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.

A Look Back at My Top 10 Movies of 2017

At the beginning of the year, I wrote a post about the 10 movies I was most looking forward to during 2017.  And now at the end of the year, I'll look back at those movies and see if I really liked them as much as I thought I would.  I always rate movies I watch on IMDb, so my rating will be in parenthesis next to the movie title.

And it should go without saying, but beware of spoilers!

10. Logan (8/10)
This movie was the perfect way to end Logan's story.  I really enjoyed the take on an aging Wolverine, and Hugh Jackman once again delivered a wonderful performance for what may be the final time.  I ended up waiting until December to see this movie, but I am glad I finally watched it.

9. Annabelle Creation (9/10)
I really enjoyed this movie.  I thought the filmmakers did a good job at taking care of some of the crappy stuff from Annabelle, and I liked the vibe from the isolated house.  I felt like this was a pretty good entry into the Conjuring universe.

8. Thor Ragnarok (10/10)
I'll be honest: I think Thor Ragnarok may be my favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe film to date.  I loved everything about it.  The comedy was great, the characters were great; everything about it was great.  I'm excited to see where Thor goes in Avengers: Infinity War.

7. Insidious Chapter 4
This movie didn't actually come out this year, but it'll be out in January.  Check back later, because this movie will definitely be on my list of movies for 2018.

6. The Dark Tower (9/10)
Was this movie true to the books? No.  But it was fun, and that's all I really look for in a movie.  And technically it was a sequel to the books by Stephen King, so that's how they got around making something that wasn't really a Dark Tower movie.

5. Power Rangers (10/10)
I loved this movie.  I enjoyed the new take on the Rangers, but it still had nods to the original series.  The original Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers theme song was a nice touch, and it was cool to see original Rangers Kimberly and Jason with cameos in the film.  I'll also look past the whole "Megazord is built by love and friendship while burning up in a fire thing" too.

4. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (9/10)
I loved The Last Jedi.  I don't know what all the hate is about online, but I really enjoyed another trip to a galaxy far, far away.  The ending of the movie was perfect, and I believe it will set up for a very interesting finale to this new trilogy.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (9/10)
I had such a great time watching this movie.  Baby Groot's antics throughout the whole movie put a huge smile on my face that stayed there the whole time.  I thought it would be hard to follow up the original, but Chris Pratt and company proved they could pull it off.

2. IT (10/10)
This was my favorite movie of the year, hands-down.  I loved it.  I've been a fan of the book and the TV miniseries from the 90s ever since I was a kid, and this movie was true to the source material.  The Loser's Club was perfect, as was Bill Skarsgard's portrayal of Pennywise.  He was equal parts creepy and funny and weird.  I loved every minute, and I can't wait to see the sequel.

1. Spider-Man Homecoming (10/10)
I loved this movie, but I didn't love it as much as I thought I would.  I just felt like something was missing, and I still can't quite put my finger on what was missing from Spider-Man's first solo entry into the MCU.  It was still a better movie than any of the Tobey Maguire films (I still love Andrew Garfield's Amazing Spider-Man films).  I'm interested to see where they take the character in Infinity War and beyond.

That's my list! What movie was your favorite of 2017?  Let me know in the comments below!

Top 10 Movies: 2017 Edition

A new year has begun, and with it come a whole slew of new movies.  This list features the top ten movies I'm most looking forward to in the coming year.  So let's get started!

(Editor's note: the release dates in parenthesis include links to the respective film's page on IMDb.)

10. Logan (March 3)

Power Rangers

This is it.  One final ride with Hugh Jackman as everyone's favorite Canadian with a metal skeleton.  I can't wait to see what an R-rated Wolverine movie looks like because the character lends itself so well to the rating.  Thankfully, Deadpool showed us that an R-rated superhero movie, when done well, can drag all the nerds to the theater (I saw the movie in theaters twice).  I can't wait for Jackman's swan song as Wolverine.

9. Annabelle 2 (August 11)
I make it pretty clear that I love horror movies, right?  There has been such a resurgence in good horror lately, we've all been spoiled.  Annabelle was one of the best horror movies in recent memory, and the sequel should be good as well.  I can't wait to see my second-favorite creepy doll make her return to the silver screen.  Sorry Annabelle, Chucky is still the king.

8. Thor: Ragnarok (November 3)
Thor is my least-favorite Avenger, but I'll still be seeing this movie opening night nonetheless.  I'm very excited to see how they work the Hulk angle into this movie, especially since props have leaked that point towards a Planet Hulk-themed setup. 

7. Insidious: Chapter 4 (October 20)
Insidious is definitely my favorite horror franchise in recent memory.  I loved the first two, and the third film kicked it up another notch and was legitimately scary.  The same creative team is coming back together for this film, and it still features everyone's favorite ghost hunter Elise.

6. The Dark Tower (July 28)
Stephen King's epic series is finally coming to the big screen, and I couldn't be more excited.  While it's going to stray a little from the books, I'm perfectly alright with the creative choices they're making.  I can't wait to see Roland Deschain and The Man in Black in theaters.  I read these books when I was in high school, and I've been waiting ever since to see them made into a movie.

5. Power Rangers (March 24)
The Power Rangers were literally my childhood.  Being a 90's kid, I grew up watching different iterations of Rangers kicking butt on TV.  I was born the same year Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers debuted on TV, and I grew up adoring the Green Ranger, Tommy.  While he's not in this movie, the other original rangers will be.  I can't wait to see how they portray these characters, and hopefully the movie is great.  Even if it does turn out poorly, it still couldn't be as bad as the original movie with Ivan Ooze.

IT

4. Star Wars: Episode VIII (December 15)
The Force Awakens was awesome.  Rogue One was awesome.  I have no doubt that Episode VIII will be awesome as well.  I can't wait to see what happens now that Luke has been found and Rey will start her training.  Also, more BB-8 is always a good thing.

3. Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 2 (May 5)
Guardians of the Galaxy is my favorite movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and I can't wait to see what the sequel holds.  The first trailer for the movie looks amazing.  Plus, just look at how cute and awesome baby Groot is!

2. IT (September 8)

Spider-Man: Homecoming

IT was one of my favorite movies when I was little, and it's became one of my favorite books as well.  This movie is the reason my sister is afraid of clowns, because I showed it to her when she was little in a genuine act of brotherly love.  They're splitting this one up into two movies to properly cover all 1,081 pages of Stephen King's epic.  Pennywise looks amazing, and before I even see it, I know this movie could be my favorite of the year.

1. Spider-Man: Homecoming (July 7)
I. Can't. Wait.  Spider-Man is my favorite comic book character of all time, and I've been waiting for the character to be done "right," and this looks like it'll be perfect.  Tom Holland looks like he's going to finally bring the quintessential Spider-Man story to the big screen.  I remember sitting in the theater during Civil War's big fight scene and, while Giant Man is on screen, thinking that the real Spider-Man would make an "Empire Strikes Back" reference.  And then he did. I fell in love, and I got more excited for this movie than I thought I ever could.

Those are my top ten movies of the coming year; what movies are you most looking forward to?  Let me know in the comments below.