We’re halfway through 2022, and we’ve had a fantastic start to the year for movies. There’s been the handful of stinkers, as to be expected, but the top is incredibly strong. This would be a worthy top 10 come year-end. So as strong as these movies are, it makes me beyond excited for what’s to come. With six more months of movies to look forward to, I guarantee there will be some shuffling around at the top. Looks like we’re in for a heck of a movie year, folks! But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves, and take a look at the best of what 2022 has to offer so far.
1) Everything Everywhere All At Once – 97/100
This movie is everything…everywhere…all at once. It’s funny, emotional, original, creative, action-filled, it literally has it all, and all at once, almost like the directing team Daniels knew what they were doing when they titled it. I don’t want to say too much, just in case you’re reading this and still haven’t seen it. But you’re unlikely to see anything else like it this year. You maybe haven’t even seen anything like it before either. It’s truly a unique experience and one that all movie fans should be able to appreciate to one degree or another.
2) The Batman – 95/100 (Review)
Dark and gritty, Matt Reeves’ The Batman focuses more on the detective side of the Dark Knight. With vibes similar to Se7en, it’s a really effective twist on the superhero genre. It’s not even so much a superhero movie this time around. Even with a character that everyone knows so well, it still feels like a fresh take on the character, at least as far as recent live action movies go.
Robert Pattinson kills it as Batman, and a supporting cast anchored by Zoe Kravitz’s Selina Kyle and Paul Dano’s terrifying turn as the Riddler bring these well-worn characters back to life. The technical aspects are top notch too, the cinematography, sound, and production design in particular.
3) X – 94/100 (Review)
Ti West comes back to his horror roots with the wildly entertaining X. That’s not often how I would describe horror movies, but this one manages to be equal parts fun and gore. It follows several of the usual horror tropes, but they’re surrounded in so much that feels unique, that you may not take full notice of them. Mia Goth leads an excellent ensemble cast, with Brittany Snow in particular providing one of the more fun performances of the year. Jenna Ortega (won’t be the only time she pops up on this list) has one of the smaller roles, but she continues to impress with every role she has.
4) Top Gun: Maverick – 94/100 (Review)
There were high hopes for this sequel, but I don’t know how many people truly expected Maverick to be *this* good. It takes everything awesome from the first Top Gun and improves on it, with really the only minor exception being the Maverick beach football game doesn’t come anywhere close to topping the iconic Top Gun volleyball scene. Tom Cruise and the supporting cast are all great, and it has the breathtaking visuals you would expect. Perhaps the biggest improvement is that the stakes are known from the jump. Top Gun was mostly just a vibes movie, with the end mission kind of coming out of nowhere. In Maverick, there’s a specific mission that brings Mitchell back into the fold. It brings different feeling of tension that was missing from the original. And of course Lady Gaga’s “Hold My Hand” absolutely rips.
5) RRR – 93/100
Hahahahaha this movie rules so hard. That’s all that needs to be said, but I’ll say more anyway. It has action, it has humor, it has romance, it has heart, it has music and dance numbers. It just has it all. This might be the most fun I’ve had watching a movie. And not just this year, but in the last couple years or more. It’s an absolute blast.
6) Cha Cha Real Smooth – 93/100 (Review)
Cooper Raiff’s second feature film proves he’s got something special. Everything has improved since his debut Shithouse, and I can’t wait to see where he goes from here. Even being so young himself – he’s only 25 – he’s able to tell stories with wisdom and insight typically reserved for those looking back on this time in their lives. Raiff captures the “young adult trying to figure out their life” aesthetic perfectly. Dakota Johnson has arguably never been better than she is here, and she brings a natural vulnerability to life on the screen.
7) The Fallout – 93/100 (Review)
Sadly, The Fallout deals with an all-too-relevant subject: a school shooting. But rather than focus on the shooting itself, it deals with the aftermath, how those who survive cope and move on. It’s an incredibly powerful movie, led by an outstanding performance from Jenna Ortega.
8) The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent – 92/100 (Review)
There might not be a duo with better chemistry in any movie this year than Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal. The satirical buddy action comedy is a riot from start to finish, with the two leads front and center the entire time. But that’s also one of the bigger drawbacks. These two are so huge in the movie, that the supporting characters barely get anything to do. And with a talented roster filling out the cast list (Tiffany Haddish, Ike Barinholtz, Sharon Horgan, Neil Patrick Harris), it was disappointing to see them all get so little to do.
That aspect, combined with some of the intended twists being 100% predictable, keep Massive Talent from being a truly great movie. But very good and one of the year’s funniest movies is still pretty damn good.
9) The Northman – 90/100
Robert Eggers was given a $70 million budget (or $90, depending who you ask) to make a historical fiction Viking epic. And the result? Basically exactly what you would expect. That’s going to be either a great thing or bad thing depending how you felt about Eggers’ previous two films, The Witch and The Lighthouse. If those worked for you, so too should The Northman. But unfortunately it likely won’t do much to convert those who weren’t already fans. There’s a bit more action here, but it’s more of psychological drama than pure action movie. But the action that it does include is terrific. There’s a long take scene of a raid that is one of the year’s best filmed and coolest scenes.
10) The Sea Beast – 88/100
The Sea Beast doesn’t release on Netflix until July 8th, but it’s close enough, so I’m going to include it here. It’s a really good comedy adventure film, following sea monster hunter Jacob Holland as he teams with child stowaway Maise Brumble to hunt the most fearsome beast yet. It’s gorgeously animated, especially the many ocean scenes. The story is engaging with some important, well-explained messages. The humor is good, the voice cast is on point. There’s plenty here for both kids and adults to enjoy. This is my easy first-half front-runner for best animated movie of the year.
Honorable Mention
The Outfit – 86/100 (Review)
Mark Rylance is terrific as the lead in this mystery thriller. It has several fun twists and turns, especially for being set in a single location. It kind of fumbles the ending, though, getting a little twist happy. This doesn’t ruin the movie by any means. But it took the great ending it set itself up for, and settle for a fine ending. Also, anything with Zoey Deutch is automatically better than something without Zoey Deutch.
Ambulance – 80/100 (Review)
I’ve never done cocaine, but I’m convinced Ambulance is the movie embodiment of cocaine. It’s just non-stop adrenaline, starting at a breakneck speed and never letting up. It’s absurd and fun beyond belief. Jake Gyllenhaal is fully committed to his insane character, and he’s amazing. Also, Michael Bay discovered drone shots, so he does exactly what you would expect with that. If you ask me, it’s Michael Bay’s best movie (yeah, not exactly a high bar to clear, but it still counts for something).
Scream – 83/100
I had a lot of fun with Scream, but I’m mostly including it here as an excuse to mention Jenna Ortega one more time. She’s straight up killing it, no pun intended. And the movie is solid too, striking a great balance of honoring the original cast and bringing in the newbies to possibly take the franchise over.
Jackass Forever – 75/100 (Review)
About as good as you can expect from a Jackass movie. Grading on specifically a Jackass scale, this is an A+. It has everything I love about the series (tons of nut shots!), and very little of what I hate (throw up and other gross out gags). What it does best though, is centering a little more on the team, talking about their journey and friendships over the last 20+ years. I would have preferred even just a bit more focus on this aspect. Then it could have been something special.
Gatlopp – 83/100 (Review)
This is my first true hidden gem find of the year. It’s a fun supernatural horror comedy centered around a sinister board game. Coming in at a tight 80 minutes never hurts either. It loses itself a little bit at the end, overexplaining the movie’s messages, rather than just letting the story speak for itself. But it’s still a really fun time, and one that I hope more people will check out.
