And in the blink of an eye, 2022 is over which means it’s time to rank by best films of the year. I’ll be honest, my choices were rather limited this year as we spent more of time gaming than we did at the cinema but there were a few gems that we really enjoyed. Does your favourite film of 2022 make the list…?

10. Hatching

Hatching is a Finnish horror film that tells the story of Tinja, a young gymnast with an overbearing image-obsessed mother who discovers a strange egg abandoned without a mother-bird. She secretly brings the egg home, keeping it warm until it is ready to hatch but what emerges when the egg cracks open threatens the family’s picture-perfect illusion in the most violent fashion.

Hatching was a complete and utter surprise to us, something that we caught during a mystery screening without any idea at all about what we were going into, which reinforces my argument that everybody should attend a mystery screening at least once – who knows what hidden gem you might find.

9. Nope

Nope – ‘Not Of Planet Earth’ – tells the story of siblings OJ and Emerald Haywood, two ranch-owners who struggle to keep the family business, training horses for Hollywood, afloat following on from the sudden death of their father. When what seemed like a freak accident turns into something more out of this world, they enlist the help of a tech salesman and documentary-maker to make history by capturing photographic evidence of the unidentified flying object.

Jordan Peele very quickly established himself as something of a master of the horror genre with his first two offerings Get Out and Us popular with fans and critics alike – although personally I wasn’t particularly enamored with Us myself – so his third feature film in the director’s chair had a great deal of expectation to live up to the hype. Thankfully, I think Nope delivered on the promise and was an impressive watch.

8. The Batman

Director Matt Reeves takes us back to the early days of Bruce Wayne, before he adopts the moniker of Batman, a young man still coming to terms with the death of his parents and not wholly confident in his mission or his abilities. The darkest and grittiest Batman yet, takes inspiration from ‘The Long Halloween’ and ‘Batman: Year One’ comic book runs and delivers something worthy of the Batman name.

Only the expectation of a new James Bond can garner more speculation and heated debates than the introduction of a new Batman, and many ‘fans’ wrote off Robert Pattinson long before he could even don the famous cape and cowl. And whilst the film overall could’ve dialled up the violence a little bit, I happened to think Pattinson was a fantastic choice and – to quote my own review – “R-Patz fucking NAILED it!!”.

Read full review – here

7. Bob’s Burgers Movie

If you saw my Ten Great Animated Shows For Adults post from a couple of years ago, you will already know that, not only are the Belchers my favourite TV family but the show as a whole is pretty darn good too. So much so, that their first venture onto the big screen was at the very top of my 2022 must watch list. I even wore my Louise Belcher bunny ears to the cinema!!

Thankfully the story, which saw a sinkhole threaten the survival of the restaurant and the Belcher kids set out to solve a murder, was perfectly in keeping with the style of the show and some of the musical numbers included were *chef’s kiss*. All in all, The Bob’s Burgers Movie was effectively a feature length episode and that was more than alright by me.

As a special treat, here’s my favourite song from the film. Enjoy.

6. Don’t Worry Darling

A psychological thriller with an impressive cast was always going to draw me in

Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling was a little hit and miss with the critics. The husband wasn’t particularly impressed but I actually really enjoyed it. A psychological thriller with an impressive cast was always going to draw me in and Florence Pugh in the lead was just the cherry on the top to be honest. I mean, seriously, can she do no wrong?

5. Elvis

You know me, I love a good biographical picture and musical biopics have had something of a resurgence over the last few years with the likes of Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman and Judy but it wasn’t the subject that excited me about Elvis, it was the fact that Baz Luhrmann was the one behind the camera and, boy, he did not disappoint. Told from the perspective of Elvis’ controversial manager Colonel Tom Parker, the film covers Elvis’ rise to fame, including some of the most controversial moments and biggest hits of his impressive career all wrapped up in the shiny bow that is Luhrmann’s unique directorial style.

4. The Banshees of Inisherin

It’s been fourteen years since In Bruges brought us the excellent partnership that is Martin McDonagh, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson so a new film with the holy trifecta of dark humour was always going to warrant a trip to the cinema. The Banshees of Inisherin is a brilliantly bleak and depressing yet hilarious tale of two lifelong friends who find themselves at an impasse when one of them decides “I just don’t like you anymore” but just how far will the feud go?

3. The Menu

Ralph Fiennes, Anya Taylor-Joy and Nicholas Hoult what’s not to be excited about? Throw those three into a Masterchef style psychological thriller and you’ve got a recipe for a top tier cinematic experience and a candidate for my top ten favourite films of 2022. Whilst The Menu won’t be to everyone’s taste, the story of a group of diners who travel to an exclusive restaurant on a remote island for a lavish meal prepared by one of the world’s top chefs, with some shocking surprises.

Read full review – here

2. Everything Everywhere All At Once

In 2022, cinema was all about the multiverse and where MCU’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness failed to deliver anything spectacular Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert snuck in and blew the multiverse – and our minds – wide open with their wonderfully wacky, certifiably insane, beautifully profound Everything Everywhere All At Once. Another one that won’t be to everyone’s taste but is one of those films that everyone should experience at least once in their life.

Read full review – here

1. Top Gun: Maverick

Thirty-six years after Top Gun catapulted Tom Cruise to the top of the action-hero food chain, he returns to his break-out role of Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell. Cruise and director Joseph Kosinski could have quite easily rested on their nostalgic laurels, knowing that their audience would go to see it regardless but instead they deliver a surprisingly emotional, action-packed gem of a movie.

Where films like Everything Everywhere All At Once and Hatching try to push the boundaries of cinema, Top Gun: Maverick reminds us all what a true blockbuster experience feels like and why we love the cinema so much. And this is the reason why it was my favourite film of 2022.

Read full review – here

So there you have it, my top ten favourite films from 2022. Did your favourite film make the list? Don’t forget to check out my top ten worst films of 2022 as well.