Ranking All 52 Movies I Watched In 2022
I made it my goal in 2022 to watch 52 Movies that came out in 2022, essentially, one movie a week. After achieving this feat, I decided to take the 52 Films and rank them from worst to best. I gave each film a numerical score inspired partly by MovieRankings.net and Rotten Tomatoes. My scores were based on pure emotion and viewing experience. The scores I give are how I view the movie within the scope of every movie I’ve seen; it’s not just relative to this year.
Everyone has their own tastes, but I’m willing to plant my flag with certain takes. Before we jump into the rankings, there are a few movies I plan on seeing from 2022 that I have not gotten to yet: TAR, The Whale, Triangle of Sadness, The Woman King, RRR, and White Noise.
There might have been some movies I watched in 2022 that I flat-out forgot when compiling my list — if so, it was probably not a great movie. Also, I watched The Glass Onion on New Years’ Eve before I started the blog, that’s why it’s not included (it was fun, I give it a 7.6). Let’s jump into the rankings.
52nd — Home Team (0.4 out of 10)
I’m a sucker for cheesy kid’s sports movies, and it’s not a high bar I set. Home Team misses on all levels — it is insultingly unfunny. Who wanted a semi-serious Kevin James in a Family Comedy?
51st — Halloween Ends (1.8 out of 10)
Initially, I wanted to rank Halloween Ends as the worst movie I saw this year; unfortunately, Home Team was worse.
Halloween Ends has pitiful dialogue, an abysmal soundtrack, and introduces a new bad guy who feels like a pitiful cuck. It is supposed to be the end of the trilogy and what we got was a meandering film that feels like a weird fan-fiction side story. Worst of all, Halloween Ends lacks Michael Myers and doesn’t even end with a bang!
50th — Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (3.2 out of 10)
The original Harry Potter movie franchise was built upon a strong foundation of source material; at the very least, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were a fun trio of kids easy to root for. Fantastic Beasts is the opposite — it has a flimsy foundation, the main character is difficult to like, and by this third film, the writers don’t fully invest in him. They put Dumbledore’s name in the title and made him a more significant part of this movie to chase that OG Harry Potter clout. Sadly, it misses the magic of the original and doesn’t hit as a new product.
Fantastic Beasts lacks cohesion and concentration. It introduces potentially cool ideas, yet they never have time to breathe. This movie is the worst of a miserable franchise, and Ezra Miller should get sent to Azkaban.
49th — The Invitation (3.4 out of 10)
Anyone who watched the trailer of this movie knew exactly what it was, and somehow it took over an hour for the twist/action to occur. Nathalie Emmanuel has the chops to be a great leading lady — I despise that they put her in such a blah film.
48th — Morbius (3.5 out of 10)
I went to see this movie two months after it got released for $5 with friends, and we had a fun time.
However, this movie was not even worthy of the memes in terms of entertainment. No character in this movie is purely likable or worthy of emotional investment. Morbius is poorly written and paced, Jared Leto’s acting is abominable, and the visuals feel rough at times. We are moving on.
47th — Don’t Worry Darling (3.8 out of 10)
The most painful part of Don’t Warry Darling is that Florence Pugh put on an excellent performance. Everyone else in this movie feels so woefully miscast and directed. Don’t Worry Darling’s struggle is that it’s a movie that thinks it’s much smarter than it is. And as good as Florence Pugh is, Harry Styles is just as bad.
Olivia Wilde hit a grand slam home run with Booksmart; with Don’t Worry Darling, she struck on three pitches and fell flat on her ass.
46th — Day Shift (3.9 out of 10)
Jamie Foxx and Dave Franco with an odd couple dynamic in a vampire-hunting movie was not on my checklist for 2022; nonetheless, I watched it.
Personally, I didn’t find Day Shift very funny or entertaining, which is a shame as I generally enjoy both Foxx & Franco. It wasn’t the worst movie I saw this year!
45th — Senior Year (4.2 out of 10)
I’m not a fan of Rebel Wilson; I’ve always thought she was the worst part of the Pitch Perfect franchise. When I heard there was a Netflix movie about her playing a 37-year-old woman whose gotten out of a twenty-year coma and is going back to high school, I expected the worst movie ever.
Instead, there were a couple of moments that made me laugh, and it was weirdly tolerable. Senior Year is not good. It did beat my expectations and was nowhere near the worst movie I’ve ever seen; remarkably unremarkable!
44th — Tall Girl 2 (4.7 out of 10)
The Tall Girl movie franchise is a guilty pleasure of mine. They are purely bad films whose basic concepts, dialogue, and storylines I can easily invest in.
I enjoy Tall Girl 2 because it knows how dumb it is. I can turn my brain off and smile while I watch this movie after a long hard day at the factory.
43rd — Bullet Train (5.3 out of 10)
If you enjoyed Bullet Train, I get it completely.
The movie is a fun ride; it has a big cast with many recognizable faces.
The vignettes introducing different characters are my favorite parts of the film, as we see a lot of creativity from the director in those scenes.
I enjoyed the dynamic of Brian Tyree Henry and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the “twins.”
As a whole, Bullet Train didn’t reel me in to where I could fully invested in the characters or story, which makes all the fights/deaths feel a bit meaningless.
42nd — Falling for Christmas (5.7 out of 10)
The Lindsay Lohan Christmas Rom-Com was basic, simple-minded, and precisely what she needed.
Putting it lightly, Lindsay’s gone through a lot over the last decade and a half. Watching her get back on screen in a softer fun Christmas movie warmed my heart and was a reminder of why she rose to fame. There’s a purely likable quality to her acting, and this film felt like a gateway to her potentially doing more in the future.
41st — Elvis (6.2 out of 10)
Truthfully, I wouldn’t be upset if Austin Butler got a Best Actor Oscar nomination for Elvis. He is incredible in this role.
I also have to give some credit to Baz Luhrmann; the color choices and the art direction captivated me at times.
So why do I have this movie rated as low as I do? Tom Hanks’ performance is disturbingly bad to the point that I had to re-evaluate whether or not I view him as a good actor.
The length of this movie does not help either. Although it moves at a quick pace, Elvis never gives you a chance to breathe, yet, it also feels like it doesn’t move fast enough. The movie definitely feels like three hours, except there were parts of Elvis’s life I was most interested in that never got expanded on.
40th — Crush (6.3 out of 10)
Crush is a coming-of-age Teen Romantic Comedy about a girl in a love/crush triangle with a pair of twin sisters. It’s a fresh take on a classic trope and the type of representation we need in movies.
I would’ve loved this movie when I was 12. Watching it at 26, I thought it was alright.
The humor and dialogue of this movie are outside my wheelhouse, so I’m wondering whether I’m properly rating it or not.
39th — Where the Crawdads Sing (6.3 out of 10)
Daisy Edgar-Jones is someone I did not know about before this year, and she’s the lead in two movies in this blog. In each one, my big takeaway is she is a star.
Where the Crawdads Sings is a Murder-Mystery Thriller adaptation of a novel of the same name. The criticism I’m hearing across the board is that it’s nowhere near as good as the novel. Which makes sense as the story consistently makes time jumps, and there’s more attention to detail that translates better in text form.
Nonetheless, I really enjoyed Daisy-Edgar Jones as a protagonist, so much so that I may end up reading a book in 2023.
38th — Fall (6.5 out of 10)
Not sure how many people saw this movie. Fall is a Survivor-Thriller film that opens with the death of a woman’s fiancé during a climbing accident. On the one-year anniversary, the woman’s more adventurous friend drags her out to climb a 2,000-foot radio tower in which they get stranded.
If you’re afraid of heights, this movie will have you on the edge of your seat or feeling sick.
Fall can sometimes feel corny and unrealistic, and the dialogue leaves much to be desired. I mostly enjoyed this film, though.
37th — Smile (6.6 out of 10)
2022 was the year of elevated Horror. Among all the Horror films, Smile was the most basic and cookie-cutter. It’s filled with jump scares, predictable twists, and semi-decent acting.
Smile is perfectly fine. I enjoyed watching it in the theater.
If a sequel comes out, it will likely be worse. As a stand-alone film, it was a-okay. The marketing of it was perfection.
36th — Black Adam (6.9 out of 10)
Nothing in this movie was excellent. Nonetheless, I found myself entertained and engaged the entire time.
35th — Avatar: The Way of Water (6.9 out of 10)
*Lets out one big sigh*
From a visual standpoint, Avatar: The Way of Water might be the most impressive movie I’ve ever watched. In terms of character development and storytelling, The Way of Water is an improvement over the original.
Despite all of this… I found myself painfully bored. I’m not an Avatar hater — I’ve always thought the original deserved to win Best Picture because it was an in-theater experience unlike any other I had before. I went to see this new movie the first possible chance I had.
Sadly, this sequel did not grab me. As cool as the visuals were, the storylines and dialogue weren’t enough for me to remain engaged the entire film. The problem with this is that it’s over 3 hours, yet, I could skip through 90% of it because the writing is so predictable and lackluster.
I wanted to love The Way of the Water; I watched it at the first available showing. When I didn’t enjoy my first viewing, I was so convinced that something was wrong with me that I went a second time with friends with an even more positive attitude. Even with a dedicated focus on enjoying the movie… I still didn’t.
34th — The Lost City (7.1 out of 10)
Similar to Black Adam, I had fun and was entertained the entire time watching The Lost City. The Lost City is not the best-written or most well-structured film; however, it has Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum working in their natural element. Bullock and Tatum are so charismatic and charming that there is no way this movie would fail.
Daniel Radcliffe is hilarious in his role as the film’s villain.
It’s a movie I probably won’t rewatch, but I would recommend it to others.
33rd — Clerks 3 (7.3 out of 10)
The first twenty minutes of Clerks 3 are awkwardly bad and written in a way that feels like a bad SNL parody of Kevin Smith movies. After that, Clerks 3 hits a good flow that feels like the first two and got multiple big laughs from my family and me.
It’s an emotional retrospective journey of a movie that had me on the verge of tears by the end. If you aren’t a big Clerks/Kevin Smith fan, then I don’t know if the movie is that great. Hell, a lot of Clerks fans didn’t like this movie. Regardless, I enjoyed it and watching Clerks 3 with my Uncles, who showed me the original Clerks when I was young, making it a sentimental occasion.
32nd — Doctor Strange in The Multiverse of Madness (7.4 out of 10)
Marvel has found a formula where no movie they put out is “bad.” Sadly, some of their films have lost soul lately and have become a bit too manufactured. It seems as though they are meandering until they hit the next big team-up phase.
Multiverse of Madness is a victim of Marvel’s issues. The Sam Raimi fingerprints on Multiverse of Madness are very good, and you could tell he wanted to make a brutal movie that trended toward Horror. Except the MCU isn’t willing to go all the way in that direction.
Another issue I have with Multiverse of Madness is that it’s essentially a “Chase” movie where the person they’re chasing (America Chavez), I have no investment because they didn’t build her up in any way going into this film. I do have to give props to Elizabeth Olsen as she plays a vicious Scarlet Witch in this film.
31st — Thor: Love and Thunder (7.5 out of 10)
Copy-paste my issues with Multiverse of Madness to Thor: Love and Thunder.
I like Thor slightly more because Taika Watiti knows how to make me laugh. I wish Christian Bale had more screen time as he owned the performance.
Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth don’t have natural chemistry at all. Every interaction Portman and Hemsworth have with everyone else is stronger than each other. And it fucking sucks because they want to have the spark on screen together; it just doesn’t work.
30th — Orphan: First Kill (7.6 out of 10)
Orphan: First Kill was a pleasant surprise and improved from the original.
One of the significant improvements is Isabelle Furham is fourteen years older when playing this role; thus, she’s improved exponentially as an actress. She has this creepy character down to a science, and when you mix in a better plot/script than the original, you get a good movie.
29th — X (7.7 out of 10)
Now, we are talking about some really good movies.
X was the first of a pair of slasher films by Ti West in 2022. This movie does an incredible job of paying homage to classic Horror tropes while pulling off some unique twists.
The movie can be brutal. The use of sound in this movie is phenomenal and sends shivers down your spine. There are some great acting performances in this movie. Some nudity and sex. What does X mean? Nobody knows what it means, but it’s provocative and gets the people going.
28th — Not Okay (7.8 out of 10)
If you didn’t see Not Okay, it’s a Hulu movie and a Satirical Comedy starring Zoey Deutch, where she plays a desperate aspiring writer/influencer who pretends to be a survivor of a Paris bombing.
I found the movie to be hysterical, and it’s because I’m the demographic for it. It’s chalked full of millennial/Gen Z-type humor and does a decent job of encapsulating how ridiculous modern social media/influences are/can be. The movie does a great job of how desperate it will be for internet clout, and at times it hits me a bit close to home.
This movie was probably the best performance of Zoey Deutch’s career.
27th — Fresh (7.8 out of 10)
We got another Hulu movie, another Horror movie, and another Daisy Edgar-Jones movie with Fresh.
If you didn’t see this one, Daisy Edgar-Jones’s character, disillusioned by modern dating via apps, suddenly meets a guy in a grocery store played by Sebastian Stan. Then there are some twists, and the movie gets dark and disturbing.
Fresh finds multiple ways to leave your jaw dropped, and as you are scared, they find moments that make you accidentally laugh. It’s not a good laugh; it’s a petrified “I’m in danger” laugh.
26th — Bones and All (7.8 out of 10)
I knew Bones and All was a movie involving cannibalism, and still, I was not ready for how much cannibalism there was. Multiple people walked out of the theater when I watched; honestly, I do not blame them.
Bones and All is very graphic, and there aren’t any easy moments throughout the film.
That being said, the romantic arc between Taylor Russell and Timothee Chalamet as the leads had me deeply fascinated and engaged. Mark Rylance put up one of the terrifying performances of the last decade — he should get an Oscar nomination for this role. Bones and All is an intense movie not made for those with weak stomachs.
25th — Babylon (7.8 out of 10)
Babylon is a 3-hour mess. Damian Chazelle is one of the great modern directors of our lifetime, and with this movie, he swings for the fences for three hours.
I’d rate the first two hours of this movie a 9.0–9.5 out of 10. It was a fast-paced wild ride with hilarious moments, great lines of dialogue, and some elite cinematography to go along with an award-worthy score. I rate this film as a 7.8 because it falls off a cliff in the last hour, where it feels like Chazelle has gotten high off his own supply making this movie.
Babylon is one of the more polarizing films of the year. While I loved 2/3rds of it, I’m not sure if this is a movie I would recommend to most people.
24th — Hustle (7.9 out of 10)
Hustle is one of the many great surprises of 2022. It is a legitimate Sports Drama, and Sandler puts his heart into this performance. There are moments you laugh throughout the film because he’s naturally funny, but it’s not a comedy.
There’s a real sense of dedication in this film. This movie has a lot of legitimate basketball going on with real NBA-level players on-screen because they needed/wanted this movie to be authentic. Hustle sets a standard for future basketball movies going forward.
23rd — Bodies Bodies Bodies (8.0 out of 10)
Let’s get the negatives out of the way. As a cohesive film, Bodies Bodies Bodies is not the strongest, most cohesive movie. I also did not care for the two main characters or their “romantic” storyline.
The reason Bodies Bodies Bodies ranks this high is that it’s one of the funniest movies of 2022. Every week I see clips from the film posted on Twitter that have me dying laughing. Rachel Sennott had one of the best performances of the year, and she will be an absolute star over this next decade, given the opportunity.
22nd — Scream 5 (8.1 out of 10)
The Scream franchise continues to be the gold standard for Slasher films. They don’t try to recreate the wheel when it comes to Scream movies. Instead, they rebuild and fortify the existing wheel, bringing together a fun, youthful cast and mixing it up with the classic OGs to give you the best of both worlds.
Jenna Ortega had a breakout year that started with this movie, Jack Quaid & Mikey Madison were stellar in their roles, and then the classic trio (Campbell, Cox, Arquette) fit perfectly back. The only true weakness in this film is the lead, Melissa Barrera, was unbelievably bland. I like Barrera from her work in Mexican/Spanish language shows, but she was not ready to be the lead in a Scream movie.
Other than that, Scream 5 is another great entry in the franchise.
21st — The Menu (8.1 out of 10)
Ralph Fiennes needs to be talked about when it comes to the acting Mount Rushmore. He throws himself into every role with a level of seriousness that truly makes you believe in his performances. The Menu is another exhibition for him where he plays a brilliant chef who is completely batshit. What’s so crazy about Ralph Fiennes is that he plays these serious roles and can make me laugh harder than most comedic actors can with his simple deadpan deliveries or even the furl of an eyebrow.
Anya Taylor-Joy is stellar in this movie as well; her star continues to rise, and I’m excited for the day she gets the perfect film role.
The Menu sometimes veers a bit into a pretentious territory and is not a movie I’d recommend for everyone. At the same time, this movie is an excellent reflection of a well-orchestrated meal where all the little details get painstakingly thought out.
20th — Violent Night (8.1 out of 10)
When I first saw the trailers and posters for Violent Night, I thought we would be getting one of the worst movies ever. What we got was a legitimately fantastic Action film that felt like a hybrid of Home Alone, Bad Santa, and Die Hard.
This movie has some creative and exhilarating action sequences, great physical comedy, and one-liners, and it keeps you engaged for almost the entire two hours. Congrats to John Leguizamo for being in both the 21st and 20th-ranked movies.
19th — The Northman (8.2 out of 10)
The Northman is the definition of an EPIC movie. Everything about this movie is intense. From the visuals, sound editing, fight sequences, and intimate moments… There is nothing soft about The Northman. Alexander Skarsgard is a total mammoth of a man, Nicole Kidman is a scary mommy, and Willem Defoe comes in with one of the all-time heat check scene-stealing moments.
Movies like this typically aren’t my favorite. The Northman was such a remarkable theater experience that I had to tip my hat.
18th — Emily the Criminal (8.3 out of 10)
Emily the Criminal is a fast-paced anxiety-inducing 95-minute ride that keeps you on your toes the entire time. Weirdly, it is one of the more relatable movies of 2022, as it questions what a person who is down on their luck would be willing to do for money.
As someone who is still in student debt after only attending one semester of a four-year university, this movie hit me a little too close to home. Emily the Criminal is a movie I highly recommend, and it’s less than a hundred minutes; you can knock it out easily without any regrets.
17th — Nope (8.4 out of 10)
A movie I saw twice in theaters. Jordan Peele again puts out an outside-the-box “Horror” concept with Nope. This movie pays homage to many different media genres, all while telling its own story/metaphor and having a couple of red herrings thrown in.
Nope was a movie upon first viewing; I probably would have had as a 7.6–7.8. It was the second viewing that I began to notice Peele’s attention to detail in every scene. While I don’t fully buy into the main story Peele was telling, all the side storylines and interactions around it are so good and satisfying that I wouldn’t mind watching this movie a couple more times.
Nope is like a steak restaurant with a good, not great steak but the absolute best salad, baked potatoes, and dessert you’ve ever had. The acting, cinematography, clothing choices, and sound are all fantastic in this movie. Keke Palmer and Steven Yeun should both get serious consideration for the Best Supporting Actress/Actor nominations. Specifically, Keke Palmer steals every scene she is in and is an electric factory. We need Keke Palmer in more movies.
16th — Vengeance (8.5 out of 10)
Vengeance is B.J. Novak’s directorial debut, in which he also wrote the film and acted as the lead. For the most part, Vengeance is a simple movie with simple characters.
The way Novak writes dialogue and adds humor between all the interactions in the movie makes this “simple” movie excellent.
Throw in a murder/mystery element, and it’s easy to fully throw yourself into this film. Vengeance is a movie expect to rewatch a bunch over the next few years as it’s so easy to consume. There’s something very authentic and engaging about this movie, and most of it comes down to Novak’s writing and the acting performances of all the side characters.
15th — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (8.5 out of 10)
Ryan Coogler is one of the best directors of the last decade, and he once again proved why with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. The hurdles this movie had to clear in the wake of Chadwick Boseman’s passing (RIP) were steep. This movie respected Chadwick’s legacy, expanded upon existing characters, and brought a new dimension of the MCU into the fold.
Wakanda Forever was an exhilarating ride that was deeply emotional and had me watery-eyed multiple times. Angela Bassett shined in this film and should get some award recognition.
14th — Pearl (8.6 out of 10)
Pearl ranks much higher than X for me; it comes down to Mia Goth. Mia Goth was fantastic in X. In Pearl, she put up an Oscar-worthy performance where she displays so many levels of emotion, fear, and passion, all under the umbrella of a delusional psychopathic human with mommy issues.
This movie was a fucking trip, and I loved it.
13th — The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (8.6 out of 10)
The Nicolas Cage renaissance of the last few years has been beautiful to watch unfold. This move felt like a celebration/roast of his career in the best way possible. There was a hilarious amount of self-awareness in this film.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive is a magnificent blend of comedy and action. It is both a family film and maybe the best bromance movie we’ve had since 21 and 22 Jump Street. The chemistry between Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal is off the charts. This movie is twice as funny if you know Nic Cage’s work and filmography.
12th — Cha Cha Real Smooth (8.6 out of 10)
If you didn’t watch Cha Cha Real Smooth, I don’t blame you; it was an under-the-radar Apple TV Movie. Cooper Raiff wrote, directed, and starred in this movie about a broke 22-year-old fresh out of college who moves back home to live with his mom, stepdad, and brother. He accompanies his brother to Bar Mitzvah, where he displays a knack for getting people on the dance floor. From there, he begins working multiple Bar Mitzvahs as a “party starter,” and while doing these jobs, he sparks a connection with a 32-year-old engaged mom (and her daughter), played by Dakota Johnson.
This movie was another anxiety inducer, except in a completely unique way. There’s so much second-hand embarrassment and relatability in Cha Cha Real Smooth. Cha Cha Real Smooth depicts how when you’re in your 20s, there’s a desperate pressure to want to accelerate your life while also needing to enjoy it. The movie also portrays how scary it is to be an adult. It’s a true coming-of-age story through a modern 2022 lens. Cha Cha Real Smooth movie will hit hard for anyone who feels lost in life (most of us).
11th — Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (8.7 out of 10)
Director Eric Appel co-wrote this movie with Weird Al, and the two found the perfect way to mix Al’s style of humor/parody into a “biopic.” The way this movie takes the biopic concept and turns it on its head is so fun and creative. This movie is anything but ordinary, which is what you need when the central character is Weird Al. Daniel Radcliffe adds so much fun and charisma to the role.
It is simply one of the funnier movies of the last few years and had me smiling from ear to ear.
10th — The Black Phone (8.8 out of 10)
We are in the Top 10 now. The Black Phone is a movie I loved as it blended True Crime with Horror/Thriller in a fascinating way that was almost like a commentary on society’s obsession with serial killers.
Ethan Hawke plays a deeply scary psychopathic killer who strikes fear into my core, not because he’s like Freddy Krueger or Jason Vorhees but because he feels like someone you could bump into in a gas station.
The child acting in this movie is off the charts, the sound editing is elite, and the film is an economical 103 minutes. Sometimes I sound like I have no attention span when complimenting a movie for being short. And all I got to say is I’m a child of the internet. A film that has my attention and keeps me engaged is critical in this era.
9th — Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers (8.9 out of 10)
Easily the most out-of-nowhere great movie of 2022 is Chip ‘n Dale Rescue Rangers. It made sense once realizing that Akiva Schaffer and the Lonely Island crew were the creative minds behind the film. Even then, this movie beats all expectations.
Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers ranks highly for me for multiple reasons, the first being its self-awareness level. We are living in an era of sequels and reboots. Chip ‘n Dale takes the concept and spins it in a meta way that takes the piss out of themselves while also paying respect to some animated characters who would never get the love of a traditional reboot. The self-awareness element leads into the humor aspect, where so many little jokes in this movie are hidden for adult audiences while also giving hit-you-over-the-head jokes for kids. Heck, the movie doesn’t even pretend to be smarter than it is; in fact, it makes fun of how basic and cliché it is at times.
Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers was clever and creative, and I’m so excited to have a go-to movie to put on the next time I babysit my niece or nephew.
8th — The Batman (8.9 out of 10)
It’s crazy to think The Batman was in 2022, as it feels so long ago. Seriously talking, The Batman was a total immersive experience. Matt Reeves drew up a Dark Noir Mystery Action movie that remained loyal to the Batman character/mythos in a way that had been missing for a long time. There was an intense amount of commitment and thought put into this movie.
The soundtrack is amazing and puts you in a brooding mood, complemented by the visuals and cinematography. There is a grittiness to this movie where things feel mortal and realistic. Pattinson is not a perfect Batman in a good way — the character is still young and finding himself. Zoe Kravitz’s Catwoman is not the most well-developed, yet she has a physical presence that leaves you wowed whenever she’s on screen. Paul Dano, John Turturro, and Colin Farrell all dominated in their roles as the villains in this movie and brought a different element each.
7th — Jackass Forever (9.0 out of 10)
When I first heard there would be a fourth Jackass movie, I rolled my eyes because it sounded like a cash grab from a group of dudes who should not be doing these stunts anymore. I felt like an idiot for ever doubting the basic Jackass formula.
The actual pacing and segmenting of Jackass Forever is the best they’ve ever done. This Jackass movie actually felt like a story was getting told at times. Jackass Forever integrated new blood and characters while laying the nostalgia on thick.
During the pandemic, many people became comfortable with the in-home movie experience — which is completely understandable. However, a movie like Jackass Forever showed why the actual in-theater experience is special. Watching these humans put themselves through so much pain for our enjoyment feels more important when it’s on the big screen.
6th — Do Revenge (9.0 out of 10)
This one might take some people by surprise. Do Revenge is a Netflix Teen Comedy starring Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke loosely based on Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train.
Many people have complimented this movie online and called it a spiritual successor to Heathers. And for a good reason, Do Revenge is funny, well-acted, and takes classic teen movie tropes but puts a 2022 spin on them.
What sets this movie apart is how it manages to be absurd yet also based in reality simultaneously. The way this movie tackles Cancel Culture is unique. It does a great job of depicting how abusers with money and power can’t get canceled as easily as those who complain about Cancel Culture will lead you to believe. On the other end of the spectrum, Do Revenge becomes hilariously ridiculous with some of its montages, moments, and hammed-up lines of dialogue. The dynamic between Camila Mendes and Maya Hawke is fun — their characters are so drastically different that it allows fans to relate more to one another, which is always a fun element in teen movies.
Lastly, the reason Do Revenge ranks so highly for me is that within its genre of Teen Movies, it’s very clearly the best within the last five years, at least. Do Revenge will age similarly to how Easy A did in the 2010s, where over time, be will regard it more and more.
5th — The Fabelmans (9.1 out of 10)
Frankly, I was not a fan of Steven Spielberg’s entire 2010 decade. While his movies were objectively good, I felt they lacked soul. I feel the exact opposite about Spielberg in the 2020s because West Side Story was fun, and this movie, The Fabelmans, had real passion and love.
The Fabelmans is a semi-autobiographic film based on Spielberg’s childhood. In this movie, you see a young Spielberg making his first movies on whatever type of camera he can get his hands on. I loved The Fabelmans because you can truly get a sense of how much movies meant to Spielberg. Then there’s this whole family drama element to the film that’s all over the place. Michelle Williams is iconic in her role as the family matriarch, and Paul Dano brings a perfect little weirdo dynamic as the father. The drama of real life shows the escape that movies can be for our lives.
4th — Barbarian (9.2 out of 10)
I’ve said it already; 2022 was the year of Horror movies. At least 1/5th of the movies on my list can get categorized as Horror, and the one that stood out the most to me was Barbarian.
What stands out about Barbarian is the creativity in storytelling. Barbarian will sometimes tell you exactly what’s going to happen, and other times, so much of what seems obvious actually isn’t. Barbarian has many classic horror elements: a monstrous creature, jump scares, origin story vignettes, creepy settings, visuals, etc. Most of those elements have a twist on them or get used in a creative fashion that doesn’t feel cliche.
Georgina Campbell is spectacular in her performance as the film’s lead. Justin Long adds to his already impressive horror filmography with a performance that might be his best. Former The Whitest Kids U’ Know Star Zach Kregger showed out in his directorial debut. Zach Kregger wrote a very scary and tense film, yet he found a few moments to add some scenes that made my entire theater laugh out loud.
Barbarian did its job because it’s one of those movies that leaves people debating all the potential meanings of the title.
3rd — Top Gun: Maverick (9.4 out of 10)
Growing up, I viewed the original Top Gun as a fun piece of cheesy 80s nostalgia, but I always thought it was a bad movie. The concept of a sequel 30+ years later felt like the biggest money grab. The fact that Top Gun: Maverick kept getting delayed and delayed because of the pandemic and other filming complications made me believe we were going to get an all-time stinker.
In reality, Tom Cruise refused to let this movie be released for the first time anywhere except for a movie theater. Boy, it was worth the wait. The action scenes in Top Gun: Maverick are on another level. Tom Cruise is a fucking lunatic who channeled all his crazy energy and dedicated it towards building a film that would be as authentic as possible. Visually nothing had me more engaged in 2022 than Top Gun: Maverick. It’s not just the flying; the movie is shot in a way that sometimes feels like an epic music video. They have montages and cheesy music cues to pay homage to the original throughout the film.
Impressively, Top Gun: Maverick took that original cheesy source material and turned it into some legitimately emotional and heart-gripping stuff. The side characters in this movie are drawn boldly to where we innately understand who they are, but most do not get expanded upon in a way conducive to building a better movie. The movie is not dragged down by anyone else because those supporting characters exist to boost up our stars, Tom Cruise and Miles Teller. In this movie, Cruise and Teller are Michael Jordan and Scott Pippen, and everyone else is there to win a Championship. Top Gun: Maverick is an exhilarating ride and is undoubtedly the best Action movie of the year.
2nd — The Banshees of Inisherin (9.6 out of 10)
I did not expect one of the greatest break-up movies of all-time to be centered around two Irish men in their 40/60s set in the 1920s. If you haven’t seen this movie, the basic plot is Colin Farrell’s character finds out his older best friend and drinking buddy, played by Brendan Gleeson, no longer wants to be his friend because Colin Farrell’s character is “too dull” to be wasting the remaining time of his life with. The movie then casually escalates to extreme amounts.
The Banshees of Inisherin is one of the funkiest movies I’ve ever watched. The movie is introspective, relatable, and has some of the funniest lines of dialogue/interactions I’ve ever seen on film. Watching this movie forced me to take a mental inventory and think about what it would be like if some of my lifelong friendships abruptly blew up. Hell, I’ve had a few that fizzled out where I’m still hurt.
The acting in this movie is superb — Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan all deserve to walk away with Oscar nominations. There are so many lines that feel like gut punches that make me laugh. It’s a bizarre film that kept me on my toes, curious about what would happen next. Similar to Do Revenge, The Banshees or Inisherin is an elite movie for its genre.
1st — Everything Everywhere All At Once (10.0 out of 10)
Everything Everywhere At All Once is not only my #1 ranked movie of 2022. For me, it is the best movie of the last ten years. The modern film industry has become incredibly repetitive, so much so that it feels special to get a film like Everything Everywhere All At Once that is so creative on so many levels — from its basic concept to how it blends genres and characters.
When people ask me to explain what the movie is about, it’s difficult because you have to watch to fully grasp the scale of it all (which is what I sometimes did). I first saw this movie once by myself at a late-night showing, and then I went three more times where I dragged family members and friends to watch it again with me because, to me, it was something the important people in my life needed to see.
Everything Everywhere All At Once is precisely what the title says — it is an Action Movie, a Comedy, a Drama, it is Sci-Fi, it is a Romance, it is a story about a family, a story about culture, and has elements of Horror and existentialism, all while coming together like a perfect Thanksgiving dinner plate. Michelle Yeoh puts on a historic performance as the movie’s lead, displaying an incredible amount of emotional range. Ke Huy Quan maybe had the best physical acting of anyone in 2022, where he is seamless in action scenes, and his body language tells so many different stories. Stephanie Hsu probably had the most challenging task in which she had to be both the daughter in distress and the film’s antagonist at the same time! Not only do I hope all three get nominated, I NEED them to sweep their categories.
This movie hit me on so many levels. I had authentic smiles, frowns, laughs, and tears, all while watching Everything Everywhere All At Once. It kept me engaged the entire time, and it’s got so much replay value, either as a full-stop movie or something I can pick up for thirty minutes when scrolling channels. Everything Everywhere All At Once is a pantheon movie to me and I’m glad to end this blog with it.
