It feels like a very strange year of movies. Whilst this time around we could go to the cinema more frequently, and be assured of the cinema’s being open to see films at; it feels like there has been a general lack of options worth seeing! In comparison to 2021, there have been films to genuinely look forward to.
All last year (2021) I was more looking forward to 2022 and the films due for release; which came, and sort of half delivered. And whilst there have been a great selection of films to watch this year; the overall feeling feels rather mediocre. Films that sounded good, were enjoyable but not outstanding; whilst films I only half wanted to see, were actually pretty good.
Probably the most surprising thing for me, was that I pretty much knew what my Top 3 films of the year were by August. I just couldn’t see anything else coming that I desperately wanted to see, and my Top 3 have stayed the same since I first saw them. There were some other fun films I enjoyed also, so I do have an overall Top 5; but yeah, the Top 3 are the biggest standouts. So, as is tradition here are those that sadly don’t make it into the Top 5, but are still worthy mentioning, and also pretty enjoyable films to watch also if you fancy it:
Lamb, Moonfall, The Bob’s Burgers Movie, and Thor: Love and Thunder.
And so without further ado, here are my Top 5 Favourite Films from the year known as 2022; Enjoy!
5. The Northman – In fairness I didn’t originally see this one in the cinema, it was more something I might see, but didn’t see it until it became available on Sky Cinema. I wouldn’t necessarily call it an epic, other than by scale of the story; it’s actually quite small and sociable, but in a very brutal way. It tells an epic story, on a beautiful backdrop of incredible scenery, a story of revenge lead by a terrific cast; which features some savage fight scenes, as well as some peaceful scenes of realistic blossoming love!
4. Troll – A pretty goofy idea, but one that is executed practically perfectly. Troll is a Norwegian Monster Movie, about a giant mountain troll disturbed from it’s slumber, who then goes on the rampage. The story is told in a classic monster movie way, with several nods to some of the more finer classics such as Mothra. The monster is very well designed, and is animated seamlessly into the foreground. It allows for touches of both comedy and science fiction too, as well as a tiny bit of fantasy for good measure. It’s a really cool film, a classic in the making!
3. Nope – Nope is a really interesting idea, but one that is subtle in it’s delivery, but piles on the scares in a haunting way. The first real scare is a fake; something to tease you in, and drain your nerves from your body, so that when the biggest terror finally arrives; you have nothing in reserve to keep you from being totally terrified. It’s a film that creates a sense of terror in you, with the knowledge that as long as the film is still rolling on, much worse is to come. But then it morphs itself from horror to more of an action science fiction film. It features some surprising story telling ideas, and draws on the classics more as a setup, and allows it’s more creative ideas to be the meat on the bones. It is very clever, in the most terrifying way possible!
2. Belle – Belle is actually a rather surprising film, as for the most part, it’s pretty mediocre. It just sort of plods along, telling it’s story in a somewhat familiar way, and it just feels like it’s going to be the most predictable thing ever made! But it isn’t! The film reaches it’s crowning moment past the half-way point, when it does the least obvious thing, and shines a light on something else instead. Something both surprising, and horrifying. It feels weird that a story like this, would lead to something like that. But from here on it has your undivided attention, leading onto a moment of pure transcendence, as it’s powerful soundtrack takes hold of your eyes and ears, to create something truly and powerfully magical!
1. The Batman – For most of the year, my number one choice was jointly shared between this and Belle, but this won as it was far more consistent. The Batman was a superhero epic, especially as it was three hours long; but I was not bored at any point. The Batman does not fall prey to it being yet another origin story. We’ve had quite a few of those in recent memory, so lets move on and tell a different story. It featured a cool mix of both detective work, and action scenes, and whilst it did try to tell several stories at once, they all eventually blended together to create a really gripping story from second to second, leading to a big conclusion, that you will not see coming. It is a great start to a new series of Batman films, and I can’t wait to find out where the story goes from here!
Things I Like 
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