Thankfully “M3GAN” has managed to live up to the hype it built throughout 2022, and has managed to also accumulate a strong slew of positive reviews and quite the profit at the box office. With a sequel underway, you probably can’t wait until the follow up. So if you have an appetite for more robots gone amok entertainment, here are five great movies that feature killer robots, haywire AI, and deadly androids that will keep you comfy until M3GAN 2.0 (?).
Pearl (2022)
I admit I was very skeptical about “Pearl.” I loved “X” but I didn’t think Ti West could do much with the film’s villain and the back story he intended. “Pearl” is a shocking horror film, one that takes a seemingly one dimensional tragic horror villain and put the spotlight on their story which ends up being quite emotional. Big credit goes to Mia Goth and Ti West, both of whom deliver on a disturbing and twisted horror drama that focuses on a young girl who explodes in a powder keg of body parts and corpses.
A Man Called Otto (2023)
It seems like these days actors nearing their seventies have to make a drama comedy about nearing the end of their lives. Hell, Jack Nicholson gave us “About Schmidt” and “The Bucket List,” and Robert DeNiro had “The Intern.” With Tom Hanks we have “A Man Call Otto” which is basically his “About Schmidt.” He lends his talents to a sad tale of a widow trying to find a way to move on from the love of his life. It’s shockingly a pet project for the Hanks fam that is just fine when all is said and done. It’s not Tom Hanks’ masterpiece, but just a fine outing for the man who can do roles like this in his sleep.
The Bootleg Files: Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel
BOOTLEG FILES 824: “Paul Simon & Art Garfunkel” (1967 special for British television).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Rights clearance issues and a perceived lack of commercial viability.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.
In March 1967, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel traveled to England for a brief concert tour that included London’s Royal Albert Hall and venues in Birmingham and Manchester. While in Manchester, they taped a television special at Granada TV where they performed their songs before a small audience.
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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
Ryan Coogler’s “Wakanda Forever” is not the sequel we expected, it’s not the sequel anyone expected, especially with the untimely death of Chadwick Boseman. His loss left a gaping hole in film, and left sadly a budding franchise without its lead. “Wakanda Forever” takes the chance to not only act as a sequel to “Black Panther” but also act as a meditation on the ideas of grief, mourning, and the cost of losing those that we dearly loved in our lives who were important to many.
M3GAN (2023)
Everyone and their mother knows “M3GAN” by now. Its trailer was the viral sensation of 2022, a movie that built anticipation less on press and more on the clout the clips built on formats like Tik Tok. Thankfully director Gerard Johnstone’s horror scifi amalgam lives up to its hype. It’s a breezy ninety minute horror flick about technology run amok, and three female personas battling for domination. And it might be my favorite genre flick of the year, yet.
Five Great Films I Saw in 2022
Normally, this would be a top ten of 2022 after going through a wide variety of movies from the year. But in 2022, I spent five months in the hospital due to awful health complications that left me incapable of doing anything but lying in bed and hoping that I’d recover to full health. While on recovery I did my best to check out some anticipated movies, sadly with little success.
I was able to squeeze in viewings of a lot of movies upon my return home, though. While I wasn’t able to see much of anything in 2022, I was thankfully able to compile a reasonable top five list of great films I managed to find time for during the holidays. The list is subject to change upon viewing more 2022 films, but for now, I’m happy with this top five.