The Oscars are next Sunday, so I figured now would be as good a time as any for me to share my ten favorite films from 2022. Since I didn't write any new reviews last year, my selections may surprise you... 2022 was an exceptional year for film, and I'd daresay it's the best year since 2019. I struggled to decide which films to exclude, so my honorable mentions are more crowded than usual. There were even films I adored that didn't quite make it into my honorable mentions such as Nope, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Guillermo del Toro's Pinnochio.
As always, this list is incredibly subjective and liable to change depending on how I'm feeling when asked. There were some last-minute shake-ups and I still haven't seen every film released in 2022, but I've seen a majority of the releases I was interested in seeing. So, without further ado, enjoy my ramblings on my ten favorite films released in 2022.
Top 10 Films of 2022
Honorable Mentions (Alphabetical order): All Quiet on the Western Front, Ambulance, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, The Menu, Prey, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, RRR, Turning Red, The Whale, and The Woman King.
10. Decision to Leave - Streaming on Mubi
Park Chan-Wook's Decision to Leave impressed me on all fronts. It's an engrossing neo-noir featuring plenty of inventive filmmaking and rich performances. As the story unfolds, you'll find yourself deeply invested in the central romance and mystery, culminating in a devastating finale. I'm still baffled that it was completely shut out of the Oscars.
9. Top Gun: Maverick - Streaming on Paramount+
Full disclosure: I am not fond of the original Top Gun. Yet I couldn't help but be impressed by Top Gun: Maverick. At the time of release, the pandemic had crippled theatrical distribution. There were a few success stories, but studios began questioning the sustainability of traditional release models. Evidenced by its massive box office success, Top Gun: Maverick was the right movie for the right time. It was a four-quadrant legacy sequel that brought people back to the theater. What Joseph Kosinski, Tom Cruise, and the Maverick cast and crew achieved was nothing short of remarkable. The aerial photography alone makes Top Gun: Maverick worth watching multiple times. But the film offers so much more than that! In a crowded blockbuster landscape, Top Gun: Maverick set itself apart with sincerity. It delivered high-flying spectacle and an abundance of heart. Needless to say, Top Gun: Maverick took my breath away.
8. Avatar: The Way of Water
Thirteen years after the worldwide phenomenon that was Avatar, James Cameron delivered his greatly anticipated sequel. Like its predecessor, The Way of Water is making waves at the box office. It currently sits as the third highest-grossing release of all time worldwide. And Cameron's other oceanic epic Titanic is right on its heels thanks to a recent rerelease commemorating its 25th anniversary. Cameron's streak of box office mega-hits is astonishing, and it's all the more impressive that three of the top four highest-grossing films of all time were directed by him. Cameron knows what audiences want, and the unprecedented success of his latest three narrative features is a testament to that.
In the last six months, I've experienced all three in theaters since Avatar and Titanic were rereleased in proximity to The Way of Water. Upon revisiting them, I realized that Cameron offered a unique experience for moviegoers as he pioneered new technologies that revolutionized special effects with each successive production. His films demand to be seen on the largest screen possible and his use of 3-D only makes them more immersive. Avatar: The Way of Water is no exception. Not only does it feature some of the greatest digital effects that I've ever seen... The Way of Water also took its cast of characters in exciting directions while fleshing out the world of Pandora. In Avatar: The Way of Water, it's said that the Way of Water has no beginning and no end... and neither does my adoration of this movie.
7. Tár - Streaming on Peacock
Written and directed by Todd Field, Tár is a fascinating character study about the fictional composer Lydia Tár. Tár compelled me with its empathetic and thoughtful examination of cancel culture. Even when you disagree with the thoughts, words, and actions of Lydia Tár, you never lose sight of her humanity. Lydia Tár is a fully realized and dimensional character in large part to Cate Blanchett's dynamic performance. Additionally, there are great flourishes of creative filmmaking throughout Tár. Chief among its winning qualities are undoubtedly brilliant writing and direction.
6. The Northman - Streaming on Prime Video
The Northman is the latest film by director Robert Eggers. It is also his most mainstream and expensive release. The Viking revenge epic boasts an all-star cast, incredible action, and a riveting narrative that will bring Shakespeare to mind. But let it be known that the tale of Amleth, which The Northman loosely draws upon, actually inspired Hamlet. So this is a real "chicken and the egg" scenario. But what stood out to me about The Northman was Eggers' commitment to the Viking perspective. Where a commercialized version of this story might condemn their beliefs, Eggers embraces the lead character's thirst for revenge. The Northman has been deemed one of the most historically accurate Viking movies ever made. In abiding by these values and customs, Eggers enriches his narrative and atmosphere.
5. Aftersun
Charlotte Wells' Aftersun was one of the most emotionally devastating movies I saw last year. It's a film with immense staying power, as I reflected on it for weeks afterward. I knew nothing about Aftersun before watching it. I never saw a trailer and didn't even read the synopsis. I watched it purely based on good old-fashioned, positive word-of-mouth. As I watched it, I tried to piece together the puzzle of this story. But it wasn't till the climax that everything clicked. Once I understood the significance of these events, it ripped my heart to shreds. Wells paints a gut-wrenching portrait of a troubled father-daughter relationship that is further elevated by exceptional and understated lead performances.
4. The Batman - Streaming on HBO Max
I am a huge fan of the Batman mythos. Considering how often the Caped Crusader has graced the silver screen, it's remarkable that writer-director Matt Reeves and actor Robert Pattinson were able to provide a fresh take. Set in Batman's second year of crimefighting, there's no need for Reeves to reiterate the Dark Knight's origin story for the thousandth time. Throughout Batman's cinematic history, his prowess as "the world's greatest detective" has rarely been the focus. With The Batman, Matt Reeves delivered a noir that tips its cowl to Alfred Hitchcock and David Fincher. It's suspenseful, thrilling, and the epitome of everything I've ever wanted to see from a Batman adaptation.
3. Everything Everywhere All At Once - Streaming on Showtime
Chances are you've heard of Everything Everywhere All At Once by now. It's the indie film that took the world by storm. It grossed over $100 M worldwide on a $25 M budget and has garnered the most Oscar nominations of any film nominated this year with eleven nominations. As the nomination leader, it's likely the frontrunner for Best Picture. Whether that will pan out remains to be seen, but putting its reception aside, Everything Everywhere All At Once is the type of movie that will inspire others to fall in love with the process of filmmaking. It's a film that creatively deals with the multiverse in such a nuanced way, telling a beautiful story about reconciliation and the cycle of generational trauma.
Everything Everywhere All At Once is admittedly pretty weird and overstimulating, but the film wears its heart on its sleeve, so it's difficult to resist. Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as the "Daniels," are the duo behind EEAAO. Before their unmitigated success with EEAAO, the Daniels enjoyed an eclectic career directing music videos, television episodes, and the film where Daniel Radcliffe played a farting corpse. EEAAO resonated with so many people because the Daniels' maximalist approach offers something for everyone to enjoy. There's absurd and engaging action, a touching romance, and unlimited potential for humor spread throughout the vast multiverse. Yet the story remains rooted in family drama. In this day and age, we are overwhelmed by everything vying for our attention. Everything Everywhere All At Once is a unique reflection of that experience. Not to mention how lovely it's been to see Ke-Huy Quan enjoying an overdue career resurgence thanks to his Oscar-nominated role here!
2. Babylon - Streaming on Paramount+
Damien Chazelle is a director I've greatly admired since I first saw Whiplash nearly a decade ago. Since then, Chazelle's become the youngest recipient of the Best Director Oscar and made some of my favorite recent movies. So it's no wonder I loved this one. With that being said, Babylon is the most polarizing and ambitious project of Chazelle's burgeoning career. Sure, there was a manufactured flag controversy surrounding First Man, and who can forget the Oscars fiasco when La La Land was mistakenly announced as the winner of Best Picture? But those "scandals" pale in comparison to the hellish online discourse around Babylon. Then again, what isn't controversial nowadays?
Whether it be for the lengthy three-hour runtime or the crudeness of obscenities depicted in the film, the response to Babylon was incredibly divisive. What won me over, though, was Chazelle's uncompromising approach to telling this story. We live in an age of sanitized media, so it's a miracle that Babylon made the leap from page to screen. As the credits rolled, it dawned on me that Babylon may be the last film of its kind. An auteur-driven, R-rated $80 M production unrelated to any existing franchise and completely unafraid to alienate its audience. If that proves true, Babylon sure is one hell of a last hurrah that I remain grateful to have experienced twice in cinemas.
Chazelle's gone on record to say that he considers Babylon his love letter to cinema and hate letter to the industry surrounding it. Set in the transitionary period between silent film and talkies, Babylon explores similar subject matter as Singin' In The Rain. Chazelle confronts the unfortunate reality that in pursuit of profit and progress, Hollywood's left many talented artists in the dust. With each technological innovation, artists' livelihoods were rendered obsolete. Nevertheless, there is an upside. Celluloid ensured these artists would have enduring legacies. Damien Chazelle's sprawling Hollywood epic swings for the fences from frame one and never lets up. It's endlessly entertaining, well-crafted, full of first-rate performances, and unabashedly sincere. Who could ask for anything more?
1. The Fabelmans
Steven Spielberg is my favorite filmmaker and one of our greatest living storytellers, so naturally, the tale of his upbringing would be of great interest to me. However, I had no idea that The Fabelmans would move me on such a profound level. Considering Spielberg's filmography is an embarrassment of riches, you'd think that I would have learned not to underestimate his abilities behind the camera... Nevertheless, I wasn't prepared for him to deliver one of the best films of his career. It's certainly one of his most personal works to date. That much is indisputable.
There is a great deal of technical mastery on display, but The Fabelmans resonated with me far beyond that. While it's unlikely any of us will go on to be the "next Spielberg," there's something universal about his story. In discussing the film with others, many have told me that they related to one of the Fabelmans in one way or another. Though I'd hardly consider myself a visionary mind on par with the likes of Spielberg, I never realized how much the two of us had in common. Aside from a fascination with cinema, we are both the eldest son of divorced parents and have three younger sisters. Our parents are similar in the sense that our fathers are more mechanically-minded and our mothers are artistically minded. We've even both achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. The similarities go on and on, but I digress.
The Fabelmans may appear to be little more than a semi-autobiographical account of Steven Spielberg's childhood and adolescence. But underneath all that, you'll discover the traces of Spielberg reckoning with the surrounding circumstances and choices that lead him to become one of mankind's most acclaimed film directors. You will even notice how aspects of Spielberg's personal life such as divorce, distanced fathers, and his Jewish heritage influenced many of his movies. There's a tinge of regret behind his pursuit of filmmaking as Spielberg contemplates the perils of art as an obsession. In the simplest of terms, The Fabelmans is a $40 million cinematic therapy session. Though referring to it as such may seem reductive, you can't deny that the result is endlessly fascinating and cathartic. I can't help but respect Spielberg for his willingness to bring the depths of his heart, soul, and memory to the big screen.
