These are not the “Best Movies of 2022”, just My Favorite Movies of 2022. I saw 59 movies in theaters in 2022 and here are a few I liked so much that I watched them twice. Usually, the second time at home with my wife. And now in no particular order: The Fallout (2021) Technically this is a 2021 movie, but I saw it in 2022 and loved it, so it had to make my list. Two high school girls…
If you decide to watch one feel-good movie this year about dementia, it better be Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020). The titular Dick is Richard Johnson, a retired psychiatrist and the aging father of documentarian and cinematographer Kirsten Johnson. Soon after diagnosing dementia for her father, Kirsten decides to enlist Dick to create and record a series of fictional situations to help her and her father process his illness and eventual death. While this contains some seriously emotional moments and realizations…
I watched 168 movies in 2018, according to my Letterboxd Diary. You can click on the link and see the movies I watched and their ratings. For the most part, I will ignore the blockbusters (except A Star is Born) and focus on movies that did not have big budget advertising and that you probably haven’t heard about. All but one of these have passed the wife test and have a thumbs up by both the misses and me. A…
Before I Fall (2017) Before I Fall is a cross between Mean Girls and Groundhog Day with a dash of suicide prevention thrown in. Now that I write that, it doesn’t sound too appealing, but this tight little teen drama held my attention and had me almost liking even the meanest mean girl. And that’s a real trick when you make the antagonist somewhat likable and completely understandable. I’ve seen time loop movies before. This one jumps into a familiar genre and makes each loop…
Sully (2016) I was probably about 12 when my friend Al first took me for a ride in his four-seater Cessna airplane, and I was hooked. Since then, I have taken every opportunity to fly, go to an airshow, or watch movies about flying. So it was predestined that I would see Sully and probably be predisposed to like it. You then add that it was directed by Clint Eastwood and starring Tom Hanks; there is even more of a…
Mustang (2015) Five school-age sisters living in Turkey play at the beach with friends, which includes boys. This innocent fun turns into neighborhood gossip, which changes the trajectory of their lives forever. The five sisters live with their grandmother and uncle after the death of both their parents. While the terrible situations that ensure are foreign to westerners, they are understandable and mostly done by people who love them and want the best for them. This slice of life story…
Wildlike (2014) Netflix Streaming While her mom is off-line in an in-patient treatment center Mackensie must move to Alaska and live with her uncle whom she hasn’t seen since she was little. Unfortunately living with her uncle is less than ideal and being a teenager she decides to forgo civilization and try roughing it in the Alaskan outback. Luckily for her she finds an older male hiker that she latches unto and forms an interesting relationship. This is a fun little…
While I liked many movies in 2016, only a few of them made any lasting impression. Here are the ones I ended up seeing twice or in a few cases ended up purchasing for my collection. The Conjuring 2 (2016) This sequel is as good or better than original. Loosely based on a case from supernatural detectives Ed and Lorraine Warren when they traveled to England to investigate a haunted house. Scary, suspenseful and sure to entertain. [rating=4] Green…
ARQ (2016) I just streamed this little time travel movie on Netflix and was really disappointed when it was over because I wanted more. Since it was rated TV-MA I thought I was watching the pilot to a new series, but it was just a made for tv movie. It’s similar to Edge of Tomorrow and Groundhog Day in that the protagonists live one day and loop back and do it again. It follows the time loop movie rules with a few…
Deepwater Horizon (2016) I like disaster flicks for one simple reason: Crises reveals character. Day to day most lives are boring, but when crises arises people’s mettle is exposed. On the Deepwater Horizon mobile drilling platform many things go terribly wrong and we get to see these common working men and women rise out of the fire as real life heroes. There are books describing the accident, but reading about this is much less fun than watching it. Ok there’s another reason I…