Hi, so I got some explaining to do about my 2021 film lists.
As you can tell, I didn’t do a worst or best film list of 2021. What you all didn’t know is that I tried and tried to get something started there, but failed. Some of it was the new job, some more of it was trying to get ready for my life to be turned upside down with the baby coming last year, and then admittedly some of it was the creative juices not being there. Especially in these times, where it feels like bad movies are just simply not fun to talk about anymore. Not going to lie to you all when I say that my Worst of 2021 list was literally going to be all hot takes and Sia’s piece of shit film, “Music” which is not only the worst film of 2021 to me, but one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen in my life.
The best list wasn’t much better. I mean I was so happy to see the movie industry come back to life after the pandemic basically shut everything I love about movies down; but the best list sounded super generic to write and I didn’t have fun composing it. If you all want to know what my favorite movie of 2021 is, it was Spider-Man: No Way Home for being reminiscent of the pre-pandemic event film experience. Eventual best picture winner Coda was a close second. After that, I couldn’t tell ya because I’ve wiped so much of that writing experience out of my memory bank.
So instead of dwelling on what ifs and what could have beens, let's talk about the movies of 2022…two thirds of the way through 2023. And let me tell ya, it is good to be back to a new normal. I loved being able to go back to the theaters again and enjoy myself; while also being able to stream more from the comfort of my home. I’m also glad to tell you that the quality was worth it as so many major releases were finally out to watch and it just felt like an event year for film after two years of pandemic blues.
And as I’m writing this, it looks like I should keep soaking in this movie writing experience while I can because Hollywood is about to be on hold for awhile with the writers and actors strikes still looming large. Get ready for Day 100. So buckle in for my top ten films from this year because let me tell ya. This is easily the most diverse best list I’ve ever written. Throw out what you normally expect from 2022 film lists because this is going to be much different. We’re counting down!
THE TOP TEN BEST FILMS OF 2022
Let’s start this best list off right with one of my favorite directors making one of the most polarizing films of his career.
10. The Whale
It’s actually amazing that I’m seeing some film circles calling this film Aronofsky’s most controversial. Like hello? You do realize we are talking about the director of Requiem For a Dream, Pi, and Mother!…yet this is his most controversial? Then avoid those three if you can’t stomach this one.
I will be honest though, this isn’t anywhere close to his best film. But even then, a B-tier Aronofsky film is still better than most director’s S-tier. That’s how much of a fan I am of his work. But he’s not the main reason this is on my best list.
The main reason is the acting. And my god the acting in this is great all around. Sadie Sink continues to impress as she will absolutely be fine career wise post Stranger Things. Hong Chau absolutely deserves her nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Ty Simpkins is great, good to see him back in a major acting role. Samantha Morton as the estranged wife, she deserves more appreciation, period.
But of course, there is Brendan Fraser. This is his movie more than it is anyone else’s. What a career validating performance after stepping out of the spotlight thirteen or so years ago to take lesser roles and step out of the spotlight a bit. This guy was a laughingstock for so long because of how many bad films he was a part of and how devoid of charisma he was. All he needed to do was put on a ton of weight and acting his ass off to justify why he is famous.
Well let this be a lesson that even the heavily quoted “worst of actors” can still put in career defining performances. If George of the Jungle or Dudley Do-Right can win an award for Best Actor, anyone can.
I don’t feel like I need to justify my picks for the best list, but even I admit my taste this year was more eclectic than usual. For example…
9. Beavis and Butt-Head Do The Universe
Who would possibly think a made for Paramount+ movie of the fourth revival of this IP was one of his favorite movies of any year? Yeah…about that. I have been a Beavis and Butt-Head fan for awhile now. What can I say? I’m a simple man of simple pleasures and nothing is more simplistic than watching two high school kids be dumbasses for eleven minutes per episode as they try to “score”.
Fun fact for those of you who have no knowledge of the IP. This is not their first full length film. The first was “Beavis and Butt-Head Do America” in 1996, which was a hit in theaters and had some big name stars attached like Bruce Willis and Demi Moore…all for a movie about two teens wanting a new tv and to score. That was supposed to be the original finale for the show, but then it got brought back for two additional revivals. And now it’s on its third revival with the new movie being the precursor to the show’s latest revival.
And let me tell ya, I loved this more than I did the original movie. Hell I’ll go a step further and say this might be the best film Mike Judge has ever made. Yes, better than Office Space and Idiocracy. Because we are in an era devoid of great comedies to put it bluntly. You can blame political correctness or cancel culture like I know many do for why comedy as a genre is on such a steep decline, but I don’t think that’s the real problem. The real problem is comedy as a genre needs more depth and keep relying on the same tactics of the last twenty years.
But this is a rare case of keeping it simple stupid. This is not Adam Sandler or Will Ferrell doing the same shtick over and over again. Beavis and Butt-Head have a formula that works and continues to work because it riffs itself. It doesn’t have any sort of complexity too and that’s a good thing in their case. I don’t tune into Beavis and Butt-Head expecting too much and maybe that’s what comedy needs as a whole.
Also Beavis and Butt-Head easily tackle white privilege in this movie better than any modern comedian does.
Next.
You know what didn’t have a good year for me? Prestige flicks. Yeah all those Academy Award awards bait flicks, they didn’t do much for me compared to years past. I mean slight spoiler, but there are two more best picture nominees from this past year coming up later. However, I wouldn’t call them prestige flicks first and foremost. So compared to years past, here is the sole prestige best picture nominee that was good enough for my best list.
8. Tar
Cate Blanchett does it again. I know she already has two Best Actress awards and I’m very happy for Michelle Yeoh, she was great in EEAAO. But if you ask me, Blanchett should have won her third to tie Meryl Streep and Frances McDormand.
Tar is so much more than the Great American Movie about “cancel culture” — a phrase that it humiliates with every movement — but this dense and difficult portrait of a female conductor’s fall from grace also demands to be seen through that singular lens from its very first shot. Todd Field’s thrilling, deceptively austere third film exalts in grabbing the electrified fence of digital-age discourse with both hands and daring us to hold onto it for 158 minutes in the hopes that we might ultimately start to feel like we’re shocking ourselves.
Highly recommend checking this one out, not just solely for Cate Blanchett’s performance.
What a year it was that this was one of the best movies for me.
7. Jackass Forever
What can I say? I’m a simple man of simple pleasures and nothing is more simplistic than watching grown adult men be dumbasses for eleven minutes per episode…or now a hour and a half long movies.
The Jackass phenomenon is such a strange one. The show itself I didn’t really watch because it didn’t last long enough for me to truly judge due to all the outrage. They had those don’t try this at home warnings for a reason idiots who actually tried this at home. So naturally, the movies didn’t have to worry nearly as much about cancellation or trying to meet FCC censorship. That’s why the movies are like a hundred times better because of it.
And Forever is basically more of the same. But because the stars of this franchise are pushing 50 and over, its time to bring in some new blood. And the new blood is just as hilarious to watch physical hurt themselves for our amusement just as much as the old blood is. Plus Bam Margera is not in this one and that makes it 100 times more tolerable.
If you’re looking for deep analysis as to why this film is a masterpiece, then you’re barking up the wrong tree. The trailer is basically what you get and then some. Look for your in depth movie morals elsewhere and just watch these guys (and girl) get hit in the groin or bit by a scorpion or something repeatedly. Next.
Last somewhat offbeat choice for a best list, I promise.
6. The Bob’s Burgers Movie
2022 was a year of many highs for me personally. But when it comes to entertainment, one of my favorite moments of the year is binging Bob’s Burgers. This is hands down one of my new favorite shows of not just current, but of all-time. This show has filled an animation void that has been sorely missing since King of the Hill ended. I needed this sort of dry humor where the main character plays the straight man to all the zany antics that happen around him.
Admittedly, this placement might be a tad high solely because of what Bob’s Burgers meant to me in 2022, but even justifiably on its own merits, the film was equally great on its own. It is basically a hour and a half long tv episode to an extent, but you know what, that’s fine with me. After all, you could say the same thing about The Simpsons Movie and it reminded me why I loved the show in the first place. The same can be said here too.
What I love about this movie is that it doesn’t introduce any complex new characters for the Belchers to overcome nor does it feel the need to raise the stakes to the umpteenth degree. It is just a low key story for a low key show. Okay well not entirely low key as the movie does involve the restaurant being in trouble and a murder mystery of sorts. But it does this in just a Bob’s Burger-y way. With puns, jokes, and musical numbers. And let me tell you all, these musical numbers are as hilariously over the top as you would expect from this series. “Lucky Ducks” and “Sunnyside of Summer” are two of the best original songs from this year.
I would say more, but seriously stop what you’re doing and watch this show because it makes the movie feel all the more special. Next.
This might not come as a shock to you all paying attention, but I think superhero movie fatigue is FINALLY kicking in.
Don’t take this the wrong way. There are still superhero movies that are still making plenty of money at the box office. But the flops and underperforming of some titles are definitely becoming more noticeable. The MCU has seemingly peaked. DC has no idea what the fuck they are doing. Sony’s…whatever they want to call Spider-Man side universe is a ten car pile up. When literally the biggest talking point of superhero films this year was how big of a meme Morbius’s failures were…that’s pretty bad.
I’m not saying superhero movies are in danger of going extinct, but I certainly think studios should take note that things need to change. Since cinematic universes are now all the rage, the genre that started this trend needs to evolve once more. At the very least, we did get one great superhero movie to remind us that we did get at least one exception of quality over quantity.
5. The Batman
I don’t know how many of you are aware of this, but my favorite superhero franchise has been and will always be, Batman. The caped crusader may not have natural superpowers like most of his contemporaries, but he’s just a rich man who wants to bring justice to a corrupt world. Always a mood we can vibe with.
And I think we can all unanimously agree that The Dark Knight is on the Mount Rushmore of superhero flicks and easily the best Batman movie ever made. So with such lofty standards, is it possible to top it? Well it’s a definite no for me. But I appreciate this film for trying to. You can tell that The Batman was made with love and appreciation for the IP as director Matt Reeves is a huge fan. It’s noticeable with Batman being an actual detective for the first time in what feels like forever in bat years.
And how about that Robert Pattinson? I wish everyone would get over their ridiculous hatred for anything associated with Twilight because ESPECIALLY the two main stars (Pattinson and Kristen Stewart) have gone on to have fantastic film careers that show they are more than capable actors.
Look I can gush on and on about my love for this IP and this character, but at the end of the day, I appreciate Matt Reeves for giving a new sense of freshness and life to such a long historic property. Even of Pattinson’s batman isn’t going to be in Gunn’s DCU, it doesn’t need to be. Let Matt Reeves cook.
Side note, this would be much higher if it was thirty minutes shorter. That last climax lasted much longer than it needed. Next.
At one point or another, these four flicks were all my best picture of the year. So keep that in mind that this might as well be a four way tie. But what a year it was that the Academy Award winner for Best Picture was only my number four.
4. Everything, Everywhere, All at Once
As I stated in my entry for Tar, this was not a prestige flick to me. I consider this more as a science fiction film than I do traditional awards bait. It only became awards fodder after everyone that saw this universally agreed that this was fucking terrific.
Oh...what a long strange trip it's been watching this 132 min, a mostly trippy & oh so original journey through the twisted minds of the Daniel's (Directors Daniel Kwan & Scheinert). The film is a multiverse mash-up of sci-fi, martial arts, comedy, romance, family & much more. Michelle Yeoh is amazing & Oscar worthy in her performance as a most unlikely hero Mom who must navigate through time traveling dangers to reconcile her life's many paths. The supporting cast is stalwart led by a really fun turn by Jamie Lee Curtis. The film's kinetic pace, somehow finds time near the end to put on the brakes and be a heartfelt mother-daughter reconciliation that is at the core of it's roller-coaster journey. This is a movie to savor, celebrate,and see again as it is has something for Everyone, All at Once!
So as I stated in my last entry, this was basically a four way tie for first. All 10 out of 10’s as you may say. However, I think this next one will be the one I might get push back over, especially ranking it over EEAAO.
3. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story
What can I say? My expectations have been subverted once more. Literally copy and paste everything I said three years ago about the first one because it’s exactly more of the same. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing in this case. I left the original wanting to go back for another mystery with these characters or at the very least, Daniel Craig’s Benoit Blanc.
And low and behold, we got basically more of the same with a different cast of characters. Which admittedly, I did miss the Drysdale and Thrombey family initially. But in due time, I got use to the new suspects who have a long, admittedly complicated, history with Edward Norton’s character, who in itself is a hilarious take on Elon Musk. And of course, all those not so subtle digs about the pandemic in itself does show what isolation does to people as well as how the rich and wealthy were basically unaffected by that and need to be knocked down a few pegs.
But really, I just fucking love this franchise. And let me use this comparison point since this list is very late, but it works as an effective point. Kenneth Branagh’s own whodunnit trilogy just had the release of its third movie and people are surprised by how its underperforming. I am not. These Hercule Poirot movies are absolutely boring and uneventful. Just because you can stack the casting with big names does not equate to interesting filmmaking. Rian Johnson actually provides twists and gives all of his characters depth and intrigue. So when something happens to them, you get emotionally invested.
Benoit Blanc good. Hercule Poirot bad. Got it? Good. Let’s move on.
If you told me a year ago that this would be one of the best films of the year, I would have been in utter shock. Hell to be honest, I still am even though this movie is very much critically acclaimed and considered one of the years best.
2. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
This was for sure the biggest surprise of this year. No one saw this coming and being this good. NO ONE. What’s even more surprising is that there were two films that took over ten years to make a true sequel for and both would end up becoming some of the biggest films of last year. Alas where Avatar 2 was absolutely forgettable and just only had spectacular visuals (as to be expected), this was the one with a more well thought out story, insanely quotable lines, impressive animation, and unforgettable characters.
But what this movie really did is executed its themes and lessons spectacularly. You can say that they were hammered to an extent, but not to me. We had to learn why Puss had to change through his character’s history of being reckless and taking his lives for granted, so he can learn that his last one he has to live every day like its his last. I mean that is an effective lesson that has been done to death, but how this movie tackles this is a fresh take that I’ve never seen done before.
This has me excited for Shrek 5…you know what, scratch that. Give me Puss in Boots 3. That’s how much I would like to see this spin-off series continue to be explored. Don’t @ me.
1. Top Gun: Maverick
No clever preamble from me this time. Because I want to get personal for a minute.
One of the first films I ever have distinct memories of me loving growing up was the original Top Gun with my father. And before everyone comes at me with how stupid, cheesy, and masculinity charged the original movie was….yes. You are correct. I’m not going to not defend the amounts of gloriously lame 80s-ness the original was. Hell I had my wife watch the original and she thought it was one of the stupidest movies she ever saw. Trust me, I get it. But I would like to stick up for the original for one moment in particular. The death of Goose and everything from that point on has way more heart and sincerity than anyone can give it credit for. That is what helps me still defend this movie to this day.
Then there is this sequel. I saw it opening day with my wife and my father. And let me tell you that my dad and I shed a few tears. This movie is beautifully made as an ode to cinema and the movie theater experience. Tom Cruise is hitting like career peak number ten in his long illustrious career after making this sequel. A sequel that literally no one asked for and is 35 years after the original. Yet somehow, he justified this sequel’s mere existence simply by reminding us why we loved going to the movies in the first place. Tom Cruise is a man who just loves being a movie star and loves to give people the thrills and experiences that they pay to see. That’s why he does his own stunts. That’s why he keeps giving us new peaks in the Mission Impossible series…a series that should have ended seventeen years ago if it wasn’t for the fact that he found a way to keep making these movies better and better. And that is why we should have never questioned if he could make a Top Gun sequel work. Not only did he make it work, he made one of the best sequels ever in the history of filmmaking. Long gone is the cocky Maverick of old as the new Maverick is more introspective and wanting to be there for his loved ones and the ones he lost. Maverick is a much more complex character in this sequel and that alone makes me love it more than original. But my god, these action sequences are some of the best I’ve ever seen on film. It is worth paying the price of admission to feel like I’m in the air flying in a fighter jet. This is otherworldly directing and CGI work. It’s hard to tell what is fake when it all feels so surreal.
But this all goes back to my history of going to the movies with my dad. Him and I have seen countless movies together and this is the last film my dad and I might ever go to theaters to see together ever again. Not due to health, but my dad simply prefers streaming over the movie theaters, period. He made an exception for this one and now I have a kid of my own. I absolutely want him to inherit my love of film making and film critiquing. This movie made me introspective in multiple ways about father and son bonding and that is why it is my best movie of 2022.
