Issue #72: Our Top Films of 2022 ⏳
Issue #72: Our Top Films of 2022 ⏳
We're doing the list thing.
‘Tis the season, folks! The end-of-year chill is in the air, the holidays are looming, and we’re reflecting on the year of our lord, 2022.
So, we’ve made our lists of our top films for the year — with the intense caveat that we’re still rounding up all the outstanding movies we haven’t quite gotten to yet. (Looking at you Tár!) So consider these lists a work in progress; like the Gregorian calendar year, they’re near finished but not quite. And there are more goodies in store down the line…
Drop us a line to tell us the best films you saw this year. We’re anxious to see what resonated with people. And as always, happy movie yelling!
Zosha’s Top 12 (So Far)
After Yang : Kogonada has my number, and After Yang is a sumptuous, gorgeous follow-up to Columbus; the man is simply batting 1000.
Aftersun: The slipperiness of memory collides with the cosmic brain vantage point of childhood memory.
Ambulance: Michael Bay this whips, thank you.
Barbarian: A wise person told me “honestly this movie is for the freaks,” and it absolutely is 👌🏻
Banshees of Inisherin: OK, Martin McDonaugh can keep dating Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Decision to Leave: Probably no way this isn’t my top for the year, to be honest.
Everything Everywhere All at Once: This movie, like so many this year, was about how we all feel very profoundly small in the face of everything, and how maybe when nothing matters we can still hold onto the things that do.
Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul: A knotty and deft exploration of an easy punchline that takes no easy answers.
Nope: Jordan Peele understands how to film, exploit, subvert, and inspire awe with a spectacle; Nope is just his latest big swing.
Saloum: A lot of “genre” stuff is the most fun to me when it puts you in a world that feels alien and expects you to get on board with the logic of it — something Saloum, for all its little foibles, does exceptionally.
The Menu: Lotta movies wanted to eat the rich this year, and this one really won me over by being just so tight and fun.
RRR: Unrivaled theatergoing experience possibly of my life; the only movie I saw this year.
Cate’s Top 12 (So Far)
All The Old Knives: Haven’t had this much fun with a random Amazon movie since The Voyeurs. A juicy spy-thriller with absolutely justified delusions of grandeur.
Athena: I love when a film somehow accomplishes the near impossible with ease. If that opening tracking shot doesn’t leave you in awe, you may need medical attention, because you’re dead inside.
Crimes Of The Future: Future sci-fi, spec-fic about maladaptive human evolution, body-mutilating performance art with a side of climate change existentialism? GIMME GIMME GIMME.
Do Revenge: The first truly classic Gen-Z teen film. Somehow manages to pay homage to all the ones that came before while still feeling wholly original. Kathryn Merteuil would be proud. And I know that because Sarah-Michelle Gellar appears in the movie.
Elvis: An absolutely bonkers, batshit film made specifically for my particular preference for excess. Luhrmann goes big and never goes home. The result is a dazzling and surprisingly moving portrait of an icon.
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande: A casually feminist filmic reminder that for women, life doesn’t have to end at 40.
Hustle: Concrete proof that Adam Sandler is a genius actor who simply prefers to fuck around and make mindless comedies with his B-list friends. The best sports drama in years.
Rothaniel: A truly innovative take on the standup (or in this case sit down) form. The first time I easily recognized comedy for the art form it really is.
Top Gun: The glossiest, most emotionally compelling military propaganda you will ever see. Turns out Tom Cruise is EXTREMELY good at his job. And his job is jingoism.
Turning Red: A wonderful reminder that preteen girls are at their most powerful. Cross them at your peril.
Wendell & Wild: Katherine Koniqua Elliot is the newest member of the bad bitch pantheon. My new favourite fictional Catherine.
The Woman King: Lashana Lynch, marry me when?
Assorted Internet Detritus
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Zosha + Cate <3
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As with you both, this is a provisional list as there's still more to see this year, but my current Top 12 is as follows:
After Yang
All My Friends Hate Me
Belle
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Happening
Know Your Place
Small, Slow But Steady
The Banshees Of Inisherin
The Eternal Daughter
The Inspection
The Swimmers
Women Talking