Best (& Worst) Films and Series of 2022

[Sepulchrave II]

Good:

The Northman by Eggers. Total flop at the box office, but I thought it was awesome.
The White Lotus. This show is a blast; I felt Season 2 was even better than Season 1. Poignant, funny, sexy, whimsical, surrealist. Jennifer Coolidge and F Murray Abraham are awesome.
Avenue 5. Hugh Laurie as the incompetent captain of a wayward luxury starship. Lots of fun.

Utterly awful beyond all redemption:

The Rings of Power by Amazon. While I really tried to give it a fair crack-of-the-whip, it just heaped dung upon more dung. You could make a documentary series about all that is wrong with this show, and it would be more fun than the 8 grueling, tedious, disjunct and implausible hours of the original. My hat of RoP know no limit.


Other:

I feel that The Orville is in decline with S3, although I still enjoyed it and it remains the truest inheritor of the ST legacy for me.

I was pleasantly surprised with House of the Dragon and I think there is real potential there.

I watched Wheel of Time and it was meh, but I'd take it over RoP any day of the week.

 

[Older Beholder]

Good:
Avenue 5. Hugh Laurie as the incompetent captain of a wayward luxury starship. Lots of fun.

That reminds me, I need to go back and finish this, binged half a season ages ago but then forgot about it.

It feels to me like Red Dwarf meets The Good Place.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

I don't remember any truly awful things I saw last year. But the good stuff that sticks in my mind includes:

Cinema
Riders of Justice

TV
Arcane
Our Flag Means Death

 

[payn]

I disagree about Barry (so far) and Better Call Saul (which may have had a little filler, here and there, but largely justified each season).

I completely agree with The Walking Dead. Arguably, everything after Season 1 was superfluous at worst, and stretched out at best. And I find it hard to understand how it made it past season 4.

Gotta say, the new season of Barry has been back to prime.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

THE GOOD (Most memorable)
Possession (1983) ~ Saw this for the first time - only barely heard of it before. Isabella Adjani is amazing.
Everything, Everywhere, All At Once ~ One of those rare films that surprised me, with a bit of a lot of things. It just works.
Barbarian ~ This was a nice surprise, both with a classic horror feel but some new and unique qualities.
Men ~ Another horror film. I'm a big fan of Alex Garland, though didn't like this as much as Ex Machina or Annihilation, but still very good.
The Stranger ~ A rare film I went into not knowing what it was about, and it surprised me.
Nope ~ Not nearly as good as Get Out, but still another good film from Jordan Peele.
Severance ~ This was terrific - can't wait to see the second season.
The Bear ~ Hits a lot of great notes, and Jeremy Allen White is fantastic.
Black Spot ~ Feels a bit like a Nordic Noir, but with a supernatural (and French) bent. Loved it.
Outer Range ~ Just captures a lot of qualities I like: sci-fi, with a moody and mystical bent.
Archive 81 ~ So bummed this was cancelled!
A Bunch of Nordic Noir ~ I watched a bunch of these series this year, too many to name so I'll include them in one group. My favorites were Bordertown, Trapped, and Chestnut Man. Oh, and Marcella, Equinox, and one or two others.

There are others worth mentioning, but the list is getting unwieldy as it is...

THE BAD (Or at least very Meh)
Blockbuster ~ I only made it through one episode, but what an annoying show. It had that quality of telling you it was funny, but it actually wasn't.
Hellraiser ~ It wasn't terrible, but felt like a typical recent remake that didn't capture the best qualities of the original beyond a superficial level.
Marry Me ~ I like a good rom-com, really like Owen Wilson and have even enjoyed J-Lo in some films, but this was the definition of "forgettable."
Devil in Ohio ~ I wanted to like this, but it was just sub-par. Only watched a couple episodes.
Willow ~ OK, I only watched 15 minutes but quickly realized this wasn't for me: yet another CW-ish fantasy series that feels like 21st century America with different clothes and set pieces.

THE UGLY (I'm offended! Sorta...)
Rings of Power ~ A mockery of Tolkien, poor acted and plotted. I've said it all before.
Handmaid's Tale ~ I include this with some hesitation, because it was actually rather good in terms of cinematic quality. But it was so dark and felt like watching a snuff film (I imagine)...I made it through one season and then decided I couldn't watch any more of this. So yeah, ugly.

You put Men on your best list? The Times says its 90 minutes of man hating, I think I'll pass.

And Hellraiser on the bad list, best Horror movie I've seen in a long time, the new Pinhead is awsome.

Don't have an opinion on the rest of them, I've only heard of one of them I think, the one with Yeoh.

Anyways:

Best: Top Gun, Season 1 of Strange New Worlds, Season 3 Lower Decks, Season 1 Prodigy, Vex Machina Season 2, Season 5 of Cobra Kai.

Worst: Anything Disney put out except Willow (I know it gets alot of hate and its flawed, but I enjoyed it).

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Good:

The Northman by Eggers. Total flop at the box office, but I thought it was awesome.
The White Lotus. This show is a blast; I felt Season 2 was even better than Season 1. Poignant, funny, sexy, whimsical, surrealist. Jennifer Coolidge and F Murray Abraham are awesome.
Avenue 5. Hugh Laurie as the incompetent captain of a wayward luxury starship. Lots of fun.

Utterly awful beyond all redemption:

The Rings of Power by Amazon. While I really tried to give it a fair crack-of-the-whip, it just heaped dung upon more dung. You could make a documentary series about all that is wrong with this show, and it would be more fun than the 8 grueling, tedious, disjunct and implausible hours of the original. My hat of RoP know no limit.


Other:

I feel that The Orville is in decline with S3, although I still enjoyed it and it remains the truest inheritor of the ST legacy for me.

I was pleasantly surprised with House of the Dragon and I think there is real potential there.

I watched Wheel of Time and it was meh, but I'd take it over RoP any day of the week.

Now I think alot of folks would say Picard S3 is the truest inheritor of Star Trek.

 

[Gradine]

Oh boy, getting ready to gear up for an entire season of absolutely dogpoop television and movies.

If you're too young to remember the first writer's strike ask your parents what happened to Heroes after the first season.

Better yet, ask them what Quantum of Solace was about.

Pay writers what they're worth, y'all.

 

[Henadic Theologian]

Oh boy, getting ready to gear up for an entire season of absolutely dogpoop television and movies.

If you're too young to remember the first writer's strike ask your parents what happened to Heroes after the first season.

Better yet, ask them what Quantum of Solace was about.

Pay writers what they're worth, y'all.

I don't think the writers of Hollywood want a pay cut. Seriously alot of folks are not happy with the quality over the last say decade.

 

[Gradine]

I don't think the writers of Hollywood want a pay cut. Seriously alot of folks are not happy with the quality over the last say decade.

Business is booming and there's ton of legitimately great content out there.

Writers are asking for like the bare minimum and they're still getting shot down without even a counter-offer.

 

[payn]

I don't think the writers of Hollywood want a pay cut. Seriously alot of folks are not happy with the quality over the last say decade.

Im not one of them. Some of the absolute best television has happened in the last decade. Film is in a weird place.