My 2022 Movie-Going Experience
Get ready to see my very "serious" explanation of my favorite movies.
I have always loved watching movies, preferably in the movie theater, and I was lucky enough to marry someone who also loves going to the movies! Don’t believe me? Well, before we had kids, we would go to the movies EVERY weekend. There was one year in January/February where there weren’t any good new movies out so we saw The Italian Job five times (in the theater) just so we could go to the movies. (It is a really good movie!)
We used to also attend and host Academy Awards viewing parties. Ah, those were the days. Then we had kids…
We stopped hosting crazy movie parties, but we have definitely instilled a love of movies in our two precious little babies, who are now angsty teenagers. One of the first things we did when COVID quarantine restrictions were being lifted was give two hours to a movie theater that was open to watch Sonic. Which was the last movie we saw in the theater BEFORE the COVID quarantine.
Hopefully, I have established our love for going to the movies. However, just like with the books I read, we do tend to be particular about the movies we watch. Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Sci-Fi and some rom-com tend to be the genres that we stick with. My apologies if you were looking for a sophisticated list of movies.
I tried to put these in a semi accurate list of movies from my favorite to my least favorite. It was hard there around the middle and end of my list because there wasn’t any movies that I absolutely hated, but there were definitely movies that I absolutely loved.
So, here is my 2022 Movie Year-in-Review:
The Menu
My absolute favorite movie of the year. Greg and I went to a dine-in movie theater, and I was so engrossed in the movie that I didn’t eat. When the movie was over my food was cold, and I was in a movie hangover. This is just such a different, engaging and weird movie. I haven’t seen anything like it. And it was about food in a strange way, but still. Ralph Fiennes (AKA Voldemort) stars as the chef of a very, very exclusive restaurant - $1200 will get you a seat, but be careful if you make the guest list. It was just a strange movie that completely transfixed me.
Noelle (Disney+)
Not a 2022 movie, but I saw it for the first time this year. And I loved the cutesy little holiday movie. Anna Kendrick is always a favorite, and having the movie partially take place in Scottsdale, added to the fun of it. Fantastic holiday movie.
Bullet Train
I love the movies that are Action/Thriller movies but have the comedic approach to them. Brad Pitt will always be a favorite of mine, and he doesn’t disappoint here. Five assassins stuck on a train together all seem to have it out for each other. Add in a deadly snake and some ridiculous suspension of disbelief scenarios and there should be no surprised that this was a really fun, although gory at times, movie.
Spirited
A Christmas musical with Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds? What’s not to love about it? I was surprised by a few of the more emotional scenes, but it added some depth to a movie that is overall a musical comedy based on Charles Dicken’s famous story. I loved this movie! You can watch it on Apple TV. We saw this as our Annual Thanksgiving Day movie, and the teenagers also really enjoyed it.
The Lost City
Probably the best comedy of the year. Brad Pitt’s cameo is hilarious, and Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum are a magical team. Their characters are over the top and ridiculous, but that’s part of the fun.
Violent Night
I actually had to tell my son to be quiet in all his reactions to the gory deaths in this one. This is definitely not your typical feel good holiday movie. The gore is over the top, but it allowed the movie to be more on the ridiculous, comedy side vs a thriller. The characters were extreme stereotypes: The social media teenager, the young girl who has an obsessing with Kevin from Home Alone, and well, then there is Santa.
Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore
Umm, it’s a Harry Potter movie. Clearly, I loved it. There is nothing more to say. Ok, maybe one thing. Grindelwald was always an interesting peripheral character in the books, someone who had a role in the past but not the present. I really enjoy watching this character become more fleshed out.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
I beautiful and tearful tribute to Chadwick Boseman’s life. Not sure that the actual plot was anything fantastic, but I did enjoy it.
Top Gun: Maverick
I’m pretty sure we saw this twice. The original Top Gun came out so long ago, that I was too young to really appreciate it, but that it not the case here. I really, really enjoyed this one. The backstory on the characters and their personal struggles added to the tension and magnitude of their mission. More than anything, I appreciated the amount of time that the characters were actually flying.
Uncharted
We are big fans of heist type movies, and this was pretty close to that. I enjoy the puzzles and clues and mysteries of trying to figure things out. If you didn’t know, it’s based on a video game. It was fun to see Tom Holland in a role other than Spiderman, and Mark Wahlberg is another one of my favorites.
Death on the Nile
I love Agatha Christie, and even though her Hercule Poirot books tend to be slightly formulaic, they are still really good. Similar to Murder on the Orient Express, this murder mystery takes place on a yacht on the Nile. The best part is trying to figure out exactly what is going on.
Avatar: The Way of Water
At 3 hours and 12 minutes, I think this movie was about an hour too long. The best part of this was experiencing the water clan and their way of life. I love the water, so I much preferred the water to the forest. In many ways, it was like the first movie reimagined, but no one can deny the beauty of the world. I enjoyed the character building of the kids as well, and I’m sure they will become even more important as this movie franchise continues.
Where the Crawdads Sing
Read the book and had a love/hate relationship with Kya. Saw the movie and was fine with it. I don’t think she was as dirty as she should have been for living in the marsh like she did. It felt her character was too put together, but I do appreciated that it keep close to the book. Greg, having never read the book, thought the movie was good.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
I really thought this was going to a really, really stupid movie. I’m not a huge fan of stupid funny, but it was surprising not as stupid as I thought it was going to be. There was a decent plot to it which matched the comedic aspects of the movie. I ended up liking it way more than I thought I would.
The Adam Project (Netflix)
Honestly, I don’t remember much about this one other than the time travel aspect of it, and Ryan Reynolds having to team up with his 12 year old self to save the future. This was a Greg recommendation, I do remember that! The only other thing I remember is that I thought it was pretty good. I think that since this was a watch-at-home movie that my attention span wasn’t as tuned in as it is in the theater.
Thor: Love and Thunder
This Thor movie was a little out there for me. I know that it was a comedy, but I struggled to become invested all the way; however, it’s Thor and that’s all I need to go see the movie. This was another one that had a surprise emotional aspect to it, and I wish I was a little better prepared for it. Taika Waiti is a very creative guy, and I have mad respect for his approach.
Jurassic World Dominion
Chris Pratt and dinosaurs got me to the movie. The return of some OG Jurassic Park characters made me enjoy it.
Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
I love Dr. Strange, but this one didn’t have enough madness or enough Multiverse.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
A cute furry teenage hedgehog. Is he a teenager? I don’t know, he acts like one. This was a fun family movie that the kids really enjoyed. There was nothing spectacular about it, but it was fun and lighthearted. Jim Carrey plays his role perfectly as it is the stereotypical role you would expect him to play.
The Batman
Robert Pattinson is surprising a very good Batman. However, this movie was another one that was just a little too long. I can only take so much dark and brooding.
Black Adam
Don’t waste your time.
I’m not overly aware of 2023 movie releases, but I’m looking forward to another year of movie-going fun with the family. Next year, I’ll do a better job of keeping track of the movies I see, so I can actually remember the nuances a little better when it’s been a year since I last thought about the movie.
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