Our 2022 Annual Report continues with our Top 25 Films list. As the year winds down, stay tuned for more awards, lists, and articles about the best music, film, and TV of 2022. You can find it all in one place here.
2022 might be remembered best as the first year in recent memory that people felt safe going back to the movies, and while the movies that succeeded at the box office were limited, there were still enough high points to make a person feel at least tentatively optimistic about the big screen’s odds of survival — at least for a few more years.
Moreover, the movies we did see and love, whether at home on a streaming service or in a multiplex, were packed with imagination and vision. There were wholly original tales of parallel universes, inspired riffs on franchise properties, deeply personal stories of love and family, and a little shell with shoes on. There were movie stars wielding the full might of their charisma on screen, and newcomers who blew us away.
The future may be an uncertain one for the industry, as the business evolves around new distribution platforms and studio acquisitions shake out. But it was as hard to narrow down this list of 2022’s best films as it’s been in any year — maybe even more so. And for any movie lover, that is the best kind of problem to have.
— Liz Shannon Miller
Senior Entertainment Editor
25. Fire Island
Fire Island (Searchlight Pictures)
Directed by: Andrew Ahn
Written by: Joel Kim Booster
Cast: Joel Kim Booster, Bowen Yang, Conrad Ricamora, James Scully, Margaret Cho
Thanks to both writer/star Joel Kim Booster’s inspired script and Andrew Ahn’s artful direction, Fire Island in part proved, once again, that Jane Austen knew what she was doing when crafting a story. But the ways that Pride and Prejudice influence this story of gay men doing their best to find love in these complicated modern times shows the filmmakers’ talent more than stacks up. The central romance between Noah (Booster) and his Darcy equivalent (Conrad Ricamora) has both heat and sweetness to it, and the way that Regency-era class issues translate into the modern-day gay scene works exceptionally well. — L.S.M.
24. Bodies Bodies Bodies
Bodies Bodies Bodies (A24)
Directed by: Halina Reijn
Written by: Sarah DeLappe
Cast: Amandla Stenberg, Maria Bakalova, Myha’la Herrold, Chase Sui Wonders, Rachel Sennott, Lee Pace, Pete Davidson
No spoilers, but a good rubric for gauging the perfect “horror” movie is having a lot of men die. Throw in some campy fun, a satirical evisceration of an entire generation of spoiled rich kids, Pete Davidson starring as himself, a slumber party set in a luxurious mansion, and all of a sudden, a whole lot of blood — what could possibly go wrong? That’s Bodies Bodies Bodies for you. — Cady Siregar
23. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Disney)
Directed by: Ryan Coogler
Written by: Ryan Coogler, Joe Robert Cole
Cast: Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Winston Duke, Florence Kasumba, Dominique Thorne, Michaela Coel, Tenoch Huerta Mejía, Martin Freeman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Angela Bassett
While Marvel movies tend to carry a lot of baggage given their interconnected nature, none have been heavier than creating a Black Panther follow-up without King Chadwick Boseman. Filmmaker Ryan Coogler and his stellar cast not only pull off a worthy tribute to the late actor, but turn it into a compelling story of grief. Even under all that weight, they also manage to introduce one of the most compelling MCU adversaries in years with Tenoch Huerta’s Namor. There are more than a few award-worthy performances here, which could well set up Wakanda Forever to follow the original into the Oscar-nominated echelon. — Ben Kaye
22. Jackass Forever
Jackass Forever (Paramount Pictures)
Directed by: Jeff Tremaine
Cast: Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O, Chris Pontius, Dave England, Wee Man, Danger Ehren, Preston Lacy
Here we are in 2022 praising a Jackass movie. Is this the world we expected? Of course not, but it’s the one we’ve got, and in this reality, Jackass still has value. And no, it’s not just the original viral video artists showing the newbies how it’s done — it’s the joy they find in it. Through all the broken ribs you can see a massive amount of heart, which keeps these homemade stunt people so oddly endearing. — B. Kaye
21. The Woman King
The Woman King (Sony Pictures)
Directed by: Gina Prince-Bythewood
Written by: Dana Stevens, story by Maria Bello and Dana Stevens
Cast: Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, John Boyega
The Woman King captivated audiences with its bombastic action and brilliant acting by Viola Davis. Following the trials of a group of all-female African warriors fighting against a foreign enemy of their kingdom of Dahomey, many have made comparisons between this movie and Zach Snyder’s 300. Despite the original history of this time being mainly told from a colonizer’s perspective, Gina Prince-Bythewood managed to switch that perspective around, while also delivering an edge of realism and grittiness to some of the year’s very best action scenes. — Caitlyn Taylor
20. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Marcel the Shell With Shoes On (A24)
Directed by: Dean Fleischer Camp
Written by: Dean Fleischer Camp, Jenny Slate, Nick Paley
Cast: Jenny Slate, Rosa Salazar, Thomas Mann, Dean Fleischer Camp, Lesley Stahl, Isabella Rossellini
This movie is more than a charming big-screen adventure featuring Jenny Slate and Dean Fleisher Camp’s adorable viral creation. It’s a balm for anyone whose heart has gotten a little bit broken by life, whether it be the grief of losing a loved one, or the reminder that the world is a much bigger and more complicated place than we can ever really know. Also, Lesley Stahl stans unite! — L.S.M.
19. After Yang
After Yang (A24)
Directed by: Kogonada
Written by: Kogonada
Cast: Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Justin H. Min, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, Haley Lu Richardson
After a burst of dopamine in the form of the year’s wildest opening credits sequence, Colin Farrell delivers his best performance of the year as a loving father who just wants to fix the family robot. Of course, Yang (brilliantly played by Justin H. Min) is far more than just a robot, as director Kogonada’s story of family and grief eventually reveals. — L.S.M.
18. Decision to Leave
Decision to Leave (MUBI)
Directed by: Park Chan-wook
Written by: Jeong Seo-kyeong, Park Chan-wook
Cast: Tang Wei, Park Hae-il
Park Chan Wook’s twisty 2022 mystery never quite goes the way the viewer might expect, which only adds to the unsettling fun. Decision to Leave is centered on two characters who provide a new definition for romantic obsession, circling one another through multiple seasons of life in a thoroughly engaging game of cat and mouse. Never before has ice cream for dinner felt so intimate. — Mary Siroky
17. Pearl
Pearl (A24)
Directed by: Ti West
Written by: Ti West, Mia Goth
Cast: Mia Goth, David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland, Emma Jenkins-Purro, Alistair Sewell
Audiences were unnerved and thrilled by A24’s latest gut-wrenching slasher film, as Pearl is the perfect follow-up to Ti West’s ’70s-set X. Giving audiences a twisted look into the descent of a young woman desperate to escape from an oppressive lifestyle in the 1900s American countryside, Pearl creates sympathy for a legitimately disturbing character while bringing even more context to the story of the movie that preceded it. — C.T.
16. Bones & All
Bones and All (MGM)
Directed by: Luca Guadagnino
Written by: David Kajganich, based on the book by Camille DeAngelis
Cast: Taylor Russell, Timothée Chalamet, Michael Stuhlbarg, André Holland, Chloë Sevigny, David Gordon Green, Jessica Harper, Jake Horowitz, Mark Rylance
Who knew cannibalism could be so romantic? Luca Guadagnino’s Bones and All is a story about young love, the very human urges for connection and closeness, and the feral nature of desire — all set against a classic Americana backdrop and a fantastic score by Atticus Ross and Trent Reznor (plus a little Joy Division thrown in for good measure). So what if you love someone so much that you just want to consume them — mind, body, and soul? We’re only human, after all. — C.S.
15. RRR
RRR (Variance Films)
Directed by: S. S. Rajamouli
Written by: S. S. Rajamouli
Cast: N. T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Ajay Devgn, Alia Bhatt, Shriya Saran, Samuthirakani, Ray Stevenson, Alison Doody, Olivia Morris
The natural reaction to watching RRR for the first time is just a never-ending stream of “Oh my god!” — an international phenomenon for a reason. The epic-length historical drama (with a loose definition of the concept of historical) might have complicated political themes, but it’s also a cinematic feat packed with mind-blowing sequences of action and drama and yes, even a little dancing. At three hours and seven minutes, it’s the longest film on this list. But there’s not a single dull second. — L.S.M.
14. The Banshees of Inisherin
The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures)
Directed by: Martin McDonagh
Written by: Martin McDonagh
Cast: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Kerry Condon, Barry Keoghan
Martin McDonagh’s latest is maybe his simplest and best, another acid-tongued tale of Irish folklore circling around the self-inflicted wounds of a fractured friendship. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson (McDonagh’s greatest muses, if this and In Bruges are any indicator) act circles around each other, the idyllic Irish countryside setting the stage for a bloody, drunken fable about whether it’s better to be remembered or to be nice. — Clint Worthington
13. Barbarian
Barbarian (20th Century Studios)
Directed by: Zach Cregger
Written by: Zach Cregger
Cast: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long
Any preconceived notions of Barbarian will inevitably be crushed, as Zach Cregger’s unpredictable horror venture doesn’t show its full hand until the credits roll. If you think you’ve had a bad Airbnb experience, Georgina Campbell and Bill Skarsgård might have you beat, as there are more guests at the rental homestay than they first imagined. Throw in a top-tier douchey performance from horror veteran Justin Long, and Barbarian provides a claustrophobic and filthy viewing of unexpected proportions. – Joe Eckstein
12. The Fabelmans
The Fabelmans (Universal)
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Written by: Steven Spielberg, Tony Kushner
Cast: Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Gabriel LaBelle, Judd Hirsch
What Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical film about the “Fabelman” family reveals is that Spielberg has really been making movies about his family this whole time. As seen through the eyes of Sammy Fabelman (played in his adolescent years by Gabriel LaBelle), mother Mitzi (Michelle Williams) is a bubbly, quirky, and sometimes moody artist, while father Burt (Paul Dano) means well but struggles to understand his son’s own artistic interests. Thanks to both a shocking revelation as well as the realities of getting older, The Fabelmans is all about what it’s like to discover that the people who made you are as flawed as anyone else. — L.S.M.
11. The Northman
The Northman (Focus Features)
Directed by: Robert Eggers
Written by: Sjón, Robert Eggers
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Anya Taylor-Joy, Gustav Lindh, Ethan Hawke, Björk, Willem Dafoe
Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse) wielded his largest budget to date with this blood-soaked Viking-era tale that will feel familiar to anyone who knows Hamlet — except that instead of monologuing like the aforementioned mopey Dane, Amleth (Alexander Skarsgard, ripped) goes on an epic revenge quest that culminates in naked combat inside a freaking volcano. A movie thrumming with electricity from its opening moments, The Northman is epic cinema, a reminder of what movies can do that other forms of storytelling just can’t. — L.S.M.
