2022 summarized: I watched 368 movies, 231 which were new to me, and 35 which were released in 2022 (Also, I’ve watched about 18 more 2022 movies in January, 2 which ended up top 10)
Top 2022 movies:
1) Pinocchio (dir. del Toro) 2) Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (dir. Linklater) 3) Avatar 2: Way 2 Wet (dir. A Canadian legend) 4) The Northman (dir. Eggers) 5) Kimi (dir. Soderbergh) 6) Vesper (dir. Kristina Buozyte,Bruno Samper) 7) The Sea Beast (dir. Chris Williams) 8) All Quiet on the Western Front (dir. Edward Berger) 9) Confess Fletch (dir. Greg Mottola)
Honourable mentions: Vengeance, Dual, White Noise, Pearl, Three Thousand Years of Longing, Thirteen Lives, Turning Red, Crimes of the Future. Decision to Leave i need to rewatch as I was having a hard time following the subtitles, but perhaps in my top 10.
Best new to me movies. This list was hard to make as I saw so many amazing movies! Barry Lyndon isn’t even on there, despite being one of my favourites of the year!
1) Extreme Prejudice (1987, dir. Walter Hill). What a banger of a movie! Holy fuck! 2) Fail Safe (1964, dir. Sydney Lumet). Fantastic movie, edge of the seat fantastic. 3) The Nightingale (2018, dir. Jennifer Kent). This movie left me in shambles. 4) 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984, dir. Peter Hyams). Great movie, full of stars! 5) Junior Bonner (1972, dir. Sam Peckinpah). Least violent of his filmography but top 3. 6) Moby Dick (1956, dir. The great John Huston). This movie rips. 7) Wendy and Lucy (2008, dir. Kelly Reichardt). Thanks to Lindsay for the recommendation. 8) Ms .45 (1981, dir. Abel Ferrara). Grimy and I love it. 9) The Ten Commandments (1956, dir. Cecile B. DeMille). I love these Biblical epics. 10) Eastern Condors (1987, dir. Sammo Hung). Crazy wild Junesploitation movie.
Honourable mentions: Red Rocket, Hard Times, Barry Lyndon, Paths of Glory, Thelma & Louise, Black Robe.
Babylon I still haven't seen. Wanted to see it last night only to discover it had been pulled from theatres:( Only lasted 3 weeks. Guess I'll see it in the 2nd run mall theatre in a month or two.
Here are my top discoveries of movie scores this year:
1) The Mission (1986, The legend himself, Ennio Morricone). This was a childhood favourite movie of mine as well, and one I revisit every few years. Glad to finally get the score. 2) The Batman (2022, Micheal Giacchino). Liked the movie, but loved the score. 3) Kimi (2022, Cliff Martinez). He's probably my favourite artist doing scores. I was tepid on it at first, but I've loved it more with every listen. 4) 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992, Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, aka Vangelis). Fantastic score and underappreciated movie too! Granted, the public perception of Columbus has changed greatly in the intervening years, but I really enjoyed the movie while keeping that in mind. 5) Bones and All (2022, Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross). Another great score from 2 of my favourites. I had listened to this a bunch before actually watching the movie. 6) Jeremiah Johnson (1972, Tim McIntire/John Rubinstein). I saw this movie last year, and it instantly became a top 10 for me. I'm not sure if I like the score because it's good, or whether it just makes me think of the the movie I love. There are lots of vocal clips pulled from the movie. I want to rewatch this right now....but I have a list to finish. 7) Monsters (2010, Jon Hopkins). I haven't seen the movie, and have no idea what it's about or if it's good. Score is great though. I saw it recommended somewhere online, and bought it on a whim. 8) The Proposition (2005, Nick Cave/Warren Ellis). This was a great western I need to rewatch. The score is fantastic. Nick Cave also wrote the screenplay. 9) Kafka (1991, Cliff Martinez). This was quite unlike his other scores, which are usually very synth heavy. It’s fantastic though and very energetic. I was a bit put off at first, but now I love it. I haven’t seen the movie, but I want to because Soderbergh obviously. 10) Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018, Lorne Balfe). Was listening to this in the car the other day driving the kids to school, and they got super hyped when the main theme kicked in!
Honourable mentions: Ghost in the Shell (2017, Lorne Balfe), Arrival (2016, Jóhann Jóhannsson)
Holy shit people, The Menu. I loved this so, so much. I'm glad I went in essentially blind on this, only knowing the main cast, and it's absolutely terrific that way.
Yesterday I watched Triangle of Sadness and Banshees of Inisheren. Days like that restore my faith in movies. I loved them both. Banshees of Inisheren especially, made me laugh more than I have in a movie in a long time.
Banshees was fantastic. I should have included it in my honourable mentions. The score is really good too.
Triangle of Sadness was pretty good. The diner scene was something I've never seen done in a movie. I liked how the hierarchies were completely upended, but I guess that was the point.
GLASS ONION (2022). I almost turned this off because the characters were that unlikable. But I'm glad I stuck with it, as some of the big twists n' turns are great.
MATILDA (2022). Some great songs and choreography, but a little too cutesy for me. Mileage may vary, etc.
NATIONAL TREASURE (2004). Watched in anticipation for the new TV show. Very dumb movie, but it has a lot of heart.
JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION (2022). To be fair, this did have some cool dinosaur action. But the unnecessarily complex corporate espionage plot is for the dino-birds.
FACE/OFF (1997). Still the best remake of Freaky Friday.
THE LAST STARFIGHTER (1984). Death blossom!!!
And I put on THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER (2022) with the Blu-ray commentary. Taika has his two young daughters join him, and the entire track is them just goofing around. It's nice to know he's a fun dad, but this has zero information about the actual movie.
Watching movies took a back seat this week for work. I started my tax job, and there was not much mental energy left most days. Things will get easier as I get adjusted to everything, though. Glad I got to two watches.
COUSIN JULES (1972) on Mubi – A meditative, poetical French documentary focusing on an elderly blacksmith living deep in the countryside. It is more about the way of life of Jules and his wife Felice than any kind of story. There is plenty of footage of him manually shaping tools in his workshop and her performing the mundane tasks of life. A few other countryside denizens are also shown working. Maybe I should have watched this when my mind was a little quieter.
LEMORA: A CHILD’S TALE OF THE SUPERNATURAL (1973) – The DVD arrived this week, so I put it on for a Saturday night horror watch. This is not my first time seeing LEMORA. What I found striking about it the first time carried through with this viewing. The cheap look of the film (it had a very low budget) adds a lot of charm, and there is plenty of atmosphere. The biggest asset is the casting of the leads. Cheryl “Rainbeaux” Smith is perfect as the innocent young girl. The title character is portrayed in a very creepy way, menacing but also alluring.
I'm on my 5th or 6th viewing of The Batman. I just love the world they made, and that it's so restrained. It's not about saving the world, it's about bad people in one city. Also the movie is about the story, not made around the action scene, like most superhero movies nowadays. Pattinson is not my favorite actor, but he's great in this. Him and Radcliff are getting to be my favorite actors because of the choice they make (Guns Akimbo or Miracle Workers anybody?). Pattinson is in my 2 favorite big movies in recent years (i hesitate to call them blockbusters), with this and Tenet (I have seen Tenet too many times to count at this point). That brings me to the director, Matt Reeves. Him and Nolan are the ones doing it like they used to (i never bought that argument regarding Top Gun Maverick, because it's just redoing cult scenes from the original). They don't rely on CGI. I love his Planet Of The Apes movies, which do rely on a lot of CGI, but in all the right places.
Anyway, sorry for the incoherent rambling, the movie is good and i like the director 😁
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete2022 summarized: I watched 368 movies, 231 which were new to me, and 35 which were released in 2022 (Also, I’ve watched about 18 more 2022 movies in January, 2 which ended up top 10)
ReplyDeleteTop 2022 movies:
1) Pinocchio (dir. del Toro)
2) Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (dir. Linklater)
3) Avatar 2: Way 2 Wet (dir. A Canadian legend)
4) The Northman (dir. Eggers)
5) Kimi (dir. Soderbergh)
6) Vesper (dir. Kristina Buozyte,Bruno Samper)
7) The Sea Beast (dir. Chris Williams)
8) All Quiet on the Western Front (dir. Edward Berger)
9) Confess Fletch (dir. Greg Mottola)
Honourable mentions: Vengeance, Dual, White Noise, Pearl, Three Thousand Years of Longing, Thirteen Lives, Turning Red, Crimes of the Future. Decision to Leave i need to rewatch as I was having a hard time following the subtitles, but perhaps in my top 10.
Best new to me movies. This list was hard to make as I saw so many amazing movies! Barry Lyndon isn’t even on there, despite being one of my favourites of the year!
1) Extreme Prejudice (1987, dir. Walter Hill). What a banger of a movie! Holy fuck!
2) Fail Safe (1964, dir. Sydney Lumet). Fantastic movie, edge of the seat fantastic.
3) The Nightingale (2018, dir. Jennifer Kent). This movie left me in shambles.
4) 2010: The Year We Make Contact (1984, dir. Peter Hyams). Great movie, full of stars!
5) Junior Bonner (1972, dir. Sam Peckinpah). Least violent of his filmography but top 3.
6) Moby Dick (1956, dir. The great John Huston). This movie rips.
7) Wendy and Lucy (2008, dir. Kelly Reichardt). Thanks to Lindsay for the recommendation.
8) Ms .45 (1981, dir. Abel Ferrara). Grimy and I love it.
9) The Ten Commandments (1956, dir. Cecile B. DeMille). I love these Biblical epics.
10) Eastern Condors (1987, dir. Sammo Hung). Crazy wild Junesploitation movie.
Honourable mentions: Red Rocket, Hard Times, Barry Lyndon, Paths of Glory, Thelma & Louise, Black Robe.
Babylon I still haven't seen. Wanted to see it last night only to discover it had been pulled from theatres:( Only lasted 3 weeks. Guess I'll see it in the 2nd run mall theatre in a month or two.
DeleteHere are my top discoveries of movie scores this year:
Delete1) The Mission (1986, The legend himself, Ennio Morricone). This was a childhood favourite movie of mine as well, and one I revisit every few years. Glad to finally get the score.
2) The Batman (2022, Micheal Giacchino). Liked the movie, but loved the score.
3) Kimi (2022, Cliff Martinez). He's probably my favourite artist doing scores. I was tepid on it at first, but I've loved it more with every listen.
4) 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992, Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou, aka Vangelis). Fantastic score and underappreciated movie too! Granted, the public perception of Columbus has changed greatly in the intervening years, but I really enjoyed the movie while keeping that in mind.
5) Bones and All (2022, Trent Reznor/Atticus Ross). Another great score from 2 of my favourites. I had listened to this a bunch before actually watching the movie.
6) Jeremiah Johnson (1972, Tim McIntire/John Rubinstein). I saw this movie last year, and it instantly became a top 10 for me. I'm not sure if I like the score because it's good, or whether it just makes me think of the the movie I love. There are lots of vocal clips pulled from the movie. I want to rewatch this right now....but I have a list to finish.
7) Monsters (2010, Jon Hopkins). I haven't seen the movie, and have no idea what it's about or if it's good. Score is great though. I saw it recommended somewhere online, and bought it on a whim.
8) The Proposition (2005, Nick Cave/Warren Ellis). This was a great western I need to rewatch. The score is fantastic. Nick Cave also wrote the screenplay.
9) Kafka (1991, Cliff Martinez). This was quite unlike his other scores, which are usually very synth heavy. It’s fantastic though and very energetic. I was a bit put off at first, but now I love it. I haven’t seen the movie, but I want to because Soderbergh obviously.
10) Mission: Impossible – Fallout (2018, Lorne Balfe). Was listening to this in the car the other day driving the kids to school, and they got super hyped when the main theme kicked in!
Honourable mentions: Ghost in the Shell (2017, Lorne Balfe), Arrival (2016, Jóhann Jóhannsson)
Holy shit people, The Menu. I loved this so, so much. I'm glad I went in essentially blind on this, only knowing the main cast, and it's absolutely terrific that way.
ReplyDeleteYesterday I watched Triangle of Sadness and Banshees of Inisheren. Days like that restore my faith in movies. I loved them both. Banshees of Inisheren especially, made me laugh more than I have in a movie in a long time.
ReplyDeleteBanshees was fantastic. I should have included it in my honourable mentions. The score is really good too.
DeleteTriangle of Sadness was pretty good. The diner scene was something I've never seen done in a movie. I liked how the hierarchies were completely upended, but I guess that was the point.
GLASS ONION (2022). I almost turned this off because the characters were that unlikable. But I'm glad I stuck with it, as some of the big twists n' turns are great.
ReplyDeleteMATILDA (2022). Some great songs and choreography, but a little too cutesy for me. Mileage may vary, etc.
NATIONAL TREASURE (2004). Watched in anticipation for the new TV show. Very dumb movie, but it has a lot of heart.
JURASSIC WORLD DOMINION (2022). To be fair, this did have some cool dinosaur action. But the unnecessarily complex corporate espionage plot is for the dino-birds.
FACE/OFF (1997). Still the best remake of Freaky Friday.
THE LAST STARFIGHTER (1984). Death blossom!!!
And I put on THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER (2022) with the Blu-ray commentary. Taika has his two young daughters join him, and the entire track is them just goofing around. It's nice to know he's a fun dad, but this has zero information about the actual movie.
Damn, SICK (on Peacock) is really good. Kevin Williamson and John Hyams make the best duo???
ReplyDeleteOh, a new John Hyams movie! Unfortunately, it's not available to stream or rent anywhere in Canada at the moment.
Deletethat is so weird
DeleteWatching movies took a back seat this week for work. I started my tax job, and there was not much mental energy left most days. Things will get easier as I get adjusted to everything, though. Glad I got to two watches.
ReplyDeleteCOUSIN JULES (1972) on Mubi – A meditative, poetical
French documentary focusing on an elderly blacksmith living deep in the countryside. It is more about the way of life of Jules and his wife Felice than any kind of story. There is plenty of footage of him manually shaping tools in his workshop and her performing the mundane tasks of life. A few other countryside denizens are also shown working. Maybe I should have watched this when my mind was a little quieter.
LEMORA: A CHILD’S TALE OF THE SUPERNATURAL (1973) – The DVD arrived this week, so I put it on for a Saturday night horror watch. This is not my first time seeing LEMORA. What I found striking about it the first time carried through with this viewing. The cheap look of the film (it had a very low budget) adds a lot of charm, and there is plenty of atmosphere. The biggest asset is the casting of the leads. Cheryl “Rainbeaux” Smith is perfect as the innocent young girl. The title character is portrayed in a very creepy way, menacing but also alluring.
I'm on my 5th or 6th viewing of The Batman. I just love the world they made, and that it's so restrained. It's not about saving the world, it's about bad people in one city. Also the movie is about the story, not made around the action scene, like most superhero movies nowadays. Pattinson is not my favorite actor, but he's great in this. Him and Radcliff are getting to be my favorite actors because of the choice they make (Guns Akimbo or Miracle Workers anybody?). Pattinson is in my 2 favorite big movies in recent years (i hesitate to call them blockbusters), with this and Tenet (I have seen Tenet too many times to count at this point). That brings me to the director, Matt Reeves. Him and Nolan are the ones doing it like they used to (i never bought that argument regarding Top Gun Maverick, because it's just redoing cult scenes from the original). They don't rely on CGI. I love his Planet Of The Apes movies, which do rely on a lot of CGI, but in all the right places.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, sorry for the incoherent rambling, the movie is good and i like the director 😁