The top 10 films of 2022

The biggest movie of the year, and perhaps the new standard-bearer for the axiom that good art does not need to have a sound ideology, “Top Gun: Maverick” is the rare legacy sequel that makes the case for its existence and even surpasses its forebearer – primarily through its thrilling, real-life scenes of aerial action and the unparalleled movie star confidence of Tom Cruise. Sure, the movie’s implicit message – that the United States should be able to bomb any country it wants at any time, for any reason – is gross to meditate on for any amount of time, but this is less imperialist propaganda than it is an impassioned argument for Cruise’s charisma, and when it looks this great, who am I to argue?

9. “Nope”

A Spielbergian take on horror, or perhaps a horror take on Spielberg, “Nope” is an eerie movie about an alien presence near a struggling California ranch. It’s also a story about the dehumanizing effects of “hustle culture” and the monetization of people’s misfortune. The strong cast grounds you in their peril and the more mundane despair of their personal lives. Steven Yuen’s monologue about a fictional “Saturday Night Live” sketch is one of the best scenes of the year.

8. “RRR”

If “Top Gun: Maverick” is American propaganda, “RRR” is its Indian equivalent, cranked up to 100 and featuring multiple musical numbers and copious amounts of slow-mo. A Telegu-language film about two friends put at odds during a rebellion against the British occupation of India, “RRR” (short for roar, rise, revolt) is a nonstop, three-hour parade of unbridled enthusiasm, featuring the most lovable buddies, the loopiest action sequences, and the best dance choreography to be found in a film this year. Words can’t do this one justice; it must be experienced.

7. “Kimi”

The latest low-budget HBO Max streamer from Steven Soderbergh, “Kimi” is a reinterpretation of “Rear Window” for the digital, COVID-aware age: When an agoraphobic content moderator (Zoë Kravitz) for an Amazon Echo-esque personal assistant overhears a crime, she must venture out of her comfort zone and into danger to make sure justice is done. It’s spare, it’s claustrophobic, and perhaps most notably, it’s only 90 minutes, as more movies should be.

6. “Three Thousand Years of Longing”

Another film that’s under two hours, George Miller’s latest film doesn’t feel short-changed. He packs a remarkable amount of story and characterization into this tale of a literary scholar (Tilda Swinton) who accidentally finds a genie in a magic bottle (Idris Elba). The ending is a bit of a comedown, but the film’s main section, a trio of tales from Elba, is as engaging, emotional, and vibrant as anything you could watch this year.

5. “Emily The Criminal”

A sparse, mean, modern crime drama, “Emily The Criminal” follows a young woman (Aubrey Plaza) who turns to credit card scams to get by after her criminal record renders her unhireable; the scams, however, become more and more elaborate, leaving her more open to dangerous consequences. It’s a great, tense little movie about economic anxiety and income inequality, anchored by a totally locked-in performance from Plaza.

4. “Avatar: The Way of Water”

The pinnacle of blockbuster spectacle to be released this year, the second “Avatar” film is well worth the 13-year wait it took to get it. It’s funnier, better-paced, and more heartfelt than the original, but of course, the reason to see it in theaters is its unmatched computer visual effects, which feel tactile, real, and immersive.

3. “The Fabelmans”

Though it may seem a little indulgent and scattered at first, the trick of Steven Spielberg’s latest – this one a lightly fictionalized account of the director’s own childhood – is that every scene is there for the perfect reason. Though some have dismissed the film as a more dime-a-dozen meditation on the magic of the movies, what Spielberg is getting at is much more caustic and complicated – a portrait of the artist as a vampire who leeches his relationships to improve his work, and a treatise on your inescapable orbit of your parents.

2. “Everything Everywhere All At Once”

A maximalist action comedy on a budget, “Everything Everywhere All At Once” is brimming with ideas and emotions and high concepts and low concepts at every given moment. Its structure mirrors one of its major subjects, the information overload of the digital age, and its proposed solutions are as heartful as its high jinks are funny (in both cases, very). Through it all, we’re grounded by an excellent lead performance from Michelle Yeoh, who embodies multiple versions of herself throughout a multiverse of realities with dignity, grace, and charm, even when some of those versions are anything but.

1. “Tár”

Though billed as “the first good cancel culture movie,” “Tár” is about so much more than that: a great character study, a meditation on the role of art and artists, and a thorny reminder of the complex, multi-faceted nature of what individuals bring to the world they inhabit. Following a famous orchestra conductor who is flirting with a fall from grace, Todd Field’s latest film is cloaked in ambiguity, leaving much to absorb in the movie’s dense dialogue and finely-tuned performances – particularly the lead performance from Cate Blanchett, who should (and likely will) take home the Oscar for Best Lead Actress this year.

Ryan Howard writes about pop culture for the Forest Lake Times. He can be reached at matineeryan@gmail.com.