TOP 5 Films of the Year, so far

1. Cha Cha Real Smooth

Cooper Raiff brings something very special in Cha Cha Real Smooth, which he directed, wrote and starred. A tale about living in the limb when you just finished college and you must realise what you want in life. It makes you laugh, it makes you shed a tear and it makes you think about your own life. I feel it is a very special movie. Raiff is a charismatic lead and he delivers a very charming performance, but the best performance in Cha Cha Real Smooth comes from Dakota Johnson who plays the multi-layered Domino - she's a magnetic presence and she has some of the best lines as the enchanting and flawed young mother. 

Go watch it and you'll understand why it won the Audience Prize - U.S. Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival.

RATING: 9 / 10

2. The Batman

From the many adaptations around Batman character, I must say Matt Reeves' take on Gotham's hero elevates above all the others. With plenty of space for character development, the always competent Robert Pattinson shines here in the most layered take on Bruce Wayne - here, he's the hero, the child with trauma, the man who's lost. With great scene-stealing performances from Paul Dano and Colin Farrell and a magnetic Zoë Kravitz who owns the movie alongside Pattinson. The plot is crime-investigation driven in the same vein as David Fincher's cult classic Se7en, with not much time for the typical superhero originis stuff. In fact, The Batman is no origins story - here Bruce Wayne is already Batman for years and we all thank the writing team for taking the story this far. Characters and actors aside, The Batman is also a terrific (potential) awards vehicle for its production team: Oscar-worthy cinematography from Greig Fraser, an epic original score by Michael Giacchino, great makeup work and pitch perfect sound and visual effects... there's no way to deny Matt Reeve's The Batman is a movie far superior than most we have already seen this year (and that we will ever see this year, probably).

RATING: 9 / 10

3. Everything Everywhere All at Once

I always find it difficult to love the comedy/sci-fi/action flick genre, but The Daniels do a great job with Everything Everywhere All at Once. In fact, it is an extremely original movie that led the "multiverse" concept to much fresher territory than what we are used to explore in the MCU. At the beginning, the all concept might seem a bit "too crazy", but once you understand the logics (and as long as the lead character, Evelyn, also understands how it all works), then you can just enjoy this cinematic fun ride. Michelle Yeoh is a magnetic screen presence - it is the kind of moviestar role that takes advantage on her stronger acting features while it pays homage to the actress' iconic past career in the martial arts movie realm. But the real deal here is Stephanie Hsu - who simply ate her role! It's a star-making performance from a young actress who's able to ignite the screen every time she pops-up (and you miss her absence when she's not there). And a note about Jamie Lee Curtis: she's simply hilarious here! Everything Everywhere All at Once is one of the coolest cinematic rides you will have all year.

RATING: 8 / 10

4. After Yang

A meditation about the human condition, about bounding, about the concept of family and loved ones... After Yang is the special slow-burning sci-fi drama we don't see that often. The writing is fantastic (good job Kongonada, who wrote and directed the movie) and Colin Farrell makes good use of the script he has to work with. It's another very fine performance we need to add to Farrell's career - and I would say it is his most soulful performance to date, maybe. Plus, the movie's palette is gorgeous thanks to the perfect harmony between cinematography, production design and set decoration and costume design values. The movie might not be everyone's cup of tea, since it takes the time it needs to touch your soul, but it has to belong to the Best Films of 2022 realm at the end of the year.

RATING: 7,5 / 10

5. The Northman

A feast for the eyes (and ears), Robert Eggers' The Nortman was considered one of the most antecipated movies of the year and it delivered in a different way than most people expected. The movie is spectacular, but it fails to reach the audience's heart at times - maybe because the lead character is too focused on revenge since the very beginning to let you gain some empathy for him, which only happens halfway. But the movie delivers in grand fashion! Visceral fight scenes, brutal and raw elements of the Viking culture, an unexpected (maybe shocking) last act and enough character development to elevate The Nortman above vulgar the action/revenge movies. Alexander Skarsgaard is in full beast mode here - it is a visceral performance, very physical, full of toxic masculinity until the second act, when things start to turn more complex, less obvious, more human, less animal. It is a role tailor made for his great acting talent and physicality - it's a star power deliver film. And a standing ovation for Jarin Blaschke's exquisite cinematograhy work in this one! The Northman is the product of a director in full command of his craft, able to balance the visuals (and sound) with the narrative. The weaker link here might well be the script, but the talented Skarsgaard, the great ensemble cast and the director knew how to work with it. The final result is EPIC!

RATING: 7,5 / 10

HONORABLE MENTION: The Black Phone

RATING: 7 / 10