In most years, the problem with assembling a Top 10 list is in finding enough titles that I would deem to be excellent. In 2022, the exact opposite problem arrived: I had to cut an additional 10 or so superb features. In my line of work, that’s a good problem to have.
‘Corsicana’
With a hearty mix of John Ford, Howard Hawkes, and Clint Eastwood, first-time director Isaiah Washington’s revisionist Western posing as a detective procedural is an unqualified masterpiece. Real-life U.S. Marshal Bass Reeves (Washington) scours most of middle Texas searching for a band of thugs whose depravity knows no bounds.
‘Eternal Spring’
This brilliant animated, Oscar-nominated, Chinese-language documentary from filmmaker Jason Loftus breaks all genre rules as it examines the events leading up to and the aftermath of the 2002 hacking of China’s state-controlled TV by Falun Gong practitioners, who follow a peace-loving, apolitical, spiritual path yet are persecuted by the paranoid Chinese communist regime.
‘Explorer’
Blood-related to the Fiennes acting family, Sir Ranulph Fiennes has lived a life that would embarrass most overachievers. This mesmerizing documentary covers every aspect of his storied life as a soldier, runner, mountain climber, globetrotter, author, and if that weren’t enough, a candidate to succeed Sean Connery as James Bond.
‘My Son Hunter’
Director Robert Davi pulled off the near impossible. This wickedly insightful, stinging satire pulls back the curtain on the (now acknowledged by everyone) Hunter Biden laptop scandal without preying on or making light of his chemical addictions. The feted corruption is passed down from father to son like a family heirloom.
‘Top Gun: Maverick’
Easily the highest-profile title thwarted by the 2020 theatrical lockdown in the wake of COVID-19, “TG:M” came roaring back two years later and singlehandedly saved brick-and-mortar theaters. Superior in every way to the 1986 original, it’s the highest-grossing film ever for Paramount Studios and producer-leading man Tom Cruise.
‘Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story’
Three years in the making, at a cost of just over $1 million, “DITH” looks like something costing 20 times as much. Writer-director Ben Masters presents a glorious celebration of life that will put anyone who witnesses its wonders in a state of utter amazement and awe.
‘Louis Armstrong’s Black and Blues’
Bolstered by the title subject’s voluminous personal audio and visual archives, director Sacha Jenkins takes what could have been just a standard issue bio-doc and turned it into an all-encompassing, cradle-to-grave celebration. As one of the two or three most influential American musicians of the 20th century, it was long overdue.
‘Confess, Fletch’
One of the rare reboots to warrant its existence, “Confess, Fletch” finds Jon Hamm taking over for original title-character Chevy Chase and besting him in every manner possible. It’s a perfect mix of razor-sharp wit, intelligent adult interplay, and sly, dry humor, all set before the backdrop of nasty art-world double-dealing.
‘Glass Onion’
Director Rian Johnson’s follow-up to “Knives Out” is every bit as clever, witty, smart, and engaging as its predecessor. Daniel Craig reprises his role as Benoit Blanc, a gentleman Southern sleuth invited to a swanky Greek island where a tech billionaire promises a murder over the weekend.
‘Empire of Light’
Ranking right up there with “American Beauty” and “1917,” “Empire of Light” finds writer-director Sam Mendes at the top of his game. Set in 1980s England, the story is a stirring love letter to movies, grand brick-and-mortar theaters, and the bittersweet memories of years gone by.
