It was a terrific year in film, and while box office receipts for adult-oriented pictures took quite a hit this awards season with the majority of potential Oscar contenders grossing less than $10m each, the high bar quality of 2022 releases made creating a list of ten films an agonizing proposition.
From huge scale, populist entertainments to the smallest of foreign films and indies to one polarizing work of serious art, this year I was passionately undisciplined in my tally, breaking my 10 best “rule” to accommodate 15 (I simply could not part with any of them). Anything ranked here was close to four stars for me, and I adored all of them.
1. The Banshees of Inisherin
2. Bones and All
3. Nitram
4. Everything Everywhere All at Once
5. Tár
6. RRR
7. Avatar: The Way of Water
8. Happening
9. Blonde
10. Close
11. Great Freedom
12. The Northman
13. Emily the Criminal
14. Top Gun: Maverick
15. EO
And 15 additional, terrific films that could have easily made the list:
- All the Beauty and the Bloodshed
- All Quiet on the Western Front
- Argentina 1985
- Babylon
- The Batman
- Decision to Leave
- Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
- The Menu
- Playground
- Resurrection
- She Said
- To Leslie
- Triangle of Sadness
- Vengeance
- Watcher
Why do films have to be dark or angry or extremely traumatic to be considered as a top film. Life is hard enough without constantly reliving it on film.
Hi Nancy, thanks for this comment and I believe many share this sentiment. Note that this year’s “Oscar” films have not done well at the box office. I believe the types of films you may be referring to are an attempt to address realism, or social realism, in their views of the world — in other words, truth. But we do have Avatar: The Way of Water, Top Gun: Maverick and others this year that are superb and allow us to be entertained. We just need to strike that balance, right? 🙂 -Lee