Top Ten New-to-Me Films of 2022

Happy turn-of-the-year to you all!  I don't really make New Year's resolutions, but one of my hopes for 2023 is that I will get back into the habit of blogging regularly.  Or, at least, of blogging more regularly than once every three to five months. *ahem*  I certainly can't guarantee that, either to myself or to any of you sweet souls still following this blog, but I can hope it and try to make it happen.  We'll see.

At the very least, I can keep up this semi-tradition.  After due deliberation, I've selected the ten best films I watched for the first time in 2022.  ("Best," in this context, meaning "my personal favorite," of course.)  I've also ranked them, but the top five rankings are all pretty arbitrary because I really can't decide where each film should be placed.  

Let's dive in!

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#10.  Game Night (2018)

A couple's weekly game night with their friends takes a wild turn when a fake murder mystery becomes indistinguishable from an actual abduction.  As they struggle to rescue their kidnapped comrade, the group must dodge flying bullets, creepy neighbors, and relationship drama as they attempt to identify which "bad guys" are hired actors and which are real criminals.  {rated R}

So funny and so formally clever in the way it homages popular games through staging, filming angles, editing, etc.  Bateman and McAdams are hilarious and adorable together, and the supporting cast is fantastic.  Just a solid, entertaining comedy to watch with family or friends.

#9.  Spencer (2021)

Princess Diana attempts to make it through the royal family's 1991 Christmas holiday at Sandringham with some degree of peace.  As she wrestles with her personal and marital demons, she draws solace from her relationships with her sons and a favorite attendant.  A speculative, surrealist, semi-revisionist exploration of Diana's possible psychological state at the time.  {rated R}

The cinematic definition of "a nightmare dressed like a daydream," this gauzy, haunting, dream-like film is somewhat polarizing, and justly so.  It toes a tricky line, and I understand why some find it insufferably contrived.  It just barely landed on the side of success, for me, and I found it quietly excellent.  While Stewart's performance is not quite so transporting or superb as some have rendered it, it is a good one, and the film's artistic innovations are striking and noteworthy.  (I will say, though:  I'm really starting to feel that we ought to let Diana just rest in peace instead of obsessively recreating and magnifying the tragedy of her life.)

#8.  Say Anything (1989)

Lloyd Dobler has just graduated high school with a heart of gold but no lofty ambitions for his future.  He finally works up the courage to ask out his crush, valedictorian Diane Court.  The unlikely pair hit it off, but their developing relationship is threatened by the disapproval of Diane's helicopter father.  {rated PG-13}

So I guess no one was going to tell me what an amazing rom-com Say Anything is?  Y'all were really just gatekeeping that information?  Wow.

Needless to say, I was surprised by how much I liked this one.  I mean, I anticipated that I'd enjoy it as at least a one-time watch, but it exceeded my expectations.  A very solid genre film, I must say.  Forget the boombox: John Cusack telling John Mahoney that he wants to be a trophy husband is an inspiring cinematic moment and you can't say it's not.

John Hughes could never.

#7.  Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969)

A drifter accepts the position of sheriff in a rough-and-tumble prospecting town on a temporary basis (since, basically, he's on his way to Australia). He attempts to address the town's most prominent problem (a cranky and occasionally violent family) with the aid of some unconventional tactics and a press-ganged deputy.  A loving parody of traditional Western tropes. {rated G}

This movie has been on my to-watch list for quite a while, thanks to all my fellow Western-loving friends.  I finally watched it this summer with one such fellow Western-loving friend, and I'm delighted to report that it more than lived up to its comic reputation.  (I spent almost the entire runtime honking like a seal on Rachel's couch.)  I'm so happy to have another purely fun Western to add to my pantheon.  Also, Jason McCullough is now un-ironically one of my absolute favorite fictional cowboys.  (More on that next Legends of Western Cinema Week, perhaps?)

#6.  The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

A bored writer spends time with an elderly loner who recounts the experiences of his young adulthood in the 1930s, working as a lobby boy at the illustrious Grand Budapest Hotel under the mentorship of the eccentric and infamous Monsieur Gustave.  In the course of their adventures together, the lobby boy and the Grand Manager steal priceless paintings, evade ruthless assassins, and generally run amok all over the Swiss Alps. {rated R}

Listen, I know, okay?  This is such obvious pseudo-cinephile bait, but you know what?  I don't care.  IT WORKS.  For me, at least.  Deliciously satisfying to look at and side-splittingly hilarious, Budapest sketches an entertaining plot that recalls Clue and 1313 Deadend Drive while also embracing some self-aware melodrama and melancholia, all brought to life by an extravagantly stacked cast.  I love it.

(It made my dad literally spit out his food at one point, so, you know.  It's pretty funny.)

#5.  The Lost City (2022)

Loretta Sage is a reclusive, widowed former archaeologist turned author.  She writes "trashy" but popular romance novels and hates every moment of it.  The book tour for her latest work goes awry when she is abducted by a deranged treasure hunter who believes that Loretta may be able to help him find a fabled ancient crown worth a fortune.  However, help is on the way in the form of Alan, the devoted (if seemingly ditzy) cover model for the male love interest in Loretta's books.  {rated PG-13}

An uproarious and surprisingly substantial comedy.  I've learned that I absolutely adore satirical Indiana Jones pastiches, and this one delivers.  Bullock and Tatum are a riot together, and the supporting cast members turn in worthy performances as well.  In addition to its humor and adventure and wholesome romance, the film also has some excellent things to say about literary elitism and intellectual arrogance.  A fantastically good time.

#4.  Together (2021)

A separated couple who share a child must move back into the same house due to the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.  They attempt to coexist through frequent fights and tender moments while the world falls apart outside their door, loved ones succumb to the virus, and their quiet, isolated son watches it all from the staircase.  {rated R}

Now, listen.  I'm opposed, on principle, to books and films being made about the pandemic this soon.  It's precipitate, it's cringey, it's creatively futile.  So, needless to say, I was skeptical going into this film; and if you are, too, I totally understand.

But Together blew me away.  It was shockingly good — truly, shockingly good.  The creativity of the format helped to mitigate the risky proximity to the subject matter, and — with a few possible exceptions — the contemporary cultural references were sparingly and tastefully done.  (For instance, using "The Wellerman" as the credits song.  Too many TikTok references or sourdough endeavors would have been corny and disingenuous, but the filmmakers managed to recall the all-too-recent atmosphere of the pandemic, and offer loving nods to some of its better moments, without simply replicating either.  What pop culture references there were actually made sense for the story and served as a reminder of our global solidarity:  we survived and are surviving this crisis, and we have made good things out of it.)

James McAvoy and Sharon Horgan are exquisite as the couple, embracing the unorthodox narrative format and embodying the characters with feisty acerbity and generous vulnerability.  The script is excellent, masterfully evoking the anxiety and anger and affection that the pandemic incited throughout the world.  I actually cried once or twice, and I highly recommend it.

#3.  The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)

A fatherless boy is sent away from his affectionate home by his mother's cruel new husband.  From the humble beginnings of his childhood, he struggles to make a better life for himself as he befriends good-natured sycophants and eccentric extended family members.   A cheeky, inventive, affectionate take on Charles Dickens' classic. {rated PG}

Note:  If you are considering watching this for the first time on your laptop with earbuds in a public library . . . don't.  You will soon find yourself choking on your laughter in an attempt to maintain the sacrosanct silence of said library.  The cast is fantastic, and no member disappoints.  Hilarious, clever, heartwarming, and generally winsome — I thoroughly loved it.  (As such, I can hardly overstate my desolation at learning that the only extant DVDs are Region 2.  I can only hope that, since it's a relatively new film, Region 1 versions will be coming eventually.)

P.S.  I learned after watching it that it was directed by Armando Iannucci, who also directed the magnificent Death of Stalin.  No wonder it's so superb.

#2.  Jungle Cruise (2021)

An idealistic professor employs a skeptical skipper to transport her down the Amazon River in search of the mythical Tree of Life, rumored to possess universal healing properties.  Unfortunately for them, others are also after the Tree, including opportunistic German maniacs and cursed undead conquistadors.  {rated PG-13}

As I've stated before, I spent nearly this entire runtime absolutely beaming.  As I mentioned with The Lost City, give me ALL the jungle-y treasure hunt adventure flicks that mimic Indiana Jones in style without actually taking themselves as seriously as Indiana Jones.

Lily and Frank are probably (?) my favorite fictional couple of 2022 — I'm complete trash for their entire aesthetic and I love them dearly.  McGregor is also fabulous.  A perfect summer film.

#1.  Catherine, Called Birdy (2022)

A spunky, mischievous girl living in medieval England attempts to navigate the vagaries of adolescence, friendship, and incestuous first crushes while her family struggles to maintain their noble status.  Complications ensue when her father tries to resolve the estate's financial woes by marrying her off to a wealthy suitor.  {rated PG-13}

ANDREW SCOTT AND BILLIE PIPER.  That is all.

Actually, that's not all, because even though the dynamic between those two alone makes this movie worth watching a hundred times over, it also offers plenty of other worthy fare.  Cheeky humor, genuinely dark subject matter, family relationships that are allowed to be both complex and wholesome, a delightful soundtrack, and the quintessential medieval aesthetic — all make for a rollicking good time that utterly enchants me each time I watch it.

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And last, but certainly not least, a few honorable mentions:

• I, Tonya (2017)
• The Village (2004)
• Rio Bravo (1959)
• I Want You Back (2022)
• The 355 (2022)
• Mona Lisa Smile (2003)
• Desk Set (1957)
• Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
• Sweet Country (2017)
• Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
• Sunset Boulevard (1950)
• A Room with a View (1985)

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What were your favorite new watches of 2022?