Top 5 Movies of 2022: From someone who still hasn't seen the Godfather
- Esah mirza
- Apr 29, 2024
- 5 min read
Yes, I haven't seen the Godfather.
No, That won't stop me from writing about Movies.
NOTE: Yes, I know this is very, very late. I've got a long back log of drafts that I will hopefully start clearing up.
SPOILER WARNING FOR MOVIES FROM 2022
I was hoping to have this series out every year, but unfortunately, life has been quite hectic as of late.
Which is a great excuse, but is not the entire truth. It has been hard to follow up my last post about my mother with a post that feels toothless, and without meaning. Especially since I did not find the slate of movies that I had watched in 2022 particularly strong, however, at some point one has to put their notions of intensity and constant meaning to one side and 'gotta stop living up here, and start livin' down here' (one of my favourite movie quotes).
This was a peculiar year for me, one in which my movie-watching experience was deeply affected by who I watched each movie with. I have a clear memory of the cinema experience with each person I watched these movies with and do wonder how much they impacted my enjoyment of them. If an objective being were to view my experiences around these movies they would probably argue that the list was heavily influenced by the situations I watched the movie in they would suggest that if these movies were watched under different conditions, this list would not look the same. Since these movies were watched some time back, I will be detailing more of my experiences watching these movies than discussing the movies themselves, since even though I remember my enjoyment, the details of these movies are alluding me.
Following up on that last post will never feel right, or good, and if this blog never had another post, I would still forever consider it a success. And yet, the next step always has to be taken, even if it isn't as big as the last one. So, please enjoy my 'meaningless' list of favourite movies that I ended up watching in 2022.
If you would like to see my list from 2021, click the link below:
5. Lightyear/Sonic The Hedgehog 2
I really could not decide between either of these animated movies, both I felt were great movies, providing exactly what a children's movie should. Lightyear's storytelling and plot twist was wonderful and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 took a strong plot from the original movie and turned the insanity dial all the way to the end.
Both movies were last-minute plans with individuals who were very important to me, the experience of being able to share a nostalgic moment with another does heighten the experience. I am not sure if either movie would have made it so high on my list without being able to share our common previous experiences with the preceding story with one another.
4. Top Gun: Maverick
A movie I would call 'A perfect sequel'. This movie takes the emotion from the first movie and supplants it into the new audience goers. Genuinely, the emotional leverage used in this film is nothing short of brilliant.
I had a very close friend visiting from the US at the time we watched this together, a friend I did not get the chance to meet often in person but we spent much time talking and discussing movies. One of my favourite activities will always be post-movie analysis right after the fact and this friend and I had the chance to do it in person, for a great movie. Maybe we will never get the opportunity again to watch and discuss a movie in person again, but we will forever have this one.
3. Everything, Everywhere all at once
One of the strangest and most insightful movies out there. This movie has meaning and at the same time is exceptionally entertaining, and could have very easily sat at the top of my list, but as the theme of this year suggests, my experiences this year were quite influenced by the movie-watching scenario.
This movie was watched on a first date for me, perhaps, not the smartest idea. Movies that require your care and attention should not be detracted by your concern of social conventions. I glanced over to gauge my date's enjoyment enough times to break my immersion in this fantastic movie. The date went well, but I will always wonder if I would not have appreciated the movie a lot more if I changed the circumstances around my viewing experience.
2. Bullet Train
This is the exact kind of movie I love. It is fun, humorous, and not absolutely idiotic (well....). It just makes me laugh in a way that not many other movies can or do.
I watched this movie alone, right at the end of the year, when I was melancholic phase. Movies like this feel like they're almost 'made for you', a humour that you know will not make everyone laugh that absolutely floors you feels almost better than a movie that will make everyone laugh. It is personal, almost like you've met a similar soul in the creators of the movie, intimate even. I will forever remember how this movie made me feel, for when everything else was seemingly crashing down, I still felt seen, even if it was 'just' a movie. While I have been focusing on shared experiences throughout, the experience with your current self can be just as impactful and meaningful, and can affect your view on a movie just the same.
1. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
God damn did this movie have me in hysterics. There is never a movie that I have watched in a cinema that I have found funnier, the whole cinema had joined me in guffawing to every joke in this movie, loudly and obnoxiously. I was surrounded with my closest friends at the time and their laughter seemed to only bolster mine, which was also further emphasized by the crowd. A shared experience with not only those close to me, but an audience of strangers.
I left this movie with my stomach in stitches, I would not have enjoyed this movie half as much sitting on my own while enjoying it, but sharing this with a group and a cinema made this movie an all-time experience for me. One I will not forget, and the laughs I shared with my friend sitting to my right, I will forever hold dearly.
Conclusion
I mean to detail my experiences with the movie not to claim that movies are experiential in nature only, but that this list in particular could have been completely inverted, flipped over, and unrecognizable if for a set of different watching experiences. Some perhaps have been harmed by the company, others boosted.
What to take away from a 2022 that feels so impacted by those around me? Perhaps to control the environment in which movies are being watched more, to plan, understand, and create the best situation for each movie through the right permutation of people and place contingent on the kind of movie it is. To let the only opportunity to experience a movie for the first time be utilized at its optimum. For movies are delicate, and to truly understand and nurture their value, they must be treated with care and respect.
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