It’s that time of year once again! Well, technically, it’s well beyond that time but I had to spend the last month since football season trying to catch up with as many of the 2022 outliers as I reasonably could. That brings us to the eve of the Academy Awards and there’s nothing quite like a deadline to get the blood pumping.
Anyway, I still managed to cover somewhere between 150-200 films when it comes to the ’22 cinematic year so let’s start off by easing our way into things. Giddy up!
BEST OF STREAMING
HULU
Prey
Director: Dan Trachtenberg | Writers: Patrick Aison, Dan Trachtenberg, Jim Thomas
AMAZON
Argentina, 1985
Director: Santiago Mitre | Writers: Mariano Llinás, Martín Mauregui, Santiago Mitre
HBO MAX
The Fallout
Written & Directed by: Megan Park
DISNEY+
Turning Red
Director: Domee Shi | Writers: Domee Shi, Julia Cho, Sarah Streicher
APPLE TV+
Sidney
Director: Reginald Hudlin | Writer: Jesse James Miller
PARAMOUNT+
Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe
Directors: Albert Calleros, John Rice
Writers: Mike Judge, Lew Morton, Guy Maxtone-Graham
NETFLIX
All Quiet on the Western Front
Director: Edward Berger
Writers: Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell, Erich Maria Remarque (novel)
WEIRDEST MOVIE
Glorious
Director: Rebekah McKendry | Writers: Todd Rigney, Joshua Hill, David Ian McKendry
*Honorable Mention – Mad God – Written & Directed: by Phil Tippet
MOST ORIGINAL MOVIE
Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon
Written & Directed by: Ana Lily Amirpour
BEST SEQUEL or PREQUEL
Top Gun: Maverick
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Screenplay: Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie
Story: Peter Craig and Justin Marks | Characters: Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr.
BEST REBOOT or REMAKE
The Batman
Director: Matt Reeves | Writers: Matt Reeves, Peter Craig, Bob Kane
BEST SOUNDTRACK
Metal Lords
Director: Peter Sollet | Writer: D.B. Weiss
Tracks by: Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Avenged Sevenfold, Mastodon, Ozzy Osbourne, Motorhead, Metallica, Pantera, Guns N’ Roses, Black Sabbath, & More
MUST-SEE DOCUMENTARY
All The Beauty And The Bloodshed
Director: Laura Poitras
BREAKOUT PERFORMERS
Stephanie Hsu & Jeremy Pope
*Honorable mentions to Edem Dambrine (Close) & Siiri Solalinna (Hatching)
BREAKOUT DIRECTORS
Charlotte Wells – Aftersun & Dean Fleischer Camp – Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
*Honorable mentions to Chloe Okuno (Watcher) & John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal)
COMEBACKS OF THE YEAR
Brendan Fraser – The Whale & Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All At Once
BEST ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
Women Talking
Written & Directed by: Sarah Polley, Miriam Towes (novel)
PERFORMERS OF THE YEAR
Jenna Ortega & Pedro Pascal
DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Luca Guadagnino
BEST USE OF SOUND
The Whale
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Writer: Samuel D. Hunter
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Lady Gaga – “Hold My Hand” (Top Gun: Maverick)
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
John Williams – The Fabelmans
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Catherine Martin – Elvis
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
Christian M. Goldbeck – All Quiet on the Western Front
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Avatar: The Way of Water
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Darius Khondji – Bardo: False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp | Writers: Dean Fleischer Camp, Jenny Slate, Nick Paley
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
All Quiet on the Western Front
Director: Edward Berger
Writers: Edward Berger, Lesley Paterson, Ian Stokell, Erich Maria Remarque (novel)
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Sarah Polley – Women Talking – Based on Miriam Toews’ novel
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Todd Field – TÁR
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Stephanie Hsu – Everything Everywhere All At Once
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All At Once
BEST ACTRESS
Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All At Once
BEST ACTOR
Brendan Fraser – The Whale
BEST DIRECTOR
Todd Field – TÁR
BEST PICTURE
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Written & Directed by: Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert (aka Daniels)
The Sheist List
Now that the “business” is taken care of, I can take off my analytical hat and get back into the fun stuff. It’s time to celebrate my favorite movies of the year that didn’t get the attention I think they deserved.
Dinner in America
Written & Directed by: Adam Rehmeier
Vortex
Written & Directed: Gaspar Noé
Petite Maman
Written & Directed by: Céline Sciamma
The Northman
Director: Robert Eggers | Writers: Sjón, Robert Eggers
Decision to Leave
Director: Park Chan-wook | Writers: Chung Seo-kyung, Park Chan-wook
Bones and All
Director: Luca Guadagnino | Writers: David Kajganich, Camille DeAngelis (novel)
Holy Spider
Director: Ali Abbasi
Writers: Afshin Kamran Bahrami, Ali Abbasi, Jonas Wagner (story supervisor)
Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Director: Tom Gormican | Writers: Tom Gormican, Kevin Etten
Bardo: False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths
Director: Alejandro Iñárritu | Writers: Alejandro Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone
Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon
Written & Directed by: Ana Lily Amirpour
Dual
Written & Directed by: Riley Stearns
Weird: The Weird Al Yankovic Story
Director: Eril Appel | Writers: “Weird Al” Yankovic, Eric Appel
Nope
Written & Directed by: Jordan Peele
Emily the Criminal
Written & Directed by: John Patton Ford
Watcher
Director: Chloe Okuno | Writers: Zack Ford (based on), Chloe Okuno
Something in the Dirt
Directors: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead | Writer: Justin Benson
Thanks for reading! I still believe word of mouth is the best way to help, so if you enjoy what I’m doing, please tell somebody. And if you have a comment, I’d love to hear it! Liking, subscribing, and sharing go a long way too. As usual, be well, be safe, and have fun no matter how you get your movies!