Emery’s List – The Best of 2022
Honorable
Mentions
HYPOCHONDRIAC
– Directed by Addison Heimann
THE BANSHEES
OF INISHERIN – Directed by Martin McDonagh
As a
technical director, McDonagh is incredibly skilled. He has frequently collaborated
with cinematographer Ben Davis as well as composer Carter Burwell that always
elevate his screenplays. The performances, especially by Gleeson and Farrell
work together beautifully as well. This screenplay exists somewhere in between
the masterpiece that is IN BRUGES (’08) and the disappointing THREE BILLBOARDS
(’17). It’s a unique, entertaining and heartfelt film.
DOWN WITH
THE KING – Directed by Diego Ongaro
Freddie
Gibbs gives a great performance in this meditative slow burn about a rapper who’s
holed up on a rural farm trying to record his new album. All the while, he’s
contemplating whether he even wants to continue in the industry. It’s a film
that shows how the creative process is often harmful to those who work in it.
DINNER IN
AMERICA – Directed by Adam Rehmeier
This is
listed as a 2020 movie but I really don’t think anybody was aware of it until
this year. I’ve been more mesmerized the recent surge in what I call “dirtbag
cinema”. Movies like Friedkin’s KILLER JOE or the films of Harmony Korine or Joel
Potrykus (BUZZARD, RELAXER, APE). This film exists somewhere in between these
films and the awkward romances of Anderson’s MOONRISE KINGDOM or Zwigoff’s
GHOST WORLD. It’s a lot of high-energy fun in front of a Midwest punk rock
backdrop. As a bonus, this film features one of the coolest original songs of
the past decade.
AFTER YANG
– Directed by Kogonada
This has
been a pretty good year for fans of sad Colin Farrell. This is Kogonada’s
second film about dealing with grief. I loved COLUMBUS as well but somehow
connected more with this one. It also features one of the coolest opening
credit sequences in film history.
WE’RE ALL
GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR – Directed by Jane Schoenbrun
I think this
film did a fantastic job at encapsulating what it means to grow up in the
digital age. Similar to things like race & gender norms, urban legends are
social constructs that have become real through repetition and community. And
although, the digital world has had a flattening effect on the validity and
qualification of information, even made-up social constructs often come with
IRL consequences. This is the message I gleamed from this film, only in its
last ten minutes or so. Before that, I didn’t even like it. But then I really
did.
TOP 10
10 – FIRE OF
LOVE – Directed by Sara Dosa
This is a
documentary, narrated by Miranda July, about married French volcanologists,
Katia and Maurice Krafft. There are a lot of things a human can do to make their
lives legendary. Not the least of which among those things would be to leave
this world with hundreds of hours of absolutely amazing footage of your
day-to-day work for the rest of us to sift through. One of the running themes
of this film is mankind’s powerlessness and insignificance in the presence of nature.
The Kraffts remind us of this in interviews and in deed. Their love for each
other as well as their love for volcanoes is greatly expressed by them but I
also found their sense of service to all of humanity to be the film’s most
touching part.
9 – PREY –
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg
I could be
the thirty-thousandth person to express how much of a shame it was that this
thrill-fest never got a theatrical release, but I barely made it out to the cineplex
this year so I probably would have watched it on Hulu anyway. This film turned
into one perfectly crafted set-piece after another. Anchored by the physicality
and charisma of Amber Midthunder’s performance, the fight choreography and pace
will keep you fully engulfed. Watch it with the Comanche dialogue. It’s a
different experience.
8 – RRR –
Directed by S. S. Rajamouli
I don’t even
know what to say about this one. It’s just pure unbridled ridiculous fun. I
haven’t seen a whole lot of Bollywood films. But I’ve seen enough to know that
this type of bombast is not uncommon. It’s not unusual to find a three hour
epic that incorporates romance, action and dance numbers in a tall tale of
adventure. RRR just does everything a little bigger, better and with far less
regard for realism or believability. As it turns out, realism and believability
are completely unnecessary for cinema.
7 – BARBARIAN
– Directed by Zach Cregger
Were we all
supposed to be surprised that sketch comedy veteran, Zach Cregger could write
and direct one of the year’s most accomplished and effective horror films?... No,
this phenomenon is definitely not supposed to surprise us in the same year that
Jordan Peele releases his third film. Comedy is hard y’all… If you’re good at
it, you’re probably capable of mastering other themes and genres also.
BARBARIAN’s tonal shifts are as unsettling as its visuals. This is a big part
of what I’m looking for in films. Misdirection isn’t only about plot twists. I
heard Cregger on a podcast earlier say that his instruction to his
cinematographer (Zach Kuperstein) was that he wanted “Fincher upstairs and
Raimi downstairs”. Watch this with that quote in mind. The dichotomy colors the
film perfectly.
6 – THE
NORTHMAN – Directed by Robert Eggers
This film
does medieval violence and brutality with skill that few filmmakers have shown.
This feels like a great combination of the mood of Eggers’ THE WITCH and the
frantic energy of his THE LIGHTHOUSE. Although I didn’t love this one on quite
the same plane as those two, I was fully engrossed in it visually for its
entirety. Eggers is likely to be a unique and trustworthy craftsman in cinema
for years to come. And I’m fully hear for it.
5 – GLASS
ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY – Directed by Rian Johnson
I was very
happy this year to see some films that were just fun to watch. If you listen
really closely, deep, deep down in the very back of your mind, you will hear a
little voice telling you that this is empty and vapid fun. I just tell that
voice to shut up. This film harkens back to a style of ‘whodunnit’ that was
more comfortable 70 or 80 years ago. Johnson seems committed to it though. And
why not? He gets great performances from an ensemble cast, reciting witty
dialogue, piecing together a cleverly designed puzzle. I hope he keeps it up
for years to come. I’ll always look forward to new installments.
4 – NOPE –
Directed by Jordan Peele
“Do you see the slightest evidence
anywhere in the universe that creation came to an end with the birth of man? Do
you see the slightest evidence anywhere out there that man was the climax
toward which creation had been straining from the beginning? ...Very far from
it. The universe went on as before, the planet went on as before. Man's
appearance caused no more stir than the appearance of jellyfish.” – Daniel Quinn, Ishmael: An
Adventure of the Mind and Spirit
Jordan
Peele’s latest film stayed with me long after I originally saw it. Upon first
viewing, I was struck by its technical mastery. I wasn’t sure about it as a
whole film, however. But it wouldn’t stop bouncing around my brain until I gave
it a rewatch. Unlike his sophomore effort, US, I found a lot more to cling to
with a second viewing of NOPE. I think this film very well illustrates the
hubris of mankind in a very specific way. We have completely stopped
questioning our position as the rulers of this world. And in a lot of ways,
we’ve just assumed the same position extends throughout the universe. This
level of unearned self-confidence may someday be our undoing, in terrifying
ways.
3 – THE
UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT – Directed by Tom Gormican
I can’t say
that I’m surprised that this didn’t make more ‘year-end lists’ from my peers. I
had to watch it again just to make sure that I actually did adore it as much as
I remembered. I ended up watching it one more time after that even. It’s just full
of joy, meta-performative joy. I’ve heard the term “Bromance” used a lot this
year while championing films like TOP GUN: MAVERICK and RRR. But watching Cage
and Pascal’s budding friendship in this film was about as much fun as I’ve had
all year.
2 – THE MENU
– Directed by Mark Mylod
I love this
screenplay, written by Seth Reiss and Will Tracy. But had this material been
handled by its performers even slightly differently, this film could have been
either snobbish and elitest or completely misanthropic. Instead, it delicately
dances on that thin line of genius that straddles between the two. It’s got
daggers pointed at artists, critics and toxic sycophantic fandom alike.
Fortunately, it’s smart enough to to take itself right to the edge of
seriously, without falling over. Ralph Fiennes and his work here is next level.
1 – EVERYTHING
EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE – Directed by Daniel Scheinert & Daniel Kwan
Earlier I
wrote about a couple of movies that illustrate and even revel in the
insignificance of our species. And while I appreciate that sentiment, I was
absolutely ecstatic to see this film that reminds us just how special we really
are. It’s in our relationships and connections with each other that we find
meaning and EEAAO has such a beautiful and unique way of showing us this truth.
It engages us with its multiverse complexities and disarms us with is
goofiness. All of this is in service of a melodramatic core that Ozu would have
been proud of. And still, emotionally extrapolating the high stakes weight of
the fate of the entire universe. I’m really not sure how the ”Daniels” managed
to simultaneously tell a story so universal and so very specific but I thank
them for it.
Honestly, I
can’t say that 2022 was a great year or not. I’ve still not seen a handful of
films that I have the potential to love. But EEAAO was head-and-shoulders above
anything else I saw. It’s the type of film that actually ends up meaning
something to me for years to come.
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