Movies at midyear

With so many prestige flicks released at the end of the year, movies from the first half tend to be underrepresented on year-end Top 10 lists.

Already deep into July, it feels like now or never to highlight some of the memorable cinematic moments of 2022 so far.

Thanks in part to attending the online component of this year’s South By Southwest film festival, I’ve logged about 65 titles in the first half of 2022. Currently sitting at the top of my list are two science-fiction stories with drastically different approaches.

Like many out there, I was particularly enchanted by the wild, martial-arts-infused “Everything Everywhere All At Once,” from the “Swiss Army Man” directing duo known as Daniels. The film’s kinetic and (purposefully) overwhelming exploration of infinite multiverses allows for vivid visual flourishes even on its modest budget. More importantly, the film also bakes in several resonant character arcs, most notably the icy dynamic between a perennially-distracted mother (Michelle Yeoh) and her depressed adult daughter (Stephanie Hsu).

The movie jumps between silly gags and emotionally wrenching conflict with seeming ease, then adds energetic fight sequences, a hilariously villainous Jamie Lee Curtis and even a multiple “Ratatouille” references. “Everything Everywhere All At Once” is available to rent on various home video platforms.

Taking an opposite approach, the somber, introspective “After Yang” from “Columbus” filmmaker Kogonada explores the loss of an unlikely family member, in this case an android who’s discovered to have been living an independent life outside from his family companionship responsibilities. Colin Farrell leads the cast as a stoic, disconnected father who becomes obsessed with trying to fix Yang while reviewing the android’s puzzling recorded memories. It’s a quiet piece of science-fiction that leads to surprising and wrenching emotional depth.

“After Yang” is available on various rental platforms and is streaming on Showtime.

The mixed bag slate of 2022 blockbusters

As it always seems to be, the biggest, most expensive movies of the year so far have been a mix of spectacular, diverting, lumbering and forgettable.

Of all the superhero flicks, the easy standout is Matt Reeve’s lengthy-but-potent “The Batman,” featuring a bombastic score, memorable adversaries and a moody, rageful take on the Dark Knight from Robert Pattinson. Its focus on crime-solving and the unsteady pairing between Bats and Selina Kyle/Catwoman (an excellent Zoe Kravitz) justifies the trip to Gotham City, a place we’ve probably seen a bit too much of over the past 15 years. Rent it anywhere or stream it on HBO Max.

We can’t talk about blockbusters in 2022 without mentioning the most financially successful (for good reason): “Top Gun: Maverick” is a piece of well-made nostalgia that manages to deliver a true action spectacle. It makes other blockbusters look broken by comparison, be it the strained-nostalgia beats in “Jurassic Park: Dominion” or the lumbering staleness of recent Marvel Cinematic Universe output.

And while we just talked about the Indian extravaganza “RRR” last week, it’s worth pointing people to that absolutely bananas action epic again (find it on Netflix).

Non-franchise animation winners

No disrespect to the Minions and space rangers at the box office, but the best animated films so far this year focus on original stories, none more charming than Pixar’s coming-of-age red panda comedy, “Turning Red” (available on Disney Plus). I also thoroughly enjoyed the swashbuckling Netflix adventure, “The Sea Beast,” as well as Richard Linklater’s fantastical ode to growing up, “Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Childhood” (also on Netflix).

As far as the franchise content goes, I’ll also single out “The Bob’s Burgers Movie” (Hulu/HBO Max) for delivering a feature-length story on par with the TV series’ better installments.

Smaller movies worth remembering

So it goes every year, a number of under-the-radar surprises can be found buried on streaming services and/or available on low cost video-on-demand. “Emergency” (Amazon Prime) takes a “Superbad”-esque premise of college kids trying to endure one crazy night and infuses it with nuanced social commentary. Apple TV’s “Cha Cha Real Smooth” resembles a 2000s-era twee-indie-comedy about post-collegiate arrested development but writer/director/star Cooper Raiff avoids the treacly virtue signaling while showcasing a wonderful Dakota Johnson performance.

Though a difficult watch, HBO Max’s “The Fallout” takes a thoughtful look at traumatized high schoolers following a mass shooting. And stay tuned for the South by Southwest breakout, “I Love My Dad,” a comedy about a father (Patton Oswalt) who sorta-accidentally begins catfishing his own son. It will show up in limited theatrical release and on VOD on Aug. 5.

Finally, I feel it’s my duty to celebrate the Nicolas Cage meta-action-comedy, “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” (on all rental platforms), a movie that understands the true power of one of our greatest and most unpredictable thespians.

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Tyler Wilson is a member of the International Press Academy and has been writing about movies and pop culture for Inland Northwest publications since 2000, including a regular column in The Press since 2006. He can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com.