Well as another year closes, I decided to rank all of the new releases that I watched in 2022. I hope you enjoy the list!
Ranking 44 Movies Released in 2022
Wow these are bad
44. Morbius
Review: For a movie that partially takes place in International Waters, I was disappointed. Morbius is a true stinker.
Rating: 1 star
43. Where the Crawdads Sing
Review: Miscast. Boring.
Rating: 1 star
42. Lou
Rating: 1 star
These should be better
41. The Gray Man
Review: This should’ve been good. I lost count of how many times I rolled my eyes at the dialogue. I like dumb action movies as much as anyone, but at times this felt insultingly dumb.
I’m glad Chris Evans had fun.
Rating: 2 stars
40. Redeeming Love
Rating: 2 stars
39. Uncharted
Review: There are a lot of problems far beyond this, but I think a great score would really elevate things. It’s really important to the feel of adventure Pirates of the Caribbean, Indiana Jones, etc. Even something like National Treasure has a better fitting score, though not as iconic.
That’s obviously not even the biggest flaw of Uncharted but I think it would’ve made a difference.
Rating: 2 stars
38. Death on the Nile
Review: The origin story we’ve all been clamoring for: Why did Poirot grow his mustache?
Rating: 2 stars
I had fun, sue me
37. Scream
Rating: 3 stars
36. Reurrection
Review: Confused and scared by this movie. Incredibly gruesome scene for the finale! A modern update to 1944s Gaslight. Resurrection is much darker.
Rating: 3 stars
35. Downton Abbey: A New Era
Rating: 3 stars
34. Thor: Love and Thunder
Review: I looked over at a younger family during the runtime and saw their kids around 6 and 8 years old glued to the screen. They cheered a couple times and I realized that’s who these movies are for now. It helped me not take this so seriously. I had fun. They had fun. That’s what movies do.
Is it a mess? Yes. Does it look bad in many moments? Also yes. Does a lot of the humor undercut the serious elements of the story and keep it from wrestling with more interesting material? Definitely! Am I looking past this because I had a good time and Taika Waititi’s humor works on me? I think so?
I may just be lowering my expectations, but seeing this later, and going in with less of the Marvel heaviness made this more enjoyable. The Thor storyline this pulls from is also one of my absolute favorites in my limited comic book knowledge. Highly recommend checking out the Jason Aaron run from 2012-14.
Also, Christian Bale blows everyone off the screen in this and not to spoil things but the section where it shifts to black and white is truly incredible. Those moments are what push this up a bit for me. Marvel should take more swings like that. The movie is a mess but it has moments and I think 13 year old me would’ve absolutely loved it.
Rating: 3 stars
33. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Review: I got up to get snacks every time that I got bored. It’s a pretty good movie when you do that.
Rating: 3 stars
32. Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers
Rating: 3 stars
Solid Movies
31. White noise
Rating: 3 stars
30. Memoria
Rating: 3 stars
29. Hustle
Review: Adam Sandler. Anthony Edwards. Training Montage. That’s all you need for a good movie.
Rating: 3 stars
28. Fresh
Review: A truly wild ride. Go in blind if you can!
Rating: 3 stars
27. A Hero
Review: Humanity is incredibly stressful!
Rating: 3 stars
26. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Review: Me throughout the entire move: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFQEIZEsWj4. I had a blast and I’m proud that this movie understands the importance of Paddington 2.
Rating: 3 stars
25. Ticket to Paradise
Review: This movie understands the power of movie stars. It’s a whole lot of fun.
Rating: 3 stars
24. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Review: Angela Bassett is the greatest. There’s a great movie in here, but it really fell off for me in the second half.
Rating: 3 stars
23. Kimi
Review: Soderbergh doesn’t miss.
Wish I could’ve caught this in a theater for a couple moments, but it’s really a perfect streaming thriller.
Rating: 3 stars
22. Cyrano
Review: Haley Bennett is really good. Apparently I’m into musicals now?
Rating: 3 stars
They Don’t Make them like they used to
21. The Lost City
Review: I had a blast. Brad Pitt was hilarious. It’s nice to have Channing Tatum back. Sandra Bullock was great as always. Letting movie stars be silly is always a good decision. Really funny, probably not as good as I’m rating it. I was thoroughly entertained.
Really glad I watched Romancing the Stone before this which would be a solid double feature pairing.
Rating: 3 stars
20. The Outfit
Review: A tight thriller with great performances. This snuck up on me and I got a lot of enjoyment out of it. I hope more streamers make movies like this in the future.
Rating: 3 stars
19. Barbarian
Review: Go in blind if you watch it. It is truly wild and I have nothing to say. I don't want to spoil anything. I don’t have a rating for this. I don’t even know if I like it. It is truly deranged.
18. Prey
Rating: 4 stars
17. Saloum
Review: This movie absolutely rips. I was so pleasantly surprised. Give it a shot!
Rating: 4 stars
16. The Batman
Review: If this was like 20 minutes shorter, I think it might be perfect.
Rating: 4 stars
The trauma of Life and Alexsander Skarsgård
15. The Banshees of Inisherin
Review: What’s the point of a legacy if you can’t share it with the people around you? That may not be what this movie is trying to say but it’s all I could think about. The tensions here are real and I wrestle with them every day. Colin Farrell is the best.
Rating: 4 stars
14. Ambulance
Rating: 4 stars
13. Avatar: The Way of Water
Review: It really was about the outcast whale friends we made along the way.
Rating: 4 stars
12. Three Thousand Years of Longing
Rating: 4 stars
11. The Fabelmans
Rating: 4 stars
10. Armageddon Time
Rating: 4 stars
9. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Rating: 4 stars
8. The Northman
Review: I levitated out of my seat when Skarsgård caught the spear and threw it back.
Rating: 4 stars
Top 5 + 2 Honorable mentions
7. Speak No Evil
Review: This movie is probably the most nihilistic thing I’ve ever watched. I don’t want to spoil anything. I don’t know if I can recommend it in good faith. It truly left me feeling depressed. In terms of a moving working, I’d say this is my #1 movie of the year. It definitely accomplishes what it sets out to do and I vividly remember the moment it turns. Depraved!
Rating: 4 stars
6. Everything Everywhere All at Once
Review: I’ve never seen anything like this. Pure chaos. Emotional. Fun. Sometimes absurdity is the best way to understand. I think I loved it. It’s not perfect, but it’s beautiful. Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan are wonderful.
Rating: 5 stars.
5. TÁR
Review: Cate Blanchett delivers the performance of the year and one of the best performances I’ve ever seen in TÁR. A lot has been made that this is a movie about cancel culture and sure that plays a role in the story. However, I felt that it had more to do with what we accept in talented people. Where do we draw the line in moral failings? What do we let slide to achieve greatness? Is it worth it? I’m not sure TÁR offers us any answers, but it is certainly asking a lot of questions. I found it to be a wonderful character study and one that I’d like to revisit in the future.
It also has, perhaps, the funniest ending of the year!
Rating: 5 stars
4. Top Gun: Maverick
Review: There is nothing to say. It was the best theater going experience of the year. I was hootin’ and hollerin’ the whole time.
Rating: 5 stars
3. Nope
Review: I think this is Jordan Peele’s best film, better than Get Out and Us. I have a lot of theories about Nope and the ways it explores our relationship with trauma, social media, consumerism, and relational bonds. I think it is a bit of a kaleidoscope for people. I’m not sure I’ll ever fully understand it, but it meant a lot to me. The fact that Peele is able to entertain and provide meaning at such a high level is truly a gift.
Rating: 5 stars
2. Decision to Leave
Review: I love this movie.
Here’s a review that I loved:
"The moment you said you loved me, your love is over. The moment your love ends, my love begins."
Decision to Leave is Park Chan-wook channeling Alfred Hitchcock in extraordinary ways. I’m always shocked by how funny PCW is each time I fire up one of his movies. He understands a particular humor in every day life.
It is the best directed movie of the year by a mile, in my opinion. The performances are excellent and it really is only headed in one direction, but it still took my breath away.
Rating: 5 stars
1.After Yang
Review: I watched this movie 4 times this year. I don’t really have a comfort movie, but if I had to choose one it would probably be this. It is perfectly calibrated to a type of sadness that I find captivating. On my second or third watch I realized that I wanted more from it. I wanted it to be longer and for a film about loss, I didn't know how to grapple with that understanding. Then it hit me.
I realized that is exactly what loss does to us. It makes us reconsider how we spend our time. It makes us wish we could have just one more moment with those that we have left behind. It makes us long to see the people who have gone before us again.
Kogonada makes cathartic films. Columbus (2017) offers a similar feeling and stars Haley Lu Richardson who appears in After Yang, as well. She is wonderful. However, I found Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith to be particularly moving. The ways in which their memories of Yang cut together as if they’re trying to grab the perfect moment was unlike anything I’d seen before. When Colin Farrell’s character and Yang, played by Justin H. Min, share some tea I was enchanted.
I don’t really cry when watching movies, but After Yang brings me to tears. It’s the best movie of 2022 in my opinion and no other movie has a more engaging opening credits sequence.
I love this movie. I hope you do too.
Rating: 5 stars