As promised, here are the rest of the films from 2022 you should catch up on if you haven’t seen them already. Read part 1 here
In no particular order other than the order I put them in:
6. Nope
Don’t say nope to Nope. Another incredible film from writer/director Jordan Peele, it’s about an alien creature visiting Earth and eating all the snacks. Talk about rude! This alien is the worst house guest. As with Peele’s other works, Nope balances out smart plotting, sharp symbolism, brilliant acting and characterization, laughs, and scary-as-hell-shit! Nope stars Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, and Brandon Perea.
Interview with The Walking Dead Cast- What Would You Do If You Were Bitten by a Zombie
7. Thirteen Lives
Based on a true story, Thirteen Lives illuminates how 13 Thai boys on a football team got trapped deep in a system of caves when a playful jaunt goes horribly wrong. People from across the globe join forces to try to get the boys out in this nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat film. Viggo Mortensen, Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton, Tom Bateman, and Paul Gleeson play a group of highly skilled cave divers racing against time to rescue the boys. Thirteen Lives balances out all of this white-knuckle suspense with some genuinely wholesome warm-and-fuzzies from the moments of togetherness and cooperation.
8. The Lost City
Two of my favorite comedy actors, Channing Tatum and Sandra Bullock, team up in The Lost City. These two are peanut butter and jelly for me- a perfect combination. They’ve got terrific chemistry and the chops to handle the rapid pace of jokes, surprise cameos, and mild action.
9. The Princess
The Princess stars Joey King, Dominic Cooper, Olga Kurylenko, and Veronica Ngo. If you notice, three of those main characters are women- a major point in and of itself. The Princess’ plot is so simple that the question of whether this counts as a parody often crossed my mind. There’s a Princess (Joey King) who refuses an arranged marriage to an evil man (Dominic Cooper), so that evil man and his baddies take The King’s (Ed Stoppard) castle and The Princess hostage. She must fight her way out to save her family. This is another film that would qualify as a Die Hard in a “fill in the blank.” This time it’s Die Hard in a medieval castle with The Princess wrecking shit and kicking ass up and down the stone walls. Read my full review of The Princess
10. Barbarian
If you want to watch something damn good, something smartly-assembled and meaningfully arranged, something that’ll make you feel ill-at-ease for a full hour and forty-two minutes, put on Barbarian. Two strangers, Tess (Georgina Campbell) and Keith (Bill Skarsgard), book the same Airbnb through a glitch in the on-line booking system. They decide to make it work and both stay there, awkwardly sharing the house. Even before things get bad (and boy do they ever get bad) director Zack Cregger infuses tension into even the most mundane moments of the film. And once things really get rolling the tension builds up, up, up until the very end. Much like Nope, Barbarian‘s themes and execution are perfect for getting the mind moving along and the conversation going afterwards.
11. Enola Holmes 2
Millie Bobby Brown charms the bajeezus outta audiences as the titular Enola Holmes, sister to Sherlock Holmes’ (Henry Cavill) in this teen sleuth sequel. Enola’s smart, independent, charmingly odd and impressively skilled- but, unlike too many other protagonists, she’s not so skilled that she can do it all. She fails, often, and fumbles and stumbles through things sometimes much as a real person would, having to think on her feet when plans go to shit. Plus, Enola Holmes 2’s fun central mystery is based on the true historical events of the Matchgirls Strike in 1888. Yes, that means feminist tones. Beware, he-man woman haters! And the underlying love story between Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge) and Enola smashes the archaic idea of the man being the leader and superior one. Enola and Tewkesbury respect each other as equals, each with their own strengths and value.
Disclaimer: Just because I am the Action Flick Chick and love action movies does not mean I condone real life violence in any way. Everyone has their own shit to deal with, be nice to each other.
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