LOS ANGELES, Dec. 15 (UPI) — Too many movies are released in a year to see them all, of course, especially with all the streaming platforms releasing originals. So it’s entirely possible there are some deserving movies we missed, and there are a few that just didn’t screen in time for inclusion.
We reserve the right to kick ourselves later, but of the vast amount of content we did screen, these 10 movies rose to the top. Find links to the full reviews where available.
10. Emily the Criminal — This thriller updates the heist movie to modern-day credit card-big box store scams, while also addressing the updated workplace that drives people to a life of crime. Aubrey Plaza commands the narrative as an everywoman trying to get by, though perhaps one with a bit more scrappy survival instincts than most.
9. Cha Cha Real Smooth — The best movie from this year’s Sundance Film Festival may not be a CODA-type Oscar contender, but it’s still a sweet, quirky indie comedy. Writer-director-star Cooper Raiff makes a strong case for himself as a leading man, gives Dakota Johnson a layered, vulnerable role and captures the fun and heartbreak of small-town communities.
8. Babylon — Writer/director Damien Chazelle channels the musical passion of Whiplash and La La Land into an intense epic of Hollywood debauchery and creativity. It’s Chazelle’s Singing in the Rain, but also a Hollywood Caligula. A full review is coming Friday.
7. Everything Everywhere All At Once — This wild, inventive multiverse tale really lives up to its title. It manages to make the world feel infinite through simple differences between characters and locations, and tugs at heartstrings with rocks and hot dog fingers.
6. Top Gun: Maverick — Crowd-pleasing blockbuster movies don’t get any better than this. Prey also brought an inspired new take on its franchise, but here Tom Cruise delivered a homage to his star-making film. He applied his decades of action hero experience to engineering a thrill machine. This mission builds to the final flight like the 1986 film never did and executes aerial action like no film before.
5. RRR — The hype is real. This Tollywood film took the American box office by storm, and it is indicative of the kind of movie one wishes they’d make in Hollywood. Loosely inspired by legendary historical figures, RRR commits to outrageous action scenes with nary a worry about plausibility, epic dance-offs, intense drama and goofy comedy. Cinema can be all things, and RRR is all of them simultaneously. UPI didn’t get to screen this for review but Jennifer Beals spoke about her passion for it.
4. Women Talking — Hopefully, Women Talking will make people listen. This is exactly the kind of conversation society should be having about all major issues. It’s a compelling philosophical debate that constantly energizes the discourse with provocative new ideas, shattering any simplistic binary.
3. The Menu — Calling this a biting satire is too easy a pun. Ralph Fiennes’ chef skewers foodie culture for an appetizer, but his main course is a treatise against moral and social injustice. It’s a deliciously good time watching privileged folk squirm under this macabre buffet.
2. Beavis and Butthead Do the Universe — It would have been enough if Beavis and Butthead returned with the same endearingly immature humor as before. They did, but siccing them on modern society and culture took them to the next level. And no other comedy was this funny. Perhaps Jackass Forever was the closest contender, but it’s been a lean year for comedies.
1.Triangle of Sadness — This satire manages to be more highbrow and even lower brow than Beavis and Butt-Head at different points. Its observations about the privileged condescending to the working class are astute, but the observations about a work
Best Movies Of 2022 In The US: No 7 – The Wonder
Chilean director Sebastián Lelio’s adaptation of Emma Donoghue’s 2016 novel is a completely absorbing descent into the mist – of 1860s Ireland, of mysticism, of religious fervour. Put aside the distracting framing device, two present-tense bookends assumedly meant to underscore our ability to suspend disbelief that end up undercutting this eerie, remarkable period film.
The vibe is off, the mood unsettling, from the moment we meet Florence Pugh’s Lib, an English nurse sent to a remote Irish village to observe (or, as many townspeople hope, to confirm) a reported miracle: 11-year-old Anna (an impressive Kíla Lord Cassidy) who has refused to eat for four months and yet remains curiously healthy. Lelio’s film approaches Anna’s anorexia mirabilis as a slow-burn mystery, as Lib grows fond of the girl and ever more frustrated with the inaction of those around her, people willing to accept sacrifice to preserve their preferred version of the story. It’s a thriller of fact versus faith that doesn’t judge the latter.
It also reaffirms faith in Pugh as a performer, in a thorny period role that recalls her breakout in Lady Macbeth. Pugh has yet to turn in a less than solid performance, particularly as a woman bristling at expectations, and she is utterly convincing here. Her Lib is fiery and steadfast, rational and susceptible as anyone to flights of desperate imagination. Pugh is almost terrifyingly self-possessed as a performer; as Lib’s frustration with her assignment and desperation to save Anna escalate, I found myself clenching my teeth, transfixed.
What could easily have become melodrama or a cheap trauma plot instead feels, in Lelio’s hands, strange and beautiful, shot through with the natural ruggedness of rural Ireland. The Wonder is an unusual journey, Lelio’s sharp direction never allowing what could be foreseeable revelations to tip into predictability. But it’s Pugh who’s the wonder here. Even with the framing device – yes, this is a story – you can’t help but believe her.
The 50 Best Movies Of 2022, According To 165 Critics From Around The World
The calendar year may be clawing its way to a close, but the Oscars race for Best Picture has the top films of 2022 still holding at a full sprint.
With 165 critics and journalists from across the globe voting on the best films and performances in IndieWire’s annual critics survey, Todd Field’s “TÁR” topped the podium as the definitive best film of the year: an accolade awarded to Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog” in 2021. As Christian Blauvelt expanded in IndieWire’s initial 2022 report, “The movie topped the categories of Best Film, Best Director, Best Performance, and Best Screenplay. It appeared on over 45% of all ballots, with 26 first-place rankings for Best Film.”
The survey’s consensus ranked Charlotte Wells’ “Aftersun” at number two. The titles flip-flopped on IndieWire’s staff list, with “Aftersun” in first and “TÁR” second. That happened again with Martin McDonagh’s “The Banshees of Insisherin,” placing third on the critics survey but fourth on IndieWire’s staff list. “Banshees” swapped spots with the Daniels’ “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” landing fourth on the survey. It’s joined by Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” rounding out the dozens of critics’ top five selections.
Staffers from IndieWire, The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, The Hollywood Reporter, The Atlantic, and Entertainment Weekly voted, as well as freelance and staff writers for newspapers, websites, radio, and TV from across Europe, Latin America, Africa, and Asia — in addition to all over the U.S. And Canada. All participants were required to vote only for films that received theatrical, streaming, or VOD releases in the U.S. Over the past calendar year.
The Golden Globes has already nominated “TÁR,” “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “The Banshees of Inisherin,” and “The Fabelmans” for top awards, but not “Aftersun.” Per Marcus Jones and Anne Thompson’s predictions for IndieWire, the Paul Mescal and Frankie Corio film remains a long shot for Best Picture.
Check out the complete list of the IndieWire Critics Poll top 50 films of 2022 below. Please note that not all awards and nominations are listed, but for each title you will find a selection of some of its accolades. Select films’ casts may also be incomplete.
With editorial contributions from Christian Zilko and Samantha Bergeson.
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