This is my Top 10 films of 2022 with 15 Honorable mention in no particular order. I ended up breaking my own personal record with around 400 hundred films watched in the calender year of 2022. It was a great year for independent, documentary and animated filmmaking. The big blockbusters and foreign films need to have a better year in 2023. All said and done it was a very solid year for movies in 2023. I am looking forward to 2023.
Honorable Mentions are as follows:
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, All the Beauty, and the Bloodshed, Turning Every Page, Smile, Lightyear, Bones and All, Tar, The Menu, Woman Talking, Al Quiet on the Western Front, Emancipation, Glass Onion A Knives Out Mystery, Puss In Boots the Last Wish, The Woman King, Man Called Otto
10: Decision to Leave
7.3/10 IMDB 94% Rotten Tomatoes 3.9/5 Letterboxd
A detective investigating a mans death in the mountains and ends up meeting and developing feelings for the dead man’s mysterious wife in the course of his dogged sleuthing.
Decision to Leave has a great mystery and a great romance between two people at the center of it. It’s a South Korean version of Fatal Attraction with two terrific performances from Hea Il Park and Tang Wei. The director Park Chan Wook weaves a fantastic mystery any film fan can’t help but be wrapped up in.
Release date: October 14, 2022 (USA)
Director: Park Chan-wook
9: The Northman
7.1/10 IMDB 89% Rotten Tomatoes 3.8/5 Letterboxd
Prince Amleth is on the verge of becoming a man when his father is brutally murdered by his uncle, who kidnaps the boy’s mother. Two decades later, Amleth is now a Viking who raids Slavic villages. He soon meets a seeress who reminds him of his vow — save his mother, kill his uncle, avenge his father.
Robert Eggers has made a name for himself in the horror genre but The Northman is his first fore into historical epics. This movie has so much dark and bloody imagery that it’s hard to look away if you like that sort of thing. Alexander Skarsgard gives the performance of his career as this man seeking revenge for the death of his father at the hands of his uncle. The cast and direction are first rate and the crafts, such as the cinematography, costumes, and makeup, & hairstyling, are outstanding. This is one of the best historical epics I’ve seen in recent memory.
Release Date: April 22, 2022 (USA)
Director: Robert Eggers
8: The Whale
8.2/10 IMDB 63% Rotten Tomatoes 60% Metacritic
An obese and reclusive English teacher tries to reconnect with his estranged teenage daughter for one last chance at redemption.
Darren Aronofsky has done it again. He has made a character study of a man who has thrown everything away while trying to save his dignity before he is about to die in The Whale. Brandon Frazer gives an Awards Worthy performance as this man who can’t leave his house because he’s eating so much he can barely move. Along with Fraser, Sadie Sink, and Hong Chau are both fantastic in their given roles as well. The makeup on Fraser is also Awards Worthy and the camera work is first-rate.
Release Date: December 9, 2022 (USA)
Director: Darren Aronofsky
7: RRR
7.9/10 IMDB 94% Rotten Tomatoes 442/5 Letterboxd
A tale of two legendary revolutionaries and their journey far away from home. After their journey they return home to start fighting back against British colonialists in the 1920s.
RRR is an action film like we’ve not gotten in quite a while. SS Rajamouli infuses great action with a dance number, comradery between friends, and catchy music to boot. This is a rare Indian Epic that crosses genres and entertains on multiple levels. Many people are enjoying this three-hour epic film.
Release Date: March 24, 2022 (USA)
Director: S. S. Rajamouli
6: Elvis
7.4/10 IMDB 77% Rotten Tomatoes 4.7/5 Facebook
From his rise to fame to his unprecedented superstardom, rock ‘n’ roll icon Elvis Presley maintains a complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker, over the course of 20 years. Central to Presley’s journey and happiness is one of the most influential people in his life — Priscilla.
Elvis is the best musical biopic we’ve gotten in decades. It delves deeper into the life of this iconic singer and entertainer like never before. This is the best film about this legendary artist. The vision from Baz Lurhman is a unique one that sets it apart from other musical biopics. The production design and costumes amand make-up & hairstyling are first-rate. Austin Butler is a revelation in this role. He exudes every once of who this man was and how he became the icon the world remembers him to be.
Release Date: June 24, 2022 (USA)
Director: Baz Luhrmann
5: The Batman
7.8/10 IMDB 85% Rotten Tomatoes 72% Metacritic
Batman ventures into Gotham City’s underworld when a sadistic killer leaves behind a trail of cryptic clues. As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans become clear, he must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued the metropolis.
Matt Reeves has crafted his own unique vision of what he saw that The Batman should be. He chose to set the film in year two of this character’s life. He’s more of a detective which draws on popular films such as Se7en and Zodiac. The acting by a stellar cast, including Robert Pattinson, Zoe Kravits, Paul Dano, Colin Farrell and so many more is incredible. The cinematography by Oscar Winner Greg Fraser is amazing and the score by Michael Giacchino is one of the best this year. The costumes and makeup & hairstyling help give this film the distinct vision Reeves was going for. This is one of the best films of the year and easily the top two or three in the Batman franchise.
Release Date: March 4, 2022 (USA)
Director: Matt Reeves
4: The Fabelmans
7.8/10 IMDB 91% Rotten Tomatoes 84% Metacritic
Young Sammy Fabelman falls in love with movies after his parents take him to see “The Greatest Show on Earth.” Armed with a camera, Sammy starts to make his own films at home, much to the delight of his supportive mother.
The Fabelmans brings life to the life of director Steven Spielberg in a way only he could do. He casts fantastic actors to bring his family to life Paul Dano as his father, Michelle Williams as his mother, and Gabriel LaBelle as himself. He vividly recreates his life with terrific production design and another great score from long-time collaborator John Williams. It took him fifty years to finally tell the story of his own life and it turned out terrifically.
Release Date: November 11, 2022 (USA)
Director: Steven Spielberg
3: Till
7.2/10 IMDB 98% Rotten Tomatoes 5/5 Facebook
The true story of Mamie Till-Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till, who was brutally lynched in 1955 while visiting his cousins in Mississippi.
Till recreates one of the most tragic stories in American history. The death of Emmett Till and the subsequent trial that followed. And the reaction of his mother following these events. And how she as portrayed by Danielle Deadwyler made the tragic event her mission to help show the world how this was inhuman and how this kind of this had to be stopped. Deadwyler gives a phenomenal performance as this grieving mother and the look and feel of the film were genuinely one of the best of the year.
Release Date: October 14, 2022 (USA)
Director: Chinonye Chukwu
2:Everything Everywhere All at Once
8.1/10 IMDB 95% Rotten Tomatoes 81% Metacritic
When an interdimensional rupture unravels reality, an unlikely hero must channel her newfound powers to fight bizarre and bewildering dangers from the multiverse as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.
Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the best films of the year bar none. It has a story that is completely bonkers but completely realistic regarding the family dynamic it is trying to depict. The Daniels, Kwan, and Scheinart, use a strange and crazy way of telling this story but at its core, it’s a basic family drama. The visual effects and cinematography along with the action set pieces are all astounding to behold. This is definitely the best multiverse film of the year. It’s about time odd and off the wall, stories get their chance to shine. The cast including Michelle Yeoh, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ke Huy Kwan, and Stephanie Hsu are all phenomenal in the movie. This is a rare type of filmmaking the world has scarcely seen before. This is a genuine masterpiece of filmmaking.
Initial Release: March 11, 2022 (USA)
Directors: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
1: The Banshees of Of Inisherin
8/10 IMDB 97% Rotten Tomatoes 87% Metacritic
On a remote island off the coast of Ireland, Pádraic is devastated when his buddy Colm suddenly puts an end to their lifelong friendship. With help from his sister and a troubled young islander, Pádraic sets out to repair the damaged relationship by any means necessary. However, as Colm’s resolve only strengthens, he soon delivers an ultimatum that leads to shocking consequences.
Banshees of Inishirin tells a tale of two humans that used to be friends until one decides he doesn’t want to be friends anymore, on this isolated island off the coast of Ireland. This film is a distinct look at how friendships are fragile and people’s differences can be just as fragile. Martin McDonagh writes and directs this story in a lighthearted way even though there are tragic events that transpire within it. The cast of actors including Colin Farrell, Brendon Gleason, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan are all fantastic. The look of the film is gorgeous and the story is set in a realistic world. This is a character study that points the finger at humanity and says we can do better. This film is a stark look at how humanity is flawed and needs to do better.
Release Date: October 21, 2022 (UK)
Director: Martin McDonagh
From the Fourth Row! 