Watching Things: December 2022
By Austin Johnson
This is the last entry for this Watching Things project. It has lasted a year and I feel like it’s a good time to stop and move on from it. I have pretty big plans for 2023 when it comes to writing about films, so here we are at a finish line but not the last finish line. I watched 34 films in December of 2022, which is the most inside of one month during this entire project. I knocked out a lot of Christmas films and newer shit to get prepared for end of the year lists and Oscar nominations. Let’s get down to it…
*Indiscretion of an American Wife, 1953 (Amazon Prime/Paramount+) - 6
*Sunflower, 1970 (Criterion Channel) - 8
*Bicycle Thieves, 1948 (Criterion Channel/HBO Max) - 9
*Hoop Cities Seville, 2022 (NBA League Pass) - 8
*Hoop Cities Istanbul, 2022 (NBA League Pass) - 8
*The Menu, 2022 (Alamo Drafthouse) - 8
*Take Out, 2004 (Criterion Channel) - 8
*Red Rocket, 2021 (Showtime) - 9
Home Alone, 1990 (Disney+) - 8
The Mummy, 1999 (Vudu) - 8
Batman, 1989 (HBO Max) - 9
Batman Returns, 1992 (Alamo Drafthouse) - 10
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, 1992 (Disney+) - 8
*Where the Crawdads Sing, 2022 (Netflix) - 5
The Legend of Frosty the Snowman, 2005 (TV Movie) - 6
Elf, 2003 (HBO Max) - 8
*The Banshees of Inisherin, 2022 (HBO Max) - 9
*Speak No Evil, 2022 (Shudder) - 9
The Hurt Locker, 2009 (Paramount+) - 8
Avatar, 2009 (Disney+) - 5
*Touki Bouki, 1973 (Criterion Channel/HBO Max) - 8
Fantastic Mr. Fox, 2009 (Amazon Prime/Disney+) - 10
This Christmas, 2007 (Hulu) - 7
*Christmas Bloody Christmas, 2022 (Shudder) - 7
Black Christmas, 1974 (Peacock/Shudder) - 10
Christmas Vacation, 1989 (HBO Max) - 9
It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946 (Amazon Prime) - 8
*Confess, Fletch, 2022 (Showtime) - 8
Christmas Vacation, 1989 (HBO Max) - 9
*Triangle of Sadness, 2022 (Rental) - 9
*Babylon, 2022 (Alamo Drafthouse) - 9
*Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, 2022 (Netflix) - 7
*BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, 2022 (Netflix) - 8
Climax, 2018 (Showtime) - 9
*The Sadness, 2021 (Shudder) - 8
First Time Watches - 19
Rewatches - 15
34 total films watched for an average of 8.05
Streaming Service Counter:
Amazon Prime - 3
Criterion Channel - 4
Disney+ - 3
HBO Max - 4
Hulu - 1
NBA League Pass - 2
Netflix - 3
Paramount+ - 1
Rental - 1
Showtime - 3
Shudder - 4
Theaters - 3
TV Movie - 1
Vudu - 1
Top 5 December Watches
5. Speak No Evil
I finally got back into the wonderful streaming service of Shudder by watching the masterpiece, Black Christmas from 1974 and then 3 new releases, Christmas Bloody Christmas, The Sadness, and Speak No Evil. I enjoyed all of them for different reasons but Speak No Evil is right up my alley as it burns slow and leads up to an extremely devastating finale that had my hands on my head for ten straight minutes. I highly recommend it to every horror fan I know.
4. The Banshees of Inisherin
December is always a busy month for me as award season films are either coming out in theaters or entering the streaming service world. I wanted to see Banshees in theaters but I can’t really complain because it joined HBO Max pretty quickly. I have no problem saying that Martin McDonagh’s new work is quite possibly the best new release I saw in 2022 and if it won a bunch of Oscars, I’d be a happy fan. There’s nothing quite like watching Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson understand each other as actors better than any modern duo.
3. Christmas Vacation
Hallelujah! Holy Shit! Where’s the Tylenol? National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation has slowly but surely risen the ranks as one of my all time favorite Christmas films. About a year ago, Connor and I got to take a trip to LA and during that trip, we visited Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema to watch a double feature of Scrooged and Christmas Vacation. After that, I was convinced that Vacation is the funniest holiday film ever. I watched it once in November and then twice more in December. I just can’t get enough of the Griswolds!
2. Babylon
The day after Christmas, I went to the Alamo Drafthouse with my wife and my older brother to check out the totally audacious and debaucherous Babylon. Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, there’s a relentless pace that will either have people on board or just flat out not work. It is 100% for me as a viewer and I walked away knowing that I just witnessed something special as it reminded me of why I care so much about watching films. This shit can’t be taken away from me no matter how cynical or silly it all is. I’m going to watch films because I simply do believe in the magic that is possible within the art form.
1. Batman Returns
Christmas Vacation might be the holiday film that makes me laugh the most, but Batman Returns is the one I like the most. It’s one of the films that I’ll just take to the grave with me. When Connor asked if I wanted to join him for a screening of it at the Alamo Drafthouse, I knew we had to make it happen. It was mid December, and we had an absolute blast as the wonderful craftsmanship from Tim Burton and company unfolded. It was my first time seeing Batman Returns in theaters so you can count on me not forgetting that experience any time soon.
*Indiscretion of an American Wife, 1953 (Amazon Prime/Paramount+) - 6
*Sunflower, 1970 (Criterion Channel) - 8
*Bicycle Thieves, 1948 (Criterion Channel/HBO Max) - 9
*Hoop Cities Seville, 2022 (NBA League Pass) - 8
*Hoop Cities Istanbul, 2022 (NBA League Pass) - 8
*The Menu, 2022 (Alamo Drafthouse) - 8
*Take Out, 2004 (Criterion Channel) - 8
*Red Rocket, 2021 (Showtime) - 9
Home Alone, 1990 (Disney+) - 8
The Mummy, 1999 (Vudu) - 8
Batman, 1989 (HBO Max) - 9
Batman Returns, 1992 (Alamo Drafthouse) - 10
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, 1992 (Disney+) - 8
*Where the Crawdads Sing, 2022 (Netflix) - 5
The Legend of Frosty the Snowman, 2005 (TV Movie) - 6
Elf, 2003 (HBO Max) - 8
*The Banshees of Inisherin, 2022 (HBO Max) - 9
*Speak No Evil, 2022 (Shudder) - 9
The Hurt Locker, 2009 (Paramount+) - 8
Avatar, 2009 (Disney+) - 5
*Touki Bouki, 1973 (Criterion Channel/HBO Max) - 8
Fantastic Mr. Fox, 2009 (Amazon Prime/Disney+) - 10
This Christmas, 2007 (Hulu) - 7
*Christmas Bloody Christmas, 2022 (Shudder) - 7
Black Christmas, 1974 (Peacock/Shudder) - 10
Christmas Vacation, 1989 (HBO Max) - 9
It’s a Wonderful Life, 1946 (Amazon Prime) - 8
*Confess, Fletch, 2022 (Showtime) - 8
Christmas Vacation, 1989 (HBO Max) - 9
*Triangle of Sadness, 2022 (Rental) - 9
*Babylon, 2022 (Alamo Drafthouse) - 9
*Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, 2022 (Netflix) - 7
*BARDO, False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths, 2022 (Netflix) - 8
Climax, 2018 (Showtime) - 9
*The Sadness, 2021 (Shudder) - 8
First Time Watches - 19
Rewatches - 15
34 total films watched for an average of 8.05
Streaming Service Counter:
Amazon Prime - 3
Criterion Channel - 4
Disney+ - 3
HBO Max - 4
Hulu - 1
NBA League Pass - 2
Netflix - 3
Paramount+ - 1
Rental - 1
Showtime - 3
Shudder - 4
Theaters - 3
TV Movie - 1
Vudu - 1
Top 5 December Watches
5. Speak No Evil
I finally got back into the wonderful streaming service of Shudder by watching the masterpiece, Black Christmas from 1974 and then 3 new releases, Christmas Bloody Christmas, The Sadness, and Speak No Evil. I enjoyed all of them for different reasons but Speak No Evil is right up my alley as it burns slow and leads up to an extremely devastating finale that had my hands on my head for ten straight minutes. I highly recommend it to every horror fan I know.
4. The Banshees of Inisherin
December is always a busy month for me as award season films are either coming out in theaters or entering the streaming service world. I wanted to see Banshees in theaters but I can’t really complain because it joined HBO Max pretty quickly. I have no problem saying that Martin McDonagh’s new work is quite possibly the best new release I saw in 2022 and if it won a bunch of Oscars, I’d be a happy fan. There’s nothing quite like watching Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson understand each other as actors better than any modern duo.
3. Christmas Vacation
Hallelujah! Holy Shit! Where’s the Tylenol? National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation has slowly but surely risen the ranks as one of my all time favorite Christmas films. About a year ago, Connor and I got to take a trip to LA and during that trip, we visited Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema to watch a double feature of Scrooged and Christmas Vacation. After that, I was convinced that Vacation is the funniest holiday film ever. I watched it once in November and then twice more in December. I just can’t get enough of the Griswolds!
2. Babylon
The day after Christmas, I went to the Alamo Drafthouse with my wife and my older brother to check out the totally audacious and debaucherous Babylon. Written and directed by Damien Chazelle, there’s a relentless pace that will either have people on board or just flat out not work. It is 100% for me as a viewer and I walked away knowing that I just witnessed something special as it reminded me of why I care so much about watching films. This shit can’t be taken away from me no matter how cynical or silly it all is. I’m going to watch films because I simply do believe in the magic that is possible within the art form.
1. Batman Returns
Christmas Vacation might be the holiday film that makes me laugh the most, but Batman Returns is the one I like the most. It’s one of the films that I’ll just take to the grave with me. When Connor asked if I wanted to join him for a screening of it at the Alamo Drafthouse, I knew we had to make it happen. It was mid December, and we had an absolute blast as the wonderful craftsmanship from Tim Burton and company unfolded. It was my first time seeing Batman Returns in theaters so you can count on me not forgetting that experience any time soon.