Work in progress – subject to change. Because I am still watching movies released in 2022, so it’s always possible that a new title could usurp the number one in due course. Before that, I have a lot more movies still to add.
All films received either a theatrical or an online release in the UK between 01/01/22 and 31/12/22. Prior to 2020, I’d never included online releases (well, maybe the odd one or two as a special case) but that year saw the film distribution business turned upside down by COVID-19. The movie business is still changing, and the dust hasn’t yet settled.
This version excludes re-releases (Psycho, Paris, Texas and Pickpocket, not to mention the first six Bond movies, would top everything here). It has been an amazing year for re-releases including one or two incredible, old movies being released in the UK for the first time on Blu-ray. This is the year I get to rank all 25 Eon Bond movies, and why not? A link to that longer list will be added here in due course.
In addition to re-releases, this version also excludes films seen in festivals which haven’t had any other UK release in 2022. A link to that even longer list will be added here in due course.
Beyond the first 25 titles, there may be numerous errors (missing links to reviews where I wrote one, year of release, country, and maybe more). All this will be fixed in time, but I wanted to get something online in the holidays.
Finally, last year’s list is here.
Top Ten Movies (and more, excluding re-releases) 2022
Please click on titles to see reviews. (Some links yet to be added.)
The numbering will mostly be added later when I’ve watched more of the outstanding 2022 titles, and they have stopped moving around. So, currently, positions in this list should be taken with a pinch of salt (and my notes that they might need to move position up or down ignored)
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1. Mad God (2021, US)
2. Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022, US)
3. Everything Went Fine (2021, France) review for this site, Reform magazine
4. Kurt Vonnegut: Unstuck In Time (2022, US) review for this site, Reform magazine
5. No Bears (2022, Iran) review for this site, Reform magazine
6. Good Luck To You, Leo Grande (2022, UK)
7. Where Is Anne Frank (2021, Belgium, France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Israel)
8. Rimini (2022, Austria, France, Germany)
9. Living (2022, UK)
10. The Quiet Girl (2022, Ireland)
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11. Nitram (2022, Australia)
12. After Yang (2022, US)
13. Crimes Of The Future (2022, Canada)
14. Blonde (2022, US)
15. Hunt (2022, South Korea)
16. Moonage Daydream (2022, US)
17. The Banshees Of Inisherin (2022, UK, Ireland)
18. Decision To Leave (2022, South Korea)
19. Belle (2021, Japan)
20. Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022, US)230.
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21.
Strawberry Mansion (2022, US)
Thirteen Lives (2022, US)
Doctor Who Am I (2022, UK) review for this site, Reform magazine
Hit The Road (2021, Iran)
Benedetta (2021, France) review for this site, Reform magazine
Petrov’s Flu (2021, Russia)
Memoria (2021, UK, Colombia, Thailand)
Vortex (2021, France)
Compartment No. 6 (2021, Finland)
In Front Of Your Face (2021, South Korea)
Entergalactic (2022, US)
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31.
Aftersun (2022, UK, US)
Earwig (2021, UK, France, Belgium)
All Quiet On The Western Front (2022, Germany)
South (1919, UK)
Swan Song (2022, US)
The Beatles Get Back The Rooftop Concert (2022, UK)
Coppelia (2021, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium)
Ennio / Ennio The Maestro (2021, Italy)
Peter Von Kant (2022, France)
The Northman (2022, US)
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41.
Triangle Of Sadness (2021, UK)
Girls Girls Girls / Girl Picture (2022, Finland)
Belfast (2021, UK)
Hopper: An American Love Story (2022, UK)
Fortune Favours Lady Nikuko (2021, Japan)
The Sea Beast (2022, US)
Pompo The Cinephile (2021, Japan)
Goodbye, Don Glees! (2021, Japan)
Claydream (2021, US)
The Bad Guys (2022, US)
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51.
The Batman (2022, US)
RRR (2002, India)
Detention (2019, Taiwan)
The Coup d’État Factory (2021, UK, Brazil)
Benediction (2021, UK) review for this site, Reform magazine
Brian And Charles (2022, UK)
One Piece Film: Red (2022, Japan)
Operation Mincemeat (2021, UK)
Return To Dust (2022, China)
Tad The Lost Explorer And The Curse Of The Mummy (2022, Spain)
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61.
The Forgiven (2021, UK, Ireland)
Free Chol Soo Lee (2022, US)
Flee (2021, Denmark, France, Norway, Sweden) review for this site, Reform magazine
Playground (2022, Belgium)
Cyrano (2021, UK) review for this site, Reform magazine (higher?)
Boonie Bears: Back To Earth (2022, China)
Chilli Laugh Story (2022, Hong Kong)
Lancaster (2022, UK) (higher/lower?)
Ambulance (2022, US)
Where The Crawdads Sing (2022, US)
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71.
Master Cheng (2019, Finland)
Eric Ravilious: Drawn To War (2022, UK)
Jurassic World Dominion (2022, US)
The Worst Person In The World (2021, Norway)
Funny Pages (2022, US)
True Things (2022, UK)
Hilma (2022, Sweden)
A Bunch Of Amateurs (2022, UK)
In The Court Of The Crimson King: King Crimson At 50 (2022, UK)
The Princess (2022, UK) (lower?)
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81.
My Childhood, My Country: 20 Years In Afghanistan (2022, UK)
Escape From Mogadishu (2021, South Korea)
Donna (UK, 2022)
The Railway Children Return (2022, UK)
Minions 2: The Rise Of Gru (2022, US)
Onoda: 10,000 Nights In The Jungle (2021, France, Japan)
Amulet (2020, UK)
The Woman King (2022, US)
Europa (2021, Iraq, Italy, Kuwait)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022, US)
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91.
The Menu (2022, US)
The Good Boss (2021, Spain)
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song (2022, US)
Deep Water (2022, US)
Top Gun: Maverick (2022, US)
Elvis (2022, US)
Rebellion / Beyond The Emergency (2021, UK)
Fadia’s Tree (2022, UK)
Bergman Island (2021, France, Belgium, Germany)
Men (2022, UK)
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101.
The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent (2022, US)
La Mif (2021, Switzerland)
The Innocents (2021, Norway)
Boiling Point (2021, UK)
Licorice Pizza (2021, US)
Avatar: The Way Of Water (2022, US)
Nope (2022, US)
The Burning Sea (2022, Norway)
Detective Chinatown 3 (2021, China)
Emily (2022, UK)
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111.
Luzzu (2021, Malta)
Charlotte (2021, France)
Il Buco (2021, Italy)
Dashcam (2022, UK)
Between Two Worlds (2021, France)
My Father’s Dragon (2022, Ireland)
The Lost City (2021, US)
Smile (2022, US)
Eternal 831 (2021, Japan)
Hive (2021, Kosovo)
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121.
Paris 13th District (2021, France)
Ali And Ava (2022, UK)
The Eyes Of Tammy Faye (2022, US)
Sing 2 (2021, US)
The Souvenir – Part II (2022, UK)
Parallel Mothers (2021, Spain)
Don’t Worry Darling (2022, US)
Flag Day (2021, US)
The Battle At Lake Changjin II (2022, China)
Munich: The Edge Of War (2022, UK)
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131.
Three Floors (2021, Italy)
The Wonder (2022, Ireland, UK, US)
Mama’s Affair (2022, Hong Kong)
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Meh
134.
Fire Of Love (2022, US)
Nightmare Alley (2021, US)
The Pale Blue Eye (2022, US)
The Amazing Maurice (2022, UK)
Nocebo (2022, UK)
Lightyear (2022, US)
Inu-oh (2021, Japan)
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141.
All My Friends Hate Me (2022, UK)
a-Ha The Movie (2021, Norway, Germany)
Bullet Train (2022, US)
Father Stu (2022, US)
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore (2022, UK)
The Feast (2022, UK)
Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (2022, US)
Till We Meet Again (Taiwan, 2021)
The Duke (2020, UK)
Wayfinder (2022, UK)
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151.
Wheel Of Fortune And Fantasy (2021, Japan)
Hostile (2021, UK)
The Deer King (2022, Japan)
The Electrical Life Of Louis Wain (2022, UK)
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Turkeys
1. All Is Vanity (2021, UK)
2. Sideshow (2020, UK)
3. Death On The Nile (2022, UK)
4. The 355 (2022, US)
5. See How They Run (2022, UK)
6. Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022, US)
7. All That Breathes (2022, India)