2022 - The Highlights (lionsroar)

Despite the idea that COVID was behind us, it still lingers like a cat waiting to pounce. As such, the reviewers here at Trophy Unlocked went to the theaters sparingly during the year. The films we decided to see in a theater were ones that we really wanted to see, at least at the time. Several were seen on steaming services or through digital platforms to avoid the risk. This is a smaller than usual sample size but here goes:

Best films of 2022:

Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert have made a film that is bigger than it's budget. This is a time/space continuum adventure that takes mother/daughter relationships to a new dimension against the backdrop of immigrants trying to make their American Dream come true. The acting is as good as the special effects with Michelle Yeoh and Stephanie Hsu both deserving praise. The supporting cast, which includes Ke Huy Quan ("Shortround" from Indiana Jones), James Hong and Jamie Lee Curtis is also very good. This is one movie that puts it all on the screen.

Bullet Train

I've been a fan of Brad Pitt's since his supporting role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and was curious to see what he did in this adaptation of Kōtarō Isaka's novel Maria Beetle. There are so many colorful characters which only add to the enjoyment of the film. This was not a great cinematic triumph, but it was a lot of fun.

Top Gun: Maverick

I was not a big fan of the original film and wasn't necessarily looking forward to a sequel 36 years later. However, I did enjoy this film. Some of the hype is way over the top. Cool the jets, this is not the greatest film ever made, but this is a good summer film and I had a better time than I expected.

See How They Run

See How They Run is probably not going to make it on anyone's best lists for 2022, but this is a well-done comedy murder mystery with some very fine acting from the likes of Sam Rockwell, Saoirse Ronan, and Adrien Brody. Made in the spirit of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, this was a fun film to watch.

Downton Abbey: A New Era

As a fan of the original series, I really enjoyed a return visit with the Downton Abbey household. Now we've moved to the late 20's and the brink of sound films in British films, as well as the exploration of the past life of family matriarch Violet Crowley. It's still up in the air if there will be a return visit, so you have to enjoy it while you can.

The biggest disappointments from 2022

Pinocchio remakes

I'm not a fan of remakes, especially when the original film has such resonance with audiences. Disney, which seems to own everyone's childhood memories, wants to remake every animated classic and finally got around to Pinocchio (1940). The result was the lackluster remake on Disney+ called Pinocchio, starring Tom Hanks, who is making his first appearance on my disappointment list.

Guillermo del Toro's take, also out this year, and also made for a streaming service, Netflix, didn't really change my mind about remakes. While better overall than the Disney+ remake, del Toro's take somehow brings Mussolini's fascist regime into the mix. Since the book, The Adventures of Pinocchio (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi, predates Mussolini's black shirts rise to power by about 50 years, the director seems to be trying to make a political point in what's supposed to be a children's story.

Lightyear

I don't mean to be picking on Disney, but... While the idea of making the 1990's movie that would have inspired Andy from the original Toy Story to want the toy was intriguing, the execution was not. Perhaps in a slap at the poor quality of toys capturing character likenesses, this Buzz doesn't come close to looking like the toy Andy, and so many of us have since, wanted.

The story, rather than being a ripping adventure tale, seems to get caught up in celebrating modern diversity and, this is the tricky part, managing to contradict backstories set up in the Toy Story franchise at the same time. It's almost as if the creative team behind this never watched the original Toy Story or watched a film that kids would like.

Elvis

Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll, was a pivotal figure in bringing what had been considered Black music to whites in this country and around the world. And perhaps, therefore, deserves a film that is more based in reality than the musical fantasy Baz Luhrman created. While one hopes that the film would bring Elvis' music to a new audience I'm not sure it accomplishes that, concentrating so much on the time after Elvis's rise, which is probably the most interesting part of his career and made him the King. The film is not helped by Tom Hanks' uneven portrayal as the evil Col. Tom Parker.