{"id":38419,"date":"2023-01-05T10:12:28","date_gmt":"2023-01-05T15:12:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=38419"},"modified":"2023-01-05T10:30:55","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T15:30:55","slug":"five-great-films-i-saw-in-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/01\/05\/five-great-films-i-saw-in-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Great Films I Saw in 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>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\u2019d recover to full health. While on recovery I did my best to check out some anticipated movies, sadly with little success.<\/p>\n

I was able to squeeze in viewings of a lot of movies upon my return home, though. While I wasn\u2019t 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\u2019m happy with this top five.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>5.5 Encanto
\n<\/strong>I cheated a bit with this entry but there are extenuating circumstances. I saw \u201cEncanto\u201d literally on New Year\u2019s Eve 2021 at night, so I kind of count it. \u201cEncanto\u201d is a riveting, brilliant and wonderful musical. It\u2019s a masterpiece that explores the idea of family, generational trauma, and the difficulty of dealing with the responsibilities thrust us on by our elders. \u201cEncanto\u201d garners some of the most infectious earwigs in yeas with songs like \u201cThe Family Madrigal,\u201d \u201cSurface Pressure,\u201d and my favorite \u201cWe Don\u2019t Talk About Bruno.\u201d I\u2019ve seen it three times, and I\u2019ll likely see it again very soon.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>5. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
\n<\/strong>The loss of Chadwick Boseman shook everyone, from his family, to Hollywood, and of course the collective Marvel fan base. He gave a passionate turn as T\u2019Challa, the king of Wakanda, also known as Black Panther, so when he died from cancer, not many knew what would happen with the series. \u201cWakanda Forever\u201d is a Marvel superhero movie, but it\u2019s more about grief, and how we can move on in the face of losing our loved ones. How do we move on? When can we move on? How do we pay tribute to them? How do we pay respect to their spirit? \u201cWakanda Forever\u201d is every bit a tribute to Chadwick Boseman\u2019s incomparable spirit as it is a sequel to \u201cBlack Panther\u201d and it\u2019s an emotional, stirring follow up that Ryan Coogler handles with class.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>4. Scream (or Scream 5)
\n<\/strong>There was a lot of doubt about how \u201cScream\u201d would fare after the death of Wes Craven, but \u201cScream 5\u201d is an indicator that it\u2019s in good hands. This sequel\/reunion is something of a masterful commentary on horror fandom that follows in Craven\u2019s typical tradition of commentary on some basis of filmmaking. This time \u201cScream\u201d tackles the idea of toxic fandom and puts the ghost face on two very toxic fans of the \u201cStab\u201d franchise and their lengths to stage the horrendous slashings that tainted Sydney Prescott. \u201cScream 5\u201d goes for the throat with some brutal slayings, sharp tension, and an opening that completely breaks the tradition of the first victim being offed before the narrative starts. I loved it. I\u2019ve seen it five times already.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>3. Nope
\n<\/strong>Jordan Peele is making nothing but bangers these days, as he creates meticulous, brutally creepy genre films that also have something to say about society. While \u201cUs\u201d and \u201cGet Out\u201d dealt with racism, and classism, \u201cNope\u201d is about sensationalism and our voyeuristic society. It\u2019s all told through the device of a UFO hiding in the clouds that is indulging in mysterious activity. Director Peele works gels with his cast allowing folks like Daniel Kaluuya, Steven Yeun, and Keke Palmer to shine bright. Peele creates a stunning and mysterious villain in the form of \u201cJean Jacket\u201d a being that will make you wonder after the credits if there are anymore waiting in the clouds. With Peele\u2019s talent for comedy, \u201cNope\u201d is darkly comic, often morbid, and features one of the most disturbing, viciously violent flashbacks ever put to modern horror cinema. One word: Gordy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>2. X
\n<\/strong>Ti West\u2019s \u201cX\u201d is both an homage to classic grindhouse slashers, and Tobe Hooper\u2019s anarchist flavor, as it drops a group of unsuspecting free loving individuals in a setting where its caretakers are unwilling to compromise with their sense of sexuality. Star Mia Goth (in duel roles) is fantastic in what is an uncomfortable and gruesome horror film, all filled with violent pay offs, and memorable scenes of absolute carnage. The cast also are superb with great turns by Jenna Ortega, Kid Cudi, and Brittany Snow, respectively. Snow especially gives a great turn and suffers probably the most horrendous fate of anyone in the whole film. \u201cX\u201d is a knock out horror film, one filled with technical prowess and the creeping, building terror West is known for.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>1. Pearl
\nDirected by: <\/strong>Ti West
\nWritten by: <\/strong>Ti West, Mia Goth
\nStarring: <\/strong>Mia Goth, David Corenswet, Emma Jenkins
\n<\/strong>I admit that I had no real faith in \u201cPearl,\u201d as often times the back stories of horror villains are rarely interesting. And movies about the back stories of villains are rarely good (Ahem\u2014\u201cHannibal Rising<\/a>\u201d). That said, \u201cPearl\u201d proves me wrong in every respect. It\u2019s an outstanding, uncomfortable, and superb slasher movie that also acts as a genuine character study of a girl covered in cracks, who is only a hare away from completely shattering. When Pearl finally does shatter, it amounts to immense, sadistic bloodshed and dismemberment. Mia Goth\u2019s performance is extraordinary and she\u2019s deserving of an Oscar nod simply for her final monologue alone. The final shot of Pearl living her \u201cideal life\u201d is haunting both in its grisly nature, and Goth\u2019s ability to make Pearl both a heartbreaking figure who is also incredibly horrifying. Ti West simply outdoes himself with \u201cPearl.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2019d recover to full health. While […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[64,99,290,477,635,3071,797,922,950,1087],"class_list":["post-38419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-year-enders","tag-adaptation","tag-animation","tag-disney","tag-horror","tag-marvel-comics","tag-marvel-studios","tag-prequel","tag-sequel","tag-slasher","tag-thriller"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38419"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38434,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38419\/revisions\/38434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}