It's been tricky, but for my final film column of 2022, I've taken the 75 films I've watched at Cineworld this year, and come up with my six favourites...
The Duke - Jim Broadbent plays Kempton Bunton, an unassuming Newcastle taxi driver who remains the only person to have stolen a painting from the National Gallery. His demand for its safe return was the abolition of the TV licence. Broadbent is superb in this role, and Dame Helen Mirren plays his wife brilliantly too. He was a crook with heart and a social conscience.
Phantom Of The Open - Mark Rylance is one of my favourite actors, and he plays Maurice Flitcroft with aplomb in this true life tale of a crane operator from Barrow who somehow managed to gain entry into the 1976 British Open Golf Championship, despite having never played a round professionally in his life. it has much in common humour wise with The Duke, and both films thoroughly cheered up a year that's been gruelling at times!
Top Gun : Maverick - worth all the hype. Over three and a half decades after the first movie, this could be the best sequel of all time. Tom Cruise is relentlessly entertaining as he trains a new generation of pilots for a hugely daring mission, and this has exactly the right blend of ingredients to satisfy both fans of the original and those who are far too young. It deserved its huge box office success.
Men is one of two horrors which I really rated this year, and this one finishes above The Black Phone in my rankings. It's a study of gaslighting, stalking, dodgy blokes (almost all played by Rory Kinnear), and a woman on the run from a past trauma (Jessie Buckley) who feels the woods surrounding her cottage are fast closing in on her. I thought this was clever, well done, and deserved a bit more success than it ultimately got.
Smile was just terrifying, and the scariest horror I've watched in ages. I shouted out in surprise at a couple of the jump scares, as Dr Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) tries to help a patient and begins experiencing chilling things herself that she just can't explain. Once you've seen it, it will kill you. On leaving the cinema, I didn't look at anyone in the foyer, just in case they smiled at me. Nerve shredding.
Rounding off my six, Banshees of Inisherin. Dark humour set on an island off the west coast of Ireland, as Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson play two lifelong friends who have a falling out. Look out for the miniature donkey, and a stellar performance from Barry Keoghan, who was the standout actor in the film for me. Some moments of uncomfortable humour blend with a story of lost friendship and isolation, and brilliantly drawn characters.
Just missing out this year were Lost City, Good Luck Leo Grande, Bros and the poignant Living starring the wonderful Bill Nighy. Anyone who says it hasn't been a vintage year for cinema has perhaps not been going often enough.
