We’ve now reached the second weekend of July, meaning not only did we see the release of Thor: Love and Thunder (which you should go see ASAP), we’ve also come to the half way mark of the year of 2022. The 4th of July is done, fireworks are over and now it’s time to take a look back at what’ll the great movies we’ve got so far. What’s really special about this year so far is that we’re finally back to the way the things were with the movie going experience. With 5 movies making well over $100 million on their opening weekends and movies having great success weekend after weekend, I think it’s fair to say that movie theater are back and almost better than ever. With Thor Love and Thunder set to be the 6th movie this year to make over $100 million on its opening weekend, it’s a clear sign that people are enjoying being back at the movies with massive groups of people. Beyond that, we’ve gotten some great movies with the year half way over. That’s what this list will cover. Instead of doing a list of 10 movies, this will be a list of the 6 movies that stand out the most. Some of these movies might not be on my list when 2022 comes to a close, but as of now these are the ones that are some of the best that year has to offer thus far. Let’s begin!
#6 SCREAM
Let’s be honest. The massive movie going audience probably weren’t as thrilled for another Scream movie, let alone a fifth one. However, the fans of the Scream franchise are always down for another chapter in Woodsboro and with the fifth Scream movie to be as good as it as (maybe better since the first one back in 1996) is almost too good to be true. Scream carried over the legacy of Ghostface in brutal fashion, the legacy trio with Sidney, Dewey and Gale was presented magnificently but the new cast is really seals the deal with the continuation of this franchise. With directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, directors of the horror comedy Ready or Not, these two guys passionately understand what makes these movies so special and unique. They harken back to the old school roots of the first film, yet they still find a way to offer some reinvention and different tactics to keep the slasher genre a thriving genre for the horror movies. I doubt that Scream will end up on a lot of people’s list for the best movies of 2022. Be that as it may, Scream ultimately satisfied me and has me dying to see where Scream 6 goes.
#5 THE BLACK PHONE
As of right now, I think The Black Phone is the best horror movie of 2022. Obviously, we’ve still got Jordan Peele’s Nope, A24’s Bodies Bodies Bodies, Salem’s Lot and whole bunch of other horror/thriller movies that have yet to be released. But as it stands, The Black Phone has set such a high bar that not even the fifth Scream movie can top it (despite my love for that movie). Not only is it the best horror movie of the year, it”s the best work of Scott Derrickson’s career by far. The behind the films of Sinister, Doctor Strange and the vastly underrated The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Derrickson’s latest horror tale is what every piece of horror should strive to be. Not only is their terrific tension, effective atmosphere and a chilling performance from the great Ethan Hawke, The Black Phone is character based which all stems from the performances from Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw. The development between these two young actors is powerful character work and it’s by far the best aspect this movie offers. It may not be as deep or as scary as Sinister but the raw level of tension and the character progression done in this movie makes it his best movie yet.
#4 THE BATMAN
Quite possibly the best comic-book movie of 2022, The Batman had a lot to live up to and it never failed to disappoint. By all accounts, The Batman might be the definitive adaptation that’s ever been put on the big screen. Compared to the other Batman movies we’ve had in the past, The Batman is a hard boiled, brutal and intense adaptation of the character and the world of Gotham in ways that have never been seen before. Right from the haunting and traumatic opening sequence of the movie tells you everything about what kind of movie this is going to be. For this to be clocking in at nearly 3 hours, The Batman gives us a new and very stylistic take on its world building and really what’s to come with future installments. Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder understood Batman well. Matt Reeves might be the best director that truly understands the character. He’s not only going for the the detective aspect of Batman, Reeves really justifies the importance of the characters and how corrupt the city of Gotham is. He draws into this world and leaves so many doors open due to the impressive world building. With the exceptional performance of Robert Pattinson and maybe some of the best Batman music we’ve heard since of the work of Hans Zimmer from The Dark Knight movies, The Batman is a comic book movie for the ages.
#3 THE NORTHMAN
From an artistic approach and as a mainstream movie, The Northman is one of the best example of being an artsy fartsy movie that mainstream audiences can still digest and gravitate towards. For this being Robert Eggers’ third picture (his most expensive film yet), he really swung for the fences, even if he had to pull his hair out by working with a bigger budget and more studio control. Nevertheless, The Northman is still an astounding and enthralling piece of art. It’s a manifestation of films like Gladiator, the work of Shakespeare and staying true to Viking history and mythology. It’s has the ferocity and brute force of Zack Snyder’s 300 but not as action-packed as the marketing suggests. The true meat of this movie is a methodical, supernatural and psychological journey of revenge, anger and brute nature. One aspect of Eggers’ style that fit in both The Witch and The Lighthouse is the usage of psychological tension and in The Northman, it’s execution is handled very meticulously. From the gut wrenching performances, the stellar action set pieces and the camera work from Eggers is some of the best that 2022 has given us and while Eggers won’t work in this kind environment again, it still leaves us wanting more stories from his mind.
#2 ELVIS
Biopics focusing on musicians is a dead genre, for all intents and purposes. Even the great musical biopics are all structured the same. It starts off us being introduced to a no name person who’s trying to make a name for themself. They then get famous and blow up all over the world. Then they starts getting over dosed in drugs, alcohol and starting showing some serious behavioral problems to the people they know but they all come in full redemption towards the end of the movie for one last concert and one last memorable performance for the world. That’s basically every single musical biopic ever put on screen since they started making them. Even something as different with a movie called Rocketman, which went for a different approach in telling the life of Elon John through a traditional musical, but it’s narrative structure is 100% like any other biopic on a famous musician. However, Elvis is a really special biopic and despite it’s structure being very familiar, Baz Luhrmann infuses so much of his kinetic and ferocious style that, while doesn’t necessarily forgive the predictable tropes within a biopic, Luhrmann projects so much fun, energy and terrific pace to this 2.5 hour movie. The performance from Austin Butler SHOULD earn him possible Oscar buzz, even if the movie doesn’t receive any other nomination, the performance from Austin Butler is legendary.
#1 TOP GUN: MAVERICK
I know a lot pf people are going to have Everything Everywhere All at Once as their favorite movie of 2022, and honestly there’s nothing wrong with that because it is a terrific movie. I can’t see any other movie that’s left of 2022 to dethrone Top Gun: Maverick as the best movie of the year. As much as I love Elvis, The Northman or The Batman, Top Gun Maverick is the best case scenario of utilizing nostalgia but also having the arrangement of a terrific and special blockbuster. As much as we love the original Top Gun, we always have to keep in mind that the beauty of that movies is the timing in which it was released. By default, Top Gun is a product of the 1980s and a movie like that being released today wouldn’t land well. With Tom Cruise not only starring this but by serving as the films caregiver, Top Gun: Maverick will go down as one of the best summer blockbusters in the history of Hollywood. This is an emotional, character driven, thoughtful and exciting crowd pleaser with some of the best action set pieces that filmmaking has to offer. The performances are all top notch, Zimmer’s music is exceptional and for a movie to deliver on 36 year old movie is incredible.
We’ve still got six more months left in the year and we still have some big and exciting movies left to come. What do guys think? What are your favorite movies of the year so far? Have you seen any of these and if so, which of these six would be on your list? Let me know in the comment section below!
Zane's take at the Cinema's 