As we herald in another year, it's that time to celebrate the year that was at the cinema. Kate Rodger counts down her top 10 films of 2022.
10. Mrs Harris Goes to Paris
Charming our Chanel socks off at number 10 is the marvel of Lesley Manville in Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. She brings such an irrepressible joy to our every moment and in these crazy ole times what a lovely feeling that is.
9. Elvis
Anarchic, pulsating, exhilarating - Elvis is my number nine. This film was always going to rise or fall on its Elvis and Austin Butler is quite simply a sensation as he delivers a riveting rock 'n' roll performance steeped in the heart and soul of a legend.
8. She Said
At number eight is a Hollywood story told by Hollywood itself. She Said is the harrowing journey of the two New York Times reporters who exposed Harvey Weinstein. It seeped into my pores and left me repulsed, enraged and ultimately inspired.
7. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
Of course you had me at Nicolas Cage, this five-star bolter of a meta-comedy is self-deprecating homme homage at its most entertaining. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is a story written with love, and embedded with bonding and friendship. And the glue holding it all together is our love of the movies.
6. Avatar: The Way of Water
At number six and dominating the holiday box office is Avatar: The Way of Water.
King of the world James Cameron dials up the extraordinary sensory experience as we celebrate the singular joy of the big screen blockbuster with an Avatar as good if not better than its predecessor.
5. Triangle of Sadness
Headlining my top five for 2022, Triangle of Sadness is a flawlessly and revoltingly rendered dark black comedy that entirely floated my boat in the most unexpected of ways.
4. Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Radical, powerful, ground-breaking, life-affirming, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande should snaffle Emma Thompson another Oscar nomination as she and her break-out co-star Daryl McCormack and their director Sophie Hyde understand and deliver on the absolute power of storytelling through the female lens.
3. Muru
At number three is Muru. Māori filmmaker Te-arepa Kahi writes and directs a phenomenal Cliff Curtis in a potent defiant story informed by the Tūhoe raids. A story told with a potent pulsating urgency, Muru left me in shreds.
2. Everything Everywhere All at Once
Everything Everywhere All at Once may be one of the most death-defying, genre-defying, insanely original films ever witnessed on the big screen. In a world full of remakes, reboots and sequels this is truly madly deeply original - mythical and just magical.
1. Top Gun: Maverick
Living up to the 80s cultural touchstone that is Top Gun was a tall order but Maverick flew back into our hearts to remind us it's not the plane it's the pilot and to stop watching movies on your sofa.
Top Gun: Maverick is the epitome of the big screen blockbuster bringing with it all the fist-pumping adrenaline, death-defying in-camera dog-fighting and all the feels we all need and deserve from a 2022 Top Gun and my top film of the year.
