A Year Of Movies 2022

 2022 was an interesting year for movies here at the Phlipside.  I watched and reviewed 46 movies.  A couple weeks got lost during the year I did a three week review of my pandemic binge watching, plus the hiatus here are the end of the year.  A quick look at the numbers show a single movie rated as a one star rating, ten listed as a two, eighteen were given three, thirteen given four star ratings and only four made a five star rating.  I can’t get too excited about a fourth of my movies this year not rising above the bottom ratings.  Plus only one outstanding movie on average of every three months (although in reality, I saw two of them back to back).

The worst movie of the year was Robert Altman and Paul Newman’s 1979 science fiction stinker “Quintet”.  Badly written, acted, and directed, this movie never seemed to figure out what it was.  In my review, I called it a “…total failure without any redeeming values.”  Just awful.

In the two star category, you’ll find two cult classics and one much beloved musical.  Some folks will take exception to those reviews, but that’s the nature of things.  “Camelot” was not successfully moved to the big screen in my opinion.  Arthur’s character especially failed for me.  Add to that the soft core porn plus pretensions of “Barbarella”, and the macho “little man syndrome” posing of Robert Blake in “Electra Glide in Blue”, and you get three days of movie watching I’ll never get back.

So what stands out for me this year?  What are my best recommendations for you?

With four of my traditional Top Nine spots nailed down with five star ratings, the competition for the remaining five spots was tough.  Just missing the cut was the monster classic “Creature From the Black Lagoon,” where my sympathy was for the monster the whole way.  “Klute” also just missed.  Donald Sutherland plays the title character, but he’s pure supporting cast to Jane Fonda here.  A whodunit that blends in comedy and romance is always fun, but “Charade” finished just behind the movies below.  And I have to give a nod to a little known political mystery that was a delightful surprise in “Behind Green Lights”.  It may be the hardest to find of all the titles here.

So, in now particular order, my Top Nine Movies of 2022:

• “Blow The Man Down” – Here’s a small budget/indie movie that reaches for the stars.  Part murder mystery, part Greek tragedy, this was one of the real standouts of the year.  Some script weaknesses kept it from rising to the top, but you should definitely hunt this one down.
•  “The Outsiders” – I watched two S.E. Hinton movies this year. This one got the edge on “Rumble Fish” because the characters were more relatable for me.  You won’t miss with either one.
• “Born Yesterday” – If you don’t know who Judy Holliday is, you are missing out on a significant piece of movie history, and a brilliant actress.  Here’s where the modern “ditzy blonde” character begins, but this one should never be underestimated.
• “The Vast of Night” – I called this a “…beautiful, intelligent piece of science fiction.”  Today’s sci-fi offerings are not always either of those qualifiers, let alone both.  You’ll find it on Amazon Prime.
• Minari – Another one that skirted with the top of the list.  “Minari” earned 6 Oscar nominations (and won three!), so it feels weird that it doesn’t make the top level. A Korean family comes to America seeking a dream of freedom and success. 

And now the five star movies of the year, again in no particular order:

• “In Bruges” – One of the big surprises of the year.  I had not idea what to expect, but this buddy film about two inept hitmen was an instant classic for me.  I’ll repeat what I headlines this review with – how is this movie not better known?
• “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” – I had pretty low expectations for this one.  It’s a very “English” film, centering on a well known character in English culture.  Those don’t always translate well.  But the deeper into the story I got, the more I fell in love with this.  A powerful story of friendship, tradition and change.
• “Mutiny On the Bounty” –  Terrible history (this is NOT what happened on HMS Bounty) but a brilliant movie centered on two incredible performances.  Clark Gable as Fletcher Christian and Charles Laughton as Captain Bligh create a can’t miss movie.
• “Jojo Rabbit” – This is the most challenging movie of the year.  Black comedy is hard enough, a black comedy/coming of age story with a comic Adolph Hitler is a mountain only the best should take one.  Taika Waititi pulls it off with aplomb.

So that’s what stood above (and below) the rest.  That doesn’t mean that weren’t some wonderful movies in between.  I hope you’ll take a moment or two to scroll down through the year’s reviews to see what else may appeal to you.  I’m looking forward to next year!