Top 10 Best and Worst Films of 2022

2022 has come and gone and it was a mixed year for me at least. I've been to a ton of weddings for some family members and went to London to see my sister graduate with her masters in law and also check out the UK which was certainly a visit to remember, especially the food! Then you have the horrible Russian invasion of Ukraine, for which we all send our prayers. It was also a terrible year for animation in particular for at least the latter half, no doubt about that, with how Netflix canceled projects left and right, Warner Bros burned all good will in people by removing shows from HBO Max and outright erasing them from existence to save a quick buck (which made them lose billions in stocks and HBO Max subscribers ironically), and the losses of certain people in the industry. The losses of Billy Kametz, Kevin Conroy, Angela Lansbury, and Gilbert Gottfried in particular still hurt. They really do.

The article may have come out late, but between the ongoing production of Pipe Vortex, work, and catching up on the remaining films I fell behind on, it's better late than never being out. So here's the list of the best and worst films of 2022.

As always, I haven't seen every film in the year, even with the catchup. Horror movies of the supernatural kind are not going to be here, as expected. I do have access to more streaming services this time around. As is protocol, we start with the worst and then the best to end on a high note. Let's get into it.

Dishonorable #17: The Batman (7.5/10):

I didn't watch a lot of Batman growing up, but I knew of references, homages, and parodies to the Caped Crusader. True story: I saw about 3 episodes of Batman the Animated Series in my second semester of my freshman year in college to try to get into the DC Animated Universe before I watched Superman the Animated Series and ironically watched more of that than Batman (which isn't because I didn't like it, but because I was more familiar with Superman).

The casting of Robert Pattinson as the Dark Knight was a little concerning, but he did really well in the role I thought, and the mystery is well-crafted. It's just that it's very slow to get going, which, coupled with the noir style, actually put one of my folks to sleep in the middle of the theater.

For what's it worth, it was alright.

Dishonorable #16: Black Adam (7.5/10):

Black Adam is one of Shazam's greatest enemies, and I had no idea he had solo comic series in the same vein that Venom and Man-Bat do. However, with how the other villain solo films did (more on that later), and also how Warner Bros' HBO Max shenanigans resulted in them having enough money to release this and Don't Worry Darling, I was unsure of what to think of this one. The film really does showcase that this character was a villain initially much like how the character was in the comics before being redefined as an anti-hero that straight up murders people, even in front of other heroes who aren't quite squeaky clean either. It's a shame that with how this failed at the box office and also the stuff going on with DC where they're gonna essentially redo everything from the ground up, we might not get a sequel to this potentially.

Dishonorable #15: The Man from Toronto (7.5/10):

I love Kevin Hart films. I liked the Hitman's Bodyguard. This movie is kinda meh even with some fun action scenes and the chemistry between Kevin Hart and Woody Harrelson, who makes for a good morally-dubious character. It's all backed up by a story that seems like it might lead to something that can shake the world ala Mission Impossible or John Wick, but once that plot is cleared up, the story keeps going for a bit until it decides "okay, now I'm done".

Dishonorable #14: Bullet Train (7.5/10):

The action scenes in this one were pretty creative when they do show up, and the characters had enough to them that you can get feel for who they are, but the beginning felt very slow to where it was dragged down by these characters doing nothing but mostly talking exposition. Exposition that was informative, but killed the momentum every time it happened when it was marketed as nonstop fun action to where we were struggling to stay awake for it. Things pick up when it gets close to the third act, but I certainly wouldn't want to watch it again because of how disappointing it was.

Dishonorable #13: Last Seen Alive (7/10):

I remember my folks popping this on one random night while I was producing Pipe Vortex on my computer. Another standard Gerard Butler film.

I noticed the movie had uneven pacing where stuff was very slow-moving and didn't feel like a revenge film, more like a rescue film where Gerard Butler beats up people before miraculously finding the right place to look for his missing wife, but it also picks up in the third act when stuff culminates to a happy ending.

Dishonorable #12: Moonfall (7/10):

So here's the thing about Moonfall: I did some research prior to watching this in relation to science fiction world building specifically how the moon works and that Earth-like worlds need moons like ours to have habitable life, and also that the moon would break apart if it really fell out of the sky due to a thing that celestial bodies like the Sun and Earth have called the Roche Limit.

This movie is pretty dumb, but it's like dumb fun, except for the inaccuracies when they show up in the film and also how the film gets even crazier the more it goes on to where it's pretty justified that it got the January release death slot and became one of the largest box office bombs of the year.

However, to the film's credit, it was very intense and has its moments where it's so crazy you can't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Dishonorable #11: The Gray Man (6.5/10):

A movie where Chris Evans plays a villain instead of a hero, going up against Ryan Gosling, who I know has done some action films before like Drive. Certainly makes for an entertaining film, especially with how over the top Chris Evans' character is, but a generic story is what makes this movie fall short, which is a shame because this was directed by the Russo brothers, who worked on the big Avengers films at the tail end of the previous decade.

Disclaimer: I haven't seen their previous movie, Cherry, but I've heard it's not very good either.

It seems like it's just trying to be like a blockbuster film that has elements of films like James Bond and Jason Bourne. There's not much else I can say about this one other than that the performances were fun but the story is bland, and it only gets worse from here.

With those dishonorable mentions out of the way, let's get to it.

Worst #10: Lightyear (6.5/10):

Even before seeing this film, I remember seeing episodes of the Buzz Lightyear of Star Command cartoon as a kid whenever I got chances to watch Toon Disney on TV, and was supposed to be similar to like GI Joe and Transformers in being a series that were made to sell toys and other merchandise.

I was looking forward to this film a lot with how it looks and also being like an origin story film that would've been within the Toy Story universe, the likes of which that inspired Toy Story protagonist Andy to get a Buzz Lightyear toy. When I heard stories about the film like criticism from people even Tim Allen, who did the character previously, that made me very worried about how the film would turn out.

And they seemed pretty valid to where I felt that the cartoon series that came decades before this was better at making kids want toys of the characters than this. While it had fun space adventures and was about Buzz taking in rookies on those adventures to learn what it takes to be a ranger, it still felt like a science fiction story that threw in Buzz Lightyear characters to say it is an origin story for the character.

Now I wouldn't say this is particularly horrible, cause the visuals are incredible with so much detail to things like the way tech, the alien planet, and characters look, the fight scenes were pretty cool, and the music being great, but as I thought more about the film, it did have some problems.

The film presents itself as like this movie that came out in the 90s, but has a scene with a lesbian couple that has a kiss, which back then, I'm pretty sure would bump a movie to a PG-13 because LGBT content back then was pretty niche compared to this decade where we have great LGBT kid's cartoons like Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, The Owl House, and Dead End: Paranormal Park. I wasn't bothered by that part of the film, I was all for seeing that. It's just that when they say this came out in the 90s, it has to do with being bothered by inconsistencies more than anything.

In the cartoon series, Buzz takes on rookies to learn under him when going on his adventures, but this film was about Buzz learning the value of asking for help from others instead of doing all the heavy-lifting himself out of perfectionism and constantly circling the drain to help people get off the planet with advanced faster-than-light technology. It was also missing the green aliens that the cartoon series and previous Toy Story films definitely had. And then you have the twist villain in the movie, who fits that ongoing trend of Disney going for the twist villains that everyone's been getting tired of seeing I'm sure.

The film would've been more believable if it was a film released in Andy's adult years instead of being a film from the 90s. Makes me think of if someone made a Generator Rex film that says it's from the 2010s but has stuff that's not accurate to the decade such as references to the pandemic or Fortnite.

Again, not terrible, just disappointing.

Worst #9: The Retaliators (6/10):

People who know me well enough or have read my previous articles know I'm all for rock and heavy metal. They also know very recently I'm a fan of the SiriusXM Octane channel for mainstream rock and heavy metal that showcases three new songs a week on their Test Drive show and has a Top 15 for music that's trending every Saturday called the Big 'Uns Countdown.

The first time that I ever heard of this movie was through their Test Drive show when they showcased The Retaliators Theme as the first song of the show in early August, and so I was curious on what the movie was about. I was excited when finding it was a revenge film with a rock soundtrack from names like From Ashes to New, Eva Under Fire, and Ice Nine Kills frontman Spencer Charnas singing on some songs on the soundtrack. I was intrigued and tried to find screenings for the film but had no luck in getting there. Then I found out that it was available for rental on iTunes a couple weeks later.

So I popped it in and it was... Not what I expected it to be: a mediocre mess.

Now the music is the biggest pull that got me wanting to watch this, but that's not the only thing going for the film if the music video for the theme song is anything to go by. It's basically supposed to be a film about a pastor named John Bishop (on the nose last name, by the way) that seeks vengeance for the brutal murder of his daughter and also that there's more to it than that. However, the vibe I got from this film was that there were "too many cooks in the kitchen". Part of the film is on the pastor mourning the loss of his daughter, but then you have scenes with Five Finger Death Punch playing a biker gang working in a crime ring that's looking for the killer of Bishop's daughter who happens to be the brother of one of them and they go to a brothel in one scene looking for him, which felt like a different movie entirely. Another part of the film involves a cop that felt the justice system failed to take care of some criminals after one particular one he caught managed to get out of jail and killed his wife as the first thing he does upon his release (with the flashback on this taking up a good chunk of the film and also feeling like a different movie). This gets to the point where even the cop starts catching these criminals and torturing them so much they become like zombies for some reason. He has Bishop come to his lair to get a chance to do some damage to the daughter's killer he managed to capture, but he doesn't do it. And there's also a subplot on how Bishop needs to grow a backbone when people are being jerks. There's a scene at the start where a guy goes all "finders keepers" on a Christmas tree he and his daughters were going to buy, but John doesn't stand up to that guy, and by the end of the film, there's another scene where a guy kicks Bishop's other daughter out of the baseball batting cage over being in a hurry to get his kid in and is rude about it, with the response he gets from Bishop being a punch clean to the face, knocking him out.

And on top of all that, in relation to the soundtrack, the movie was made by Better Noise Films, which is a sister company for the music label, Better Noise Music, and every song in the soundtrack is based on bands that are in their roster at the time this film was made and released, and also how a good portion of the cast is essentially band members from the bands they got to be in this such as Jacoby Shaddix, all of Five Finger Death Punch, Doc Coyle of Bad Wolves, and more. The main character is played by director Michael Lombardi, who has done music videos for the label and one other film called Sno Babies which I know nothing about, and parts of the movie felt less like a proper movie and more like music videos. The epitome of this is the scene where John Bishop is driving around at night, grieving the loss of his daughter, and it's supposed to be emotional and somber, but it's underscored by part of Five Finger Death Punch's Darkness Settles In, and the way it's shot and edited, makes it like a mini music video to that song, which makes it less emotional and more funny like it's a Disney Villain Song because of how Five Finger Death Punch are playing characters in the movie and one of their songs is in this. And speaking of the other songs, with the exception of that and one other song, every other song is not utilized well in the scenes they come up in and are often relegated to being cameos in the form of being heard on radios in the background of scenes that you wouldn't notice unless you know the music on the soundtrack really well to where you can spot it easily.

You know you're in trouble when I'm disappointed at how underutilized Bad Wolves' If Tomorrow Never Comes and Eva Under Fire's Blow are to where they're relegated to being heard on radios in the movie, when both sound so epic that either one would be perfect for the climax instead of All Good Things' For the Glory. But even then, the movie is very messy in its execution to where the pastor growing a backbone and getting revenge for his daughter felt unearned. On the plus side, the music videos that have scenes tied to the film that make the movie much more epic than it really is, including The Retaliators Theme that took 8 weeks to be made and looks absolutely amazing.

So at the end of the day, ironically, check out the music videos, but don't check out the movie.

Worst #8: Jurassic World: Dominion (6/10):

A movie that was marketed to be the end of both sets of stories in the franchise, not just the Jurassic World story, and yet it barely even focused on the dinosaurs; it focuses on mutant bugs threatening the world's food supply, which is something completely separate from what was set up in Fallen Kingdom in relation to how dinosaurs affect the world. That revelation seemed like an afterthought throughout the movie's entire run, even in the climax.

It looked intense and visually stunning for sure, but considering how this turned out, it just felt like another installment that was set up to be an ending in the same way that SpongeBob's first movie was meant to be the end of that series, and yet both made a ton of money to where the makers were like "screw it, we're gonna keep going until this thing is all out of ideas".

This was the year where I got into 3 seasons of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous, which I felt was more engaging and had more to do with dinosaurs than this film did.

Worst #7: Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (5.5/10):

It's crazy to think that after the first film, these films have gotten progressively worse, especially when both sequels barely focus on multiple beasts, this is the lowest-grossing film of the Wizarding World franchise, and how some of the people involved in these like J.K. Rowling and Ezra Miller are very much mired in controversy.

The movie is a slight improvement over the Crimes of Grindelwald in that they do have some beasts with one having more focus than others, but it's not much against a plot that's stretched incredibly thin and has a lack of, dare I say, magical spark to it.

Even though Warner Bros Discovery's restructuring and other shenanigans is problematic, them not planning to actively continue these films or anything related to J.K. Rowling might be the best thing they did cause I'm not clamoring for more of these if this is the result of letting this continue.

Worst #6: Beast (5.5/10):

You know a movie isn't scary when even the trailer doesn't give you a reaction to the jump scares. I have seen a lot of killer animal movies, a lot of them being movies I see on Halloween that are meant to be laughed at and not legitimately scary. This year was when I saw a movie from the 90s called Bats, which was funny in how inept it was. This film was not funny nor was it even scary or intense.

This one was about a killer lion wanting revenge on poachers killing and splitting lion prides and a father and his daughter get caught in the crossfire of it because the lion thought they were poachers? And yet the father's friend that's with the family is a poacher killer. The story spent time on scenes that were stretched pretty thin in terms of pacing even with its short runtime to the detriment of the really short intense sequences, characters make common horror movie mistakes that seem cliche to do, and, as noted, the jump scares were not scary.

Makes me think of another dumb killer animal movie from the 70s or 80s called Grizzly where a killer bear eats a smaller bear in one scene and dies in an explosion ala Jaws, while this has a killer lion that survives a car explosion with just some black spots and no other wounds and gets killed and eaten by some other lions as quickly as every other action scene in this.

Worst #5: Morbius (4.5/10):

I'm very sure that everyone's put this on their worst list at some point, if not like number 1 or top 5. It's such a meme at how much of a failure it is as another film that makes a well-known comic book super villain into an anti-hero in their solo film. Article readers know how much of a defender I am of the Venom movies but I honestly cannot say the same for Morbius.

I know the character from the 90s Spider-Man cartoon in the episodes that feature the web-slinger slowly mutating into the monstrous Man-Spider, and I know how censorship in that series was very strict to where they couldn't have Morbius bite people and drain blood, so they had him suck plasma from people with suckers on his hands. So my expectations were not as high because unlike Venom, I didn't know the character in the comics well-enough, but I knew him well in the cartoon at least, and we thought it'd be on the same level as like the Venom movies considering how it's part of the universe Sony's making with all of Spider-Man's villains in their own solo films as anti-heroes.

Boy, were we in for quite a shocker. This was one of few movies this year where even I couldn't read the action, which is really bad for someone who loves high-octane and almost nonstop action. Bullet Train was very slow at points to where the momentum it had with fights dragged it down, but when the fights were good in that, they were the highlights of that film. With this, I couldn't read a single fight scene with how the lighting was fitting for a living vampire and not the viewing audience, the editing was very quick, and the effects looked kinda silly.

The story was very slow and tried hard to be serious to the point it felt legitimately boring, the exception being Matt Smith's character because he has a bit of charm to him (and I recognized him from what I've seen on Doctor Who). There were also parts where it felt like it sped by parts quickly to get to the goods, which hurt the story in making parts of it vague and without proper context or buildup. The part where Morbius has a blood condition felt inconsequential with how he'll eventually become the vampire and be all fine and dandy except for the fact that he'll be craving blood and that doesn't necessarily happen.

Maybe because the film's been ripped to shreds by so many people, or it was so bad I blocked it out of my head, but I can't think of what else I could say about it that hasn't been said already other than being legitimately worried about when they release the next Venom movie or if DC does a movie about Man-Bat, the latter of whom I got obsessed with since I started watching and getting obsessed with Batman Beyond this year.

Worst #4: Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers (4/10):

There's a lot of shows I've grown up on in terms of reruns when it wasn't new stuff I was getting introduced to like Pokemon, Digimon, and Ben 10. I'm pretty familiar with shows from The Disney Afternoon block that I saw through Toon Disney (whenever I got access). I have some vague memories of Chip n' Dale, Timon and Pumbaa, and Darkwing Duck.

Knowing what was within this film, with being like a Who Framed Roger Rabbit type of world, it seems like it'll make for something funny and cool. Man, was it something.

It's not that the film is good, not even terrible, since the cameos and gags they come up with throughout were nothing but "oh yeah" and "neat". The story is just boring when it's not on stuff like that, the acting, and how Disney managed to do a Roger Rabbit film with franchises like Transformers, My Little Pony, the Paramount Sonic movie (through Ugly Sonic), and South Park.

There's also how the villain, Sweet Pete, is based on a real child actor that lost work as an actor due to puberty and hit a downward spiral until he passed away. That's pretty messed up and very disrespectful.

The film was meant to be a love letter to animation. I feel something worthy of that should be amazing and, at the same time, respectful.

Worst #3: The 355 (4/10):

The first film I saw of the year, which unfortunately set a tone with how a considerable amount of this list consists of action films (including superhero films from both of the big brands).

I had forgotten a good chunk of this film, except for the fact that I saw this on the television of my aunt's basement with some family and most of us were either struggling to stay awake, not paying attention, or when we were watching, getting irritated or figuring out every single thing that was going to happen in the film.

The cast was great in the roles they were given and had some great action sequences, but it was essentially a female-led Mission Impossible with the typical plot backbone of people being after a MacGuffin simply because it can be used for ludicrously bad stuff for the world at large, and it was a complete waste of my time.

Worst #2: Thor: Love and Thunder (2/10):

You know? I've mentioned previously that Marvel's been struggling with its footing since the end of the Infinity Saga with how half of the 2021 lineup were basically garbage, especially Eternals. This year was an improvement with how I got to see WandaVision this time around, but then have this movie.

The best way to describe the Thor movies is like a pendulum swinging back and forth with which way it swings being an indicator of quality. The first film was a great way to help get the ball rolling on the setup for The Avengers by setting up its villain. The second film was so forgettable that the only thing you'd need to know is the ending that sets up the fact that we've got Infinity Stones on the horizon. The third film was crazy fun with a different take on the Planet Hulk story that I'm familiar with from the comics and the animated film adaptation while also setting up the start of the Infinity War itself. You can tell where this is going.

Then we get to this film that takes place right after the events of Endgame, with a premise that, on paper, seems like it'd be fun. It's about Thor taking on a being that wants to kill all gods with a sword that, in the comics, belongs to essentially the creator god of symbiotes like Venom (which I didn't realize until after coming out of the screening), and meeting with all these gods to seek their aid in taking on the enemy; all while set to an 80s rock-themed soundtrack. So where did it all go wrong?

For starters, the comedy that worked well with Ragnarok just didn't work with this. I felt that with the comedy that it worked with Ragnarok because of the feeling of the direction of where it was going to go, whereas with this, the cheesiness of the whole film just didn't work to where I didn't laugh at all and was getting more annoyed as time went on.

The villain of this film, Gorr the God-Butcher, when looking him up, seemed really horrifying because the thought of a being that could slay powerful immortal deities is terrifying. He's certainly terrifying in the film initially, but at the end, he's both forgettable and kind of pathetic, even though Christian Bale's performance was pretty good from what I remembered.

I can go on about how the action scenes in this felt incomprehensible when they were in the dark, the plot points that come out of nowhere that felt dangerously close to being like retcons, and also how the only thing I thought was cool was seeing a bunch of different gods from multiple pantheons such as Aztec and Greek mythology. However, the one thing that really angered me about this film in particular was just that it essentially queer baited the audience. The film sets itself up like it's going to have some LGBT themes and representation, but then does none of that. I may be asexual, but words just can't describe how legitimately angry I was with how offensive this film was to the LGBT community.

You would think this would be number 1, and you'd be right because it was going to be number 1. However, in November of 2022, news got out about Chris Hemsworth having a genetic predisposition to Alzheimer's and so will take an indefinite break from acting to spend time with his family. That actually made me feel legitimately bad for putting this film at number 1. I wouldn't take it off the worst list by any means, but putting it at number 1 at this point just seems needlessly cruel to me with how this film's got mixed reviews generally and then for Hemsworth to have this bombshell diagnosis.

Instead, I opted to go for a new number 1 in its stead, which is as lenient as I can be with the film.

Worst #1: Disney+'s Pinocchio (2/10):

A movie that's been called soulless in terms of these live-action remakes. It's also one of the rare occurrences where I couldn't finish the film, going up to 36 minutes before calling it quits. At least with remakes for Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, even Jungle Book, they added stuff to make them slightly different enough to be remakes. Despite looking good, this just felt very beat for beat, which made it pretty boring to watch, and also has stuff in the dialogue that makes it seem like it's talking down to the audience like they're not intelligent.

I really wish people would stop making movies that treat the audience like they're stupid, and also if they're really wanting to remakes, to do something different to make it stand out.

I didn't want Thor: Love and Thunder to be number 1 simply because of the diagnosis, but that was at least able to elicit a reaction. This was boring and painful to sit through so much that I couldn't watch it in full. Thus, a wise decision to make this number 1 instead.

Now that the worst is behind us, we can look forward to the best of the previous year. So here's the honorable mentions to it:

Honorable #23: The Adam Project (7.5/10):

A very sweet story about time travel, grieving the loss of a loved one, and coming to terms with the choices we make. They did really well with casting the kid to play a younger version of Ryan Reynolds' character for sure, it's just that I was thrown off by how breakneck the pacing was to where stuff felt like it was going a bit too fast. Nonetheless, it was a genuine feel-good action flick.

Honorable #22: The Northman (7.5/10):

A revenge film that has elements of Norse mythology mixed into it. A very intense film for sure, but not one to watch if you're eating something. Certainly unforgettable if it ends with two naked guys fighting by a volcano.

Honorable #21: Uncharted (8/10):

I never played the games that this is based on, but I didn't think this was terrible, to be honest.

Honorable #20: Strange World (8/10):

A Disney movie that failed at the box office due to poor marketing and people not giving this film a fair shake on account of the premise being "same old, same old". A box office failure the likes of which that hadn't been seen for Disney since Meet the Robinsons in 2007.

It's a real shame cause the film has Disney's first gay lead character, and I really liked the visuals of the Strange World itself and the creatures within, and also the themes of being true to oneself and having harmony with the environment, but the story leaves a lot to be desired.

Honorable #19: DC League of Super-Pets (8.5/10):

A movie that does the theme of a character relying on others instead of doing all the heavy-lifting better than Lightyear. I'm very familiar with Krypto the Superdog, so this was a fun time at the Dolby screening for this.

Honorable #18: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (8.5/10):

A sequel that improves on the first film with the inclusion of franchise staples like Chaos Emeralds, Knuckles, and Tails. It had a subplot involving a wedding that didn't really do much other than fill up the runtime, but for what it's worth, I'm looking forward to the third installment.

Honorable #17: Elvis (8.5/10):

A movie directed by the same guy who did the Great Gatsby with Leonardo DiCaprio and the lead played by Austin Butler, definitely makes for a glamorous looking but very tragic film.

Note: Austin Butler has come a long way from his terrible singing debut in iCarly! A lot of love and care was put into this for sure.

Honorable #16: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (9/10):

Sam Raimi directing a film for the MCU sounds incredible, and this film was pretty incredible in having some nods to some of his previous works such as having Bruce Campbell as a cameo and a lot of horror moments throughout. This does require you to watch WandaVision and a bit of What If to understand some of the contents within.

Honorable #15: Nope (9/10):

One of Jordan Peele's latest horror films that was incredibly unsettling from start to finish. One of those films where you see it once, loses its unsettling vibe once you figure out the plot twists. It's a great film of sci-fi horror, but I do I want to see it again, nope.

Honorable #14: The Menu (9/10):

Watching shows like Food Wars and Holiday Baking Championship made me appreciate the dishes made. It was thrilling to see the food and the twists and turns the movie takes, but another film where it loses its charm once you know how it all goes down after one viewing. It's certainly a sight to behold.

Honorable #13: The Sea Beast (9.5/10):

A film that's like How to Train Your Dragon, but with sea monsters, which also means it has the vibes of Moby Dick. The comparison doesn't hurt the film at all, it helps that it's like that with how this has themes of revenge and breaking its cycle, the spread of false propaganda, and genocide against sea monsters by royalty wanting to continue a war to expand their wealth and empire. Also, having orphanages to indoctrinate kids for more soldiers for war and to die hunting these creatures that are more like wild animals than creatures that are out to get people. Everything the main characters know about dragons and sea monsters in both eventually turns out to be not true. A sequel is also in the works, so looking forward to what that'll entail.

Honorable #12: Enola Holmes 2 (9.5/10):

Another sequel in 2022 that improved on the previous film, with this one giving Sherlock Holmes more to do to help his sister on a case that's less based on something from the book series she's from and more from a real-life event that happened in London: the 1881 Matchgirls' Strike. In the previous film, Sherlock understandably didn't really do much which was the point to help Enola separate herself from her well-known older brother. Here, he's Enola's equal and the two siblings need each other when it comes down to cases that tie into each other in subtle but complex ways that keeps the audience on their toes.

The movie also introduces a different take on Sherlock's greatest enemy, Moriarty, who also makes for a good parallel to Enola in addition to being able to throw Sherlock through a loop in the case. Here's to the third installment for this one once again.

Honorable #11: Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (9.5/10):

A movie I was genuinely surprised to see get a sequel a solid decade later, and a movie that also uses animation that takes notes from Into the Spider-Verse, but not the first time DreamWorks has been doing that (more on that later). Now, the animation is absolutely stunning, the handling of mature themes was on point, and I really loved the voice cast, but the story kind of dragged a little. Not that I thought it was generic by any means, just that I thought it was alright.

In the end, it proved that there's still life within the Shrek franchise.

A lot of honorable mentions, I know, but now for the cream of the crop, the 10 best movies 2022 had to offer.

Best #10: Everything Everywhere All at Once (9.5/10):

I will never forget when I saw this on the plane ride back from my visit to London. A movie that was an even better Multiverse of Madness than the actual movie that has that title. Showed different universes, whether that be different sets or even forms like having bits of animation thrown in. Definitely has some weird sexual stuff in there which bogged the movie down a little, but it makes for explaining how stuff worked in this story. It uses the concept of yin-yang duality really well through symbolism like the google-eyes and a big circle in an overdue tax bill.

A movie that was absolutely crazy from start to finish led to an unforgettable Oscar night with having an incredible sweep through most of the awards it was nominated for, and speeches that were absolutely touching. That made me respect the movie a little bit more. I really do believe it deserved its winnings with how it has heart within its own "multiverse of madness".

This and the next 2 movies have dynamics between mother and daughter below.

Best #9: The Woman King (9.5/10):

I don't know much about the content that this is based on, but it really gave me the vibes of the Black Panther movies to the point the trailer almost made me think it was a prequel since they have a group of warrior women in the ranks of Wakanda's military (more on Black Panther later). I'm not sure if it's accurate to the content, which is why I can rank it as high as it is, but I had a fun time watching the action, performances, and Viola Davis in the title role.

Best #8: Turning Red (9.5/10):

Longtime readers and friends of mine know I love Hulk, transformations, dragons, and anime. There aren't any dragons in this, but the other 3 things serve as influences to Pixar's latest film that got dumped onto Disney+ due to the COVID pandemic.

A film about a girl turning into a giant red panda when experiencing emotions like rage or excitement sounds like it'll be fun because of my love of transformations, especially ones that are like Hulk. It really was fun, and in addition to that, has influences from anime, most notably Ranma 1/2, a series that I saw in full in 2021 (which was alright). The influences are notable in facial expressions being akin to anime, how characters say swear words casually, and in one scene, the main character makes art about a guy that's very perverted. Makes for a really unique film for Pixar.

I love that it doesn't shy away from menstruation, a subject considered taboo. I also love this is set in the 2000s since I grew up within the 2000s, that the transformation is based in magic (and I love the origin behind it), and also how the film is not about some world-ending threat to stop cause not every film needs to be that, it can be about something grounded like wanting to go to a concert. Finally, I love the dynamics the main character has with her mother and her friends and the development those go through.

It's a real shame I couldn't see this in the theaters because of the pandemic, but I can only give it as high of a score as it is because of relatability being a factor. If I could give it a solid 10, I would.

The remaining films on this list are all 10s out of 10. The movies that I felt were masterpieces, starting with:

Best #7: Top Gun Maverick:

I didn't think I'd like this movie as much as I do now since I've only seen parodies of Top Gun and never saw the original film. It's incredibly thrilling even if you haven't seen the first film, like it can stand on its own just as well. You know it's a masterpiece when Ridley Scott, the brother of original Top Gun director Tony Scott, praised the film for honoring his brother's legacy.

Best #6: The Bob's Burgers Movie:

One of my favorite adult animated shows is Bob's Burgers, and while this film got delayed for a bit courtesy of COVID and the merger between Fox and Disney, it was well worth the wait because the animation was a step up from the TV show in terms of budget and story about a murder mystery that's also a musical since Bob's Burgers is well-known for its musical numbers. Seeing 2D animation in the theater legitimately made me cry because of how beautiful it all looked.

It's full of callbacks for fans of the show while still making for something that can introduce new audiences to the show. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out.

Best #5: My Father's Dragon:

Very behind in trying to watch movies from Cartoon Saloon, especially the trilogy on Irish folklore. This movie is not based on Irish folklore, but a book series for kids.

I initially thought the movie was about a kid who gains a dragon that knew the father that seemingly passed, but then I realize that it's a story about an older woman who's an unseen narrator recounting a story about her father, making the whole story a flashback to the father as a kid, which is an interesting way to go about the narrative.

It's noted the director has a very deep understanding of the hero's journey and coming-of-age stories and it shows in this. The main character goes on a journey to an island in the hopes of getting something he can go home with to help his mom with financial struggles, but has some struggles along the way such as how the island he goes to has the constant threat of sinking and taking the denizens (that are giant anthropomorphic animals) down with it, and the dragon he runs into is crucial for the survival of the island. I like that the dragon has elements of a Western dragon, a Korean dragon called Imugi that becomes a full dragon after living for many years for a rite to become that, and a bumblebee, with the island being a flower to pollinate and even has stripes like a bee to boot.

The movie notes that it's okay if you don't know the answer to something right away and to put the needs of others before your own. Pretty fitting theme in these hard times we're in.

Best #4: The Bad Guys:

The first 10 seen of the year. Seeing The 355 and Morbius first really set a tone, didn't it? There has been a lot of films coming up that are inspired by or have similar tools as Into the Spider-Verse. It makes a ton of sense since it really got the ball rolling on the amazing things such a style CG can do. This is DreamWorks Animation's first foray into this.

Side note: I'm really excited for Across the Spider-Verse coming out around my birthday.

A movie about anthropomorphic animals that are based on animals that are often seen as villains in stuff like fables, fairy tales, and movies such as wolves, snakes, spiders, sharks, and piranhas. Villains that embraced being evil because of how society treats them like monsters, which really gives an undertone of racism being involved. You know what they say: never judge a book by its cover.

The movie is pretty deep on how we shouldn't assume someone is bad based on appearance, but it's very thrilling from start to finish all the same with amazing animation and character depth. Fantastic job, guys!

Best #3: Wendell and Wild:

Another film from Jordan Peele, teaming up with Henry Selick, the genius behind Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas. I've heard that Selick is a fan of Key & Peele, Peele is a fan of stop-motion, and Keegan-Michael Key is a fan of Slick's work. A team-up like this between Selick and Key & Peele made for something really special in this movie where Key & Peele play the title characters, who are a pair of demons that work with a troubled teen who lost her parents in an accident. The demons are even modeled after their actors, which is a good touch.

A very funny, heartbreaking, and creepy movie for sure, giving me the vibes of Selick's previous works and even a bit of Beetlejuice. I love these characters, including a supporting character who is transgender. I really liked the portrayal of this character, Raul, who was written accurately and with respect. Dead End: Paranormal Park's cancellation by Netflix hurt me cause it was a great series that had a trans male lead character, but we need more trans male characters in animation.

The stop-motion in this was absolutely amazing, even in the face of COVID restrictions. Makes for a great film to watch on Halloween or if you're in the mood for some amazing stop-motion.

Best #2: Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio:

While Wendell and Wild had great stop-motion, nothing beats the Oscar and Annie winner that is Guillermo del Toro's take on the classic fairy tale, Pinocchio. There's been a lot of takes on the tale, some of which are mediocre. There's a lot of stories that took influence from the story, with anime such as Kikaider and Astro Boy. The former has the story be a running theme throughout the anime adaptation, while the latter is pretty clear about it with how the father makes a robot in the likeness of his deceased son but is the not same as him.

This take is a whole lot darker than the Disney version, and the funny thing is a lot of fairy tales that Disney adapted are much darker than those movies. It even has influences from Astro Boy by having Pinocchio be made to be a replacement for a son he lost, which feels like it's coming full circle to have a modern take get influence from something that was influenced by the fairy tale in the first place.

Taking place during a time in between the two World Wars where Italy was becoming fascist, people are killed, blown up, and shot. The film never shies away from the subject of life's fragility and death's inevitability, but shows that that is what makes life with loved ones very precious. It also shows how blind obedience can lead to trouble if it involves corrupt intentions such as war and exploitation. No one is perfect in this movie, not even the cricket that's supposed to be the moral compass to Pinocchio, and that's okay. What matters is you can be who you want to be.

Animation is cinema, not a genre for kids. I respect Guillermo for his speech at the Oscars.

Best #1: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever:

I noticed a lot of the best films this previous year had stories that touched on death in some way. So far, there's been someone trying to bring back the dead, someone trying to escape death's clutches, people uncovering the mystery behind a murder, and a never-ending war that's got a mantra that glorifies death in battle. The top 2 on this list deal with people dealing with the loss of loved ones in rather unhealthy ways, but this one came with a loss that shook the whole world.

The loss of Chadwick Boseman was a shock that still hurts even years later. No one could've predicted how much pain he was in throughout his acting career, especially when was and always will be T'Challa of the MCU. His passing meant that a sequel on the Black Panther would not only have to be revamped from the ground up, but also address his passing in a respectful and yet somber way.

The MCU has been and is still stumbling around with its direction recently, but if there was one film this year that they did right, full stop, it was this movie. It starts with the character dying from a disease and having a funeral that is done with respect to his character and actor, followed by a Marvel Studios intro that, similar to what they did for Stan Lee in Captain Marvel, commemorates the character and actor's work throughout his time in the MCU. Everyone in the theater was dead silent at the intro, the sight of which invoking an unspoken wave of grieving and sadness at Chadwick's passing. Most of the movie is a powerful tribute to him and how the loss of his character has affected his loved ones and the world at large, including Shuri, who eventually becomes the next ruler of Wakanda.

The movie also introduces Marvel's version of Atlantis, called Talokan in the MCU, who are a rival country with the fictional metal vibranium that Wakanda is well-known for and are risk of being exploited by countries that want the metal for themselves. Introductions made in this movie like that and the character of Ironheart are meant to build to future installments to come for the franchise, but they were necessary cause the film has a story to tie in to the themes of the process of grief, advancements in science, what legacy you want to have, and also how people are after the vibranium for their own weaponry when Wakanda has it all and knows the risk of other people having it.

I had a feeling this would be number 1, so it's no surprise a movie this powerful had to get it.

So what do you guys think of my list? What are your favorite or least favorite films of 2022? Comment below and let me know.