Our film critics continue to chase that feeling of being utterly obliterated by what they see onscreen.
Best of 2022
The best entertainment of the year, as chosen by Vultures critics.
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The year 2022 has not been great for movies.
Alison Willmore:I dont think this has been a great year for movies.
There were things to admire, sure.
Yet Im still waiting for that feeling of being utterly obliterated by what Ive just seen onscreen.
Angelica Jade Bastien:Unfortunately, that has been a recurrent theme in moviegoing for me this year.
Ive also been surprised by a lot of films this year.
I was also grateful to be able to see most of these films in theaters.
Sadly, that wont be the case for most viewers.
You mentionedAftersun, Bilge, which is terrific and which happens to be scaled unapologetically for intimacy.
But I agree; we need to redefine whats worth going to the theater to see.
I loved seeing a precisely defined masterwork likeTarin the theater.
I mean, there were peoplescreamingin my audience forThe Woman Kingat key points; that was glorious.
Suddenly, a human face is bigger than you; that demands your attention and creates a unique connection.
Angelica:And that connection can be built by a single performance.
Im curious to hear from yall about how performances have shaped your understanding of the year in film.
I just want to talk about acting, baby!
I love the scene where she threatens that playground bully.
Rayan Sarlak inHit the Roadand Frankie Corio inAftersungive uncommonly great kids performances of unforced frankess.
And I have to mention Rebecca Hall inResurrection.
A Hollywood film with genuine feminist bona fides feels like an impossibility these days.
Bette Davis once said, Acting should be bigger than life.
Scripts should be bigger than life.
It should all be bigger than life.
Lynchs is also a supporting role.
And then theres Maya Vanderbeque, the child star of the intense, riveting Belgian bullying dramaPlayground.
Shes what 7 years old, 8?
How does someone that young achieve such incredible depth?
Ive written before aboutmy general aversionto the punch in of Theyre unrecognizable!
Is Frasergoodin this role?
I think he has moments, but mostly he is just a spectacle.
Were there any movies you downright loathed this year?
Or were there any you cant stop thinking about even if you dont think they worked?
But the film I utterly loathed this year isBlonde.
You could say Im downright incandescent with rage toward this film.
And it isnt just because I have such admiration for Marilyn Monroe (though thats part of it).
Neither works at all for me.
I keep thinking about it even though the whole thing leaves me totally cold.
Because, really, the movies we hate say more about us as people than they do about themselves.
In terms of self-knowledge, sometimes a bad movie is even more valuable than a good one.
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