Looking over my list of favorite films from the first half of 2022, then my list of my most anticipated films coming during the second half of 2022, it’s feeling as if this might end up being a pretty amazing year at the movies. 

Here are my Top 20 most anticipated films set to come out before the end of the year …

1. Killers of the Flower Moon (director Martin Scorsese): American Treasure Martin Scorsese turns 80 this fall. That’s old. We’re only going to get so many more films from Scorsese, a filmmaker who will forever be in the best director ever conversation. With Killers, it looks as if Marty is really going for it all. An epic cast, an epic production scale, epic source material, etc. This flick will almost certainly be the one that gets the most Oscar nominations in 2023. I predict Jesse Plemons wins Best Actor, Leonardo DiCaprio wins Best Supporting Actor, Thelma Schoonmaker wins Best Editor, and Rodrigo Prieto wins Best Cinematography.

2. Asteroid City (Wes Anderson): At some point in his storied career, it’s assumed that Wes Anderson will win the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Asteroid City, Anderson’s 11th feature-length film, is getting a whole lot of buzz, so much that his studio is very likely trying to decide if they should release the film in late 2022 and go for Oscars, or wait and send the long-completed film to the Cannes Film Festival to compete for the Palme. Can’t wait to see this one, which features one of the all-time great casts. (Note: While looking this film up, I saw Anderson already has another feature film in post-production. Incredible how fast he’s working these days!)

3. White Noise (Noah Baumbach): Noah Baumbach has been one of “my guys” for about 20 years now, so this release is maybe ranked a little high. This Don DeLillo adaptation will be Baumbach’s 14th feature film, making him, I guess, one of the elder statesmen of his generation of filmmakers. Working with a huge budget for the first time in his career, Baumbach seems to be going for it all here, and he’s joined by his two best collaborators, Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig. Don’t be surprised if Baumbach’s movie is competing for the Best Picture and Best Director Oscars in the spring.

4. The Whale (Darren Aronofsky): For some reason, the world decided Darren Aronofsky is not one of the great American filmmakers. I think he is, and I wouldn’t be surprised if his eighth film, The Whale, is one of the year’s most talked about. This guy only makes classics in my opinion.

5. Blonde (Andrew Dominik): Andrew Dominik’s first three features (Chopper, The Assassination of Jesse James, and Killing Them Softly) are all A-plus flicks in my book, so I’ve been looking forward to Blonde for what feels like years. Something tells me this one will be too artsy and brutal to get broad acclaim, but will still likely show up on a lot of year-end lists. Most likely mine.

6. Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos): Yorgos Lanthimos only makes classics now. He’s in his classic period. This will be a classic. 

7. The Killer (David Fincher): I will always be excited about anything David Fincher does. He’s one of the great craftsmen ever, and when he’s working in the thriller genre, he’s as good as it gets. This one stars Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton.

8. Bardo (Alejandro G. Inarritu): Little is known about this film, aside from its release date. My guess is they’ll hold off on releasing it and send it to compete at Cannes. Here’s what I know for sure: it’ll be good. Inarritu only makes good films.

9. Disappointment Blvd. (Ari Aster): One of the new gen gods of cinema has the keys to the castle, and he’s making a four-hour epic with the best-working actor, Joaquin Phoenix. I’m stoked. I could see this being the best film of the year … or a major misfire. Can’t wait to see if Aster is the real deal or not.

10. The Fabelmans (Steven Spielberg): And here it is, finally, the much-discussed new Steven Spielberg film; an autobiographical coming-of-age drama written by Spielberg and Tony Kushner. The brilliant Janusz Kaminski shot the film and Seth Rogen, Paul Dano, Michelle Williams, and Gabriel LaBelle star. This one will no doubt be competing for just about every award. Can you imagine a world in which Rogen wins an acting Oscar, because that’s beginning to seem very possible.

11. Women Talking (Sarah Polley)

12. Babylon (Damien Chazelle)

13. Amsterdam (David O. Russell)

14. Maestro (Bradley Cooper)

15. Empire of Light (Sam Mendes)

16. Nope (Jordan Peele)

17. The Gray Man (Russo Brothers)

18. She Said (Maria Schrader)

19. Creed 3 (Michael B. Jordan)

20. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Ryan Coogler)

21. Armageddon Time (James Gray)

22. The Woman King (Gina Prince-Bythewood)

23. Knives Out 2 (Rian Johnson)

24. Avatar 2 (James Cameron)

25. Don’t Worry Darling (Olivia Wilde)

Pretty handsome set of films right there if you ask me. 

Did I forget anything? If so, hit me up at gregwlocke@gmail.com.