1. The Banshees of Inisherin - It's Martin McDonagh reunited with Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell, and writing about violence and cycles of revenge again. Best of all, the movie is Irish from top to bottom, a culture that McDonagh knows inside out, and that he never feels entirely successful working outside of. Barry Keoghan, Kerry Condon, and Gleeson are highlights, but it's Farrell who I appreciated the most here as the jilted party.
2. Everything Everywhere All at Once - I knew once the Daniels came to the height of their creative powers and got the right project, the sky would be the limit. I have a few minor quibbles about the film related to pacing, mostly, but I absolutely adore how this film was able to surprise me over and over again. And if nothing else, seeing Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan in leading roles like this was something I'd been waiting decades for.
3. The Fabelmans - So many filmmakers made movies about making movies and the theatrical experience this year, but only Spielberg really seemed to wrestle with the responsibility that this conferred on the artist. And for a longtime Spielberg fan, it was monumental to finally see the psychological underpinnings of so many of his stories laid out through the dramatization of his family's turbulent, eventful history.
4. Tár - I recognize that this is a good film, and possibly a great one, but I just didn't enjoy watching it. So, this is where it's going on the list, above some favorites that aren't so technically accomplished, but below others that are even rougher. Watching "Tár" become a meme during awards season was fun, and Cate Blanchett's performance can't be denied, but I couldn't get over the film paying so much lip service to the art of conducting - and barely showing any.
5. Women Talking - Speaking of technical issues, the cinematography here really rubbed me the wrong way. I know the majority of the action takes place in a hayloft, but it's no excuse for the dim visuals hiding the lovely production design. Otherwise, I love the talented ensemble here, Sarah Polley's thoughtful script, and the positive treatment of faith. The film feels very timeless and I expect that its stature will only grow as more people discover it.
6. All Quiet on the Western Front - This is where I ranked "1917" back in 2019, and I feel much the same about "All Quiet." You've got thin characters, a lot of technical gimmicks, and ultimately the same kind of bombastic war movie tropes that the Academy is such a sucker for, year after year. It's good to see an adaptation of "All Quiet" from German filmmakers, but the film feels so anodyne and lacking in personality that I couldn't get behind it.
7. Triangle of Sadness - Now, personality is not something Ruben Östlund has trouble with. The criticisms of capitalism and the rich/poor divide in this film are as scathing as they are entertaining. The trouble is that the first half of the film is so much better than the second half, which depends more on characters that Östlund didn't really bother to make functional human beings. Kudos to the Academy for an unusual pick, but the level of filmmaking isn't quite there.
8. Top Gun: Maverick - It's impossible to protest that the most obnoxiously Hollywood film of the year that blew up the box office and possibly saved the theatrical business as we know it doesn't belong here. Outside of the technical categories, however, I really have my doubts. I suspect that this is a matter of personal taste, as I can find nothing in "Maverick" to complain about, but Cruise's films - and maximalist filmmaking in general - don't do much for me anymore.
9. Elvis - Never underestimate Baz Luhrmann. If Austin Butler wins the Best Actor trophy for playing Elvis Presley, it'll be well deserved. However, Tom Hanks's performance as Colonel Parker really is a low point of his career and drags much of the movie down with it. This is really neck and neck with "Maverick," but "Elvis" just had too many unforced errors for me to put any higher on this list.
10. Avatar: The Way of Water - And never underestimate James Cameron. "The Way of Water" looks gorgeous and is obviously a high water mark for special effects and CGI (pun intended). However, I wasn't much of a fan of the original "Avatar," and the sequel doesn't do much for me either, aside from the spectacle. Also, Sigourney Weaver playing a teenage character weirds me out to no end.
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