Midyear 2022 movie review

I'm just glad more and more movies are playing in theaters again. Things are almost back to normal.

My favorites so far:

Everything everywhere all at once
Top Gun: Maverick
The Northman
X
The Batman
The Lost City
Scream
Ambulance

I guess I've only seen popcorn flicks so far this year. Really want to see Everything Everywhere All at once. I feel like I've seen more than this though.

1. The Batman



2a. Maverick
2b. Elvis





Moving into the not very good category...
4. Dr Strange MOM





Now into the not good at all and wish I wouldnt even have watched it category
5. Death on the Nile

quote:

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What are your top 5-10?

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1. Top Gun: Maverick - just an absolute gem of a movie. It's everything you want in a blockbuster at the theater.

2. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent - I go back and forth on who is number two and who is number three daily, but both of these movies are absolutely fantastic at what they're trying to do. Unbearable Weight is top tier self-aware satire anchored by a fun and likable buddy dynamic and grounded story of fatherhood, ego, and redemption. It's just a really great movie that makes you feel good watching it, isn't afraid to make fun of itself, and also happens to have some solid action and top tier comedy to go with it.

3. Everything Everywhere All At Once - Like I said, some days this is number two. This movie is one of the most creative films I've ever seen. While the multiverse premise isn't exactly novel, these days, the way it's used in this movie is. I have never before seen a movie use such a wacky premise, commit to it so fully, and yet harness said premise to tell such a grounded, relatable, and emotionally impactful story. It is a wide gap between these first three movies and literally everything else I've seen this year. Any of these movies might have been #1 in another year.

4. The Lost City - solid rom-com/adventure movie in the vein of Romancing the Stone. This movie is predictable, but satisfying all the same. Two charismatic leads with great on-screen chemistry and comedic timing vs another charismatic villain who owns every scene he's in. Just a fun movie that no one would be disappointed with investing 90 minutes of their time into.

5. Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness - I know I'm in the minority on this board for liking this immensely flawed movie, but I do. I like its subversion of the Marvel formula. I love Elizabeth Olson's performance. She absolutely owns every scene she's in and displays a huge range of emotions while doing so. There are so many great action set-pieces in this film that Director Sam Raimi oozes with horror influences to great effect. They also do a great job of making a movie in which there are endless parallel universes, have stakes that feel important. Finally, I also liked how they wrapped up Wanda's arc which left me a little...unsettled at the end of Wanda/Vision. The movie as a whole isn't exceptional, but I haven't really scene that many other movies this year, so this one just barely slides in at #5.

Honorable Mention: Sonic 2 - This one just barely missed the cut to Dr. Strange. This videogame movie's predecessor did the impossible: made a competent and fun movie based on a video game. This one did the next most impossible task: made a solid sequel. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first Sonic, but it's still got a great mix of charm, silliness, and Jim Carrey just absolutely reveling in being one of the best onscreen kid movie villains of all time. This movie has some pacing issues and often times looks way lower budget than it should, but it's a solid sequel to a movie that was a surprise smash hit. It's nice to see a movie studio that listens to its fans and gives them what they want.

I'm looking forward to seeing Elvis, probably go see it tomorrow.

1. Top Gun: Maverick
2. The Batman
3. Doctor Strange 2

I looked over my list of 2022 movies. There are a few popular movies I haven't seen yet, like Dr. Strange or the lastest movies in the theaters now.

The Best
1. RRR (Two Famous-in-India Indian Guys) - Netflix
2. Everything Everywhere All at Once (Michelle Yeoh)
3. Top Gun: Maverick (Tom Cruise)
4. Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood (Animated) - Netflix
5. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (Nicolas Cage, Pedro Pascal)

Good
Beavis and Butt-Head Do The Universe (Mike Judge) - Paramount+
Adam Project (Ryan Reynolds) - Netflix
Metal Lords - Netflix
Dog (Channing Tatum)
Ambulance (Jake Gyllenhaal, Eiza González) - Peacock
X (Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Brittany Snow)
The Lost City (Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum) - Paramount+
The Bad Guys (Animated)
Fresh (Sebastian Stan) - Hulu
The Valet (Samara Weaving) - Hulu

OK to Mediocre
The 355 (Jessica Chastain)
The Man From Toronto (Kevin Hart, Woody Harrelson) - Netflix
Dual (Karen Gillan) - AMC+
Borrego (Lucy Hale) - Netflix
Spiderhead (Chris Hemsworth, Miles Teller) - Netflix
Death on the Nile (Kenneth Branagh, Gal Gadot) - HBO Max, Hulu
The Contractor (Chris Pine)
Windfall (Jason Segal, Jesse Plemons, Lily Collins) - Netflix

So Bad
Moonfall (Halle Berry)
Interceptor (Elsa Pataky) - Netflix - Tied Worst Film of the Year
The Bubble (Karen Gillan) - Netflix - Tied Worst Film of the Year

I’m not ranking them, but I’ve seen from 2022

Scream 5
X
The Lost City
Top Gun Maverick
Jurassic World
Unbearable weight of massive talent
The Northman
Death on the Nile
Uncharted
The Cursed
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022)
Batman
Fantastic Beasts: the secrets of Dumbledore
Doctor strange and the multiverse of madness
Black Phone

Wife and kids are out of town so I watched a few of these over the weekend.

Top Gun: Maverick was amazing and will probably go see it again.

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent I thought was extremely meh. There were some funny parts but nothing laugh out loud.

Dr. Strange MoM was entertaining (mostly because I like Elizabeth Olsen) but will probably never watch again. I was rooting for Wanda more than I was Dr. Strange in that movie.

Finally got around to watching RRR. But unfortunately I did it the wrong way. Movie like this for me at least, I need to be awake and alert and paying attention. Late & after a very long day, I started watching. Even though I had some handicaps, it was extremely interesting. Can’t wait to pick it up again later today.


* Continued.

Wow! Amazing movie. Yes, it's long - 3 hours - but it was perfect to watch at home. Took my own intermission.