The recurring movie ping list question recurs: What has the movie industry done for us lately? What good, reasonably recent (let's say, 2021-22), reasonably conservative movies/tv shows are YOU willing to pass along to your fellow freepers? And if you've not seen any good recent movies, let me suggest an experiment. Take five minutes and scan these lists with the intent of finding two or three good ones to watch. Two or three good movies out of a list of 25 is a decent return on five minutes of scanning a list. You won't like them all. But you will like some of them. Take a chance. The alternative is relying on your streamers' algorithms to spoonfeed you, and what they will do is serve up an endless stream based on what you watched in the past -- while keeping you quarantined from content on other platforms, so you will never be exposed to most of what is available. Better to be an active consumer, find a movie that interests you, and then figure out where to watch it.
The linked list of 25 films is meant as a prompt, not a blanket endorsement. I picked this list out of many because it passed my first low-bar screening test -- namely, it includes my current pick for the best film of the year, After Yang, and the most thematically conservative film I've seen so far this year, Montana Story. (Note: this is not a political film. By "conservative," I refer to moral sentiment. This is a collection of admirably stoic characters whose every instinct is to swallow their hurts, which are significant, put on a stiff upper lip, soldier on, and behave decently at all costs. When the mask finally does slip, momentarily, both the characters recover very quickly. As true stoics should. You will like everyone in this film. Reality is conservative, which is why liberals who tell honest stories and don't cheat can make films we can appreciate.) This list is reasonably broad: a couple of tentpoles, a couple of documentaries, and enough foreign films for the "I hate Hollywood" folks. It perhaps is a bit heavy on indie small movies that you've not heard of, but the other lists lean in other directions so that balances out.
If you don't like this list, here is another list of 20: The Film Stage midyear best of 2022 list
And another: Yahoo midyear best of 2022 list
And another: IndieWire midyear best of 2022 list
There are a couple of dozen more such lists where those came from, all in the last week or two. Just search on "best films/movies of 2022." Why so many lists all at the same time? It's not a conspiracy; it's worker bee beat reporters all responding to the same calendar under the same relentless deadline pressure. If they have to do one longer form piece a week, in addition to their regular quota of ordinary reviews, that's 52 a year. That's a lot of blank slots to fill when it's just you, a blank computer screen, a hard deadline, and the demand that you conjur something out of thin air. You need hooks for stories. So the reporters all pencil in the December/January "most anticipated for next year" piece. And the June/July "midyear report." And the upcoming December/January retrospective on the past year. That's a start. Only 49 more to go. Production writing is a killer. Lists like these are generated like clockwork because everyone is on the same treadmill.
I find such lists useful, along with the list of selections for major festivals. I do not put any particular credence in any particular reviewer's opinion, because his preferences may be as quirky as mine. But if a movie keeps showing up on list after list, it just might be worth taking a closer look. I may still dislike it because of genre or stylistic preferences. Or I may object to it on thematic or political grounds. But I will at least know that a lot of people who watch movies for a living see some merit in it, and it is probably solid in terms of scripting, direction, acting and cinematography. That's a start.
Of the linked AV Club list of 25, I've seen five. Of these five, two are excellent. I hope lightning strikes and that they get some consideration come awards time. Two more I found solid and enjoyable; not great films, but passable. One I fully expected to dislike; I watched it as a deliberate exercise in opposition research. One of my New Year's resolutions is to try to focus more on the good films, as opposed to just railing about the bad ones. Another is to actually watch a film before criticizing it too severely. Maybe know what I'm talking about. There's a thought.
So: have you seen any recent (2021/22) movies or shows that you are willing to recommend to other freepers? I like Patton, The Godfather, Blazing Saddles and Blade Runner as much as the next guy, but there's no reason we have to wait until something is a golden oldie before discovering it. You and I aren't the film industry's target demographic, but that doesn't mean our kinds of films aren't still being made. It means we have to search a little harder for them. So if you've seen something good, put in on the table.
What percentage of Hollywood films, produced in 2022, didn’t contain a subliminal WOKE message ?
8 % ? Too high ?
You have to stick with pre-Obama-era movies to find any semblance of true entertainment.
Pinging the usual suspects. What movies/shows have you seen recently that you would recommend to a freeper audience? The film-related press is now publishing its midyear “best of 2022” lists. We can do the same. “Conservative” films don’t have to be narrowly political; we won’t find a lot of movies that qualify there, but there will be a considerable number that are conservative in moral, psychological and cultural terms. Reality is conservative.
Lost city doesn’t belong on the list but I enjoyed it. Hokey mindless entertainment If you watch it be sure to watch through the credits. Amazon running a special on paramount channel
The Batman movie sucked big time- it was horrible- sorry i wasted time watching it
This year? Got nothing.
The Northman had potential but it was to heavily layered in Pagan Viking rituals with a stupid ending.
I grab whatever I can on Prime, Netflix (boo hiss), Hulu. Then there are the sub-channels on the above...Plex, FreeVee, IMDB. TUBI, etc. The year is what it is...as long as it looks interesting to me.
Just watched Red Hill tonight on Prime...an Aussie film. Not bad, no woke stuff. Kind of a modern day cowboy flick. Also rented Infinite (2021) last night for $1.99 on Prime. A Mark Wahlburg sci/fi movie. Also not bad. Binge watched The Terminal List the first day it came out. Ready for the 2nd season. Gotta say...it left me pissed off at the govt...again. I’ve also been sporadically watching “Jo”, with Jean Reno (French actor?). It’s a 2019 series with one season, 8 episodes, shot in Paris (Prime).
There are new movies? Who knew? Last new movies I saw were JoJo Rabbit, which I loved, and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, brilliant sendup of the Manson murders..
I have AMZ Prime free movies and watch old ones free. A good one was “The Producers,” A hoot of a movie I never stop laughing it. Their stage show was “Spingtime for Hitler.”
you forgot the sold out documentary rated #1 on Amazon: 2000 MULES.
I love movies but my hearing issues make it hard to understand without subtitles so I wont be seeing this years movies until they are streaming. Sound recording in a lot of movies is terrible.
If you do glance at the AV Club list, note that once you start the slideshow, you can click on the “list slides” button in the upper right corner. It turns the slideshow into a list and makes navigation much easier.
The previous movie that I saw was The Darkest Hour which pleasantly surprised me. Although there are a few anachronisms, there are no sex scenes, no nude scenes, not a single profanity, and it even features a cat!
Ambulance? Michael Bay at the height of his “art”. Lots of guns, lots of shots of beautiful women, not as many vehicles destroyed as you’d expect, if your gun nut you have to suspended your disbelief. I enjoyed the heck out of it. Good escape from reality film.
Dune
Downton Abbey
Maverick
Stranger Things S4
Minions: Rise of Gru
Just the ones I’ve seen.
I stay away if I suspect something will be off. I wanted to see Lightyear until I Found Out.
I just didn’t get around to The Lost City, which looked fun in the trailer, or The Bad Guys which seems a bit too juvenile*.
*”But you saw Minions?” Yes, in the company of children. Also, an established franchise with memories of similar viewings.
Currently watching The Terminal List on Amazon prime and it’s very good so far. A Tom Clancy type military thriller. Good action and plot. It’s a series rather than a movie, which are mostly what I watch now.
Top Gun was pretty good. Is it worth the $12 tickets? I guess although my days of going the movies are done.
I finally got around to watching “The Hunt” and enjoyed it, though very violent. Otherwise I have watched mostly older stuff.
Maybe not the best movie, but the most important...
2000 Mules
I’ll throw in a couple I’ve watched on Netflix recently. “Operation Mincemeat” and “The Forgotten Battle”. Both WW2 films. Only a little bit of woke in Mincemeat. Also recently watched “The Offer” about the making of The Godfather on Paramount Plus. It was an excellent show set in the Seventies with zero wokeness.
Has anybody seen “Father Stu”? I think it’s a Mel Gibson production.