At the end of every year, I like to make a list of some of the movies, television and video games that moved me over the past 12 months (and sometimes music, but that’s so subjective that I’m not sure it’s useful). I don’t hold myself to a hard number, I just make a list (in order) of the stuff I loved. This year, it comes out to 17.
Let’s get going!
17. CONFESS, FLETCH (MOVIE)
I’ve never seen the original Fletch movies, nor read any of the books. I don’t think it’s an IP that many people have even heard of in 2022. But that did not deter Jon Hamm, Greg Mottola and their team from creating this warm, charming, erudite murder mystery. Every inch of this movie screams “passion project,” and that’s why I love it. It reminds me of “Nightmare Alley:” a film seemingly destined to bomb, to not fit in the current marketplace, and yet its creators insisted on it anyway. When you have clout, THIS is what you should use it for.
16. BLACK BIRD (MINISERIES)
A riveting true-crime series about a criminal going undercover in prison to try and extract a confession from a serial killer. All of that stuff is great, and bravo to Dennis Lehane and his team for carrying off that concept so well, all while sticking amazingly close to the true story. Paul Walter Hauser is bone-chilling as the villain, and the directing across the board is sharp. But the real MVP here is Taron Egerton. What the hell can this guy not do? He’s not THAT many years removed from blowing me away with his take on Elton John, and now he pivots to a blue-collar, Midwestern American tough guy without missing a beat. The mark of great range is when an actor can play two completely different types, and do both so well that either feels like their center. Hugh Jackman personified that. Now Taron does.
15. THE BATMAN (MOVIE)
If you know me, you know this is a pretty low rank for a new Batman movie. I wanna be clear: I loved “The Batman.” Pattinson nailed it, the new suit is fantastic, Zoe Kravitz is awesome, Matt Reeves’ writing and direction is generally sharp. And hey! Somebody finally figured out how to stage a great Batman fistfight. Compared to what we’ve endured from Zack Snyder, we’re in an amazing place here, and I’m excited for the next one…
…BUT…
…It’s not a perfect film. The last act feels like it’s from a different movie, and goes CG-heavy in unflattering ways. Paul Dano’s Riddler lands with a bit of a thud. The central mystery is underwhelming. There are some nagging logic issues, especially the big car chase, which–if you think about it–is one of the most poorly motivated action scenes ever filmed. At one point, Bruce Wayne rips his living room apart all so he can spray paint a bunch of crap on the floor that helps him solve the case in zero ways. There’s a lot of moments like that in “The Batman,” where something looks cool but is a little… false.
But the bigger issue is that “The Batman,” for all its bold swings, is still a bit in Christopher Nolan’s shadow. Nolan went for dark and grounded. Reeves is going for “uh… darker and grounded…er.” It can’t help but feel like someone just turning all the same dials up to 11. A lot of lines about “this city is rotting” and “crooked cops” feel literally copy-pasted from “The Dark Knight” trilogy, which executed those concepts with a bravura grandeur that is missing here (although FWIW, I think Matt had a smaller budget than Chris did).
In fairness, Nolan’s “grounded” and Reeves’ “grounded” ARE different. I’ve never seen a Batman who rides around on a motorcycle dressed like a hobo, with the Batsuit in his backpack. I’ve never had voiceover Batman in a movie (and I like it!) But if Reeves wants to emerge from Daddy Nolan’s shadow, he’s gonna need to stake out more of his own ground. I’m confident he can, and excited for the next one.
14. BARBARIAN (MOVIE)
I have a rule about plot holes: if I didn’t notice while I was watching, then it doesn’t matter. “Barbarian” is a horror movie where you could argue the logic, especially towards the climax, doesn’t hold. But while it was running, I was so busy laughing or balling up in my seat that I didn’t notice. This thing is a ride. It’s constructed like a roller coaster, with hills, drops and turns placed perfectly to maximize impact. Too many filmmakers get caught up in the big picture, the themes, the motifs, and forget to laser-focus on the beats of the story. It’s telling that writer-director Zach Cregger comes from comedy, because comedy teaches that discipline: give the audience something they want, all the time, or shut up.
This is also the rare horror-comedy that is both funny AND scary, with neither being diminished. I’ve never seen anybody not named “Raimi” balance those two elements better.
13. ROLLERDROME (VIDEO GAME)
“Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater with guns.” I don’t really know what else to say there.
12. TOKYO VICE (SERIES)
The highest praise I can give this show is that it made me feel like I’d been to Tokyo. The sense of place they achieve is astonishing. There are three central characters, and all of them are equally compelling; you never groan when it cuts to any of them. And while there are sexy crime and corruption elements to the story, it’s the little details, the cultural grace notes, the immersion in another world (for me, at least), that kept me coming back. I’m eagerly awaiting season two.
11. SLOW HORSES (SERIES)
I don’t know HOW they sold this show. The tone is almost impossible to convey. It’s a spy thriller with a strong comedic bent, but it is NOT a comedy. It’s too dire to be quirky like “Sherlock.” It’s not meta, there’s no Guy Ritchie or Quentin Tarantino here. But it’s also got too much of a macabre grin on its face to be “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” Whatever it is, it’s an absolute delight to watch. I love shows that flatter your intelligence and don’t slow down for you. Jack Lowden–who I thought jumped off the screen in “Dunkirk”–is awesome here. Gary Oldman and Kristen Scott Thomas look like they’re having more fun than they’ve had in years. I really have to commend the writing team behind this one, too, seemingly led by Will Smith (not that one) and Morwenna Banks. One of the smartest shows I’ve watched in some time. The British really do know how to do television.
10. REDOUT 2 (VIDEO GAME)
Truly one of the most brilliant racers I’ve ever played, “Redout 2” takes the “F-Zero” future-racing genre and throttles it. The first “Redout” was good, but this one is better, bugs aside (and it has a few). It’s gorgeous looking, the controls are razor-sharp, and the speed is almost nausea-inducing. The game balances on a simple but brilliant conceit: engine overheating. Push too hard, your ship blows up and it’s game over; don’t push enough, you’re gonna come in last. Every race forces you to ride the edge of disaster to achieve victory. And a suite of wonderful AI-assist tools help you sculpt the experience you want to have. It’s not perfect, and the enemy AI definitely needs more tuning. But I love it.
9. CULT OF THE LAMB (VIDEO GAME)
I love games that turn you into a bad person. I don’t mean “Grand Theft Auto,” which forces you to be a bad person; there’s no art in that. What “Cult of the Lamb” does is coax out the ruthless pragmatist hiding inside of you. When the game starts, you’re an adorable woodland creature, tasked with shepherding a small flock of cult followers who worship the ground you walk on. “I’ll be nice!” you say to yourself, “I’ll take care of them!” But slowly, through a masterful blend of resource management and dungeon crawling, the game convinces you to dip your toes into bad behavior. Maybe you sacrifice one follower because you just were so close to beating that boss. But it’ll just be that one time! One time turns into two times. Then before you know it, you’re marrying all your followers so you can get a the “Sacrifice Your Spouse” HP boost when you murder them. You’re imprisoning dissenters and “re-educating” them. You’re killing old people so their bodies don’t drop and decompose and become a nuisance for you later. You’ve become a monster.
Mind you, it’s all in good fun. The game’s setting is a very deliberate choice, a message that this shouldn’t be taken seriously or confused with an endorsement of real cults. The point of the game is that power corrupts, and rather than just lecture you to that effect, “Cult of the Lamb” proves it by corrupting you. It’s an astonishing, hilarious, horrifying little masterpiece.
8. KILLER SALLY (DOCUSERIES)
I love a great docuseries, and “Killer Sally” is as good as they get. An evenhanded, clear-eyed analysis of misogyny, sports subculture, abusive relationships, and the shortcomings of our criminal justice system, “Sally” paints a tragedy with uncommon pathos. Director Nanette Burstein and her team of editors keep a crisp pace, balancing the lean-forward “what happens next” thrills with deep, probing analysis of real human beings. There’s no easy answers, no unblemished heroes or cartoon villains. Just people doing evil to each other, because of evil that was done to them. More than anything, “Killer Sally” is about the cyclical nature of evil, and how hard it is to break free once you’re trapped inside.
7. GLASS ONION (MOVIE)
Man was I nervous about this one. I’ve said many times that I think “Knives Out” is basically perfect, so much so that it’s almost unnerving, like drawing a perfect circle freehand. I desperately wanted another Benoit Blanc mystery, but I also feared whether it was possible to live up to the bar that had been set. Fortunately, I had nothing to worry about. Rian Johnson’s second foray into murder mystery isn’t quite the masterpiece that its older brother is, but it’s more than worthy as a successor, and a great story in its own right. What amazes me most is how even though it borrows so much of the same structure and themes from “Knives Out,” “Glass Onion” has an identity all its own.
Granted, I have some nitpicks. The humor is broader this time, which mostly works, but sometimes doesn’t. The logic isn’t quite as airtight as “Knives Out,” and at least one time relies on a movie contrivance that’s frankly beneath the quality bar here. And the characters don’t all get the same dimension that the ensemble had in “Knives Out;” some feel like cartoons, some feel flat-out underthought, like their plotline got cut in the editing room and the hole is noticeable.
BUT, Rian has nailed the big things again: a great mystery, a great ensemble, lots of humor and surprises, and a satisfying resolution that means something. Edward Norton and Kate Hudson steal the show. And Daniel Craig is even sharper as Benoit Blanc his second time around. I hope we keep getting these movies for decades.
6. THE FABELMANS (MOVIE)
Of all the genres I don’t like, “coming of age” stories is very near the top. I’m a fan of tight, purposeful plotting, and you do not tend to get that from these stories. I think they attract hacks, people who don’t want to do the hard work of a good story structure, and I can’t stand how “protagonist gets a little older” is treated like an interesting narrative development.
So of course, the maestro himself, Steven Spielberg, has to come along and hit one out of the park. This is a great, great movie. Heartbreaking, funny, captivating. Part of what makes it work is that the script–by Spielberg and Tony Kushner–doesn’t settle for the old “to everything turn turn turn” cliches, there’s real STUFF happening here: narrative tension, stakes, energy. When I walked into the theater, I thought Steve just wanted to reminisce about how he first picked up a camera, maybe indulge in a little hagiography, and I was bored by the idea. But I was dead wrong. This movie is an exorcism, and a painful one, and it couldn’t care less about who its protagonist would later become (I won’t spoil the details, because they should be experienced raw).
The whole cast is fantastic, including Paul Dano, who I usually don’t like. I’m also a little freaked out by how much Gabrielle LaBelle LOOKS like Steven Spielberg.
Also, it has one of the greatest final scenes I’ve ever watched, punctuated by the BEST final camera move I’ve ever seen in a movie, period. What an achievement.
5. PENTIMENT (VIDEO GAME)
I spoke earlier of my love of passion projects. “Pentiment” may be the ULTIMATE passion project, and I’m so grateful that someone found the courage to release it. The gimmick that gets you in the door is, “Oh neat, a game that looks like a Renaissance painting.” But once you’re in, it hooks you with great characters, fascinating period detail, and a haunting murder mystery that actually makes you FEEL like a detective hot on the trail. The game tasks you with solving a crime, gives you a bunch of suspects, and warns you that you won’t have enough time to pursue every lead. I was sweating BULLETS when I named my suspects. I never felt good about it, no matter how certain I was. I’ve long felt that detective games were basically impossible to pull off right, but “Pentiment” gets very close.
4. TOP GUN: MAVERICK (MOVIE)
If you didn’t like this movie, I don’t like you.
Okay, that’s extreme. I’m sorry, I just… “Top Gun: Maverick” is a testament to the enduring power of movies. I know a lot of people think movies are a dead art form. But show me a TikTok or an Instagram reel that can compete with real actors in REAL fighter jets, going mach whatever, pulling massive Gs, all captured on IMAX. This is maximalist, four quadrant entertainment at its absolute best. I wish the industry would look at what Tom Cruise is doing and LEARN from it. I wish they’d throw away the excessive green screens, the fake cartoony VFX (or go the James Cameron route and pay them enough to actually DO THE JOB RIGHT), and start bringing real spectacle, real stunt-work, back to cinemas.
I am so grateful for Tom Cruise. He is competing with one of the largest companies on Earth, with nothing more than a few trusted collaborators around him, and he’s holding his own. He’s transformed himself from just another leading man to a torch-bearer for the kinds of movies I love. It’s not an accident that he has knocked out THREE movies I consider classics in the last decade. He’s found a lane that only he can occupy, and his work is filled with the urgency and gratitude of a man who knows what he’s doing matters.
3. NOPE (MOVIE)
My favorite movie of 2022, and (in my opinion) Jordan Peele’s best work. “Get Out” had a brilliant idea, but faltered with some set pieces, with moment-to-moment fear. “Us” was far scarier, but played too loose with logic. “Nope” is where it all comes together.
It has some flaws, some scenes that drag, some beats that miss. But loving a movie isn’t about tallying up its flaws and strengths, it’s an emotional reaction. And I am just so head over heels in love with this thing, with its wild ambition, its creativity, its sheer audacity. Jordan brought me a truly new experience, he made me as scared of a clear blue sky as Spielberg did of the open ocean. I also love the movie’s restraint. The logic behind the story is airtight, but little of it is explained, you have to piece it together from the clues given, which makes you an active participant. Each viewing, you get a new detail you missed. Watching “Nope” is like if David Lynch directed “Jaws.”
And best of all, it’s scary. I think this is the most terrifying UFO/alien I’ve ever seen in a movie. I also have to call out Steven Yeun’s performance as Ricky Park, one of the most layered and tragic roles I’ve seen in some time. If Hollywood were a meritocracy, Jordan and Steven would both get Oscars for that character alone.
2. INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (SERIES)
By FAR the best TV show I watched in 2022. Actually, it was the best story I saw on any screen, anywhere. It’s not even close. A masterpiece. A stunning, gob-smacking, perfectly written, perfectly acted, perfectly directed masterpiece. I am at a complete loss.
It’s hard to explain what’s good about something when the answer is “EVERYTHING.” The set design, costumes, the direction, the editing, it’s all masterful. But I’ll highlight the writing. This is very far from a straight adaptation of the book, the writers had to craft a LOT of new material here, and they nailed it. So much is new here that I don’t see it as an adaptation of Anne Rice’s work at all, but it very much honors the spirit of her work. At its heart, this is a story about an abusive relationship, but told from inside the relationship. It’s not a bland finger-wagging, it makes you feel and understand how people get sucked into these cycles, and why it’s so hard to get out. But of course, it’s also a scary vampire horror flick, with all the spectacular genre trappings you could hope for. A vampire showdown late in the season is one of the most frightening things I’ve ever watched. Most fight scenes get the adrenaline pumping, but this one made me feel like a terrified child, hiding and begging for it to be over.
And the acting. Holy hell. Jacob Anderson is forcefully great in the lead, a complex role that requires a lot of dimension. I can’t imagine anyone doing it better. But Sam Reid as Lestat? Greatest performance I’ve seen on television in years. It reminds me of how Mads Mikkelsen took Hannibal Lecter from an actor you never thought could be surpassed, and surpassed him. But Sam’s achievement is even greater. The show only works if you simultaneously love, hate and fear him at all times, and folks, the show works. I’m comfortable enough with myself to tell you that I caught myself thinking, “DAMN this guy is seductive–Wait, what?”
The show was renewed for a second season before it even aired (not entirely unheard of), which I’m guessing is because they, I don’t know, watched it. I’d renew this for five seasons if I had the power. And if someone asked me how I thought it was going to perform in the market, I’d answer, “Who cares?”
1. ELDEN RING (VIDEO GAME)
I love being wrong.
At the start of 2022, I’d have told you I didn’t like FROM Software games: fantasy RPGs famous for their brutal difficulty and inscrutable, densely layered mythologies. I picked up “Elden Ring” on a lark, fully expecting to play it for a while, then put it down, as I had with “Bloodborne” years earlier. But oh well, I decided to try again. 100 hours later, I put the controller down and concluded that was one of the best games I’d ever played. Then I bought every single FROM game I could find, and spent the rest of the year marching like a madman through all of them, too. “Demon’s Souls.” “Dark Souls.” “Dark Souls 2.” “Dark Souls 3.” “Bloodborne.” I had a 6 month fever where I couldn’t play anything else, couldn’t even think about anything else. I see now, with religious clarity, why these games have inspired such fanatical devotion for so long. They are special. They are different. The experience they offer you is not comparable to anything else, and can’t be described in relation to anything else. These are masterpieces, and “Elden Ring” is the first among them.
My mistake was believing that the appeal of “Elden Ring”–and the other “Soulsbornes” as they are known–was just that they were really really hard, and their fans were just gluttons for punishment. Incorrect. Soulsbornes are fiendishly difficult, but not in the way I expected. They don’t test you on your reflexes, or how fast you can press a button, or how long of a combo you can memorize. The solution to any fight, or any obstacle, is always simple. The question is, can you learn, and can you control your emotions? That’s the gameplay loop of “Elden Ring:” the game hands you something that, at first glance, seems unreasonable. Impossible. Somehow, you soldier on, and eventually, a path starts to reveal itself. Maybe you change your build, get a new weapon, or maybe you just try and try until the fight is like a dance you have memorized. But whatever you choose, you have to find a way. The tools are laid out for you, but no obvious “right” path exists. Victory is victory. Find it in yourself.
I know it sounds stupid talking in those terms about a video game, but that really is how “Elden Ring” makes you feel. You don’t have to look far to find stories about “Dark Souls” literally “saving” people, helping them through depression, helping them overcome struggles in their lives. These are not hyperbolic. Soulsbornes have a power that I’ve never before encountered in any game, and I’ve been playing games my whole life. Good video games teach you things about yourself, and FROM games teach you that you can do things you don’t think you can. It’s a beautiful, powerful, unbelievably addicting feeling.
What makes “Elden Ring” the supreme achievement among them is how it retains that hard edge, while also introducing the best open-world design I’ve ever played. There are no quest markers, no map littered with obnoxious icons. Just a big, beautiful world to get out in, full of surprises and astonishment. “Elden Ring” also finds ingenious ways to soften the difficulty curve, not in a menu option, but within the gameplay loop. Power-leveling, co-op, AI assists, there are so many tools you can use to shape the experience you want to have. Or, you can refuse them all, and face everything alone (I’ve done both). “Elden Ring” was clearly designed as a gateway drug, and it hooked me good. I was transformed from a skeptic to a fanatic. I went from standing outside something to being at the center of it.
I love being wrong.
… Also I solo-ed Malenia get on my level.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER–I enjoyed it, the VFX are a revelation, I’m rooting for its continued success. But if it goes on a list, it needs to be my 2023 one. I haven’t had time to process it fully yet. It might fade out of my mind, or it might get stuck there and become a classic. I don’t wanna call it yet.
SMILE–I’m happy that “Smile” is doing so well, but for personal reasons, I can’t and won’t see it. The short version is I have a project that is superficially similar to “Smile,” and “Smile” existing could make it harder for my movie to get made. I wish them Godspeed, but until I’m in production, it just hurts too much to watch it.
SEVERANCE–A good show. I don’t know why I don’t like it as much as other people.
SCREAM–A really really well done sequel/reboot. They should be proud.
DEATH ON THE NILE–Why does everyone hate this movie? It’s good!
THE NORTHMAN–One of the weirdest damn things I’ve ever seen, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.
HELLRAISER–A really really great reboot until it kinda craps its pants in the third act, before pulling up out of the nosedive for a great ending.
MIDNIGHT CLUB–Enjoyable, but I’m not shocked it wasn’t renewed. It lacked the scares, and the “story in a story” device dragged the pace hard.
HOUSE OF THE DRAGON–NO ONE was less excited for this show than me, and yet I gotta hand it to them, they’re telling a restrained, interesting, character-focused story.
NEON WHITE–A genius game that I suck too much at to enjoy.
SIGNALIS–An amazing retro-update of the survival horror genre.