Daniel's Top Ten Movies of 2022

 Daniel's Top Ten Movies of 2022

I saw 166 2022 movies this year, breaking my record.  I saw most of them in theaters, too - although I'm very thankful for streaming.  A lot of movies - especially the Oscar buzzy ones - just didn't wow me this year.  I was disappointed with most of the "December Movies" - you know, those movies that come out late in the year so they're fresh on the Oscar voter's minds.  Anyway,  Here are my top ten in no particular order:

The Outfit:  Excellent, tight, story that peels off each layer & reveals secrets, twists & turns quietly until the very end.  One of two brilliant performances this year by Mark Rylance.

Triangle of Sadness: Brilliant three-act film that gets crazier and crazier with each act. Fun, sharp dialogue & a statement on class, that's not exactly subtle but important & a fun way to get there.

Official Competition: Heavily underrated international film.  I'm surprised this didn't get more buzz.  The three leads are excellently funny & dramatic at the same time.  They all have wonderful chemistry. 

Everything, Everywhere All at Once: This film was a feast for the senses & I hope it sweeps the technical. Michelle Yeoh & Ke Huy Quan are getting a lot of well deserved love but for me it was breakout star Stephanie Hsu who made this film. The film is not just visually appealing but absolutely moving.

The Menu: Dark satire at its best.  The fun dialogue mixed with suspenseful situations were great, but for me, the acting is what did it. Everyone leaned into their characters without being  too over the top. Special recognition to Nicholas Hoult's hero-worshipping dude-bro and Hong Chau as the incredibly fiercely loyal employee.

On the Count of Three: Another film that didn't get as much buzz as it should have, On the surface, the film is about a suicide pact - but underneath, it explores friendship, abuse, mental illness & so much more - while being a fun & ultimately uplifting ride. Great performances, but in particular - Christopher Abbott absolutely wowed me.

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On: What a cute, light & sweet story that makes you feel good throughout. Original in both story & animation - Marcel is the feel good movie of the year that also has depth.

The Black Phone: Scary, haunting and well paced thriller/horror that had my theater's audience cheering.  Literally.  Great, interesting characters that you wanted to root for.

Till: A hard-to-tell, true, and heart-breaking story that was handled with care and told beautifully by director Chinoye Chukwu and an truly amazing performance by Danielle Deadwyler. 

The Banshees of Inisherin: An amazing cast led by a truly understated performance by Colin Farrell. The film excellently explores how relationships can change, and end & how hard that can be on both sides.

Honorable Mentions:

Pearl: Powerful performance by Mia Goth and a gritty, fun & tense horror prequel.

Dual:  Director/Writer Riley Stearns showing why he's a true contemporary of Yorgos Lanthimos

Bob's Burgers: A joy, hopefully for more than just fans of the show and its beloved characters.

RRR: Absolutely fun & visually impressive Tollywood picture.

Bodies, Bodies, Bodies:  Another fun satiric horror film that knows and represents its audience.

Close: A hard-to-watch study of friendship & what toxic masculinity does to us.

Barbarian: A surprising and very scary horror masterpiece with twists & turns.

Weird: Probably my favorite of the singer bio-pics this year.  Elvis & Whitney, eat your heart out.  A (fake) bio-pic that only Weird-Al can do.

Broker:  An original tale of likable criminals.

And just for reference, here is a list of the 166 movies I saw this year:

  2022 Movies

1.       Scream 5

2.       The House

3.       Moonfall

4.       The Privilege

5.       Texas Chainsaw Massacre

6.       The Cursed

7.       No Exit

8.       The Batman

9.       Big Bug

10.   Fresh

11.   Studio 666

12.   Turning Red

13.   The Adam Project

14.   X

15.   Umma

16.   The Outfit

17.   All My Friends Hate Me

18.   Everything Everywhere All at Once

19.   The Rental

20.   You Won’t Be Alone

21.   Nitram

22.   The Lost City

23.   Death on the Nile

24.   After Yang

25.   All the Old Knives

26.   AmbuLAnce

27.   Dual

28.   The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

29.   The Northman

30.   The Bad Guys

31.   Petite Maman

32.   The Duke

33.   Choose or Die

34.   Hatching

35.   Vortex

36.   Firebird

37.   Dr Strange & the blah blah

38.   Happening

39.   Firestarter

40.   The Innocents

41.   On the Count of Three

42.   Men

43.   Chip & Dale

44.   Downton Abbey: The 2^nd one

45.   Bob’s Burgers: The 1^st one

46.   Top Gun: The 2^nd one

47.   Dog

48.   Crimes of the Future

49.   Watcher

50.   Fire Island

51.   The Black Phone

52.   Buzz Lightyear

53.   Official Competition

54.   Brian and Charles

55.   Good Luck to You Leo Grande

56.   Cha Cha Real Smooth

57.   Spiderhead

58.   Elvis

59.   The Contractor

60.   Marcel the Shell with Shoes on

61.   Minions: the 2^nd one

62.   Clara Sola

63.   Mad God

64.   Emergency

65.   The Princess

66.   RRR

67.   Master

68.   Thor: The 4^th one

69.   Room 203

70.   Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

71.   Nope

72.   My Donkey, My Lover & I

73.   League of Super Pets

74.   Vengeance

75.   Navalny

76.   The Fallout

77.   Bodies, Bodies, Bodies

78.   Luck

79.   Prey

80.   Fall

81.   Emily The Criminal

82.   Day Shift

83.   Kimi

84.   Phantom of the Open

85.   Juniper

86.   Moonshot

87.   Montana Story

88.   Blaze

89.   Orphan, the 2^nd one

90.   Asking For It

91.   Crawl Place

92.   Bros

93.   Smile

94.   Pinocchio

95.   Blonde

96.   The Woman King

97.   Apollo 10 ½

98.   The Sea Beast

99.   Triangle of Sadness

100.                       Hellraiser

101.                       Tar

102.                       Thirteen Lives

103.                       Pearl

104.                       Halloween Ends: The last one?

105.                       Till

106.                       Sidney

107.                       Decision to Leave

108.                       The Banshees of Inisherin

109.                       Descendant

110.                       Argentina, 1985

111.                       Chrissy Judy

112.                       Aftersun

113.                       Armageddon Time

114.                       Barbarian

115.                       All Quiet on The Western Front

116.                       Wendell & Wild

117.                       Terrifier: the 2^nd one

118.                       Holy Spider

119.                       The Good Nurse

120.                       The Invitation

121.                       Causeway

122.                       Weird

123.                       The Wonder

124.                       My Policeman

125.                       Black Panther: The 2^nd one

126.                       Don’t Worry Darling

127.                       Fire of Love

128.                       The Fablemans

129.                       My Father’s Dragon

130.                       Raymond & Ray

131.                       The Menu

132.                       Bones & All

133.                       The Inspection

134.                       She Said

135.                       Strange World

136.                       Spirited

137.                       Good Night Oppy

138.                       White Noise

139.                       EO

140.                       All the Beauty & the Bloodshed

141.                       3000 years of Longing

142.                       Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio

143.                       Sr.

144.                       Close

145.                       The Territory

146.                       American Carnage

147.                       Empire of Light

148.                       Emancipation

149.                       Troll

150.                       The Whale

151.                       Bullet Train

152.                       Corsage

153.                       Avatar, the 2^nd one

154.                       Bardo

155.                       Moonage Daydream

156.                       Buried

157.                       The Janes

158.                       I Wanna Dance with Somebody

159.                       Women Talking

160.                       Living

161.                       Glass Onion

162.                       Yule Log

163.                       Matilda

164.                       Puss in Boots, the 3^rd one?

165.                       Babylon

166.                       Broker