Thankfully after two long pandemic years, I made it to the theater a lot this year! I worry about the future of the movie theater industry but it’s hard to worry too much when I can go see such big screen spectacle as the films below.

Hopefully more of the studios will give their films a proper release in the future and get away from “direct to streaming”. Even Netflix’s Glass Onion got a one week run over Thanksgiving.

1. The Fabelmans. Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical opus features a knockout performance from Michelle Williams and some of the most emotional and dynamic scenes of the year.
2. Tár. Cate Blanchett plays the most nuanced and fully fleshed out character in film this year, as Todd Field expertly builds to a perfect ending.
3. The Northman. I saw an online review call this movie “the kind of art the Vikings would create if you gave them a camera”. Robert Eggers knows how to pack his films with finely realized detail and unforgettable imagery.
4. Glass Onion. There is no minute of this film that’s not fun. The kind of movie that if it had come out 20 years ago I would have watched it 600 times on cable.
5. Prey. A Predator movie in my top 10? Believe it. This takes the franchise back 300 years and features a young Comanche woman taking on bears, Predators, and worst of all, the French. Astoundingly good action sequences.
6. The Banshees of Inisherin. A strong sense of place and incredible acting buoy this Irish tale of a friendship gone sour.
7. Top Gun: Maverick. Never leave your wingman.
8. Avatar: The Way of Water. I get that it’s not for everyone – the three hour runtime, the cheesy script. But those underwater sequences, my god! I saw it in full IMAX 3D and can’t wait to go back.
9. Kimi. This fun little thriller from Steven Soderbergh brings a lot of tension and also some great location filming right here in Seattle! I may be biased.
10. Decision To Leave. The latest from Korean master Park Chan-Wook, this twisty tale of a policeman and the widow he’s investigating goes to some dark places. The cinematography is phenomenal, the kind of movie where that justifies the phrase “every frame a painting”.

Honorable Mentions: Jackass Forever, Babylon, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Confess Fletch, Three Thousand Years of Longing, Nope, Turning Red, Men, Emily the Criminal, Ambulance

Hope everyone had a great year! I bought a townhouse and in general got out a bit more in 2022, but I also enjoyed some really great television. Here’s the result of me spending way too much on streaming subscriptions.

One thing that many of my favorite shows have in common is a strong “sense of place”. I love a show that uses location shooting and careful details to give a real sense of a specific place and time. This year I traveled from pre-war Korea to modern Sicily to every corner of America, all without leaving my couch. (I did leave my couch and do some literal travelling though, I’m not a shut-in).

1. Atlanta (FX/Hulu). Donald Glover gave us the gift of not one but two new seasons this year, sadly the last seasons we’re going to get. In season 3 the gang explored Europe before returning to Atlanta for the final season. Glover and team continue to play with surrealism and explore race and society with both insight and hilarity.
2. Severance (Apple TV+). A shockingly original sci-fi tale that explores the modern corporate workplace with a ton of humor and suspense. Looking forward to season two!
3. The White Lotus (HBO Max). The second season of Mike White’s resort-set anthology moves to Sicily and explores love, sex, and money under the Italian sun. In only seven episodes the show introduces a cast of characters and then carefully dissects how desire drives them.
4. Andor (Disney Plus). I’m pretty surprised to be recommending a Star Wars show but this was one of 2022’s more welcome surprises. It’s my kind of Star Wars – no Jedi, no light sabers, no Force. Just a surprisingly intricate drama that weaves exciting action setpieces with deft politics.
5. Reservation Dogs (FX/Hulu). I caught up on both seasons of this Native American comedy that follows four teens coming of age on the Oklahoma reservation. Riotously funny and stuffed with vibrant characters, this is a show I recommend to anyone.
6. Pachinko (Apple TV+). A sprawling inter-generational tale that follows a family from Korea to Japan, this literary adaptation recalls many epic miniseries of the 1980s.
7. The Bear (FX/Hulu). Working in a restaurant seems like the most stressful job ever. Makes for great television!
8. The Sandman (Netflix). I really enjoyed this comic-book adaptation about a god of dreams and nightmares. Inventive and lyrical, particularly the episode about Death which I think was my favorite single episode of any show this year.
9. Bad Sisters (Apple TV+). This Irish crime show about four sisters plotting the death of their brother-in-law varies widely in tone, at times feeling almost like a live-action Looney Tunes as the sisters’ murder plots go haywire. But it remains emotionally affecting up until the powerful conclusion.
10. Better Call Saul (AMC). Nothing to say here I haven’t said in previous years. A perfect bittersweet ending for Jimmy and Kim!

Honorable Mentions: For All Mankind, This is Going to Hurt, Starstruck, The Dropout, Peacemaker, We Own This City, Karen Pirie, Abbott Elementary, Shoresy, Harley Quinn, She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law, The Afterparty, Pam and Tommy, The Rehearsal, Barry, Rick and Morty, The Flight Attendant, Ms. Marvel, Players, Russian Doll

Still on my list to watch: Irma Vep, Fleishman is in Trouble, Our Flag Means Death, plus new seasons of Hacks, Girls 5eva, Only Murders in the Building, Mythic Quest, Bridgerton, and Undone.

2021 carry-overs that I loved: Yellowjackets, Station Eleven, Starstruck.

Best opening credits sequences: Pachinko, Bad Sisters, Winning Time, Severance, and of course Peacemaker.