Top Ten – 2022

Banshees of Inisherin. Many people (maybe most?) will not like this film. Admittedly, it is a little hard to get past the central weird feature. I, however, thought it absolutely pitch perfect and every choice made by the director and the actors cemented it as a literally perfect film. If you wonder how those tales of crazy, pointless blood feuds can be handed down generation upon generation building into legend, then watch this film to see the genesis of one such battle. Clever, bitter, brutal, hilarious and beautifully filmed. Thank you Martin McDonagh and all involved. My favorite film of the year by far.

Elvis. This film has everything (almost literally). I will not hear a word against it. Baz Luhrman continues to top even his most over-the-top efforts. And Austin Butler!!!!!!! You, sir, are amazing.

Top Gun Maverick. Predictable, even idiotic. But the action sequences are a thrill, as is Cruise’s winking performance. A great, fun, Saturday afternoon matinee sort of film. 

RRR. Good heavens, this film throws everything at us and then some. Shot in the most amazing, lurid way possible and including some of the most outrageous action scenes I’ve ever seen (and I’ve seen a lot, people, from Kung Fu to the Burt Reynolds oeuvre to professional wrestling) – this was just a ton of fun. The music, the colors, the over-the-top acting, the dancing, the bromance, the ridiculous plot twists, and those mustache-twirling Brits. Takes the revenge fantasy genre to a whole new level. Loved.

Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. To be honest this is probably a 2 star film (out of 4) but I just enjoyed this so much! It is one I have continued to think about (and chuckle over) lo these many months since I saw it. Go with low expectations and enjoy.

Everything Everywhere all at Once. A big loud, colorful, incomprehensible spectacle. In other words – right up my alley! I don’t like multiverse stories, and I don’t devote too many cycles to trying to figure out where I am in the plot sequence within the genre. Consequently, I am unable to tell you what happens, exactly, in the film. But it was a fun ride. Michelle Yeoh can do no wrong in my book. 

The Menu. What do you get if you combine a pretentious cooking show with that 80s film classic Motel Hell? You get this film!  I loved this so much – but it is not for the delicate or sensitive. At least three times I think I said to myself (Out loud! In the theatre!) “They did not just do that.” The dessert course was…… just delicious. 

Nope. Lots of weird twists in this one. Not so much plot twists – the plot is standard issue horror film – as a twist in the way some standard horror film tropes are mixed and matched from the catalog of possibilities (and from the horror hits of yore). 

Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. A sweet little trifle of a film. Lesley Manville is so good and so charming in this role. Also. Couture dresses. More please!

Marcel the Shell. Honestly, I thought it would have been just fine as a 30 minute short. But I don’t begrudge the full film treatment. The world needs more gentleness, and this film provides it.

Film I Hated the Most: Glass Onion. Only the magnificent Edward Norton rises from this unscathed. A terrible, predictable, waste-of-effort film. Upon being introduced to the main characters, I rather hoped the majority of them would be killed in the first hour. Sadly, the math just didn’t work out on that. Everyone involved should be sent to an actual remote Island for 6 months to ponder their transgressions. 4 stars on those clothes, though.

Additional films that I saw this year: 

Triangle of Sadness. Kinda bad but redeemed by second act.

Bullet Train. Terrible. Did this even have a script?

Northman. Knock it off, Eggers – now you’re just being weird.

Woman King. I love these power women, but there sure is a lot of scowling.

Fabelmans. Painful. Like being strapped to a Barcalounger and forced to watch a boring Uncle’s vacation slide show.

Downton Abbey. Dull, but nice clothes.

The Forgiven. Grim, but Ralph Fiennes is always worth watching.

Thirteen Lives. Fine, but the documentary version titled Rescue is far better.

Amsterdam. Mediocre, but affable.

A Man Called Otto. I actually liked this very much – but pack a lot of Kleenex!

Neptune Frost. Like being in a crazy, funhouse, Afro-futurist freakout art installation. Loved.

Hockeyland. Everyone should see this documentary!

Avatar. The only way to see this is on the biggest screen possible. Pointless on any screen that would fit in a house. The story is a cross between Dances With Wolves and Whale Rider. (And I don’t mean that in a good way). but those visuals are just astonishing. Also, I liked it when the whale-thing closelined the bad guy. That was cool.

Tar. Did not like. Pretentious, very weak script. I mean, they start the film claiming someone in her 50s (??) could have been mentored by Leonard Bernstein. It went downhill from there, for me.

On my list, but not yet seen: White Noise, Eternal Daughter, Babylon, Pale Blue Eye, Women Talking, the Whale

Films from 2022 that I think most people would like: Elvis, Mrs. Harris, Top Gun, A Man Called Otto,

*This is an entirely personal and idiosyncratic list. I am not declaring things to be “the best” – or predicting award winners. It’s just a list of films I saw over the year, highlighting the ones I liked. Generally speaking, a film excites me when I believe that every element (acting, script, music, sound, editing, cinematography, location) contributes significantly to the overall film and that (while the subject may be grim) you can detect an underlying joy in the making.