2022 Recap – Best of the Rest (Part One)

THIRTY MORE – Because I can (Part One)

11. Everything Everywhere All at Once (D: Daniel Scheinert, Daniel Kwan)

Eat your hearts our Marvel and DC because Everything Everywhere All at Once is the best live-action multiverse spectacular ever made. Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, and Stephanie Hsu are all Oscar-worthy.

12. Aftersun (D: Charlotte Wells)

Past and present collide in Charlotte Wells’ astonishing father-daughter drama that held me spellbound first second to last. Unforgettable.

13. Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (D: Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson)

Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson reinvent Carlo Collodi’s timeless story with a stop-motion spectacular that makes a perfect companion piece to The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth. Haunting, thrilling, but most of all masterful.

14. Bodies Bodies Bodies (D: Halina Reijn)

A Ten Little Indians for the social media age, Halina Reijn’s invigorating murder mystery is a brutal and bloody treat overflowing in thrills, chills, insights, and a bevy of hearty laughs. You won’t get bored in the club watching this one.

15. Women Talking (D: Sarah Polley)

Sarah Polley’s adaptation of Miriam Toews’ bestseller is a searing, thought-provoking sensation that both chilled me to the bone and wanting to leap to my feet and cheer in equal measure. A triumph.

16. Prey (D: Dan Trachtenberg)

Dan Trachtenberg takes the Predator series back to its roots presenting a mean, suitably triumphant action-thriller that pits 18th-century Comanche against an interstellar hunter unlike anything they’ve ever seen. Newcomers Amber Midthunder and Dakota Beavers are born stars.

17. Emergency (D: Carey Williams)

A trio of college seniors (Donald Elise Watkins, RJ Cyler, Sebastian Chacon) discover a nameless white girl (Maddie Nichols) drunkenly passed out on the floor of their apartment, and things only get crazier from there. Carey Williams’ superb satire is as funny as it is horrifying. Punches you in the gut.

18. Crimes of the Future (D: David Cronenberg)

Painfully funny and gruesomely chilling, David Cronenberg’s return to his body horror roots is a thing of abhorrent beauty. Viggo Mortensen and Léa Seydoux are unsurprisingly outstanding, but it’s a breathily twitterpated Kristen Stewart who steals the show.

19. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (D: Joel Crawford)

Magical sequel that’s up there with the best films DreamWorks has ever made, The Last Wish is an unexpected winner that’s a refreshing blast of fresh air. I couldn’t have loved this one more had I tried.

20. Hellraiser (D: David Bruckner)

Clive Barker’s world of sensation and sin returns in a big way, David Bruckner’s horrifying spectacle an invigoratingly nasty, character-driven descent into madness. Jamie Clayton steps into Doug Bradley’s massive shoes as the Hell Priest and makes them immediately her own.

21. Catch the Fair One (D: Josef Wladyka)

Kali Reis gives one of 2022’s most sadly overlooked great performances as a washed-up champion boxer whose latest fight isn’t in the ring, but instead in the seemingly quiet secluded homes of the secretive men who abducted her sister two years prior. This film is a knockout.

22. Nope (D: Jordan Peele)

Jordan Peele’s wondrously inventive Jaws-meets-Close Encounters shocker gets better and better with each viewing, and I have a sneaky suspicion this could vault near the top of my 2022 list within the next few years.

23. Close (D: Lukas Dhont)

Lukas Dhont redeems himself after the ghastly and offensive Girl with a beguiling, powerfully magnetic saga of friendship, responsibility, and forgiveness that had me choking back happy tears. Young Eden Dambrine is a revelation.

24. Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris (D: Anthony Fabian)

Few 2022 films game as much continuous pleasure as Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris. Lesley Manville’s tremendous performance is divine, while the Christian Dior fashions are an eye-popping treat. This movie is just so much fun. J’adore.

25. The Menu (D: Mark Mylod)

A scrumptious satirical thriller featuring an all-star ensemble, this witty treat takes the “eat the rich” axiom to its fiery, chocolate-covered conclusion and does so with style, humor, and a fair amount of bloodshed. Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy’s battle of wills is pretty darn tasty.

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