I’m not sure I’m qualified to declare whether or not it’s been a “good year” for film. Like everyone else, I spent the first two years of the pandemic watching movies in my bedroom, so to have an entire year that felt almost normal– the theaters opening again, delayed projects finally getting released— is enough for me to count 2022 as a massive win. The fact that some of the new releases from this year have made their way onto my list of all-time favorites certainly doesn’t hurt either.
Because I’m indecisive, before we get to the official picks, I have a couple of quick honorable mentions!
I think I’m in the minority of people when I say that The Black Phone dir. Scott Derrickson was one of my favorite releases of the year. It comparisons are inevitable here, but just like It this movie is so enjoyable because it has a solid cast of characters for the audience to invest in. It’s a horror that admittedly has more heart than it does scares, but I maintain that it delivers a solid viewing experience nonetheless (plus: Ethan Hawke).
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever dir. Ryan Coogler is without a doubt the best Marvel movie that came out this year. It brings in and centralizes new characters very organically, all while taking exactly the right amount of time to pay tribute to the late Chadwick Boseman. Even with the lengthy runtime, I didn’t really find myself feeling bored.
Finally, though it didn’t come close to breaching my top ten, I’d still like to shout out Scream dir. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett for upholding my claim that Scream is one of the only horror franchises where every subsequent entry is at least pretty good. I might be a little biased—the original is one of my favorite movies of all time— but it’s a claim I’m going to continue defending. I’ll miss seeing the original characters at the forefront of these films, but the new additions are admittedly growing on me and I’m cautiously excited for the sixth installment this spring.
Now onto my Top 10 films of 2022!
10. The Menu dir. Mark Mylod
This one goes out to anyone that’s ever worked in food service.
The Menu is a thriller that satirizes the relationship between the most entitled members of the upper class and the overworked members of the service industry. The humor is a major highlight: dark— and genuinely funny— but never compromising the tense atmosphere that Ralph Fiennes as Chef Julian Slowik builds. I think going into this you have a pretty good idea of what direction this film is heading, but instead of making it a predictable watch, the anticipation leaves you tense and jumpy as you wait to see what will happen next. I did find the ending to be a little weak— think Ari Aster meets Food Network— but for the most part it didn’t lessen my overall enjoyment of the film. Sometimes having fun watching a movie is way more important than the technical aspects anyway and The Menu is a guaranteed good time.
9. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery dir. Rian Johnson
I can only hope that Rian Johnson makes a million more of these movies. They’re so insanely fun.
Where Knives Out had its moments of ridiculousness, Glass Onion fully leans into campy humor. An eclectic cast of characters seems to be a staple for these films but somehow this lot is even more ridiculous than the last, featuring washed up celebrities, fitness influencers, and corrupt politicians. I’m not typically a fan of films that incorporate the pandemic into their storylines (I like to use film to escape the terrible realities of life, thank you very much), but I’m willing to look past it because Glass Onion is truly a time capsule to life in 2020. From the illicit super spreader parties that celebrities loved to throw to Benoit Blanc literally playing Among Us in the bathtub, this movie offers a unique view into a period of time unlike any other. I’m excited to see what direction Rian Johnson heads for the third film. We’ve now had a murder in a moody, old mansion and a murder in a modern, new mansion. What’s next?
You can read Abbey Hall’s review of Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery here.
8. Nope dir. Jordan Peele
As a huge horror fan, it would be blasphemous not to include Nope on this list. In all honesty I don’t tend to be very interested in stories involving aliens, but this was no typical story of alien invasion. Yet again Jordan Peele continues to redefine the modern horror genre, this time with commentary on the consequences that arise from chasing after great spectacles. Instead of reacting with fear to the threat of extra-terrestrials, the characters in Nope search for a way to capitalize off of the creature, becoming more and more reckless as the film progresses. The movie says it best by calling these events a “bad miracle.” Why is it that we try to find something to gain within the tragedies we face? When does desensitization become dangerous? Peele also possesses the uncanny ability to make a movie that is somehow the most eerie yet beautiful thing you’ve ever seen (seriously, the setting and use of color in this film were unreal). This is one of those movies that you can watch a dozen times and notice something new each time.
If I had to have one single critique it would be that I would’ve liked more Steven Yeun, but that can be applied to most movies.
7. Top Gun: Maverick dir. Joseph Kosinski
Top Gun: Maverick accomplishes the rare feat of being a sequel that completely outshines its predecessor. I liked the original Top Gun just fine, and truly do respect its iconic status, but I wasn’t prepared for how much I would love this installment. The action is better, the drama is more sincere, and the cliches— while still there— are toned way down from the first film. Of course, it gets cheesy at times, especially in regard to the romance, but one plot line that kept me engaged the entire time was Maverick’s strained relationship with Rooster, the son of his best friend, Goose, who died rather tragically in the first film. We all know Miles Teller stole the show for a multitude of reasons, but it can’t be overstated that his character is truly what makes Top Gun: Maverick so good. This aspect of the story added a level of emotional depth to the film that the first one didn’t quite achieve. What business does an action movie have making me feel this many emotions?
With one of the most exciting action sequences, I’ve seen in a long time, this movie feels like the first genuine summer blockbuster we’ve had in years!
6. The Banshees of Inisherin dir. Martin McDonagh
For a movie that’s largely considered to be a comedy, The Banshees of Inisherin is quite the emotional journey.
Set on the quaint Irish island of Inisherin, the audience follows Pádraic as he struggles to reconcile with the notion that his lifelong friend, Colm, no longer wants to associate with him. A seemingly petty dispute between friends turns into a discussion on what it means to lead a fulfilling life. You feel both characters’ pain so acutely: Colm pulls away because he’s afraid he’s running out of time to do something great, and Pádraic attempts to hold on because he’s afraid he’s not enough for those closest to him. This movie is true emotional whiplash: they’ll drop the absolute funniest lines after I’ve just cried my eyes out. I also love that this is getting categorized as a “breakup film” because losing a close friend can be such a painful, personal experience and it isn’t always given the same recognition in film as the end to a romantic relationship.
You can read Harrison Hall’s review of The Banshees of Inisherin here.
5. The Batman dir. Matt Reeves
When The Batman was first announced, I was inclined to view a new rendition of this superhero less than a decade after the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s iconic trilogy to be more than a bit unnecessary. In a time that feels inundated with remakes and reboots of beloved film series that just don’t quite live up to their predecessors, it can be difficult to get excited for these sorts of movies. However, I needn’t have worried because The Batman completely blew me away. It somehow managed to take a character whose story has been told a million times over and make it feel fresh. I especially loved the tone; Batman is a notoriously moody superhero and Reeves fully leans into this. A Bruce Wayne that wears eyeliner— with the mask on and off— and listens to Nirvana isn’t something I knew that I needed, but it turns out I definitely do. Superhero films also tend to be associated with bold and bright primary colors, but the dreary color palette and dramatic use of shadows gives The Batman an appearance more akin to that of a classic noir than a typical action flick. It lends to an aura of sophistication that many other similar films don’t achieve.
And at the risk of coming across like a complete nerd, I feel it necessary to add that the batmobile chase scene quite literally gives me chills every time I watch it. Potentially my favorite scene of the entire year.
You can read Spencer Malmberg’s review of The Batman here.
4. Bones and All dir. Luca Guadagnino 
Bones and All feels like something I would dream up upon being asked what my ideal movie would look like. Another beautifully shot Luca Guadagnino film starring Timothée Chalamet, but this time it’s a horror romance? Needless to say, I was immediately on board (and thankfully it fully lived up to the hype I’d built up for it in my head).
Horror has truly never been so beautiful. It seems impossible that a subject like cannibalism could be portrayed as such, but at its core Bones and All is a tender love story about two young people who feel at odds with the world. You logically shouldn’t root for these characters, but you can’t help yourself as you get to know their anxieties so intimately. You spend much of this film’s runtime holding your breath and hoping that Maren and Lee, our two protagonists, manage to get their happy ending. Bones and All sat with me for days after watching and the more I reflected on it, the more I grew to appreciate it. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea— it’s certainly an uncomfortable watch— but in my opinion it’s incredibly worth it.
“You want to be people? Let’s be people.”
You can read Joel Hyde’s review of Bones and All here.
3. The Fabelmans dir. Steven Spielberg 
Steven Spielberg tells the semi-autobiographical story of his childhood and personal journey with film in The Fabelmans. This is a film full of heart and humor and honestly, it’s a pretty cheesy watch, but it’s also one of the most sincere things I’ve seen all year. For a story that supposedly centers on Spielberg, it’s more of an homage to the power of cinema than anything else. People make movies, but movies also make us. This love for the craft reverberates throughout the whole film, felt most acutely in the passion that the whole cast puts into their performances. Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, and Paul Dano all play off of each other so well in both happy and sad moments alike.
Even if you, for some strange reason, don’t also have a deep love for movies I can’t picture anyone watching this and not feeling the same childlike wonder Sammy Fabelman does as he experiences his first trip to the movie theater and finds the trajectory of his life permanently altered. I personally left the theater feeling so warm after watching this one. This truly is a perfect movie for movie lovers.
2. Aftersun dir. Charlotte Wells
Aftersun isn’t a movie that I actually watched in 2022 but immediately after viewing I rearranged my entire top ten list so that it could have its rightful place here in the second spot. It is one of only two new releases that I gave five stars this year so there’s no way I wasn’t including it.
I’m absolutely enamored with the way the simplistic nature of this film is exactly what makes it so emotionally complex. Told in flashbacks and old video camera footage, Sophie reflects on a childhood trip with her father as she realizes that she didn’t know him quite as well as she thought she did. The largest questions are left explicitly unanswered, but it doesn’t make the movie feel incomplete. Instead, it’s an absolutely devastating and entirely effective means of storytelling as the audience is forced to fill in the blanks themselves. The use of music in this film was also something that really stood out to me; every song has a double meaning for the scene in which it’s playing and it just serves to further break your heart. This is another movie I thought about for days after watching, and will likely turn into one of those films that my mind can’t help but revisit from time to time. I can’t wait for Paul Mescal to take over the film world. He needs to be in everything starting immediately (or at the very least something that won’t make me hysterically cry).
1. Everything Everywhere All at Once dir. Daniel Scheinert, Daniel Kwan
Is anyone surprised? It almost doesn’t seem necessary to list the reasons why Everything Everywhere All at Once tops my list, but I’ll go ahead and try to do it anyway.
First of all, it’s absolutely visually stunning. The Daniels have a way of making even the strangest concepts look beautiful on camera (Swiss Army Man is another great— and equally bonkers— example of this). Every universe depicted in this film is bizarrely beautiful in its own right, and there are a lot of universes in this film. The multiverse has been something of a hot topic lately, but this film definitely handles it the best (sorry, MCU). The entire cast is also obviously incredible and I’m thrilled with all the love they’ve received so far this awards season, especially Ke Huy Quan who seems to be quite possibly the sweetest person alive. They make it hard to pick a favorite character when it’s obvious that so much care has gone into the creation of each one.
Above all else though, what truly makes this movie great is its authenticity. This film captures the human experience. I think everyone has struggled with feelings of inadequacy as they try to find their place in the world and there’s no greater comfort than seeing that others have felt just as stuck as you. It can be overwhelming to consider all the directions your life could’ve gone, but it’s reassuring to know that sometimes just owning a laundromat is enough. Everything Everywhere All at Once is the definition of a modern classic and I can’t wait to rewatch this one for years to come.