Films in 2022 went everywhere. Tom was in Cruise control more than ever, thanks to the record-breaking (and critically-acclaimed) success of the long-awaited aerial sequel, Top Gun: Maverick. James Cameron's equally-anticipated Avatar: The Way of Water had rich worldbuilding, not to mention cutting-edge motion-capture filmed underwater, with astonishing and jaw-dropping results. The directing duo known as the Daniels (a.k.a. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) blew the roof off the multiverse and then some in Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Warner Bros and DC hired Matt Reeves to helm a new variation on Batman, starring Robert Pattinson, which turned out to be a bold and exhilarating move; the whole ensemble in The Batman was phenomenal, as was the more detective-noir storyline. Marvel Studios and filmmaker Ryan Coogler made an exceptional standalone follow-up with Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which expanded the MCU in rich and challenging ways, while also paying an emotional tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman, whose absence is felt throughout.
Edward Berger's adaptation of All Quiet On the Western Front successfully reminded us of the sheer horrors and traumas of the First World War, told from the perspective of German soldiers. Actors Colin Farrell and Brenden Gleeson gave career-defining performances as two Irish friends-turned-enemies in Martin McDonagh's dark and strangely-endearing tragicomedy The Banshees of Inisherin. Director Steven Spielberg made one of his most personal--and challenging--films with the semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans, which follows a young Jewish boy and how his life is influenced by the movies and his family. Director James Gray made his own semi-autobiography with the more raw Armageddon Time, a coming-of-age period piece about familial generation gaps and social/political change.
Charlotte Wells made an impressive directorial debut with her melancholic drama Aftersun, about a woman who recounts a summer trip she took with her father two decades prior. Maria Schrader's harrowing and empowering drama She Said (based on the New York Times articles that ignited the #MeToo movement) showcased strong, dedicated women, while also giving voices back to many people who have been wronged for years. Chinonye Chukwu's Till was a powerful and important piece about the late Emmet Till, but also about his mother's courageous fight for justice and social change, anchored by a phenomenal breakout performance by Danielle Deadweiller. And finally, actor Brenden Fraser gave the biggest comeback performance of the year (literally and figuratively) as an overweight, gay English teacher in Darren Aronovsky's psychological drama, The Whale.
But if there's one thing that most of this year's best films had in common, it's that they leaped through many periods in time--past, present, future--with untold stories from the history of our nation and the world that were just starting to see the light of day, not to mention generating discussion or debate while taking steps towards a better, more acknowledging and socially-conscious, future. For the time being, here are four of my picks (including a few unlikely protagonists) for the standout films of 2022.
"Everything you say, everything you do, matters. You matter."
Another film that hasn't been talked about as much (and one that people should see) is Ahbi Damaris Corbin's Breaking. Based on the true story of Brian Brown-Easley, John Boyega gives one of the year's best performances as a war veteran who held a Wells Fargo bank hostage after his veterans check was denied. In an act of desperation, Brown-Easley got the attention of the media and the FBI (including a fellow officer, played by the late and magnetic Michael Kenneth Williams, in his final screen performance). What follows is a heartbreaking story that shines a light on homelessness and injustice, and goes deeper than anything we've come to expect from this subgenre of cinema.
"I want to tell you a story. It's a story you may think you know, but you don't."
I missed out on quite a few animated films this year, including Pixar's Turning Red. I did, however, see (and very much enjoyed) DreamWorks' The Bad Guys, an entertaining and visually-fun gem that puts a clever twist on classic fairy tale villains in an Ocean's 11-esque setting. But the year's best animated feature--and one that rivals the best live-action features--used Carlo Collodi's original text for Pinocchio in a stop-motion masterpiece from Guillermo del Toro. Co-directed by Mark Gustafson, this rendition (although not really for children, despite its PG-rating) emphasizes themes of love, loss, life, spirituality, immortality, war, and death. It's a real work of art, and a genuine labor of love.
.gif)
"It's like a movie, but nobody has any lines, and nobody even knows what it is while they're making it."
Using stop-motion animation in a live-action setting, this charming mockumentary follows a tiny, one-eyed mollusk (in miniature footwear, no less) on a quest to find his family. Directed and co-written by Dean Fleisher-Camp and starring actress Jenny Slate as the voice of the titular shell (Slate also co-wrote the script), Marcel is a film about our need for community, especially in an era where we've been isolated for so long, and the difference between that and an "audience" (a theme that fits my number one pic, surprisingly). A rare film that works for both young and old, and another triumph for the stellar independent studio A24.
"This dream you're chasing--where you end up at the top of the mountain--it's the one you never wake up from."
Jordan Peele's genre-bending commentary on people's obsession with spectacle is his most ambitious project to date. Combining horror with comedy, sci-fi, and even western, Nope features an engrossing ensemble cast of characters from different backgrounds (including two Black horse trainers, played by Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer), as well as their own ambitions and secrets. This is a film that forces us to reexamine the way we look at social media and each other. In short (and ironically), it's a roller-coaster.
No comments:
Post a Comment