Movies worth talking about

My Top Movies of 2022

Kat Impossible26 Comments

Top Movies of the Year

As announced in the December 2022 wrap-up, I’m now starting with my rankings and review of the year 2022. As always, I will have separate posts for movies, TV shows and books. However, after a brief Twitter poll, I’m really trying to contain myself and not make everything uber-lengthy.

Today we’re starting with my top movies of 2022. Most of you know that I’m more of a TV person rather than someone who watches a ton of movies, but these films deserve to be talked about. I think for the first time in … ever, all the movies mentioned were released in 2022 (what is happening!?). I might add some releases from previous years into the honorable mentions list though. If you want to keep up to date with my movie viewing schedule, don’t hesitate to add me on Letterboxd! I’m very diligent with movies I’ve watched for the first time, not so much with my many rewatches though.

Honorable Mentions

To keep up the suspense, I’m starting with my honorable mentions this year. I think you’re going to hate some of those choices anyway, but while most of them may never be critically acclaimed, I had fun watching these films! So, here goes nothing:

  • Werewolf by Night
  • Persuasion (2022)
  • Look Both Ways
  • Honor Society
  • Along for the Ride
  • Rosaline
  • Mr. Malcolm’s List
  • The Lost City
  • Turning Red
  • The Adam Project
  • Marry Me

10. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande

This could just as well be a theater play, because it more or less takes place in one single location. I need to be in the absolute right mood for movies like that, but I thought it was fantastically acted, vulnerable and brought up some relevant themes about aging and desirability.

9. Fresh

Fresh just haunts me. I couldn’t eat anything for HOURS after this movie and I really can’t necessarily say that I liked or enjoyed it? I adore the cast, always have, but the subject matter just freaks me out. I really don’t know how I will ever start dating … So, long story short, this may not be the best movie ever, but it had to be on the list due to its impact on me.

8. After Yang

It’s slow. It’s intimate. It’s all about grief. I’ve been grieving a lot of stuff for a long time and this past year I really sat in that grief. This movie was perfect for that and definitely made me cry.

7. Enola Holmes 2

Yes, I do put plain fun movies on this list. I might even think I like the sequel better than the first movie, who would have thought? The fourth wall breaks are still giving, the sibling relationships are being explored some more and I cannot wait for the next part, since we will now even have Watson in the mix. Double plus points for spotlighting a real life women’s movement.

6. Catherina Called Birdy

I dislike Lena Dunham almost as much as I enjoyed Catherine Called Birdy. I’ve said it before, I have not read the book and cannot compare it, but I thought it was a gorgeous coming-of-age tale. Birdy is the kind of role model girls need these days. And even though I’ve hammered on about this for far too long, I do love Joe Alwyn and am always happy to have him on my screen.

5. Aftersun

Aftersun destroyed me emotionally. I was legit ugly crying despite some things never being said out loud, my mind just went there and fell down a dark, dark hole. While the story is sad af, it’s the editing that makes the movie special. It works so well with 90s aesthetics, reflections and transitions. Top notch work!

4. Do Revenge

For every sad movie, I have to put a really fun one on the list? Is that how it works? No? Anyway, Do Revenge was super entertaining. I loved it as a whole – the cast, the colors, the soundtrack, the references. I can get behind more teen movies like this.

3. Glass Onion

People go back and forth between whether Knives Out or Glass Onion is better, but it doesn’t really matter to me. I like both for different reasons, although they are equally masterclasses in subverting expectations and making it more about the journey than the end result. I could watch Benoit Blanc helping ladies get revenge on rich people for decades to come.

2. Everything Everywhere All at Once

Everyone is going to hate me for not putting this movie on the number 1 spot and I get it. I thought Everything Everywhere All at Once deserved all the hype and awards. It was clever, it was unique and it really shot me right in the heart with the complex family dynamics. It’s so so so good, but I just watched the next movie an unreal amount of times.

1. Top Gun: Maverick

I think I’ve seen this movie (at least in part) more than 20 times this past year and I have zero regrets. I’ve never been overly invested in the first Top Gun movie and I probably never will be, but I had so much fun watching the sequel and got the nostalgia even without any sort of perfect memory from the OG storyline. The action and cheesiness was well balanced. It’s so overly optimistic and yet, I had no problem suspending my disbelief for this one. I wanted them to succeed.

Have you watched some of these? What are your thoughts? Are there 2022 releases I definitely missed out on?

26 thoughts on “My Top Movies of 2022”

  2. Thanks for introducing lesser known films (I hadn’t heard of 5 of them). I’d put Good-bye Leo Grande at the top. I watched mostly older movies this year and series. Life and Beth was one of my favorite series.

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  3. Great list! I’ve watched Enola Holmes and really enjoyed it – and Do Revenge was also super entertaining! I’d love to see a post on your most anticipated movies for this year 😆

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  5. I have watched very few of these movies but I love the variety of genres featured here!
    I have seen so much reliable hype for Everything Everywhere All At Once that it has to be a movie I watch this year!
    I didn’t know they had cast Watson in Enola Holmes– I’ve yet to watch either of the movies but that makes me excited to try them! They have a good franchise on their hands by the looks of it!
    I had only recently heard of Mr Malcolm’s List but I would like to check this one out as well.
    Hope you discover lots of favourites in 2023 too! 🥰

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    • Awe, thanks, Sophie!! I always feel like I watch the same kind of stuff all the time, so I’m glad it looks like a good mix of things.
      YES! Watson was in the mid-credit scene of Enola Holmes 2. Such a brief cameo, but now I literally need more to see where it’s going.
      I hope you’ll find all the lovely and entertaining movies your heart desires!

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  8. Well well well, I haven’t watched a lot of these movies, I’m not really too surprised ahah 🙈 BUT YAY for Do Revenge! I really loved that movie so much, I felt so invested right from the start. I’d be okay with way more movies like this one, as well! 🙂

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  11. You know…I watch a lot of movies (I thought) but I haven’t seen ANY of these. In my defense, 2022 was probably the year I watched the LEAST amount of movies. My husband and I are trying to make more of a point to watching things this year lol

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    • Ahahaha I don’t watch a lot of movies in general, to be completely honest. There’s some obscure ones on here, but also a lot that I just couldn’t escape in 2022. If you watch any of them, Everything, Everywhere All at Once should probably be a priority.

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