Hi, I’m Logan and I like movies.
I believe this is my 11th year doing this thing, though there doesn’t appear to be a clear archive that dates back that long. Either way, I enjoy putting this together every year for the 15 of you that will casually scroll through it and the two of you that might actually read every word.
I saw 88 films from 2022 (which was just two shy of the record I set in a very weird 2020). That number is more than most, not as many as others. Either way, I was happy with the number I hit and the movies I saw (mostly).
Really though, I’m just here to help you find movies to watch when you don’t know what else to do. Hope this helps!
Individual Awards
Best Vocal Performance
Jack Black, Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood — WINNER
David Braley, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Gregory Mann, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
John Mulaney, Chip and Dale: Rescue Rangers
Jenny Slate, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood is a movie that more people need to see. Jack Black, who is essentially the film’s narrator, tells a great story, which is loosely based on the childhood of writer/director, Richard Linklater.
Best Young Actor/Actress
Vanessa Burghardt, Cha Cha Real Smooth
Frankie Corio, Aftersun — WINNER
Gabrielle LaBelle, The Fabelmans
Banks Repeta, Armageddon Time
Walter Scobell, The Adam Project
Jaylin Webb, Armageddon Time
I had penciled Gabrielle LaBelle into this spot after seeing The Fabelmans because I thought that, as great as the film’s adult actors were, he was the standout to me in what ended up being one of the best films of the year. But then, in an effort to see Paul Mescal’s Oscar-nominated performance in Aftersun, I stumbled upon the work of Frankie Corio. She is sensational playing opposite of Mescal and should have been considered for major awards herself.
Breakthrough Performance
Austin Butler, Elvis
Diego Calva, Babylon
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All At Once — WINNER
Daryl McCormack, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Paul Mescal, Aftersun
Keke Palmer, Nope
Aubrey Plaza, Emily the Criminal
This is a category the Academy really needs to consider adding to the Oscars ceremony, because LOOK AT THIS LINEUP. Some of these actors have had notable performances in the past (on a much lesser scale), but none of them on the level like they had in 2022. So many great options to choose from but I had to go with Stephanie Hsu. EEAAO is a masterclass for actors and Hsu was one of it’s many standouts.
Best Supporting Actor
Paul Dano, The Fabelmans/The Batman
Colin Farrell, The Batman
Brendan Gleeson, The Banshees of Inisherin
Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
Ke Huy Quan, Everything Everywhere All At Once — WINNER
The re-emergence of Ke Huy Quan is one of my favorite Hollywood stories in quite some time. After starring in a pair of huge films as a child (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and The Goonies), Quan struggled to find work as an adult and eventually quit acting. It wasn’t until 2018 when he saw the film Crazy Rich Asians and was inspired to try and give it a go again. Shortly after that, he was approached by The Daniels to star in their new film. He’s now one of the hottest names in the business. Incredible story but an even better performance in this film.
Special shoutout here to Paul Dano who got plenty of critical recognition for his work in Steven Spielberg’s The Fabelmans, but I believe his best work in 2022 was as Riddler in The Batman. Another incredible addition to the Batman villain catalogue (alongside fellow Logey nominee, Colin Farrell).
Best Supporting Actress
Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Hong Chau, The Menu/The Whale
Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inisherin
Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All At Once
Janelle Monáe, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery — WINNER
I have to steer away from the major award winners every once in a while. I’m thrilled for Angela Bassett for the love she’s received for Wakanda Forever and Hong Chau gave two great performances in both The Whale and The Menu, but I’m going rogue and selecting Janelle Monáe for this award. Monáe had a very interesting task (I won’t spoil it in case you haven’t watched this film yet) and gave an incredible performance alongside Daniel Craig and a loaded cast. Not the kind of movie that would garner much love from the Academy, but the Logeys loved this film and this performance.
Best Lead Actor
Austin Butler, Elvis
Colin Farrell, The Banshees of Inisherin — WINNER
Ralph Fiennes, The Menu
Brendan Fraser, The Whale
Paul Mescal, Aftersun
This has felt like a three-man race throughout the awards season between Butler, Farrell, and Fraser. Butler and Fraser give incredible performances as they truly disappear into the characters they’re portraying but I decided to let this come down to which movie I liked the most between the three and, at that point, there was no contest. Colin Farrell is award-worthy playing opposite of Brendan Gleeson and gives a very heartfelt performance that really worked on me in ways that the other nominees couldn’t.
Notably, Farrell also had the best year of any film actor. Not only did he give us an award-worthy performance in The Banshees of Inisherin, but he was also great in his two other 2022 films (After Yang and, unrecognizably, in The Batman).
Special shoutout here to Adam Sandler (Hustle) and Daniel Radcliffe (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) who just missed the cut but were both award-worthy in my book.
Best Lead Actress
Cate Blanchett, Tar
Viola Davis, The Women King
Keke Palmer, Nope
Aubrey Plaza, Emily the Criminal
Anya Taylor-Joy, The Menu
Michelle Yeoh, Everything Everywhere All At Once — WINNER
In a role that originally conceived with Jackie Chan in mind, Michelle Yeoh is the heart and soul of the year’s most audacious and impressive film. Her performance is perfect in every way as she plays dramatic as a wife/mother struggling to raise her family and run her business while simultaneously playing a multiverse-hopping action star. Just an absolute superstar on screen.
Best Director
James Cameron, Avatar: The Way of Water
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All At Once — WINNER
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin
Jordan Peele, Nope
Gina Prince-Blythewood, The Woman King
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans
The Daniels took on the most difficult project of the year (other than MAYBE Jim Cameron) and succeeded on every possible level. Whether or not you loved their film, you can’t deny it’s impressiveness.
Film Awards
Best Sci-Fi: Everything Everywhere All At Once
Best Comic Book/Superhero Movie: The Batman
Most Surprising Film: Everything Everywhere All At Once
Most Disappointing Film (also Worst Film): Disney’s Pinocchio
I should have known right away how bad this movie was going to be when they first announced that it was headed to Disney+ instead of theaters, but I tried to give the studio the benefit of the doubt. You would think that the team of Robert Zemeckis, a director known for movies like Back to the Future, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Forest Gump, Castaway, and The Polar Express (okay, that last one really only holds up in my household), and one of our greatest living actors in Tom Hanks could bring the magic of Pinocchio to life in live-action form… right? RIGHT?! WRONG! So wrong. Just a bad, bad movie.
Best Sports Movie: Hustle
A movie that should have received more praise from awards bodies, but I can understand why it didn’t. If Adam Sandler can’t get an Oscar nom for Uncut Gems then there was no way they would respect him for a sports movie. However, Sandler gives another great performance and his co-star, NBA player Juancho Hernangomez, was terrific. Maybe even a better actor than he is a basketball player.
Best Animated Film: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
2022 was a rather strange year for animated films. Stop-motion and live-action/animation hybrid films dominated the category while the all-mighty House of Mouse struggled to keep pace. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Turning Red, and Apollo 10 1/2 were some of my favorites, but the best of the year, without question, was Guillermo del Toro’s version of the wooden puppet that came to life.
Also worth noting, there are no animated movies in my top ten this year, something that I don’t think has ever happened with the Logeys.
Best Action Film: The Woman King
There were several great candidates here (Top Gun: Maverick, Avatar: Way of Water, etc.) but I wanted to use this as a chance to shoutout a really good movie that the Academy left out. Gina Prince-Bythewood directed the hell out of this historical action drama about an all-female warrior unit in West Africa. Viola Davis shines and should have also been nominated for an Oscar. Go seek out this movie (it’s on Netflix).
Funniest Film: Bros
I’m just really proud of Billy Eichner. Bros is the first LGBTQ romcom to come from a major studio and it’s a really, really great movie. I truly laughed out loud a ton. Was this a weak year for comedy? Sure. But I’m absolutely not taking anything away from this project.
Film of the Year Nominees:
Avatar: The Way of Water
Director: James Cameron
Where to Watch: Still in theaters (Eventually Disney+, but see this one on the biggest screen possible)
Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.
James Cameron loves him some water. In this long-awaited sequel to the 2009 megahit, Avatar: The Way of Water continues to build on the world of Pandora in ways that only Cameron himself could do. Easily the best looking film of the year and while it’s not quite the technical achievement that it’s predecessor was, Way of Water is easily one of the best films of 2022. If you haven’t already sought out this movie, find a way to do it now while it’s still in theaters. Watching this at home on Disney+ won’t do it justice.
Babylon
Director: Damien Chazelle
Where to Watch: Paramount+, On Demand
A tale of outsized ambition and outrageous excess, tracing the rise and fall of multiple characters during an era of unbridled decadence and depravity in early Hollywood.
After a successful three-film run with is first major releases (Whiplash, La La Land, and First Man), Chazelle takes on his most wild project to date and we, as a collective viewing audience, are just along for the ride. Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt are the headliners in the cast but it’s relative newcomer Diego Calva that is the film’s focal point and he gives a great performance. This film is long, bloated, and it’s all over the place but I had a hell of a lot of fun at the movies with Babylon.
The Banshees of Inisherin
Director: Martin McDonagh
Where to Watch: HBO Max, On Demand
Two lifelong friends find themselves at an impasse when one abruptly ends their relationship, with alarming consequences for both of them.
The Banshees of Inisherin has three main things going for it. First, it is one of the best scripts of the year. Martin McDonagh is one of the best screenwriters in the game today and this was another example as to why. Second, it has the unrivaled chemistry between frequent collaborators and off-screen friends, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. And third, it has Jenny the Donkey. Honestly, what more could you ask for?
The Batman
Director: Matt Reeves
Where to Watch: HBO Max, On Demand
In his second year of fighting crime, Batman uncovers corruption in Gotham City that connects to his own family while facing a serial killer known as the Riddler.
First off, this video is one of my favorite things on the internet. Thanks, Andrew Barth Feldman.
Second, I guess I don’t really care if they keep rebooting the franchise if it means we get films like this. Matt Reeves’ The Batman is easily the best film that DC has produced since… The Dark Knight? Maybe? Regardless, this is a really good movie.
Robert Pattinson is a perfectly adequate Batman but it’s Paul Dano’s Riddler that is the true star of the film. Just another caped crusader being outshined by his villain, a film tradition unlike any other.
Cha Cha Real Smooth
Director: Cooper Raiff
Where to Watch: AppleTV+
Fresh out of college and stuck at his New Jersey home without a clear path forward, 22-year-old Andrew begins working as a party starter for bar/bat mitzvahs — where he strikes up a unique friendship with a young mom and her teenage daughter.
In 2020, I believe I instructed my readers to seek out the movie Shithouse because I thought it was an incredible film by a young writer/director/actor Cooper Raiff. Did any of you take my advice? Probably not. Well here we are again, a couple years later and the now 26-year-old Raiff has done it once more with his second feature film, Cha Cha Real Smooth. Guys, I really mean it this time: Seek out this movie because it’s a really good time! Dakota Johnson is in it and she’s great. Leslie Mann is wonderful. There’s another young actress by the name of Vanessa Burghhardt that is also really good in this movie. While you’re at it, go find Shithouse too.
Everything Everywhere All At Once
Director: The Daniels
Where to Watch: Showtime, On Demand
An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save what’s important to her by connecting with the lives she could have led in other universes.
What I find to be the most impressive thing about Everything Everywhere All At Once is that this film attempts to do SO MUCH in its 139 minute runtime and, where nearly all other movies that attempt so much would fail, this film actually succeeds.
At its core, EEAAO is a simple family drama about a Chinese-American family just trying to get through life. But we very quickly learn that this film is so much more than that. Pulling from all sorts of genres and influences, directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert take us on one of the craziest journeys you could find in a movie and they do it so incredibly well.
As you’ve already noticed, this film is full of amazing acting performances. All four of its leads are up for Academy Awards and I handed out three awards to those actors already. It is truly one of the best acted movies I have seen in many years.
“Okay Logan, if you gave it three acting awards and the award for Best Director, why is it not your Best Picture?”
Great question, I would love to tell you.
This movie just isn’t my favorite. Have I watched it twice and really enjoyed it both times? Absolutely. Was it successful in doing what it attempted to do? Very much so. Was it truly a movie for me? Eh, debatable. It is a very close Best Picture runner-up.
Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Director: Rian Johnson
Where to Watch: Netflix
World-famous detective Benoit Blanc heads to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery surrounding a tech billionaire and his eclectic crew of friends.
I was very vocal about my displeasure of Netflix’s release strategy for this movie, but I eventually got over it once I was FINALLY able to see Glass Onion.
Naturally, I was dubious if Rian Johnson could replicate the magic from his 2018 hit, Knives Out, but its sequel hits in all the right places. While I don’t feel the script is quite as sharp and some of the performances aren’t quite as memorable, the pairing of Daniel Craig and Janelle Monáe absolutely carry this film and we are all better for experiencing it. I have to think that eventually these films will lose their luster but so far, two films in, they’re still doing just fine.
Nope
Director: Jordan Peele
Where to Watch: Peacock, On Demand
Residents in a lonely gulch of inland California bear witness to an uncanny, chilling discovery.
I wasn’t in love with Nope after my first viewing. Sure, I definitely enjoyed it and I was ready to give Keke Palmer all of the awards, but I remember walking out of the theater feeling slightly letdown by the story and wanting just a tad bit more from it. But months later, this is probably the film from all of 2022 that I have thought about the most. It’s beautifully shot. It’s a perfect blend of Shyamalan and Spielberg. It both makes you think yet it entertains you the entire time. I wish this movie would have received more love from the awards circut because I think it was deserving of it. While I don’t believe it’s on the level of Get Out, this is easily one of my favorite sci-fi thrillers of the past couple of decades.
Top Gun: Maverick
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Where to Watch: Paramount+, On Demand
After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell finds himself training a detachment of TOP GUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen. Facing an uncertain future and confronting the ghosts of his past, Maverick is drawn into a confrontation with his own deepest fears, culminating in a mission that demands the ultimate sacrifice from those who will be chosen to fly it.
“The best things in life are worth the wait.”
— Me
One of the many movies bumped from their 2020 release date, Top Gun: Maverick was put on hold for nearly two years before it graced us with its presence, and I’m glad we had to wait. Every streaming service imaginable tried to purchase this movie off of Paramount over the course of the pandemic but Tom Cruise knew this film’s only true home would be on the silver screen, and he was right. As great as the 1986 original film was, Maverick improves on it in every way imaginable. While there are certainly things about this movie that can be nitpicked, this is one of the most enjoyable film experiences I’ve had in a very long time.
Film of the Year
The Fabelmans
Director: Steven Spielberg
Where to Watch: On Demand (eventually Peacock)
A coming-of-age story about a young man’s discovery of a shattering family secret and an exploration of the power of movies to help us see the truth about each other and ourselves.
From the moment I walked out of the theater I knew that this was going to be at the top of my list. Steven Spielberg (ever heard of him?) gives us his most personal film to date about his love of his family and his love of cinema, and I am here for every second of it.
Gabrielle LaBelle plays young Sammy Fabelman (a stand-in for Stevie Spielberg) who, at a young age, discovers his love for filmmaking and the rest, as they say, is history. The film takes us through most of his adolescence all the way up to the point where he meets his idol and begins his career in the business. Michelle Williams and Paul Dano star as Sammy’s loving and supportive, yet slightly broken parents and give some of the year’s best performances. Seth Rogen and Judd Hirsch give excellent supporting performances as well.
This isn’t Spielberg’s best work nor is it my favorite of his films, but there is just so much heart and passion in this project that it was easy for me to fall in love with it right away. In the era of semi-autobiographical films being produced at a rapid pace, The Fabelmans is the best of them yet.
Honorable Mentions
Lastly, a few other movies that didn’t get much mention above but deserved some love.
RRR
An Indian film from renowned director S. S. Rajamouli that is available to watch on Netflix. This is one of the most fun films of the year and features one of the year’s best songs.
All Quiet on the Western Front
A German film that has emerged over the last couple of months as a real Oscars-contender. This war (or, anti-war) film is one of the best looking films of the year and has some great performances as well. It just missed my top ten and is also available on Netflix.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Ryan Coogler was dealt an impossible hand with this movie given the circumstances surrounding it’s production, primarily the loss of the franchise’s star, Chadwick Boseman. All things considered, I think they handled it as well as they could. Great performances, a good script, and good character development. The best we got from the MCU in 2022. Also notable that this is the first year since 2015 (excluding 2020) that an MCU movie didn’t finish the year in my top ten. It’s available now on Disney+.
Vengeance
A black comedy mystery/thriller written, directed, and starring Ryan from The Office. What more could you ask for?
But really, this movie is great and you should seek it out. I believe it’s currently on Prime Video.
