Like I said in my GINO poll, 2022 was really a great year for movies and this list was not easy to make his year and there are plenty that I had to change their position as I really thought about it. So here are films I did not see this year.
* Aftersun
* Avatar: Way Of The Water
* Eo
* Girl In The Picture
* Great Freedom
* Happening
* Lingui, The Sacred Bonds
* Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom
* Neptune Frost
* No Bears
* Official Competition
* Puss N' Boots: The Last Wish
* Saloum
* Terrifier 2
* The Duke
* The Innocents
* The Quiet Girl
* The Whale
* The Woman King
* Till
* To Leslie
* Utama
So let's get to the 5 films that missed out.
Now here are the Top 25 Favorite Movies of 2022.
An enjoyable movie that does what the original Dragon Ball Z series should have done after the Cell Games, which is focus on Gohan and not keep focusing on Goku. The Gamma twins were enjoyable seeing a new form of Piccolo was awesome. Pan is also enjoyable too and I'm always glad to see the return of the Red Ribbon Army. Why is this film not higher? Well, Cell Max was a huge disappointment and Dragon Ball Super: Broly was definitely a better movie.
24. Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood
Richard Linklater gives us a film that once again hits you in your childhood even if you were still just a sperm in your dad's balls. It mixes a child's dream about being the first child on the moon in a mission that will never officially exist and the real life world. Despite all the bullshit that has been going on with streaming services these days, I am somewhat willing to deal with the bullshit if movies that would probably never been allowed to exist get made.
Peter Dinklage is excellent as the master of words who is in love with a woman, but yet has so much self loathing of his looks that he could never ask her out himself so instead he helps another suitor that respects him woo her with Cyrano's words because her happiness is what is most important to him. It also has one of the most tear-jerking songs I can think of with "Wherever I Fall" as everyone on the front line of a battle knows they are going to die. It might not be for everyone, but as a man who enjoys the arts, I can appreciate this film.
I'm not going to lie to you, but this is probably one of the more stranger entries in my Favorites list. A film that stars a wife and daughter and is directed by the husband, this is a family affair of a family band. It is about a mother and daughter who have supernatural powers as they are witches who can also play music and do private concerts for themselves as the film goes on. The mother also wants to keep her daughter from doing too much magic as black magic makes you more evil. This is definitely a film that will not be for everyone, but I like unique films like this.
Man, when I saw the trailer to this movie, I was so unsure if this was going to be good because it looked like several of Dreamworks other mediocre films, but somehow this ended up being great. The Big Bad Wolf leads a team of heist experts as they plan their best heist yet. With great characters (my favorite being the grouchy snake) and enough subversion of expectations to build a house, this is definitely one of those kids films that you will enjoy as an adult too. Oh and considering this was very successful, you just know a sequel is in the works which I am glad for.
Another interesting film, but unlike Hellbender...this one is more heartwarming. It's a fake documentary about a talking seashell with shoes on and his grandmother living in a house and being spotlighted by the house's owner. Originally, this was a series of shorts that the filmmakers and actors decided that they should make into a full feature film with the animation being done by the well known Chioda Brothers and their studio. Jenny Slate is great as a sweet pure seashell with shoes on who stars along with his grandmother in these interviews in hope that maybe he can find the rest of his family. It is adorable and definitely has heart up the wazoo.
This is probably Jordan Peele's weakest of three films, but it is still a great film about a UFO (and no aliens besides the UFO...you'll understand when you see the movie). Let's just say when the first thing you see is a chimpanzee with blood on it, you know you are in for something fucked up. Helped by a really good cast like Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, and Michael Wincott as well as a brief appearance by Keith David, this film really is something that is a bit out of the box for everyone involved, including its director.
For such a generic title and the trailer not looking that great, this should just be a run of the mill animation film that plagues streaming services because studios know they can't do well in theaters. But you need to put all those terrible expectations and put them in the trash because you are dealing with one of the co-directors of Moana and Big Hero 6. And that is not to disrespect the cast as you have a bunch of character actors doing voices for these characters. Also, if you really think this is just a simple sailors vs monster movie, you would be completely wrong.
I laugh at the mouth breathers who still try to call Rian Johnson a hack for his directing of Star Wars: The Last Jedi and how harder it is getting for them after Knives Out and Glass Onion, but they are still trying. Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc returns in a new mystery that takes on the whole capitalist asshole world after taking on the world of greedy people who want an inheritance of someone who actually did something. Like The Sea Beast, not everything is as it seems although with a murder mystery, that is more expected. While not as good as Knives Out, Rian Johnson has found a good detective character that will probably be in more films and may even survive a change in actor if Daniel Craig at some point gets tired of playing him.
Ah.....the joys that can come even from the world of tailoring if you get the right director, the right cast, and a great freaking story. Mark Rylance continues to be great as he can switch between a proper gentlemen who would never think of hurting people to a criminal who will do anything and use anyone to make sure nothing bad happens to him or his business. Chicago in the 1950s is perfect for this world of corruption where shit hits the fan at a freaking custom tailor shop and oh yes, shit does indeed hit the fan.
Germany gives us an adaptation of one of the best World War I books ever written with All Quiet On The Western Front and it is brutally honest about how this war was waged. No side was really good in this war and the only people who were just victims of the war were the poor souls who had to do battle on the frontlines while most of the higher ups were far away from the combat. There are several characters we follow in this film and the only ones that make it out alive are the ones who are far away doing freaking negotiations to end this war. It is a long film and there are a few on this list, but unlike Avatar 2, you could watch these long ass films from the comfort of your own home so you won't have to do things like eat, sleep, or take a bathroom break, something James Cameron has no sympathy for.
There is a reason I had to be specific about which Pinocchio I am talking about as there were THREE Pinocchio movies that came out this year and 2 of them sucked, including the DISNEY REMAKE (we'll get to that in our worst of the year). This film deals with Geppetto needing a kid to replace the kid that was tragically killed by a bomb that was just dropped because of the Allied Powers having idiots at times. The child is definitely one who is completely like a child who was just created and knows next to nothing about the world around him, which is really bad when you consider this is Fascist Italy with Mussolini. Oh and Academy Award winning actress Cate Blanchett voices a freaking monkey that doesn't does not speak and makes noises.
This felt a lot like The Girl In White which is why it isn't higher, but that still does not mean that The Black Phone was a bad film at all. In fact, it was a great film that definitely will make you remember to the old saying from your parents to "Never Talk To Strangers", especially ones in masks and creepy vans. Here we follow a kid who becomes the newest kidnapped kid of the Grabber (who we can obviously guess throughout the film killed the other kids he kidnapped) and how he is going to get out of this situation before time runs out for him with a mysterious black phone that isnt hooked up and the voices of past victims. This film really rests on two actors in the kid (Mason Thames) and the evil Grabber (Ethan Hawke) with his really creepy mask that can be taken at the mouth part to change expressions, and it works so well while the kid's sister (who has psychic dreams) is trying to search for him. Oh and Marvel, this is what Scott Derrickson did instead of Doctor Strange And The Mouth Of Madness because your dumbasses kept interfering with his vision. You deserved the terrible 2022.
There will be two camps as far as this series goes. Those that preferred this film or those that preferred the prequel Pearl that was released a few months later. I preferred this film (although Pearl wasn't terrible whatsoever) as the creepy vibes of the crazy horny old woman (Mia Goth (the lead actress who is just as good as Maxine, a character that you would expect a 60s-70s pornstar to look like) in old person makeup) really make this film completely unsettling. Oh and it doesn't help the creepy horny old lady that there are a few adults who decide to secretly make a porno film in a barn that was rented out to them by her husband, who knows about his wife's craziness and is 100% complicit in it. Ti West was always a director you could normally count on to make something creepy and different than what you are used to and this film with a 1960s setting is no exception.
I think this film is destined to become a new Christmas classic as we have David Harbour as a drunk and bitter about the world Santa Claus who is just making his rounds on Christmas Eve when he just so happens to stumble on a freaking hostage situation by bad guys with festive codenames led by a man with the codename Scrooge played by John Leguizamo (who had a hell of a 2022 himself with this and a later film on this list). Unfortunately for the bad guys, this Santa Claus has a past as a guy who killed people for fun before he became Santa. Santa just massacres guys the hard way and yet still has that Christmas spirit when helping out a little girl who still believes in Santa. You ever want to see what happens to a guy who isnt Santa is he went up a chimney the way Santa does? Well, you are most certainly going to. The gore is wonderful and I had a lot of fun watching this. As far as some stuff happens with magic, Santa says it best, "It's magic, even I dont really know how it works."
Well, I better get my shields ready for all the hatred that I am going to get for this film being so low on my list. Yes, this is easily Disney and Pixar's best film of 2022 (which isnt a huge bar considering how bad Disney and Pixar did this year). It also deals with girls who at first we all thought were going to be annoying, but get better throughout the film the more you follow them. Basically, our main character grows up to a certain age that now has to deal with perhaps transforming into a giant red panda (adorable creatures they are) if she is in a state of high emotion. This is also Canadian and deals with a popular fake boy band so just go from there. Now I know there was a bit of a controversy from some conservative party poopers because this film had the "temerity" to be a kid's film that is an allegory to the "disgusting" act of having your first period. As you can guess by my name calling and quotation marks, I have no problem with Turning Red being this allegory because whether you like it or not, it is something that girls of a certain age are going to deal with so better to prepare them when they are young before it happens than to just wait and you know, have to explain it to them while they are in complete hysterics.
Surprise....I didnt even think Turning Red was the best animated film of 2022 (shields are being raised higher). We instead start off with the first film I actually saw in 2022 and I have to say this film was amazing. Director Mamoru Hosoda goes back to a virtual world like the one that he created with Summer Wars. This time though, it deals with a shy girl who likes to sing (but can't do it in public) who enters this world and the place discovers that she has a beautiful voice. This allows her avatar that she named Belle to become a celebrity and suddenly, she finds out that this world has a beast so is so enraged that he destroys things out of anger. Yes, I do know this has a lot of elements of Beauty and the Beast, but it is a beautiful version of this story and there are definitely some huge differences in the story (not just with the setting). The singing and the relationships with characters can bring a tear to your eye and thus, this film gets the higher rank for me.
Finally, a Batman detective story with a better version of the Riddler than whatever Jim Carrey did in Batman Forever. Robert Pattinson is pretty good as a really dark Batman who wants to clean up the streets his way with violence, but not killing. Oh and when I say violence, I mean he will beat the shit out of you if you try to rob someone. The Riddler is more of a serial killer who leaves riddles that Batman definitely has to unravel and maybe have to save Gotham. Catwoman is pretty good too, as is James Gordon, Carmine Falcone, and Alfred Pennyworth. Colin Farrell is unrecognizable as Oswald "Penguin" Cobblepot thanks to the makeup and the accent. There are some problems like the whole final act (yeah, the movie isnt over after Riddler is caught), Riddler's ultimate goal, and of course Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne (his Batman is good, but he is not the playboy Bruce we are used to at all).
What happens when a world renown chef (played perfectly by Ralph Feinnes) who has a private island and cooking crew at his beck and call, just basically goes completely mad with despair with the way most of his customers are as well as the food industry and he decides that he is going to go complete scorched Earth with those people he despises? Well, you get Mike Mylod's black comedy The Menu. Unfortunately for one character played by Anna Taylor-Joy, she was not originally supposed to be here and she is a definite wild card in the chef's plan and she has to work her way to surviving as everyone else (who is as corrupt as hell) is obviously going to die....and eat food beforehand. This film definitely should get some Oscar buzz for just how enjoyable it is to watch these horrible customers get their just desserts (pun totally intended).
You want a horror film that sees all those expectations you have of this film and basically says "well fuck you", look no further than Barbarian. Two people get double booked into an Air B&B and one of them played the new Pennywise himself, Bill Skarsgard so you probably can guess what happens. Well, if you do, you are going to be proven DEAD wrong about 45% into the movie. And of course Justin Long is in this who pretty much plays Justin Long, except he is more of a Hollywood predator who is about to get his ass cancelled as someone is Me Too-ing his ass. And that's not even to get into the actual shit that is going on which I really can't say because it is a freaking spoiler. Basically, always be careful at the Air B&B you are staying in because you are still in a place you are not completely familiar with and there may be some unwanted surprises waiting.
There are so many of these movies that have been made more than 20 years after the original and they normally really suck (Coming 2 America, Tron: Legacy, Dumb & Dumber To, Independence Day: Resurgence), but here is a great freaking movie that came long after the first...even several years after the original director committed suicide. We get the continuation of Maverick's adventures where he is brought back to the Top Gun program as a teacher to teach a new group on a top secret mission against the enemy that is going to be very hard to do. While I may not be a huge fan of them not bringing back Kelly McGinnis due to bad reasons, Tom Cruise did do one right thing and made sure this film needed to use real fighter pilot action (no CGI). And the new characters are great as well including Rooster, the son of the late Goose who has history with Maverick. I would so recommend watching this film as it is definitely a worthy follow up to the first, even after years of not happening and then being delayed due to COVID.
Nicolas Cage is freaking awesome and I appreciate a film that just makes Nic Cage just be Nic Cage, but turned up to 11. Nic Cage needs money and he has to take an appearance at a rich man's birthday party to make ends meet. This rich guy turns out to be Nic Cage's biggest fan and he has several props from actual Nic Cage films. Then we start to wonder if this biggest fan is actually a crime lord who has taken to ransom kidnappings or if he is innocent of all of that. Pedro Pascal is great as the huge fan and we have great action as well as craziness goes abound. This may have been a box office bomb sadly, but Nic Cage has been such a good sport about all of this parody of his acting choices that you can't help but love this.
This Top 3 was REALLY HARD to ultimately decide and for a long time, Prey was my #1 choice because of bias since it is an awesome kind of prequel to Predator with this film happening centuries before the original Predator. But ultimately, I just had to put it at #3 because it doesn't take as many risks as the top 2. Amber Midthunder is great as a Comanche woman who wants to hunt like the guys do despite being looked down upon by her male counterparts for being a woman who wants to do what is normally supposed to be something guys do. The Predator in this film feels perfect as he to kill as many things that could be considered threats (the fight with the bear is freaking awesome). We also have evil French hunters who are perfectly dispatched in gruesome ways. And once again, the way the Predator is dispatched feels earned.
I want to be perfectly honest here. I am NOT a fan of Bollywood films because they are most of infuriatingly long and are not entertaining. However, when one of these is as awesome and takes so many risks as RRR takes, you just cannot help but love it. This film is about two characters during the British rule of India who are on opposite sides as one is a undercover officer who wants to be considered elite by the British and the other is a tribe's guardian who has been dispatched to rescue a little girl who had been stolen by the head British administrator and his wife, who are viscous in many ways. They become friends and we find out that the ambitious officer is also not as they seem. The action is great (even with okay CG which you can excuse because the animals have to be CG for what they do in the film) and I swear to god, I am going to be EXTREMELY UPSET if Naatu Naatu does not win Best Original Song at the Oscars.
I saw this film in March and ever since then, this film was NEVER outside of the Top 2 as far as I was concerned. This film that deals with one woman in multiple universes who has to save them from all being destroyed by another character's alternate universe version and her "Everything Bagel". Everyone in this film is great and it is life affirming to see that the actor who played Short Round in Indiana Jones In The Temple Of Doom gets a renaissance with his role as the main character's love interest in most universes. Oh and they even made a great parody of Ratatouille with Raccacoonie who you so much want to see get all the love. So many of the other universes are so great and you are okay being there (including the one where everyone are just rocks with eyes). And finally, because of this film dealing with multiverses so well and being successful with their risks, I went from absolutely looking forward to Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness to well, not really looking forward to it because no matter how good it could be (it was mediocre), it was not even going to be as close as good as this film because Disney and Marvel can't afford to take the risks that will be great if successful that something like Everything Everywhere All At Once can do and does so brilliantly.
And that is my Top 25 Favorite Films of 2022. Now next time, I do what you all want me to do which is rank my Worst of 2022 list. That list will have been a lot easier to do this year because oh boy, we have some stinkers.
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