2022 A Year at the Movies (Best and Worst)
A friend mentioned recently that it had been a while since a film left a whole audience in awe. We discussed The Force Awakes . And I remember suggesting Top Gun: Maverick though I was not exactly sure of the audience reaction since, despite the fact that I attend the cinema once a week (at least 52 times a year anyhow), I somehow ended up catching that one at home. There's an art theater near me called The Loft. My wife and I have usual seats at the front balcony. When a film really has me in awe, I lean closer to the screen and hold onto the railing with both hands. I watched a couple hundred 2022 releases and saw some fantastical things. Here are a few: Alex Cox's appearance in Mad God , the Yiddish references in Blood Relatives , Dan Hedaya's great, gloomy work in Slapface , Gordy the Chimp from Nope and the moment in Exorcist Vengeance when the Father (Robert Bronzi) gives a dying woman her last rites then pulls out his gun and chases after her...