My Top 5 Movies of 2022

It wasn’t until towards the end of 2021 when I really got into movies. Leaving the theater after watching Spielberg’s “West Side Story” made me wonder why I didn’t go to the movies more often. I learned that I wanted to be a filmmaker and decided that in 2022, I would make an effort to watch more films and go to the movies more frequently. From coming-of-age, horror, biopics, and comedy movies, I viewed all sorts of different genres of movies to widen my knowledge about film.

From all the movies that came out in 2022 that I saw, here are my top 5 favorites:

1. Everything Everywhere All At Once

(Dir. Daniel Scheinert & Daniel Kwan.)

I usually hate multiverse movies because they get really confusing to me, which is why I’m not a big fan of Marvel movies (sorry y’all). But, this movie had my eyes glued to the screen and at the edge of my seat the entire time. From the visuals, lighting, score, and acting, this movie was extraordinary in every way and was super fun to watch. This movie had the perfect balanced amount of funny and emotional moments that kept the movie interesting. I don’t think there was one scene in the entire two hour movie that I got bored at.

Not to mention Stephanie Hsu’s acting?! I would love to see her in more movies in the future. This movie is definitely one of my favorites of all time and I still think about the movie till this day.

2. Elvis

(Dir. Baz Luhrmann)

My brother and I originally went to see this movie as a joke. We made fun of my aunt because she actually wanted to see it and we thought the movie was going to be stupid. I don’t know if it was Baz Luhrmann’s spectacular visuals or Austin Butler’s attractiveness that drew me into this movie, but OH. MY. GOD. Honestly, one of the best movies I’ve ever seen in my entire life. Luhrmann’s visuals were absolutely breathtaking and Austin Butler’s performance was chef’s kiss. It’s scary how well Austin – who was born decades after Presley – really embodied Elvis himself. It’s almost as if he became him. If he doesn’t win any Academy Award, I’m going to riot.

Besides Austin’s performance, Baz’s visuals were also what kept my attention throughout the entire nearly three hour film, although there were times when the editing was a bit too much. The editing at the beginning almost seemed like someone edited it with those weird transition things you find on iMovie. Especially the times when it would transition to Colonel Tom Parker (played by Tom Hanks) gaslighting the audience that they were the ones that killed Elvis. Honestly, Tom Hanks’ acting wasn’t that great as I was expecting it to be, knowing that he is a good actor. I felt like he could’ve embodied the Colonel’s character a little more like how Austin did with Elvis.

All in all, I had so much fun watching this movie while at the same time learned so much about the king of rock and roll’s life. This is my fourth favorite movie ever and my obsession with it hasn’t gone away since the day I first saw it in theaters. (I mean seriously, I saw this three times at the movies and got a movie poster, DVD, and CD soundtrack.)

3. Bodies Bodies Bodies

(Dir. Halina Reijn)

One of my favorite ensemble casts of last year, this movie gave great humorous performances from each and every one of the cast members. Rachel Senott’s performance was so hilarious that at almost every line she spoke, she had my entire theater laughing. I felt like this movie showed everyone in the cast’s acting range switching from satirical humor to action and mystery throughout the film.

This also had the perfect amount of “Gen Z '' humor in it without it being too cringe, which made my experience even more laughable and enjoyable. Other than the movie being absolutely hilarious, this also had a really good murder mystery plot and kept me and my brother constantly changing our minds about who we thought was the murderer.

Also, the soundtrack was amazing. I always love a Charli XCX needle drop. I thought that the songs in this movie added to the “aesthetic” of the characters and movie too.

It was so fun to watch this in the theater and I feel like we need to see more good horror comedy movies in the future.

4. Aftersun

(Dir. Charlotte Wells)

I had to search up “Aftersun explained” after watching the movie and was really confused when the movie ended at what I thought was a random part. But, after processing the film after leaving the theater, I realized that the story was to have the need and idea to understand it. The whole point of this movie was about learning how to value the little moments - especially the ones that occur during childhood. The flash-forwarded scenes of Sophie as an adult viewing her camera’s memories and remembering her father really added to the sense that we should appreciate the moments with our loved ones more often.

The love and care in this film felt real. It was almost as if I was actually watching real camera footage of a father and daughter. The chemistry between Frankie Corio and Paul Mescal was beautiful and felt genuine. They really showed love between family members really well. This movie featuring a father who loves his daughter so deeply and tries to do things to make her happy even throughout his suffering was so beautiful and true, knowing that this is what most parents have to do. He wanted to give her the world to make her happy, but the sad thing is that she just wanted her dad. Sophie, in the flash-forwarded scenes, noticing that her dad was struggling while watching her old footage added to the sadness of the film because she didn’t notice it when she was a child and now misses him.

Truly, one of the most beautiful movies I’ve ever seen. The nostalgia, melancholy, and bittersweet moments really mixed well together and seemed real.

5. The Fablemans

(Dir. Steven Spielberg)

Spielberg, once again, makes a nostalgic, moving, and warm film. Knowing that this movie is inspired by how Spielberg got started on filmmaking was really inspiring and I feel like this movie will inspire future filmmakers too. I don’t really have any words for this movie other than I liked it a lot. I really hope that Spielberg, the movie itself, and the ensemble (which, by the way, was one of the best ever of this year) really get recognition for this movie during award season. Paul Dano and Michelle Williams especially stole the show with their acting performances.

The movie’s ending scene was what I felt was the best ending scene in cinematic history. I honestly wouldn’t be upset if this was Steven’s last film because it was extremely well done and I felt like the ending really tied up his filmmaking career– also because this was inspired by him.