Previous Winners: Frances McDormand (3 Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri), Viola Davis (Fences), Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road), Rosemund Pike (Gone Girl), Sandra Bullock (Gravity), Berenice Bejo (The Artist), Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn), Yalitza Aparicio (Roma), Renee Zellweger (Judy), Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Rachel Zegler (West Side Story)
Top 11
#11. Kali Reis (Catch the Fair One). A brutal performance with a character that was in search of her sister and would do anything to find her.
#10. Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans). Michelle Williams gives a solid performance in a film where her character is a little unbalanced and unhappy despite having a seemingly good life.
#9. Sosie Bacon (Smile). The daughter of Kevin Bacon came to play in the frightful horror film, Smile. There is no doubt that Smile was one of the scariest films of the year and her performance anchored it.
#8. Viola Davis (The Woman King). The only actor to win The Liz twice, Viola Davis was at it again this year with a powerhouse performance as an African warrior in The Woman King.
#7. Naomi Ackie (I Wanna Dance with Somebody). Whitney Houston herself. Ackie gave a great performance as the iconic singer, really becoming her and not just doing an imitation.
#6. Letitia Wright (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever). Wright faced the difficult task of becoming the next MCU Black Panther after the loss of Chadwick Boseman and she gave her best performance ever. She gave an emotional and deep performance that both established herself as the character and honored her on screen brother.
#5. Alisha Weir (Matilda the Musical). The “I See Kid Actors” Award winner this year also makes The Liz list. Alisha Weir was fantastic as the titular character, not only acting, but also singing and dancing. It’s an all around great performance.
#4. Cate Blanchett (Tar). The Oscar front runner falls in at number four for me. She was great in the movie, but I only liked Tar. No doubt that Cate Blanchett was the reason to see that film.
#3. Mia Goth (Pearl). Mia Goth was amazing in this prequel to X. She was great in X too, but I think she really brought the crazy in Pearl as we see how she became the dangerous psycho killer she would become.
#2. Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once). Michelle Yeoh brought such a credibility to this small movie that helped elevate it to the next level. She was certainly everything to this movie.
And the number one and winner of The Liz Award for 2022 is…
Danielle Deadwyler (Till). One of the most powerful and heart-wrenching performances of the year, Danielle Deadwyler showed the anguish of a mother whose only son was brutally lynched in the south during the 1950s, but would not stand for it and helped make the world a better place through her tragedy. Not many people saw Till, but it was an amazing film with the performance of Deadwyler at the heart of it.
The Joker/Hannibal Lecter/Mister Miyagi Award for Best Male Supporting Actor
Previous Winners:Patrick Stewart (Logan), Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals), Sylvester Stallone (Creed), Edward Norton (Birdman), Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club), Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained), Andy Serkis (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Richard Grant (Can You Ever Forgive Me?), Robert Downey Jr (Avengers: Endgame), Sasha Baron Cohen (Trial of the Chicago 7), Willem Dafoe (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
As with the Female Supporting Actor Award, we had a name change for this award too. Named it after three of the great supporting characters in film history.
There are ten on the list of Male Supporting Actors
#10. Bokeem Woodbine (The Inspection). The drill sergeant who went out of his way to make things horribly difficult for Jeremy Pope in The Inspection.
#9. Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway). Henry was one of the standouts of the Apple TV + film Causeway.
#8. Mark Rylance (Bones and All). I did not like this movie much, but there is no denying that Mark Rylance was amazing as the crazed cannibal.
#7. Stanley Tucci (I Wanna Dance With Somebody). Clive Davis was a close friend and record executive that helped Whitney through her life and career and his care was special.
#6. Paul Dano (The Fabelmans). Paul Dano was excellent as the father who was supporting of his son while his marriage was falling apart.
#5. Tom Hanks (Elvis). Colonel Tom Parker had his fingers all over Elvis for years, manipulating him and everyone around. Hanks showed he could play an unlikable person as well.
#4. Colin Farrell (The Batman). Farrell is unrecognizable as The Penguin in the newest Batman film. He may not have been the main villain of the film, but he may have been the best.
#3. Tenoch Huerta (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever). Huerta did an amazing job with Namor, a longtime character of Marvel with a new background and culture. He was a villain who you did not want to root against.
#2. Judd Hirsch (The Fabelmans). He was there for maybe ten minutes, but he absolutely dominated the screen while he was there. Perhaps the best performance of his career.
And the NUMBER ONE Best Male Supporting Actor is…
Ke Huy Quen (Everything Everywhere All At Once). What a comeback! As a child, Ke Huy Quen was Short Round in the Indiana Jones franchise and Data in The Goonies. He was amazing in the Multiversal movie, playing a couple of different characters. I am glad that he returned to the screen and I hope that he will have plenty of great roles moving forward!
The Hermione Granger/Furiosa/Rita Moreno Award for Best Female Supporting Actor
Previous Winners:Dafne Keene (Logan), Tilda Swinton (Dr. Strange), Alicia Vikander (Ex Machina), Emma Stone (Birdman), Jennifer Lawrence (American Hustle), Sally Field (Lincoln), Jennifer Aniston (Horrible Bosses), Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place), Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit), Margo Martindale (Blow the Man Down), Rita Moreno (West Side Story)
As you can see, I have renamed this award. The term “actress” has fallen out of favor lately and so I thought, with the chance of being referred to as ‘woke’, it was as good as time as any to rename the award.
We actually have 11 female supporting actors on our list this year. We are counting them down.
#11. Sally Field (Spoiler Alert). Field was great in the film as a mother of an adult son with cancer. She did not have that much screen time though so this is her spot.
#10. Tamara Tunie (I Wanna Dance With Somebody). Tunie played Whitney Houston’s mother Cissy and she was a great support for Whitney.
#9. Sadie Sink (The Whale). Sadie had a great year, with her work on Stranger Things and her turn as sociopathic daughter to Brendan Fraser. How horrible was her character in that film? Sadie Sink has remarkable talent.
#8. Gabrielle Union (The Inspection). Another mother on the list. Gabrielle Union played a pretty rotten mother who could not accept her son’s lifestyle.
#7. Carey Mulligan (She Said). Mulligan could really be considered a co-lead of the film.
#6. Lashana Lynch (Matilda the Musical). Lynch played the sweet Ms. Honey and brought a new flair to the role.
#5. Hong Chau (The Whale). Chau was the friend/nurse in The Whale and she created a balance to the depression of Brendan Fraser character.
#4. Jamie Lee Curtis (Everywhere Everything All at Once). Jamie Lee Curtis was a great addition to this stellar cast. You can never go wrong with Jamie Lee Curtis.
#3. Emma Thompson (Matilda the Musical). Thompson was unrecognizable as the headmistress Agatha Trunchbull, the wicked and cruel woman who was trying to put an end to the “maggots.”
#2. Evan Rachel Wood (Weird: The Al Yankovic Story). Evan Rachel Wood was a huge scene stealer in Weird as Madonna, who truly becomes the villain of the film.
And the NUMBER ONE Best Female Supporting Actor for 2022 is…
#1. Angela Basset (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever). Angela Bassett was a force of nature as Queen Ramonda, leader of Wakanda who was mourning the loss of her son, T’Challa while desperately trying to help her daughter, Shuri. There were some amazingly savage dialogue for Queen Ramonda in some powerful monologues.
Nobody tries to make a bad movie, but it happens. We are going to celebrate the rottenness of these films. These are the Batman & Robin Awards for Rottenness.
Worst Movie: We will save this for the Worst of the Year List
Worst Actor: Dave Grohl (Studio 666).
Worse Actress: Sheri Moon Zombie (The Munsters)
Worst Director: Rob Zombie (The Munsters)
Worst Sequel: RIPD 2: Rise of the Damned
My Favorite “Rotten” Movie: Black Adam
Worst Movie I Did Not See: Blonde
Cashing a Paycheck: Kevin Hart & Woody Harrelson (Man from Toronto)
Worst Superhero Movie: Morbius
Book was Better: The School of Good & Evil
Worst Reboot/Remake: The Munsters
Most Successful Bad Movie: Jurassic World: Dominion
Worst Movie Based on TV Show: Jackass Forever
Worst Performance from an Oscar Winner: Jared Leto (Morbius)
Worst Post Credit Scenes: Morbius featuring the Vulture
Worst Vampire Movie: The Invitation
Worst CGI: Jeepers Creepers: Reborn
Worst Movie Take: John Campea’s constant “Marvel is the fake death universe”. I wonder if John made any comments about Avatar: The Way of Water bringing back their main villain from the dead? No? Of course not, because that cuts into his narrative.
“All Right, Mr. Deville, I am Ready for my Close Up” Award for Best Director
Previous Winners: A.G. Inarritu (Birdman), Tim McCarthy (Spotlight), Damien Chazelle (La La Land), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), Alfonso Cuarón (Roma), Anthony and Joe Russo (Avengers: Endgame), Spike Lee (Da 5 Bloods), Jon Watt (Spider-Man: No Way Home)
2022 had a bunch of excellent directors doing a lot of great work. I had a large list of potential directors for the “All Right, Mr. Deville, I am Ready for my Close Up” Award.
Honorable Mention: I will start off by mentioning Baz Luhrmann with his Elvis work. It was a fun and well shot biopic. Dan Kusan and Daniel Scheinert are together known as The Daniels and they created one of the top films of the year with Everything Everywhere All at Once. We got a brand new look at Gotham City with Matt Reeves‘ vision of The Batman. Guillermo del Toro brought a new concept to the Pinocchio story. The Banshees of Inisherin is an Oscar favorite and Martin McDonagh may be a director nominee there. He gets a shout out in the EYG world. James Cameron did an amazing job on his sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water. Another giant epic film was The Woman King and Gina Prince-Bythewood did an amazing job with the massive battle scenes. Rian Johnson has been known to be divisive among the geek world, but that is unfair. His work is always great as it is in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. Sam Raimi made Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness into an amazing Sam Raimi-movie. Top Gun: Maverick was a huge smash and Joseph Kosinski knocked it out of the park. One of the best foreign films this year was RRR and S.S. Rajamouli had huge dance and battle scenes to work. Another Oscar favorite is Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans, but he is well down my list. The Menu is absolutely awesome and Mark Mylad brought some amazing tension. Finally, Matthew Warchus gave us a wonderful film, Matilda the Musical, which is now on Netflix and EVERYONE should go watch that immediately.
The 2022 winner of Best Director is…
Ryan Coogler
No director had to deal with more than Ryan Coogler did. Not only is he responsible for directing the sequel to a culturally significant film in Black Panther, but he also had to fit the new film into the gigantic MCU franchise. Then, as the script was finished, the lead of the movie, Chadwick Boseman, passed away from cancer… something that caught everyone off guard. They had to redo the entire script, but only after he, along with Kevin Feige and the Marvel Studios folks, decided not to recast. That decision stirred up the haters on the internet. He had to deal with those people who were going to hate the idea of Shuri being Black Panther for reasons that only the internet can justify. And the final film, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, had to be a way to honor Chadwick Boseman while still having a solid movie. Ryan Coogler was able to be hugely successful while having all these problems.
Congrats to Ryan Coogler on his amazing achievement despite it being one that came under terrible tragic circumstances.
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.
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
EYG- Embrace Your Geekness 