I really wanted to love THE NORTHMAN. Great first half. Maybe the issue of a scrappy indie director (seen it with bands, also) given too much lease in the form of massive budget and perhaps little editorial oversight, then run amok. Felt it was stretched out and a bit listless in the final act. Still, a gorgeous film.
Overall, like the lists! Thanx for letting the people speak (also, feel bad I forgot to submit one)
My top five are all here in either the top 10 or honourable mentions, and those five also happen to be the only five I've actually seen in the entire list. So who knows what my 2022 list will be like in ten years when I've finally gotten around to them all.
Maybe we should do a reader poll of 2012 in parallel.
Anyway, I wanted to again thank everyone who contributed to this poll, especially those who took the additional time to write their thoughts on the year in movies. I regret that I could not include everyone in the finished piece, but sometimes you have to make some hard cuts to keep things tight. I could not have been more pleased with the level of interest in participating in the poll and the quality of the writing on your end. I was also not surprised by it in the least. You all are the best!
Yay Aftersun!! A small film that not enough people have seen. I wish it got more than the Mescal Oscar nom, but I'm heartened to see it as #1 in the alternate scoring system. ↗️☀️
I didn't see enough new movies this year to contribute to the poll, but I wanted to point out something in Tar that non-musicians might not have noticed. For background: I sing in a major symphony chorus and have done Mahler 2 with the guy that the character who steals her score is based on (Gilbert Kaplan). The film gets SO MUCH right, but I particularly enjoyed the small touches like the Lully-gets-gangrene story that music history profs would always pull out to get a laugh.
Anyway, (SPOILERS for the ending of Tar incoming) there's a cool, subtle touch in the ending. She puts on headphones to conduct the video game concert. When you do one of those or a live film score or anything like that, the conductor is listening to a click track (at a minimum: they might also have a display in front of them giving cues and tempos). This keeps the music in time with what's on screen. Think back to the opening interview during which she talks about the importance of the "metronome" right hand and how the conductor controls time. In the end, she's lost her power over time.
I am (pleasantly) surprised to see Turning Red be the best performing animated film here, since I was under the impression that GDT's Pinocchio, Marcel the Shell, and the new Puss in Boots were all generally much more beloved among cinephile circles. All good films, but as an Asian-Canadian myself, it may not be a surprise that it was Turning Red that snuck onto my personal ballot, haha.
#BabylonHive rise up! Thanks for including my thoughts on it -- I've been reading you guys' writing for over 15 years, so it's a dream to have my words alongside yours.
Side note: I didn't have to click the link to know which Chicago location is the Landmark of the Damned. The Landmark patrons there do not know how to watch a movie in silence! I am still annoyed by the constant talking during The Souvenir Part I. Did you know that the lady behind me had a cigarette case just like the one on screen?
Very happy to see my comments made it! Tár rose a couple places once I saw it again but I probably would've left it the same just so that Resurrection gets more time in the sun. I wish i could shout out some other honorable mentions as well but alas, lists are lists.
Small correction: my last name is "Suber". Looking forward to doing this one again.
Love it. Great list and a solid representation of the year in cinema. Honored to have a bit of my writing included! Like you, I was positive on but not wowed by EEAAO. Let me tell you friends of mine who adored it were *not* happy to see it miss my top 20, and they made sure to let me know. Did either of you happen to catch The Cathedral? Seems I'm on an island for loving that film.
Shout out to my fellow Pearlies! I'm subjecting myself to Infinity Pool tonight almost entirely because of Mia Goth's performance in X/Pearl, but I will probably watch half the movie from between my fingers.
Proud to be among the “Best Three Subscribers We Have” -- Saw Confess, Fletch on a flight home, and had the best time at the movies in a long while. Thanks for the recommendation!
Mad God fans represent! Who's my partner in crime out there?
Honored to be quoted! Thank you!
I really wanted to love THE NORTHMAN. Great first half. Maybe the issue of a scrappy indie director (seen it with bands, also) given too much lease in the form of massive budget and perhaps little editorial oversight, then run amok. Felt it was stretched out and a bit listless in the final act. Still, a gorgeous film.
Overall, like the lists! Thanx for letting the people speak (also, feel bad I forgot to submit one)
My top five are all here in either the top 10 or honourable mentions, and those five also happen to be the only five I've actually seen in the entire list. So who knows what my 2022 list will be like in ten years when I've finally gotten around to them all.
Maybe we should do a reader poll of 2012 in parallel.
Firsties!
Anyway, I wanted to again thank everyone who contributed to this poll, especially those who took the additional time to write their thoughts on the year in movies. I regret that I could not include everyone in the finished piece, but sometimes you have to make some hard cuts to keep things tight. I could not have been more pleased with the level of interest in participating in the poll and the quality of the writing on your end. I was also not surprised by it in the least. You all are the best!
Yay Aftersun!! A small film that not enough people have seen. I wish it got more than the Mescal Oscar nom, but I'm heartened to see it as #1 in the alternate scoring system. ↗️☀️
I didn't see enough new movies this year to contribute to the poll, but I wanted to point out something in Tar that non-musicians might not have noticed. For background: I sing in a major symphony chorus and have done Mahler 2 with the guy that the character who steals her score is based on (Gilbert Kaplan). The film gets SO MUCH right, but I particularly enjoyed the small touches like the Lully-gets-gangrene story that music history profs would always pull out to get a laugh.
Anyway, (SPOILERS for the ending of Tar incoming) there's a cool, subtle touch in the ending. She puts on headphones to conduct the video game concert. When you do one of those or a live film score or anything like that, the conductor is listening to a click track (at a minimum: they might also have a display in front of them giving cues and tempos). This keeps the music in time with what's on screen. Think back to the opening interview during which she talks about the importance of the "metronome" right hand and how the conductor controls time. In the end, she's lost her power over time.
I am (pleasantly) surprised to see Turning Red be the best performing animated film here, since I was under the impression that GDT's Pinocchio, Marcel the Shell, and the new Puss in Boots were all generally much more beloved among cinephile circles. All good films, but as an Asian-Canadian myself, it may not be a surprise that it was Turning Red that snuck onto my personal ballot, haha.
#BabylonHive rise up! Thanks for including my thoughts on it -- I've been reading you guys' writing for over 15 years, so it's a dream to have my words alongside yours.
Side note: I didn't have to click the link to know which Chicago location is the Landmark of the Damned. The Landmark patrons there do not know how to watch a movie in silence! I am still annoyed by the constant talking during The Souvenir Part I. Did you know that the lady behind me had a cigarette case just like the one on screen?
This is fantastic, cheers! Love reading the reader responses and humbled to be included.
My sense of time is still warped—for whatever reason it didn’t register to me The Northman was this year.
Very happy to see my comments made it! Tár rose a couple places once I saw it again but I probably would've left it the same just so that Resurrection gets more time in the sun. I wish i could shout out some other honorable mentions as well but alas, lists are lists.
Small correction: my last name is "Suber". Looking forward to doing this one again.
Love it. Great list and a solid representation of the year in cinema. Honored to have a bit of my writing included! Like you, I was positive on but not wowed by EEAAO. Let me tell you friends of mine who adored it were *not* happy to see it miss my top 20, and they made sure to let me know. Did either of you happen to catch The Cathedral? Seems I'm on an island for loving that film.
Shout out to my fellow Pearlies! I'm subjecting myself to Infinity Pool tonight almost entirely because of Mia Goth's performance in X/Pearl, but I will probably watch half the movie from between my fingers.
Proud to be among the “Best Three Subscribers We Have” -- Saw Confess, Fletch on a flight home, and had the best time at the movies in a long while. Thanks for the recommendation!