Most folks write up their year end reviews focusing on just films released that year, but I think it’s important to also highlight films that are a little older that I finally got around to watching. There are so many movies that it’s a shame to only focus on the new. Here are some films I watched this year that left an impression. I’m putting them into 3 categories: 2022 releases, New Discoveries, and Skeletons. Skeletons being movies I’m a little embarrassed about having not seen already.
2022 Releases
I wrote up reviews on Nope and Everything Everywhere All at Once so I won’t go deep into them here (click the titles for the reviews). Those have certainly made my top films of the year, but here are a few more:
Barbarian
I’m always going to try and support R rated non-franchise horror, but this one really knocked it out of the park for me. The story of some Air BnBers discovering something “extra” about their rental is quite the thrill ride. Made by an internet comedian, I have to admit, this film really knows how to work with tension and release.
Decision to Leave
A Korean crime romance from the director of Oldboy. A detective investigates a man’s death and develops quite the crush on his widow. She gets cleared and they part ways, but they meet again down the line. And another death happens. Intriguing and quite unique, I kept “premaking” it in my mind as a 40s film noir.
Turning Red
I was a little concerned it would be Pixar’s Teen Wolf. I mean, there is some similarities there but there’s a little bit of Ginger Snaps and a pinch of kaiju too. Mei Mei discovers she has fallen to a familial curse of turning into a red panda whenever she feels emotional. There are themes of adolescence, friendship, and mother/daughter dynamics. Generational trauma too. I don’t have a lot of nostalgia for 2002, when the film takes place, but it replicated that time super well.
X & Pearl
This was a great year for horror and Ti West’s one-two punch of X and Pearl are probably the best of the year. Both films feature the murderous Pearl, played by Mia Goth in both films though she’s under a lot of makeup in X. That film is a Texas Chainsaw type slasher, while Pearl is a character study of the titular character’s descent into madness. I enjoyed X when it came out, but Pearl is so good it makes X better. It might be the only prequel to pull that off.
New Discoveries
Cop Land
James Mangold borrows some guys from Martin Scorsese, throws Stallone in for good measure, and makes an urban western neo noir of corrupt cops in their bedroom community. It took me way too long to watch this. The above image is not the best representation of the film, but the funniest.
Saving Face
A story about a mother and a daughter dealing with cultural expectations. The daughter is a lesbian and the mother is in a secret relationship herself. It’s funnier than that sounds. Very 2000s indie. I enjoyed this a lot.
The Silent Partner
I talked about this last month on my alternate Christmas movies list. A heist film with Christopher Plummer as a bank robbing Santa. Wish I’d watched this sooner.
Skeletons
Grey Gardens
I made so many references to this without properly seeing it that I feel a little guilty. This documentary is about Jackie Kennedy’s relatives that live in a crumbling manor. At times funny, sad at others, but always interesting. It reminded me of Tod Browning’s Freaks in that it is somehow exploitative AND empathetic at the same time.
Marathon Man
I’ve seen the “is it safe” scene so many times that I felt I had seen this already. A fascinating crime film about a grad student who gets caught up with Nazis in hiding. Might be good exposure therapy for folx afraid of the dentist.
Once Upon a Time in the Old West
I had seen the Dollars trilogy and enjoyed that, but this was a great sort of amalgam of Leone’s western output. If you only watch one spaghetti western, this gives you a solid primer for the genre. And seeing Henry Fonda be evil is a bit of a treat.
Final thoughts:
I haven’t seen everything of course, and I am still catching up some. But I can say this, of the “better” films I’ve seen so far, I don’t think anything has beaten Everything, Everywhere, All at Once. Not sure if it will be Best Picture this year, but I suspect it will go far this awards season.
See y’all next year.
~Andrew