2022 SEPTEMBER MOVIE RANKINGS:

With the ushering in of Fall, we are enterting the final stretch of 2022. It’s my favorite season of the year; the crisp, cool weather, fun holidays, football games, and colorful leaves make me happy. Not to mention the feature films that release. We’re in that wonderful stretch of time where all movies battling for an Oscar release in theaters. I wonder how they will stack up this year…

What’s your favorite season? Do you have any fun activities or traditions you celebrate during the Fall months? Tell me in the comments below!

This September brought another director marathon and a slew of random features. I am hoping to dip my toe into some newer releases this October (along with some horror classics), though the pictures I have analyzed were quite entertaining (albeit mostly in the burnt popcorn range). Let’s see how everything got ranked…

#9- “Easy Virtue” (1927)
60%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Great cinematography and solid acting.
Cons: The story didn’t appeal to me and I found myself disengaged with most elements aside from the shots.

#9- “The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog”
60%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: A fun look at Hitchcock’s earlier works, has some cool shots, interesting peek at the look of the time (late 20’s London).
Cons: I wasn’t all that enthralled in the thrills and the ending was predictable.

#8- “The Farmer’s Wife” (1928)
67%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Fun concept, some humorous moments, and a lovely conclusion.
Cons: Quite predictable and has slow pacing.

#7- “Hocus Pocus 2”
69%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Entertaining, eclectic performances from the Sanderson Sisters, fun visual aesthetic, and a satisfying arc for Winifred.
Cons: Rehashes old jokes and reuses the same plot structure of the original.

#6- “Champagne”
70%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Interesting story, solid cinematography, fun performances, and has a humorous conclusion.
Cons: The story can wane, particularly toward the third act.

#6- “The Ring” (1927)
70%= Burnt Popcorn
Pros: Has some awesome shots that stick with you, an interesting boxing story that shifts perspectives, good performances, and has a modern approach to its filmmaking.
Cons: Mabel’s decision at the end could’ve been given more time (so we could better understand her) and there were some dull moments.

#5- “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas”
73%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Fun journey, solid 2D animation, good voice acting work, and an engaging leading chemistry between Sinbad and Marina.
Cons: The 3D elements are outdated and some of the conflicts are resolved by coincidence (easy storytelling).

#4- “Enemy”
76%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Fantastic acting (specifically from Jake Gyllenhaal), cool concept, engaging narrative, and solid direction.
Cons: I have no idea what the spider motif is, the nudity can be much, and the ending can be upsetting.

#3- “The Manxman” (1929)
80%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: A timeless story, great performances, strong direction, good cinematography, and engaging tale.
Cons: Some moments can drag on a bit too long.

#2- “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent”
83%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Nicolas Cage is true form, a gift to Cage fans, humorous, great chemistry between Cage and Pedro Pascal, and an all-around entertaining joy-ride.
Cons: The story certainly plays into action tropes, with quite a bit of it being predictable. Also, the amount of cursing is too much for this critic (something about dropping f-bombs in comedies doesn’t appeal to me).

#1- “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”
92%= Juicy Popcorn
Pros: Wildly entertaining, funny, a sequel that bests the original, great villain, fun performances, and awesome cinematography/action sequences.
Cons: The ending is predictable.

A sequel has won Movie of the Month?! Has this happened before? I’m not sure. Either way, “Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows” has taken September, and will compete against “The Princess Bride,” “Luca,” “The Batman” (2022), “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “The Northman,” “The Karate Kid,” “Singin’ in the Rain,” “Tarzan” (1999), “Zodiac,” and the rest of the Movie of the Month winners to decide who will be the next Movie of the Year.