The Top 10 Films Of 2022
By Lucky
NOPE (Jordan Peele)
Many year end lists have had NOPE in the mix and despite my general contrarian desires, I will not deny the early returns on Jordan Peele’s third feature-film. My bozo gene reared its ugly head after watching BARBARIAN, when I wrote that it the best horror film of the year, a targeted assault on NOPE, which was released only months earlier. Was I wrong? Likely. Was my inexperienced error evaluating NOPE as a horror film in the first place? It feels foolish to attempt to justify now. The truly jaw-dropping scope Peele is operating on in this neo-Western science fiction, alongside the distinctive idea he projects, produces a fusion of vision and messaging far too ambitious to ignore. NOPE is equally as rewarding on rewatch, and has the long term potential to be the 2022 film that ages the best.
THE STRANGER (Thomas M. Wright)
Pitch black, like being in a dark room with only your thoughts. The definition of a slow-burning, suspense building operation. Following an investigation into a child abduction case, THE STRANGER is well casted, well shot, and keeps you engaged. Anxiety and tension are at the center of the film as we are offered disturbing information about the character under a microscope throughout the film. The study into the psychological effects of being close to a criminal and the fragility of life along with the desire to protect the ones we love…woof, there are so many elements composing this Australian fog, you’ll likely need google at the end of this beauty.
EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE (Daniel Scheinert, Daniel Kwan)
The early darling film of 2022 features two truly maximized lead performances from Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan. Very bluntly put, this isn’t the type of film that generally affects me the same as many others. Chaotic but not messy, the influences from past cinema from the RATATOUILLE to THE MATRIX are sprinkled throughout. There is something slightly tiresome about the film’s boarderling absurdity on rewatch, the unstated aspirations this film has, though perhaps beyond its potential proximity is admirable at the very least. The film made me feel and think on a different plane than many other films do in this era, for that I commend it.
TOP GUN: MAVERICK (Joseph Kosinski)
A classic American blockbuster. Perhaps, the blockbuster of our time, blending all of the ingredients; a movie-star, incredible practical effects, a Hans Zimmer score; TOP: GUN MAVERICK has it all. There really is nothing else to say other than peops to everyone involved as it feels like whatever the ceiling was for this film, it met and crashed through. Kosinski and company making us care about Maverick’s relationship with Rooster (Miles Teller) despite the 36 year gap between films and numbness that could occur with the connective tissue, is undoubtedly another crowning achievement.
THE BATMAN (Matt Reeves)
Matt Reeves’ character based darkening of the Batman story was the exact right direction for his rendition of the universe. The well crafted city submerged in corruption backdrops the core of the movie as the Riddler (Paul Dano) operates on his vigilante turned incel-whispering values, simultaneously Batman (Robert Pattinson) hunts him down while dealing with his own internal peril and pursuit for answers. The combination of the Giacchino score and the strong supporting performances from Zoe Kravitz, Colin Farrell, Jeffrey Wright, and John Turturro, carry the film through the more drudgery narrative portions of the film. With plenty of world building and character development taking place, Reeves does more than enough to keep the entry point to his Batman story entertaining.
RRR (S. S. Rajamouli)
Neck and neck with TOP GUN: MAVERICK for best theatrical experience of 2022, RRR has all the same elements as the aforementioned film, but on the ground level as opposed to in the sky. Centered around two primary warriors, layered with love, betrayal, and morals, RRR is as epic as films come. A classic entertainment movie from an original perspective that provides more than the average popcorn eater, the rise of Ram Charan is a fascinating story to watch in years to come. With phenomenal versatility, going from song and dance to battling for survival, there is something to gravitate towards for anyone. Here is to RRR making a big screen return.
THE WOMAN KING (Gina Prince-Bythewood)
The most finely served meat and potatoes of cinema of the year, THE WOMAN KING does so much on a high level. High octane energy, with the action scenes being the peak of viewing, blended seamlessly with gripping and magnetic interactions between truly astonishing characters, it brings it from start to finish. Three of the better performances of the year all in the same film (Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, and Lashana Lynch) allow the film to carry a weight that isn’t manufactured easily. THE WOMAN KING was enjoyable as anything made in recent memory.
DECISION TO LEAVE (Park Chan-wook)
A shattering, gutting, heart-sinking romance disguised as an investigation, which is used as more of a tool than the actual focal teller of the film. Disguised initially as something it really isn’t, Park Chan-wook subtly builds chemistry while focusing on the character’s relationship between their hearts juxtaposed to their minds. Nothing crushed the insides like this, despite the strobe-marked scandal above the core relationship. The film is simply about love and about people, which when done with the mastery of Park, nearly always produces a rewarding and thought-provoking movie. The year truly lacked this type of film until its release, and how thankful we should be it finally arrived.
MURINA (Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović)
Having spent the last handful of years crafting the story, while repping in a short-film form, Antoneta Alamat Kusijanović successfully wrang out every last drop of ocean water from her towel. The selection of the landscape, the concise and direct narrative confidence, and the heroic lead performance from Gracija Filipović are the elements that make up the tripod that stabilizes MURINA. The quarrel of the film being “narrow”, despite likely sharing the majority opinion, doesn’t break through my personal filter as the refreshing coming-of-age film does what so many others in the vein can’t: hold one captive narrative and visually, while not feeling familiar.
TÁR (Todd Field)
Todd Field gives a grueling, engaging 2:38:00 examination, filled with prompts heliocentric to the relationship between art and artist. The fall of Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett) through discovery, despite her seeming mastery of control is portrayed on such real world terms that it takes minimal effort to translate the shape to various figures and situations throughout time and culture to apply the same examinations as Field is implementing on us. The admiration for nearly every element of TÁR can’t be understated, a true gem of 2022, for 2022.