John’s top 10 movies of 2022
2022 movies: The horror genre enjoyed a particularly strong year, but I rallied toward the comedies as I ranked my favorites.
Superhero Movies
‘Black Adam’ a goofily fun but hypocritical superhero romp
Movie review: The Rock is nicely understated as a rare Middle Eastern superhero, but the setting feels more like a computer than reality.
Fall movie preview 2022: Release dates, plus 10 films in the spotlight
Fall movie preview: Filmmakers look to the past this season, as several historical dramas, biopics and documentaries are on the slate.
‘Superhero Movie’ (2008) a predictable ‘Spider-Man’ spoof
Superhero Saturday (Movie review): This comedy could’ve been funnier as it tackles the superhero hits of the early 21st century.
Jared Leto helps ‘Morbius’ fly up to mediocrity
Movie review: Great actors sometimes give this Sony Spider-verse film the gravity of a staged morality play. But mostly, CGI bat swarms rule the screen.
‘Complete Companion’ (2012) a key Joss Whedon tome
‘Buffy’/ ‘Firefly’ flashback (Book review): Joss Whedon is an imperfect human, but his sometimes near-perfect work is worth discussing.
Reeves’ grounded, hardboiled ‘The Batman’ flies high
Movie review: The writer-director takes the Batman back to his “World’s Greatest Detective” roots in a delicious mix of brooding noir and hopeful romance.
‘Eternals’ (2021) lacks the usual MCU fun, but has gravity
Movie review: “Eternals” is the weightiest, most sober MCU film. It doesn’t overcome that default setting despite an admirable try at character building.
‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ (2021) silly but well-made
Movie review: The “Venom” sequel looks great and has an oddly appealing throwback vibe, even though it doesn’t have anything new to say.
Spider-Verse tastily envelops ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’
Movie review: The partnership between Sony and Marvel becomes a beautiful thing as the MCU embraces the multiverse with smarts and humor.