Dick Brody's Top Thirty Movies of 2022

Added on by C. Maoxian.

Dick showed great restraint and could only come up with thirty titles. Blurbs mostly via moviefone. Look at the length of most of these movies, sheesh. Not many of these interest me. Dick covers all the bases by recommending movies celebrating both trans-sexuals and gay Black Marines. Looks like he includes 10 foreign language movies.

  1. Benediction, Terence Davies

    2 hr 17 min Drama, History, War

    “The story of soldier and poet Siegfried Sassoon (1886–1967), who was decorated for bravery on the Western Front, and is best remembered for his angry and compassionate poems about the First World War, which brought him public and critical acclaim. Avoiding the sentimentality and jingoism of many war poets, Sassoon wrote of the horror and brutality of trench warfare and contemptuously satirised generals, politicians, and churchmen for their incompetence and blind support of the war.”

  2. Nope, Jordan Peele

    2 hr 10 min Mystery, Thriller, Horror, Science Fiction

    “Residents in a lonely gulch of inland California bear witness to an uncanny, chilling discovery.”

  3. Armageddon Time, James Gray

    1 hr 54 min Drama

    “… a deeply personal story on the strength of family, the complexity of friendship and the generational pursuit of the American Dream. The film features an all-star cast including Anthony Hopkins, Anne Hathaway and Jeremy Strong.”

  4. No Bears, Jafar Panahi

    Animated 1 hr 46 min Drama

    “Follows two parallel love stories in which the partners are thwarted by hidden, inevitable obstacles, the force of superstition, and the mechanics of power.”

  5. Both Sides of the Blade, Claire Denis

    Romance/Drama ‧ 1hr 56 min

    “A woman's life spirals out of control when she becomes involved in a passionate love triangle.”

  6. Hit the Road, Panah Panahi

    In Persian 1 hr 33 min Drama

    “A middle-aged couple and their two sons embark on a road trip across the Iranian countryside. Over the course of their journey, they bond over memories of the past, grapple with fears of the unknown and fuss over their sick dog.”

  7. Amsterdam, David O. Russell

    2 hr 14 min Crime, Comedy, Mystery, History, Thriller

    “In the 1930s, three friends—a doctor, a nurse, and an attorney—witness a murder, become suspects themselves and uncover one of the most outrageous plots in American history.”

  8. Saint Omer, Alice Diop

    In French 2 hr 3 min Drama

    “A novelist attends the trial of a woman accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter by abandoning her to the rising tide on a beach in northern France. But as the trial continues, her own family history, doubts, and fears about motherhood are steadily dislodged as the life story of the accused is gradually revealed.”

  9. The Eternal Daughter, Joanna Hogg

    1 hr 36 min Mystery, Drama, Horror

    “An artist and her elderly mother confront long-buried secrets when they return to a former family home, now a hotel haunted by its mysterious past.”

  10. The Cathedral, Ricky D'Ambrose

    1 hr 28 min Drama

    “During the late '80s and early '90s, the Damrosch family's only child, Jesse, watches his family's quiet rise and fall.”

  11. Till, Chinonye Chukwu

    2 hr 11 min Drama, History

    “The true story of Mamie Till Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her 14 year old son, Emmett Till, who, in 1955, was lynched while visiting his cousins in Mississippi.”

  12. Don't Worry Darling, Olivia Wilde

    2 hr 2 min Thriller, Mystery, Drama

    “Alice and Jack are lucky to be living in the idealized community of Victory, the experimental company town housing the men who work for the top-secret Victory Project and their families. But when cracks in their idyllic life begin to appear, exposing flashes of something much more sinister lurking beneath the attractive façade, Alice can’t help questioning exactly what they’re doing in Victory, and why.”

  13. Saturday Fiction, Lou Ye

    In Chinese 2 hr 7 min Action, Drama

    “An actress working undercover for the Allies in 1941 Shanghai discovers the Japanese plan to attack Pearl Harbor.”

  14. In Front of Your Face, Hong Sang-soo

    In Korean 1 hr 25 min Drama

    “A former actress with a secret returns to Seoul to live with her sister in a high-rise apartment and meets a director to discuss her return to acting.”

  15. Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood, Richard Linklater

    1 hr 38 min Science Fiction, Family, Animation, Adventure

    “A man narrates stories of his life as a 10-year-old boy in 1969 Houston, weaving tales of nostalgia with a fantastical account of a journey to the moon.”

  16. Framing Agnes, Chase Joynt

    1 hr 15 min Documentary

    “Agnes, the pioneering, pseudonymized, transgender woman who participated in Harold Garfinkel’s gender health research at UCLA in the 1960s, has long stood as a figurehead of trans history. In this rigorous cinematic exercise that blends fiction and nonfiction, director Chase Joynt explores where and how her platform has become a pigeonhole. [ed. say what?] … an impressive lineup of trans stars take on vividly rendered, impeccably vintage reenactments, bringing to life groundbreaking artifacts of trans healthcare.”

  17. Ahed's Knee, Nadav Lapid

    In Hebrew 1 hr 49 min Drama

    “An Israeli filmmaker throws himself in the midst of two battles doomed to fail: one against the death of freedom in his country, the other against the death of his mother.”

  18. The Novelist's Film, Hong Sang-soo

    In Korean 1 hr 32 min Drama

    “A female novelist takes a long trip to visit a bookstore run by a younger colleague who has fallen out of touch.”

  19. The Inspection, Elegance Bratton

    1 hr 35 min Drama

    “Ellis French is a young, gay Black man, rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. But even as he battles deep-seated prejudice and the grueling routines of basic training, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in this new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and forever change his life.”

  20. A Couple, Frederick Wiseman

    1 hr 3 min History, Romance, Drama

    “The man is Leo Tolstoy. The woman is his wife, Sophia. They were married for 36 years, had 13 children nine of whom survived. Each kept a diary. The film is Sophia’s monologue about the joys and struggles of their life together, loosely drawn from their letters to each other and their diary entries.”

  21. Master, Mariama Diallo

    1 hr 39 min Thriller

    “Three women strive to find their place at a prestigious New England university that may disguise something sinister.”

  22. The Tsugua Diaries, Maureen Fazendeiro and Miguel Gomes

    In Portuguese 1 hr 42 min Drama

    “Crista, Carloto and João are building an airy greenhouse for butterflies in the garden. The three of them share household routines, day after day… And they are not the only ones.”

  23. Beba, Rebeca Huntt

    1 hr 19 min Documentary

    “A raw, poetic self-portrait in which young, NYC-born Afro-Latina Rebeca “Beba” Huntt stares down historical, societal, and generational trauma.”

  24. Clytaemnestra, Ougie Pak

    1 hr 10 min

    “A Korean theater troupe travels to Greece to rehearse a new production of Aeschylus' Agamemnon. The secluded setting offers a stunning backdrop to the tensions mounting between the lead actress, the domineering director, and various members of the company. BAMcinemaFest alum Ougie Pak (Sunrise/Sunset) lays bare the group dynamics of artmaking and patriarchal power structures, transposing the framework of classic Greek tragedy to a thoroughly modern context.”

  25. RRR, S.S. Rajamouli

    In Telegu 3 hr 2 min Action, Drama

    “A fictional history of two legendary revolutionaries' journey away from home before they began fighting for their country in the 1920s.”

  26. Introduction, Hong Sang-soo

    In Korean 1 hr 6 min

    “Yeongho heads to the hospital to find his father. Soon, however, he heads to Germany to meet his girlfriend. When he comes back to Korea, he sees his mother with a middle aged man.”

  27. A New Old Play, Qiu Jiongjiong

    In Chinese 2 hr 59 min History, Drama

    “On a 1980s evening, the topmost clown-actor of the 20th century Sichuan opera, Qiu Fu passes away in an accident and half-unwillingly sets off for the Ghost City under the escort of two underworld officials. Along the way, he meets old friends. As they recall the past, a history of the living is conjured up.”

  28. EO, Jerzy Skolimowski

    1 hr 26 min Drama

    “EO, a gray donkey with melancholy eyes, encounters good and bad on his journey through life, experiences joy and pain, and endures the Wheel of Fortune.”

  29. Descendant, Margaret Brown

    1 hr 49 min Documentary

    “Descendants of the survivors from the Clotilda celebrate their heritage and take command of their legacy, as the discovery of the remains of the last-known slave ship to arrive in the United States offers them a tangible link to their ancestors.”

  30. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On, Dean Fleischer Camp

    1 hr 30 min Family, Drama, Comedy, Animation

    “Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. But when a documentary filmmaker discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family.”