My Top 10 Favourite Movies of 2022

Hey, what do you know? Another sequel! :-) This time, I don't think it's quite as good as its predecessor, but still works in much the same way. I obviously won't reveal any details; I think it's best you go in as blind as possible. Let's just say it still has its share of marvellously clever twists that mock genre conventions and mess with your expectations. My favourite scene is when Benoit Blanc perfectly demonstrates why he wasn't invited; he becomes the embodiment of people who spoil the movie for others. There's also a speech about disruption and picking the wrong target, which I view as Rian Johnson candidly describing his own career. I must say, considering the character of Miles Bron is an eccentric billionaire who drives his employees crazy by bothering them with new ideas, I wonder if he's meant to be a parody of Elon Musk? I don't know, but in any case, this, for me, was the most enjoyable movie I saw all year, and I don't have to think twice about giving it the gold medal. "Glass Onion", my favourite movie of 2022.

This might be the year's definitive action movie – definitely the best, at any rate – and the latest example of a long-delayed sequel that's well worth the wait. And this is coming from someone who wasn't a huge fan of the original! Needless to say, I think the sequel is miles better. The mission is clearly defined from the start, the story and characters are more engaging, and I simply care more about what's going on, which makes the action that much more thrilling. The deft camerawork certainly doesn't hurt, either. :-) Right down to the wire, this remained at number one on my list.

But then, in the closing hurdles of the year, something came along to knock it off its perch.

Michelle Yeoh plays Evelyn, a fatigued mother who becomes drawn into a battle to save all of existence. Her encounters with parallel universes lead to an explosion of many different genres, and a far better multiverse movie than "Doctor Strange". It has many flat-out *stunning* edits (both audio and visual), along with irreverent humour and spectacular action scenes; it truly lives up to its title! :-) That does mean it's a barrage of ceaseless pandemonium that I found more offputting than exhilarating, not helped by the sound system I experienced in the cinema, but thankfully it gets steadily more engaging as Evelyn's emotional journey escalates.

It's about a gang of anthropomorphic animals who've turned to crime because of how the world perceives them, becoming notorious thieves. I was on board right from the opening scene, which is a very obvious homage to "Pulp Fiction". :-) There's nothing groundbreaking about the story, but I was very much drawn into the characters' journey regardless – or, more specifically, Mr Wolf's: trying to break away from the villainous role he'd formerly embraced, simply because doing good feels good. Plus, it uses the same animation style as "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" and "The Mitchells vs. the Machines", except it didn't annoy me this time! :-)

Not bad for my first ever foray into Indian cinema! :-) It's an epic drama about two friends embroiled in a revolutionary battle. The action is gloriously over the top, and each act of violence is so potent that it lands like a gut punch. The first half could very easily have been a complete movie in itself – the midpoint certainly feels climactic enough – but it continues in a way that doesn't feel forced or unnecessary. I was pretty confused by how all the dialogue was very obviously dubbed, but I found out later that I'd seen the Hindi version (it was originally recorded in Telugu).

A delectable dark comedy about a celebrity chef with a very special evening planned for his guests. Not only does the tension steadily increase as the evening's events intensify, but the film is also a biting satire of elitism and criticism in general. Many of the diners' comments on food are just as applicable to any form of art – including, of course, movies. Each character represents a different type of audience: you have the critics, the obsessive fan who's convinced every detail is part of the artist's overall statement, and Anya Taylor-Joy as the casual viewer who doesn't care about deeper analysis at all.

A basketball movie starring Adam Sandler? I normally would have avoided such a movie like the plague, but gave it a chance based on the general enthusiasm for it. And unlike "The Sea Beast", that praise turned out to be justified. :-) Like a good sports movie should, it draws in even non-fans by making the characters so likeable that their passion for the sport is infectious. And I can confidently say Adam Sandler's performance is easily one of his best, as a coach who recognises his pupil's weakness and tries to guide him through it. So this, for me, was the year's most pleasant surprise.

Again, I haven't read the book, but I have seen the classic 1930 film adaptation. This remake is a whole different beast. While "Pinocchio" brings up the tragedy of war, this movie dives headlong into the brutality of it! The fantastically hard-hitting battle scenes quickly shatter the characters' idealistic view of war. Not only is it intensely bloody, but Paul seems to be perpetually caked with mud. It sags in the middle because the first time jump really threw me off, but the rest readily makes up for it. I still prefer the 1930 version overall, but this is a refreshingly different and fierce retelling.

I haven't read the original book, so I looked up the plot synopsis on Wikipedia to see if this movie is more faithful than the 1940 Disney version… but it was clear from the first paragraph that it's a standalone work doing its own thing. The overall theme is mortality; it has a wonderfully creative depiction of the afterlife, and also brings up the misery that war causes, even tying it into Pinocchio's creation. The stop-motion animation, of course, is outstanding. It's undoubtedly an impressive piece, just hindered by a major pet peeve of mine: awkward social interactions where people risk sounding foolish.

Another triumph from director Ron Howard. :-) It's an intriguing drama based on the true story of the sensational efforts to rescue a group of schoolboys from a flooded cave in Thailand during the monsoon season. I like how the only perspective we have is the rescue party's, so we share their initial uncertainty that the boys are even still alive. It turns out they're in such a predicament that the plan the rescuers devise is desperately risky itself; it sounds insane at first. The production design and camerawork are top-notch, brilliantly depicting the narrowness of the caves and heightening the tension all the more.