These are the Statesman's 10 favorite movies of 2022

I laughed (at a deadly dinner party and a Korean murder scene). I cried (in the multiverse and with a mollusk). Throughout the year, I watched a lot, and these are the Austin American-Statesman's favorite movies of 2022.

A note on inclusion: I counted anything that I saw that "came out" for the first time by some means, whether it was a theatrical release, a festival screening or a streaming-first debut.

Celebrity visits and cinema shakeups: The year in Austin movie news

No. 10: 'Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris'

If I had a dollar for every time I found joy from a movie that starred a beloved character actress as a middle-aged British working woman whisked into a world of glamor and romance that she soon upsets with her charm and decency while the shadow of World War II lingers from the edges … well, I would still need more money, because you can’t buy anything for two dollars.

Which is to say: Anthony Fabian’s “Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” would make a great double feature with the fabulous and underrated 2008 film “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.”

The gowns! The romance! Make no mistake, it’s a confection. Lesley Manville’s Ada Harris is a wise innocent whose inherent goodness feels supernatural. But as she defrosts the couture world of 1950s Paris in a whirl of silver screen escapism, she fights: for young love, for workers’ rights, for her own right to dream as a woman whom society wants to discard. What’s a fairy tale, anyway, if not a moral wrapped up in silk taffeta?

“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” was a rare kind of dessert: frothy but filling.

“Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris” is available to stream on Peacock and to rent or buy on major platforms.

No. 9: 'The Inspection'

If the story — a gay Black man experiencing homelessness enlists in the military — was not written and directed by Elegance Bratton, who lived a version of the events depicted, it might come across as the yassification of the military industrial complex. But instead, "The Inspection" courses with heart-throttling emotion, and it makes the viewer negotiate difficult truths.

If the cast was not assembled just so — Jeremy Pope doing subtle, sometimes wordless work as the lead; Raul Castillo as a sympathetic drill instructor; and above all, Gabrielle Union as a jaded single mother held hostage by her own homophobia — that fraught balance would fall apart.

Luckily, Bratton’s feature directorial debut passes muster. It urges all to find out what they’re really capable of in worlds that don’t want us.

“The Inspection” will be available for streaming on Dec. 22.

No. 8: 'Lynch/Oz'

Naming a feature-length, multi-chapter video essay one of the best movies of the year might seem odd. But I should tell you, I was a state champ in competitive essay writing in high school. (Understand that this is not bragging and instead is a powerful self-own.)

For people who love wild theories about media, or who just love bar trivia, “Lynch/Oz” is a treasure trove. In six parts, filmmakers like David Lowery (“The Green Knight”), Karyn Kusama (“Jennifer’s Body”), John Waters (he is John Waters) and others examine cinema iconoclast David Lynch’s artistic obsession with the most iconic movie imaginable, “The Wizard of Oz.”

There are no talking heads here. Just well-curated footage and narration, along with perfectly Lynchian opening and closing set pieces. The subject proves to be fertile ground. Lynch’s preoccupation with whooshing noises as a sign of trans-dimensional travel is interpreted as the descendant of the most famous tornado ever. Characters named “Judy” abound in his work. Waters’ segment, predictably less adulatory and more steeped in camaraderie, puts the oeuvre of the men who individually created Americana-subverting films like “Polyester” and “Wild at Heart” into conversation.

For film freaks, this documentary was like a huff of nitrous.

“Lynch/Oz” screened at this year’s Fantastic Fest. While it’s already premiered in the U.K, distributor Janus Films hasn’t yet dropped a U.S. release date.

No. 7: 'Decision to Leave'

Let the folks who saw Park Chan-wook’s return to the screen at Fantastic Fest rejoice, for the South Korean auteur’s introduction gave them permission to view this neo-noir mystery through his intent: as a deeply funny movie.

Not Lucille Ball funny, but a sense of humor nonetheless lights up a bifurcated, metaphor-laden crime romance that would have Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart lining up for the English-language rights.

Park Hae-il and the fabulous Tang Wei are incandescent as two lonely souls on opposite sides of a murder who speak a language all their own (on top of an actual language barrier). “Decision to Leave” might not be as fantastical as “The Handmaiden” or as shocking as “Oldboy.” But Park Chan-wook found a bit of eternity inside a classic police procedural.

“Decision to Leave” is available to stream on Mubi and buy on Apple TV and Amazon Video.

No. 6: 'The Menu'

The dark comedy is so sharp in Mark Mylod’s satire that you should use your ticket as a Band-Aid. With writers who cut their teeth at The Onion and a director who works on “Succession,” “The Menu” is an equal-opportunity flambé. The rich get their licks, and so do the monomaniacal disciples of dining culture.

Anya Taylor-Joy and Ralph Fiennes, equally mysterious as dinner guest protagonist and celebrity chef antagonist, spend the film sharpening their knives against each other. And oh, what a script: "It wasn't cod, you donkey," Fiennes berates a terrified (but awful) customer.

If you spend as much time reading about new fine-dining establishments flooding Austin as I do, you’ll feel “The Menu” is perhaps the most precisely observed comedy of the year.

“The Menu” is now in theaters.

Read Eric Webb's review:'The Menu' is a serve

No. 5: 'Tár'

After spending three hours at an Alamo Drafthouse with Lydia Tár, I told my friend: I have no idea who that movie is for, but I'm glad they made it. A three-hour character deconstruction of a rock-star classical conductor (a person who could never exist in the real 2022, which is notably sparse on rock-star classical conductors) brought low by her own hubris and lust for power over others? Well, people are always saying they want original concepts …

The discourse over “Tár” as a “cancel culture” film is boring. Todd Field and Cate Blanchett give audiences something much more interesting and hopefully enduring: a ghost story, a string of deeply odd vignettes about power, a jaw-dropping exercise in narrative ouroboros, a cream pie in the face of people who carry tote bags from The New Yorker.

“Tár” is available to rent or buy on major platforms.

No. 4: 'Fire Island'

Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang are two of the most exciting comedians of our moment, the kind of artists you can’t help but cheer for when they book a big gig. So what a revelation, then, is “Fire Island.” As a movie, it owes a bit to the classic rom-coms of the 1990s. However, it is sure to lend plenty of itself to many, many movies yet to come.

Booster wrote and starred in this queer retelling of “Pride and Prejudice” set at the popular gay resort of the title. As you might expect, it’s delightfully subversive — not that frank depictions of gay sex should be — but director Andrew Ahn’s film is also a quintessential popcorn romance. The larger ensemble of the film, especially Margaret Cho as a beleaguered den mother and Fredericksburg native Zane Phillips as bad news with a great mustache, help this summer feel extra swoony. As Yang’s Howie gets his Hollywood kiss to the sound of MUNA, your heart is liable to combust.

“Fire Island” demonstrates the durability of classic forms, Jane Austen included. But more importantly, it proves that opening those works up to queer interpretation can lead to triumph.

Stream “Fire Island” on Hulu.

More:Andrew Ahn and Zane Phillips of 'Fire Island' talk Jane Austen and the straight gaze

No. 3: 'Pearl' and 'X'

Maybe this is cheating. And truth be told, this is really the spot for “Pearl,” and the still-great “X” would likely land a few spots down on its own merits. It strikes me as impossible, though, to consider these retro horror romps from Ti West individually.

Debuting at South by Southwest, “X” ripped the guts out of 1970s grindhouse movies and rearranged them into a knowing tribute to the great slashers. The scary tale followed aspiring porn star Maxine (Mia Goth) and her film crew to a decrepit East Texas farm, where old lady Pearl (also Goth, in a stunning transformation) thirsted for both skin and blood. “X” is haunted by the holy ghost of repression, while its youthful cast finds freedom in flesh.

Read Eric Webb's review:'X' brings sex, violence and holy ghosts to the cinema of sin

A few months later, West released the prequel “Pearl,” an origin story for the aged murderer of “X.” And boy howdy, does it slay. Set during World War I, "Pearl” finds its titular character as a cheerful but unhinged farm girl, looking for the embrace of fame as an escape from her dreary, austere life. Sound familiar? West turns to Technicolor tableaus and rapturous, orchestral swells straight out of a Douglas Sirk melodrama. Perfect little dioramas feature figurines that crack every time things get wild. Goth’s tour de force work — “I’m a star!” she shrieks in an instant meme — took over social media. Her third-act monologue, in a just world, earns her a spot in any awards conversation.

There’s a third installment of the series, “MaXXXine,” on the way. For now, “X” and “Pearl” make for 2022’s most exciting dyad.

“X” is available to stream on Showtime and to rent or buy on major platforms. “Pearl” is available to rent or buy.

Read Eric Webb's review:The star of Texas slasher 'Pearl' doesn't shoot; she stabs

No. 2: 'Everything Everywhere All at Once'

After premiering at SXSW in March, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” became the people’s princess. Who could predict that an indie fantasy filled with googly eyes, sex toys and hot dog fingers would become a box office smash and the popular favorite for the best picture Oscar?

From that debut, though, it was clear that the latest from directing duo Daniels was a rare gem. As Michelle Yeoh’s Evelyn fights through multiversal chaos to keep her family together, and as Jamie Lee Curtis works a gleefully unfortunate wig, creativity pours from the screen.

A drab world of tax forms and spin cycles morphs exponentially into a cartoon cataclysm, with a visual language that's only unified in that it's all equally bizarre. Sometimes colors punch you in the face; other times, a great cosmic threat proves a talent for monochromatic interior design.

But its resonance comes down to heart. The lunatic ride through time and space is a sweet ode to purpose, ending cycles of generational abuse and defeating nihilism. "We have to be kind," Ke Huy Quan’s Waymond says at a climatic moment, "especially when we don't know what's going on."

Small choices create lives you've never imagined. From the multiverse, “Everything Everywhere All at Once” plumbed something universal — and true.

“Everything Everywhere All at Once” is available to stream on Showtime and to rent or buy on major platforms.

Read Eric Webb's review:In 'Everything Everywhere All at Once,' Michelle Yeoh fights for her lives

No. 1: 'Marcel the Shell With Shoes On'

That little shell made me cry.

What’s that, you ask? A feature-length adaptation of decade-old viral videos where Jenny Slate does a funny voice for an invertebrate’s abandoned exoskeleton, given life through stop-motion and little shoes? And it was the best movie of the year?

Make your own list if you don’t like it. After screening during SXSW 2022, A24 finally released “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” to theaters this summer. Director Dean Fleischer Camp, in expanding his and Slate’s co-creation for the big screen, wisely kept Marcel’s world small. The precocious shell lives in managed contentment with his grandmother (voiced by Isabella Rossellini, in the greatest casting coup of the young century). The presence of a lonely documentarian (Fleischer Camp) opens up the world to Marcel, and vice versa, as he tries to find the rest of his family.

With shake-in-your-chair jokes (“I sign all my letters, ‘War. Let the battle begin. Marcel,'” the shell says), “Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” is far from maudlin family entertainment. But still … wouldn’t any kid benefit from clear-eyed discussions of grief and community? Or of how change is the one constant thing, and in it, you can find beauty through bleary eyes?

I’m crying again just thinking about it.

“Marcel the Shell With Shoes On” is available to rent and buy on major platforms.

Honorable mentions

These films just missed the cut: “Good Luck To You, Leo Grande” (available to stream on Hulu), “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery” (available to stream on Dec. 23 on Netflix), “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” (available to stream on the Roku Channel), "Belle" (available to stream on HBO Max and rent/buy on major platforms) and “The Banshees of Inisherin” (available to stream on HBO Max and rent/buy on major platforms).

Great performances

The movies they were in didn't make the list, but these performances are among the best of 2022: Margot Robbie as a pre-Hays Code Hollywood wild child in “Babylon,” Bowen Yang and his gay trauma ride in “Bros,” Diamond Stingily as an art grad student on a wild night in “The African Desperate,” Keke Palmer saving the day in “Nope,” Kate Hudson as a woman you'd probably meet on South Congress in “Glass Onion,” Saoirse Ronan as an overeager British constable in “See How They Run,” Nicolas Cage as Nicolas Cage in “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” Jenny Slate singing "Suddenly, Seymour" in “I Want You Back,” Camila Mendes reviving the high school dark comedy in “Do Revenge,” Glen Powell as Iceman 2.0 in “Top Gun: Maverick” and Justin Long with a tape measure in “Barbarian.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Best movies of 2022, from Everything Everywhere All at Once to Pearl