Another year, another complete shift in my movie-watching goals. I started more movie podcasts than ever before and due to my film-OCD, I need to watch any movie that is discussed on a podcast. Not only that, but I must also start from episode 1 of a podcast and then hope to catch up. I'm doing this with Filmspotting, Blank Check, Unspooled, the Mega64 Movie Club, and the Letterboxd Show. In addition to that, my friend and I started doing Scavenger Hunts in which we pick eight of the same criteria so we have eight films to watch (sometimes the same, sometimes different) over the course of two months. That's a lot of movies to catch up so my Academy project is suffering from a bit of a priority shuffle but I still intend to persevere and watch every Best Picture nominee and Academy Award winning film I can get a hold of!
2022 was an excellent year for new releases, my favorite in quite some time. I rarely give 4.5/5 stars for new releases and I dished out five this year. There were plenty of my favorites in contention at the 95th Academy Awards, so that was a fun ceremony to watch. In terms of trips to the theater, this was my busiest year. I went 79 times! I watch every movie that becomes the #1 movie at the box office in the United States so that certainly contributes to that number, but I also started watching more selections at the arthouse this year. It's all about expanding those cinematic horizons, baby. My full Top 25 List per my Letterboxd is available at the link below. Alas, my ten favorite films of 2022 are:
2022 was an excellent year for new releases, my favorite in quite some time. I rarely give 4.5/5 stars for new releases and I dished out five this year. There were plenty of my favorites in contention at the 95th Academy Awards, so that was a fun ceremony to watch. In terms of trips to the theater, this was my busiest year. I went 79 times! I watch every movie that becomes the #1 movie at the box office in the United States so that certainly contributes to that number, but I also started watching more selections at the arthouse this year. It's all about expanding those cinematic horizons, baby. My full Top 25 List per my Letterboxd is available at the link below. Alas, my ten favorite films of 2022 are:
10. The Banshees of Inisherin [Martin McDonagh]
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 9 more (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing)
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 9 more (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Film Editing)
My top two favorite male performances of 2022 are both from Colin Farrell. While he is more subdued in film that will appear higher on this list, he shows a lot more range here, managing a hilariously comedic performance without being cartoonish and mixing in a sense of despair and anguish. Despite the healthy handful of funny moments, despair and anguish is at the crux of the film. Dark comedy has never applied to a tone quite like this one. If you thought Martin McDonagh slipped up in his last outing, let this be an opportunity to jump back onto the bandwagon with me. The exploration of the longing for company on an isolated island is expertly navigated via a series of provocative encounters between Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. I can't say I quite grasp everything McDonagh is laying down (and neither will Gleeson with his right hand!), but I get it enough to be enamored in its melancholy. And the cast is perfectly rounded out with a pair of supporting performances for the ages with the creepy and offbeat Barry Keoghan and the endlessly likeable and dependable Kerry Condon.
Plus one for the border collie but minus one for a tasteless homophobic joke that felt like a laugh from the early 2000s. Still though, a great feckin' movie!
Plus one for the border collie but minus one for a tasteless homophobic joke that felt like a laugh from the early 2000s. Still though, a great feckin' movie!
9. Official Competition [Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn]
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 0 more
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 0 more
This film is right in my wheelhouse. Any time there is a movie within a movie plot, I will always been enraptured by the artistic process. Bonus points if it can acutely comment on how that art form fits in our culture.The performances from all three of these actors are phenomenal. If I had to choose, Antonia Banderas is my MVP but they all brought the truth, something that must be difficult when playing an actor that has to turn it on in these rehearsal scenes. Sometimes, they even act like they are acting so it's a performance within a performance within a performance and it's exciting to get lost in their talents and especially their egos. And what's more, this is a completely funny movie; comedy is such a great conduit for critiquing things like awards and the motivations to create a movie.
And just when I thought Penelope Cruz couldn't get more attractive, she has red curly hair and acts with a functioning eccentricity. My word.
And just when I thought Penelope Cruz couldn't get more attractive, she has red curly hair and acts with a functioning eccentricity. My word.
8. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio [Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson]
Won 1 Oscar (Best Animated Feature Film) / Nominated for 0 more
"The one thing that makes life precious, you see, is how brief it is.
"What a powerful story that gets right to the terrible joy of mortality. Animation is inherently a medium for children and this is a wonderful narrative for a kid to witness. It doesn't sugar-coat topics like death, war, and harsh consequences like other animated features would. Plus, the stop motion is absolutely stunning as is the voice acting (my favorite performance coming from Christoph Waltz followed closely by Tilda Swinton) and a score/original songs that will certainly get stuck in your head. I'm still salty that "Ciao Papa" didn't get nominated for Best Original Song and Alexandre Desplat's score wasn't nominated for Best Original Score.
Disney's Pinocchio is one of my favorite films of all time but Guillermo del Toro's vision merits this adaptation while fitting in perfectly with Disney's legacy. What a terrible joy of a filmmaker.
"What a powerful story that gets right to the terrible joy of mortality. Animation is inherently a medium for children and this is a wonderful narrative for a kid to witness. It doesn't sugar-coat topics like death, war, and harsh consequences like other animated features would. Plus, the stop motion is absolutely stunning as is the voice acting (my favorite performance coming from Christoph Waltz followed closely by Tilda Swinton) and a score/original songs that will certainly get stuck in your head. I'm still salty that "Ciao Papa" didn't get nominated for Best Original Song and Alexandre Desplat's score wasn't nominated for Best Original Score.
Disney's Pinocchio is one of my favorite films of all time but Guillermo del Toro's vision merits this adaptation while fitting in perfectly with Disney's legacy. What a terrible joy of a filmmaker.
7. The Northman [Robert Eggers]
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 0 more
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 0 more
Even after The Witch and The Lighthouse (and this setting), I wasn't quite expecting this much grime, filth, and carnage. Sure, I was expecting it to be dark and bloody, but this is on another level from what you could possibly have in mind. And it's all the better for it. Robert Eggers drenches you in the bleak atmosphere of the 10th century on the Atlantic. If it's not raining, it's overcast or night. If you don't see somebody's guts pouring out, you'll see the dirtiest hands readying a blade or working the fields. There's hardly a moment to catch your breath.
How about this cast? Of course Alexander Skarsgård nails the persona of the raging viking who vows for revenge and Anya Taylor-Joy looks like she can stare daggers into your heart but I found the performances of the more minor characters the most fulfilling. Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, and Björk have little screentime but they certainly make the most of it. Claes Bang as the uncle is among my favorite performances and Nicole Kidman steals the whole show with a scene that turns the narrative on its head.
Although this had lofty expectations from me, this film still met them. I'm also glad I didn't live in this time period so more kudos to Eggers for not romanticizing. The only romance I need from this scenario are those ATJ closeups.
How about this cast? Of course Alexander Skarsgård nails the persona of the raging viking who vows for revenge and Anya Taylor-Joy looks like she can stare daggers into your heart but I found the performances of the more minor characters the most fulfilling. Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, and Björk have little screentime but they certainly make the most of it. Claes Bang as the uncle is among my favorite performances and Nicole Kidman steals the whole show with a scene that turns the narrative on its head.
Although this had lofty expectations from me, this film still met them. I'm also glad I didn't live in this time period so more kudos to Eggers for not romanticizing. The only romance I need from this scenario are those ATJ closeups.
6. The Fabelmans [Steven Spielberg]
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 7 more (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Production Design)
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 7 more (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Production Design)
This Sammy Fabelman kid looks like he has some talent!
There seems to be a lot of semi-autobiopics being made these days and I'm here for it. It's not every day a master of modern cinema gets to reflect on his formative years by including us the audience and the cast and crew that helped him create his vision. Spielberg is a real one and this would be the ultimate send off, a story that foreshadows greatness in addition to sadness.
Every performance is outstanding but I fell for Judd Hirsch's single scene in the bedroom as he talks about art and family, even if it is so on the nose. That family/art push and pull was at the forefront of my mind for the rest of the film and it put the parents' actions into focus. Paul Dano and Michelle Williams are excellent and I would love hearing a piano being played with long nails any time.
Speaking of the piano, the John Williams score is incredibly poignant. What he does with that instrument enhances the relationship Sammy has with his mom and it gives me bittersweet feelings for someone who is getting up there in age. If this is his last collaboration with Spielberg, that would be just perfect. I was rooting for him to win that Oscar so hard!
Keep them horizons at the top or the bottom, kid (what a cameo!).
There seems to be a lot of semi-autobiopics being made these days and I'm here for it. It's not every day a master of modern cinema gets to reflect on his formative years by including us the audience and the cast and crew that helped him create his vision. Spielberg is a real one and this would be the ultimate send off, a story that foreshadows greatness in addition to sadness.
Every performance is outstanding but I fell for Judd Hirsch's single scene in the bedroom as he talks about art and family, even if it is so on the nose. That family/art push and pull was at the forefront of my mind for the rest of the film and it put the parents' actions into focus. Paul Dano and Michelle Williams are excellent and I would love hearing a piano being played with long nails any time.
Speaking of the piano, the John Williams score is incredibly poignant. What he does with that instrument enhances the relationship Sammy has with his mom and it gives me bittersweet feelings for someone who is getting up there in age. If this is his last collaboration with Spielberg, that would be just perfect. I was rooting for him to win that Oscar so hard!
Keep them horizons at the top or the bottom, kid (what a cameo!).
5. Babylon [Damien Chazelle]
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 3 more (Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design)
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 3 more (Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Costume Design)
Woo boy, this felt like a roller coaster. The gratuitous excess on display in the opening party really rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't think Chazelle would be able to reel it back in for me. But as the characters are introduced and the subsequent scenes started to contextualize this racy era of Hollywood, I absolutely got reeled back in.What stands out to me the most is the editing. Not only jumping back and forth between these characters at just the right moments but specific scenes that use quick cuts played for laughs, tension, frustration, and an overall dynamism such as the initial attempt at making a sound picture with Margot Robbie's Nellie LaRoy. The difficulty of this transition from silent films to movies with sound is so adeptly and energetically conveyed here, in all of Chazelle's exaggerated glory.
There are so many other aspects I love about this movie. Justin Hurwitz's score (which sounds lot like his music from La La Land at times), the many musicians playing on screen, Robbie's and Brad Pitt's performances, Jean Smart's knockout scene discussing Pitt's character's legacy and the end of his road, Li Jun Li's pure sultriness, descending society with Tobey Maguire, and the gonzo closing that caps off Chazelle's love of cinema.
The movie industry is complex and conflicted and this manages to toe the line of being both that proverbial love letter to film as well as an admonishment of the people that make them. It's quite the balancing act that had me sway to this movie's camp completely.
There are so many other aspects I love about this movie. Justin Hurwitz's score (which sounds lot like his music from La La Land at times), the many musicians playing on screen, Robbie's and Brad Pitt's performances, Jean Smart's knockout scene discussing Pitt's character's legacy and the end of his road, Li Jun Li's pure sultriness, descending society with Tobey Maguire, and the gonzo closing that caps off Chazelle's love of cinema.
The movie industry is complex and conflicted and this manages to toe the line of being both that proverbial love letter to film as well as an admonishment of the people that make them. It's quite the balancing act that had me sway to this movie's camp completely.
4. Aftersun [Charlotte Wells]
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 1 more (Best Actor)
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 1 more (Best Actor)
Charlotte Wells' debut is a masterclass in constructing a series of childhood memories over the course of a few days that seeks to both idealize a father with a sense of fondness and search for one that may have hid himself. A wonderful opening shot loops around about halfway through the film with more context and this is when the movie starts to simmer. The cinematography is careful and precise in how it presents memory with the added flourish of using camcorder footage to scatter objective touchstones in the story. But it's the moments Wells chooses to present outside of these camcorder scenes, and how much she shows it from the young girl's point of view, that make the film a character exploration that we don't quite grasp until the very end of the film.
A pair of marvelous performances must not go overlooked. Paul Mescal is about as good of a dad as you'll see in a movie. He's able to pull off being an authority figure as well as a friend to little Sophie but he sneaks in a sense of dread every now and then. His chemistry with Frankie Corio is fantastic and I just adore Corio's presence throughout. This might be the best kid performance since The Florida Project.
Oh, and sorry to Wayne's World but this now has the most profound use of a Queen song.
A pair of marvelous performances must not go overlooked. Paul Mescal is about as good of a dad as you'll see in a movie. He's able to pull off being an authority figure as well as a friend to little Sophie but he sneaks in a sense of dread every now and then. His chemistry with Frankie Corio is fantastic and I just adore Corio's presence throughout. This might be the best kid performance since The Florida Project.
Oh, and sorry to Wayne's World but this now has the most profound use of a Queen song.
3. Decision to Leave [Park Chan-wook]
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 0 more
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 0 more
Two of the best films of 2022 feature Mahler's 5th Symphony (see the next entry). It happens to be my favorite piece of music so perhaps this is all I need for a film to go from great to exceptional. Fortunately, Park Chan-wook does much more to justify this distinction aside from his choice to use such a beautiful piece of music in a pivotal moment of the narrative.First and foremost, this is a mystery yarn by way of a cop procedural. The movie always seems one step ahead of me, but it's never that far ahead - a series of enlightening information kept the story fresh without ever frustrating me with outlandish reveals. I more or less believed everything I saw and didn't have to question the events unfolding before me.
There's a lot of creative editing taking place to achieve this storytelling. Placing lead Park Hae-il within the physical space of a scene he is reconstructing in his head or cross-cutting with two different points in time are two ways that keep this fully engaging throughout. I also love the use of technology. I like to see the methods of detectives in older movies and, although this sometimes felt like an Apple commercial, it will be neat to watch this in a few decades to see the investigative methods of the 2020s.
Mahler 5 isn't the only thing this has in common with Tár. If Cate Blanchett gives the best performance of the year, Tang Wei isn't too far behind. Underneath the highly entertaining mystery aspect of piecing things together, this is also a beautiful romantic story that starts and ends with Wei's performance. She brought me to tears multiple times and the push and pull of her relationship with Park Hae-il is transfixing. She also photographs wonderfully as she is an amazingly gorgeous woman set against amazingly gorgeous landscapes. Be it the snow in the mountains or the tide on the beach, there are some incredible shots here that reinforces the melancholic beauty of this tragic story.
Park Chan-wook showing restraint makes for consummate cinema.
There's a lot of creative editing taking place to achieve this storytelling. Placing lead Park Hae-il within the physical space of a scene he is reconstructing in his head or cross-cutting with two different points in time are two ways that keep this fully engaging throughout. I also love the use of technology. I like to see the methods of detectives in older movies and, although this sometimes felt like an Apple commercial, it will be neat to watch this in a few decades to see the investigative methods of the 2020s.
Mahler 5 isn't the only thing this has in common with Tár. If Cate Blanchett gives the best performance of the year, Tang Wei isn't too far behind. Underneath the highly entertaining mystery aspect of piecing things together, this is also a beautiful romantic story that starts and ends with Wei's performance. She brought me to tears multiple times and the push and pull of her relationship with Park Hae-il is transfixing. She also photographs wonderfully as she is an amazingly gorgeous woman set against amazingly gorgeous landscapes. Be it the snow in the mountains or the tide on the beach, there are some incredible shots here that reinforces the melancholic beauty of this tragic story.
Park Chan-wook showing restraint makes for consummate cinema.
2. TÁR [Todd Field]
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 6 more (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 6 more (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing
It's been noted how long it has been since Todd Field's last film, but his timing is impeccable with this, a thought-provoking and insanely smart exploration of how someone with authority uses their position and how society judges them. Organizational and gender politics, grooming, "Millennial robots" making snap judgments in a time of cancel culture, and seeing great artists sell out and give in due to their destroyed reputation are all topics the narrative employs and will certainly foster conversation after the film is over. There is never a condemnation or endorsement for people that take stands on either sides of these issues; the ambiguity that this story swims in is what makes it so thought-provoking. A more conventional approach would foreshadow a lot more elements in this story but because Field isn't concerned with firmly settling on a carte blanche assessment of these issues, he's able to construct a screenplay that doesn't telegraph what's coming next or how you should feel.The source of this ambiguity is deftly performed by Cate Blanchett, one of our greatest actors in what might be one of her best performances. Field's words and her charisma builds a lot of goodwill early on in the film, so when questionable acts arise, that sympathy still lingers and the scenario is appropriately complex. The single take Julliard scene that discusses the debate of separating the artist from the art is the perfect combination of Field's words and direction and Blanchett's ability to command a room. She's also wonderful in more tender moments with her wife and daughter, which contrasts some colder moments she has when her situation sours.
Mahler's Fifth Symphony rears its head again and seeing Blanchett discuss it in detail gave me immense pleasure and nostalgia. There's so much great music here and I have to check out that Elgar cello concerto.
Here's hoping Field won't take another sixteen years for a film to come to fruition but if it takes that long to develop a vision like this, so be it.
Mahler's Fifth Symphony rears its head again and seeing Blanchett discuss it in detail gave me immense pleasure and nostalgia. There's so much great music here and I have to check out that Elgar cello concerto.
Here's hoping Field won't take another sixteen years for a film to come to fruition but if it takes that long to develop a vision like this, so be it.
1. After Yang [Kogonada]
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 0 more
Won 0 Oscars / Nominated for 0 more
Colin Farrell's other best performance of 2022 and a perfect example of how slower pacing can be perfect pacing.
This film takes its time in all facets of the narrative. The futuristic setting is never run through any type of exposition which enables us to deliberately learn the world organically, there are extended sequences that settle you into a mood of comfort with the soothing music and mostly static camerawork (and Colin Farrell making tea!), and there really isn't much in the way of a plot - what you read in a brief synopsis is basically what happens. The film is exploratory, meditative, and just gorgeous to look at.
Despite this simplicity in the plodding plot, the thematic elements of loss, identity, technological advances in the future, and "the end" are all wonderfully interwoven between Yang's memories and Farrell's despondent facial expressions.
This was a film so good, I had to see it twice. My local theater did an A24 series, showing dozens of A24 films over the course of a month, and I just had to see this in the proper way, with a room full of people positively reacting to all of the adorable things Mika says and laughing at the few moments of levity that Kogonada weaves into his script. The bigger screen is a better canvas for the way he plays with the aspect ratio, which makes it even more apparent when we are in Yang's memory bank and when we are experiencing a flashback by way of Jake's (Farrell) or Kyra's (Jodie Turner-Smith) memory. Also, by giving 100% of my focus on the film, I was more apt to ruminate on all of the themes Kogonada touches on. I typically don't go for films that bring up so many topics but the rewatch enabled me to connect the dots a bit better.
I ultimately latched on to the idea of memory and the concept of how we may recall certain events, or what even constitutes as "memorable." Something interesting I noticed on the rewatch is that I don't think the film is overall "memorable" - that is, I didn't quite remember which scene was coming next. That's mainly due to the nonlinear structure of diving into memories and recordings, but I also think it's because the plot doesn't drive the film. When I think back on this, I won't think of the steps Jake takes to try and fix his son or what their decision was, but I will think about what it has to say about family (the tree grafting sequence melts my heart) and how we reminiscence.
Oh, and Farrell's mustache inspired me to grow my own like his. A gift of a film that keeps on giving.
This film takes its time in all facets of the narrative. The futuristic setting is never run through any type of exposition which enables us to deliberately learn the world organically, there are extended sequences that settle you into a mood of comfort with the soothing music and mostly static camerawork (and Colin Farrell making tea!), and there really isn't much in the way of a plot - what you read in a brief synopsis is basically what happens. The film is exploratory, meditative, and just gorgeous to look at.
Despite this simplicity in the plodding plot, the thematic elements of loss, identity, technological advances in the future, and "the end" are all wonderfully interwoven between Yang's memories and Farrell's despondent facial expressions.
This was a film so good, I had to see it twice. My local theater did an A24 series, showing dozens of A24 films over the course of a month, and I just had to see this in the proper way, with a room full of people positively reacting to all of the adorable things Mika says and laughing at the few moments of levity that Kogonada weaves into his script. The bigger screen is a better canvas for the way he plays with the aspect ratio, which makes it even more apparent when we are in Yang's memory bank and when we are experiencing a flashback by way of Jake's (Farrell) or Kyra's (Jodie Turner-Smith) memory. Also, by giving 100% of my focus on the film, I was more apt to ruminate on all of the themes Kogonada touches on. I typically don't go for films that bring up so many topics but the rewatch enabled me to connect the dots a bit better.
I ultimately latched on to the idea of memory and the concept of how we may recall certain events, or what even constitutes as "memorable." Something interesting I noticed on the rewatch is that I don't think the film is overall "memorable" - that is, I didn't quite remember which scene was coming next. That's mainly due to the nonlinear structure of diving into memories and recordings, but I also think it's because the plot doesn't drive the film. When I think back on this, I won't think of the steps Jake takes to try and fix his son or what their decision was, but I will think about what it has to say about family (the tree grafting sequence melts my heart) and how we reminiscence.
Oh, and Farrell's mustache inspired me to grow my own like his. A gift of a film that keeps on giving.