2022 has given us many great movies and documentaries. Some of the best movies and documentaries were also some of the most diverse selections Hollywood green lit.
The Woman King, hands down took the title of the best film of the year. But other films such as Everything, Everywhere, All At Once, Devotion, RRR, and all the additional films listed are all worth the praise they’ve received.
As we get ready to welcome 2023’s movie slate, let’s take a look back at the best movies and documentaries 2022 had to offer.
The Woman King
The historically-inspired film was full of as much action as it was sisterhood. It was a great all-around film, that we recommend seeing it over and over again.
Where to Watch: Rent/Own VOD
The Fablemans
It’s Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiography, did you expect anything less than great.
Where to Watch: Rent/Own VOD or in theaters
We Need to Talk About Cosby
This documentary is not solely condemning Bill Cosby but critically discussing his impact as well as his downfall and why it is so hard for people to accept. Through and after watching it, you’ll understand the title and want to actually talk about Cosby.
Where to Watch: Showtime
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Ryan Coogler had big shoes to fill to tell a story without its main star, but he managed to — against all the obstacles that went into production — give us a story that is just as good, if not better than the original.
READ: Ryan Coogler Reveals Original Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Storyline
Where to Watch: Rent/Own VOD, in theaters
Everything Everywhere All At Once
This is the one movie that lives up to its name to a “T” but outside of the whimsical storyline, action and fight scenes, it is the messaging that brings the film full circle. You can’t help be reflect on your own journey after watching this film.
Where to Watch: Showtime, Paramount+, YouTube
Top Gun: Maverick
We still don’t know if Top Gun: Maverick is really that good or just that much better than the original which is completely overrated til this day.
Where to Watch: Paramount+, Youtube, Sling TV, The Roku Channel
Mr. Malcolm’s List
When a young woman gets rejected by London’s most eligible bachelor, Mr. Malcolm, she convinces her friend to play the role of his ideal match. Soon, Mr. Malcolm wonders whether he’s found the perfect woman or the perfect hoax.
Where to Watch: Showtime, Paramoutn+, YouTube
Elvis
If you can get through the fact that Elvis is long as shit, then you can get into the masterpiece Baz Luhrmann created and the top performances and transformations of Austin Butler and Tom Hanks.
Where to Watch: HBO Max
Devotion
This movie is a love letter and a story of love and devotion to his wife as well as from his friend to him as much as it is the historical telling of the world’s first black aviation fighter pilot.
Where to Watch: In theaters
Breaking
The last role of Michael K. Williams and it didn’t disappoint. This was a top performance from John Boyega while shedding a light on how messed up America is towards our veterans.
Where to Watch: HBO Max
Spirited
Just when you think the Scrooge storyline is played out, Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds come together to remind us it isn’t. As we watch as Ferrell’s character tries to redeem the unredeemable Reynolds we also see a man on a redemption story for himself.
Where to Watch: Apple TV+
Is that Black Enough For You?
While much of this documentary feels like a documentary the rich history that this film tells while breaking down the mis-understanding of the Blaxploitation era makes this a must-see documentary.
Where to Watch: Netflix
Emancipation
Even if you are sick of slave films, this is a new story and the specific way this film was shot aides in this re-telling. And please get over the whole slap situation because Will Smith really put his blood, sweat, and tears in this role and it shows.
Where to Watch: Apple TV+
A Jazzman’s Blues
Our only critique is that if Tyler Perry can give us such great work, that was written nearly 30 years ago, why has he been holding out on such great work this long.
Where to Watch: Netflix
Hustle
Seeing Adam Sandler embody the basketball scout character that he’s playing plus the real NBA people scattered within this film adds to the realness of the storyline. You fall in love with both the basketball dream and Sandler’s career dreams
Where to Watch: Netflix
Turning Red
An adolescent way to talk about puberty. A topic Hollywood seems to either ignore completely or oversexualizes. Maybe the problem has always been they never used a cartoon red panda to tell the story.
Where to Watch: Disney+
Emergency
The movie is part funny and part horror that breaks down the reality of how a simple situation can become complicated when you’re a Black man with a passed out white woman, that you don’t know, in your living room. Even if you think the characters are ridiculous you can’t help but wonder what you would do in their situation.
Where to Watch: Prime Video
RRR
It’s part an inspiring historical drama about Indian citizens rebelling against the British in the 1920s, it’s part a crime thriller, part a romantic musical, and part action. Every part of RRR keeps you engaged as all the mini parts make up one great story.
Where to Watch: Netflix
Master
The film is not the horror, the real-life messaging within the film is the scary part and that’s what makes this film a masterpiece.
Where to Watch: Prime Video
The Inspection
Bratton’s tells his story in a raw, brave, and poetic way. While you expect the characters to have a happy ending, the humanist element gives you more than you expect in telling the turn around story of a homeless young man who joins the army, endures more than he should because of his sexuality.
Where to Watch: Rent/Own VOD
The Sea Beast
This film tells that story of bravery, understanding, rewriting history the right way, friendship, and love. Oh and it’s a fun adventure the whole family can enjoy.
Where to Watch: Netflix
Till
While you can argue that there are but so many ways to tell a story and then you watch Till and you remember there are a 100 of ways to tell a story. Danielle Deadwyler and Jalyn Hall are actors to watch as they re-told a heartbreaking story and gave it their all.
Where to Watch: Rent/Own VOD
Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul
While the film seems as if it abruptly cuts off like the last episode of Girlfriends, the film is loaded with underlying humor and seriousness as we watch the hypocrisy of the church play out. And Sterling K. Brown and Regina Hall’s perfect complex performances is seriously is severely over looked
Where to Watch: Peacock
Sidney
Historians and film experts honours the legendary Sidney Poitier and his legacy as an iconic actor, filmmaker and activist at the centre of Hollywood and the Civil Rights Movement.
Where to Watch: Apple TV+
Prey
A skilled Comanche warrior protects her tribe from a highly evolved alien predator that hunts humans for sport, fighting against wilderness, dangerous colonisers and this mysterious creature to keep her people safe.
Where to Watch: Hulu
The Silent Twins
June and Jennifer Gibbons are twins from the only Black family in a small town in Wales in the 1970s and ’80s. Feeling isolated from the community, the pair turn inward and reject communication with everyone but each other, retreating into their own fantasy world of inspiration and adolescent desire.
Where to Watch: Peacock
Tar
Renowned musician Lydia Tár is days away from recording the symphony that will elevate her career. When all elements seem to conspire against her, Lydia’s adopted daughter Petra becomes an integral emotional support for her struggling mother.
Where to Watch: Rent/Own VOD or in theaters
A Man Called Otto
When a lively young family moves in next door, grumpy widower Otto Anderson meets his match in a quick-witted, pregnant woman named Marisol, leading to an unlikely friendship that turns his world upside down.
Where to Watch: In theaters (Dec 30)
Causeway
Brian Tyree Henry gave an award-worthy performance in this film. Lynsey, a U.S. soldier, experiences a traumatic brain injury during her tour in Afghanistan which forces her to return home. She struggles to return to her daily life with her mother as she waits for her eventual redeployment.
Where to Watch: Apple TV+