Preview: Top 10 Movies of 2022

 I haven't done this feature on the blog in a few years, but recently a friend at work got me back into using Letterboxd on a regular basis.  This allowed me to move all my IMDb ratings over to the Letterboxd app, which gave me an interesting review of all 900+ movies that I've rated on the platform.

With how excited I was for Halloween Kills and Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021, I figured I'd take a look ahead and see what movies I was most excited for in 2022.

And before we begin, all release dates are subject to change.

10. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (November 11)

I'm excited for the next installment in Black Panther, but it just doesn't get me as hyped knowing that Chadwick Boseman won't be under the cowl.  It's yet to be seen whether this movie even makes it's release date, as the production continues to struggle with injuries to, and anti-vax rhetoric by, star Letitia Write.

9. Thor: Love and Thunder (July 8)

Thor hasn't always been my favorite Avenger over the years, but the most recent character arcs throughout Infinity War and Endgame were fantastic.  While Chris Hemsworth won't be the one wielding Mjilnor, it will be cool to see Natalie Portman return to the franchise.  And with Taika Waititi in the director's chair once again, I'm sure this movie will be quite enjoyable.

8. Scream (January 14)

I only watched the Scream movies for the first time a few years ago, so I'm not as attached to this franchise as I am to the other slashers.  I was only three when the first movie came out, so by the time I was old enough to watch these types of movies, Michael, Freddy and Jason were all over AMC's FearFest and Ghostface was nowhere to be found.  I'm still pretty excited to see where they take the franchise in this fifth installment.

7. Morbius (April 1)

The extended Sony Spider-Verse has been pretty good, with two fun Venom movies already released.  I've liked Jared Leto as an actor since seeing him in Fight Club, so I'm very excited to see what he can do as Dr. Michael Morbius.  All the rumors circulating that this could be part of a Venom/Morbius/Amazing Spider-Man universe only makes me more excited.

6. Lightyear (June 17)

A movie about the "actual" space cadet that inspired the toy voiced by Tim Allen in the Toy Story movies.  Enough said.

5. Uncharted (February 18)

I've only played through the first game on PS4, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and will eventually get around the other games in the series.  The trailer for this looked fantastic, and it seems they may have nailed the aesthetic of the games.  Plus Tom Holland has quickly become such a bankable star, teaming him up with Mark Wahlberg seems like a good play here.

4. The Black Phone (June 24)

Everything about this movie looks awesome.  Based on a short story by Joe Hill, this brings Ethan Hawke back into a movie with some serious Sinister energy.  Add to that a mask that was sculped by Tom Savini's workshop, and this could be a low-key horror gem.  Unfortunately the movie was already bumped back nearly six months from its original January release date.

3. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (May 6)

Doctor Strange really messed things up in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and this movie is going to see him trying to deal with the fallout.  This movie is rumored to tie together some of the Disney+ shows, along with some other Marvel properties now under Disney's large umbrella.  I'm looking forward to seeing this one, especially as it may have a much darker tone to it.

2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse - Part One (October 7)

The first movie in this series was a shocking hit, and with the help of a soundtrack featuring Post Malone, the movie became a global sensation.  This sequel looks to continue on that, and features a neat animation style along with giving Oscar Isaac a bigger chance to shine as Spider-Man 2099 (which is one of my favorite iterations of the character).

1. Halloween Ends (October 14)

Here's the deal, I didn't love Halloween Kills.  I enjoyed it, as I do with all the movies in the Halloween franchise (outside of Resurrection), but I just don't know what they're going for.  David Gordon Green and Danny McBride went to great lengths to humanize Michael to make him a man instead of an unstoppable killing machine in Halloween, only to turn around and make him an unstoppable killing machine in Kills.  I'm curious to see where they take the franchise, and I'll definitely be there opening night.

REVIEW: Top 10 Movies of 2016

At the beginning of the year, I made a list of the 10 movies I was most excited for in the coming year.  That year is now drawing to a close, and I thought it would be fun to see if my excitement was warranted at the beginning of the year.

So here they are, my reviews to my top 10 movies of 2016!

10. Ratchet and Clank (8/10)
I was cautiously optimistic about this movie at the beginning of the year.  Video game movies don't tend to fare well, but this movie exceeded my expectations.  It perfectly captured the fun of playing the games, and it took me back to playing the original game back in 2004.  The tie-in video game was also tons of fun.

9. Lights Out (8/10)
I had been looking forward to this movie for over a year, and I think that hurt my reception.  I liked it, but I just didn't love it as much as I wanted to.  I think it was a combination of how short the movie was and how the characters didn't seem to be fleshed-out enough.  But I guess that's what you get when you make a feature film out of a three-minute short.

8. Gambit (NA)
Well, that went well.  I had one movie in 2015 that didn't come out, so this is that one this year.  I want this movie to be good, and I hope they do end up making it with Channing Tatum in the titular role.  But for now, we'll keep waiting.

7. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (10/10)
There really isn't much to say about Rogue One, other than the fact that it was my favorite movie of 2016.  I loved it from start to finish.  Everything in it was amazing, and I had the biggest smile on my face leaving the theater.  I loved how they used CGI to put in Tarkin and young Princess Leia (Rest in Peace Carrie Fisher).  This movie was everything I'd hoped for and more.  I am very confident the other non-numbered Star Wars movies will be amazing.

6. X-Men: Apocalypse (9/10)
I really enjoyed this movie, and it may be one of my favorite X-Men movies ever.  I love the younger versions of the X-Men, and this movie looked like it may set up for the Dark Phoenix Saga with Jean Grey, which would be awesome.  I also really liked Oscar Isaac's portrayal of Apocalypse.  That guy seems to be popping up in everything lately.

Doomhead is the heaviest hitter in Rob Zombie's "31."

5. 31 (10/10)
This was one of my favorite movies of 2016.  I loved this so much, and it was everything I wanted and more.  This was the movie Rob Zombie fans wanted him to make, and he sure delivered.  I wasn't a huge fan of Lord of Salem, but this movie is like House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil's Reject ramped up by about 100 percent.  I loved it, and I can't wait to watch it on repeat.  It is now available exclusively on Shudder, an online streaming video service for horror movies.

4. Doctor Strange (9/10)
If anyone has seen the original Iron Man, then they've seen Doctor Strange.  It sticks to the Marvel formula, and it could almost be a clone of Tony Stark's origin story.  This movie was one of the most beautiful movies I've ever seen.  The effects really ramped it up to another level, and it was fun to watch.  Take that, Dormamu.

3. The Conjuring 2 (10/10)
This movie was fantastic.  It perfectly built on what had been seen in the first Conjuring in 2013.  If you know anything about the Warrens' story, you know that they didn't die while on this case, but I was still on the edge of my seat towards the end of the movie.  Also, the Crooked Man was straight-up terrifying.

2. Captain America: Civil War (10/10)
Civil War was everything I'd hoped it would be.  The fight scenes were bigger and more spectacular, and the storyline was awesome.  I think my favorite part of the whole movie was seeing Spider-Man, though.  We've finally found the perfect Spider-Man in Tom Holland.

1. Deadpool (10/10)
I fell in love with this movie when I first saw it.  It was everything I'd ever wanted in a Deadpool movie, and they perfectly captured the essence of the character.  I hope we get to see more Deadpool in the future, and hopefully they won't ruin the character.  For now, go watch this movie a few times and try not to laugh.

Thanks for reading!  What do you think of my ratings for my top movies of the year?  Let me know in the comments below!

Top 10 Movies of 2016

2015 was a great year for movies, and 2016 looks to be just as good.  Below are the 10 movies I'm most looking foward to in the coming year, along with links to their IMDb pages.

10. Ratchet and Clank (April 29)
Growing up, I loved the Ratchet and Clank games.  I basically grew up with developer Naughty Dog, from Crash Bandicoot to Ratchet and Clank, and now with Uncharted and The Last of Us.  I am extremely excited about this movie, and it should be as fun to watch as it was to play.

9. Lights Out (July 22)
This movie is based on a short film from 2013.  I've seen it, and it's absolutely fantastic.  Light's Out is being produced by James Wan, who brought us Insidious and The Conjuring, so I'm sure this is going to be great.  To see the short, check out this link.

8. Gambit (October 7)
I love when an actor is passionate about a character, and passionate enough to keep pushing for a movie for years.  Channing Tatum is going to be great as Gambit, and I can't wait to see him up on the big screen.  Fox's X-Men universe is about to get a little bit bigger.  I'm not sure if this movie will actually come out this year, but I can definitely hope.

7. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (December 16)
So this thing called Star Wars seems to be kind of a big deal?  This movie is the first non-numbered films to be put out by Disney.  Disney's idea is to have a new numbered film every two years, with little movies like these in the years between.  This one should be fun.

6. X-Men: Apocalypse (May 27)
The trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse looks awesome, and I'm sure I'll love it.  I loved First Class and Days of Future Past, so I expect this movie to be up there with both of those.  Let's hope they avoid the X-Men: The Last Stand debacle of the third movie in a trilogy being bad.

5. 31 (TBA)
I love Rob Zombie so much.  It's safe to say he's one of my favorite directors.  I love all the gross gore stuff in his movies, and this one looks just as good.  Clowns playing some weird murder games by kidnapping people and putting them in a carnival sounds like my kind of movie.

4. Doctor Strange (November 4)
Doctor Strange is one of the coolest Marvel characters in their comics, so bringing him to the big screen is pretty exciting.  It's going to be something completely different than any other Marvel movie yet, and I'm going to love it.  Plus, Benedict Cumberbatch is playing the Doctor.

3. The Conjuring 2 (June 10)
2016 is a good year for horror fans.  James Wan (Insidious, Lights Out) is taking us back to two of the most famous paranormal experts, the Warrens.  I'm excited for this, and the trailer looks awesome.  

2. Captain America: Civil War (May 6)
The next movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is coming up in May, and it's going to be a big one.  The movie will pit Iron Man against Captain America, and the two will split the other heroes in the world.  Plus, we've got some huge big-screen debuts in the movie: Black Panther and MCU Spider-Man!!

1. Deadpool (February 12)
Everyone knows my favorite hero is Spider-Man, but my second-favorite is Deadpool.  The Merc With a Mouth is making his big-screen re-debut (let's forget his "appearance" in X-Men Origins: Wolverine) around Valentine's Day, and it's going to be epic.  The movie is getting an R-rating, which is exactly what Wade Wilson deserves.  Plus, Ryan Reynolds has been pushing for this movie to be made for such a long time, it can only be fantastic.  Check out the red band trailer right here.  Definitely NSFW, but definitely awesome.

That's my list! Leave a comment below with the movies you're most looking forward to in 2016.