2022

Life got in the way of properly writing my “best of 2022” list, so I have belatedly attached my pithy thoughts along with thoughts on the Oscars for this year.

I saw 163 films (out in the past 2 years and first time watching) in 2022 with another 24 repertoire first timers. It seems like less than previous years, but it didn’t feel like it.

This is never the complete list, because I have never seen enough films

Favorite Movies of the Year 2022

1. Everything Everywhere All At Once - 9

2. Decision to Leave - 8

3. RRR - 8

4. Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio - 8

5. Aftersun - 7

6. Tar - 7

7. Banshees of Inishirin - 7

8. Marcel the Shell - 7

9. Mad God - 7

10. Top Gun: Maverick - 7

DOCUMENTARY of the year:

All That Breathes - 8

*soft spot for Moonage Daydream, which I loved*

Not counted due to Awards consideration: Flee, Worst Person in the World, Drive My Car, C’mon C’mon 

Underseen Gems: Project Wolf Hunting, Lost Bullet, Something in the Dirt, Resurrection, The Innocents, Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday, The Infernal Machine, The Roundup, On the Count of Three

Usually I have more thoughts about films of this year, but due to the nature of this post and its timing, I am giving you MY OFFICIAL OSCAR PREDICTIONS, as maybe your only friend who actually SAW EVERY SINGLE FILM NOMINATED.

I will pick who I PREDICT to win, who I think SHOULD win, and a few SNUBBED nominations. Listen to me kid and win your Oscar pool.

Best Picture

PREDICTION & SHOULD: Everything Everywhere All at Once, Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert and Jonathan Wang, Producers

SNUBBED: RRR & Decision to Leave

Best Director 

PREDICTION: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All at Once) 

SHOULD: Todd Field (Tár) 

Best Lead Actor

PREDICTED: Brendan Fraser (The Whale) 

SHOULD: Paul Mescal (Aftersun) 

Best Lead Actress

PREDICTED & SHOULD: Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once)

SNUBBED: Rebecca Hall (Resurrection)

Best Supporting Actor

PREDICTED & SHOULD: Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All at Once) 

Best Supporting Actress

PREDICTED: Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) 

SHOULD: Kerry Condon (The Banshees of Inisherin) 

Best Adapted Screenplay

PREDICTED [CAN’T DECIDE ON SHOULD] Women Talking, Screenplay by Sarah Polley

Best Original Screenplay

PREDICTED: Everything Everywhere All at Once, Written by Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert

SHOULD: Tár, Written by Todd Field

Best Cinematography 

PREDICTED: Elvis, Mandy Walker

SHOULD: Tár, Florian Hoffmeister

SNUBBED: Decision to Leave, KIM Ji-yong

Best Documentary Feature Film 

PREDICTED: Navalny, Daniel Roher, Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller and Shane Boris

SHOULD: All That Breathes, Shaunak Sen, Aman Mann and Teddy Leifer

SNUBBED: Moonage Daydream, Brett Morgan

Best Documentary Short Film 

PREDICTED & SHOULD: The Elephant Whisperers, Kartiki Gonsalves and Guneet Monga

Best Film Editing

PREDICTED & SHOULD: Everything Everywhere All at Once, Paul Rogers

Best International Feature Film 

PREDICTED & SHOULD: All Quiet on the Western Front (Germany) 

SNUBBED: RRR & Decision To Leave

Best Original Song 

“Naatu Naatu” from RRR, Music by M.M. Keeravaani; Lyric by Chandrabose  

Best Production Design 

PREDICTED: Elvis, Production Design: Catherine Martin and Karen Murphy; Set Decoration: Bev Dunn

SHOULD: All Quiet on the Western Front, Production Design: Christian M. Goldbeck; Set Decoration: Ernestine Hipper

SNUBBED: The Green Knight, Production Design: Jade Healy, Set Decoration: Jenny Oman

Best Visual Effects

PREDICTED & SHOULD: Avatar: The Way of Water, Joe Letteri, Richard Baneham, Eric Saindon and Daniel Barrett

Best Animated Feature Film 

PREDICTED & SHOULD: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, Guillermo del Toro, Mark Gustafson, Gary Ungar and Alex Bulkley

SNUBBED: Mad God, Phil Tippett

Best Animated Short Film

PREDICTED: The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, Charlie Mackesy and Matthew Freud

SHOULD: My Year of Dicks, Sara Gunnarsdóttir and Pamela Ribon

Best Costume Design 

PREDICTED & SHOULD: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Ruth Carter

Best Live Action Short

PREDICTED & SHOULD: The Red Suitcase, Cyrus Neshvad

Best Makeup and Hairstyling 

PREDICTED & [CAN’T DECIDE ON WHO SHOULD] Elvis, Mark Coulier, Jason Baird and Aldo Signoretti

Best Original Score 

PREDICTED & SHOULD: All Quiet on the Western Front, Volker Bertelmann

Best Sound

PREDICTED & SHOULD: Top Gun: Maverick, Mark Weingarten, James H. Mather, Al Nelson, Chris Burdon and Mark Taylor