The Year in Film 2022 may forever be known as the year of the sequel. With theatres still trying to recover from the pandemic, studios seemed to lean heavily into films based on well-established franchises. Of the top 10 box office earners of the year, eight of them were sequels. Three of those films belonged to Marvel, and three others based on decades-old franchises JURASSIC PARK, TOP GUN, and BATMAN. Audiences seemed to respond to films driven by visual effects and spectacle, which may (or may not), be a good sign for the big-screen experience moving forward.
Off the screen, we said farewell and adieu to beloved actors, actresses, and filmmakers including Sidney Poitier, Douglas Trumbull, Ivan Reitman, Alan Ladd, Jr., William Hurt, Fred Ward, Ray Liotta, Phillip Baker Hall, James Caan, David Warner, Paul Sorvino, Nichelle Nichols, Olivia Newton-John, Anne Heche, Wolfgang Petersen, Henry Silva, Kevin Conroy, Kirstie Alley, Louise Fletcher, Robbie Coltrane, Vangelis, and Angela Lansbury.
Back on the screen, the turds of the year included MORBIUS, JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION, and HALLOWEEN ENDS. DC delivered another stinker with BLACK ADAM, but then hit a home run with THE BATMAN. The whodunit genre showed up with three murder-mysteries, and celebrated filmmakers such as James Cameron and Steven Spielberg showed they can still connect. It was a very good year, and these are the Best Films of 2022 that this Blogger saw unspool:
10. BLONDE
There were two biopics made this year celebrating the lives of two of the most revered figures in entertainment history. The first came in this controversial picture about Marilyn Monroe, as played by a delightfully tragic Ana de Armas. Directed by Andrew Dominik, BLONDE works as a Hollywood fairy tale, not presenting itself as factual history but as a once-upon-a-time yarn. The cinematography is stunning, Ana de Armas is heartbreaking, and the ensemble cast is perfect.
9. THE PALE BLUE EYE
Christian Bale plays a detective in 1830’s New York, teamed up with a young Edgar Allen Poe to catch a murderer. Harry Melling, who plays the young Poe, forever steps out of his HARRY POTTER shadow in a remarkable performance…and manages to act circles around the always-solid Bale. The plot is full of twists and turns, including a humdinger at the end which makes us immediately want to re-watch. Excellent viewing for armchair detectives, and the best of the three major whodunits that were released this year.
8. ELVIS
Baz Luhurmann delivers a visual stunner and a surprisingly emotional biopic on the life of Elvis Presley. Austin Butler slips into the blue suedes of the King and recreates the man in a thrilling performance. ELVIS celebrates the man more than it analyses him, and that’s perfectly okay.
7. THE NORTHMAN
Robert Eggers drops this epic revenge tale about a Viking prince seeking payback for the death of his father. Heavily inspired by Norse mythology and driven by an outstanding performance by Alexander Skarsgard (son of Stellan), THE NORTHMAN isn’t just blood-and-guts but a journey of humanity. And what other movie has a climax of two naked men swordfighting on top of an active volcano?
6. AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
Leave it to James Cameron to find a way to use his own massive film AVATAR as a stepping-stone for something even bigger. The long-overdue return to Pandora delivered an expected masterpiece of visual effects, and a surprising emotional wave in a film that harks back to the epic cinema adventures of old.
5. THE FABELMANS
Steven Spielberg directs this loose biopic of his own life, documenting his early years as a teen filmmaker. Such a project may come off as self-serving or back-patting, but Spielberg frames it as a love letter to cinema, which is something that all movie lovers can relate to. Every kid can see themselves in this.
4. EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
The sleeper hit of the year. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert direct this sci-fi adventure about a Chinese-American immigrant (Michelle Yeoh), who discovers she has the power to travel between alternate universes. Labeled as an absurdist-comedy, there is plenty of madness to be had as the story jumps from universe to universe with wacky characters and situations, but the film keeps things grounded by working as a family drama.
3. TOP GUN: MAVERICK
Tom Cruise reprises his role as hot-shot fighter pilot Maverick in this legacy sequel that re-defines big-screen cinema. Directed by Joseph Kosinski and shot with a commitment to practical effects, Cruise actually sits in the cockpit of fighter jets and screams through the skies in breathtaking form. It’s mind-blowing on many levels, and sneaks in an emotional rabbit-punch that lands with cheers and tears.
2. THE WHALE
The poster doesn’t lie: Brendan Fraser puts in the performance of a lifetime in this drama about a morbidly obese man in the final days of his life trying to make things right with his rebellious teen daughter. Darren Aronofsky directs this powerhouse that is the true definition of raw emotion in a film that can be described as nothing short of incredible.
1. THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Martin McDonagh directs this drama set in 1920’s Ireland about two lifelong friends (Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell) who find themselves at an impasse when one of them abruptly ends the friendship. McDonagh uses the broken relationship as a clever and subtle metaphor for the Irish Civil War; two men that are one island but forever fractured. BANSHEES has excellent performances from Gleeson, Farrell, and the supporting cast of Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan. The script is witty, funny, tragic, and the photography of Ireland is gorgeous. But what BANSHEES does better than anything else this year is that it uses very little spectacle; where other top films in 2022 used an assault of bombast, BANSHEES uses down-to-earth human drama. Sometimes spectacle is best when its unseen.
- THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
- THE WHALE
- TOP GUN: MAVERICK
- EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
- THE FABELMANS
- AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
- THE NORTHMAN
- ELVIS
- THE PALE BLUE EYE
- BLONDE
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