I’m not sure about you, but soon after the final covid lockdown ended, life gradually became non-stop hectic! Somehow, I think I got rather used to the slower pace of daily life and having far less to do than usual! Though I miss having a less busy lifestyle and wish I had more time for more movies, I certainly do not miss watching those dreaded press conferences where snap lockdowns intended to last for just days were extended by weeks, months even. Hallelujah then that those days are now well and truly past!

Despite the busier year, especially the last 6 months, I still managed to watch 156 movies released in 2022! That’s only 7 less than the same time last year! Unsurprisingly, movies thankfully saw an uptick in quality this year compared to last. 32 films received 4 stars or more from me and I am yet to see quite a few movies that I have lofty hopes for (more on that below). One thing I will briefly mention, however, is just how disappointing I am finding animated films from Disney to be in recent years. A decade ago, I could label certain films as timeless classics and would rank them as high as older classics such as The Lion King and The Little Mermaid. But lately, I feel that at best we get fleeting moments or a couple of scenes that are of similar quality, innovation and creativity as older Disney and Pixar pictures (think along the likes of Wall-e, Ratatouille) in their heyday. I guess what I’m trying to say for now is that I really miss not having an animated classic appear in my best of list each year as I once routinely would.

I’ve opted for a slightly different approach this year compared to previous years with collating the best and worst movies of the year. I start with the ‘distinctive dozen’, move on to the ‘best of the rest’ before then finishing with 5 movies that truly sucked!

Enjoy reading 🙂

The Distinctive Dozen

12

Link to Jell’s Review – She Said . For me, She Said is this year’s Spotlight.

11

10

Apple TV+ churn out another beauty to follow-up last year’s Oscar-winning little gem, CODA.

9

This remarkable documentary is available for streaming on Disney +

8

Link to my review – Quo Vadis, Aida?

7

The movie event of the year! Everything Everywhere All At Once may not be my #1 film of 2022, but it sure is the most unexpected and welcomed surprise smash-hit that is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before and something you’re unlikely to ever experience again! A must-see – it was very recently added to Prime Video!

6

Austin Butler’s star-making performance together with Baz Luhrman’s trademark visual energy make for an unforgettable and exhilarating cinematic experience. Link to Leigh’s review – Elvis.

5

One of the most striking Viking productions I’ve ever witnessed. Link to Leigh’s review – The Northman. Available for streaming via Prime Video.

4

To any fellow Melbournian or Australian who labels our recently re-elected state premier ‘Dictator Dan’. Perhaps this harrowing documentary can demonstrate what a real dictatorship looks like? Available for streaming via Paramount +.

3

Not a single scene is without clear intended purpose. Such a beautiful movie in every way possible.

2

Never would I have believed that Robert Pattinson could master the role of Batman the way he does in this. A sublime casting choice and all-round movie from director Matt Reeves. Available to stream via Netflix.

#1 THE BEST FILM OF 2022 #1

It was going to take some kind of superhero to dethrone Batman from #1. Well, who better than the man who survived a failed assassination attempt by Russian President Vladimir Putin than this man!? It might seem underwhelming to make a documentary, a political documentary, my number 1 movie of the year. But believe me, this is more riveting to watch than almost any feature film. Navalny is available to stream now via SBS on Demand.

Now to the ‘Best of the Rest’. Remarkably, two of the movies to feature in this part of my list are set and shot almost entirely in a single room! However, each of these 4 star films are simply too good to not mention among the finest to be released this year.

Best of the Rest

The Good Boss (El Buen Patron)
After Love
Blaze
Good Luck To You, Leo Grande
Barbarian
Full Time (A Plein Temps)
The Stranger
Hustle
Top Gun: Maverick
Mass

Now to the worst movies of 2022. These movies really sucked…

5

A rare screw-up from Marvel.

4

This from the director of the legendary 2001 French hit Amélie!? Non!

3

Rebel Wilson isn’t solely to blame for this awful mess.

2

Shot in Melbourne, Australia during one of our several COVID lockdowns. This movie was worse than all lockdowns combined! Liam, stop. Just stop. Link to Leigh’s review – Blacklight.

As I said, those movies sucked. But this one really, really sucked. I absolutely loathed, totally detested…

#1 THE WORST FILM OF 2022 #1

Last, but certainly not least, here are my favourite moments, scenes, performances and key call-outs from feature film releases that did not quite make my above best-of lists in 2022.

The ravishing Penelope Cruz’s emotional performance in Spanish master filmmaker Pedro Almodovar’s Parallel Mothers

Kristen Stewart’s easily best performance to date portraying Princess Diana and director Pablo Larraín’s picture-perfect vision capturing his star player in Spencer

Jessica Chastain’s transcendentally brilliant portrayal of Tammy Faye in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and the film’s hair & make-up also gets a big shout-out

The beautifully poetic Peter Dinklage performance charming our socks off in the underrated, immensely entertaining and contemporary musical romantic drama, Cyrano

The wonderfully awkward sequences earlier in Turning Red involving Meilin’s mother outing her daughter’s crush and then mistaking Meilin’s ‘turning red’ for something else! As I was saying, this was reminiscent of classic Pixar releases!

A German-speaking Dan Stevens playing a robot to razor-sharp perfection in I‘m Your Man (Ich Bin Dein Mensch)

That energising and diverse soundtrack in the underrated soon to be cult hit Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon

Bros for being the first film to be distributed by a major film distributor in Universal with an entire LGBTQ lead cast and mainstream gay-rom-com. Despite the disappointing box office result in the U.S and here in Australia, it remains a major step forward and paves the way for others to follow

The intense and confronting ‘army tank’ sequence in German anti-war drama, All Quiet on the Western Front, and some of its stunning imagery throughout too. Though, it did fall a little short on my lofty expectations and is no 1917 or Hacksaw Ridge

Triangle of Sadness’ most stand-out of its small handful of outstanding sequences. The messy, grotesque and utterly hilarious amalgamation of fine dining on a luxury cruise for the rich and famous during a very rough night at seas! You can never un-see this scene. I’m still gagging and laughing. 

Colin Farrell’s nice work as nice guy Pádraic in Martin McDonagh’s very good, but not great, black tragicomedy The Banshees of Inisherin

A brilliantly butchery performance from my current personal favourite actor or actress right now, Emma Thompson as Agatha Trunchbull in Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical that would have The Handmaid’s Tale Aunt Lydia taking notes! Also, the entire ‘revolting children’ sequence was quite outstanding

Mark Rylance’s wonderful work in feel-good comedy-drama The Phantom of the Open, doing to golf something similar to what Meryl Streep did for opera in Florence Foster Jenkins

A star-making performance from Thuso Mbedu alongside the woman king of acting herself, Viola Davis, in The Woman King

Finally, a couple of letdowns

Considering the outstanding ensemble cast, See How They Run was disappointing and never quite came to life as its premise, genre and cast had promised

Jared Leto’s ridiculously over-the-top Italian accent and performance in the huge let down film, House of Gucci

Compiled by Leigh for Moviedoc

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