While I recently shared my Top 10 films of 2022 (you can check them out HERE), today is a far less joyous occasion. In keeping with tradition, it’s time for me to share my picks for the five worst movies I had the displeasure of seeing in 2022. It’s sad to say, but there was some healthy competition this year. Yet I did my duty and finally whittled them down to five? So here we go. Enjoy….I guess.
Dishonorable Mentions: “Jackass Forever”, “Halloween Ends”, “Hellraiser”, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “Blonde”, “Mack & Rita”, “Bullet Train”, “X”, “Thor: Love and Thunder”, “Spiderhead”, “Brazen”, “Interceptor”, “Senior Year”, “Firestarter”, “The Long Night”, “Alice”
Kevin Hart and Mark Wahlberg in a Netflix buddy comedy. That should be ample warning for anyone going into “Me Time”. And wouldn’t you know it, it’s exactly the kind of movie you’d expect it to be. It’s bland and formulaic, leaving its audience in a haze of flat jokes, predictable story beats, and one of the most cringe-worthy music numbers you’ll ever see. Everything about it feels canned and processed. I should have heeded the warning.
Technically there are a lot worse movies than Damien Chazelle’s “Babylon”. But this grating three-hour exercise in unbridled self-indulgence is easily one of the most annoying and frustrating films of the year. “Babylon” is so beholden to its brash, gleefully vulgar, full-throttled vision that it doesn’t have time to do anything with its characters other than revel in their self-destruction. And don’t get me started on its ending – easily one of the phoniest things I’ve seen all year.
I went in thinking, “It’s a shark movie. Even if it’s not great it could still be fun.” Well, it is a shark movie so I got that part right. Otherwise “The Requin” is burdened with undercooked family drama, a goofy survival angle, laughably corny dialogue, exaggerated performances, and some incredibly dumb decisions from its characters. And that’s before the glaringly CGI sharks finally arrive. Instead of livening things up, they only manage to make things worse. Yikes.
Oh boy. So I didn’t have any real expectations for “9 Bullets” and that’s probably a good thing. This clunky action-thriller (in name only) is a movie full of pieces that don’t fit. None of its emotions feel sincere, and the characters are so constricted by formula that they barely seem human. Inescapably hokey, utterly implausible, and with arguably the year’s most hilariously bad ending this side of “Barbarian”, “9 Bullets” had to have looked a lot better on paper.
Talk about a terrible waste of a lot of good talent. “The Bubble” certainly won’t appear on the career highlight reel of anyone involved. Instead, this misguided COVID-era clunker is more of a stain. Judd Apatow directs this scattershot mess that’s so full of itself it doesn’t seem to know how unfunny it is. At over two hours, the film is an insufferable slog, full of groan-worthy gags and even worse characters. Perhaps there’s a good idea for a movie in there somewhere. But I’m not willing to endure a second sitting just to find out.
Out of all the movies we watch each Christmas season, no other holiday film hits me quite like Frank Capra’s “It’s A Wonderful Life”. Over the years this 1946 gem has become a perennial favorite. But this beloved feature can’t be easily pigeonholed as a simple Christmas movie. Its so much more. It’s a tremendous bit of filmmaking full of warmth, some really funny humor, a well-written story, a terrific ensemble, and a heartfelt ending that I still adore. It’s a true motion picture classic that shouldn’t be reserved for just the holiday season.
“It’s a Wonderful Life” is the movie that introduced me to the great Jimmy Stewart. Over the years, he would grow to be one of my favorite actors. Here he plays George Bailey, an adventure-minded young man who desires to shake off the dust of his small hometown and see the world. But in his close-knit community things don’t always go as planned. And in George’s case, circumstances would always arise that managed to keep him in Bedford Falls.
The story (co-written by Capra, Frances Goodrich, and Albert Hackett) is an adaptation of Philip Van Doren Stern’s short story “The Greatest Gift”. It begins close to its end. George as is at the end of his rope and is thinking about taking his own life. But Heaven has heard the many prayers of his family and friends and is set to intervene by sending George’s guardian angel Clarence (Henry Travers) to remind him of the wonderful life he has lived. In order for the plan to be successful, first Clarence needs to know about the man he’s saving. So he (and the audience) are shown how George’s life has unfolded.
We’re shown that at a young age George Bailey had a significant influence on Bedford Falls. That influence took off after he finished high school and went to work with his father at the Bailey Building and Loan, the only thing in town the miserly money-grubbing Mr. Potter (Lionel Barrymore) couldn’t get his hands on. It’s George’s fight with Potter that leads to his troubles. But it’s also the thing that leads to an important revelation – he truly has had a wonderful life.
The beautiful and charming Donna Reed plays Mary Hatch who first catches George’s eye at a high school dance. The spark between them is undeniable and over time they marry. Stewart and Reed have a delightful chemistry which is evident in every scene they share. Reed really impresses with her ability to convey the love-sick sweetness of young Mary as well as the motherly concern and maturity of older Mary. Together, she and Stewart are a treat.
The rest of the supporting cast are equally great. Barrymore is pitch-perfect as the story’s despicable antagonist who has he hands around the throats of everyone in town. Travers has a ton of fun playing Clarence, the most unlikely of guardian angels. His back-and-forth’s with Stewart offer some of the film’s best moments. And then there is Thomas Mitchell as the absent-minded uncle Billy. The rest of the cast wonderfully brings life and personality to George’s family and Bedford Falls.
But at the end of the day this is Stewart’s show. He brings depth and personality to George Bailey and portrays him in a way that only Stewart could. He’s the charismatic engine that drives this unforgettable and utterly timeless classic. Surprisingly “It’s a Wonderful Life” wasn’t the most well reviewed movie when it was first released. But over time, especially during the Christmas season, it has earned the high praise it has so richly deserves.
It seems like only yesterday that we film critics were putting the 2021 movie year to bed and hashing out our obligatory Top 10 lists for the year. Now here we are again, sifting through everything we’ve seen over the last 365 days and choosing what we deem to be the “best” of the bunch. It’s all pretty silly but undeniably fun. As always, leaving certain films off my list was pretty agonizing. But that’s the nature of these things. So without further ado, let’s get to it. It’s time to recognize the “best” movies from 2022 (according to me, for whatever that’s worth).
So let’s kick off this annual ritual by giving some love to the terrific movies that just missed my Top 10. Here is my #11-20….
#20 – “The Fabelmans”
#19 – “Thirteen Lives”
#18 – “After Yang”
#17 – “Brian and Charles”
#16 – “The Menu”
#15 – “The Eternal Daughter”
#14 – “Avatar: The Way of Water”
#13 – “Women Talking”
#12 – “Bardo, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths”
#11 – “RRR”
#10 “Broker” – South Korean filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda makes movies I often love. So it’s no surprise that his latest, “Broker” ended up on this list. It’s yet another beautifully composed and constructed character study from Kore-eda. One that navigates some thorny moral ground yet is wrapped in the filmmaker’s signature warmth and grace. “Broker” has a lot going on, but Kore-eda always keeps his characters at the center. And with the help of some top-form performances, these emotionally complex characters bring humanity to this equally heartfelt and heartbreaking story.
#9 “Top Gun: Maverick” – Who knew that after 36 years a “Top Gun” sequel would gross nearly $1.5 billion at the box office? Even better, who knew it would be one of the year’s very best movies? Yet here we are with Tom Cruise reprising his role as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in a film that’s everything you want a blockbuster to be. And while I don’t deny the film’s nostalgic draw, Cruise and company aren’t just rehashing old material. They’ve given us a meaningful next chapter along with the best aerial fighter footage ever put on screen. It’s an jet-fueled blast from start to finish.
#8 “The Quiet Girl” – Few movies from 2022 had an affect on me quiet like “The Quiet Girl”, the astonishing feature film debut from writer-director Colm Bairéad. This tender yet subtly heartbreaking coming-of-age drama is as hushed as its young lead character (delicately played with by a wonderful newcomer, Catherine Clinch). The story’s patient, organic rhythm sucks you in, and Bairéad conveys so much information and emotion through his quiet observations. And the film ends with arguably the most crushing final shot that I’ve seen this year or in recent years. Bairéad is truly a filmmaker to watch.
#7 “The Banshees of Inisherin” – I’ve had a pretty up-and-down relationship with the films of Martin McDonagh. But I fell so hard for his latest, which turns out to be one of the funniest movies of the year and also one of the saddest. It features a brilliant ensemble ripe with awards worthy turns from Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, and Barry Keoghan. But it’s all anchored by McDonagh’s brilliant screenplay which takes us to some dark and somber places yet has us laughing nearly every step of the way.
#6 “Decision to Leave” – South Korean auteur Park Chan-wook is impossible to put in a box. Case in point: his latest feature “Decision to Leave” which is arguably his best film to date. At times this juicy genre stew plays like a hard-boiled noir; other times it’s a simmering psychological romance. It can surprise you with its unexpected dark humor and move you with deep sense of longing. Its visual language is as compelling as the mystery, and the whole thing keeps us guessing throughout. It’s a hard movie to define, but that’s part of what makes it so special.
#5 “White Noise” – No movie on my list marches to its own wacky beat quite like “White Noise”. And that’s one reason I love the film so much. Noah Baumbach turns out to be the near perfect choice to tackle Don DeLillo’s “unfilmable” 1985 novel. While “White Noise” left an impression on me after seeing it the first time, it completely won me over after a second viewing. Baumbach gives us plenty to relish that is outside his normal comfort zone. But his signature humor and character work remain, giving the film the same offbeat allure that us Baumbach fans adore.
#4 “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio” – I’ve always had a soft spot for the story of “Pinocchio”, and I wasn’t about to miss Guillermo del Toro’s take on the age-old tale. What I wasn’t expecting was to be completely swept away by his stunning stop-motion triumph. Nothing about the movie feels rehashed. Del Toro adds his own spins to the story, his own twists to the characters, and his own imagination to the world-building. It’s enchanting and heartfelt yet darkly funny and a bit macabre. It’s voiced to perfection, immaculately scored, and animated with painstaking detail and incredible artistry.
#3 “Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood” – I’ll watch anything Richard Linklater puts out, and this year he released a movie I’ll be watching over and over again. “Apollo 10 1/2” is a smile-inducing autobiographical jaunt which beautifully braids Linklater’s own childhood memories with a surprisingly tender youthful fantasy. There really isn’t much in terms of plot. Instead, it plays like a motion picture scrapbook, and I loved every second of it. And the cool mix of rotoscope with 2D and 3D animation was icing on the cake. Now if only Netflix had promoted it!
#2 “The Batman” – I had my concerns about cranking up another Batman series/franchise. But in the film’s gritty opening scene, director Matt Reaves proved he had a fresh new take that was well worth exploring. Everything that followed clicked right into place, from the spectacular cast to the immersive world-building to the dark and ominous tone. And rather than following the stock comic book movie blueprints of today, “The Batman” falls more in line with the edgy crime thrillers of David Fincher. Overall it’s a welcomed jolt to the genre and a showcase for Reaves who has something pretty special on his hands.
#1 “All Quiet on the Western Front” – 92 years after Lewis Milestone’s 1930 film, Edward Berger has delivered a jaw-dropping remake of a landmark classic. This searing epic-scaled polemic brandishes the same scathing anti-war messaging. But Berger and DP James Friend utilize today’s technology to deliver powerful imagery both on the battlefield and on the faces of the young soldiers sent to die there. It’s a relentlessly bleak account that emphasizes the brutality and inhumanity of war, resulting in some of the most visceral battle sequences ever put to film. Yet the human cost always remains its focus. An unforgettable masterpiece.
Is 2023 the year Cillian Murphy finally gets an Oscar nomination? It certainly looks like he has the material in Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer”. Written and directed by Nolan, the film is his first since breaking away from Warner Brothers. It features a jam-packed cast that includes Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Matt Damon, Rami Malek, Florence Pugh, Benny Safdie, Kenneth Branagh, and Josh Hartnett among others. That alone makes for an highly anticipated feature, but it’s the brand new trailer that really gets me excited.
The film sees Murphy as J. Robert Oppenheimer, a theoretical physicist whose role in the Manhattan Project earned him the title of “father of the atomic bomb”. The glimpses we get are of a conflicted man caught in what he feels is a no-win situation. The set and costume design looks spot-on, and you can already get a sense from the trailer than Nolan has done a ton of research. So we have a fascinating historical figure and a noted filmmaker with an incredible cinematic prowess. We might be in for something special.
“Oppenheimer” releases exclusively in theaters on July 21, 2023. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
Boy the 2023 movie year just gets more and more stacked. The latest movie instantly added to my must-watch list is the Sam Raimi produced “65”. The early teases were intriguing, but the new trailer completely won me over. Written and directed by the duo of Scott Beck and Bryan Woods, “65” is a genre-bending science-fiction action-thriller with Adam Driver as its lead. That alone was enough to sell me.
But then I saw the new trailer, and the movie quickly climbed higher on my list. Driver plays a pilot who crash-lands on an unknown planet. As he explores the area he discovers a single lone survivor (Ariana Greenblatt). But the planet is also has its share dangers, and they’re of the prehistoric variety of you get what I mean. That’s quite the formula, and the trailer shows off the kind of production value that could make it a lot of fun. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
“65” arrives in theaters on March 10, 2023. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
I never quite got onboard with fervent adoration for “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”. I enjoyed the family elements of the story and wish there had been more of it. And I enjoyed most of the animation up until the final act. But the movie never found a good balance. Sometimes it felt like a moving family story with the inescapable superhero baggage attached. Other times it was like watching someone else play a video game. The new trailer for the much-anticipated sequel looks very much the same.
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” teases several of the things I liked about its predecessor while also showing several of the things I didn’t. The early family bits look great and the animation really shines in those clips. But when it amps things up, the sensory blasts of colors and hyper-stylized visuals overwhelm. Add to it my growing boredom for the current multi-verse fad that’s everywhere these days, and I’m just not sure this is for me. But I’ll still see it and hope that (like the first film) there’s enough of the good stuff to get by.
“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” hits theaters June 2, 2003. Check out the trailer below and let me know if you’ll be seeing it or taking a pass.
Keith & the Movies