(Wow it's been so long since I made a post (2 years) that I forgot how to use this platform.)
Ok folks, here we go with my round-up of all the movies I watched in 2022, with ~6 movies watched in theaters and the rest on streaming. I find it extremely difficult to rank movies (i.e., is ranking based on perceived quality or enjoyment despite quality? like, how can you compare a pensive arthouse movie to a hilariously campy Christmas rom-com?), so please keep in mind that rankings are arbitrary and subject to change.
- Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. This movie is a really good time, bigger and splashier than the last. And great looks from costume designer Jenny Eagan!
- Everything Everywhere All At Once. Fantastic story and acting (and I usually don't even like action movies). I'm rooting for everyone Asian this awards season.
- Enola Holmes 2. Millie Bobby Brown is such a star, whew. I think this one was maybe even better than its predecessor, which was very fun and charming to begin with.
- Rosaline. Very cute and funny, very rewatchable. I want to be BFFs with Kaitlyn Dever.
- Catherine, Called Birdy. Another cute and funny coming-of-age story, with fun bits for Andrew Scott as a hot medieval dad and Joe Alwyn as a hot uncle.
- The Banshees of Inisherin. Men will cut off their own fingers instead of going to therapy. The premise of this story is extremely simple and odd, yet it's fun to see where it goes. Also, the Irish landscapes are stunning.
- Decision to Leave. The first half was on point; the second half took some weird detours and the pacing felt a bit off. Beautifully shot though.
- Fire Island. A clever and hilarious take on Pride and Prejudice. Is Bowen Yang not the sweetest most innocent Jane Bennet you've ever seen?
- Crush. A very cute love story about queer girls whose plotline doesn't involve coming out or any homophobia or trauma. Yay!
- Marry Me. JLo playing basically herself is iconic. The songs are surprisingly catchy and for some reason this movie just works for me, despite the cliches.
- Do Revenge. Wild plot twists, and wilder outfits. This is a timely Gen Z take on high school with clear inspirations from such iconic movies as Mean Girls, Clueless, Heathers, and 10 Things I Hate About You. I hope it has similar staying power.
- Turning Red. I really wanted to love this movie but only landed at "like." The main theme of the mother-child cultural conflict felt a little too on the noise. As far as the main metaphor of turning into a big red panda goes, I'm still unclear whether it's about learning to be in control, or being ok with not being in control, or what.
- Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio. It's visually beautiful, but quite bleak. Pinocchio is also not quite as aesthetically cute as I would have liked but maybe that's the point?
- I Want You Back. A solid rom-com with myriad exes and side characters who are a bit boring.
- Falling For Christmas. Campy AF and fun as all hell. Lindsay Lohan has the best outfits as the glamorous hotel heiress. I like this movie way more than I should.
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. All the actors did a great job, but the script... Why wasn't Nakia in the first half of the movie? Does Namor want his kingdom to be hidden or to rule the world, because you can't have both. And also, I don't get the Blip and I don't want to know.
- Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. Proud of Daniel Radcliffe for doing whatever the hell he wants, including this aptly named movie that goes increasingly off the rails.
- See How They Run. Not as funny or original as it wanted to be. I wanted more for Saoirse Ronan! She deserves a lead comedic role!
- Christmas With You. This was a fun, lower-budget version of "Marry Me."
- Something from Tiffany's. Rom-coms that start with the leads getting engaged to other people, and breaking up/falling in love over the course of a holiday season (which, let's recall, is a matter of days, a few weeks at best if we're being generous)... Oof.
- Death on the Nile. Not memorable except for some now questionable casting of a certain male lead. Emma Mackey did her best though.
- The Bob's Burgers Movie. This just felt like an extended TV episode. I thought the musical component was unnecessary if not annoying.
- Wedding Season. I liked the cultural component but this movie played hard into every rom-com cliche, which was too much even for me. (A career-minded woman fake-dates some guy, who's secretly rich, in order to get her marriage-obsessed family to back off. Guess what happens.)
Not highbrow movies: Bros, Disenchanted, Hocus Pocus 2, The Lost City
Christmas rom-coms with 2 dead moms (so that the female lead can bond with the DILF's precocious young daughter): Christmas With You, Falling For Christmas, Something From Tiffany's
