Ready for our top films of 2022? These are a snapshot of some of our favorite films of the year. Important to note that they are representative of what was available in 2022. Does that mean they’ll stand the test of time (or even the test of looking back next December)? That remains to be seen.
Here is the list in alphabetical order.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever – We were honestly debating including this. Without it would have been the first year in quite a while a Marvel film didn’t make the list. The sequel faced a near insurmountable task in overcoming the loss of it’s star. And while we don’t think it’s a perfect film, Angela Basset’s performance alone pushes it over the line to make the cut.
Find our review here.
Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers – When you have no expectations for something it can often surprise you. A clear homage to Who Framed Roger Rabbit, this mixed medium film was an unanticipated treat.
Find our review here.
Cow – A documentary with almost no dialogue, and told entirely from the perspective of the titular cow. What’s not to love? The film made us question the dairy industry as a whole, and isn’t even set in one of the more scary industrial farms.
Find our review here.
Decision to Leave – Slow burn and beautiful detective work, the performances in this elevate Park Chan-wook’s mystery.
Find our review here.
Everything Everywhere All at Once – One of our absolute favorite films of the year. A maximalist and unique film with stellar performances, humor, heartbreak, and everything in between. The title is not false advertising, it really is everything.
Find our review here and interviews with the cast and filmmakers.
Fire Island – A modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice that successfully translates the Austen classic to the queer mecca of Fire Island. The film radiates a good time and will likely serve as an excellent snapshot of modern queer culture.
Find our review here and interviews with the cast and filmmakers.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery – Who doesn’t love a good detective thriller? A follow up to Knives Out that reaches higher into the capitalist strata by going from family drama to billionaire drama. Pacing wise it feels about the opposite of Decision to Leave but there’s space for both.
Find our review here.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio – 2022 was a rousing year for stop-motion animation, with Guillermo del Toro putting his spin on the tale of the wooden boy. The craftsmanship is impeccable and while at its core the story is still Pinocchio (which almost kept it off this list for us) this will be our go to version of the tale from now on.
Find our review here.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On – One would worry that the short form nature of the YouTube origins of the character would struggle to translate to a feature. However the film is beautifully shot and an unexpected emotional journey. Ultimately it’s the universal story of family.
Nope – Perhaps it’s our filmmaker backgrounds that helped us connect to this more than general audiences. Peele has built himself quite the track record and is sometimes forced to stand in his own shadow. Yet at the end of the day we appreciate he’s continuing to forge his own path.
Find our review here.
RRR – We’ve complained about the overindulgence of 3 hour movies this year. Yet we’d take 6 hours of RRR any day. It. Has. Everything. Tiger fights, dance offs, dismantling colonizers.
The Menu – While highly uneven, the performances in this film and the accuracy with which it represents “foodie” culture is impeccable.
(From L-R): Judith Light, Reed Birney, Paul Adelstein, Janet McTeer, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicholas Hoult, John Leguizamo, Aimee Carrero, Rob Yang, Arturo Castro, and Mark St. Cyr in the film THE MENU. Photo by Eric Zachanowich. Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2022 20th Century Studios All Rights Reserved.
Find our review here.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent – Nic Cage as Nick Cage. Need we say more? The film knows exactly who it’s for and delivers.
Find our review here.
The Woman King – A better action film than most of the superhero offerings this year, Gina Prince-Bythewood delivers compelling choreography and story.
Find our review here.
Top Gun: Maverick – Reduce, reuse, recycle. Yes it’s basically the first Top Gun all over again, and while we don’t have a particular nostalgia for the original, it’s hard to deny that the film is entertaining.
Tom Cruise plays Capt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in Top Gun: Maverick from Paramount Pictures, Skydance and Jerry Bruckheimer Films.
Find our review here.
Triangle of Sadness – Another longer runtime film (that probably could have cut someeee of it down), but the voyage Triangle of Sadness takes us on is unlike any other on screen in 2022. Let alone in other years. Dolly De Leon gives one of our favorite performances of the year.
Find our review here.
Turning Red – It’s cute, it’ll make you cry, and pandas. Director Domee Shi captures being a pubescent girl in the early 2000s with frightening accuracy.
Find our review here and interviews with the filmmakers.
Wendell & Wild – The other stop-motion film to make the cut this year. While sometimes you can feel the seams between the influences of Jordan Peele and Henry Selick, it’s still an original and inclusive tale.
Find our review here and interviews with the director Henry Selick and actor James Hong.
What were your top films of 2022?