Most of us didn’t realize how fast this year had gone by. Countless movies were released on streaming platforms and in theaters, but not all could make an impact on the audience. Like every year we picked our favorite movies this year too. Here are our top picks for the best movies of 2022.
Barbarian
The fear of spoilers, in my opinion, is worse than merely having a basic understanding of a film. Who cares if you understand the concept, for example? But in the case of Zack Cregger’s Barbarian, the experience is really improved the less you knew going in. Yes, you should be able to view it now that it is on HBO, but we won’t give too much away here. Let’s just say that this movie is really insane, terrifying and extremely gruesome, and hilariously satirical of society.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever fulfils our expectations in many ways, which is fantastic. The much awaited Marvel movie examines the pain that T’Challa and Chadwick Boseman’s loss caused in both the Marvel universe and in real life. Every frame is a work of art. In its story, humour, emotions, action, and tense dialogue mix harmoniously. Even if she isn’t quite ready, Shuri accepts the responsibility.
Wakanda Forever, however, goes much further than earlier conjecture and ideas. The study of grief diverges into a variety of resonant avenues. It places a surprising emphasis on Black and Native people as they identify their true foes. And even though it is unmistakably a monument to the dead monarch, Riri “Ironheart” Williams and new iterations of beloved characters emerge from the ashes of sorrow. Wakanda Forever is without a doubt the greatest MCU movie of 2022.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
After watching the movie in which a farting corpse becomes someone’s best friend, I was ready to accompany the Daniels wherever they went. It became out that they desired to travel to the multiverse! A small-scale family story that simultaneously doubles as a world-changing action/sci-fi journey. Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan should be nominated for Oscars this year since it is brilliant. In fact, if they don’t get them, I’ll attach googly eyes to the homes of Academy voters. (A disclaimer has been requested to state that I won’t do it.)
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Knives Out by Rian Johnson was undoubtedly my favourite film of the year. So it was beyond thrilled to think that he would get to direct additional whodunit mysteries starring Daniel Craig as gentleman detective Benoit Blanc. And although though Glass Onion is much broader and more overtly comical than the first movie, it still has charming surprises and anti-capitalist satire. Seersucker beachwear should take the place of your warm sweater.
Nope
I adore living in a time where a new Jordan Peele film is anticipated. With just his third film, he went big and gave us a sci-fi tale that was both intriguing and unsettling, along with never-before-seen visuals. No, he’s a combination of Jaws and Close Encounters. The most devastating scenes in the film, however, deal with the idea that humans have any sort of control over nature. That stupid chimpanzee is so eerie.
Prey
Man, 2022 will be crazy! Not only do we get a top-notch Top Gun sequel, but we also get a Predator movie that matches the first one. In the 1719 setting of Prey, a young Indigenous person must fend off an alien hunter who is way too powerful for the era. It’s not as spooky as the previous movie, but the action scenes are fantastic. Even while Alien may be argued to be more complex and diverse than the franchise, at least we have another instalment that is deserving of the title.
The Batman
Robert Pattinson’s eagerly anticipated debut as the Dark Knight finally hit theatres in February. I had high hopes for it, but I couldn’t have imagined that it would make me stop watching all other live-action Batman movies. Matt Reeves created a convincing and completely entrenched in comic book lore portrayal of Gotham City. A staggering five key antagonists appear in this dark, dramatic, and really mysterious journey, which also features some lethal combat. The movie’s score by Michael Giacchino may have received the most plays on my Apple Music account this year. Simply a victory on every front.
The Woman King
The Woman King opens a door to the past that was mostly closed to American viewers by bringing the fascinating true story of the Agojie (also known as the Dahomey Amazons) to the general public. This fearless 19th all-woman army is examined in Gina Prince-film Bythewood’s in a tragic story that parses through dealing with the effects of enslavement and defying social expectations. We were given a glimpse into an unshakable sisterhood as Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, and Lashana Lynch’s characters navigated self-preservation, retaliation, and suffering in all its manifestations through outstanding performances. We received a very unique historical presentation thanks to visually beautiful combat sequences and a terse blend of suspense and humour.
Top Gun: Maverick
I’ve already stated that I believed this movie wouldn’t be very good and wouldn’t bring in a lot of money. And for that reason, my friends, I don’t make predictions for a living. Tom Cruise’s never-really-grown-up Maverick has a gripping story in Top Gun: Maverick, which is superior to the 1986 original and boasts some of the best aerial stunt work ever seen on film. Even if it wasn’t the best movie ever made, it made a lot of money and well deserved to be shown as frequently as it has.
Turning Red
Pixar’s Turning Red is yet another achievement, despite the fact that the majority of their most recent work has gone directly to Disney+. Their ability to depict slices of life that are peculiar to certain people but feel somehow universal is one of their strongest qualities. Although a girl becoming a huge red panda shouldn’t be relatable, it actually is since everyone has experienced parental embarrassment while growing up. Hey, at least it’s a super cute monster, because adolescence might as well be evolving into one. Great film; it belonged on the big screen.
Wendell & Wild
Wendell & Wild demonstrates why stop-motion animation is a kind of art that will endure. Ambitious and somewhat odd, but ultimately satisfying, is Henry Selick’s rather macabre meditation on the school-to-prison pipeline, PTSD, the afterlife, and community power. The movie examines the horrors and murky secrets that destroy tiny villages while paying stunning respect to Black punk rock. Its in-depth exploration of the relationship between beauty and suffering, Key & Peele’s signature humour and Lyric Ross’s standout performance, as well as its complex worldbuilding, make it a movie you’ll want to see repeatedly.
X/Pearl
Both of these Ti West films—X, which debuted in March, and Pearl, which debuted in September—would have made our list of recommended films. The whole experience is one of 2022’s greatest, though, because both of them were released in the same year and serve as an intriguing examination of similar subjects in very different ways. X is a stylish slasher with murderous backwoods olds as its backdrop in the early peak of porn; Pearl goes all the way back to the 1910s and investigates how the titular old from X came to be the way she is. Thrilling, humorous, oddly touching, and featuring three standout performances from Mia Goth Why not adore it?
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever fulfils our expectations in many ways, which is fantastic. The much awaited Marvel movie examines the pain that T’Challa and Chadwick Boseman’s loss caused in both the Marvel universe and in real life. Every frame is a work of art. In its story, humour, emotions, action, and tense dialogue mix harmoniously. Even if she isn’t quite ready, Shuri accepts the responsibility.
