Now that we’re half way through the year, it’s time to get excited for what’s to come for the next six months of 2022. It’s hard to believe that the year is half way over and what’s even more special is that 2022 has already been an impressive year for film. From big grand spectacle films in Top Gun: Maverick to smaller independent storytelling in Everything Everywhere All At Once, 2022 is already off to a terrific start and we still exciting and hopefully satisfying movies to come from big movies to small “Oscar” caliber movies. Now, when it comes to Oscar movies, we typically don’t put them on these types of list because we have to get closer to its release to really have a sense of what the movie is and how it’ll come together. Now I’m not saying these 10 movies will be the best movies of the year, but these are the movies that I’m most excited about for what’s left of 2022. Let’s dive right in!
#10 BLACK ADAM
This was a project that was announced in 2007 and it’s finally seeing the light of day this fall. Whether we like it or not, Dwayne Johnson has some of the best charisma on screen no matter what role he’s in and its almost unlike any other type of charisma than a lot of other charismatic actor. The man carries so much and likability to his roles that even if he’s not shooting for an Oscar, he knows the audience will get a a kick out of it. He’s basically done it all from big natural disasters, comedies to even an animated Disney musical and with the charm he has, it would be a stupid move to not have his face promoting a comic-book movie. The character of Black Adam is a perfect fir the his acting motifs and judging off of the one trailer we’ve gotten from this movie, it looks like a ton of fun. Not only that, Black Adam centers Dwayne Johnson around with esteemed actor in Pierce Brosnan and while director Jaume Collet-Serra might be an odd choice, the fact that Dwayne Johnson got hot him board after working on Jungle Cruise should be some encouragement for us fans. Black Adam hits theaters on October 21st
#9 BULLET TRAIN
We’re just about a month away or so from the release of Bullet Train and what’s not to be excited about? Having Brad Pitt in your movie is an automatic win in my book and knowing that he’s the central figure in action fest with samurais and other martial arts amps up my excitement even more. While director David Leitch hasn’t had a home run with every movie (mainly in Atomic Blonde), there’s no denying that the man can shoot the hell out of action sequences. Knowing his stunt work in the past, he brought that all to the table in co-directing the first John Wick film and he delivered that in spades with Deadpool 2 and Hobbs & Shaw. With a terrific looking ensemble, Leitch’s slick visual style and promising marketing, Bullet Train looks to be one the years best action movies. Bullet Train sneaks into theaters on August 5th of this year.
#8 THE WOMAN KING
Sticking in the realm of action movies, The Woman King looked nothing I’d expect to be. Clearly, when you have Viola Davis involved then there’s something special but in no way was I expecting to look on how the trailer portrayed it. The Woman King looks incredibly epic, but it also has the look of something that the Academy would love to highlight. Part of me thought this was going to be some historical drama with political tension and under the table scenarios. The other part of me thought this was an odd tie in to the events of Black Panther, but clearly that isn’t true at all. But when your director is known for doing Netflix’s The Old Guard, you know something cool is cooking up. The Old Guard was not a great movie by any means, but it had superb and and stunning action and it got a great performance out Charlize Theron. Hopefully The Woman King can not only deliver on great action, but stronger character development and judging off of the trailer, it looks like it will. The Woman King hits theaters on September 16th.
#7 DON’T WORRY DARLING
For actress and now director Olivia Wilde to knock it out of the park with her directorial debut in Booksmart should be a crime. It’s smart, however, for your first movie to be as small as it was, yet somehow blow the doors open for the potential she has with bigger projects. The marketing for Don’t Worry Darling leaves us with so many questions and speculation that I’m sure what ever the final product ends up being will be a banger. Led by what seems to be Florence Pugh, surrounded by actors that include Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, Nick Kroll, Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde herself, Don’t Worry Darling seems like the kind of movie that will commentate on women’s roles but in a man’s world and to have that as the crux for a psychological thriller should be brilliant. Don’t Worry Darling will hit theaters on September 23rd.
#6 DEVOTION
I didn’t know thing about this movie until it was mentioned at this years CinemaCon. But when the first official trailer for the movie dropped right around the release of Top Gun Maverick (which was a brilliant move by the way), my interest for the movie spiked. Starring Jonathan Majors and Glen Powell, Devotion looks to give us an unique and somewhat effective insight on the Korean War through the lens of United States Navy officer Jesse L. Brown. Brown was the very first African American aviator to complete the U.S. Navy’s basic flight training program and Devotion will tell the story about his time in the war and the comradeship he had with Thomas J. Hudner Jr., played by Glen Powell himself. Devotion hits theaters just in time for Thanksgiving on November 23rd.
#5 THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING
George Miller is a legendary filmmaker for so many reasons. Not only did he give us the Mad Max movies, but this man is responsible for two genuinely underrated kids movies in Happy Feet and Babe: Pig in the City. The announcement of Miller’s next project, Three Thousand Years of Longing, has been in development since it broke the news in 2018. With the COVID-19 pandemic, it the put the films production on hold for a bit until in finally resumed filming in November 2020. The films first trailer, which was exciting leading up to with the studio showing it in the span of 30 seconds before the full two and a half minute trailer dropped. Miller has described this movie “epic in scope” and unlike anything he’s directed before. Three Thousand Years of Longing looks like nothing I’ve ever seen from a mainstream filmmaker and his next project looks like you took the styles of Zack Snyder and Wes Anderson and combined them together and you have Three Thousand Years of Longing. Having Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton leading your movie is brilliant and it’ll be interesting to see how casual movie goers respond to this. Three Thousand Years of Longing hits theaters on August 31st.
#4 SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS
I’m going to be honest and gush about the first Shazam for just a minute because I think people sleep on great that movie really is. It had the cape of Christopher Reeves’ Superman movie but wrapped up in a sweet and heart warming coming of age tale. Zachary Levi was terrific in the role and while it certainly did the studio financial favors, everybody was gearing up Avengers: Endgame short after its release so once that movie came out all the buzz on Shazam sort of died off. Be that as it may, critics were much on the positive side scoring a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes and the movie was made on a much tighter budget than a lot of other comic-book movies. Originally dated for a release in November 4th, 2022 and then on June 2nd, 2023, Warner Bros. had the confidence to release Shazam! Fury of the Gods on December 21st, 2022 right around the Christmas season. While it might go head to head with another sci-fi epic that rhymes with “Aladar: the pay of daughter”, Shazam! Fury of the Gods should a perfect movie for families to watch with.
#3 AMSTERDAM
Amsterdam is already maybe the best constructed movie of the year, in terms of it’s ensemble of performers. Christian Bale, Margot Robbie, John David Washington, Chris Rock, Anya Taylor-Joy, Zoe Saldaña, Mike Myers, Michael Shannon, Timothy Olyphant, Andrea Riseborough, Taylor Swift, Matthias Schoenaerts, Alessandro Nivola, Rami Malek, and Robert De Niro. Is there anyone else’s name in Hollywood I didn’t mention because I’m pretty sure that’s every actor in the business in one movie. We know David O. Russell likes to work with big names but this might be his most ambitious cast ever constructed. Set in the 1930s of America, Amsterdam tells the story of three close friends who become the prime suspects of a murder that took place. With a cast like that and a director like David O. Russell, Amsterdam might give another murder mystery a run for i’s money. Amsterdam will theaters on November 4th.
#2 GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
The first Knives Out was one of 2019’s best movies. It’s pure entertainment, the performances form the entire ensemble are terrific, it’s thematically rich, technically astounding, and superbly acted. Oh, and did I mention it’s also just a complete and total blast of a movie. It maybe wasn’t deep as Jojo Rabbit or as provocative as Parasite, but Knives Out was a terrific resurgence for a genre we desperately needed a revival of. You had some winners like Kenneth Branagh’s remake of Murder on the Orient Express and few other murder mysteries, but we weren’t getting a swarm of them like we used to. Knives Out was playful and very edgy murder mystery that left us wanting mire and god bless for it’s success because Lionsgate green-lit sequels to this. The unfortunate part is that Netflix paid a large paycheck of $469 million for the rights to two sequels with Rian Johnson writing and directing again and Daniel Craig reprising his role as detective Benoit Blanc. The good news is that Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery will debut at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and is said to have a limited theatrical run before its drop on Netflix. There’s no official trailer for this movie yet but I’m sure Rian Johnson has another win on his hands. Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery is said to drop on Netflix later this Fall.
#1 AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER
Some will say I’m crazy for having Avatar: The Way of Water this high up but the road to this sequel has been fascinating. Avatar: The Way of Water was originally aimed for a release date in 2014. It then continued to get delayed after year after year until eight long years later, Avatar: The Way of Water is finally seeing the light of day this holiday season. It also might be a generational thing because the first Avatar holds a special place in my heart because my first experience with this movie is something I treasure every single day of my life as a film fan. The world that James Cameron laid out was so awe inspiring that it kills me we haven’t had a sequel to this movie yet. So when I watched the very first teaser for this movie in front of the release for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, literal tears were shed. My jaw legitimately hit the floor and it took me back 13 years ago to when I saw Avatar for the very first time. I’m truly thankful we get to spend more time in the world of Pandora and when it comes to the track record of James Cameron, in particular with his sequels, never doubt James Cameron. Avatar: The Way of Water hits theaters on December 16th.
Theres’s so many other movies to look forward to this year that didn’t make my list but are definitely honorable mentions. Killers of the Flower Moon, The Fabelmans, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and Babylon are another examples I’m dying to see but they never made the list. What about you? What are the movies you’re looking forward to? Do any of these 10 movies excite you? Let me know down below!
Zane's take at the Cinema's 