My Top 10 Favourite Movies of 2022

__It's the last day of 2022, which means two things. One: happy New Year's Eve.🙂 Two: it's time to look back on my favourite movies of the year, as has been a tradition of mine since 2011. You might have your own idea of what movies were released in 2022, so if you're not already familiar with the criteria I set for these lists, let me explain my own definition. I only count movies that were first released publicly (be it in cinemas or on streaming platforms) in the year in question, so no movies that haven't yet been seen outside of film festivals, and no movies that were released in another country in an earlier year.

__With that said, how was your year overall?🙂 For me, it was marked by two highlights, both at opposite ends of the fortune scale. On one hand, the PS5 been an extremely rare and high-demand item for two years, and this year I finally got one.🙂 By an incredible stroke of luck, too! (It's quite a story, but I'd rather keep the details private.) It was the same week as my birthday, so it was sort of an early present to myself.😀 On the other hand, at the beginning of October, after avoiding it for over two-and-a-half years, I tested positive for COVID-19.🙁 Thankfully, my symptoms were mild – if I hadn't tested myself, I would have thought it was just a regular cold – and I was negative again a week later. I suspect, had I not been fully vaccinated, it would have been so much worse. My prayers go out to anyone who wasn't so lucky.

__Now, going back to the subject of the movies this year offered, which is the main reason we're here… To tell you the truth, in terms of films overall, this was one of the most underwhelming years in recent memory. Just like 2020, there weren't even any movies that I liked enough to rate five stars; even the ones at the top of my list only scored an 8/10 from me, which means I'd describe them as very good but not great. This lack of anything exceptional took a heavy toll on my overall level of joy and excitement throughout the year. Other things in life may be contributing to that, but hardly any movies I saw this year did anything to help. In fact, it was so uninspiring that I started to wonder if it was even worth continuing these year-end lists. Then again, if I were still doing "top ten worst of the year" lists and actively seeking out films with a bad reputation, I think my outlook would have been far more actively bitter.

__Speaking of which, before we get to the actual list, I must give a special mention to the movie that fell shortest of the high expectations I had for it.

First Impressions Review Diary 28-Dec-2022

__I hope you had a good Christmas (or whichever holiday you celebrate), and enjoy the last few days of 2022 before the new year begins.🙂

__As I said in my last entry, I thought it best to publish my thoughts on the last few 2022 movies before the end of the year, so I'm doing one more of these "first impressions" posts, but in the middle of the week instead of on Saturday as per normal, because this Saturday happens to be New Year's Eve, which would normally be the day I publish my "top ten movies of the year" list. But to tell you the truth, I'm not entirely sure that's going to happen this year. I've narrowed down my choices for the top ten, but I just don't feel inclined to write hundred-word blurbs for them. Often, just writing these 280-character reviews for Twitter (or, in my case, Mastodon now) was tricky enough. Things might change before Saturday comes, but for now, my stance is that I'd rather put out no product at all than a half-baked one.

__Anyway, let's start talking about the last few movies I saw this year, beginning with my one trip to the cinema during December.

Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

The CGI has taken huge strides (the water in particular looks amazing), but the story is little more than a retread of the first movie, the villains are one-dimensional, and it's so long that many scenes overstay their welcome.

My rating: 55%.

First Impressions Review Diary 3-Dec-2022

__Hello, and welcome to the last month of 2022.🙂 Whether or not you're looking forward to Christmas, I hope you enjoy yourself. In the meantime, this will be my last regular compilation of "first impressions" reviews this year. If this is your first time reading my blog, this is something I do on the first Saturday of every month, where I copy and paste the short reviews I've put up on Twitter, because I've now seen so many movies that I no longer have the mental energy to write full reviews for each one.

__I'm not sure what's going to happen with these going forward. As I said, these mini reviews come from my Twitter page, but now that Twitter's management has become a complete debacle, I'm starting to doubt I'll remain active on it for much longer, even if it doesn't completely collapse. I've heard of some alternative social media platforms, like Mastodon or Hive, so I might join one of them instead.

__But that's a concern for another day.🙂 For now, let's start with my thoughts on the three movies I've seen in the cinema since my last post four weeks ago.

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

My favourite character from the first movie takes centre stage, and her mental state leads to some fascinating developments. It feels like they’re trying to make Namor a sympathetic villain, but don’t fully commit to it.

My rating: 65%.

The Menu (2022)

A delectable dark comedy. Not only does the tension steadily increase as events escalate, but it's also a biting satire of elitism and criticism in general; many of the characters' comments on food are just as applicable to any form of art.

My rating: 75%.

Strange World (2022)

The subterranean world is bursting with imagination; the creatures' creative designs take on a whole new meaning when the world's secret is revealed. Sadly, the characters are nothing special, therefore the narrative is also underwhelming.

My rating: 55%.