As you might imagine, in my house the movies of 2022 are only part of the equation. Last year, I saw a grand total of 312 movies, most of them first-time releases outside of 2022, stretching all the way back to films from the 1920's. So in addition to our Top 10 of 2022 that I released this morning, I am also releasing a Top 10 of films that I saw for the first time in 2022...that weren't released in 2022. A few of these might look familiar from our past marathons-I've included full reviews to the films if want to see my expanded thoughts on each of these. Enjoy!
The American Friend (1977)
dir. Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders plays with color in a way that's hard to grasp-I literally found myself pausing at key scenes of this movie because I was so struck by the beauty of what was happening onscreen. Hopper & Ganz get into a tough duet, as both of them find that they're drawn to one another...even if they're also trying to ensure the other's doom.
Badlands (1973)
dir. Terrence Malick
For the 10th anniversary of this blog, we made a point of doing a month-long tribute to one of my all-time favorite directors Terrence Malick (hence him appearing three times on this list). This was his first film, and narratively feels like a hipper, younger sibling to the sexiness of Bonnie & Clyde just a few years earlier.
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
dir. Daniel Myrick & Eduardo Sanchez
I genuinely remember being the only person in my high school that didn't see this in theaters, even to the point where I remember the "fake" websites associated with it. 23 years after the fact, it is beyond the hype, a fascinating look at both human nature and our ability to ensure our own doom as we wander, ever deeper into the dark.
Days of Heaven (1978)
dir. Terrence Malick
Is this the most beautiful movie ever made? I defy you to find me a prettier one, as Malick takes an epic romance, under the guise of an increasingly loveless marriage, but more so he shows the wide expanses of an untamed America. Flawless, and Ennio Morricone's score definitely adds to the equation.
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
dir. Robert Aldrich
There's nothing I love more than a "march into hell" narrative in a classic detective narrative, but from the opening moments where Ralph Meeker meets a frightened Cloris Leachman (sensational in her film debut), you understand that there is no going back for anyone here-everything about this story is going to end up fighting for its life, and the unknown of "what's in the box."
Memento (2001)
dir. Christopher Nolan
Between Blair Witch, Memento, and a 1996 slasher I'm listing below, you might say that 2022 was the year I made up for a lot of what I missed by not watching R-rated zeitgeist hits in middle/high school. Told backward, you still learn more as you go, and understand the haunting nastiness that Guy Pearce's lead has found himself in (even though he has no idea that's where he is).
Night Moves (1975)
dir. Arthur Penn
Gene Hackman, long gone from movies while the Pacino's and De Niro's continue working, was the perfect everyman in this spooky lusty neo-noir, a movie that only could have been made in the wake of Watergate...when no one trusts anyone.
Scream (1996)
dir. Wes Craven
Yes, I saw Scream for the first time this year and somehow had had very little of it spoiled. In reality, I became obsessed with Scream this year, plowing through the series in a way that I had never thought I could with a horror franchise. The way it first breaks horror tropes and then messes with you knowing you can't change your expectations...it's a wild, impossible-to-resist ride.
The Thin Red Line (1998)
dir. Terrence Malick
Malick's third film is perhaps the greatest anti-war film ever made, and he barely has to utter a word to make it happen. These young men, just barely into their adulthoods, shot down before they understand who they are. John Toll's cinematography is so telling, lingering first on the dead men, and then on the bullets that will actually be found by generations to come.
What's Up, Doc? (1972)
dir. Peter Bogdonavich
I caught this in a retro screening (the only one of these ten I caught on the big screen) by accident, and my audience...they ate it up. Streisand has NEVER been funnier (I honestly didn't know she could be tis funny), and paired with a sexy, nerdy Ryan O'Neal, every inch of this movie (clearly borrowing from Bringing Up Baby) is a riot.
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