The UK’s best-loved movie releases of 2022
From a movie perspective, 2022 looks pretty good. Avatar: The Way of Water This is most likely the final big release of the year. Let’s take a look back at some of the highlights. under-appreciated movies You might be missing something.
There have been many funny and offbeat comedy films on both sides. However, there has also been some fascinating horror movies that speak to the realities of a world where everything is available online 24/7. Daniel Radcliffe also played a gun-toting parody singer. This was quite an exciting year for movies.
Learn more The best movies of 2022
These are the 2022 most underrated movies…
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Daniel Radcliffe has been described as a weird, brilliant actor He makes brilliant, bizarre choices. It was only natural that he would eventually portray a man with at least one of these words in his name. Structured as an overwrought parody of musical biopics, this is a definitely-not-biopic of Canadian accordion enthusiast Weird Al Yankovic, who is perhaps the world’s leading purveyor of ludicrous, often food-based song parodies.
The film depicts Yankovic’s life in sex, drugs and rock n roll, with Evan Rachel Wood joining the fray to seduce Madonna.
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Radcliffe is a perfect example of an artist who can’t be more kind in real life. The movie, which was hidden on Roku for a while, didn’t receive the respect it deserved.
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story streaming in the UK on the Roku Channel.
A love song
The quiet release of A Love Song, a contemplative romantic drama, was made in a few British cinemas just a week before Avatar. It’s a shame considering the film’s sheer power. Max Walker Silverman directs this film, his feature debut. The story is the heartbreaking and subtle story of Faye (Dale Dickey), widow. She arranges to spend a night with Lito (Wes Studi).
This movie is romantic and affectionate, but never makes it explicit. It’s a movie about intimacy more than sex. Both leads are naturally portrayed and lightly underplayed. The vast emptiness of Colorado helps us to see these two people enjoying each others company. It’s simple, yet it is incredibly effective.
The UK has a limited number of cinemas showing A Love Song.
It’s not okay
There has almost certainly not been a film this year that’s as painfully unsettling as Not Okay. It proudly declares in its first screen that the film “contains flashing lighting, themes and trauma, as well as a female protagonist who is difficult to like”. Zoey deutch, an aspiring writer, is shown as she lies to claim that she is going to Paris for a writer’s retreat. After a terrorist attack on the city, she lies again and claims that she was a survivor.
Quinn Shephard is the writer and director of this film. It’s a funny watch that combines broad comedy with venomous commentary on the world of social networking. It’s a fascinating look at the spread of lies and the speed with which the internet can create heroes or villains. There are fine lines between these two groups.
Disney+ UK offers streaming of Not Okay
Tomorrow Morning
Although this movie was released earlier in the year, it is still an Avengers-level production for musical theatre fans. It features megastars Ramin Karamloo and Samantha Barks. Barks, an experienced Les Mis veteran, has been playing Elsa in Frozen West End for the last few decades. Karimloo is a Broadway and West End veteran currently staring in Funny Girl alongside Lea Michele.
Tomorrow Morning is an amiable romantic musical following a couple on two fateful days — the lead-up to the wedding and the day of their divorce hearing a decade later. The musical numbers are well-observed, and the emotions raw. Fleur East provides a supporting performance and Karen Hauer choreographs and performs a dance sequence. It’s a joy.
Tomorrow Morning is now available for streaming in the UK via Amazon Freevee.
The List of Mr Malcolm
Emma Holly Jones made her directorial debut with this Regency era romcom, in which Ṣọpẹ Dìrísù plays the titular eligible bachelor with a very restrictive list of requirements his future wife must meet. Zawe Ashton portrays Malcolm’s rejection of a society woman and recruits Freida pinto to help him fulfill his requirements.
In a post-Bridgerton World of period drama revival, it’s surprising that there wasn’t more love for Mr Malcolm’s List — a very sharp and emotionally rich tale powered by a selection of terrific performances by the best of British acting talent.
The digital platform for Mr Malcolm’s List in the UK is available to rent/buy or you can buy it on DVD/Bluray.
Charles and Brian
David Earl, comedian, brings to the big screen a version his long-term Brian Gittins role as one half British cinema’s most charming odd couple of the year. The other half of this unusual friendship is Chris Hayward as Charles Petrescu — a robot with a mannequin head and a washing machine as a body. Brian is a pretty terrible inventor who suddenly has to act in loco parentis for his latest creation — and loco is very much the right word.
From start to finish, Brian and Charles are utterly charming. They focus on a bizarre comedy tone that may be off-putting for some but will delight others. It is strangely touching in its portrayal of friendship and the desire to escape from small, suffocating communities.
Brian and Charles are available for rent/buy via digital platforms in the UK or on DVD/Bluray.
Rescue Rangers for Chip & Dale
This one is a perfect example of the “absolutely nothing right to be this great” category. On the face of it, it’s a cash-in on an old property — Disney’s likeable chipmunk duo. Then, you notice that Akiva Schaffer, who is a member The Lonely Island, is the director. He also counts Never Stop Never Stopping as his last work behind the camera. This isn’t a regular reboot. Chip & Dale play estranged stars, who are forced to come together after their show’s cancellation.
This movie is among the most funny of the year. It features technical innovations from Roger Rabbit School as well as a deeply witty script by Doug Mand and Dan Gregor. It would be a crime to spoil some of the surprises on show, but it’s fair to say that — whatever your expectations — this film is a lot better than you expect it to be.
Chip n Dale Rescue Rangers is now available on Disney+ UK.
Dual
The high-concept sci fi about a terminally ill woman is told by Riley Stearns, the writer-director. To save her partner and her family, she orders the creation of an exact duplicate. When she enters remission she realizes that she will need to fight the clone until her death to resume her life.
Dual’s self-consciousness and weirdness is not for everyone, as with many other films on this list. Dual is a darkly comic, surprisingly deep exploration of what it means for us to be alive. It transcends the obvious comparisons to Black Mirror.
Dual is available to stream in the UK through Sky Cinema and Now.
Dashcam
Rob Savage was one the major filmmaking winners during the pandemic. Zoom-set horror movie Host His success led to him signing a contract with Blumhouse. The film’s sequel expands the scope a bit, and the drama is heightened by the live-stream musician who broadcasts via her vehicle’s dashcam. Although she is offered a lot of money to transport an elderly woman to an address it turns out to be just the beginning of a descent into supernatural violence.
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The film is an utterly intense nightmare, told through the prism of a deeply unpleasant central character — Annie Hardy as a semi-fictionalised version of herself, who is a MAGA-loving COVID denier. Savage is an expert at close-quarters horror, and he delivers unforgettable images. He also finds clever ways to use the live stream to add scares or jokes.
Dashcams are available for rent/purchase on UK digital platforms.
We’re all going on the World’s Fair
Another horror film that is screen-focused, this follows Casey (Anna Cobb), as she attempts to complete a social media challenge. She is required to repeat the title three times, apply blood to her screen, and then watch a video that strobes lights. The rest of the film is a video diary that she keeps, along with her interactions and observations with other players in the game.
Learn more The best horror movies of 2022
Jane Schoenbrun’s film shows how the lines between internet irony and “irony” blur when everyone is online at all times. It’s unclear if these people are playing the joke, or if there is something really sinister. That’s just as terrifying as it is alarming.
Shudder UK offers streaming of We’re all Going to the World’s Fair. Check out the trailer below.