncut Gems, Troll 2, and Mario all push hard on energy or spectacle. Meanwhile Conclave, Loveable, and Mountainhead are more contained, dialogue driven, and observational. Even Mickey 17, despite being sci fi, is more conceptual than action driven and lands in the middle for you.
6. Sequels and franchises underperform for you Sequels in your list tend to score lower than stand alone stories. Gladiator II lands at 7 which is decent but not standout. Troll 2 is your lowest rated film of the year. This suggests novelty and fresh perspective matter more to you than continuation or brand familiarity.
7. You are open to genre but selective on tone Your genre spread is wide including drama, documentary, animation, comedy, action, and sci fi. What connects your higher rated films is not genre but tone. You seem to prefer thoughtful, slightly understated storytelling, often with social or relational insight, rather than chaos, maximalism, or irony overload.

Movies watched in 2025

Movies per Month

Series

I 2025 ble det tydelig at serievanene mine handler like mye om komfort som om nysgjerrighet. Totalt så jeg 27 sesonger med TV gjennom året, jevnt fordelt fra januar til romjulen. Det er et år som vipper mellom det trygge og det eksperimentelle, med både gamle travere og mange helt nye bekjentskaper.

Hele 11 av sesongene var førstesesonger. Det sier noe om en tydelig vilje til å teste nytt, spesielt innen norsk drama og humor. Serier som Arkitekten, Nede, Psykodrama og Retten er satt peker i retning av mørkere og mer konseptuelle fortellinger, mens Ølhunden Berit, Bausjen og Nissene i skjul er lettere og mer lekne innslag. Det er mye norsk her, og mye som føles nært både tematisk og kulturelt.

I rene tall ble dette også et ganske solid TV-år. Totalt endte jeg på 223 episoder sett i løpet av 2025. Mye av dette er serier med korte sesonger på 4-8 episoder, noe som forklarer hvorfor det føles jevnt og overkommelig, mer enn lange bingemaraton. Når episodetallet først skyter i været, er det gjerne konkurranse- og humorformater som Spillet og Nissene i skjul.

Samtidig var 2025 også året for å vende tilbake til det kjente. Kongen Befaler dukker opp to ganger, både med sesong 10 og 11, og Mesternes mester er helt oppe i sesong 16. Ikke lov å le på hytta i sesong 6 og Dama til i sesong 4 bekrefter det samme mønsteret. Dette er serier som ikke lenger handler om spenning rundt hva de er, men om gleden i å vite akkurat hva man får.

Humor og konkurranse er en tydelig rød tråd. LOL i flere varianter, Dette er humor, Helt Ramme sporter og Spillet viser en forkjærlighet for formatbasert underholdning der mennesker settes i litt absurde situasjoner. Det er lav terskel, høy gjenkjennelse og perfekt for perioder der hodet trenger pause.

Også strømmetjenestene sier noe om vanene. NRK var den mest brukte leverandøren, både i antall sesonger og i totalt antall episoder, tett fulgt av Max. Det er interessant hvor dominerende norsk innhold faktisk er, selv med tilgang til alle de internasjonale tjenestene. Netflix, Prime Video og Apple TV+ dukker opp mer sporadisk, ofte med tydelige kvalitetsserier fremfor volum.

Midt i alt dette ligger noen klare kvalitetsmarkører. Severance sesong 2 og The White Lotus sesong 3 skiller seg ut som serier som krever mer, men også gir mer tilbake. Sammen med Clarkson's Farm og Oljefondet - på innsiden viser de en interesse for både systemkritikk, arbeidsliv og hvordan verden faktisk henger sammen bak fasaden.

Oppsummert fremstår 2025 som et serieår dominert av norsk innhold, mye humor og en solid dose trygg gjentakelse, balansert med akkurat nok nye serier til at det føles friskt. Det er ikke et år for de store bingemaratonene, men for jevn og variert titting, der TV får være både avslapning og en liten tankevekker. De to nye seriene jeg ønsker å trekke frem fra året er Ølhunden Beritog Arkitekten som jeg begge likte spesielt godt.

Seasons watched in 2025

Seasons Completed per Month

Books

📚 5 books • 887 pages

I manged to read a handful of books this year. 2025 has been a year where my bookshelf has been as varied as my TV habits. In total, I finished five books, ranging from practical guides to children's stories and professional development books. It's clear that I gravitate between the easy-to-read, the educational, and the inspiring, often all in the same year.

The year started with Pedlederens metoder, a practical guide on how to engage with children with clarity, empathy, and consistency. It offered concrete techniques like FAB, VAT, and the “two-choice” method, making everyday interactions smoother and more structured. This book set the tone for a year where I enjoy learning through practical approaches.

On the lighter side, there was Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the first chapter book I read together with Ellinor. It was a fun and entertaining experience, with the first chapter already creating small shared moments that reminded me books are not just about knowledge, but also about spending time together and making memories.

Mid-year, I ran the Lesesirkel at work, and we completed Radical Focus: Achieving Your Most Important Goals with Objectives and Key Results. This was a really engaging read because it's all about setting and tracking goals in a structured way. Discussing the examples and methods in the club made the book both practical and thought-provoking.

Towards the end of the year, the hobby side of reading took over. Fix It!: A Practical Handbook for Fixers is a short, practical guide full of useful tips helping me patch some of our cloths. And as a special year-end gift, a good friend gave me Skillebekk Sourdough along with her sourdough starter. It's a perfect combination of book and hobby, and I'm curious to see if I'll keep the baking going into 2026.

Overall, my 2025 reading list reflects a wide spectrum: from professional guides and practical advice to light-hearted stories and new hobbies. It was a year where knowledge, shared experiences, and small experiments all found a place on my reading list.