@captzaff007
1. Everything Everywhere All At Once – You’ve read my review. This is one of (if not the) the most creative, expressive, genuine, and heartfelt movies of the entire year. A welcome return to the screen for Ke Huy Quan, and a showcase for Michelle Yeoh that uses and pushes nearly every single one of her strengths. I never thought I’d bawl my eyes out for a rock tumbling over a cliff, but here I am. – 4.5/5
2. Top Gun: Maverick – This sumbitch has no right to be so slickly made and heart-pounding, and an exercise in building tension and projecting adrenaline onscreen. Utilizing ever single trick of filmmaking to build suspense, and making absolute full use of IMAX shooting (not just in the cameras, but in knowing why using such large format shooting is beneficial), the sequel 36 years in the making should not have been as successful as it is. And yet…here I am. “Maverick…needs…Top Gun.” I’m not crying. Shut up! – 4.25/5
3. Nope – Vastly superior to Us, Nope manages to broaden writer/director Jordan Peele‘s abilities and skills as a storyteller, at once adhering to — and subversing — the alien invasion trope. His use (or lack) of sound in key scenes shows the importance of sound design, and how sometimes hearing is scarier than seeing. I’ll never listen to “Sunglasses At Night” the same ever again. – 4.25/5
4. The Batman – The only superhero comic-based movie I willingly paid to see in a theater more than once. Matt Reeves somehow makes Batman more interesting than many of his recent iterations, and creates a Gotham that is at once frighteningly real, and a character in and of itself. Robert Pattinson — this generation’s second most interesting actor — knocks it farther out the park than I thought he could. And finally, Michael Giacchino brings back something these movies have been sorely missing: an amazing, thematic, epic, memorable score. – 4/5
5. Barbarian – I almost didn’t put this down here, but the more I think of it, the more I love it. A movie that is purely made for an audience viewing, where the reactions of fellow filmgoers actually builds the tension up more than a home viewing can ever do. A movie that goes in so many directions, you need a map. – 3.75/5
Honorable Mentions: Black Panther Wakanda Forever; RRR, The Northman, The Innocents, Glass Onion, X, Crimes Of The Future, Hatching, Bodies Bodies Bodies, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Turning Red.
-J.L. Caraballo
@evilbutters
1. Possessor – “Takes a simple hitman concept and adds a sci-fi body horror twist to it. The film is an unraveling of the mind that vigorously rips its on-screen characters from reality layer by layer. Brandon Cronenberg has created a vividly surreal horror film that titillates as often as it terrifies.” – 5/5
Full review: https://boundingintocomics.com/2020/10/02/possessor-review-a-worm-in-the-brain/
2. Soul – “Has meaning and purpose in its message. It leaves the viewer contemplating their own life, what their beliefs are, and what in their life is equivalent to jazz for Joe. Soul is an inspirational, laugh out loud funny, and purely joyous piece of entertainment for all ages that spans beyond our existential plane.
It’s the rare type of meaningful and heartfelt film, animated or otherwise, that sparks creativity and emotion in its audience that leaves audiences feeling more alive than before they watched the film.” – 4.5/5
Full review: https://boundingintocomics.com/2020/12/21/soul-review-the-art-of-jazzing-through-life/
3. The Wolf of Snow Hollow – The combination of comedy and horror is nothing new, but it doesn’t always work. Jim Cummings makes those two aspects gel so well that you kind of forget about people being mauled to death in the snow by a werewolf. This film has my favorite scene from any film in 2020 and it lasts all of three seconds.
After the werewolf rips off a female snowboarder’s arm, she attempts to crawl away while screaming in agony. The beast nearly stands up from a crouching position. It’s a wide angle shot, there’s the contrast of dark red blood with the bright white of the snow on the ground, and snow falls from the night sky as if it’s slowly crumbling away because this gruesome beast is so imposing. The Wolf of Snow Hollow is bloody, hilarious, mysterious, and it features the last performance of Robert Forster before his passing. – 4/5
Honorable Mentions: A Sun, World of Tomorrow Episode Three: The Absent Destinations of David Prime, Promising Young Woman, Minari, Freaky, Wolfwalkers, The Painter and the Thief.
-Chris Sawin
@probex
If you ever hear anyone complain that “movies aren’t what they used to be” or that “only comic book movies dominate the theaters”, kindly tell them to shut up. While 2022 might have been, hopefully, the last year in the “shitty-year” trilogy, the movies we received this past year have been fantastic.
5. Nope – After I walked out of Nope, the first thing I thought was this was Alien mixed with Jaws and I mean that in the best possible way. Jordan Peele knows horror and he knows suspense. He knows when to have the audience let their guard down and once again, he knows how to cast. Having Daniel Kaluuya and Keke Palmer as siblings trying to survive was as fantastic as their acting in this film. – 4.25/5
4: Top Gun: Maverick – If you had told me that the sequel to Top Gun was not only going to be amazing but also just slightly better than the original, I would have laughed in your face and walked away. But if the Mission: Impossible franchise taught us anything, it’s that you don’t bet against Tom Cruise. – 4.5/5
3. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent – This movie is just Nic Cage being as Nic Cage as humanly possible and oh what a sight it was to behold. He was the perfect person to make this film and honestly, I can’t think of a better pairing than him and Pedro Pascal and the loveable yet aloof drug dealer who just wanted to be loved. This actually had one of the best lines I’ve ever heard come from Cage’s mouth (and he’s had a few). “Well, I never viewed it as a career, only as work. And what’s wrong with that? I mean, in any other job, hard work is something to be hold…. Hello? It’s my job. I pay my bills. I feed my family. You’re annoying.” – 4.5/5
2. The Menu – Who would have thought that two writers from The Onion and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver were going to make a movie that kept you guessing the whole way through? The Menu is part adult Willy Wonka, part vengeance, and 100% satisfying from beginning to end. Ralph Finnes and Anna-Taylor Joy are amazing as they spar against one another in a cat and mouse that lets you savior it until the last scene fades to black. – 4.75/5
1. Everything Everywhere All At Once – There were two movies this year that dealt with the multiverse. One left you awe-inspired, and teary-eyed, making you re-evaluate your life and the other was Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. That isn’t to say that Marvel has lost its touch, but EEAAO is so moving with backs up its amazing fight scenes and spectacular writing with a phenomenal story. And yes, the story isn’t new, but it feels different. While the cast was superb, Michelle Yeoh deserves an Oscar for this one. – 5/5
Honorable mentions: Bullet Train, Wakanda Forever, X, Prey, Glass Onion, Vengeance, The Batman, Smile, Barbarian, Confess Fletch, Black Phone.