Honorable Mentions of 2022

Wow.

It’s really been over three years since the last time I wrote about anything. Looking back at the date of my last post, it leaves an eerie feeling considering everything that happened in life shortly afterwards. 

Well, let’s see if I can make my brain fart out something useful by breaking the ice with some 2022 movie lists. 

In the past, I’ve never done a written version of my Honorable Mentions. Much to my surprise, 2022 ended up having more titles fighting for the Top 10 than I thought it would. That’s not to say it was an incredible year by any stretch of the imagination, but certainly better than the last three years or so. I swear it’s like everything after “Avengers: Endgame” in 2019 went all blurry in my head, then 2020 rolled around and decided to make people disappear, unironically. 

Anywho, here is a list of films from the last year that I enjoyed quite a bit but didn’t quite make my Top 10 list, and these titles are in no particular order:

1. "PREY"

I was actually struggling as to whether or not put “Prey” as the #10 film on my Top 10 from last year, and I ended up not doing so, because while in terms of premise they are identical in many ways, the film I ended up placing at #10 had the timing of scratching a particular itch. “Prey” didn’t scratch that itch, but that’s also not to take anything away from it.

Outside the original classic, the “Predator” series has been in desperate need of a lift after some subpar sequels and C-grade spin-offs - though I will give the 2010 “Predators” its dues for trying and mostly succeeding. “Prey”, on the other hand, is that lift. If I had any gripe at all, and it’s a small one, I think it would have been pretty cool if they had attempted to use the Comanche native language with subtitles rather than English that sounded almost too modern for a film set in the late-1700s. I don’t know if that would be possible, I’m not the expert, but I do feel at times the dialogue was dangerously close to dropping a “bruh” or something on the sly, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t find it distracting at times.

That aside, Amber Midthunder was a total badass as the main protagonist/hero, the film did a great job of earning its suspenseful climax with carefully-paced character development and world building, and I absolutely loved Predator’s design in this movie along with its use of hand-to-hand combat instead of over-reliance on technology. 

I’m pretty late to the game when it comes to seeing “Prey", but if you haven’t yet, I highly recommend it.

2. "BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER"

While it does run a bit long and gives a fair amount of screen time to side plots that do not amount to much, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” is a pretty damn good film and addition to the MCU, especially given the circumstance from which it was born. I highly doubt even if Chadwick Boseman hadn’t passed away that this sequel was going to reach the heights of the first “Black Panther” - one of the best in the MCU, and truly lightning in a bottle. That being said, the success of “Wakanda Forever” hinged on the entire cast doing their damndest to fit that Chadwick-sized void, and I felt they did exactly that. Whether that’s something that can maintain this series for the future remains to be seen, but on its own and as a eulogy for Boseman, “Wakanda Forever” was easily the best MARVEL offering since “No Way Home”.

3. "MY FATHER'S DRAGON"

I cannot help but draw comparisons between Cartoon Saloon and LAIKA. They both have unique animation styles that are easily identifiable, they have similar release schedules that reflect studios taking their time rather than being film-pumping machines, and they have a nice mix of heavier, darker films and more lighthearted, child-centric ones. “My Father’s Dragon” is the latter by the former - silly, whimsical, colorful, but has that tear-jerking undertone that “fear is an antagonist we all have in common, and would you look at that, the adults are crying, too.” 

Normally, I give just about any film from either studio a free pass into the Top 10, but the competition was pretty stiff this time around. I do highly recommend “My Father’s Dragon” as well, and I hope it’s not slept on seeing as I thought it was released on Netflix rather quietly.

Damn it, Corporate Giants, don’t you know what you have?!

4. "CYRANO"

Yes, I know “Cyrano” is technically labeled as a 2021 film, but it went wide in 2022, so I’m counting it. 

I intentionally went into “Cyrano” as blindly as I could given that I knew vaguely that it was a musical, and that it starred Peter Dinklage, which is the only selling point I need for anything that he’s in. Now having seen “Cyrano”, I can add one item to the Things I Didn’t Know list - Peter can sing, too. He didn’t belt the roof off its wall supports or anything, but commendable nonetheless. I’m not sure why I’m surprised by that, because he’s fucking Peter Dinklage, but still, pleasant surprises are in short supply on this rock so I’m keeping it. 

If I had any complaints with the film at all, and they are minor, they would be that the last 20-30 minutes dragged a bit for me, and honestly throughout the film I felt like I was experiencing emotional whiplash. There are some truly poignant scenes and beautiful music in “Cyrano” that I really wanted to submerge myself into just a few moments longer, but I guess the film had a long To-Do List and had to whip the rug out from under me in order to move on. 

Be that as it may, Dinklage’s performance, as expected, was outstanding. The score and soundtrack is one I easily can (and have) listen to outside of the viewing experience, especially since they pulled a sneaky on me and had Glen Hansard cameo on one of the songs during a scene that already had me emotional. Bastards. Lastly, for once, it was an Oscar-hyped musical that didn’t feel like Oscar bait for a change, and if you know what I’m talking about, I have a feeling you’ll appreciate that as well.

5. "ENOLA HOLMES 2"

I loved the first “Enola Holmes”, and this sequel is right on par with its predecessor. Millie Bobby Brown is a star on the rise, and has long since been more than just Eleven from “Stranger Things.” For the time being, anyway, if they keep making ‘em, I’ll keep watching ‘em. 

6. "THE SEA BEAST"

Upon first viewing, I know I wasn’t the only one who thought “Huh, this movie feels an awful lot like ‘How to Train Your Dragon’...” 

Honestly, “Sea Beast” probably ranks as my favorite animated film from last year. The animation is beautiful and creative, Karl Urban was perfectly cast as the lead, and who doesn’t love a story about the trials and crimes of oppression, and the misunderstandings bred from it?  If anything holds it back slightly for me, it’s that pesky aforementioned similarity. “How to Train Your Dragon” is one of my all-time favorite animated series, and given the similarities between the two, if I’m offered a choice between any of the “Dragon” films and “The Sea Beast”, I’m going to take the former nine times out of ten. But hey, prior to its release, any other movie that felt like a mimic I would have chosen “Dragon” ten times out of ten, so good on ya, “Sea Beast”. 

7. "BARBARIAN"

Why? 

Because fuck it, that’s why.