I know exactly what you’re thinking — you’re right. This awards’ list is way too late. Like I’ve mentioned elsewhere, the first half of the year was really busy for me for a variety of reasons. Some might say life got in the way. It happens. But, hey, I guess better late than never, right? Today, I’ll go over my film award winners for 2022. So, if you’ve been wondering, for instance, who my best supporting actress winner for 2022 was? Well, then you’re in luck — you’ll find out today. I’ve also split my previous ‘best sequel, prequel, or remake’ into two categories, which I am excited about. Let’s get to it.
- Best Movie Poster — 2022 — Decision to Leave — White Background with Circular Illustration.
A strong selection of great posters in 2022, but I landed on the Decision to Leave poster because of minimalistic yet mysterious it is, as well as because of how its circular central design speaks to central lines and events. I would genuinely hang this on my wall.
Click here for my review of Decision to Leave.
- Best Movie Trailer — 2022 — Black Panther: Wakanda Forever — Official Teaser Trailer: “No Woman, No Cry.”
This trailer was genuinely affecting and beautifully put together. The music, the emotion on display. I also liked the movie quite a bit, by the way.
Click here for my review of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.
- Movie Quote of the Year — 2022 — Everything Everywhere All at Once — “So, even though you have broken my heart yet again… I wanted to say… In another life, I would have really liked just doing laundry and taxes with you.”
This was a really tough category to me. There’s a quote in Del Toro’s Pinocchio that pushed me to tears, there are lines in Decision to Leave that I think about often, and then there are some extremely memorable ones from Banshees of Inisherin. But it is the scene in which Ke Huy Quan is dressed to the nines and speaks to his undying love for Michelle Yeoh’s character that ultimately took it for me. Such a strong quote.
Click here for my review of Everything Everywhere All at Once.
- Scene/Sequence of the Year — 2022 — RRR — The Naatu Naatu dance.
The previous scene could’ve also taken this category, but I ended up going with the unforgettable RRR Naatu Naatu dance which was extremely catchy and fun to watch. A musical dance performance that none of us knew we definitely needed.
Click here for my review of RRR.
- Rising Star: Film Acting — 2022 — Austin Butler in Elvis.
Butler took the world by storm with his impressive performance as the King of Rock n Roll Elvis Presley. It didn’t earn him an Oscar, and, admittedly, he wouldn’t have been my pick for the Oscar either, but it was the obvious selection for this kind of category.
Click here for my review of Elvis.
- Rising Star: Filmmaking — 2022 — Charlotte Wells for Aftersun.
Once I finally got the chance to see Aftersun, this was probably the easiest category to decide the winner for. Like I wrote in my review, Aftersun is “one of the best and most assuredly crafted directorial debuts that I have ever seen, it’s also a surefire masterpiece that will stick with me for some time.”
Click here for my review of Aftersun.
- Not-Too-Shabby Award — 2022 — Michael Bay’s Ambulance.
This is probably one of my favorite awards to hand out — or what you call it — simply because it’s for a film that surprised me because my expectations weren’t all that great for it. A number of other films were considered for one reason or another, but I landed on Michael Bay’s American remake of a mostly forgotten Danish action film. It, honestly, might be one of my favorite Bay films.
Click here for my review of Ambulance.
- Visual Effects or Voice Actor of the Year — 2022 — Zoe Saldana for Avatar: The Way of Water.
Zoe Saldana truly gives it her all as Neytiri in the Avatar films. She manages to add such clearly felt emotion to her performances in spite of the fact that it has to be digitally recreated using tons of visual effects following her initial depiction. Nevertheless, her portrayal shines through. She’s phenomenal.
Click here for my review of Avatar: The Way of Water.
- Best Visual Effects — 2022 — Avatar: The Way of Water.
I doubt anyone will be surprised by this selection. Cameron’s Avatar films manage to add so much visual effects innovation that you just have to applaud them for it.
Click here for my review of Avatar: The Way of Water.
- Best Costume Design — 2022 — Mary Zophres for Babylon.
Whether it’s for the spectacular red party get-up that Margot Robbie wears in the opening, Jean Smart’s peculiar outfits, or something else, there can be no denying that Zophres is a worthy winner. The period-specific costumes are so well-realized that I just had to single them out here.
Click here for my review of Babylon.
- Best Production Design — 2022 — Florencia Martin and Anthony Carlino for Babylon.
Two in a row for Babylon, and it just had to be this way. The stellar production design for period-Hollywood likely took quite a lot of effort, and the hard work paid off — it’s astoundingly good.
Click here for my review of Babylon.
- Best Film Editing — 2022 — Paul Rogers for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Similarly, this one just had to go to Everything Everywhere All at Once. I called it a catch-all cinematic experience in my review of it, and the editing has so much to do with that. It’s quirky, exciting, and overwhelming. So good.
Click here for my review of Everything Everywhere All at Once.
- Best Film Score — 2022 — Justin Hurwitz for Babylon.
From my review of Babylon:
“Justin Hurwitz’s score is instantly iconic. Although certain themes do resemble a La La Land leitmotif, this also feels deliberate given how this film is showing an indecent and dirty version of the industry that the romantic La La Land, which Babylon always feels in communication with (partly a contrast to), steered clear of. Hurwitz also employs a timeless original theme that is so energetic that it could easily be used at a party today.”
Click here for my review of Babylon.
- Best Cinematography – 2022 — Kim Ji-yong for Decision to Leave.
From my review of Decision to Leave:
“It oozes style and is so wildly impressive that it regularly made my jaw drop because of how inventive, deliberate, and playful Park’s visual storytelling is here. It features some of the best cinematography and editing I’ve seen in recent years.”
Click here for my review of Decision to Leave.
- Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay — 2022 — Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio.
From my review of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio:
“In an ingenious move, Guillermo Del Toro has taken the story of a wooden boy trying to be free of strings — whether real strings or imagined social control — and taken him to Mussolini’s Italy around the time of the Second World War. It is not just in line with the Del Toro formula, it is also a significant change that helps to do something quite novel to the story of Pinocchio. In Del Toro’s hands, this is now a Frankenstein story (the references in the creation of the wooden boy are obvious) about fathers and sons accepting what makes someone unique and coming to an understanding of mortality and grief, while Mussolini’s Italy surrounding Pinocchio is demanding that he must be a commodity, a puppet for propaganda, and boxed in as a ‘regular,’ ‘normal’ Italian boy soldier.”
Click here for my review of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio.
- Best Writing, Original Screenplay — 2022 — Everything Everwhere All at Once.
From my review of Everything Everywhere All at Once:
“Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s Everything Everywhere All At Once is why you go to the movies. It’s the kind of catch-all cinematic experience that I think can help you to understand someone else through its unique, inspired, but somewhat referential transportive science fiction storytelling. It’s funny, it’s exciting, and it is so very peculiar, and I was just so impressed. “
Click here for my review of Everything Everywhere All at Once.
- Best Supporting Actor — 2022 — Ke Huy Quan for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
From my review of Everything Everywhere All at Once:
“[Ke Huy Quan] gets to play the nervous but endearing husband, the man on a multiversal mission, as well as a romantic and mysterious man from the past in a sequence that borrows directly from Wong Kar Wai. Through it all, Ke Huy Quan is excellent, and he shows a Christopher Reeve-like ability to go from one side of his character to the next in the blink of an eye without missing a beat.”
Click here for my review of Everything Everywhere All at Once.
- Best Supporting Actress — 2022 — Rachel Sennott for Bodies Bodies Bodies.
From my review of Bodies Bodies Bodies:
“The standout performance for me, however, I must say is the one delivered by Rachel Sennott, who is a star in this. She is a hoot from her first appearance to her last, and I think her line delivery is hysterical and perfectly tuned — I thought the way she used ‘upper middle class’ as a pejorative was honestly hilarious.”
Click here for my review of Bodies Bodies Bodies.
- Best New Adaptation, Remake, or Reboot — 2022 — Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio.
So, as mentioned earlier, I’ve split up the Best Sequel, Prequel, or Remake into two distinct categories for the purpose of celebrating both story continuations and adaptations. This is because for now three years running the winnder of the original award would’ve been a new adaptation. So, to spread the love a bit more, I’ve split the categories up like this. And for the first winner of this version of the award, it just had to be GDT’s Pinocchio. No doubt in my mind.
Click here for my review of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio.
- Best Sequel or Prequel — 2022 — Top Gun: Maverick.
From my review of Top Gun: Maverick:
“With this legacy sequel, director Joseph Kosinski and his crew rebuilt what made the original film so iconic, and then they also improved on so much. There are jaw-dropping and awards-worthy flight scenes, a more nuanced central performance, richer themes, and a mission with more depth. Top Gun: Maverick more than exceeded my expectations.”
Click here for my review of Top Gun: Maverick.
- Best Documentary — 2022 — Daniel Roher’s Navalny.
From my review of Daniel Roher’s Navalny:
“a scream-it-from-the-rooftops suspenseful must-watch film. Especially so because of how relevant it is right now with the ongoing war in Ukraine, but also because it is a great documentary that showcases an individual risking his life for the good of the world knowing that his outcome is up in the air.”
Click here for my review of Navalny.
- Best Animated Film — 2022 — Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio.
From my review of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio:
“All of this, from the Frankenstein-esque awakening that Pinocchio has to depictions of war-torn locations is realized incredibly well in painstaking animation with detailed stop-motion. It is absolutely breathtaking enormous work. The animation team spent so long trying to perfect every action and every tiny movement down to the finest details, and it not only shows — they succeeded. It is a masterful stop-motion film that not only looks astoundingly good but which also has a massive beating heart to complement the startling imagery, the sweet music from Alexandre Desplat, and the aforementioned unbelievably good stop-motion.”
Click here for my review of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio.
- Best Danish Film — 2022 — Hlynur Pálmason’s Vanskabte Land.
From my review of Vanskabte Land:
“Hlynur Pálmason’s sure-to-become iconic Nordic epic Vanskabte Land is a jaw-dropping visual feast that examines power dynamics, religion, nature, what (or who) does or doesn’t get to be documented for posterity, and colonial stubbornness through its patient approach to a clash of cultures that here refuse to communicate in a meaningful way in spite of what they have in common. I was deeply fascinated by especially the first hour which really solidifies it as being about this man’s journey to discover a country that changes his relationship with his calling in life — a landscape and weather that makes him question everything he thought he knew as the wildness of nature reaches inside of him and twists his innards. And while the film is still quite good in its second half, I don’t think the events concerning the Danish settlement are quite as fascinating. Nevertheless, it is undoubtedly one of the most impressive non-English films of 2022.”
Click here to read my review of Vanskabte Land.
- Best Non-American Film — 2022 — Decision to Leave.
From my review of Decision to Leave:
“an extremely fascinating watch thanks to an auteur who is at the top of his game, as well as performances that will make you want to watch and rewatch every line delivery. One of the most cited Roger Ebert sayings states that the very best films should seem new every time you watch them. Decision to Leave is that kind of film.”
Click here for my review of Decision to Leave.
- Best Actor — 2022 — Colin Farrell for The Banshees of Inisherin.
From my review of The Banshees of Inisherin:
“”I think this is the strongest performance of Farrell’s career. Farrell had an amazing 2022, and here he’s perfectly tuned as the simple-pleasures kind of Irishman who goes from jolly to confused to despondent to angry and whose face (and eyebrows) beautifully illustrates the real struggle and heartache at the center of the film.”
Click here to read my review of The Banshees of Inisherin.
- Best Actress — 2022 — Tang Wei for Decision to Leave.
From my review of Decision to Leave:
“Tang Wei’s performance as Seo-rae is something really special and intoxicating. Tang Wei truly gives one of the best performances of 2022, and it is a crime that the larger awards ceremonies have chosen not to even nominate her for her exquisite work. “
Click here for my review of Decision to Leave.
- Best Film Cast — 2022 — Everything Everywhere All at Once.
This film was the big winner at the Oscars ceremony that celebrated films from 2022, and it is a deserving winner. One of the reasons why is for the exceptional cast. Everyone there is at the top of their game. An easy choice in this category, frankly. They’re simply that good.
Click here for my review of Everything Everywhere All at Once.
- Best Body of Work: Acting — 2022 — Colin Farrell.
The year’s best male performance of the year, solid work in Thirteen Lives, his unrecognizable and funny performance in The Batman, and a “soft and perfectly tuned” performance in After Yang. Colin Farrell had an incredible 2022, and while I did consider Mia Goth for this award, four (!!) strong performances from Farrell could not be overlooked, ultimately.
- Best Film Director — 2022 — Park Chan-wook for Decision to Leave.
From my review of Decision to Leave:
“Only a select few films from 2022 have been this engrossing to me. I am obsessed with every inch of this film, and I have seen it three times at the time of writing. I’ve already noted how [Park’s] sense of style runs through the film and how his stamp is all over this film, but I want to stress how he communicates both the modern setting but also this infatuation, which I described as the main character ‘falling in lust’ in my review notes. As for it being modern, smartphones play an integral part in both the unraveling of the central revelation, but also in the visual language of the film. There are times when we even look up at Hae-jun from the perspective of his phone. As for the infatuation, there are these extremely exciting shots where Hae-jun looks at Seo-rae from afar with binoculars, but then it will cut back to him, and his binoculars, and zoom out and reveal him next to Seo-rae, almost as if to suggest he feels a closeness to her and that he is hyper-aware of her. There is also this really neat insert shot of her eating ice cream when someone mentions suicidal tendencies to him. It is a wildly fascinating film and this is in large part thanks to the impeccable visual trickery. “
Click here for my review of Decision to Leave.
- Best Film — 2022 — Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio.
From my review of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio:
“As the film came to an end with a soft and simple but wise lesson about life from Ewan McGregor’s Sebastian J. Cricket, my father cried softly and said: “That was a good movie.” Sometimes I think that’s all that needs to be said. Sometimes you need a good movie to soften you up, and this story of fathers and sons touched him deeply. After the credits had stopped rolling, my father was still drying his eyes and so was I. A priceless moment created by a near-masterpiece of a film. It’s a moment I’ll never forget, and I am eternally grateful for it. I know that it is a tough ask for an animated film with as dark and real a backdrop as this one to be accepted by families, but this is one of the most impressive stop-motion animated films that I have ever seen and it packs an emotional and earned wallop that will sit with you. It’s a film that will make it so that you’ll never look at the story of Geppetto and Pinocchio the same way again.”
Click here for my review of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio.
- Film Legend — 2022 — Harrison Ford.
Whether it is with Star Wars, Blade Runner, or 2023’s Indiana Jones legacy sequel, one of the great joys of having these Harrison Ford modern day reboots is that we get to remind Harrison Ford how beloved he truly is through various journalists telling him so in interviews. There’s no one quite like Harrison Ford. He’s played the coolest guy in a galaxy far, far away, the adventure archaeologist and university professor of our dreams, an unforgettable action movie President of the United States, and so much more. When you think of coolness on the big screen you think of him. He’s an A-lister. He’s a terrific actor. He has left his mark on popular culture to an extent that only a select few have. We are all so thankful for what he has given us on the big screen. He is loved. He is a legend.
And that’s it for my 2022 winners, and, since these were so late, I’ll have to get to work on my 2023 winners quite soon. So, before you know it, another one of these will pop up on here. But, for now, thanks for reading!
– Article by Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen.
I'm Jeffrey Rex 