After two-plus years floundering in the pandemic, it seems that the film industry is finally regaining its legs. This year, Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way of Water blasted off, the Daniels’ multiverse-hopping stunner Everything Everywhere All at Once was the sleeper hit of the year, and old masters in their late eras such as Steven Spielberg and David Cronenberg returned in top form. It might have been harder than ever to whittle down a top ten in 2022, but it was an absolute delight to journey through the year’s cinema. Here are my 10 favorite movies of 2022, along with some honorable mentions:

Welcome to my coverage of 2022’s SXSW Film Festival! This year, I’ll actually be in Austin, Texas in-person to cover the festival for four days. This year’s festival sees a variety of exciting offerings, with highlights including the new Daniels sci-fi mind-bender Everything Everywhere All at Once, Ti West’s new horror flick X, and Nicolas Cage playing Nicolas Cage in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, plus much more. Below, you’ll find my entire coverage, including a dispatch of capsule reviews. All reviews in viewing order…