2022 is already halfway complete which means it is time to look at the best movies of 2022 so far. I have seen 85 movies so far in 2022, a very healthy amount despite having missed some major titles. Looking back at the 85 movies I’ve seen, I would say 2022 has been a rather great year for movies. We’ve seen great films from all genres and all budgets while also getting some excellent performances. 

What I’ve liked most about the movies of 2022 are the filmmakers we’ve seen release a film this year. We saw films from legendary auteurs Sam Raimi, Michael Bay, Steven Soderbergh, Richard Linklater, David Cronenberg, Baz Luhrman, and Ti West, and saw young up-and-comers like Cooper Raif, Riley Stearns, Robert Eggers, and the Daniels establish themselves as real-deal directors. If this is any indicator of what 2022 is bringing us, I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the rest of the year.

Here are my picks for the best movies of 2022. I’ll first rank my ten favorite films in order. Then share my picks for the best performances of the year, ranking each category (Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress) 1-5, with 1 being the best performance of the category.

 

TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2022 (SO FAR)

1. Everything Everywhere All at Once

• The most original film of the year is full of energy, entertainment, great performances, and powerful themes.

2. Top Gun: Maverick

• Tom Cruise is at the height of his powers in one of the great action movies of the last decade.

3. The Batman

• Matt Reeves’s take on the Caped Crusader is a dark, epic, noir mystery filled with great visuals and top-notch performances.

4. The Outfit

• Graham Moore’s stylish, claustrophobic crime thriller is one of the most underrated and under-seen movie of the year.

5. Cha Cha Real Smooth

• Writer/director/star Cooper Raif’s sophomore effort is a touching and charming look at how complicated life can be no matter what age you are.

6. Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood

• This beautifully animated coming-of-age ode to life, love, and Texas is another gem from the great Richard Linklater.

7. Ambulance

• Michael Bay’s off-the-wall, non-stop action film is the most exciting movie of 2022.

8. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

• A sweet, delightful, and earnest story about finding your place in a big world

9. Kimi

• Zoe Kravitz gives the best performance of her career in director Steven Soderbergh’s tense thriller.

10. Jackass Forever

• The hilarious, creative, and brutal stunts are coupled with the heart-wrenching reality that all men have a breaking point and that our heroes age.

Best Director

1. Daniels – Everything Everywhere All at Once
2. Joseph Kosinski – Top Gun: Maverick
3. Graham Moore – The Outfit
4. Matt Reeves – The Batman
5. Michael Bay – Ambulance

• Everything Everywhere All at Once’s style, flash, and emotional depth are all thanks to the visionary direction of Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert).

Best Actor

1. Austin Butler – Elvis
2. Tom Cruise – Top Gun: Maverick
3. Johnny Knoxville – Jackass: Forever
4. Mark Rylance – The Outfit
5. Adam Sandler – Hustle

• There are a lot of excellent lead actor performances that I’ve liked so far this year, but Austin Butler’s star-making turn as the King of Rock n Roll is a true showstopper. 

Best Actress

1. Michelle Yeoh – Everything Everywhere All at Once
2. Zoë Kravitz – Kimi
3. Karen Gillan – Dual
4. Maika Monroe – Watcher
5. Jenna Ortega – The Fallout

• Despite seeing career-best performances from Kravitz and Gillan, Yeoh masterfully balances all the genres Everything Everywhere All at Once while also hammering home the emotional story and flexing her iconic physicality.

Best Supporting Actor

1. Ke Huy Quan – Everything Everywhere All at Once
2. Colin Farrell – The Batman
3. Simon Russell Beale – The Outfit
4. Anthony Edwards – Hustle
5. Miles Teller – Top Gun: Maverick

• It’s been a while since we’ve seen Quan on screen, but he returns with an absolute blast of a performance that pairs perfectly with Yeoh.

Best Supporting Actress

1. Dakota Johnson – Cha Cha Real Smooth
2. Zoë Kravitz – The Batman
3. Zoey Deutch – The Outfit
4. Kristen Stewart – Crimes of the Future
5. Jamie Lee Curtis – Everything Everywhere All at Once

• Dakota Johnson gives the best performance of her career and my favorite performance of 2022 so far as a thirtysomething mother trying to handle her complicated life as a naive twenty-two-year-old comes into her life.

5 Movies I Missed But Will Eventually See

1. RRR
2. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
3. After Yang
4. Happening
5. Men

5 Movies To Seek Out You May Have Missed

1. Brian and Charles
2. Dual
3. Emergency
4. Strawberry Mansion
5. Watcher

5 Movies I’ve Already Seen That You Should Look Out For

1. Emily the Criminal (comes out 8/12)
2. Fire of Love (comes out 7/6)
3. Honk For Jesus, Save Your Soul (comes out 9/2)
4. I Love My Dad (comes out 8/5)
5. Resurrection (comes out 7/29)

BEST OF THE REST

Best Original Screenplay – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Runner Up – The Outfit

Best Adapted Screenplay – The Batman

Runner Up – Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Best Editing – Top Gun: Maverick

Runner Up – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Best Cinematography – Top Gun: Maverick 

Runner Up – The Batman

Best Comedy – Jackass Forever

Runner Up – Emergency

Best Superhero Movie – The Batman

Runner Up – Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Best Horror/Thriller – Scream

Runner Up – X

Best Animated Movie – Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood

Runner up – Turning Red

Biggest Surprise – Everything Everywhere All at Once

Runner Up – Brian and Charles

Biggest Disappointment – The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Runner Up – Jurassic World Dominion

Worst Movie – The Bubble

Runner Up – Jurassic World Dominion

 

 

 

 

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