We’re 1/3 of the Way Through 2022

We are 1/3 of the way through the movie year and it seems as though most of the great movies are being kept for the fall.

There haven’t been many great US movies so far in 2022. The three best reviewed American releases (“Turning Red” “X,” and “Everything Everywhere All At Once”) just confirm that a sort of infantilism has invaded film criticism in the US.

These are not normally films that would get critical praise, maybe the subpar Pixar, I guess, but the times are changing and now anybody can be a movie critic. Even worse, big media companies are hiring for cheap and letting young millennials review new releases.

The best movies I’ve seen so far this year have been Audrey Diwan’s “Happening,” Michel Franco’s “Sundown,” Justin Kurzel’s “Nitram,” Richard Linklater’s “Apollo 10 1/2,” Steven Soderbergh’s “Kimi,” Gaspar Noe’s “Vortex,” Ninja Thyberg’s “Pleasure,” Daniel Roher’s “Navalny,” Mimi Cave’s “Fresh.”

I’m now thinking it’s not even worth doing my annual mid-year critics poll. Last year’s was a total bust, with critics scrambling to find movies to complete their ballots. The same thing is again happening this year.

What have been your 2022 highlights so far?