Last year’s Oscar winners were the least interesting bunch in a while, but this year’s stand a good chance of taking it all down yet another notch. Sure, there are some interesting films up for awards, but nothing galvanizing and certainly nothing to change the sense of Hollywood treading water as it tries to figure out what the world wants to watch as everyone stumbles their way out of the far side of the pandemic. Still, there’s a chance we could discover a truly rare jewel as our staff continues to put the movies vying for consideration in 2022 through their paces. Check back as we add more reviews to this page.
reviews | Oscar Nominees 2022
Picture, Director, Original Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Sound, Original Song
“Kenneth Branagh has had an up-and-down filmography but this is clearly among his strongest films. He garners fantastic performances from novices and veterans alike, yet centers the movie on the performance of young Jude Hill.” read more
Picture, Film Editing, Original Score, Original Screenplay
“I’m glad we don’t do star ratings at Cineluxe because I would be crippled with analysis paralysis in attempting to encapsulate the merits and demerits of Don’t Look Up. It’s simultaneously one of the year’s best films and one of its worst. It’s as fascinating as it is frustrating. It tries to be Network, Dr. Strangelove, and Veep all at the same time, but more often than not, those allusions serve to remind you it’s not as good as the works that inspired it. Seriously, though, watch it for DiCaprio’s and Lawrence’s performances, if nothing else.” read more
Animated Feature, Original Score, Original Song
“This film offers a wonderful opportunity to round everyone up in your home theater and share an experience. With a message that speaks to the strength of family, gorgeous images that will highlight your video display, and a catchy soundtrack, Encanto offers tantos razones to give it a watch.” read more
Makeup & Hairstyling
“You can safely avoid House of Gucci unless you simply loathe Lady Gaga, Adam Driver, or Jared Leto and want to see them humiliate themselves. If any other filmmaker turned in a movie this irredeemable, they would spend the rest of their career shooting commercials for local flea-market malls.” read more
Actress, Supporting Actress, Adapted Screenplay
“Olivia Coleman’s masterful performance as Leda will stay with me for a long time, but much of this film’s impact can also be attributed to the supporting performances and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s talented direction and screenplay. It may be unsettling to watch at times, but The Lost Daughter reminds us of just how complex and fractured family relationships can be and is well worth seeking out.”
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Picture, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design
“Guillermo del Toro had to doff his anti-cynicism hat for this adaptation, and that—far more so than its rejection of the supernatural—is what makes Nightmare Alley feel so different. Del Toro has certainly flirted with cynicism in the past only to ultimately reject it; but to fully commit to this noir adaptation, he had to embrace it. And if there’s anything that keeps the film from knocking it completely out of the park, it’s that he seems uncomfortable doing so. It’s still a very good film, just not a great one.”
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Picture, Director, Adapted Screenplay, Actor, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Production Design, Film Editing, Sound, Original Score
“The Power of the Dog is both a period piece and a psychological drama, as well as a finely crafted character study of complex individuals. If you’re a fan of Jane Campion’s work, her return to the big screen is beautiful to look at and an absolutely compelling film.” read more
Actress
“The music and sound mixing were by far my favorite things about Spencer, which is saying a lot given that I was captivated from beginning to end. It isn’t a great film. Not quite. But it is a very good one, marred only by the occasional slip into melodrama, a few editing flubs, and an ending that’s too much of a tonal shift to swallow. For a movie that’s built on tension, tone, and shockingly tasteful body horror (seriously, who even knew that was possible?) to end with a singalong of Mike + The Mechanics’ “All I Need is a Miracle” over a bite of KFC was just a stretch too far for me. But don’t let that turn you off. Spencer is absolutely worth your time. Maybe rent it instead of buying it sight unseen, though.” read more
Actor, Cinematography, Production Design
“I often find film adaptations of plays and musicals to be tedious, especially if they’re literal adaptions of the source material as I feel that film requires unique visual elements to engage the viewer. But The Tragedy of Macbeth succeeds in bringing the play to life with a wonderfully surreal vision of medieval Scotland and the treacherous tale of its protagonist.” read more
Yet another drab year, but you might be able to find a few gems strewn among the rubble
by the Cineluxe staff
updated March 24, 2022
Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Supporting Actor
“CODA is irreverent without going for cheap shocks, adorable without being cloying, sentimental without being schmaltzy, awkward without being affected, and fits firmly into the tradition of feel-good cinema without being overly manipulative emotionally. My only criticism is that it plays it safe in terms of broader story structure. Let’s call it what it is—the Hero’s Journey. As a result, by the end of the first act you’ll probably have an accurate sense of how it ends.” read more
Picture, International Feature, Director, Adapted Screenplay
“I wish Drive My Car was an hour shorter, a little less repetitive, a lot less austere, and had more faith in its audience to connect with its themes without belaboring them half to death. Looking back on the experience of the film as a whole, I have to say I appreciate the hell out of it. But I just can’t bring myself to love it.” read more
International Feature, Documentary Feature, Animated Feature
“This isn’t a passive viewing experience; nor is it entertainment. It’s a shocking look at geopolitical and societal forces of the sort most of us have never been subjected to, filtered through the lens of one man’s memories and experiences, then filtered through yet another lens of two-dimensional artwork.” read more
Picture, Actor, Supporting Actress, Original Screenplay, Film Editing, Original Song, Sound
“King Richard is entertaining, well-made, and well-acted, and with Rotten Tomatoes critics’ and audience scores of 91 and 98% respectively, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Will Smith up for his third Best Actor nomination. Other than a few uses of the n-word, it’s definitely family friendly and kept my 15 year old—who has no interest in tennis—engaged. It’s certainly worth giving a watch.” read more
Animated Feature
“It’s not that Luca is a bad film. In fact, you could easily say that while Soul was a Pixar title made for adults, Luca sets its sights squarely on a younger audience, with a coming-of-age story about friendship, acceptance, childhood dreams, and overcoming fears that never gets too deep or strays too far away from safety and cuteness that kids will be drawn to. And if Luca came from any other studio (with the exception of Disney Animation, Pixar’s parent company), it would likely be heralded as a triumph. It’s just that Pixar has come to make us expect so much more.” read more
Sound, Original Song, Visual Effects
“No Time to Die is a fantastic experience at home, visually and sonically, and with its lengthy run-time, you’re able to pause if need be for a bathroom or snack break to ensure you don’t miss a moment of action” read more
Animated Feature
“Raya and the Last Dragon looks gorgeous, and the voice acting—especially the always-likable Awkafina, who brings the right level of humor and quirkiness to Sisu—is on point. While the lack of any songs and intense scenes might limit its replay value for younger viewers, it’s an entertaining film that will appeal to many viewers, as attested to by its very favorable 95% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ rating and 85% audience score. I have two daughters—ages 14 and almost five—so for us, a movie night where we can all get together and enjoy a new Disney animated film was an easy yes.” read more
Documentary Feature
“You owe it to yourself to watch this film at your earliest convenience. I’ve barely nicked the paint on this incredible experience, which centers on a wonderful but forgotten music festival but also touches on everything from the moon landing to the repercussions of the assassinations of MLK and JFK to the power of music and the purpose and nature of art. The fact that it does all of that elegantly and with a cohesive narrative thread is itself something of a minor miracle.” read more
Picture, Director, Supporting Actress, Cinematography, Production Design, Sound, Costume Design
“It isn’t really fair to compare West Side Story to modern Broadway musicals, and the songs here might not be as catchy for some contemporary listeners as what they’d hear in Hamilton, Phantom, Les Miserables, or Jonathan Larson’s pop-rock fueled numbers. But if you typically shy away from musicals, Spielberg’s cinematic touch should be enough to tempt you to give this one a try.” read more
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Costume Design, Makeup & Hairstyling
“Cruella is one of the most original live-action films to come out of Disney in recent years, and if it didn’t grab your attention in the theaters or on Disney+, now is the perfect opportunity to enjoy it in highest-resolution at home!” read more
Picture, Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, Makeup & Hairstyling, Original Score, Film Editing, Sound, Visual Effects
“Let’s set aside for a moment the question of whether Denis Villeneuve’s Dune works as a partial adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic science-fiction novel. A much more relevant question is whether or not it works as cinema on its own terms. And thankfully that ends up being the much easier question to answer. Yes—a thousand times, yes. As if he hadn’t proven it already with films like Arrival, Prisoners, and Blade Runner 2049, Villeneuve demonstrates with Dune that he understands cinema as an art form in a way few other modern directors do.” read more
Visual Effects
“Free Guy definitely doesn’t take itself too seriously and is just a load of fun to sit back and enjoy. Unless you belong to that sub-section that just hates Ryan Reynolds—and, come on, get over Green Lantern already!—this makes a great night at the movies, with a bunch of little Easter eggs that look great up on a large home-cinema screen and reward repeat viewing. ” read more
Picture, Director, Original Screenplay
“Overall, Licorice Pizza is as meandering and unfocused an experience as you might expect but it’s worth the journey if only for Alana Haim’s performance. She is an utterly effortless and hypnotic screen presence—the sort of actor who makes you forget she’s acting at all. I found myself shocked at times that co-stars the likes of Sean Penn and Tom Waits could come close to matching her natural energy.” read more
Animated Feature
“Maybe the best thing I can say about this movie is that it’s legitimate family fare. That’s generally used as a euphemism for children’s entertainment but in this case, the label deserves to be taken at face value. There’s a lot of dessert here to keep the young ones in your family engaged, but there’s also enough meat to appeal to audiences of all ages. It might not be the height of profundity and it’s a little uneven in its execution but the good far outweighs the bad. And that alone elevates The Mitchells vs. the Machines way above the baseline for kid-appropriate movies distributed by Netflix.” read more
Actress, Original Score
“Hopefully by the time Sony Pictures prepares the film for a proper North American home video release, the issues with the noise and funky textures will have been resolved, because this one is a keeper for me. It’s probably Almodóvar’s best film since 2006’s Volver, and it’s a damn sight better than most of this year’s Best Picture noms.” read more
Visual Effects
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings was just OK. It was fun to watch, looked great, the fight scenes were dynamic and visually interesting, and the actors—particularly Leung, who brings some real depth to the villain character—did a fine job, but the story itself felt thin. And it just didn’t feel like a Marvel movie. But with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 92% and an Audience Score of 98%—the highest combined score of any film in the MCU—it seems like I’m in the minority, and maybe my opinion will change on future viewings.” read more
Actor, Film Editing
“All in all, this is an encouraging directorial debut from Lin-Manuel Miranda and another star turn for Andrew Garfield, making it an easy recommendation the next time you’re wondering what to watch on Netflix.” read more
Documentary Feature
“Writing with Fire isn’t perfect, even ignoring the technical shortcomings. At 96 minutes, it positively whizzes by, and there are several story threads I wish we could have sat with for another 15 or 20 minutes here and there. But I’d far rather spend time with a film that leaves me wanting more than one that overstays its welcome, even when the subject matter is as important as this.” read more
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