My Favorite Films of 2022

So I caught 187 flicks in 2022, down from 2021’s insane 250, but still a pretty long list. The lingering pandemic and my general lack of interest in most big-budget Hollywood productions combined to once again keep me out of any theaters during the year, but between the 1,000 streaming services I subscribe to, I still had more movies to choose from than I could have dreamed of just a few years ago.

As usual, this list compiles the films I enjoyed most this year, regardless of what year they were actually released, the better to reflect the streaming-dominant viewing model that most people, including me, are following these days. I also don’t call this list “The Best of 2022,” since everyone has their own tastes, and my “best” probably aren’t going to be anyone else’s. My faves are once again all over the place. So, with no further ado, here are my favorites of the year we just left behind, in alphabetical order.

Burning Paradise (1994)
This oddball HK action flick is kind of an outlier in director Ringo Lam’s filmography: a period piece centering on a Shaolin monk fleeing the clutches of Manchu government agents. He doesn’t flee for long, though, and he and the prostitute who’s been sheltering him are soon thrown into Red Lotus Temple, where a bunch of other renegade monks are also imprisoned. The warden there is a creepy, psychotic opium smoker who has booby-trapped the entire building in order to keep his prisoners confined. Needless to say, the monk and prostitute try to thwart his plans, leading to a bunch of wild action scenes involving traps, eerie catacombs, and pits full of corpses. The moody cinematography has more in common with HK horror flicks of the time than straight action flicks, and the whole film exudes a strange, dark vibe. A wild ride from start to finish, and one that fans of HK action are sure to savor.

Death of a Cyclist (1955)
This pitch-black noir from Spain really knocked me out when I caught it on TCM’s Noir Alley. The plot is nothing too original: a pair of illicit lovers accidentally hit a bicyclist with their car while returning from a tryst, killing him. Because the woman is cheating and the man wants to protect his reputation, they agree to cover the whole thing up. Their plan and their nerves begin to unravel, though, when a down-on-his-luck art critic starts dropping hints that he knows what they’re responsible for. The real drama is mostly within the head of the protagonist, as he grapples with his conscience and the knowledge that admitting what happened will be the end of his career and his access to upper-class Spanish society. It’s a fantastically bleak and psychologically fraught film, with an absolutely shattering finale that brings the events shockingly full circle.

A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)
This black-and-white stunner was promoted as “the first Iranian vampire western,” a somewhat limiting description of this utterly original flick. Director Ana Lily Amirpour follows the exploits of a silent female vampire who preys on the unsuspecting denizens of gloomy Bad City, and the young man she circles closer and closer to. The film’s stark imagery makes a character of the setting itself, a scorched and barren city of blank walls and empty streets (that was actually filmed in Taft, California). As the vampire and the young man get to know one another, the film meanders off into a finale that’s like something from an art film, all vague notions and partially untied plot threads. Somehow it all works despite the wild range of influences at work. The result is a timeless tale of creeping dread and lingering hope, one of the handful of really great vampire flicks ever made.

Following (1998)
Director Christopher Nolan’s first film illustrates his immense talent while simultaneously introducing audiences to a few of his characteristic themes: non-linear plotting and a preoccupation with aloof loners. The flick is a micro-budget indie feature that Nolan wrote, directed, co-edited, and shot, as wall as partially financing with his own money. Shot in black and white on the streets of London, it follows a young, unemployed writer who starts spending his lonely days following random people around. He tells himself it’s to research a new book, but he soon finds himself drawn to one particular person: a burglar who delights in going through his victims’ personal effects more than stealing their goods. The young man is soon under this guy’s wings, helping him carry out his home robberies—until he decides he’s ready to rob folks on his own. The plot gets twistier as it goes, leading to a knock-out ending that you really don’t see coming. A really top-notch neo-noir that shows Nolan was always destined for big things.

Jackass Forever (2022)
I’m a sucker for pranks and dumb stunts, which is a formula that the fine folks from Jackass have pretty much perfected. Easily one of the funniest flicks I saw all year, Jackass Forever picks right up where the guys left off a decade ago—plus some grey hair and few pounds here and there. Still, despite their advancing ages, the guys don’t hold back on their idiocy one bit. The stunts are as dangerous as ever, with various cast members doing everything from letting themselves get stung by scorpions to firing hockey pucks at crotches. Yes, it’s dumb, but it’s pretty damn funny, and the film ends up feeling surprisingly sweet and sentimental in the end. These guys are all quite a bit too old for this shit, but you get the sense that as long as they’re together and laughing, they’ll never get tired of testing themselves and each other.

Kimi (2022)
The only film I’ve seen that manages to capture the isolation, ennui, and dread during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Steven Soderbergh’s fast-paced thriller also delivers the goods as a noir-tinged tale of corporate malfeasance. Zoe Kravitz turns in a career-best performance as an agoraphobic software programmer whose solitary life and fear of the outside makes her uniquely simpatico with the pandemic’s restrictions. She works for a Google-type entity, debugging their equivalent of a smart speaker. During a routine bit of work, she overhears something that sounds very much like a murder picked up by one of the speakers—and we’re off and running on a gripping, paranoid trip. It’s another masterclass by Soderbergh, who’s sneakily turned into this generation’s Howard Hawks: a stylish auteur who brings class and a great eye to genre flicks of every stripe.

The Outfit (2022)
Mark Rylance turns in another fantastic, understated performance in this slow-burning story of a high-end Chicago tailor who finds himself mixed up with local gangsters. The film manages to be an elegy for a certain way of life—that of the dedicated craftsman whose entire life revolves around honing his skills—while also delivering a great, surprising crime story. You’re never quite sure where Rylance’s character stands in regard to all the bloody hi-jinx unraveling in his tailor shop, which gives the whole film a kind of nervous energy even when all that’s happening is a guy sewing some buttons onto a new jacket. There are quite a few twists along the way, and I can safely say I had no idea where this flick was going as I was watching it. Once it got there, I was more than satisfied.

 

RRR (2022)
The most entertaining flick of the year, by a pretty wide margin. Director S.S. Rajamouli created an epic adventure-bromance for the ages with RRR, a wildly cinematic film that’s played at a pitch that American films don’t even try for—and succeeds at every turn. An entirely fictitious take on the lives of a pair of Indian freedom fighters of the 1920s, the flick features two of the biggest stars in India at their best. Ram Charan plays Raju, a young and incredibly bad-ass officer working for the British governor, while N.T. Rama Rao Jr. is Bheem, a tribal leader out to rescue a young girl from the clutches of the cartoonishly evil Brits. Their mismatched bromance plays out against the backdrop of a simmering native uprising. Rajamouli cranks everything up to eleven—nothing about this film is understated. He’s aiming for pure, unfettered entertainment here, and isn’t afraid to go too far in his pursuit of emotional connection or audience engagement. I’ve been raving about this flick since the moment I saw it, and will continue to do so until every person I know has seen it and told me, “You were right about RRR!”

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning (2012)
It’s easy to see how this low-budget sequel has garnered a cult following as a modern action classic. Scott Adkins delivers a bone-crunching performance as a clone soldier out for vengeance in a series of ultra-violent, beautifully orchestrated set pieces. Director John Hyams was clearly working on a tight budget, but he leans into the restrictions and makes the most of every shot. The result is a flick that’s more horror film than action movie, with undead soldiers and creepy lunatics plying their dirty business in the shadows. The story itself is a bit convoluted, but delivers enough wild, bloody action that you’re never really given a chance to sit back and ask what the hell is happening. Downbeat and moody where most action flicks are grasping for heroics, this flick ends up transcending its genre limitations and becoming its own uniquely insane statement.

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (2022)
This hilarious “biopic” of the noted parody artist is itself a parody of the whole concept of biopics in general. The story of Al Yankovic’s rise to become “perhaps not technically the best but arguably the most famous accordion player in an extremely specific genre of music” has very little to do with any version of reality, but is all the better for it. From Al’s parody-hating father to his torrid love affair with evil schemer Madonna, pretty much every single episode here is completely made up—and pretty damn funny. Daniel Radcliffe is great in the title role, creating an Al Yankovic who’s equally at home singing “My Bologna” or battling international drug lords. The whole thing is supremely silly and super funny.

Other highlights from the year: Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975), Dark City (1998), Deep Red (1975), Desert Fury (1947), Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022), Nightmare Alley (2021), No Man of Her Own (1950), No Sudden Move (2021), Prey (2022), Red Cliff (2009), Ronin (1998), Royal Warriors (1986), She Shoots Straight (1990), Train to Busan (2016), Truck Turner (1974), Urgh! A Music War (1982)

…and in case you’re interested, here’s a link to a complete list of every flick I watched in 2022…
Complete Alphabetical List, 2022