309 Best Movies & Shows Released in 2022 (Page 16)

Staff & contributors

Find the best movies and show to watch from the year 2022. These handpicked recommendations are highly-rated by viewers and critics.

A documentary told entirely through animated avatars can be a hard sell, but instead of playing into the expected jokes, director Joe Hunting takes this digital environment extremely seriously, and that makes all the difference. He doesn't downplay how absurd it is to see what are essentially 3D characters going on dates and having bellydance classes together, and yet Hunting still takes time to emphasize how freeing this virtual existence is for all involved. It's disappointing that the film never addresses the many real concerns people have about purely online relationships (deception, exploitation, and abuse, among others), but as a positive and perhaps overly romanticized view of this new, 21st-century social space, the documentary remains fresh and vital.

Genre: Animation, Documentary

Actor: DragonHeart, Dust Bunny, DylanP, IsYourBoi, Jenny0629

Director: Joe Hunting

Rating: R

Read also:
Thirteen Lives is a taut, no-nonsense film that smartly forgoes dramatizing an already well-known case and, instead, hones in on the excruciating but impressive ordeal that is rescue diving. The divers are played by Viggo Mortensen and Colin Farrell, both of whom are convincing in their expertise and heroism. But this isn’t to say this story is theirs. Howard does well to center the narrative on the locals and even makes use of their language, Thai, for most of the film’s run. It’s as sensitively told as it is genuinely gripping.

Genre: Drama, Thriller

Actor: Colin Farrell, Joel Edgerton, Josh Helman, Lewis Fitz-Gerald, Luisa Prosser, Nophand Boonyai, Paul Gleeson, Paula Garcia, Popetorn Soonthornyanakij, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Sam Arnold, Sukollawat Kanarot, Teeradon Supapunpinyo, Teerawat Mulvilai, Theerapat Sajakul, Thira Chutikul, Tom Bateman, Viggo Mortensen, Vithaya Pansringarm

Director: Ron Howard

Rating: PG-13

Read also:

Told in a playful mockumentary format, Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game delivers precisely what the title promises and a bit more. Apart from imparting interesting information about pinball's complicated past (it was only declared legal in New York as recently as 1976), the film doubles as a touching family drama and a fun experiment on genre. As Robert Sharpe, the real-life games expert who helped decriminalize pinball, Mike Faist is winsome, compelling, and maybe the best thing about the film.

While Pinball could've leaned into its silliness more instead of just dipping its toes in avant-garde territory, the film is pleasant enough with plenty of fun and tender moments to enjoy. 

Genre: Comedy, Drama, History, Romance

Actor: Bryan Batt, Christopher Convery, Connor Ratliff, Crystal Reed, Damian Young, Dennis Boutsikaris, Donna Del Bueno, Eric William Morris, Hope Blackstock, Jake Regal, Kenneth Tigar, Michael Kostroff, Mike Doyle, Mike Faist, Rosa Arredondo, Supriya Ganesh, Toby Regbo, Zac Jaffee

Director: Austin Bragg, Meredith Bragg

Read also:

, 2023

Low-budget but imagination-rich, this singular sci-fi crosses a vintage found-footage aesthetic with an inspired time-travel concept. It’s 1938, and two brilliant sisters — Thomasina (Emma Appleton) and Martha (Stefanie Martini) — have invented a machine that can anticipate future radio and television broadcasts. The device (named Lola) allows them to support themselves with bullseye bets on upcoming horse races, as well as revel in the cultural output of the decades to come. When WW2 strikes, however, Lola takes on life-saving potential.

As with every time-travel story, there’s the domino effect to be considered. Lola ends the Blitz, but its timeline-meddling paves the way for a darker future — chillingly realized by the film’s clever manipulation of real archival footage — and an ideological schism between the sisters. The movie’s tight runtime doesn’t allow for full exploration of this emotional fallout, but the actors fill in the outlines enough to make this flaw less gaping than niggling.

Shot with vintage film cameras, the movie looks like a product of its setting, but it absorbs some of the modernism of the contraption's intercepted broadcasts — and it's this beguiling anachronism (plus its narrative ingenuity) that ultimately win out to make Lola a fascinating sci-fi, despite some tantalizingly unrealized potential. 

Genre: Drama, Science Fiction, War

Actor: Aaron Monaghan, Adolf Hitler, Ayvianna Snow, David Bowie, Emma Appleton, Eva O'Brien, Francesca Brabazon Legge, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Gerald Tyler, Hugh O'Conor, Ian Toner, Joseph P. Kennedy Sr., Lorcan Cranitch, Neil Hannon, Nick Dunning, Oswald Mosley, Richard Elfyn, Rory Fleck Byrne, Stefanie Martini, Theodora Brabazon Legge, Winston Churchill

Director: Andrew Legge

Read also:

Primarily, Cha Cha Real Smooth follows Andrew (Cooper Raiff) as he figures out what to do with his life post-college. But peripherally, it’s also about love, friendship, coming of age, and parenthood. Sometimes the movie wobbles under the weight of all it wants to be and you start to wonder whether it would benefit from a leaner script and a tighter focus. 

But ultimately, Cha Cha Real Smooth is endearing and a breeze to watch. Andrew is relatable as a know-it-all who doesn’t actually know it all, and Domino (Dakota Johnson) is moving as a young mother consumed by both her envy and love for Andrew. Despite its occasional unevenness, the film’s big emotional heart triumphs, and sometimes that’s the best that you can hope for in a story about one’s 20s.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Amara Pedroso, Brad Garrett, Chris Newman, Colton Osorio, Cooper Raiff, Corrie Danieley, Dakota Johnson, Davina Reid, Evan Assante, John Paul Hurley, Jonathan Berry, Kelly O'Sullivan, Leslie Mann, Lisa Velten Smith, Odeya Rush, Raúl Castillo, Tommy Lafitte, Vanessa Burghardt

Director: Cooper Raiff

Rating: R

Read also:
Full of charm and nostalgia, Bang Woo-ri’s first feature film is a love letter to the late 90s—and to the heartstopping experience of first love, as high school student Na Bo-ra tries to get to know her friend’s crush Baek Hyun-jin. While at times immature, she comes across as endearing through Kim Yoo-jung’s charismatic, devoted performance. And as Na Bo-ra goes through all the ways people wooed each other in the 90s—figuring out each other's phone numbers, filming each other through old camcorders, renting out VHS tapes—the film evokes memories of our own first loves. Even with some underdeveloped characters and certain contrived moments, 20th Century Girl is still a stunning picture of young love at the turn of the century.

Genre: Drama, Romance

Actor: Bang Woo-ri, Byeon Woo-seok, Choi Kyo-sik, Gong Myeong, Gong Myoung, Han Hyo-joo, Jeon Hye-won, Jeong Min-jun, Jeong Seok-yong, Jo Ji-hyeon, Kang Chae-young, Kim Nu-rim, Kim Sung-kyung, Kim You-jung, Lee Beom-soo, Lee Beom-su, Lee Cheon-mu, Lee Woo-sung, Ong Seong-wu, Park Hae-jun, Park Jung-woo, Roh Yoon-seo, Ryu Seung-ryong, Shin Dong-ryeok, Yoon Yi-reh

Director: Bang Woo-ri

Rating: TV-PG

Read also: