While the year 2021 was still close to the beginning of the pandemic, when global lockdowns and movie theaters shutting down necessitated film fans to begin new ways of watching films, 2022 appears to be all about getting back to ‘normal’.
Yet this is also a ‘new’ normal, not the way things were before. With the movie industry undergoing a major shift due to decreasing sales at the box office, as people are choosing to watch films in their own homes, it’s worth looking back on the movies released in 2022 with a different lens.
Here’s UpThrust picks for the best movies of 2022. Please note that this list is biased in terms of what yours truly has been able to watch this year (sorry, Tár and Bones and All). Feel free to let us know what movies you liked best this year in the comments.
Avatar: The Way of Water
When news broke that James Cameron had four sequels to 2009’s box-office-smashing, visually-groundbreaking Avatar on the way, no one was sure what to expect. Cameron even went so far as to say that Avatar: The Way of Water would need to make $2 billion to be considered a box office success. Well, it’s been around two weeks since the sequel was released, and it has already crossed the $1 billion mark at the box office.
Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) moves his whole family to another location to protect them from a squad of hunting human Avatars. He reaches the reefs of the seafaring Metkayina tribe and asks for sanctuary. The movie follows his family as they get used to the ocean and the many wonders below its surface.
Avatar: The Way of Water‘s story is predictable, but the visual effects are so spectacular that it hardly matters. The world of Pandora is just as beautiful as ever, with lush forests, majestic oceans, and incredible creatures. The action scenes are exciting and intense, while the emotional moments tug at your heartstrings.
Nope
Jordan Peele steps up in a major way with Nope, which is bigger in scope than Get Out and Us, delivering a sci-fi horror thriller that inverts our desire for the extraordinary into fear of the unknown.
Peele’s latest movie, Nope, has all the things we have come to expect from his work: interesting metaphors, terrifying jump-scares, clever dialogue and even a thought-provoking exploration of the human-animal relationship. But what really makes this movie stand out is its pacing. Buoyed by a lively Keke Palmer performance as Emerald and Daniel Kaluuya’s low-key but nuanced turn as the grieving OJ, Nope keeps your attention throughout its two-hour-and-ten-minute run time, keeping you on the edge of your seat without giving away too much.
The Northman
It’s hard to understand why a studio would hand a $70 million budget to visionary director Robert Eggers to create a AAA historical epic. But the result is undeniable. Set in a foggy, mystical Scandinavia with a brooding, almost menacing lead performance by Alexander Skarsgård and an alluring turn by Anya Taylor-Joy, The Northman has a feral beauty to it, with each frame majestic enough to be hung on a museum wall. Robert Eggers has created an intense and visually stunning revenge story, and he hasn’t compromised any of his unique aesthetic in spite of the larger scale of the project.
Turning Red
Turning Red is a delightful shot in the arm for Pixar. After some lukewarm releases like Onward and Luca, we get an energetic and personal film from Domee Shi. The dorky yet confident Chinese-Canadian Meilin Lee, voiced by Rosalie Chang, is a brilliant 13-year-old who has a great squad of girlfriends. She is at that stage of life where she is consumed with crushes on boys and is chafing under her strict mom’s control. She is in a situation where she is ready to explode. But, instead of having breakouts or anxiety attacks, she turns into a giant red panda every time she gets too emotional.
This is definitely a movie that’s all about growing up; it revolves around Mei learning to embrace herself, her origins, and the transformation of her bond with her mom Ming (Sandra Oh) as she matures – and of course, to get a ticket to the biggest pop show in town. The anime-inspired visuals are a delight, the script is really amusing and touching; plus, the soundtrack is packed with Billie Eilish and Finneas-penned Noughties-inspired pop anthems.
Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio
If you can only make time for one Pinocchio movie this year, Guillermo del Toro’s stunning and quite dark stop-motion animation is your best bet! It is an exciting and visually stunning reimagining of the classic story. Plus, you get to enjoy del Toro’s incredible and unique style of filmmaking.
With eye-catching, exquisitely designed puppets, Del Toro and co-director Mark Gustafson tell the tragedy of Geppetto, whose son is killed by a bomb during World War One. Years later, in a state of great distress, he carves Pinocchio, a wobbly-legged, long-nosed puppet bursting with cheer, who becomes Geppetto’s son and meets a gorgeous blue Wood Sprite and her sister, Death (both voiced by Tilda Swinton).
This movie is a clear allusion to fascism, set in Italy during the 1930s, and even Mussolini makes an appearance. It’s a sad, yet powerful reminder to cherish life and the people around us while we’re still here.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Benoit Blanc is back in Rian Johnson’s delightful sequel to Knives Out – and he has another murder to solve. This time, the suspects are a group of affluent, privileged Americans – tech billionaires and social media stars (Edward Norton, Kate Hudson, Janelle Monae, Dave Bautista) – relaxing on a private Greek island. The cast is firing on full cylinders, and Glass Onion feels like a more confident follow-up from a talented musician after a heady first album full of potential.
Like the titular residence, the film is all about peeling back layers and looking at the same events and characters in a different light, seeing new details with each layer peeled. Although Johnson’s storyline isn’t quite as ingenious as his last one, he has gone to great lengths to make Glass Onion as entertaining, expansive, amusing, and vibrant as Daniel Craig’s outrageous southern accent.
Top Gun: Maverick
Top Gun: Maverick has no business as good as it is, being a sequel to an 80s film swimming in jingoism and homoeroticism. Yet somehow, Top Gun as a concept still works in 2022. Tom Cruise’s ace pilot provides heart, soul, and some fighter jet maneuvers that I’m pretty sure defy every law of physics in the book, all achieved through hours of actual flight training and revolutionary airborne shooting methods.
The film is a thrilling and poignant meditation on aging out of relevance for both Cruise and the generation who caught the first film in theaters. Top Gun: Maverick isn’t exactly deep, but if you peel away the dogfight daredevilry and the camaraderie between the pilots, you see that it has a genuine heart. More than that, it’s genuine entertainment.
The Fabelmans
In The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg gives us a genuine and straightforward story, resulting in one of his most authentic and unsentimental works. Gabriel LaBelle’s powerful portrayal of the adolescent Sammy (Spielberg’s fictional version of himself), Michelle Williams’ depiction of his imaginative and disappointed mom, and Paul Dano’s rendering of his plain-speaking dad, who are so fundamentally different that it’s inevitable that they end up apart, all contribute to the shape of the movie and its excitement.
As an adult, Spielberg has a new perspective on his parents, recognizing their imperfections yet still recognizing the fondness, sympathy, and affection he has for them. The Fabelmans is an exploration of the tensions between ambition and obligations, as well as the keys to happiness.
The Banshees of Inisherin
As a fan of In Bruges, the prospect of Martin McDonagh reuniting with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson was definitely exciting. Yet, this is a very different film, taking place on a small island off the coast of Ireland, where a rift between two friends tears their relationship apart. Pádraic (Farrell) and Colm (Gleeson) have been close companions for quite a while, yet their bond has been suddenly broken when Colm simply decides he’s had enough of his old mate. This isn’t satisfactory for Pádraic, who attempts to delve further into the issue with Colm, and soon discovers that probably wasn’t the smartest move.
This is a small, intimate comedy-drama that captures the sad essence of the Troubles. McDonagh’s captivating and ridiculous humor is at its peak as the men battle each other. Fingers are lost, a donkey dies, and surely, The Banshees of Inisherin will draw substantial attention during the Academy Awards.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Directed by the ‘Daniels’ duo (Swiss Army Man), Everything Everywhere All At Once is two hours and 19 minutes of unrestricted chaos.
Michelle Yeoh absolutely kills it as Evelyn, a laundromat proprietor who has a ton of ideas and a plethora of aspirations but hasn’t fully devoted herself to achieving them. It turns out, this makes her the ideal contender to take on Jobu Tupaki, an evil presence who has mastered the strength of the multiverse and wants it to be submerged by an ‘everything bagel’ black hole.
In this movie, you’ll see Jamie Lee Curtis do kung-fu in a tax office, Ke Huy Quan give incredible monologues and fight with a bumbag, and a heart-wrenching monologue between two rocks with eyes. Not to mention dildo battles, mysterious raccoon chefs, and hands that look like hot dogs. Yet the movie is grounded by the infinitely relatable dynamic between an aging mother and her adult daughter.
In this age of cookie-cutter films, Everything Everywhere All at Once stands out as a one-of-a-kind movie that offers something that you have never encountered before and almost certainly won’t experience again.
Honorable mentions: Prey, Hustle, Fresh, The Batman, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Licorice Pizza, Decision to Leave, The Worst Person in the World.