Preston Barta // Features Editor
2022 was a heck of a year at the movies, making it one of the more difficult end-of-year lists to assemble in recent memory. But I did my best, and here are the films that meant the most to me:
1. The Batman
No film thrilled and wowed me as much as Matt Reeves’ The Batman in 2022. Its art direction is so moody and dazzling. Greig Fraser’s camera work and Michael Giacchino’s musical score should be winning all the awards. Robert Pattinson was an excellent choice to pick up the cape and cowl as he brought a new, complex layer to playing Batman and Bruce Wayne. The supporting characters rock and have a hopeful future in the franchise. And the way that Batmobile purrs before it launches into one of the most gripping highway chase sequences ever. Perfection.
Read my review here>>
Now available to own on disc or stream on HBOMax.
2. Top Gun: Maverick
Tom Cruise, man. He risks a lot to make his action sizzle, and it paid off big time in Top Gun: Maverick. He and his actors got in the cockpit, without much computer effects, and soared to a level in filmmaking that’s rare. Maverick hit us in the feels (“Talk to me, Goose.”) and delivered a great popcorn movie. We’re going to be revisiting it and sharing it for many, many years to come.
Read my review and interview with select cast here>>
Now available to own on disc and stream on Paramount+.
3. The Northman
How The Northman isn’t conquering the awards season (or, at least, in it) is a grand mystery that Knives Out detective Benoit Blanc probably couldn’t even solve. Robert Eggers’s masterfully made Viking revenge tale is brutal, epic and cinematic to boot. It should be up for the best trophies in categories such as picture, direction, production design, cinematography, musical score and supporting actress (Nicole Kidman is absolutely killer). I don’t get it. It’s frustrating. But we have eternity to celebrate its brilliance. People will come around to it later.
Read my review here>>
Now available to own on disc and stream on Amazon Prime Video.
4. Bones and All
Watching a coming-of-age romance between two cannibals may not sound like ideal viewing. But even with the stomach-flipping sequences (and there are only a few), Italian filmmaker Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name) crafted a film that will have some serious legs among cinephiles. It’s got a hip soundtrack, it-kid Timothée Chalamet giving us frame-worthy poses, and a devilishly-good Mark Rylance chewing up the scenery with his ultra-creepiness. This vibe movie wants to tow you along for a ride through an alternate 1980s America, and you’ll feel your heart bleed because of it.
Read my review here>>
Now available to rent online – including Amazon, Apple TV, Google and Vudu.
5. Bad Axe
If you want to see America at its most present, this wonderfully constructed and emotionally arresting documentary film is it. Directed by David Siev and released by IFC Films, Bad Axe plays like a video essay about our current times (COVID included) through a real-time portrait of an Asian American family fighting to keep their restaurant and the American dream alive in rural Michigan. It’s an experience and one for the time capsule.
Read my review and watch my video interview with David Siev here>>
Now available to rent everywhere you rent movies.
6. Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood
Speaking of time capsules, Richard Linklater’s latest reaches into the rearview and produces a nostalgic animated trip to the moon and 1960s Texas, a.k.a. “the space age.” It must have been a time to have lived during the excitement of space missions and pre-internet boredom. Watch as you (or your parents or grandparents) consistently exclaim joy over this pleasant walk down memory lane. It may even produce some fun stories amongst your kinfolk. So, give it a watch, and let Jack Black’s soothing narration allow you to soak up memories.
Read my review here>>
Read and watch my interviews with the cast/crew here>>
Now streaming on Netflix.
7. Cha Cha Real Smooth
Looking for a feel-good movie that’s artfully made? That’s Dallas filmmaker Cooper Raiff’s sophomore feature Cha Cha Real Smooth. Centering on a college grad’s friendship with a mother and her autistic daughter, Raiff continues to approach storytelling and characterization honestly. You’ll want to hang around these characters and jam its soundtrack on an endless loop. Rumor has it that the doctors of cinema say it’ll keep you an emotionally centered person, too. OK, maybe that’s just me, but I feel it. So, watch often!
Read my review here>>
Read my interview with Cooper Raiff here>>
Now available to stream on Apple TV+.
8. Avatar: The Way of Water
God bless James Cameron. He may make them long, too few, and far between, but he makes them big and lasting. The Way of Water rules! Cameron’s follow-up to his 2009 original manages to surpass the original with its more character-focused narrative and wondrous exploration of aquatic life. Its butt-numbing three-plus-hour runtime shouldn’t be a bother as the action moves at full tilt. It honestly could have kept going, and I would have enjoyed every minute of its stunning escapism. Hopefully, the next Avatar comes sooner than a decade’s time.
Now playing in theaters nationwide.
9. Wyrm
Here’s another fantastic film that didn’t make much of a blip on anyone’s radar. I saw it at Fantastic Fest in 2019, and it took until now to release (and it was the quietest release ever). A24 should have snagged it, as it’s a delightfully weird cocktail of Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade and Yorgos Lanthimos’s The Lobster. It’s a coming-of-age tale set in a mid-90s alternate reality in which kids wear electronic collars that detach only upon engaging in their first kiss. It’s unexpectedly emotional, too. Go love it!
Watch my video interview with star Theo Taplitz here>>
Now streaming on Hulu.
10. Babylon
Hollywood isn’t just a city of stars à la La La Land. It’s also a nightmare circus. Damien Chazelle abandons any expectation of this being a glamorous dance. It’s a dirty, sweaty and bloody peek behind the curtain. Starring a never-better Margot Robbie, it’s a wild movie oozing with intelligent commentary and, uh, rat guts. But don’t let my description scare you off! You’ll be peeling back its layers of intrigue and going down an amazing rabbit hole of research. Trust me; it pays off.
Read my review and watch my interview with Damien Chazelle here>>
The Next Ten: 11. Everything Everywhere All at Once, 12. Fresh, 13. Women Talking, 14. God’s Country, 15. Happening, 16. The Banshees of Inisherin, 17. A Banquet, 18. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, 19. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, and 20. Living
Biggest Disappointments: Halloween Ends, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Empire of Light, Thor: Love and Thunder, Blonde, The Eternal Daughter, Don’t Worry Darling, Day Shift, and Persuasion
Best Horror: Fresh, Barbarian, Nope, Bodies Bodies Bodies, and Orphan: First Kill
Best Comedies: Confess, Fletch; Vengeance; Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent; Fire Island; and Dual
Best Action: Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: The Way of Water, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Ambulance, and Prey
Best Documentaries: Bad Axe, Deep in the Heart, Wildcat, Facing Nolan, and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
Most Overlooked: Wyrm, God’s Country, Happening, The Northman, and She Said
Most Rewatchable: Top Gun: Maverick, Spirited, Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood, Avatar: The Way of Water, and Hocus Pocus 2
