It’s that time of year again, when movies are totaling their box office receipts and critics are penning their final lists. 2022 was a phenomenal year for movies and made me feel like Hollywood was ready to make its post-Covid comeback. From Indie darlings to blockbusters, there were winners all over the place. Not a month went by that a movie didn’t thrill or floor me. Here are a handful of my favorites.
Honorable Mentions
Tár
A brutally uncomfortable look at predatory behavior and the all consuming narcissism that accompanies “genius”.
Barbarian
Unsettling, unpredictable, and absolutely impossible to stop thinking back on. Totally makes sense that this horror flick was made by part of the “Whitest Kids U’Know” team.
The Fabelmans
The “Horizon” scene alone was worth the price of admission.
The Banshees of Inisherin
A heartbreaking tale of depression and the burdens that we all (often willingly) carry as we navigate what it means to be ourselves and what it means to be near others.
Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts
Even before the death of Robbie Coltrane, this was a very moving refection on the legacy of the Harry Potter films and what they meant to the people making them.
10. The Duke
Due to Covid and the untimely death of its director, the true release date of The Duke is up for debate. Since it released for the first time in a theater near me in 2022 I’m considering it for this list.
This movie is simply delightful. It is nothing more, it is nothing less. It effortlessly fills you with warm and fuzzy feelings while telling a hilarious and heartfelt tale about one of the strangest art thefts of the 20th century. Jim Broadbent shines as an earnest English retiree fed up with taxes and looking to make his mark on behalf of all those around him.
9. Babylon
I’ve been obcessed with Babylon since I first heard of its existence a little over two years ago. Damien Chazelle (of Whiplash, La La Land, and First Man fame) is my favorite working director. I will greedily consume anything he puts out. Babylon is no exception to this rule. Following the downturn of the silent film industry after the invention of “talkies”, Babylon is a vulgar and unforgiving romp through dark patches of Hollywood history.
This film is loud, vile, and cruel, and it is deliciously so. Few movies feel this kinetic, this chaotic, and this downright intoxicating. I have thought about it non stop since first seeing it a week ago. It may have its flaws, but the ambition behind the execution is more than enough to make it an easy entry in my Top Ten.
8. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
A RokuTv movie didn’t exactly fill me with confidence, but I trust Daniel Radcliffe to only do things that are interesting. His commitment to the bit is what makes Weird one of the funniest movies in years and a uniquely Weird Al-ish take on the musical biopic. Five minutes into this movie and you’ve already laughed until you’ve peed. It is a ridiculous and over the top lampooning of its titular character and the rise and fall of every musician movie you’ve ever seen.
The actors are all very much in on the joke, including the real Al Yankovic himself, and that creates a deliriously silly string of performances that keeps escalating the insanity and implausibility of an artist’s life until there’s nothing left.
7. The Batman
Spending the last decade as a big fan of Matt Reeves’ Planet of the Apes films, I had full faith in The Batman from the word go. That faith was rewarded in what is DC’s first major win in some time. The DC Universe is currently in shambles but with Reeves and Pattinson in the Bat-Driver’s seat at least one character is in good shape for the reboot.
The Batman is a twisty and grim tale that reinvents the character in a way that surprises and excites. It’s not easy to be the third Batman in a decade, but Robert Pattinson pulls it off in ways that make Bruce Wayne feel like a brand new character. The Batman is visually striking, sharply choreographed, and grittily brought to life under the more than capable eye and direction of Matt Reeves. This is a standard for blockbusters in a year of Marvel disappointments.
6. Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
There was an energy to seeing Everything, Everywhere, All at Once in a theater that I have not felt many times in my life. The audience of merely 20 people was dying of laughter from start to finish. People were audibly crying. This movie has moved so many in ways that few films truly do. It is just as heartfelt as it is absurd. Upon rewatch I could easily see it moving up on my list.
Daniels is one of the weirdest film duos out there. In this film they take everything they learned from 2016’s Swiss Army Man and improve upon the zaniness and unpredictable humor that is their signature. And to top it all off, this film begins the triumphant comeback of everyone’s favorite 1980’s child star, Ke Huy Quan.
5. Elvis
I don’t care for Baz Luhrmann or musical biopics. I walked into this three hour combination of the two with a morbid anticipation. I didn’t expect it to resonate so strongly or to impress me the way it did. Because of this movie, Elvis Presley became my top Spotify artist of the year as I poured through each of his albums. Elvis is a marvel. It’s fast, stunning, and over the top in a way that is true to the King.
Elvis is the celebrity’s celebrity and this film has an apt sense of what that means. This movie isn’t just about Elvis, it is about every celebrity who has ever played and performed to the hearts of this country. It is about the madness that every celebrity creates and that they eventually fall victim to. This movie took my breathe away.
4. Three Thousand Years of Longing
I do not use the term “masterpiece” lightly. There are movies higher on my list than George Miller’s Three Thousand Years of Longing, but none of them do I consider to be a masterpiece. This film has its flaws, and is admittedly a flawed masterpiece, but it is a masterpiece none the less. I have thought about no other movie more than this one these past few months. It is a heartbreaking and harrowing tale about what it means to love and what the cost of giving yourself to another truly is.
The lens of a three thousand year old genie confessing his woes to a 21st century woman allows this film to create a world that feels truly unique to itself. It blends folklore and fantasy into wildly compelling vignettes and reflections given through career best performances from Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton. To top it all off it has my favorite score of the year as well. This film constantly pulls on, and even occasionally snips, your heartstrings from start to finish.
3. Avatar: The Way of Water
I am fully indoctrinated into the Avatar nation. Never again will I allow myself to doubt James Cameron and his mastery of the digital canvas. This movie is captivating. Each scene takes you deeper and deeper into a fully realized world that I cannot get enough of. This is just as cutting edge as the original was. Visual effects have a new standard to match and the industry likely won’t even get close to this level of detail for a decade to come.
What I love most about The Way of Water is how it is very much a story movie and not a plot movie. This film is about getting familiar with the new characters and the full extent of the world they inhabit. It features lots of exploration and adventure that slowly builds into an exciting and dazzling climax. This film is truly the best of the best and all other major franchises should be put to shame.
2. Top Gun: Maverick
I didn’t trust Top Gun, but I did trust Tom Cruise. Yet that trust didn’t prepare me for how thrilling Maverick would be. This movie felt like a turning point in the post-Covid way of moviegoing. Everyone I knew was excited for Maverick and raced back to theaters to see it again. It deserves every bit of hype. There is absolutely nothing like it being filmed without Tom Cruise. He has once again proven himself to be the last of the dying movie star breed.
Top Gun: Maverick blends top notch action with surprisingly intimate stories to create one of the most purely emotional experiences of 2022. To say that this film keeps you on the edge of your seat is an understatement. This film demands the biggest screen you can see it on and rewards you for every inch or foot of screen you lend it.
1. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
For months I told everyone that this movie would be one of, if not the, year’s best. I couldn’t have been more on the money. After an 11-year theatrical hiatus, the Shrek franchise is back and firing on all cylinders. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish is a hilarious and emotionally grounded chase through wild new corners of the fairytale universe. It brings all of the franchise’s best staples in a new and dazzling style of animation.
Featuring the titular Puss in Boots on the last of his nine lives, this film is surprisingly intimate in its approach to understanding and developing its main character. It tells a tragic and honest story about what gives life meaning and our need to grow in order to find meaning. It has a fantastic voice cast and is rife with side characters just as fun and developed as its lead.
Full Ranking
Collin Willis 