Every year, I keep a running list of the best movies I’ve seen this year. By the end of the year, I usually end up with a Top Ten and another 5-15 mentions. Here are my Best Movies of 2021 and Best Movies of 2020 lists. To get on my year-end list, a movie has to be one that thrills me while I’m watching it and one that I’m still thinking about a couple of days later.
I’ve seen one hundred-and-three 2022 films so far, but I have yet to see promising prestige films like Women Talking, Broker, The Son, Empire of Light and The Whale. Pretty sure some of those will end up high on my list when I finalize it in a couple months. (BTW that 103 total for 2022 doesn’t include the 86 festival submissions that I’ve screened (those will be 2023 films) nor the 79 movies from earlier years that I watched this year.)
I almost always pick an international film like Drive My Car or Incendies or an indie like Winter’s Bone, Hell or High Water or Leave no Trace as my top movie of the year. So, readers may be surprised that my top choice his year was Nope, a sci fi and horror film -a popcorn movie. (I did pick a science fiction movie, Ex Machina, as my top movie of 2015.) I especially admired – and recommend – Nope because of:
- Jordan Peele’s ingenious take on our current culture – instead of seeking to battle or befriend space aliens, Peele knows many would ask, how can we monetize this?
- The deep, textured and fresh characters of OJ, Emerald, Angel and Jupe – unusual for a popcorn movie.
- Nope’s reflection of Peele’s love of movies with its combination of the horror, sci fi, western, comedy and show biz movie genres.
- My hopeful thought. Will Jordan Peele bring young moviegoers to theaters for horror thrills and teach them to expect SMART movies?
Here’s the complete list:
THE BEST OF 2022
Nope: an exceptionally intelligent popcorn movie. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
Aftersun: who’s coming of age is this? In theaters.
Montana Story: a family secret simmers, then explodes. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
Decision to Leave: he’s obsessed, and she asks, “Am I so wicked?”. In theaters.
The Fabelmans: a mom, a dad and their genius kid. In theaters.
Compartment No. 6: a surprising journey to connection. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
The Eternal Daughter: consumed by mom. In theaters.
Armageddon Time: coming of age – right into a moral choice. In theaters.
Poser: personal plagiarism. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
The Tale of King Crab: storytelling at its best. Amazon, AppleTV, Vudu, YouTube, redbox.
12 Months: an authentic relationship evolves. Amazon.
