Some Other Movies From 2022 (2)

For further background on the year in film, please refer to the Some Other Movies From 2022 entry.

Many of the movies listed below were picked from the list of Oscar, BAFTA and Golden Globe nominees.  Some of the yearly awards results are as follows:

The Oscar-winners were:

Best Picture: Everything Everywhere All At Once

Best Director: Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Actor: Brendan Fraser (The Whale)

Best Actress: Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Supporting Actress: Jamie Lee Curtis (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

The Golden Globe winners were:

Best Picture: The Fabelmans

Best Director: Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans)

Best Actor: Austin Butler (Elvis)

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (Tar)

Best Supporting Actor: Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once)

Best Supporting Actress: Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)

The BAFTA winners were:

Best Picture: All Quiet on the Western Front

Best Director: Edward Berger (All Quiet on the Western Front)

Best Actor: Austin Butler (Elvis)

Best Actress: Cate Blanchett (Tar)

Best Supporting Actor: Barry Keoghan (The Banshees of Inisherin)

Best Supporting Actress: Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin)

Golden Raspberries:

Worst Picture: Blonde

Worst Director: Machine Gun Kelly and Mod Sun (Good Morning)

Worst Actor: Jared Leto (Morbius)

Worst Actress: The Razzies (?)

Worst Supporting Actor: Tom Hanks (Elvis)

Worst Supporting Actress: Adria Arjona (Morbius)

My Thoughts:

I liked Everything Everywhere All At Once, but I would have probably limited it to a Best Actress Oscar.  A lot of people are cheering on Brendan Fraser, and while his performance in The Whale was unquestionably good I probably would have given the Best Actor Oscar to Colin Farrell for The Banshees of Inisherin.

I don't think All Quiet On The Western Front and Elvis deserved so many awards and/or nominations.  The first film is too similar in some ways to other German war films, and it doesn't have much of a story.  The second film is an Elvis movie that doesn't really seem to be about Elvis.

Amen to a Worst Picture Razzie for Blonde.  That movie is offensive.

The Best Movies of 2022?

1. Till

A mother and her son encounter tragedy several times over in Mississippi.  Till is a movie full of great moments, and moreover a movie in which every aspect of filmmaking seems to come together in the service of a heartwrenching story.  With all the awards acclaim surrounding Cate Blanchett's performance in Tar, I find it a little curious that Danielle Deadwyler's masterful performance in Till was so overlooked.

2. Argentina, 1985

The former military government of Argentina stands trial for crimes committed against suspected insurgents.  This movie is slow to get going, but once the trial gets underway it packs a serious punch.

Excellent

1. The Menu

Several diners travel to a remote restaurant for a meal they're not likely to forget.  It's a riveting movie based on an original concept, and you don't see many of those nowadays.  This is director Mark Mylod's fourth movie (he also directed Ali G Indahouse!), and I look forward to whatever he does next.

Fun Fact: Anya Taylor-Joy replaced Emma Stone in the lead role.  Stone exited the project due to other commitments.

2. Moonage Daydream

In my case it was preaching to the choir: I'm a huge Bowie fan.  There's a ton of footage in this documentary that I hadn't seen before, and even the footage I'd already seen was either improved or altered to the point where it seemed new.  It's comprehensive in the best sense of the word, and I think Bowie himself would have been proud of the finished product.

3. Navalny

A year in the life of Russian anti-corruption advocate Alexei Navalny.  This documentary asks some tough questions and doesn't answer them all.  Is there hope for Russia?  Of course there is, and supporting the work of people like Alexei Navalny helps translate that hope into a better future.

4. Sissy

Things go from awkward to sinister after two childhood friends reunite.  This movie ticks off a lot of familiar boxes, but in terms of tone and pacing it avoids a lot of familiar pitfalls.  As it is it's just about perfect.

5. The Banshees of Inisherin

Two friends on an island of the coast of Ireland become estranged.  Like Till above this is a movie full of memorable scenes, and these scenes are all highlighted by a mournful sense of humor.  Director Martin McDonagh doesn't make many movies, but the ones he does make are very good.

6. Fire of Love

Two French vulcanologists bond over a shared love of the Earth's fiery secrets.  It's a very well written documentary that has a lot to say about our relationship with the planet we live on.

7. She Said

MeToo: The Movie.  Like Tar (below) this movie tackles sexual harassment in the workplace, but where Tar takes a deep dive into the world of classical music She Said delves into the doings of Harvey Weinstein.  Where Tar is more of a character study She Said is the story of investigative journalism done right.  Sure, it'll remind you of Spotlight, but it stands on its own legs and it makes its own point.

I find it a bit odd that Carey Mulligan wasn't nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for this movie.  She was nominated for a BAFTA but lost to Kerry Condon.

Some Good Ones

1. Triangle of Sadness

The story of a male model unexpectedly turns into a discourse on economics as applied to the business of survival.  I'd heard a lot about this movie prior to seeing it, and while it's unquestionably good I wanted more of Woody Harrelson's character.  This is Swedish director Ruben Ostlund's first English-language film.

Fun Fact: Harris Dickinson also appeared as Chase Andrews in Where the Crawdads Sing.

Sad Fact: Actress Charlbi Dean died shortly after the release of this movie.

2. The Fabelmans

Steven Spielberg directs the prequel to his own career.  I liked it but like Triangle of Sadness above it didn't blow me away.  Speaking as someone who's always been fascinated with both movies and moviemaking, I never felt like there was much in this movie that I could really sink my teeth into.  It has some great scenes, and Michelle Williams deserved her Academy Award nomination, but overall it's a smaller scale drama, and not the spectacle some might have been expecting.

3. Tar

Warning: this movie requires patience.

...but if you have that kind of patience, this story of a brilliant, pretentious, domineering, sexually manipulative conductor is worth your time.  Cate Blanchett is probably the only person who could have played this role, and the rest of the cast is excellent to boot.  She didn't win the Oscar this time, but she was close.

But... "best film of the year?"  Some critics have said so, but in my opinion Tar moves too slowly to deserve that accolade.

4. The Whale 

Prepare to be depressed. Darren Aronofsky works his usual biblical imagery into a story of a morbidly obese man's last week on Earth. Brendan Fraser reminds you why he was a movie star in the first place, and his costars are all performing at his level, but Aronofsky's covering familiar ground, and this story could have only arrived at one conclusion, transcendentally so or otherwise.

5. Metal Lords

As a decades-old metalhead I wanted to love this movie. I thought it might in some ways mirror some of my own high school experiences, but no, not really.  It largely avoids much of the emotional turmoil of that age, and instead gives us a glossed-over version of high school, wherein kids unacquainted with metal are playing like Bill Ward and Dave Mustaine within a period of weeks.

If you don't take this movie too seriously it's ok. Could have been a lot better though.

6. Mad God

Just don't ask me what it's about.  Most of it is stop-motion animation, all of it is grotesque, and watching this just before bed is a really, really bad idea.  I fell asleep toward the end (not because it's boring, just because I was tired) and I had some very strange dreams.  Remember the Tool videos from the 90s?  It's a lot like that.

Fun Fact: Director Phil Tippet has had a long career in the special effects industry.  His biggest claim to fame is bringing the dinosaurs to life in Jurassic Park.  He's won two Academy Awards for his work.

Sad Fact: Mad God might have been too much for him.  He spent over 30 years on this movie, and suffered a mental breakdown just before it was finished.

7. Saloum

Three mercenaries try to escape a remote camp in Senegal.  It's billed as horror, but the horror element doesn't materialize until halfway through, and when this element does materialize it's so random that it's hard to stay invested in the film.  The first half is excellent however.  If they'd kept the supernatural out of it it would have made for a much better movie.

8. All Quiet On The Western Front

Explain to me again how this movie is that different, or that much better than 1917, the Oscar darling of three years before?  Or for that matter how it's different from Stalingrad, Das Boot, and other German war movies leading to similarly depressing conclusions?

Call me jaded, but a lot of the "horror of war" footage in this movie was lost on me.  Maybe I've seen to many horror movies.  Whatever the case, aside from the gore and human tragedy I don't feel that this movie had much of a story aside from fleeting glimpses of Germans striving after a lost cause.

Which isn't to say that this movie is bad by any stretch of the imagination.  As Netflix movies go they knocked it out of the park, but compared to movies like The Banshees of Inisherin and Tar?  I don't think it's on the same level.  It's certainly worth seeing, but I don't think it offered enough novelty to deserve all of the awards buzz.

9. Causeway

Jennifer Lawrence stars as a woman facing a less than happy homecoming after suffering a brain injury.  It's a nice, understated movie that ends on a hopeful note.  The director and screenwriter are both new to the world of film.

10. Aftersun

A father and his daughter holiday in Turkey.  It's a very subdued movie but it's very well done.  The director, Charlotte Wells, is also new to filmmaking.

So Bad It's Good Or So Good It's Good?

1. RRR

South Indian film in which two friends find themselves at odds over the rescue of a young girl from the British authorities.  It's the most expensive Indian movie ever made, and it was brought to you by the director of Baahubali: The Beginning and Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, two movies I affectionately refer to as "the south Indian Avengers."  I wouldn't say that RRR is as good as Baahubali, but its unbridled silliness mixed with a huge dose of ambition make for a ridiculously entertaining movie.

I'd be surprised if Hollywood wasn't knocking on star Ram Charan's door.  If he ever does make that leap I hope he chooses something more substantial than a villain role in one of the Fast and Furious movies.

Fun Fact: Parts of this movie were shot in Ukraine and Bulgaria.

Weird Enough For Ya?

1. Crimes of the Future

In a future where pain is pleasure, a rapidly mutating man stumbles upon a secret.  Those better acquainted with director David Cronenberg's early work will have already glimpsed some of the ideas at play in Crimes of the Future in earlier films, though they might be unprepared for this movie's unrivaled strangeness.

My only complaint is that they could have used a bigger special effects budget.  As it is the film's creepiness is diminished by unconvincing props.  At least no one got the bright idea of incorporating clips of real surgical procedures into the movie.  That would have made for an even more difficult two hours.

Fun Fact 1: You can watch Cronenberg's first Crimes of the Future on YouTube.  Be warned that it was super early in his career and that it has little to do with the 2022 version.

Fun Fact 2: Viggo Mortenson was the third choice to play the lead.  First and second were Ralph Fiennes (who elected to do The Menu above) and Nicolas Cage.

On the Fence

1. A Wounded Fawn

I'll give it points for originality, but this attempt at bringing elements of Greek tragedy into a modern context isn't always successful.  Its lower budget, DIY aesthetic might work for some people, but parts of it feel like sitting in on someone's drama class.

2. Barbarian

I don't get what the big deal was.  The first part of this film is derivative horror nonsense, though it does get appreciably better once Justin Long shows up.  For me the superhumanly strong monster was a bridge too far, and the ending was far from satisfying.  I do think, however, that writer and director Zach Cregger's next movie will be much better, and if nothing else the wide angle lens was used well here.

For me it suffers in comparison to X, another 2022 horror movie that has received many positive reviews.

Fun Fact: Actor Bill Skarsgard played Pennywise the Clown in the It movies.  He's Stellan Skarsgard's son.

3. Babylon

The last hour of this movie is genuinely good.  The problem is the two hours leading up to that last hour.  I suppose how you feel about those first two hours depends on how shocked you are by what you see.

For my part I've watched the best and worst of 70s cinema.  I've seen the exploitation pictures, I've watched the softcore porn, and I've endured movies that were just a shade away from snuff films.  I've seen the art films of that decade too, and no, nothing in Babylon is as shocking as what you'd find in some of the more "cult" 70s films -- even if what one sees in Babylon is a lot more polished.

Still more disconcerting is the fact that none of the characters in Babylon sound like people from the 20s.  They often don't dress like people from that time period either.  Even the music seems off at times, as if the film had taken an abrupt detour into Baz Luhrmann territory, complete with musical numbers.

There's also The Artist to consider.  The Artist, like Babylon, deals with the transition from silent movies to talkies, and it does so in a much more straightforward manner.  The Artist is also an all-around better film.

I liked parts of Babylon, but I'm not sure about the movie as a whole.  I certainly liked it more than Damien Chazelle's last effort, La La Land, but in my opinion it's still a far cry from the other two movies he's done, First Man and Whiplash.

Not Bad, Just Not My Thing

1. Belle

A troubled girl finds a new life online after the death of her mother.  Unlike anime such as Perfect Blue or Your Name (which, I'm not ashamed to admit, had me misting up a little), Belle is more an exercise in adolescent wish fulfillment.  It inhabits the same neighborhood as Twilight and Beauty and the Beast, and aside from some arresting visuals it's not particularly deep.

Belle premiered in most countries back in 2021, but the North American release didn't happen until 2022.

Fun Fact: This movie received a fourteen-minute standing ovation at Cannes.  Then again it's based on a French fairy tale, so that's not all that surprising.

Some Bad Ones

1. Decision to Leave

Korean crime movie that'll remind you a lot of Basic Instinct.  I found the cinematography interesting, but the police officer and his femme fatale, played by the beautiful Chinese actress Tang Wei, are both insufferable.  

Director Park Chan-wook may be familiar from 2013's Snowpiercer.  In my opinion that film was much better than this one.

2. You People

"Woke" comedy in which several racial stereotypes attempt to coexist.  It starts out funny, but Eddie Murphy and Julia Louise-Dreyfus' characters are so over the top that this movie makes for difficult viewing.

3. Good Night Oppy

Highly melodramatic, special effects-heavy documentary about the Mars Opportunity and Spirit rovers.  I can't help but feel that there was a better way to approach this worthwhile topic.  Something other than endlessly anthropomorphizing the rovers.

4. The Woman King

I could dismiss this movie as Black Panther Lite, I could cite historical inaccuracies, but my main complaint about The Woman King is that it's really, really boring.  It's like they couldn't decide whether they were making an action movie or an Oscar-worthy drama, and instead of choosing they settled for the worst of both genres.

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