It takes a special kind of person to be a Marine. I know that there was never a point in my life that I could have done it so when I see movies like The Inspection that highlights what these people go through, it only elevates the respect that I have for them.
The Inspection was written and directed by Elegance Bratton, who based a lot of the story on his own real-life experiences.
Ellis French (Jeremy Pope) was a young, gay black man who was having plenty of challenges in his life, including an estrangement with his mother Inez (Gabrielle Union). French decided to get his life on track by joining the Marines. However, his sexual orientation was revealed and this led to a series of homophobic responses from his platoon mates and the drill sergeants. In particular, drill sergeant Leland Laws (Bokeem Woodbine) would make the situation even worse for French. Laws’ goal was to make a Marine and he did it in some of the worst ways imaginable.
Watching this, you could not help but to feel for these people for what they were being put through to be a Marine. I understand that the Marines are looking for the best and can’t just let anyone join, but the process of systematically breaking down individuals until they can not handle it any longer is a difficult process to watch.
However, French faced plenty of problems, but it seemed as the film went along, he was not being broken down, but instead he was becoming stronger. He had several really good scenes with others in the platoon and with the men in charge. Jeremy Pope was outstanding through the whole movie. You absolutely see the way that French grew as an individual with each passing cruelty.
There was another intriguing character here named Ismail (Eman Esfandi), who had to face his own issues with prejudice toward his religion and the stereotypes of the Middle Eastern people. The scenes between French and Ismail were very strong and worked to show the connection the Marines build with one another.
Then there is Gabrielle Union, who played Inez and her own reactions to her son were just tragic. Union made the audience hope that there might be a chance that French and she could reunite and yet the pain was too deeply set. The third act scene between these two was a powerful and painful moment.
The Inspection was a really strong film with some very difficult moments to watch. There were wonderful performances and a concise story that dove into characters and their wills to overcome.
I avoided this movie for a long time. When it was in theaters at the end of August, I did not find myself interested in seeing it. It then came to Vudu, and I could not bring myself to rent it. Finally, it came to Netflix and it was free, so I finally decided to give it a view. I was right in the first place.
According to IMDB, “After the death of her mother and having no other known relatives, Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) takes a DNA test…and discovers a long-lost cousin she never knew she had. Invited by her newfound family to a lavish wedding in the English countryside, she’s at first seduced by the sexy aristocrat host but is soon thrust into a nightmare of survival as she uncovers twisted secrets in her family’s history and the unsettling intentions behind their sinful generosity.“
The first half of the film was nothing but jump scares strung together, none of which were anything of substance outside of just tying to elicit a response from the audience. There are movies that use the jump scare effectively, but this one was nothing but the cheap scare technique.
The acting was fine, but there was nothing that was going to elevate this movie above the script and some of the dialogue was truly awful. My favorite of the film was Sean Pertwee, who played the butler Renfield. Pertwee also played Alfred Pennyworth of the Gotham TV show. I guess his specialty is service acting. Of course, he was nothing here but a lackey, but it was nice seeing him once again. I always liked his Alfred.
The film really pulled the rug out from the story that it seemed to be telling in the first two-thirds of the movie. You knew something weird was going on, but it was a real flip when the truth came out. Understand, it is not that it was a surprising shock. It was obvious as could be as to the truth that was going on, but it did not take any time to build up the twist. It just through it into the story and let things fall where they may. It was preposterous.
The setting did a decent job of setting a mood for the film, but it felt as if all it would take was a single line and this could have been a solid satire.
I did like Nathalie Emmanuel as our main protagonist, though she was stupid through much of the film. She looked great on screen and I expect that she could do more with a better story. The former Game of Thrones actress could have a really good career (she’d be great as a young Storm in MCU), but when she moves ahead into better projects, hopefully she will be able to put this one behind her.
The Invitation became my 178 movie reviewed this year, setting a new record for a single year. It’s a shame that the record breaker couldn’t have been a better movie.
There were some great songs and scores from the movies this year. We will be looking at those that we consider the best. Interestingly enough, the songs that ended up at #1 and #2 on my list did not make the short list of Academy Award songs to consider for Best Song. Hmm.
Honorable mention: Badder (Disenchanted) performed by Amy Adams and Maya Rudolph
First, Best Song…
#10. Nobody Like U (Turning Red) performed by 4*Town (aka Finneas, Jordan Fisher, Josh Levi, Topher Ngo and Grayson Villanueva)
#9. Fearless Hero (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) performed by Antonio Banderas
#8. Nothing is Lost (You Give Me Strength) [Avatar: The Way of Water] performed by The Weeknd
#7. Ciao Papa (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio) performed by Gregory Mann
#6. Naatu Naatu (RRR) Performed by Rahul Sipligunj and Kaala Bhairava
#5. Life Me Up (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) performed by Rihanna
#4. Good Afternoon (Spirited) performed by Ryan Reynolds and Will Farrell
#3. I Don’t Know What Christmas Is (Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special) performed by Old 97’s
#2. Keep Rising (The Woman King) performed by Jessy Wilson feat. Angélique Kidjo
#1. Now You Know (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story) performed by “Weid Al” Yankovic
SCORE
#8. Son Lux (Everything Everywhere All at Once)
#7. John Williams (The Fabelmans)
#6. M.M. Keeravaani (RRR)
#5. Terence Blanchard (The Woman King)
#4. Alexandre Desplat (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio)
#3. Michael Giacchino (The Batman)
#2. Simon Frangler (Avatar: The Way of Water)
#1. Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
2022 was a year full of stories that very important to or affected geek culture (which truly is just ‘pop culture’ nowadays). We have compiled our choices for the Top 20 Geek Stories of 2022.
#20. ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ chaos. A movie that was supposed to be Oscar worthy sure created backstage controversy. Everything from Florence Pugh’s revolt to ‘Spitgate’ with Harry Styles, Don’t Worry Darling was a wild ride. Too bad it was not more of a wild ride on the movie screen. Someday a film about the making of Don’t worry Darling will be fire.
#19. Marvel Special Presentations. Marvel Studios started something new this year. On Disney +, they began to release special presentation- one shot shows around an hour length that focused on a smaller story. Werewolf By Night was released around Halloween and The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special was released on Black Friday. Both were critical successes and were beloved by the audience.
#18. Elton John in Dodger Stadium. Elton John’s final US tour came to an end at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles live on Disney +. Elton John performed many of his greatest hits and gave us another glimpse at what could be accomplished with the streaming services.
#17. Wednesday. Netflix found a huge surprise hit with the release of the 8-episode season of Wednesday, a ‘spin-off’ sort of from the Addams Family. Wednesday became one of Netflix’s most viewed shows of all time and exceeded all expectations.
#16. Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Darth Vader. Though the Obi-Wan Kenobi Disney + series had a mixed response, there was no doubt that the two major conflicts between the old rivals were moments to never forget.
#15. Wordle. The New York Times found a new obsession with the public. Wordle was a game where the participants tried to discover the 5-letter word in less than six guesses and it became one of the great obsessions of 2022. Though Wordle may not be as popular as it was earlier in the year, I still go daily and work the puzzle.
#14. ‘Running Up That Hill”. The Kate Bush song from 1985 was suddenly all the rage once again after being featured in Stranger Things Season 4 episode 4. One of the best episodes of TV this year, ‘Dear Billy’ ended with Max (Sadie Sink) and her desperate attempt to escape from Vecna, perfectly scored with this song. The song became a huge hit…again.
#13. Avatar sequel. Avatar: The Way of Water finally came out this year with a December release. One of the jokes that had been going around was these Avatar sequels, which had been rumored for years, were not a real thing. However, James Cameron proved that Avatar was strong as ever.
#12. Henry Cavill back as Superman/Oops, not so fast!: Henry Cavill had a cameo in the Black Adam movie and then was told to announce that he was back as Superman. However, a few weeks later, Henry Cavill was revealed to be out as the Man of Steel as he did not fit in with the plans for the new DCU from James Gunn and Peter Safran. It was a weird flip-flop that caught everyone off-guard.
#11. Johnny Depp/Amber Heard trial. One of the most public and quoted trials of the year, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard went at each other creating clickbait and memes all across the internet.
#10. Ezra Miller-Flash movie craziness. Ezra Miller spent much of 2022 off his rocker, doing things that were horrendous and causing a major problem for WB. This is because he was starring in a new Flash movie that was intended to be a new start for the DC movies. There were calls to fire Miller and to recast or to reshoot scenes or even ditch the whole film. WB pushed the film back into 2023 and they hope that Miller can ease back on the crazy until it comes out.
#9. Marvel announces Phase 4’s end and reveals two new Avenger movies. Kevin Feige stepped out onto the Comic Con stage and broke the huge news. Phase 4 would end with Wakanda Forever (a phase that the internet seemed to hate… unfairly, in my opinion) and that everything would be building to Avengers: Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars both in 2025. Marvel won another SDCC.
#8. James Gunn and Peter Safran new heads of DCU. Warner Brothers announced that James Gunn and Peter Safran would be taking over the running of DC movies, ending WB’s search for their own ‘Kevin Feige’. Gunn and Safran appear to be preparing for a reboot of all things DC saying that they have a ten year plan.
#7. Top Gun: Maverick makes all the money. In a surprise, Top Gun: Maverick became the biggest box office film of 2022. It made nearly 1.5 billion dollars worldwide, a number that no one saw coming. Maverick helped bring audience members back to the theater this summer after a couple of years of slow going (unless it was a Marvel movie).
#6. Elon Musk buys Twitter for $44 B. The richest man around flexed his financial might when he dropped a cool $44 billion to buy Twitter, amidst controversy and anger. Musk claimed that he was protecting free speech while his critics said he was just making it easier for hate speech to flourish on the social media account. It is still unclear what the eventual fate of Twitter will be after the purchase, but it will surely be interesting.
#5. Ryan Reynolds announces Hugh Jackman returning as Wolverine for Deadpool 3. In a shocking announcement, Ryan Reynolds revealed that Hugh Jackman would be returning to the role of Wolverine for the Deadpool sequel and that it was not just as a cameo. Despite some concerns that this would hurt the film Logan where Jackman had put the character to rest, most of the geek world flipped out, making the film even more anticipated than it was before.
#4. Queen Elizabeth died. After ruling England for decades, Queen Elizabeth died. Her son Charles took the throne as King Charles II and the world mourned, watching the royal funeral, proving that the obsession with the British Royal Family continued to be all the rage.
#3. Vince McMahon stepped down from WWE. Hell must have frozen over. Amidst several sex scandals, CEO and Chairman of the World Wrestling Entertainment Vince McMahon announced he was retiring, to the shock of the entire wrestling world. Paul “Triple H” Leveque took over the reigns of creative and started making immediate changes. There have been some rumors that indicate that McMahon wants to come back, but let’s hope that does not come to fruition as the WWE has been much more entertaining lately than it had been for years.
#2. The Slap. Controversy swirled at the 2022 Academy Award ceremony when Will Smith came up on stage live and slapped comedian Chris Rock because of a joke Rock had made about Will Smith’s wife, Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith, who would win an Oscar later that night for Best Actor suddenly became one of the most talked about celebrities in the world. The shocking moment became one of the most discussed moments of Oscar history.
#1. Bob Chapek out at Disney. Bob Iger back in. In one of the most unexpected developments of 2022, Disney CEO Bob Chapek was removed from his position and he was replaced with the man whose retirement opened the door for Chapek, Bob Iger. Chapek had been disliked by many within Disney for some of his decisions and his time finally came. Iger agreed to return to the House of the Mouse to rebuild the brand. This news was universally hailed as awesome as Chapek had been blamed for many of the recent problems with Disney.
No matter how much the internet complains about Mary Sues or Wokeness, kick ass women are a genre trope nowadays. I’ve never understood why so many of the geek brethren were intimidated by a strong woman. I’ve named this award after one of my favorite females from General Hospital who could easily kick the crap out of me.
The Anna Devane Kick Ass Female Award
Previous winners: Rey (Star Wars), Mockingbird (Marvel Comics), Wonder Woman (DCEU), The Shirewolves, Captain Marvel, Kamala Harris, Wanda Maximoff
I have a list of 15…
#15. Kitty Softpaws(Puss in Boots: The Last Wish)
#14. Matilda(Matilda the Musical)
#13. Nanisca(The Woman King)
#12, Neytiri (Avatar: The Way of Water)
#11. Elsa Bloodstone(Werewolf By Night)
#10. She-Hulk(She-Hulk: Attorney at Law)
#9. Naru(Prey)
#8. Thor, God of Thunder(Thor: Love & Thunder)
#7. Enola Holmes(Enola Holmes 2)
#6. Ms. Marvel(Ms. Marvel)
#5. Scarlet Witch(Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness)
#4. Queen Ramonda(Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
#3. Eleven(Stranger Things)
#2. Shuri(Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
And the #1 Kick Ass Female…
#1. Pearl(X and Pearl)
Number one flipped a couple of times, but Pearl was in two films this year and wiped out a bunch of people in them. Maybe she is a little coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs, but there is no denying that she is not someone you want to run into.
I have always enjoyed a good documentary. Whether it be a feature length film or a limited series, a good doc can be fascinating and engaging. Over the years, there have been some great ones, such as Won’t You Be My Neighbor, Beyond the Mat, Tiger King, The Imposter, Jinx, and so on.
2022 has its share of really good documentaries as well.
Best Documentary
Previous Winners: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, My Scientology Movie, Tickled, Finding Neverland, Tiger King, The Beatles: Get Back
Honorable Mentions: Disney + released a doc on Mickey Mouse’s 94th birthday called Mickey: The Story of a Mouse which was more in-depth than I ever would have believed it would be. Following up on the movie Being the Ricardos from last year, we got the doc Lucy & Desi, with more details on the life of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The Tindler Swindler was a fascinating look at a guy who scammed women through the online dating and geosocial networking application. Fire of Love dealt with a loving relationship between two volcanologists who would die in a volcanic eruption. Netflix has several of these docs on their streaming platform, and they also have the newer film, The Volcano: Rescue for Whakaari dealing with the escape from another volcanic island. Pennywise: The Story of It was a fun doc looking at the creation of the original It mini series starring Tim Curry. The search for truth was underway in Girl in the Picture, and it is a tale that is quite warped. The most recent Disney + documentary was by the daughter of Paul McCartney, Mary McCartney, all about Abbey Road Studios in If These Walls Could Sing.
Best Documentary of 2022 is…
Light & Magic
The Disney + doc series about the special effects company Industrial Lights & Magic looked at the early days of the company led by George Lucas, their work on Star Wars and the corresponding sequels, as well as the advancement of the technical ability in making the special effects. Six episodes directed by Lawrence Kasdan explored the world of ILM. It was an amazing look behind the scenes and at the magic they were able to make.
The horror genre has been one of the top genres over the last few years and 2022 is one of the best years for horror movies in a long time. There are so many great horror or horror-centric films this year that my list of horror films for consideration was really long, including several that have a chance to end up in the top 10 films of the year.
However, there were also some poor horror films as well. So we will start off with the Worst Horror films of the year…
Worst Horror Films Runners-Up: Sadly, there were some real stinkers in horror this year too. Start off with some of the poor remakes such as Firestarter, House of Darkness and one of the absolutely worst films in Texas Chainsaw Massacre on Netflix. Choose or Die was one of the first worst films of the year. My Best Friend’s Exorcism was a ridiculous film. Very bad and really disappointing was the Edgar Allan Poe film Raven’s Hollow from Shudder. I wanted to love that movie, but it just was not up to the quality I had hoped for. She Will was a film that the critics liked, but I just could not get into it. Finally, Halloween Ends could have been so much better, but it was promoted incorrectly and the big showdown between Michael and Laurie felt like an add on part.
Worst Horror Film of the Year…
Studio 666
Another film that I had high expectations for that was just a horrible flop. Poor acting, poor story, just everything lacking and it is in contention for the worst movie of the year.
Best Horror Movie of 2022
Best Horror Movie
Previous Winners: A Quiet Place, It, Don’t Breathe, It Follows, The Conjuring, As Above So Below, Cabin in the Woods, Doctor Sleep, Black Box, Fear Street trilogy
Honorable Mentions: One of my biggest surprises this year was the Shudder film called Deadstream. This was nearly the winner of this award, but it slipped just below the mark. Another absolute epic film this year was Black Phone, one of the most clever and most dramatic films in the genre. One of the more unexpected horror films of 2022 was Barbarian, which I went into with no idea what it was about and found myself completely thrilled with the film. V/H/S 99 was a lot of fun on Shudder as it took this franchise in a bit of a new direction. Hulu’s Hellraiser was surprisingly good. I really thought this one was going to be one of those really bad remakes, but it overcame those issues. One of the scariest and creepiest films this year was the excellent Smile. I was truly shaken at times in the theater. Jordan Peele had another solid film with Nope. Bodies, Bodies, Bodies was a clever and enjoyable film with a cool ending. Another Hulu film that was one of the most creative was Fresh. The Sadness and The Cursed are both poorly titled, but both are very good horror films. We got a new entry in the Scream franchise and the new cast knocked it out of the park. Finally, we had two movies featuring a great character. X and Pearl were awesome as we learn more about the character of Pearl.
2022 Horror Movie of the Year…
The Menu
One of the best movies of the year, Ralph Fiennes and the awesome ensemble cast were delicious in The Menu. I was so entertained during this film. It was a psychological horror film with some terrible things happening to the characters.
As I was watching John Rocha and Jeff Sneider on their podcast The Hot Mike, they were talking about some of their favorite movies from 2022, and Sneider mentioned one that he thought was fantastic. It was entitled Catch the Fair One and he said it was available on VOD. Intrigued by the recommendation, I went to Vudu and, sure enough, the film was there and I thought this would be a great film to watch when travel is discouraged on a snowy Friday morning in Eastern Iowa.
Jeff Sneider was right. It was quite the movie, full of tension and intensity.
Kaylee (Kali Reis) was once a championship level boxer whose life had taken a downward turn since her sister was missing. The loss and grief set her on an obsessive path to try and find her sister. The path led her to a sex trafficking ring and a violent journey of vengeance.
Kali Reis gets to take her character on quite the character arc, though she probably does not learn much during the film. She went from a hugely successful boxer to someone who sees what the life of revenge can do to you. There are several scenes that, while you understand why Kaylee is doing what she is doing, it is very difficult to root for her while she is doing it.
Catch the Fair One does an admirable job of creating a sense of anxiety among the viewers while Kaylee continued to make poor choices on her road of vengeance. You could feel that the road she was on was leading to something terrible and yet you could see that Kaylee did not seem to care about what was going to happen.
Yet, you could tell that she still had some of her humanity with the way she conducted herself at times, and you know that she had good motivations, even if her intentions were not positive.
This film provided a real-life feel to a movie subgenre that, many times over, becomes unrealistic or even cartoonish. There is nothing cartoonish about Catch the Fair One. It is brutally real and tough to watch at times.
The first issue of the three issue series from BOOM! Studios was released this week and it was a sensational comic.
We are introduced to Shawn Thacker, who appeared to be a happy, family man, happily married with a son who wanted nothing more than to go fishing with his father. However, we see almost immediately that there was so much more to Shawn Thacker than we ever would have expected.
We find out that there is a monster in the cellar that was ready to shake Shawn’s life to the foundation. What is the relationship between Shawn and this monster and how does it connect to the future?
A Vicious Circle Book 1 is very compelling and a fascinating read. The story grabs you immediately and it does not shy away from a shocking circumstance.
The words provided by Mattson Tomlin are brutal and quick to engage. However, the artwork of this issue is, perhaps, the finest art that I have ever seen within a comic book. Lee Bermejo begins in beautiful black and white with some of the most detailed and realistic art imaginable. When the color comes, the story takers another turn and elevates the illustration to yet another level.
The last panel of the book introduces us to yet another amazing image that promises that this story is taking yet another turn. So much happened in this first issue and yet we really do not know that much. It provided some outstanding storytelling and I am excited to see where this continues moving forward.
I was watching the Top 10 Show today and they were live and were talking about sci-fi movies. I know that my overall sci-fi movie fandom is not as full as it should be and they started talking about a film called Frequency. I had heard the title before, but I had never seen the film. It sounded as if it were an interesting movie and I wanted to watch it. I found it on Vudu and I was able to rent it.
According to IMDB, “A rare atmospheric phenomenon allows a New York City firefighter to communicate with his son 30 years in the future via HAM radio. The son uses this opportunity to warn the father of his impending death in a warehouse fire, and manages to save his life. However, what he does not realize is that changing history has triggered a new set of tragic events, including the murder of his mother. The two men must now work together, 30 years apart, to find the murderer before he strikes so that they can change history–again.”
The firefighter was named Frank Sullivan and he was played by Dennis Quaid. Frank’s son was John and was played by Jim Caviezel. LOST’s Elizabeth Mitchell played John’s mother and Frank’s wife, Julia.
The movie was very original and creative, taking the idea of communicating with the past in order to adjust what happened to a new level. As John was able to convince his father about what was going to happen (thanks heavily to the Amazin’ Mets of 1969), things continued to change, including a serial killer case that suddenly became so much worse.
The function of the communication was a neat idea and was steeped in the relationship between father and son. The way things changed were clever and worked very well. You could feel the continual desperation of both Frank and John as they tried to find a way to make everything alright.
Sure, with every time travel story, there are flaws and imperfections and Frequency is no different. However, most of the things that happen make sense and work with the story that they were setting up. They never broke their own rules, which many of these types of movie do.
Both Quaid and Caviezel were strong in their roles. They had a great chemistry and I believed that they were father-son.
Other actors involved in Frequency included Andre Braugher, Noah Emmerich, Shawn Doyle, Daniel Henson, Michael Cera, and Melissa Errico.
This was a gripping thriller that I was never quite sure where it was going. The two lead performances were great and the serial killer angle worked very well. Frequency was a lot of fun and I’m glad I heard the Top 10 Show talking about it.
TV watching has been ups and downs for me. Some years I have watched a ton of TV, but other years there are not as much that interests me. Fact is that I watch so much more comic book TV shows than I do regular shows. So, I decided to split them into two sections- Regular TV and Comic Book TV.
Of course, there are only winners here from shows that I actually watch so if your favorites are not here, that is probably the reason.
Starting with Regular TV
Best Show: Stranger Things season 4 Runners-up: Cobra Kai, Andor, Wednesday, Only Murders in the Building
Best Game Show: Password Runners-Up: Celebrity Jeopardy, Jeopardy, Celebrity Family Feud, 100,000 Pyramid
Best Actor: Diego Luna (Andor) Runners-Up: Ralph Macchio, Nathan Fillion, Ewan McGregor, Himesh Patel
Best Cameo: Shirley MacLaine (Only Murders in the Building) Runners-Up: Andy Serkis (Andor), Liam Neeson (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Paul Rudd, Amy Schumer, Tina Fey (Only Murders in the Building), Robert Englund (Stranger Things)
Best Villain: Vecna (Stranger Things) Runners-Up: Terry Silver, Darth Vader, Cad Bane
Best Finale: Cobra Kai “Head of the Snake” Runners-Up: Stranger Things, Only Murders in the Building
Best Song: “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush. Runners-Up: Master of Puppets by Metallica (Stranger Things)
Best Moment: Daniel uses the Crane Kick (Cobra Kai). Runners-Up: Hopper escapes the gulag (Stranger Things)
Favorite Network Show: The Rookie (ABC). Runners-Up: Celebrity Jeopardy, Password
Best Episode: “Dear Billy” (Stranger Things)
Comic Book TV
Best Series: Peacemaker Runners-Up: Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, The Boys
Best Actor: Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight) Runners-Up: Antony Starr, John Cena, Karl Urban
Best Actress: Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) Runners-Up: Erin Moriarty, Iman Vellani
Shock of the Year: The Termite explodes out of lover’s penis (The Boys). Runners-Up: She-Hulk breaks 4th Wall and goes to Marvel Studios, Soldier Boy is Homelander’s father, Homelander kills Black Noir
Best Ensemble Cast: Ms. Marvel Runners-Up: The Boys, Peacemaker, Superman and Lois
Best Villain: Homelander (The Boys). Runners-Up: Soldier Boy, Arthur Harrow, Auggie Smith
Best Animation: Baymax Runner-Up: I Am Groot
Best Theme: Peacemaker
Best episode: “Asylum” Moon Knight. Runners-Up: “Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed” (The Boys), “Whose Show Is This?” (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law), “The Choad Less Traveled” (Peacemaker)
Best Cameo: Charlie Cox (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law) Runners-Up: The Justice League (Peacemaker), Benedict Wong (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law), Mark Ruffalo (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law)
Best Casting: Iman Vellani (Ms. Marvel) Runners-Up: Jensen Ackles (The Boys), Tatiana Maslany (She-Hulk: Attorney at Law), Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight)
It is time for the “I Am Groot” Award. This does not necessarily have to be an award for voice over animation only. We have awarded those who may have performed in motion capture suits as well. If your main way of getting your character across is through your voice, this is the award for you.
“I am Groot” Voice Acting Award
Previous Winners: Robin Williams (Aladdin- honorary), Auli’i Cravalho (Moana), Andy Serkis (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), Josh Brolin (Avengers: Infinity War), Ryan Reynolds (Detective Pikachu), Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Jeffrey Wright and Chadwick Boseman (What If…?)
Honorary Mention: Truthfully, I almost gave this award as a tie. We did that last year, but, at the last moment, I decided to single out one performance. That meant that the other performance that ALMOST tied the winner was Ewan McGregor from Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. McGregor was the Cricket and narrator of the film and he was sensational. Also from that Netflix film was Gregory Mann, who voiced the puppet and did a great job of bringing the little wooden boy to life. Dwayne Johnson was Superman’s best friend, Krypto, in the DC League of Super Pets. Jake Gyllenhaal was one of the top positives in Disney’s Strange World. Lightyear was also not a huge success for Disney/Pixar, but Chris Evans was great in the title role. Turning Red featured a typically strong voice performance from Sandra Oh, but the star of that film was Rosalie Chiang. One of the top surprise characters came in The Book of Boba Fett when Corey Burton brought Cad Bane into the world of the live action Star Wars canon. Vin Diesel returned to the role that this award was named after in a series of animated shorts on Disney + called I Am Groot.
The performer who will be awarded the I Am Groot Voice Acting Award will be…
Antonio Banderas
Puss in Boots: The Last Wish
I specifically waited to give this award until after I saw Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and I am glad that I did. Antonio Banderas was masterful in this action/comedy giving a voice to the legendary gato.
Previous winners: Stan Lee (three times), John Cena, Chris Evans (two times), Sigourney Weaver, Hugh Jackman, Yoda, J.K. Simmons, Harrison Ford, Rudy Giuliani
Honorary Mentions: I really wanted to give this award to one of the Weird: The Al Yankovic Story cameos, whether it be Jack Black as Wolfman Jack, Will Forte as one of the Scotti Brothers, Conan O’Brien as Andy Warhol or “Weird Al” Yankovic himself as the other Scotti Brother, but, unfortunately, the cameo this year that wins the Stan Lee Movie Cameo Award is just ahead of these. Marvel Studios had a bunch of intriguing cameos this year too as Julia Louis Dreyfus showed up in Wakanda Forever as did Michael B. Jordan, Brett Goldstein appeared as Hercules in Thor: Love and Thunder, Charlize Theron was Clea in Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, John Krasinski and Patrick Stewart in the same film, and Kevin Bacon as himself in Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers cameo had Paul Rudd. That film had a lot of cameos from characters such as Ugly Sonic. Of course, Michael Keaton had one of the worst cameos of the year as Adrian Toomes in Morbius. Though he is going to wind up on the Supporting Actor list, Judd Hirsch‘s role in The Fabelmans would be considered a cameo. Also in that film we saw David Lynch appear as director John Ford. And then… we have the film that has the cameo of the year…
Winner of the EYG Stan Lee Movie Cameo Award is….
Val Kilmer, Top Gun: Maverick
Yeah, when researching this award, I came across the Val Kilmer cameo from Top Gun: Maverick, which filled the movie with so much nostalgia and real emotion that I couldn’t, in all honesty, give this award to anyone from Weird, as I had intended. Val Kilmer has had such a challenging life, especially recently, that his appearance in Maverick was a game changer and the movie was made so much better by his performance. Congrats. Iceman.
This has been an excellent year for animation. I would say especially over the last couple of months.
However, let’s start with the lower level of animation. The films that I did not like and consider the worst of animation of 2022.
Runners-Up: I only have three runners-up. As I said, a pretty good year for animation. First one to mention is Bob’s Burgers. Though I did not hate the film, I was never a fan of the TV show and that made the movie experience less engaging for me. The most recent Netflix Christmas animation was one of the worst versions of Charles Dickens classic tale and it was called Scrooge: A Christmas Carol. It was amazing that someone could mess that story up. The third and final runner-up goes to Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank. I considered this as the “winner” but there were enough okay moments to save it. The worst animated film of the year went back to an old offender…
Worst Animated Film of the Year is…
Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
I have not been a fan of any of this franchise and this new version, that turns all the monsters back human, is no exception. I am surely hoping that this is the final installment.
BEST ANIMATED MOVIES OF 2022
EYG Frame Award- Best Animation
Previous Winners:Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse, Coco, Moana, Inside Out, Big Hero 6, Flashpoint Paradox, Paranorman, Winnie the Pooh, Klaus, Wolfwalkers, Mitchells vs. the Machines
I am going to place this in a top 10 list.
#10. Minions: Rise of Gru. Big surprise. I hated the last Minions movie, but this was more entertaining.
#9. Sea Beast. One of the better Netflix animations of the year.
#8. Wendell & Wild. Another good Netflix film. Very creative and a reunion of Key & Peele.
#7. Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood. A great story of a young boy becoming an astronaut.
#6. Strange World. This is one that I really enjoyed at first, but upon reflection, may not have been as good as I thought. Still worth a spot on the list.
#5. Batman and Superman: Battle of the Super Sons. DC Animation continues to be really good. Nice characterization of the two young heroes.
#4. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. Who would have thought this Internet short would be such a powerful film?
#3. Turning Red. This Pixar film was number one for a good chunk of the year. A wonderful story of a young girl becoming a woman by turning into a panda.
#2. Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. Most years, this is number one. I loved this film with a great voice performance by Antonio Banderas.
And the Frame Award winner for 2022 is…
#1.
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio
Guillermo del Toro created such a masterpiece of a film that it has to be the number one animated film of the year. He took the story of Pinocchio, which just earlier in the year had a Disney + film that was terrible, and made a special film dealing with a dark story, Fascism, and the loss of a child. The stop motion animation of the film was lovely and the story brought tears to my eyes.
Honorable Mentions: DC League of Super Pets, Luck, Beavis & Butthead Do the Universe, The Bad Guys, and My Father’s Dragon
I loved the character of Puss in Boots from his appearances in the Shrek film franchise. However, I did not love the solo film he had a few years back. I mean, it was fine, but for a character that I thought was such a standout on the Shrek films, I found the solo adventure to be somewhat lacking. Because of that, I doubted the need for another Puss in Boots film, but I had heard positives about it so I went in with a hopeful attitude. And Puss in Boots: The Last Wish delivered big time.
The film caught up with our awesome hero Puss in Boots (Antonio Banderas) doing his signature heroic actions and singing about his conquests. However, after saving several villagers from a rampaging giant, Puss in Boots is killed by a falling bell.
No worries though because Puss in Boots has nine lives, as he arrogantly told the doctor. After a recount of deaths, Puss realized that he was on his final life. One more careless adventure and there would be no coming back for the cat.
Even worse, Puss is being stalked by a monstrous wolf (Wagner Moura) who struck fear into the feline’s heart for the first (or second) time. Puss ran from the wolf, finding shelter in a cat sanctuary. This did not last for long as Goldi (Florence Pugh) and the Three Bears (Ray Winstone, Samson Kayo, and Olivia Colman, respectively) were searching for Puss in order to have him steal a map to the Last Wish from Big Jack Horner (John Mulaney). When Puss discovered about the wish, he decided that this was his chance to regain his lost lives.
Puss in Boots is joined by both Kitty Softpaws (Salma Hayek) and a dog (Harvey Guillén) who had been impersonating a cat at the sanctuary. This set up a race to find the mythical Last Wish from all of the factions.
I was thoroughly entertained by Puss in Boots: The Last Wish. It was funny, engaging action film with characters that were cleverly adapted and beautifully rendered. The animation style reminded me at times of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse as it varied the style multiple times through the film, in particular when there were fight scenes. There were a bunch of times where I stopped and watched the animation in awe of the creativity and design of it.
There was also a great job from Antonio Banderas, as well as the other voice actors, in bringing their characters to life. Banderas was the captain of this film and his work is absolutely stellar. He had great chemistry with Selma Hayek, as they have been together in multiple films.
I loved all the villains involved here too as they all took the general stories of the fairy tales/nursery rhymes they were based upon and made them into fully functioning characters with understandable motives and real depth. None of them were just the typical fairy tale villain that was just out for evil. However, I do think the joke about Goldilocks and the “Just right” bit was used way too much and I found it annoying at the end instead of moving as it was intended. It would have helped the film to have toned back the number of times that comment was used.
Still, the film moved at a brisk pace and was rarely boring. It went to great effort to give us characters with understandable motives and reasons for their actions and Puss in Boots is truly an epic hero. The confrontations between Puss and the Wolf were very frightening as the design of that character certainly is meant to be fearful.
Puss in Boots capped off an excellent year for animation and is a film that everyone in the family should enjoy.
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 