Welcome to one of the recent Best Movies of 2022 lists. And while other lists try to give you a full picture in 10 movies, or maybe a specific genre, here at Heat Vision we try to tackle the best genres we love, from comic book adaptations to horror to fantasy. And we love the animation medium. The only Tár you’ll find here is talk of how smart and interesting the sTar Wars series Andor is, and the only Banshees from Inisherin we want to see is X-Men hero Sean Cassidy, who flies to save Jenny the donkey.
Jokes aside, 2022 has been a pretty good film year for most genres we love. However, the great, the comic book film space, met a rough patch. At times, seeing them became a chore, and we sincerely hope that next year will change.
Horror had a terrific year, both in terms of box office hits and quality. These movies proved to be scary. In many cases, they have stimulated thought and tapped into our fears.
And hopefully animation can continue to convince people that it’s not just a genre, but a versatile canvas to tell stories big and small. In a year where heavyweights stumbled at least twice, other works delighted and even opened our eyes with the blazing return of stop-motion animation.
Let’s strike.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Everett
10. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
There has never been a film like this: a film dedicated to the legacy and memory of a man and character, in this case Chadwick Boseman and his Marvel heroes, forever intertwined. Ryan Coogler has accomplished the impossible with a film that pays a fitting tribute to the man, giving thoughtful reflections on grief and legacy while giving viewers soap opera and mighty Marvel-style action. Angela Bassett delivers an award-winning performance as Wakanda’s queen and mother who has almost lost everything, while Tenoch Huerta makes waves as the complicated villain Namor.
Loot Courtesy of David Bukach/20th Century Studios
9. Booty
Let’s face it, your eyes probably glazed over when you heard that another Predator movie is on the way. Another lame entry in a lame franchise that’s wore out over time. But in the hands of director Dan Trachtenberg, who made the awesome slow-burn thriller 10 Cloverfield Lane and co-wrote the screenplay with Patrick Aison, Prey isn’t just a great Predator movie – the hunt that delivers kills – it finds also prominence in a story about a Comanche woman (Amber Midthunder) trying to prove herself in a world of men while seeing her world forced to come to terms with the brutality of invading colonialism. Rather than reinventing the franchise, Prey shows how underdeveloped and unused it has been over the years. As the cool kids say, kill.
The Black Telephone Universal Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
8. The Black Telephone
The kind of film you could always catch at the mall’s cineplex in the 1980s, Scott Derrickson took on this adaptation of a short story by Joe Hill after leaving Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. good call The horror piece allows Derrickson to delve into his oppressed childhood in Denver to show a very rough time in the lives of a brother and sister. The filmmaker draws on the bag of tricks he’s amassed over a decade and a half of making horror thrillers of all kinds. The film has suspense and tone, a zany villain (Ethan Hawke who hides under a mask most of the time) and a great cast of child actors (the winning combination of Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw).
RRR Courtesy of Variance Films
7.RRR
Holy cow, what did we just see? Part superhero film, part Bollywood musical, part historical epic, this was the best action film of the year, without exception. Filmmaker SS Rajamouli took two real-life Indian personalities from the 20th century and combined them in a tale of friendship, betrayal and trust as they eventually team up to take on Britain’s Raj. The film is spectacularly operatic and over-the-top, with mythical action sequences where characters are armies of one, fights are Jack Kirby-esque canings, and a dance-off that’s your stand-up-and-cheer moment of the year.
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish DreamWorks Animation LLC
6. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
After several years detached in the seas of animation, DreamWorks Animation made a triumphant comeback with a sequel to its hilarious and clever 2011 film Puss in Boots. But instead of telling us more about it, director Joel Crawford and co-director Januel Mercado tell us a story about a cat contemplating its mortality. Yes, good ol’ death and what happens to a cat who’s in the last of his nine lives. Oh, it’s not dreary at all – there’s plenty of grinning action, funny responses, cool switches in animated styles, clever takes on fairy tales and folklore. But there’s also real, gulp-inducing anxiety for our kitty and plenty to chew on what it all means: pure catnip.
Barbarian Courtesy of 20th Century Studios
5. Barbarian
A suspense-packed thrill ride from Zach Cregger, actor and co-founder of comedy troupe The Whitest Kids U Know, who opens a whole new act with this horror debut. What begins as an already strong and frightening premise – a woman (Georgina Campbell) finds herself double-booked in an Airbnb on a rainy night and reluctantly decides to stay, persuaded by the nice guy (Bill Skarsgard) who is already there – continues Bat-guano territory the deeper the characters and viewers delve into the house. Nothing is as it seems – seriously, try not to read about it before you see it – including the addition of Justin Long’s character, which takes the film in a whole different direction.
X Courtesy of A24
4.X
Ti West serves up a slasher film that packs the best of 1970s grindhouse vibes along with big ideas about fame, aging and the elusive nature of beauty. The story revolves around a group of young and beautiful people who head to a farmhouse to cash in on the growing porn boom that promises wealth and fame. However, the old couple from the farm is not quite what it seems and soon the body count begins to mount, from pitchfork to alligator. The film is pure thrill-packed set-ups and pay-offs, giggles and blood, with a hearty dose of sex. X is well cast: Jenna Ortega in Scream Queen mode is notable, but the real breakthrough is Mia Goth, who plays the heroine who forms a bond with the farmer’s older wife, and unrecognizable also plays the said farmer’s wife named Pearl.
Bonus: Also check out Pearl, West’s prequel to X, which is more of a Douglas Sirk Texas Homestead melodrama (featuring a body count and a musical number) than a ’70s slasher. The film is a fantastic showcase for goth, which delivers an award-worthy climax monologue (and has already earned her an Indie Spirit Awards nomination for Lead Actress).
Top Gun: Maverick Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
3. Top Gun: Maverick
The original Top Gun would never have been on such a list. It had no connection to the genre, and movies like Highlander and Little Shop of Horrors would have pulled it off. Heck, even The Boy Who Could Fly probably had more reason to be on a list like this. But times have certainly changed. Top Gun: Maverick is now its own outlier genre, a fantasy from another theatrical age, and Tom Cruise his own superhero category. Maverick is the closest thing to Cruise in a Star Wars movie, and what is Maverick if not the Death Star attack times three, with sweaty, teeth-gnashing, hand-wringing practice runs and then really great final mission, even featuring a Han Solo/Millennium Falcon of his own -Moment.
The Batman courtesy of Warner Bros.
2. The Batman
The Superhero Movie of the Year. Matt Reeves’ epic and operatic opus was part seven, part Saw, part French Connection and gave us a Batman that was really moody and dark. I have a feeling this movie will be overlooked as it was released back in March which is an eternity in entertainment news cycles. But Reeves’ film-turned-emo freak show starring Robert Pattinson at the helm of an impeccable cast is so masterfully done. (If you want to see the range as well, check out Colin Farrell as a penguin here, then as a farmer in Banshees of Inisherin.) The film showcases the malleability of the Batman concept and its rogue gallery for all manner of exploration. And this score by Michael Giacchino? One of the best of the year.
Everything, everywhere at once Courtesy of A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
1. Everything everywhere at once
What is left to say about this film, the most original and insanely dizzying of the year? Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert combine multiverse, freaky action, parental love, romantic love, genres and media in a story that is both big and small and succeeds beyond imagination. Michelle Yeoh carries the film as the beleaguered owner of a laundromat under investigation by the IRS, but also breaks her husband’s heart and suffocates her daughter. Again, everyone shines, especially Stephanie Hsu as the multi-faceted daughter and Ke Huy Quan, the former child star who has made a glittering comeback to acting as the husband. The film is so bold that it keeps throwing ideas and concepts at you, asking you to keep up. But it’s also so lovable, with a beating heart that opens up and begs you to love it. how can you say no
Honorable Mentions: Avatar: The Way of Water, Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, Sea Beast