Daniel's Top 5 favorite movies of 2022

Hello readers. Another year has come and gone. 2022 was a busy year and I did not write any blogs. But my new year resolution is setting aside free time to write about what I will be reading and watching in 2023. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. So today I am taking the first step in that journey, to sharing with you, my top 5 favorite movies of 2022. Perhaps some movies from my list interest you. I wish you all happy holidays. Without further ado, let me dive into my list.

5. Hatching

Genre: Horror

The first movie on my list is a Finnish psychological horror film called Hatching. This movie tells the story of a young gymnast called Tinja. Her mother is a popular social media influencer, a woman obsessed about using her video blogs to make the world believe her family is perfect. Tinja is desperate to please her mother. But everything changed when she found and brought home a strange egg. Hatching has a unique story and I like its message. It is a shame that my local cinema only showed Hatching for a brief time. This movie is more meaningful than most of the blockbusters in 2022. 

4. Barbarian

Genre: Horror

When I first heard of Barbarian I thought it was a sword and sorcery epic. Then I heard it is a horror movie set in Detroit and it piqued my interest. I walked into the cinema without knowing what it is about. When the end credit rolled, I understood why the movie is called Barbarian. This is an interesting movie. It used the horrors effectively to communicate its themes and message. The first 20 minutes of the movie reminded me of horror tropes. But the story quickly took unexpected turns and the rest of the movie surprised me. This is good stuff. It is refreshing. Most importantly, the events transpired in the movie is not impossible. A few years ago I read about similar stories in the news. Barbarian is worth checking out and it is a breathe of fresh air in the Horror genre. 

3. Nope:

Genre: Sci-fi thriller

I have never seen a movie quite like Nope. This movie is sci-fi, but it also feels western. This is a very good movie. If you are going to see it, then the less you know about the story the better. The movie took 20 minutes to establish the characters, and so the pace was a bit slow at the start. But the story became more and more intriguing in the following acts. I was glued to my seat in the final chapter. It was a nail biter. The director of Nope Jordan Peele, the director of Get Out and Us. This is a talented and creative director. I like all of his movies (including last year's Candy Man). Nope is another excellent addition to his growing cinematic library. I can't wait to see his next film.

2. The Menu

Genre: Black Comedy thriller

In The Menu, a couple travelled by boat to dine at an exclusive restaurant on a private island. Their culinary adventure, however, turned into an evening of nightmares. Who'd thought a black comedy about fine dining can be so entertaining! I am not sure what inspired The Menu's screenplay, but it is ingenious. The Menu is funny and thought provoking. The performances are stunning and it is an excellent production. I like the movie's critiques on the absurdity and the pretentiousness of the foodie culture. The movie reminded me of one particular experience from the past; many years ago, I attended a conference dinner at a luxury hotel in Europe. The dress code was formal. The pompous dinner, thankfully funded by my supervisor, costed 150 Euros. When the waiters brought out the main course, it was served on a large, beautiful plate covered by an elegant silver lid. Every waiter was professional, each had his and her hand on the lid, waiting to lift the lid for each diner at unison. It suffices to say, every guest was starring at his/her food in great anticipations. When the waiters finally lifted the lid, every diner's face, including my own, immediately plummeted to stunned disappointment. You see, underneath the silver lid, a tiny piece of steak (or fish) sat on the plate, decorated by a few broccoli. The food didn't even taste good. Next to me sat a professor from an Italian university, and also a postdoc from a mainland Chinese university. The Chinese postdoc had a incredulous look on his face, and the Italian professor assured him that European people don't usually dine in such fashions. Suffice it to say the main course was lacking in both quality and quantity. Yet no one commented on the food. I also kept my mouth shut about the main course, because I was afraid that if I made negative comments about such a pompous affair, I would be perceived as uncultured. But the dinner event instilled in me a ravenous hunger, which I sated with a quarter pounder burger at McDonalds, after the dinner event (my Asian palate was really craving for a bowl of warm, hearty beef noodle soup, but a burger was the most fulfilling thing I could find at the time). I can relate to the main theme in The Menu. It is a great movie and there is no movie quite like it.

1. The Batman

Genre: Superhero

I have not liked any superhero movies in the past 6 years. The problem is they made too many and it feels repetitive and soulless. This is why, initially I was skeptical about a new Batman movie. But my interest piqued after I heard the new Batman movie was to be in the style of a Hitchcock thriller. So I gave it go. On a rainy night in March I saw The Batman at the cinema. And it turned out to be my best cinematic experience in years. I love every aspect of this movie. The performances were top notch. The story had me at the edge of my seat the whole time. This movie is drenched in atmosphere, thanks to its great productions and the excellent soundtracks. The movie is 3 hours long but it flew by, as if only one hour passed. The movie is now available on home media. I have re-watched it three times on UHD Blu ray, and every viewing is amazing. This incarnation of Bruce Wayne is like Kurt Cobain. In terms of the worldbuilding, the "goth" is finally back in Gotham city. The story highlights Bruce Wayne's prowess as a detective. As a result, this movie is a noir crime thriller, in the fashion of Se7en and Zodiac. Bruce Wayne spent most of the movie gathering clues and solving puzzles than punching criminals, and so the pace is slower than the typical action superhero movies. But I love it! Detective Batman works. This take on the Batman is what Batman movies should have always been. I like The Batman even more than The Dark Knight. I hope the director get to make a trilogy of these noir detective Batman movies. There are many ways to watch this movie. Now you can watch it on streaming, DVD, HD Blu Ray, and 4k UHD Blu Ray. The best way to watch this movie was obviously in the cinema, but the closest to the cinematic experience is to watch it on the 4K UHD Blu Ray, the physical media. Nothing else, not even the 4K streaming, comes close to the physical 4k UHD Blu ray. This is because The Batman is a very dark movie. The HDR on the physical 4K UHD disc can bring out the details in the pictures. So if you have a 4k TV and a 4K UHD Blu Ray player, then make sure you grab the 4k UHD physical disc and check it out. This is an excellent movie. If you like Se7en, then you will love The Batman.