Best of 2022

Please forgive my 6-month Surgical Sabbatical from blog-writing while I was recovering from a Spinal Fusion, and a special thanks to both of you who asked where my blog was.

First let me comment on the Saints, who gave me little to write about, had I wanted to.  The internet uproar by citizen GM’s and play callers was formidable, but the reality is that they were only a few plays away from duplicating last year’s record.  Wil Lutz had an off-year, and Alvin Kamara had a crucial fumble.  These are physical mistakes that are going to happen.  What can’t happen is Mark Ingram’s mental error of running out of bounds against Tampa.  Veterans should know better.  Rest assured that the Saints are going to hover around .500 until the next franchise quarterback comes around, and I’m not holding my breath as we’ve had exactly two in over 50 years.

As for my media musings, during my recovery I expected to just plop down and drink in movies.  However, I found pain and pain killers aren’t conducive to that kind of concentration.

I saw only two movies in theaters, well worth it, but also sprang for a lot of streamers just out of theaters.

It would bore you to death if I wrote about everything I saw over the last 6 months, but I’m going to provide a year-end ranking, knowing I have a lot more to catch up on.

MOVIES

1,  RRR – 10
2.  Belfast – 10
3.  Wind River – 10
4.  Train to Busan – 10
5.  Top Gun - Maverick – 9
6.  Elvis – 9
7.  Emily the Criminal - 9
8.  King Richard – 9
9.  The Banshees of Inisherin - 9
10. The Pale Blue Eye - 9
The Worst Person in the World – 9
Nobody -9
Drive My Car - 9
The Menu – 8
Aftersun - 8
Queenpins – 8
Don’t Worry Darling - 8
Licorice Pizza – 8
Cha Cha Real Smooth – 8
Blue Bayou - 8
Hustle - 8
The Vault – 8
Nightmare Alley - 8
Free Guy – 8
Glass Onion:  A Knives Out Mystery - 7
The Tender Bar – 8
The Eyes of Tammy Faye - 7
Blonde - 7
Old - 7
The Lost Daughter – 7
Black Crab – 7
Georgetown – 7
Cleaner - 7
Vengeance – 7
The 355 – 7
Inside Man:  Most Wanted - 7
Kimi – 6
Nope – 6
The Gray Man -6
Amsterdam - 6
The Humans – 6
The Marksman – 6
All The Old Knives – 5
Toscana - 4
The Card Counter - 2

TELEVISON

1.  Dopesick – 10
2.  Better Call Saul – 10
3.. The Blacklist – 10
4.  Black Bird - 10
5.  We Own This City – 10
6.  Justified – 9
7.  The Bear - 9
8.  Bad Sisters – 9
9.  After Life (Season 3) – 9
10.  The English - 8
Reacher – 8
Jack Ryan (Season 3) – 8
The Old Man – 7
Dog - 7
The Lincoln Lawyer – 6
Surface - 6
Five Days at Memorial – 5
Dark Wind - 5

DOCUMENTARIES

1.   It Was The Music – 11

2.       Adrienne - 10
3.       Flee – 10
4.       George Carlin’s American Dream - 10

5.       Louis Armstrong’s Black & Blues - 10

6.       The Captain – 10
7.       Hemingway – 10
8.       Howard Stern Interview with Bruce Springsteen – 10
9.       A Crime on the Bayou – 10
10.   The Last Movie Stars – 9
Lucy and Desi - 9
Jazz Fest:  A New Orleans Story – 9
Mind over Murder – 9
The Tinder Swindler - 9
Rising - 9
Sheryl – 9
Untold:  The story of the Girlfriend who didn’t Exist – 9
The Way Down:  Part Two - 9
Shut Up and Dribble – 9
Kareem:  Minority of One - 9
Icahn:  The Restless Billionaire - 9
Untold:  Operation Flagrant Foul - 8
Laurel Canyon - 8
Brian Wilson:  Long Promised Road - 8
Say Hey Willie Mays - 8
Closed For Storm – 8
Like a Rolling Stone:  the Life and Times of Ben Fong-Torres - 8

CLASSICS

Unfaithfully Yours – 10
Master and Commander:  Far Side of the World – 10
Red Rover - 10
The 400 Blows – 9
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg – 9
Little Shop Around the Corner – 9
The Before Trilogy - 9
Thunder Road - 8
Sweet Smell of Success – 7
Boondock Saints – 7
King of Marvin Gardens – 6
The Ambassador – 4
Black Narcissus – 2

 

The Ozzies of 2022

Best Picture – RRR
Best Actor – Austin Butler, Elvis
Best Actress – Aubrey Plaza, Emily the Criminal
Best Supporting Actor – Barry Keoghan, The Banshees of Inisherin
Best Supporting Actress – Kerry Condon, The Banshees of Inshirin
Best Director – Joseph Kosinski, Top Gun
Best Documentary – It Was the Music

 

The Lizzies

Best TV Series – Dopesick
Best Actor – Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Best Actress – Rhee Seahorn, Better Call Saul
Best Supporting Actor – Michael McKean, Better Call Saul
Best Supporting Actress – Kaitlyn Deaver, Dopesick