A list of 2022 releases seen this year at theaters in SF and Sydney, and on VOD.
Initial tweet-reactions to the higher rated films included. In alphabetical order, by star rating…
– 5⭐ –
A Love Song
A gentle, pure, mighty love story, aged just right. Kinda shocked a relative youngster wrote and directed this! Also the best Wes Anderson film of the last decade.
All That Breathes
Forget the other bird drama and take this majestic act of selflessness in. An urban nature documentary in the truest sense, and un-Attenborough in the best possible way.
Ambulance
Somebody call 911, because Michael Bay is back, better than ever. Seriously! His frenetic, hyper-stylised, idealised version of America makes for peak action comedy. Gyllenhaal goes ham. The screenplay is above its pay grade.
Avatar: The Way of Water
You know how every Marvel movie has a meaninglessness, unsatisfying large battle at the end? This is the opposite of that. Cameron has set the new benchmark for a movie-going experience, and his purposeful use of technology to achieve that is front and centre.
The variable framerate makes current cinema look like a relic. I hated it to date, but I’m a believer now. There are entire ecosystems created, the actors faces and emotions are right there, and the spirituality feels honest and earned.
Drive My Car
A tranquil, soul-soothing ode to language and stories. A call to keep on keeping on. More than happy to let you think along the way with its moments of visual silence. Hamaguchi’s sensibility makes it what it is. Repetition does not spoil the prayer.
Moonage Daydream
Witnessing such personal evolution and growth feels like an act of self-care, and against the tide of how most artist docos go. The archival concert footage slays. Thought the speakers were going to explode at the start!
Nope
Jordan Peele has created a landmark sci-fi film, Black owned and operated. Love that he said nope to a bunch of normal plot devices that accompany the UFO genre. And those Gordy scenes!
RRR
My feeble, Hollywood-centric, physics-abiding mind has been opened to the real meaning of a bromance blockbuster. As wholesome as Paddington, but with a slaughter you’ll relish as much as marmalade. I think I counted 15 rounds of applause throughout the screening!
TÁR
Cate Blanchett is a one of one generational talent and my goodness does this confirm things. Who else could have even come close to playing this? A luxurious, assured flex from both her, and a director who hasn’t had a film come to light in 16 years.
c0up 