With the conclusion of the Academy Awards this past Sunday, the 2022 film season is officially over. Now, to complete my own movie-watching journey from the past year, I present here a brief summary of my favorite films from 2022, along with a complete ranking of each movie I saw from the 2022 Oscars-eligibility period. See you next year!
My Top 15 Films of the Year
No. 1 – Aftersun
I will cut right to the chase on Aftersun—this is one of the greatest films I have ever had the pleasure to experience. The movie is one of the most unique coming-of-age stories I can recall, and writer/director Charlotte Wells delivers an unfathomable masterpiece in—get this—her debut feature film. Aftersun follows a father and daughter on a holiday in Turkey in the early 2000s, and it explores generational depression, grief, and the complexity of time and memories. This movie wrecked me in every possible way—during the final few scenes, I was sobbing. After I finished the movie, I emotionally paced around my living room for 30 minutes, processing what I’d just watched. No film had ever affected me like that. Until Aftersun. I imagine the fact I have a child and my own history with mental health issues contributed to my experience with this film. Oscar nominee Paul Mescal is fantastic, but newcomer Frankie Corio clearly stood out as the most impressive performance. The film also includes my favorite scene of the year (and one of my favorites of all time) in an emotional sequence, which features a deftly edited/remixed version of “Under Pressure” by David Bowie and Queen—it is pure perfection. I have not stopped thinking about Aftersun since I first watched it. It will stick with me forever, which exemplifies the beauty of film. Streaming available for purchase or rent on most major platforms.
No. 2 – Everything Everywhere All at Once
Had I not experienced such an intense emotional response to Aftersun, there is absolutely no doubt Everything Everywhere All at Once would have been my No. 1 film of the year—this is a perfect movie. For some reason, the “multiverse” is popping up in so many films in recent memory, especially Marvel properties (e.g., Spider-Man: No Way Home, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, etc.), but EEAAO is the single best example of what an exploration of multiple universes can be. This movie is fun. The editing is rapid-fire. The acting is phenomenal. But at its core, the most impressive part of EEAAO is its beautiful examination of generational trauma, depression, and identity. How is it that a movie which depicts a parallel universe wherein people have hot dogs for fingers can be so philosophical? How do you explain the emotional gravity of this movie when there is a scene (one of the film’s very best) depicting the characters as rocks? Writer/director team Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert somehow make it all work despite the absurdity. If you haven’t seen this movie yet and are wondering whether it is worth the hype (the film led the Oscars with eleven nominations and seven wins), I assure you it definitely is. Streaming for free for subscribers to Showtime.
No. 3 – Top Gun: Maverick
One of my dad’s favorite movies (if not his absolute favorite) is Top Gun. Thus, I grew up watching it a lot. Like so many other people, I really love that movie. However, I cannot help but admit I was worried about Maverickbecause legacy sequels are of such hit-or-miss quality. For every Creed or Blade Runner 2049, there’s an Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Mad Max Fury Road was in all ways flawless, yet Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps was atrocious. (And let’s not even talk about Space Jam: A New Legacy.) In the end, Top Gun: Maverick excels in ways of which so many other films (legacy sequels or otherwise) could only dream. Is the story a bit gimmicky and unrealistic at times? Sure. But since film itself as an artform has evolved so much since 1986, Maverick benefits from the technical advancements in cameras and visual effects. This movie blows the original out of the sky. Streaming for free for subscribers to Paramount+.
No. 4 – All Quiet on the Western Front
I love debating which movie can call itself the greatest war film of all time. Over the years, in terms true depictions of the horrors of war, there have certainly been some serious contenders: The Deer Hunter (1978), Apocalypse Now (1979), Platoon (1986), Full Metal Jacket (1987), Saving Private Ryan (1998), The Thin Red Line (1998), Downfall (Der Untergang) (2004), Letters from Iwo Jima (2006), Zero Dark Thirty (2008), Dunkirk (2017), and 1917 (2019). After this year, we can definitely add German-language film All Quiet on the Western Front—the second feature-length adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel of the same name—to that list. It is grueling and chaotic, yet it is masterfully crafted. Streaming for free for subscribers to Netflix.
No. 5 – Pearl
In 2022, writer/director Ti West proved that despite the uptick of films produced in the newer “elevated horror” genre (which I love), there are still good-old-fashioned slasher movies out there, waiting to be made. In March, West released X, a slasher film about a group of aspiring porn stars in the 1970s in rural Texas, which featured Mia Goth in the leading role. I loved X. It was certainly one of my favorite movies of the year, just missing out on cracking my top 15. West then released a prequel film, Pearl (co-written by and starring Goth), a mere six months later. Although the two films are starkly different (X looks and feels like a ‘70s movie, while West stylizes Pearl to look and feel like 1918), Pearl is the superior picture. Not only is the character’s origin story compelling, but Mia Goth was sensational. I honestly cannot believe she wasn’t in contention for Best Actress awards this film season (although she did secure a nomination for Pearl at the Independent Spirit Awards). The highlight of the movie is a scene toward the end at a dinner table, which features a single shot of Goth delivering a chilling monologue to her character’s sister-in-law. Streaming available for purchase or rent on most major platforms.
No. 6 – Babylon
While critics (and audiences) were sharply divided over Damien Chazelle’s latest feature (the film holds a critics score of 56% and audience score of 52% on Rotten Tomatoes), I fell in love with it. Sure, at three hours and nine minutes, the runtime is certainly intimidating. However, this movie never once felt that long. Depicting the transition in Hollywood from silent films to the start of the “Golden Age” of sound films in the late 1920s, this movie is fast-paced, frenetic, and downright depraved. But it works. This movie is also hilarious—I laughed out loud many, many times. Clearly the film is not for everyone, but I do believe it is worth a shot for any film lover. Streaming for free for subscribers to Paramount+.
No. 7 – The Banshees of Inisherin
In 2008, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson collaborated with British-Irish director Marin McDonagh in the dark dramedy In Bruges, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Fourteen years later, the three joined forces again for the charming, yet tragic, dark dramedy The Banshees of Inisherin. The story is simple: The lifelong friendship of Pádraic (Farrell) and Colm (Gleeson) is interrupted when Colm abruptly decides he no longer wants to be friends with Pádraic. Farrell and Gleeson are phenomenal, sparring back and forth on screen like Ali and Frazier in Manila. Kerry Condon is also great in a supporting role, as is Barry Keoghan. This movie is fantastic and very funny in such subtle ways. I also cannot stop saying “fecking,” a delightful version of “fucking” in the characters’ thick Irish accents. Streaming for free for subscribers to HBO Max.
No. 8 – Cha Cha Real Smooth
If I could give an award to the most unexpectedly touching and purposefully funny movie of the year, I’d give it to Cha Cha Real Smooth without hesitation. Writer/director Cooper Raiff (who also stars as the aimless and awkward Andrew) is clearly a very talented young filmmaker (he just turned 26), and with this movie, he has added an essential entry to the romantic dramedy genre. I laughed repeatedly at Raiff’s quirky script, and yet I also cried during some surprisingly heartfelt scenes. This is such a great movie, and if you have an Apple TV+ subscription (I know you all do because everyone is watching Ted Lasso), do yourself a favor and watch it ASAP. Streaming for free for subscribers to Apple TV+.
No. 9 – Triangle of Sadness
I love when filmmakers satirize the 1%. Those folks are surely an easy target, but when done well, it is always a fun time. In Triangle of Sadness, Swedish writer/director Ruben Östlund may have effectively perfected this subgenre of darkly comedic satire. This film won the Palme d’Or (the prestige award) at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, and for good reason. The movie takes place in three distinct, yet related, parts, and each one is brilliant. I need someone I know to see this movie soon so I can chat about paying for meals, food poisoning, whistles, and donkeys. I also cannot stop saying “In den Wolken.” Enough with the inside jokes from the film—just go watch it! Streaming for free for subscribers to Hulu.
No. 10 – The Northman
One of my favorite movie-watching experiences last year was seeing Robert Eggers’s The Northman in the Dolby Cinema at AMC. An epic action tale of revenge set during the age of Vikings in Scandinavia, The Northman is marvelously surreal—I’ve really never seen a movie quite like this one. The cast is first-rate (I mean, when you put Alexander Skarsgård in a movie with Anya Taylor-Joy, Ethan Hawke, and Nicole Kidman, what else would you expect?), and Eggers’s precise direction and creation of such a grisly atmosphere are unmistakable. What an adventure! Streaming for free for subscribers to Amazon Prime Video.
No. 11 – Dinner in America
I really don’t know quite how to describe Dinner in America, but here is my best shot: It’s like if you re-made Napoleon Dynamite into a filthy, R-rated punk-rock film. The movie is about an anarchist on the run who unexpectedly meets and befriends (in a very weird, unique way) an awkward (understatement of the century) young woman. It has all the quirk of Napoleon Dynamite and yet all the vulgarity of The Wolf of Wall Street. And in every way possible, this outlandish blend of genres works so well. The film originally premiered at Sundance in January of 2020, but, given the Covid-19 pandemic, it did not see a theatrical release until this past year. Streaming for free for subscribers to Hulu.
No. 12 – Barbarian
Barbarian is such a wild ride, and I loved every minute of it. I cannot say too much about the film and its plot, as it is quite easy to accidentally reveal too much. What I can say is this movie was both exactly what I thought it might be and unlike anything I had ever anticipated it to be. It feels like three separate stories told respectively in each act, but all the while the film maintains an intriguing through line. If you like horror movies, this one is a must-see! Streaming for free for subscribers to HBO Max.
No. 13 – Nope
Following Get Out (2017) and Us (2019), Jordan Peele unveiled Nope, the third film in which he directed, wrote, and produced. I loved Get Out, but Us didn’t quite land for me in the same way. Regardless, I was always going to see Nope, as the Mad TV and Key & Peele alum clearly maintains a knack for horror. Ultimately, Nopeexceeded my expectations. The cinematography was captivating, the production design was stunning, and the acting was stellar, especially Keke Palmer’s performance. Further, Nope featured one of my favorite scenes of the year—Gordy the chimpanzee stole the show. Streaming for free for subscribers to Peacock.
No. 14 – Watcher
In 2014, actress Maika Monroe had her breakthrough performance in It Follows, one of the best horror films of the past ten years—she was a revelation in that movie. Eight years later, Monroe delivered another brilliant performance in Watcher, an eerily deliberate psychological thriller about Julia, a young woman who relocates from the United States to Romania with her husband for his job, who constantly feels watched by a man across the street. Writer/director Chloe Okuno, in her feature film debut, crafts an incredibly chilling, anxiety-inducing tale. Streaming for free for subscribers to Hulu.
No. 15 – The Fabelmans
One year after giving audiences an amazing West Side Story remake, Steven Spielberg delivered his most personal movie ever—The Fabelmans, which was loosely based on his own childhood. Each of these two films received seven Oscar nominations, including back-to-back Best Picture and Best Director nominations for Spielberg. Despite being over 50 years into his filmmaking career, Spielberg proves with The Fabelmans why he’s still got it! Streaming available for purchase or rent on most major platforms
Complete Ranking of All Films Seen from 2022
- Aftersun
- Everything Everywhere All at Once
- Top Gun: Maverick
- All Quiet on the Western Front (Im Westen nichts Neues)
- Pearl
- Babylon
- The Banshees of Inisherin
- Cha Cha Real Smooth
- Triangle of Sadness
- The Northman
- Dinner in America
- Barbarian
- Nope
- Watcher
- The Fabelmans
- X
- Navalny
- Living
- Don’t Worry Darling
- Hustle
- The Batman
- Bullet Train
- Nitram
- Resurrection
- RRR
- Tár
- Elvis
- Fresh
- The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
- Fire of Love
- Dive (La caída)
- The Whale
- Women Talking
- Till
- Avatar: The Way of Water
- Smile
- Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
- The Innocents (De uskyldige)
- The Black Phone
- Dual
- The Volcano: Rescue from Whakaari
- Brian and Charles
- Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
- Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
- The Gray Man
- The Inspection
- Thor: Love and Thunder
- Bodies Bodies Bodies
- The Lost City
- The Menu
- The Stranger
- Emily the Criminal
- This Place Rules
- Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
- Jackass Forever
- Bones and All
- After Yang
- The Woman King
- Downfall: The Case Against Boeing
- The Good Nurse
- Significant Other
- The Sky Is Everywhere
- Blonde
- Three Thousand Years of Longing
- Amsterdam
- Causeway
- Men
- On the Count of Three
- The Tinder Swindler
- Anaïs in Love (Les Amours d’Anaïs)
- To Leslie
- Empire of Light
- Emergency
- Nanny
- She Said
- Girl in the Picture
- Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2
- Fall
- Saloum
- Mad God
- Our Father
- Pleasure
- Black Adam
- Jurassic World Dominion
- Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul.
- Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile
- Dashcam
- The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild
However, Furiosa has other plans, as she reroutes her journey in order to accomplish her true objective: She has rescued Immortan Joe’s sex slaves (known as “The Five Wives”) and intends to speed across the desert in order to free them from their concubinage. When Joe realizes what Furiosa has done, he sends out his “War Boys” to track her down and return what is his. During the chase, Furiosa eventually teams up with Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy), a mercenary who, at the beginning of the film, was captured by Immortan Joe, and the two go to extreme lengths to ensure their survival.
“Oh, what a day. What a lovely day.” That quote from Nux (Nicholas Hoult), one of Joe’s War Boys, is one of the best quotes from Mad Max: Fury Road; but better yet, it will go down as one of the greatest quotes in film history. Not only does the quote sum up the intense action of the film’s story perfectly, but it also brilliantly describes my experience in an IMAX theater watching the movie for the first time—what a lovely day it was. In the past, deciding which movie would be ranked No. 1 on my year-end countdown was pretty easy—most of the time one sticks out above the rest. But this year, my process was incredibly difficult. 
After watching The Revenant, I spent weeks constantly moving it and Mad Max interchangeably between the Nos. 1 and 2 spots. But when I decided to finalize my list, I simply could not ignore the genius of Mad Max: Fury Road. Even though the film was released in May, it has stuck with me, day in and day out. Rarely have I ever had such an engrossing experience in a theater watching a movie. I was mesmerized by everything director George Miller threw at me—with every passing minute, I knew I was witnessing pure greatness. So when it came time to decide which movie would come in at No. 1 on my list, one thing became immeasurably clear: Although The Revenant was a visionary masterpiece, Mad Max: Fury Road would go down as one of my absolute favorite films of all time!
The genius of Fury Road starts with its imaginative creator, George Miller. For those that do not know, Fury Road is the fourth installment in Miller’s acclaimed Mad Max franchise (Mel Gibson played the original Max in the previous three films). Miller’s original Mad Max film and its sequel The Road Warrior are considered by many film scholars to be some of the best movies of all time. In fact, Spike Lee created a list years ago of essential films for all aspiring filmmakers to see, and both Mad Max and The Road Warrior were listed. The original films were so powerful because Miller created some of the most memorable characters, scenes, and stories to ever hit the silver screen with an incredibly small budget. The original film’s budget was just an estimated $280,000. 
The third film, which boasted the most expensive budget in the franchise’s history at the time, was a meager $10 million. This is why I was so pumped for Fury Road: It would feature the same creative filmmaker making another Mad Max film, but this time he would be doing it with seemingly unlimited resources (his budget for Fury Road was $150 million). Although The Road Warrior is considered the greatest in the franchise, Fury Road beats it hands down. Rarely does a franchise’s fourth film trump the rest in terms of cinematic quality—but Fury Road has done just that.
George Miller’s classic innovation is radiantly on display in Fury Road. The film, for all intents and purposes, is a 120-minute-long chase scene—2 hours of violent, action-packed, dusty, intense, thrilling, and downright amazing chase scenes. The visual effects are stunning, yet Miller uses mostly practical effects to execute his action sequences—the film features very little CGI. One of my favorite aspects of the film, though, is the music. Junkie XL has crafted one of the greatest scores, for me, in film history—it is a shame it was not nominated for an Oscar. 
The way the music is interpolated into the plot is outstanding. Throughout the chase, Immortan Joe’s convoy features a variety of War Boys who play music during the chase—they are essentially a war band, featured smack dab on the frontline. The music the War Boys band plays is the film’s score—it is a brilliant juxtaposition of score and story. The best part of the band: The Doof Warrior (Australian entertainer iOTA), a heavy-metal musician who hangs from the front of a truck, blasting his twin-necked electric guitar, which itself doubles as a flamethrower. Only someone as groundbreaking as George Miller could think this stuff up.
The real story of the film, however, is Imperator Furiosa and Miller’s feminist ambitions. In a film where Tom Hardy’s character leads in the titular role, Charlize Theron steals the show (for which she really should have received an Oscar nod). Fury Road is truly an exposition of female domination, and I bought in 100%. Max is merely a placeholder at times, while Theron’s Furiosa is the real protagonist—she is the heroine modern film so desperately needed. Although Furiosa only has one arm (the other is a prosthetic), she never pities herself. She is a strong, independent woman who is tougher than nails. 
Her goal: to rescue Immortan Joe’s “Five Wives” from their sex slavery. Can it get any more “girl power” than that? I read this week that George Miller actually brought in Eve Ensler, the author of “The Vagina Monologues,” to prepare the “Five Wives” (Zoe Kravitz, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Riley Keough, Abbey Lee Kershaw, and Courtney Eaton) for their roles in the film—this only adds to the obviousness of Miller’s intentions. In a franchise where Max and a variety of other “he-man” characters have pervaded the storyline, Fury Road ushers in an unsurpassed era of female gallantry. Mad Max: Fury Road is rated R for intense sequences of violence throughout and for disturbing images.
When I bought a ticket and sat down in the audience of a dark theater over a month and a half ago to see Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s newest film, I was excited but truly did not know what to expect. What resulted was amazing: I did not merely watch a film—I experienced it! An experience is just what this film is. The Revenant is a visionary work of art, and the man behind it all is Iñárritu, a creator at the peak of his filmmaking career. In 2013, he gave us Gravity, an out-of-this-world (literally) depiction of two astronauts lost in space, which I did not enjoy initially but have grown to appreciate. In 2014, Iñárritu brought Birdman to the big screen, a film that would garner nine Oscar nominations and four wins, including Best Picture and Best Director for Iñárritu. Could the 52-year-old Mexican director really deliver another brilliant production in 2015? No matter what anyone might have thought, Iñárritu responded with a resounding, “Yes.”
The opening scene features an intense battle that pits Glass and his team of fur traders against a group of violent Native Americans. This scene is remarkable—arrows whiz by the camera, bringing the viewer closer into the fold. The scene is reminiscent of classic war scenes, such as the Normandy invasion in Saving Private Ryan. At times throughout the film—especially during close-up shots—characters’ blood and sweat spew onto the camera, leaving visible spots. Most of the time this would be a reprehensible act, but in this film, it just works. You see characters’ breath fill the lens. This lends an extraordinary sense of realism to the film.
Now, let’s get to DiCaprio. My goodness, give that man an Oscar! Although his character is mostly silent throughout the film, Leo delivers a performance that will be discussed for generations. As mentioned above, the production of The Revenant was demanding, and Leo felt the brunt of that often. He admitted to being on the brink of hypothermia throughout and has openly described this film as the most difficult challenge he has ever taken on. Hugh Glass is faced with a set of circumstances that mean to deny him survival at every stage of the film, starting with his brutal bear attack early on, which, let’s be honest, is one of the most incredible scenes you will ever witness in a movie—it is the definition of an “edge-of-your-seat” experience, and it is filled with heart-pounding thrills. 
But he marches on. He endures. He survives. He is absolutely unrelenting in his quest for justice. He eats raw bison liver. He sleeps in a fresh horse carcass for warmth. Like I said: GIVE THIS MAN AN OSCAR! In all seriousness, Leo is the odds-on favorite to take home the Academy Award for Best Actor and rightfully so. But for everyone (which includes me) that feels Leo has been snubbed far too many times by the Academy, realize this: When Leo gets this award, it will not be a “Lifetime Achievement” award (i.e., a make-up call)—it will be because in this film, he absolutely deserves it for throwing himself into Iñárritu’s treacherous pit of film production and coming out alive, giving us a preeminent acting performance in the process.
I would be stupid not to at least mention Tom Hardy here, as he also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, but I will point you to 
This is where The Big Short blows every film about the most recent financial crisis out of the water. Don’t get me wrong—The Big Short definitely still features some convoluted financial lingo, but it is writer/director Adam McKay’s method for making this complex subject understandable to the average layperson that makes the film so brilliant. He dumbs the subject matter down but never in a condescending manner—it is instead enjoyable and exciting. McKay perfectly utilizes the film technique known as “breaking the fourth wall.” In order to make this intricately dense subject comprehensible, his characters speak directly to the audience. Early on, Ryan Gosling’s character breaks the fourth wall to tell us, “I’m guessing most of you still don’t know what really happened? Yeah, you’ve got a sound bite you repeat so you don’t sound dumb but c’mon.” It’s true—most people watching don’t know what all really happened. Throughout the film, McKay uses famous celebrities in cameo roles to break the fourth wall and explain preposterously baffling financial terms to us. 
Margot Robbie is featured in a bubble bath sipping champagne as she breaks down “sub-prime loans,” and Selena Gomez is later shown at a poker table in Las Vegas to explain what a “synthetic collateralized debt obligation” is. These brief vignettes work—they dumb down the terminology for us so that throughout the rest of the film, we can completely understand what is going on when those financial words are referred to. McKay and co-writer Charles Randolph’s strategy is incredible, and it makes this movie so much fun to watch.
Although this film is hilarious throughout, the third act puts everything into perspective: This story is, first and foremost, a heartbreaking tragedy. Adam McKay is the comedic genius behind iconic comedies like Anchorman, Talladega Nights, and Step Brothers, so he obviously has a knack for humor. In The Big Short, he brings those deft comedic chops to the table dexterously. But I was most incredibly impressed with how he, as a proven comedic filmmaker, handled the brutally dramatic reality of the financial collapse. The movie made me laugh, but it also made me angry. I found myself bouncing between happiness and sadness throughout. During the film, you see the deceptive behavior conducted on Wall Street, and you want to see those guys suffer. When McKay’s characters come into the fold with the genius “big short” idea, you root for these guys. You want to see them succeed in their risky investments. 
But one scene towards the end with Brad Pitt summed up the true message of the film flawlessly. While Pitt’s character’s associates are celebrating the fact that their bet appears to be paying off (while the audience was internally cheering, too), Pitt reminds them what their success really means: “If we’re right, people lose homes. People lose jobs. People lose retirement savings. People lose pensions.” At one of the film’s highest points, this quote brings it all crashing down to the floor—this crisis ruined people’s lives. As mentioned above, this truly brings everything into perspective.
Another amazing aspect of The Big Short is the acting. Wow, McKay assembled an incredible cast. Christian Bale has garnered the most attention, as he has received a wealth of nominations at major award shows this season, including an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. He plays the real-life Dr. Michael Burry, an antisocial hedge fund manager who initially conceives the idea of “the big short.” Bale is obviously one of the best actors in the game, and I admit, he was spot-on in his portrayal; however, I thought he gave the third-best performance of the film. The top two acting performances in my mind were Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling. 
Carell plays Mark Baum, a character based on the real-life Steve Eisman. The character is bitterly angry all of the time at the big banks, and he receives his calling in life to participate in “the big short” because he can once and for all stick it to the guys he sees as society’s real criminals. Carell was fantastic last year in his Oscar-nominated role in Foxcatcher, but for me, this was his greatest acting achievement. 
My favorite performance, though, was Ryan Gosling as Jared Vennett, a character based on the real-life Greg Lippmann. Vennett is a talented bond salesman for Deutsche Bank who, like Dr. Burry, makes the decision to short collateralized debt obligations (CDOs). His character is a cynical greaseball, but all the while charming. Gosling brings his heartthrob persona to this character brilliantly, and he definitely gives a performance that should have resulted in an Oscar nomination. The Big Short is rated R for pervasive language and some sexuality/nudity.
This film is not about the US’s “war on drugs.” Sicario is 100% about the drug war—a meticulous difference that must be recognized. This subject matter has become more and more popular for the film industry in recent memory, but that was not always the case. In 2000, Steven Soderbergh gave us Traffic, an Oscar-winning film that broke new ground as it pertained to the drug-cartel crisis at the border; however now, in present day, this topic is seen quite often. In 2013, there was the critically acclaimed documentary Narco Cultura, which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. And aside from Sicario, 2015 also brought us Cartel Land, a gripping documentary about vigilante groups on each side of the border fighting back against the cartels—this film earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary. I mention the recent history of this genre to highlight the fact that director Denis Villeneuve does not tackle some innovative topic with Sicario. However, this film quickly became one of my absolute favorites from the year because Villeneuve and his cinematographer (Roger Deakins) have made the trek to the well of Mexican-American drug-war films and come back with a unique perspective that is both spine tingling and visually stunning.
Villeneuve and Deakins begin the film with incredibly horrific images, and these same types of gruesome illustrations are pervasive throughout. We see the walls in a seemingly empty house on the Arizona-Mexico border torn down to reveal tens of dead bodies; when the task force strolls through downtown Juarez, dead bodies hang from bridges. These moments set the tone for Villeneuve’s film. We as Americans have many anxieties and speculative expectations about our border relations with Mexico as they relate to the drug war—via these visceral images, Villeneuve and Deakins validate those fears. This is war; it is real, and it is not pretty! Another aspect of the film that stands out is its take on deceit and duality. 
With the exception of Kate, it is difficult to pinpoint or even comprehend the characters’ motives. It is never revealed who Matt Graver even really works for—he is a “special agent,” but for who? And Alejandro is as enigmatic as they come. Villeneuve previously tackled morally duplicitous characters in Prisoners (2013), but he expands upon that examination with far more depth in Sicario. All in all, Villeneuve crafts an inimitable vision in Sicario, and cinematographer Roger Deakins paints that picture with his camera in the most instinctive ways possible.
The acting in Sicario is absolutely first-rate. The stars are an incredibly talented trio: Emily Blunt, Benicio del Toro, and Josh Brolin. Brolin portrays special agent Matt Graver, a seemingly relaxed soldier who has apparently found his calling in the drug war. When he first meets Kate, he strolls into FBI offices wearing the epitome of casual dress: flip-flops. Behind his laid-back exterior, though, is a menacing man—Matt takes his actual work serious, and if you are not on board, then in his mind, GTFO! Brolin has made a pretty solid career out of playing this type of character—the ostensible douche—but that is because he is such a talented actor. I always bought into Brolin in this role, and although his significance is laconic, his performance is adroit.
The film’s best performances come from Blunt and del Toro. Emily Blunt is by far one of my favorite actresses (she is incredibly talented and undeniably fetching), and in 2014, she made her mark as a cinematic badass with her role as Sergeant Rita Vrataski in Edge of Tomorrow. That performance gained her action-star credibility, but her character could not be more different in Sicario. Kate Macer plays by the rules. She needs formulaic process and boundaries. She needs a clear-cut objective. Thus, Kate is in for a rude awakening when her mission with Matt and Alejandro blurs the mechanical lines she so desperately requires. In one scene, Kate asks Matt, “What’s our objective?” Matt responds, “To dramatically overreact.” This really is the task, and it makes Kate uncomfortable. In another scene, Kate discusses tracking down the leader of the cartels, to which Alejandro responds, “Every day I cross that border, people are kidnapped with or killed with his blessing. To find him would be like discovering a vaccine.” 
In this moment, Kate realizes not only the gravity of her mission, but also the confliction of it—the drug cartels keep these task forces in business, so at some point they are necessary. Although I initially thought Blunt’s character was a bit too dry and unappealing, I now realize how important she is. Blunt’s performance was not showy and dramatic—the kind that will garner you Oscars. But she was calculated—effective and honest. Blunt succeeded in that endeavor. 
As far as Benicio del Toro, he absolutely should have been nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. The complexity of his character required not panache, but enigma; it needed not loquaciousness, but quiet subtleties. Del Toro delivered with perfection. Two scenes stood out for me in regards to his performance. At one point in the film, there is a wildly gripping moment during a traffic jam on the drive back to the US from Mexico. As the tension builds, Alejandro is at the center of the commotion. Benicio del Toro thrived in this moment. Additionally, the climax of the film (which I will not spoil here) features del Toro at his best—that one scene makes the entire viewing experience worth it! Sicario is rated R for strong violence, grisly images, and language.
This movie is not your run-of-the-mill sci-fi. This movie is an experience unlike many others I’ve ever had—it’s a psychological thriller that is more of a character study than anything else. I have enjoyed a range of other “artificial intelligence” films in the past, such as Steven Spielberg’s A.I. (2001) and I, Robot (2004), but those movies never quite accomplished what Ex Machina has—in my opinion, the depth and genius of Ex Machina starts with writer/director Alex Garland. Garland cemented himself in the industry with his striking screenplay for the horror film 28 Days Later (2002), and in that script, he created one of the finest films in the horror genre; however, his story never became too “tropey,” meaning it never seemed cliché. In Ex Machina, he has done the same thing—only better! The plot of the film leaves the door wide open for a filmmaker to shell out the same boring motifs that already saturate this genre. Thankfully, Garland avoided this temptation and delivered a film that this genre should look to as the modern standard.
I do not want to sugarcoat anything—the film definitely gets incredibly philosophical, pondering what really makes us human. It is a lofty idea to conceptualize, but Garland does so in stunning fashion. His visuals are remarkable (Ava was part live-action and part-CGI), and his characters are even more spectacular. For starters, Ava’s entire existence and ability to learn how to interact like a human sets the tone for the twists, turns, and overall message of Garland’s film. She constantly poses thought-provoking questions to Caleb during his “Turing Test” research. Little by little, these questions create struggles for Caleb that manifest in him questioning his true role in Nathan’s experiment—he especially wonders about his very own existence. 
Speaking of Nathan, he is the most captivating character for me. He is a billionaire tech-genius with seemingly enough resources to live a lavish life. But the lavishness is not what one would imagine—he lives in a beautiful home (which doubles as a research facility), but he is completely secluded from the real world. In this home he is imprisoned, both mentally and physically, and he appears to be nothing more than a reclusive savant/madman. He claims to create Ava for purely scientific purposes, but it is apparent that his motivations are to create the perfect woman—this is his downfall.
Aside from Garland’s filmmaking vision, Ex Machina impresses from an acting standpoint. I am a huge fan of Domhnall Gleeson—he is incredibly charismatic in every role he takes on, but in Ex Machina, he ends up being more of a placeholder than anything else. It is worth noting that although Alicia Vikander and Oscar Isaac outperform Gleeson, this is not due to the latter’s own acting abilities, but instead the fact that Garland left the real story arcs to Ava and Nathan. Vikander nails her portrayal of Ava with grace, yet mystery. Playing a robot-like character is a tall task for any actor, but Vikander succeeds by delivering a perfect character equilibrium—Ava is not too robotic, but not too human, either. Vikander broke out as an actress in 2015, but despite the Oscar nomination for The Danish Girl, this, in my opinion, was her best performance from the past year. As alluded to earlier, I was exceptionally fascinated by Oscar Isaac’s performance as Nathan. He makes hilariously dry jokes and drinks copious amounts of alcohol—Isaac thrives off his character’s apparent charm. But at the same time, Nathan is demented and scary. This two-faced personality profile makes Nathan a character that cannot be trusted, even by the viewer—you never know if Nathan is showing his true colors. 
Oscar Isaac also helmed my favorite scene from the film. At a critical point in the movie where Caleb’s trust in Nathan is rapidly waning, Nathan’s assistant (Sonoya Mizuno) starts to dance on Nathan’s command. Nathan tells Caleb to dance with her, but Caleb has no interest—he wants to speak one-on-one with Nathan and question him about Ava. While asking Nathan what he was doing with Ava, Caleb says, “You tore up her picture.” Without missing a beat, Nathan pompously boasts, “I’m gonna tear up the fucking dance floor, dude, check it out.” Not taking Caleb seriously, Nathan and his assistant then proceed to engage in one of the greatest dance scenes in film history—far and away my favorite moment! Ex Machina is rated R for graphic nudity, language, sexual references, and some violence.
Spotlight is sad, angering, and despicable at times—that is what makes it so incredibly compelling. The Catholic Church has immense power and prominence worldwide, but the fact that this story takes place in Boston is vital—the Catholic Church is a way of life in Boston, just like the Red Sox and clam chowder. In the film, the Globe’s new editor Marty Baron kicks off the investigation, and the journalists are initially thrown off—characters question Baron vigorously about whether it is such a good idea to take on the Catholic Church in a community where that institution permeates everyday life. Throughout the investigation, citizens of Boston—including lawyers, members of the Church, and even victims of sexual abuse from Boston priests—are hesitant to speak with the “Spotlight” team, and some are even downright appalled that this story is even a thing. It is against this backdrop that makes Spotlight such an important film: Sexual abuse in the Catholic Church runs rampant, and yet, as contemptible as it sounds, everyone who denies the graveness of the scandal becomes complicit in its cover up.
Although Spotlight is by far one of the best movies from 2015, I do not credit Tom McCarthy with much of its success as a director (he did co-write the script, which is impressive). I know, this sounds like a pretty bold and cynical statement considering McCarthy received an Oscar nomination for Best Director (I assure you, he does not deserve the nomination—especially since The Martian’s Ridley Scott was left out of the category in a year when he absolutely deserved to be included), but Spotlight thrives off its screenplay and story. Visually, there is nothing that jumps out as unique; the camerawork is simple and McCarthy’s direction is minimal. 
Spotlight makes its mark due to its remarkable script, written by McCarthy and Josh Singer. The story is gripping, and the screenplay reads like a thriller at times. With every passing moment, the substance of the film grows more sickening, and it is this tough-to-stomach plotline that keeps you on the edge of your seat. McCarthy (as a writer) and Singer rely on their award-winning source material to guide this film, and they do so with marvelous precision.
Despite the fact that the film succeeds due to its heavy reliance on the story, a talented ensemble cast carries out this triumph dexterously. The film features great performances from Michael Keaton, Liev Schreiber, John Slattery, and Stanley Tucci. However, the best performances come from 
Ruffalo plays Michael Rezendes, a “Spotlight” reporter whose unyielding efforts to take on the Catholic Church provided some of the most noteworthy insights into the scandal. Ruffalo is a masterful actor, and his portrayal of Rezendes earned him his third Oscar nomination in six years. McAdams delivers my favorite performance in the film as Sacha Pfeiffer, another “Spotlight” reporter. 
Pfeiffer’s character has one of the more fundamental, yet complex character arcs, and McAdams excels in her portrayal. Pfeiffer’s grandmother is a devout Catholic, and Sacha attends mass with her regularly. This storyline delineates the constant confliction McAdams’s character faces—how can she reconcile her loyalty to her grandmother with her determination to take down the Church as a disreputable institution? McAdams flourishes in this role. Spotlight is rated R for some language including sexual references.
The Reel Countdown 