Continuing with the final part of our year in review, Matt Lynn Digital invites you to look back at the last year in reviews of books, movies, music and television. We look at these with individual categories, one per day through today. Today we share the sixty-one (61) movies reviewed across nine (9) decades by Matt Lynn Digital in 2022.
The highest rating given to any movie by Matt Lynn Digital in 2022 was 4.5-stars on a scale of 1-to-5. Presenting the movies in order from most recently released, the Martin Scorsese directed movie Hugo (2011) offers a remarkable adventure drama based primarily in a 1931 train station of Paris, France.
The Christopher Nolan directed movie named The Prestige (2006) follows a pair of magicians through London of the late nineteenth century as their careers separate into rivalry following a tragic stage accident.
The Wes Craven directed movie A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) introduces the audience and a handful of teenage students living on Elm Street who experience terrifying attacks while sleeping by a scary fiend named Fred Krueger.
The Stuart Rosenberg directed movie Cool Hand Luke (1967) follows an anti-establishment prisoner named Lucas ‘Luke’ Jackson fight a system intent on putting the prisoner in his place at any cost.
The Alfred Hitchcock directed movie Rear Window (1954) dares to ask if there in fact was murder before raising the stakes in a decisive answer that moves us from mystery to thriller.
The George Seaton directed movie Miracle on 34th Street (1947) offers a bit of comedy mixed with drama and romance in a movie filled with the spirit of Christmas. This feature was the sixth given 4.5 stars by Matt Lynn Digital this year.
Seventeen movies earned 4.25 stars on the Matt Lynn Digital rating scale in 2022. The Ang Lee movie Life of Pi (2012) at first follows the spiritual and metaphysical life of Piscine Molitor ‘Pi’ Patel. This notion eventually gives way to the man’s epic adventure as a young man adrift at sea.
The Tim Burton directed movie Frankenweenie (2012) offers stop-motion animation mixed with comedy and drama involving children, and a reanimated pet in what becomes a wild ride.
The Ridley Scott directed movie Prometheus (2012) takes us on an adventure mystery in space that serves as a prequel to the franchise of movies begun with the movie Alien (1979).
The Rich Moore directed movie Wreck-It Ralph (2012) takes an animated approach to story with elements of video gaming, arcades and an exploration of friendship in the face of adventure.
The David Fincher directed movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011) moves in a dramatically different direction to share edgy suspense, menacing thriller elements, appalling crime and an unlikely heroine and hero pair.
The Joel Coen and Ethan Coen directed movie No Country for Old Men (2007) sticks with dark violence while adding stylistic complexity in comparison to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, though both movies include their share of complex and hidden depth.
The Ron Howard directed movie Cinderella Man (2005) tells the story of boxer James J. Braddock. The movie is set against the backdrop of the Great Depression, with the hard times experienced by the boxer in falling on hard times before redeeming himself in the boxing world.
The Quentin Tarantino directed movie Jackie Brown (1997) tells an involved criminal plot of murder, drug and arms dealing and a heist that involves a comedically awkward motivations for many of the characters involved in the unfolding story.
The Robert Zemeckis directed movie Contact (1997) returns us to themes of the cosmos as Dr. Eleanor ‘Ellie’ Arroway seeks alien life and a personal connection with something bigger after losing both of her parents to death as a child. Contact earned 4.25 stars on the Matt Lynn Digital rating scale.
The Michael Mann directed movie Heat (1995) is noted for its action, crime and drama with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro starring opposite one another. The focus on the life lessons of being a criminal or a police detective offer interesting insights to the two life paths of the two demanding similar sacrifices, as if from opposite sides of the same coin.
The Barry Levinson directed movie Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) followed part of the career of United States Air Force Sergeant and disc jockey Adrian Cronauer serving in what was Saigon at the time.
The Oliver Stone directed movie Wall Street (1987) examines corporate excess in the 1980s while looking at competing objectives for what wealth, money management and workforce ethics are in motivating competing interests in the business world.
The Amy Heckerling directed movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) looks into the pressures of high school life for kids becoming aware of their sexuality and comedically making awkward choices along the way.
The Roman Polanski directed movie Chinatown (1974) fashions a tale with intrigue, emotionally compelling drama and mystery around elements of who did what and why in this hotbed of film noir.
The Mel Stuart directed movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) introduces a clear fascination with and fondness for chocolate. That Charlie Bucket and his family have been experiencing difficult financial times in comparison to many other kids interested in touring the chocolate factory of the one and only Willy Wonka.
The Alfred Hitchcock directed movie Stage Fright (1950) rewards the viewing audience with a mystery, a thriller and the film noir perspective. Similar motivations of who loves who and what motivates them drive this movie in much the same way as the plot of Chinatown, which came along 24 years later.
The Alfred Hitchcock directed movie Rebecca (1940) presents an interesting and smart premise to the ways psychological pressure can be expressed. Differing definitions of love would be a fantastic theme to focus on while watching ore rewatching this movie. Rebecca earned 4.25 stars on the Matt Lynn Digital rating scale.
Eleven movies earned 4.0 stars on the Matt Lynn Digital rating scale in 2022. The Kyle Balda, Brad Ableson and Jonathan del Val directed movie Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022) starts us off with a prequel movie that looks at the beginnings of the relationship between the minions and the character Gru.
The Tim Burton directed the musical slasher movie Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) begins for the audience when Benjamin Barker arrives in mid-19th century London, England with sailor Anthony Hope. An unjust exile perpetrated by Judge Turpin reintroduces itself in ghoulish ways up the storytelling alley of director Tim Burton.
The Richard Curtis directed movie Love Actually (2003) returns us to London for several looks into love that’s all around as set against the backdrop of Christmas.
The Peter Weir directed movie The Truman Show (1998) presented a sweetly comforting fictional television show starring the fictional Truman Burbank in a televised show where he was the star.
The Robert Rodriguez directed movie From Dusk till Dawn (1996) offers decidedly action and crime elements to this horror film. The gruesome yet comedic playfulness is done for explicit effect, so be ready for the comingling to begin.
The Kathryn Bigelow directed movie Point Break (1991) brings adrenaline and surf culture to the quintessential law enforcement versus criminal battle. In loudly and proudly proclaiming summer, the movie effectively sets a mood that simply sticks with me through time.
The Ivan Reitman directed movie Kindergartarten Cop (1990) mixes an undercover policeman seeking love and a criminal while substitute teaching a group of kindergartners in Oregon. The mayhem and comedy ensue for this movie that earned 4.0 stars.
The Rob Reiner directed movie Stand by Me (1986) is based on Stephen King‘s 1982 novella The Body. The story takes place over the weekend of Labor Day in September of 1959 as four boys from Oregon take a prolonged journey to find the body of a missing boy.
The Alfred Hitchcock directed movie Family Plot (1976) comedically looks into con artists, serial kidnappers and the mystery of a missing heir set in California.
The Alfred Hitchcock directed movie I Confess (1953) offers a rare glimpse for Hitchcock or the movie industry generally into the world of religious responsibility and the obligations therein placed besides the concept of murder.
The Alfred Hitchcock directed movie Suspicion (1941) mixes film noir, romance and psychological thriller into the lives of the central characters. The depth here offers plenty of oomph in landing this film the recognition of 4.0 stars that it deserves.
Twenty-four movies earned 3.75 stars on the Matt Lynn Digital rating scale in 2022. The Ron Howard directed movie Thirteen Lives (2022) is based on a rescue mission for a group of twelve soccer players trapped in a cave system that was flooding due to the early beginning of monsoon season in Chiang Rai (also spelled Chiengrai) in northern Thailand.
The Matt Reeves directed movie The Batman (2022) offers a new and modern view of Gotham City with a series of takes on the notion of vengeance in a city of lies, corruption and the riddles of masks obscuring just notions of truth.
The David Yates directed movie Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore (2022) primarily has the control of the Ministry of Magic up for grabs with the forces of intended good and evil in competition for control. Some of the familial background for the Dumbledore family becomes clearer through the unfolding history shared with this movie.
The Marielle Heller directed movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019) brings nostalgia and warmth to biographical drama, while done in a way that honors the Fred Rogers sensibilities that Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (1968-2001) brought to television many years ago.
The Spike Lee directed movie BlacKkKlansman (2018) offers an integration of the Colorado Springs, Colorado police department while additionally attempting to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan as a means for identifying criminal behavior and bringing those responsible to justice.
The J.J. Abrams directed movie Super 8 (2011) offers a nostalgic look back at childhood and place mixed with the feeling of a thriller coupled with monsters.
The Martin Scorsese directed movie Shutter Island (2010) is based on the 2003 Dennis Lehane book Shutter Island. The movie features the Ashecliffe Hospital for the criminally insane on Shutter Island, Boston Harbor in the year 1954, where the mystery of what is legitimately happening consumes Edward ‘Teddy’ Daniels.
The Jason Reitman directed movie Juno (2007) presents a 16-year-old high-school junior from Minnesota learning that she’s pregnant and coping with many of the considerations part of bringing the baby to term and offering the child up for adoption.
The Chris Columbus directed movie Mrs. Doubtfire (1993) follows voice actor Daniel Hilliard as he goes to unexpected lengths to maintain a presence in the lives of his children following a divorce with his wife. Mrs. Doubtfire earned 3.75 stars on the Matt Lynn Digital rating scale.
The Renny Harlin directed movie Die Hard 2 (1990) brings us to Christmas Eve at Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia. A distinct scenario plays out with the special set of skills held by John McClane are put to the test in saving his wife and many others intent on doing harm.
The Tony Scott directed movie Days of Thunder (1990) is an adrenaline-infused foray into young racer Cole Trickle learning to race in what was called the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Significant emotional impediments stand in the way of his assent, including some that were difficult before he, Trickle, even arrived.
The Jeremiah S. Chechik directed movie National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) comes with big plans for a glorious family holiday for Christmas, giving way to comedic disaster through a seemingly never-ending series of accidents.
The Alan Parker directed movie Mississippi Burning (1988) originates its sense of setting with the 1964 murders of James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael ‘Mickey’ Schwerner. Woven into a crime thriller, the hostility encountered from the town’s residents, local police, and the Ku Klux Klan launches the police procedural the movie becomes.
The John Hughes directed movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) brings an immensely difficult and trying trip from New York City, New York to Chicago, Illinois for Neal Page and Del Griffith who end up traveling together.
The Tony Scott directed movie Top Gun (1986) includes action and drama for elite naval aviators that prompt questions of love, loyalty, death and coming-of-age. Top Gun earned 3.75 stars on the Matt Lynn Digital rating scale.
The Rob Reiner directed movie This Is Spinal Tap (1984) follows a fictitious group of musicians touring in support of an album as satirically comedic events go wrong for the group.
The Sam Raimi directed movie The Evil Dead (1981) dictates supernatural horror to five college students vacationing at a cabin in isolated woods when seemingly innocuous actions go madly wrong.
The Ted Kotcheff directed movie North Dallas Forty (1979) looks at life in professional football in general and for the Dallas Cowboys as experienced towards the end of 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. The film and related book were not necessarily received well in NFL circles.
The Martin Scorsese directed movie Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974) follows Alice Hyatt (née Graham) with her son Tommy from late in the family’s marriage to an abusive husband who eventually died. The difficult aftermath of that period in trying to make a way in the world is the subject matter of this movie.
The Alfred Hitchcock directed movie Frenzy (1972) simultaneously offers the most explicitly risqué and explicitly visceral movie presentation of any in the Hitchcock canon. The subject matter includes suspicion pointed towards the wrong man for a series of ongoing murders more graphically shown than is typical of this director.
The Alfred Hitchcock directed movie Topaz (1969) looks into the world of espionage and foreign intelligence with a thriller of a decent if something less than excellent quality.
The George A. Romero directed movie Night of the Living Dead (1968) offers the notion of zombies first pursuing people into a cabin in rural Pennsylvania and then throughout a much larger region. The object first is for the members to survive the night, and then the rescue party that comes to rescue the survivors.
The Sergio Leone directed movie A Fistful of Dollars (1964) deals in action and drama while presenting us a Western. The notion of wrong and right overrides even the name of the central hero of the film as portrayed by Clint Eastwood.
The Alfred Hitchcock directed movie Lifeboat (1944) was based on a novella written by John Steinbeck specifically for the movie. The film occurs completely within the confines of a lifeboat launched from a passenger vessel that had been sunk by a World War Two era German U-boat. The interpersonal circumstances that follow are partly propaganda and reportedly not fully pleasing to Steinbeck. Lifeboat earned 3.75 stars on the Matt Lynn Digital rating scale.
The Ben Affleck directed movie Gone Baby Gone (2007) is the first of three movies granted 3.5 stars on the Matt Lynn Digital rating scale in 2022. Based on a Dennis Lehane book, the movie looks into a kidnapping and private investigation aimed at getting the child back.
The Jonathan Mostow directed movie U-571 (2000) includes U-boats, criticism from British and German circles over perceived “affronts” to national truths and the historical record, and finally an interesting experiment geared at capturing a critical piece of German technology. The film itself includes an interesting mutiny plot as well.
The Alfred Hitchcock directed movie Marnie (1964) begins with Margaret ‘Marnie’ Edgar, a single woman passing herself off under a different name, convincing the head of a tax consulting company to hire her without references. After stealing nearly $10,000 from the company safe and changing her appearance, Marnie flees. When Mark Rutland addresses the situation in reprehensible ways, the truth eventually comes out. Marnie earned 3.5 stars on the Matt Lynn Digital rating scale.
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Matt – Saturday, December 31, 2022
Matt Lynn Digital 