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I watched one-hundred and eighty six movies this year. Here are my top 15 and bottom 3 picks for the year. This is based simply on the movies I watched this year, not on what was released this year.
Check out the previous year-end reviews.
I frequently forget to catalog the best scenes, the eponymous duel scene in The Last Duel was tension filled, powerful, and brutal.
The Top 15 of 2022:
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Rent Cloud Atlas on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written
by: David Mitchell (novel), Lana Wachowski & Tom Tykwer & Lilly
Wachowski (written for the screen by), Chris Lindsay (additional
material)
Directed by: Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
Starring:
Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim
Sturgess, Bae Doona, Ben Whishaw, Keith David, James D'Arcy, Susan
Sarandon,
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
An
exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another
in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer
into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a
revolution.
Verdict
Movies have done multiple timelines and intersecting timelines, but this
adds a reoccurring human element throughout, a reincarnation of spirit
as technology improves and eventually signals a demise human emotions of
love, greed, and aspiration persist. The world and certain inhabitants
are forever linked, meeting across eras. Struggles of class and ethics repeat. That's the scope of this movie,
and it's certainly ambitious refusing to hold the viewer's hand.
Confusing at first, the story cleverly unfolds, each era inherently
unique and engaging. This movie gets better with every passing moment as
all the pieces intertwine perfectly. It's an incredible achievement.
Full Review
The Last Duel (2021)
Written by: Nicole Holofcener & Ben Affleck & Matt Damon (screenplay by), Eric Jager (based upon the books by)
Directed by: Ridley Scott
Starring: Matt Damon, Adam Driver, Jodie Comer, Ben Affleck
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
King Charles VI declares that Knight Jean de Carrouges settle his dispute with his squire by challenging him to a duel.
Verdict
It's incredible, bolstered by seeing the story from three distinct viewpoints. We see the story from the mens' viewpoint as they see themselves the hero, and then we see a chapter closer to the truth. The format portrays layers of truth through subtle detail and differences. The production is impressive, every scene makes you feel that you truly are seeing the 1300s. The movie culminates in the eponymous duel, an amazing scene built on the movie's tension and a brutal battle for truth amongst two men consumed by ego.
Full Review
Unforgiven (1992)
Written by: David Webb Peoples
Directed by: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris, Frances Fisher
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, the "Schofield Kid."
Verdict
This is a great depiction of a former outlaw that has to reckon with his past life. This movie is about morality. Each character has their own view of what's right, and for some of these characters that has changed over the years. No one is all good or all bad, we see various degrees. The movie does such a good job of building these characters and their motivations. It's the ideas in this movie that give it a lot of depth and are worth discussing.
Full Review
Léon: The Professional [The Professional] (1994)
Written by: Luc Besson
Directed by: Luc Besson
Starring: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman, Danny Aiello
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Léon, a professional assassin, reluctantly takes in twelve-year-old Mathilda after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
Verdict
This has such a unique dynamic between two characters. This serves as the basis for the evolution of both characters. Both teach the other valuable lessons. This movie strikes a balance between plenty of action and small character moments. It has so many great scenes, and it's well acted all around with Gary Oldman packing a punch in a limited role.
Full Review
Gravity (2013)
Rent Gravity on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Alfonso Cuarón & Jonás Cuarón
Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón
Starring: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris(voice)
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
Two astronauts work together to survive after an accident leaves them stranded in space.
Verdict
Incredible
all around, from the script and directing to the acting and special
effects. This movie quickly becomes very intense and doesn't let up save
for a couple of brief moments. This is a ride where you'll realize
you've been holding your breath, and what a ride it is. You've got to
embark on this journey. Few movies feel so quick, intense and at times
helpless.
Full Review
Snatch (2000)
Written by: Guy Ritchie
Directed by: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Jason Statham, Brad Pitt, Stephen Graham, Vinnie Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Dennis Farina, Lennie James
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Unscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers, and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.
Verdict
A frenetic and at times darkly comedic caper with a cast of colorful characters chasing a diamond. Ritchie's films are stylish at times to a fault. This one is his best, infused with the energy and the look of a music video at times.. It's fun from start to stop with twists, turns, and sub-plots that all eventually connect. None of these characters are particularly moral or smart, but their plights and one liners make them likable. It's a lot of fun, the type of movie that inspired others to copy it.
Full Review
Mass (2021)
Written by: Fran Kranz
Directed by: Fran Kranz
Starring: Jason Isaacs, Martha Plimpton, Ann Dowd, Reed Birney
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
Years after a violent tragedy that affects the lives of two couples in different ways, they meet face-to-face.
Verdict
This takes a difficult subject, examining it after the fact from both sides. Most of this movie takes place in just one room with four people, but it's incredibly gripping. It's going to make you feel many different things as characters reveal their experiences. The script is excellent, and it's boosted by the acting. This gives actors a chance to emote and space for us to see reactions to make this feel like an authentic conversation. The movie and performances are raw. Both couples address their situations, feelings, and emotions that stem from a tragedy that links them. With the setting, this is nothing like the typical movie.
Full Review
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Written by: George Clayton Johnson & Jack Golden Russell (1960 story), Harry Brown and Charles Lederer (1960 screenplay), Ted Griffin (screenplay)
Directed by: Steven Soderbergh
Starring: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Andy García, Bernice Mac, Elliot Gould, Casey Affleck, Scott Cann, Carl Reiner
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
Danny Ocean and his ten accomplices plan to rob three Las Vegas casinos simultaneously.
Verdict
A complicated heist with a colorful criminal crew makes for a lot of fun. We see the setup for the impossible heist, but don't know the plan until it unfolds on screen. This crew is just cool, and every step of this plan is smart and fun. There's no down time, this movie skips along at a great pace with a star studded cast. It's not only completely entertaining from start to stop, but you completely buy in instantly.
Full Review
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Written by: Stanley Kubrick & Michael Herr & Gustav Hasford (screenplay by), Gustav Hasford (novel)
Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
Starring: Matthew Modine, R. Lee Ermey, Vincent D'Onofrio, Adam Baldwin
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
Verdict
The movie references the dichotomy of man, but this is also about the dichotomy of war. We see the contrast with training and how the military prepares men for war. Then we see Vietnam. It's a stark contrast to the structure of boot camp, but both environments are harsh. What remains is the apathy soldiers are trained to feel. To turn men into killers, you have to mold them a certain way. With the two part structure, this movie feels like two. It's intentional, and like all of Kubrick's movie, every scene and feeling seems specifically crafted.
Full Review
Raging Bull (1980)
Rent Raging Bull on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Jake LaMotta (based on the book by), Joseph Carter and Peter Savage (with), Paul Schrader and Mardik Martin (screenplay)
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent, Nicholas Colasanto
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
Verdict
Jake
never cared about anyone but himself. He wanted to fulfill his desires
and hold on to them, anything else was a ruse or
just the fantasy he desired that day. Part of this too, is never meet
your heroes. Jake is a great boxer and that's all a lot of people see,
but he isn't a great person. Even half way into this, I wasn't sure it
lived up to the hype. But what this builds and how it builds, it is
indeed a
great movie. It's a movie that shows one can take the
medium a step further when all the pieces fit together just right.
Movies are
inherently difficult. There are so many moving parts, just one thing
going wrong can tank you. In part and in spite of what was going on
behind the scenes, this movie excels. The artistry and craft is apparent
in every scene.
Full Review
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Rent Glengarry Glen Ross on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: David Mamet (based on the play by), David Mamet (screenplay by)
Directed by: James Foley
Starring: Al Pacino, Jack Lemmon, Alec Baldwin, Alan Arkin, Ed Harris, Kevin Spacey, Jonathan Pryce
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Four
New York real estate salesmen become desperate to sell their weak leads
when a tough representative is sent by the head office to motivate
them. He announces that, in one week, all except the top two salesmen
will be fired.
Verdict
This
movie is so fun to watch. Great actors deliver lines from a great
script. The dialog is so sharp and quotable. It's slick from start to
finish. This gives an amazing opening from Alec Baldwin and then we
watch characters complain, scheme, and strut. There's a lot of ego in
this as men cling to their last bit of hope, desperate to survive while
others do anything to succeed. Characters either complain about
insurmountable tasks or gloat when they achieve those tasks. It captures
the sales profession well; it's either feast or famine. This provides
so many points for character discussion without relying on extensive
background or flashbacks. There's a lot of talking in this movie, but
when the dialog and script is this good it's as exciting as any action
movie.
Full Review
Papillon (2017)
Written by: Aaron Guzikowski (screenplay by), Henri Charrière (based upon the books "Papillon" and "Banco" by), Dalton Trumbo and Lorenzo Semple Jr. (based upon the 1973 screenplay "Papillon" by)
Directed by: Michael Noer
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Damijan Oklopdzic, Christopher Fairbank, Rami Malek
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Wrongfully convicted for murder, Henri Charriere forms an unlikely friendship with fellow inmate and quirky convicted counterfeiter, Louis Dega, in an attempt to escape from the notorious penal colony on Devil's Island.
Verdict
You can't help but root for a person wrongfully imprisoned. It's a simple, but effective premise. The story is engaging and the cinematography is beautiful. This is one of those movies you could pause at almost any scene and get a great image. Everything in this movie works in concert to provide a well made movie that entertains from start to finish. Charriere's will to escape is never diminished. At first it seems he's trying to correct an injustice and return to his 'old' life, but by the end of the movie he's trying to prove he can conquer an impossible system of repression.
Full Review
Casino (1995)
Written by: Nicholas Pileggi (book), Nicholas Pileggi & Martin Scorsese (screenplay)
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
Starring: Robert De Niro, Sharon Stone, Joe Pesci, James Woods, Don Rickles, Kevin Pollak, Frank Vincent
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A tale of greed, deception, money, power, and murder occur between two best friends; a mafia enforcer and a casino executive compete against each other over a gambling empire and a fast-living, fast-loving socialite.
Verdict
This is a gangster movie that trades just a bit in the history of Las Vegas and it's crime roots. De Niro makes almost any movie better and he plays such a great character. We see his rise to the heights of Vegas, his struggle to gain more, and then try holding on to it. In Las Vegas you're one bad roll away from losing it all. In this sprawling crime story we see it all, and this story seems so large as we see the inception of a city and culture.
Full Review
All Quiet on the Western Front [Im Westen nichts Neues] (2022)
Written by: Edward Berger & Lesley Paterson and Ian Stokell (screenplay by), Erich Maria Remarque (based on the novel by)
Directed by: Edward Berger
Starring: Felix Kammerer, Albrecht Schuch, Aaron Hilmer, Daniel Brühl
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A young German soldier's terrifying experiences and distress on the western front during World War I.
Verdict
This portrays the harsh realities of war. Boys romantic about the war join and see what it's like to be in the trenches. This looks at how inhumane war is. Leaders send kids to war without ever seeing what it's like. Propaganda spurs kids to join, who discover a harsh life awaits. I like the creative choices this makes, from how it frames and sets up shots to the music. It's a haunting movie, scary in that people have and will endure similar situations.
Full Review
Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
Written by: Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr (based on characters created by), Peter Craig and Justin Marks (story by), Ehren Kruger and Eric Warren Singer and Christopher McQuarrie (screenplay by)
Directed by: Joseph Kosinski
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jennifer Connelly, Miles Teller, Val Kilmer, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Manny Jacinto
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
After thirty years, Maverick is still pushing the envelope as a top naval aviator, but must confront ghosts of his past when he leads TOP GUN's elite graduates on a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those chosen to fly it.
Verdict
You'll enjoy this whether you've seen the original movie or not. There are plenty of references to the original, which are well done, but this stands on its own. The action scenes are thrilling, it has emotional moments, and you're always rooting for Maverick, the greatest pilot in the world. It manages to develop Maverick and the plot with such skill. Even when it's predictable this movie is still so much fun.
Full Review
The Bottom 3 of 2022:
Geostorm (2017)
Rent Geostorm on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Dean Devlin & Paul Guyot
Directed by: Dean Devlin
Starring:
Gerard Butler, Jim Sturgess, Abbie Cornish, Danuel Wu, Andy Garcia, Ed
Harris, Robert Sheehan, Richard Schiff, Mare Winningham, Zazie Beetz
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer
Plot
When
the network of satellites designed to control the global climate starts
to attack Earth, it's a race against the clock for its creator to
uncover the real threat before a worldwide Geostorm wipes out everything
and everyone.
Verdict
It's
completely mindless, built on explosions and random destruction with
common tropes arranged to look like a story. Character motivations are
flimsy, and there's plenty of events and actions in the movie just to
add drama and fill run time without a solid foundation. I could ignore
the lack of science if everything else wasn't so silly, but this reaches
a point where picking apart the science is the only interesting thing.
Full Review
Deep Water (2022)
Watch Deep Water on Hulu // Buy the novel (paid link)
Written by: Zach Helm and Sam Levinson (screenplay by), Patricia Highsmith (based upon the novel by)
Directed by: Adrian Lyne
Starring: Ben Affleck, Ana de Armas, Tracy Letts, Lil Rel Howery, Finn Wittrock
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A
well-to-do husband who allows his wife to have affairs in order to
avoid a divorce becomes a prime suspect in the disappearance of her
lovers.
Verdict
What
a waste of time. This never competently establishes the plot. Why do
the characters act this way? I'm surprised this got the quality of
actors it did. The plot is thin. This doesn't answer any questions, and
the conclusion is a non-ending.
Full Review
An American Werewolf in Paris (1997)
Written by: John Landis (characters in An American Werewolf in London), Tim Burns & Tom Stern and Anthony Waller
Directed by: Anthony Waller
Starring: Tom Everett Scott, Julie Delpy, Vince Vieluf, Julie Bowen
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
An American man unwittingly gets involved with French werewolves who have developed a serum allowing them to transform at will.
Verdict
You'll quickly discern in the first couple of scenes this movie is bad. It won't get better. Everything about this movie is frustrating, including writing, acting, and directing. Few bad movies become so silly and ridiculous so quickly. Most of them at least have an aspiration to be good. This is a complete waste of time.
Full Review
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