2022 felt like the start of the return of movies since the pandemic. There were a huge variety of releases with some huge success' at the box office, Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water come to mind. It was a year where Disney decided to throw Pixar movies straight to Disney Plus, DC decided to "re-start" and Marvel films didn't quite hit right. Despite all this, there were many great movies to keep you busy and the Film Focus team has put together our Top 10 of the year, check it out below.
10. TURNING RED
Meilin (voice of Rosalie Chiang) is a confident, dorky 13-year-old torn between staying her mother's dutiful daughter and the chaos of adolescence. Her protective, if not slightly overbearing mother, Ming (voice of Sandra Oh), is never far from her daughter - an unfortunate reality for the teenager. And as if changes to her interests, relationships and body weren't enough, whenever she gets too excited (which is practically ALWAYS), she "poofs" into a giant red panda.
Tomatometer 🍅 95%
Audience score 🍿 71%
FILM FOCUS ONLINE RATING
Read review HERE
9. DECISION TO LEAVE
From a mountain peak in South Korea, a man plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed? When detective Hae-joon arrives on the scene, he begins to suspect the dead man's wife Seo-rae. But as he digs deeper into the investigation, he finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire.
Tomatometer 🍅 93%
Audience score 🍿 87%
FILM FOCUS ONLINE RATING
8. GUILLERMO EL TORRO'S PINOCCHIO
Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro reinvents Carlo Collodi's classic tale of the wooden marionette who is magically brought to life in order to mend the heart of a grieving woodcarver named Geppetto. This whimsical, stop-motion musical directed by Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson follows the mischievous and disobedient adventures of Pinocchio in his pursuit of a place in the world.
Tomatometer 🍅 97%
Audience score 🍿 92%
FILM FOCUS ONLINE RATING
Read review HERE
7. THE NORTHMAN
The Viking Age. With a mind aflame with hate and revenge, Prince Amleth, the wronged son of King Aurvandill War-Raven, heads to cold, windswept Iceland to retrieve what was stolen from him: a father, a mother, and a kingdom. And like a war dog picking up the enemy's scent, brutal Amleth embarks on a murderous quest to find the hateful adversary, whose life is forever woven together with his by the threads of fate. Now, in the name of Valhalla, no one can stop the Northman, not even God.
Tomatometer 🍅 89%
Audience score 🍿 64%
FILM FOCUS ONLINE RATING
Read review HERE
6. BONES AND ALL
A story of first love between Maren, a young woman learning how to survive on the margins of society, and Lee, an intense and disenfranchised drifter, as they meet and join together for a thousand-mile odyssey which takes them through the back roads, hidden passages and trap doors of Ronald Reagan's America. But despite their best efforts, all roads lead back to their terrifying pasts and to a final stand that will determine whether their love can survive their otherness.
Tomatometer 🍅 82%
Audience score 🍿 61%
FILM FOCUS ONLINE RATING
Read review HERE
5. THE BANSHEES OF INISHERIN
Set on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, The Banshees of Inirsherin follows lifelong friends Padraic (Colin Farrell) and Colm (Brendan Gleeson), who find themselves at an impasse when Colm unexpectedly puts an end to their friendship. A stunned Padraic, aided by his sister Siobhan (Kerry Condon) and troubled young islander Dominic (Barry Keoghan), endeavours to repair the relationship, refusing to take no for an answer. But Padraic's repeated efforts only strengthen his former friend's resolve and when Colm delivers a desperate ultimatum, events swiftly escalate, with shocking consequences.
Tomatometer 🍅 97%
Audience score 🍿 76%
FILM FOCUS ONLINE RATING
4. THE BATMAN
Batman ventures into Gotham City's underworld when a sadistic killer leaves behind a trail of cryptic clues. As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator's plans become clear, he must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued the metropolis
Tomatometer 🍅 85%
Audience score 🍿 87%
FILM FOCUS ONLINE RATING
Read review HERE
3. AFTERSUN
Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories real and imagined fill the gaps between as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn't.
Tomatometer 🍅 96%
Audience score 🍿 79%
FILM FOCUS ONLINE RATING
Read review HERE
2. TOP GUN: MAVERICK
Set 30 years after its predecessor, it follows Maverick's return to the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (also known as U.S. Navy-Fighter Weapons School - "TOPGUN"), where he must confront his past as he trains a group of younger pilots, among them the son of Maverick's deceased best friend Lieutenant Nick "Goose" Bradshaw, USN.
Tomatometer 🍅 96%
Audience score 🍿 99%
FILM FOCUS ONLINE RATING
Read review HERE
1. EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
With her laundromat teetering on the brink of failure and her marriage to wimpy husband Waymond on the rocks, overworked Evelyn Wang struggles to cope with everything, including a tattered relationship with her judgmental father Gong Gong and Joy, her daughter. And, as if facing a gloomy midlife crisis weren't enough, Evelyn must brace herself for an unpleasant meeting with an impersonal bureaucrat: Deirdre, the shabbily dressed IRS auditor. However, as the stern agent loses patience, an inexplicable multiverse rift becomes an eye-opening exploration of parallel realities. Will Evelyn jump down the rabbit hole? How many stars are there in the universe? Can weary Evelyn fathom the irrepressible force of possibilities, tap into newfound powers, and prevent an evil entity from destroying the thin, countless layers of the unseen world?
Tomatometer 🍅 95%
Audience score 🍿 89%
FILM FOCUS ONLINE RATING
Read review HERE