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The best films of 2022 so far

Tilda Swinton aces Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s dreamy fable, director Clio Barnard’s forbidden affair and Catherine Clinch in The Quiet Girl rank in the pick of this year’s films

More of 2022’s best culture so far

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70s-set romance from Paul Thomas Anderson, starring Cooper Hoffman as a former child actor who sets his sights on 10-years-older Alana Haim as he gets into the waterbed business. What we said: “This hypnotically gorgeous, funny, romantic movie freewheels its way around from scene to scene, from character to character, from setpiece to setpiece, with absolute mastery.” Read the full review.

Jason Isaacs and Ann Dowd are among the cast of a drama about the “healing” meeting between the parents of a high-school shooting victim, and the parents of the perpetrator. What we said: “A wonderfully acted, if claustrophobic, ordeal of emotional pain.” Read the full review.

Nightmare Alley

Glossily mounted film noir, directed by Guillermo del Toro, with Bradley Cooper as the carny who becomes a high society mind-reader/grifter, and Cate Blanchett as a psychologist who aims to expose him. What we said: “A spectacular noir melodrama boasting gruesomely enjoyable performances and freaky twists.” Read the full review.

Documentary from American Honey director Andrea Arnold, following without comment the lives of farm cows from birth to slaughter. What we said: “The most eerie moments come when we look directly into the cow’s eyes, as she is perhaps directly looking into ours – or at any rate, the camera lens – and mooing, repeatedly, intently or even meaningfully.” Read the full review.

Tilda Swinton joins forces with Thai auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul for an English-language, Colombia-set fable about a woman who can hear sounds that others don’t appear to. What we said: “A beautiful and mysterious movie, slow cinema that decelerates your heartbeat.” Read the full review.

Kenneth Branagh’s memoir of a kid growing up in 1970s Northern Ireland as the Troubles mount, with Caitríona Balfe and Jamie Dornan as the married couple who have to decide whether to emigrate. What we said: “Spryly written, beautifully acted and shot in a lustrous monochrome, with set pieces, madeleines and epiphanies that feel like a more emollient version of Terence Davies.” Read the full review.

Taming the Garden

Documentary following the bizarre but revealing story of Georgian billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili’s plan to dig up and transport hundreds of trees from across the country to his own private garden. What we said: “Transporting these trees is a Fitzcarraldo-type operation: a folie de grandeur of staggering proportions.” Read the full review.

Parallel Mothers

Penélope Cruz and Pedro Almodóvar collaborate once again to tremendous effect; this time Cruz plays a woman sharing the same maternity ward as a much younger, troubled mother to be (played by Milena Smit). What we said: “Almodóvar’s new movie has the warmth and the grandiloquent flair of a picture from Hollywood’s golden age, and the whiplash twists and addictive sugar rush bumps of daytime soap.” Read the full review.

The Eyes of Tammy Faye

Biopic of Tammy Faye Bakker, wife of televangelist Jim Bakker and latter-day supporter of the US’s LGBT community; Jessica Chastain won the best actress Oscar for her makeup-caked performance in the title role. What we said: “Chastain gives a hilarious turn as Tammy Faye: like Tammy Wynette with a bit of Nancy Reagan and Eva Perón.” Read the full review.

Lingui, the Sacred Bonds

Chadian auteur Mahamat-Saleh Haroun’s quiet fable, about a woman torn between social proprieties and respecting her daughter’s decision to get an abortion. What we said: “The intense, focused performances from the two central women keep this drama in a hyper-alert state: we are intensely aware of all that is at stake and how mother and daughter are battling for survival.” Read the full review.

The Souvenir Part II

Second half of Joanna Hogg’s autobiographical drama, with Honor Swinton Byrne as film student Julie as she abandons her social issue documentary in favour of making her own autobiographical memoir. What we said: “An amazingly luminous self-portrait of the film-maker as a young woman: metatextual, confessional and autobiographical.” Read the full review.

Jackass Forever

The fourth feature-film instalment of the dumb stunt TV show that first aired in 2000, with many of the same gang led by Johnny Knoxville, but now augmented by a younger generation. What we said: “The Jackass crew is back with yet another festival of fantastically pointless and immature bad taste.” Read the full review.

Distinctive fusion of documentary and animation from Danish film-maker Jonas Poher Rasmussen, outlining the journey and heartache of a gay Afghan man living in Copenhagen, having left his home country as a 10-year-old. What we said: “An irresistibly moving and engrossing story, whose emotional implications we can see being absorbed into the minds of the director and his subject, almost in real time.” Read the full review.

Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy

Japanese film-maker Ryusuke Hamaguchi, who subsequently made Drive My Car, directs this three-part film, in which different stories are played out with thematic echoes. What we said: “This trio of stories is elegant and amusing, with a delicacy of touch and real imaginative warmth.” Read the full review.

The Real Charlie Chaplin

Documentary telling the life story of the “Little Tramp” – the silent film comic who achieved global celebrity before turning to sound and hitting even greater heights – before legal troubles took their toll. What we said: “Chaplin’s amazing story is something that would have electrified Charles Dickens, that other poverty survivor who conquered the US.” Read the full review.

The Beatles: Get Back – The Rooftop Concert

Sixty-minute feature carved out of Peter Jackson’s mammoth series chronicling the making of the Let It Be album; this repurposes the original footage shot by Michael Lindsay Hogg of the famous Apple building gig, restored at full length. What we said: “This engrossing film is a time capsule of London itself – the faces not so very different from those you would see in the 40s or 50s.” Read the full review.

Jim Broadbent stars as Kempton Bunton, the Newcastle taxi driver who was tried for one of the 1960s most celebrated crimes: the theft of a Goya painting from the National Gallery. What we said: “For what has become his final feature film, director Roger Michell made this sweet-natured and genial comedy in the spirit of Ealing, which bobs up like a ping pong ball on a water-fountain.” Read the full review.

Rebel Dread

Manifesto-cum-profile of Don Letts, the film-maker and DJ who was a key figure in the original punk movement and played a significant role in overcoming the era’s race hostility. What we said: “Letts is a brilliant entrepreneur, an inter-disciplinary artist and eloquent speaker about what life was like in the punk era.” Read the full review.

Ali & Ava

Gentle romance between a British Asian from Bradford (played by Adeel Akhtar), whose relationship with his wife has broken down, and classroom assistant Claire Rushbrook; their relationship sparks disapproval among their respective families. What we said: “It’s a drama of autumnal love conquering the divisions of race, the disillusionments of middle age, the discomfort of parenthood and grandparenthood, and the tensions of class.” Read the full review.

Social-comment body horror from debut feature director Ruth Paxton, with Sienna Guillory as the apparently perfect single mother with two daughters, one of whom develops a mysterious eating disorder. What we said: “Paxton’s movie sketches out the sinister dread just under the happy-family surface; she is in expert control of her film, achieving her effects with economy and force. It is really unnerving.” Read the full review.

Great Freedom

Interesting German drama about a former concentration camp inmate imprisoned after the war for gay sex acts, and who develops a complex relationship with his straight cellmate. What we said: “A formidably intelligent and well-acted prison movie and also a love story – or perhaps a paradoxically platonic bromance.” Read the full review.

Paris, 13th District

The latest film from Rust and Bone director Jacques Audiard, here putting together a short story collection of sexual encounters and relationships in Paris’ 13th arrondissement, shot in tough black-and-white. What we said: “Audiard achieves something very watchable and entertaining in anthologising [the characters]. This is a connoisseur date movie.” Read the full review.

Kosovan-set memorial-to-loss drama about a war widow who sets up a business selling honey and other local delicacies, but who then clashes with villagers when she starts getting successful. What we said: “This is a richly intelligent drama, in which every word and every shot counts.” Read the full review.

Epic Indian blockbuster set in the 1920s, following a pair of real-life revolutionaries as they take on the might of the British Raj. What we said: “Wave after wave of lush, beautifully crafted bombast is gleefully dished out to a bedazzled audience.” Read the full article.

The Worst Person in the World

Thelma director Joachim Trier comes up with an unexpectedly moving drama about a twentysomething woman (played by Renate Reinsve in a star-making performance) as she navigates relationships and jobs at a tricky period in life. What we said: “Trier has taken on one of the most difficult genres imaginable, the romantic drama, and combined it with another very tricky style – the coming-of-ager – to craft something gloriously sweet and beguiling.” Read the full review.

Apollo 10 1/2

Another exercise in nostalgia from Boyhood director Richard Linklater, here using rotoscope animation to tell the story of a kid growing up in thrall to the Apollo space programme. What we said: “It’s a nonstop madeleine-fest, a revival of memories curated with passionate connoisseurship.” Read the full review.

Mysterious fable from Italian director Laura Samani, about a woman desperate to revive her stillborn baby who heads off on a quest to find the church that may be able to accomplish it. What we said: “Samani’s film-making language has consistency and urgency, and there is an interesting streak of atheism that goes alongside this movie’s spiritual aura.” Read the full review.

Compartment No 6

Finnish director Juho Kuosmanen directs this answer to Before Sunrise, about an archaeology student who shares a train compartment with a boorish Russian; the pair connect despite their differences. What we said: “[There is] a wonderful human warmth and humour in this offbeat story of strangers on a train and of national characteristics starting to melt.” Read the full review.

All the Old Knives

Chris Pine and Thandiwe Newton star in a clever and complex spy yarn about a CIA officer ordered to interrogate his former lover over dinner as part of an investigation into a mole. What we said: “A very watchable and classily upscale espionage drama-thriller in the spirit of John le Carré.” Read the full review.

Prayers for the Stolen

From director Tatiana Huezo, a study of the traumatising life experience of a Mexican woman trying to ensure her daughter escapes the attentions of rapists and narcos who can apparently operate with impunity. What we said: “A complex, subtle, tender and heart-rending story of a young girl’s upbringing in a village menaced by the drug cartels and people traffickers.” Read the full review.

The Northman

Brutal Viking saga, based on the same legend as Shakespeare’s Hamlet, with Alexander Skarsgård as the chieftain’s son out for vengeance on the man who murdered his father and took his throne. What we said: “A horribly violent, nihilistic and chaotic story about the endless cycle of violence … It’s entirely outrageous, with some epic visions of the flaring cosmos. I couldn’t look away.” Read the full review.

Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle

Drama based on the bizarre real-life story of Hiroo Onoda, a second world war Japanese soldier who held out in the jungle in the Philippines until 1974. What we said: “A really well-made, old-fashioned anti-war epic in a forthright and robustly enjoyable style.” Read the full review.

Golden Lion-winning abortion drama, more relevant than ever, from director Audrey Diwan; a study of a woman (played by Anamaria Vartolomei) who becomes pregnant in early 60s, pre-legalisation France. What we said: “A brutal Handmaid’s Tale from our recent European past – a situation that still exists in many parts of the world, longed for by reactionary nostalgists elsewhere.” Read the full review.

Seven-year-old Maya Vanderbeque is brilliant in this Belgian schoolyard drama, as a girl called Nora who tries to confront classroom bullies in this short, intense film. What we said: “A kid’s-eye-view nightmare of playground bullying impossible to watch without a sick, jittery feeling of rage and dread.” Read the full review.

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair

Creepy account of a teenager becoming immersed in an online horror role-play game, from trans director Jane Schoenbrun. What we said: “Strangeness is a quality valued and yearned for in so many sorts of movies, but rarely found – yet this really is strange, an experiment in horror form.” Read the full review.

The Quiet Girl

Irish rural drama set in the early 80s, with Catherine Clinch as the silent child of the title who goes to stay with relatives over the summer. What we said: “This beautiful and compassionate film from first-time feature director Colm Bairéad is a child’s-eye look at our fallen world; already it feels like a classic.” Read the full review.

Split-screen dementia drama from Argentinian provocateur Gaspar Noé, starring Dario Argento and Françoise Lebrun as an elderly couple whose lives are dogged by the latter’s cognitive decline. What we said: “Noé brings his cauterisingly fierce gaze to the spectacle of old age: the world of those about to enter the void.” Read the full review.

The Innocents

Creepy-kid horror from Norwegian director Eskil Vogt (co-writer of The Worst Person in the World ), about two young sisters who make friends with other children who apparently possess supernatural powers. What we said: “It greased my palms with anxiety and incidentally has some of the best child acting I have ever seen.” Read the full review.

Benediction

Terence Davies’ account of the life of Siegfried Sassoon (played by Jack Lowden and Peter Capaldi in younger/older versions), tracing his career from lionised war poet to unhappy later life. What we said: “It is a film which is piercingly and almost unbearably about failure: the catastrophic moral and spiritual failure of war which is aligned to Sassoon’s own terrible sense of personal shortcomings.” Read the full review.

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Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, guardians of the galaxy volume 3.

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James Gunn loves his outcasts. One of the most interesting things about his “ Guardians of the Galaxy ” movies has been watching the tug-of-war between Gunn’s outsider instincts and a franchise-generating machine that’s as insider as it gets. He's one of the few filmmakers who has operated in the massive system of the biggest movie money-making factory in the world without sacrificing his voice. Watching his “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is to see a director who knows how to balance corporate needs with personal blockbuster filmmaking. Mostly. This sci-fi/action/comedy still succumbs to a few of the MCU issues of late—bloated runtime, things-go-boom finale, too many characters—but there’s a creativity to the filmmaking, dialogue, and performances that modern superhero movies often lack. Much of the recent talk has been about the potential for AI-generated blockbusters , and I like when “GoTG 3” is at its messiest. Gunn is like that kid who is not only playing with his action figures; he’s pulling them apart and smashing them back together to make them into new creations. He doesn’t just love these losers, he wants to see them save the universe again. You will too.

“Vol. 3” opens with Rocket Racoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper ) listening to “Creep” by Radiohead. In another film filled with clever needle drops, it’s a tone-setter. Rocket sees himself as the weirdo, the creep, but the movie will teach him that he’s so f-ing special, of course. 

It all starts with an attack. The golden-hued Adam Warlock ( Will Poulter ) comes speeding into Knowhere, pummeling everything in sight with strength that would impress Superman. Rocket takes the worst beating and hovers near death for most of the movie, putting the film on two tracks—a flashback to Rocket’s origin story and the present-day tale of the Guardians trying to save him. The mission leads them to the High Evolutionary ( Chukwudi Iwuji ), a mad scientist who tried to speed up the evolutionary process for a utopia called Counter-Earth and created Rocket all those years ago.

Of course, the Guardians bring baggage on their quest. Peter ( Chris Pratt ) is emotionally unstable over what happened with Gamora ( Zoe Saldaña ), who was killed by Thanos but has returned as an alternate timeline version of the character who doesn’t remember her time with the GotG. Gamora gets involved with the Rocket mission, but the love story between her and Star-Lord doesn’t drive the narrative like the first two. Many filmmakers would have made “Vol. 3” about reuniting Peter and Gamora, but it’s more about a background to Rocket’s story, which allows for different chemistry between Pratt and Saldaña. She’s particularly good here, looking at the rest of the Guardians skeptically, especially the one who claims to love a different version of her.

As for the rest of the gang, it’s gotten a little too big for one movie to hold. Dave Bautista is fun again, but Drax has little to do. Same with Karen Gillan as Nebula, who has become a functional part of the team but lacks actual development. Mantis ( Pom Klementieff ) is back for comic relief, and Groot ( Vin Diesel ) does his thing, but it’s hard to shake how this “Guardians” is overcrowded. I didn’t even mention the talking dog (voiced by Maria Bakalova ), Elizabeth Debicki as Adam’s creator Ayesha, or Sylvester Stallone ’s return.

"Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is most appealing when it defies a “product over art” aesthetic by being clunky and weird. It might sound silly to say a film is at its best when it’s less refined, but many recent blockbusters lack the human touch. It's thrilling to see Gunn push through some of his genuinely unsettling creature designs, or settings that feel like they’re taking place in actual physical spaces instead of the bland CGI that makes superhero movies look like watching someone else playing a video game. There’s a version of “Vol. 3” that’s even more chaotic and personal—the final act especially feels like it’s knocking off prerequisites on an MCU checklist—but every time this blockbuster felt like it was edging more to content than art, it won me back.

It's in the small choices made by Gunn and an ensemble that would clearly follow him into battle at this point. Pratt has been phoning in some of his lead film roles lately, but he’s always clicked best on-screen as Peter Quill, equal parts hero and chump. Giving him a broken heart allows Pratt to push away some of the cocky smarm that has derailed him in other projects and allows us to like Quill again. Saldaña is having fun returning to the basics of a warrior like Gamora, convincing us she could carry a movie like this alone. But, most of all, this is Rocket’s film, a story of how he overcomes trauma to be the hero he was always meant to be.

While the villain is a bit underwritten—most characters are simply due to the cast's sheer size—something interesting here unfolds on a thematic level beyond the basic hero/villain narrative. Without spoiling all the details of Rocket’s origin, his arc shifted when he solved a problem in the High Evolutionary’s experiments on his own, sending the villain off into a spiral of insecurity and sociopathology. In a sense, this is a story of a vengeful God, someone who lashes out when his creation not only proves himself independent but arguably more intelligent than its creator. Tales of creations who turn on their wicked creators are as old as myth, but Gunn weaves that idea through a Marvel vision with just enough clever subtlety to give his film more depth than a lot of its peers. Gunn reckons with the idea of a wicked God, one who sees his creations as experiments more than actual beings. It’s a story that fits Gunn perfectly as he tries to defy the Hollywood machine by bringing his imagination to life. He's the creator who wants his creations to outshine him. 

The flashback/mission structure of “Vol. 3” sometimes drains the film of momentum, and everyone who has seen a Marvel movie knows that this will end with many team-ups and explosions. And yet even when the film is checking those items off the list, it does so with Gunn’s personality intact, whether it’s in his music choices or intense imagery that could startle younger viewers. So much of the recent MCU has felt cravenly desperate to do just enough to turn a profit. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” is a reminder that the best blockbusters don’t just sing along to a well-known tune like “Creep”; they make the song their own. After all, we’re all the weirdos. And Gunn would say that makes us all pretty f-ing special too.

In theaters on May 5 th .

Brian Tallerico

Brian Tallerico is the Managing Editor of RogerEbert.com, and also covers television, film, Blu-ray, and video games. He is also a writer for Vulture, The Playlist, The New York Times, and GQ, and the President of the Chicago Film Critics Association.

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Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 (2023)

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, strong language, suggestive/drug references and thematic elements.

150 minutes

Chris Pratt as Peter Quill / Star-Lord

Zoe Saldaña as Gamora

Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer

Karen Gillan as Nebula

Pom Klementieff as Mantis

Vin Diesel as Groot (voice)

Bradley Cooper as Rocket (voice)

Sean Gunn as Kraglin / On-Set Rocket

Chukwudi Iwuji as The High Evolutionary

Will Poulter as Adam Warlock

Elizabeth Debicki as Ayesha

Maria Bakalova as Cosmo the Dog (voice)

Sylvester Stallone as Stakar Ogord

Daniela Melchior as Ura

Writer (comic book)

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Two characters kiss, sleep together (no nudity).

Occasional profanity: "bulls--t," "s--t," "bastard

Characters discuss Vifon Ramen in one scene.

Abusive father of lead character drinks booze. Cha

Parents need to know that The Guardian is a 2021 Vietnamese supernatural horror movie in which a backup singer seeks the help of supernatural forces to find fame and love. In the opening scene, a pop star commits suicide by slitting her wrists in a bathtub, seemingly at the behest of a creepy doll with…

Positive Messages

Positive role models.

Lead character, a backup singer for a pop star who has just committed suicide, makes a series of requests to a supernatural doll in the hopes of finding love and fame.

Diverse Representations

Vietnamese supernatural horror movie offers some glimpses into Vietnamese culture.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

A young woman commits suicide in a bathtub by slitting her wrists, seemingly at the behest of a doll. Her body is shown in bloody water, the scar where she slit her wrist shown. Quick shot of young woman slitting wrist at a table in a fancy restaurant. The reason the young woman commits suicide is because she's shown in a sex tape with three men after they drugged her. Another character found dead in a bathtub, talk of how they had a history of drug abuse, another bloody bathtub. Character jumps off a balcony to her death. Dead bodies found with slit wrists. A father punches his daughter after he learns that she's making a living as a back-up singer for a pop star. Baby bird head sliced off. Cut finger, blood. Character hit by a car. Demonic imagery. Jump scares.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Occasional profanity: "bulls--t," "s--t," "bastards," "damn," "hell."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Drinking, drugs & smoking.

Abusive father of lead character drinks booze. Champagne, wine, alcohol drinking in nightclubs. Character shown being drugged by men who want to take advantage of her and make a sex video to post online.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Guardian is a 2021 Vietnamese supernatural horror movie in which a backup singer seeks the help of supernatural forces to find fame and love. In the opening scene, a pop star commits suicide by slitting her wrists in a bathtub, seemingly at the behest of a creepy doll with supernatural powers. Her body is found in bloody water, her bloody scar shown. Another character is found dead in a bloody bathtub, and another commits suicide by jumping off of a balcony. Another character is struck by a car and injured. The reason the pop star committed suicide was because she had been drugged by three men and filmed in a sex video with them that was starting to go viral. Character shown being drugged at a nightclub. A father punches his daughter upon learning that she works as a backup singer. Baby bird's head sliced off with a knife. Lead character cuts finger with a knife -- blood. Two characters kiss, sleep together (no nudity). Occasional profanity, including "s--t." Champagne, wine, and alcohol drinking. Demonic imagery. Jump scares. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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What's the Story?

In THE GUARDIAN, Lam Phuong (Salim) is a young pop star found dead in her bathtub of an apparent suicide. The reason she took her own life was because she was drugged by three men in a nightclub, who then took advantage of her and made a sex video that was starting to go viral. She's also discovered to be with a Kumanthong doll, leading some to speculate that the doll and the black magic surrounding it had something to do with her death. In the aftermath of Lam's suicide, Ly (Truc Anh), one of Lam's backup singers, finds herself possibly on the verge of the fame and success that had been out of reach. Ly finds herself in possession of a Kumanthong doll, and begins making wishes to it -- everything from desires for pop stardom to a romance with manager and Lam's ex-lover Khanh. But fame and success aren't all that they're cracked up to be, and Ly's requests of the Kumanthong doll go in an increasingly vengeful and violent direction. Ly must find out what's really happening with this doll that's increasingly taking control of her life, and must choose what's really important in life.

Is It Any Good?

This is an overlong, melodramatic supernatural Vietnamese horror movie on the perils of fame and fortune. The Guardian centers on creepy dolls and the aspiring pop stars who make wishes and present sacrifices to them, and at over two hours long, still manages to squeeze in scenes of pop music performances with dance sequences, a love affair, and some other side stories that would've been better off on the cutting room floor. There's a high quality to the direction, cinematography, acting, and overall style, but none of this can compensate for a padded story, and a shopworn "creepy doll horror movie" story at that. The plot twist/big reveal isn't bad, but it comes across as forced as the movie's overall messages about success in the music industry being not all it's cracked up to be.

Indeed, the movie's comments on said fame and fortune grow increasingly tiresome. 1980s afterschool specials about Satanism and/or underage beer drinking are less heavy-handed than this, and, to their credit, '80s afterschool specials didn't resort to creepy dolls and ugly sacrifices of baby birds to make their points. There's a feeling throughout The Guardian that it should be better than it is. With a bit more editing, it might have been a decent supernatural horror story rather than a weird melodrama with creepy images and suicides. That said, if the movie's purpose is to make those younger viewers who are considering a career in pop stardom to maybe find another line of work on LinkedIn, it's successful enough in that regard, but as an attempt at a supernatural horror story, it falls short.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about supernatural horror movies like The Guardian . How does the movie use supernatural forces to try to create scares?

How does the movie address issues like suicide and victims of cyberbullying and exploitation?

What messages do you think the movie was trying to communicate about the perils of fame and fortune, and society's obsession with these?

Movie Details

• In theaters : April 30, 2021
• On DVD or streaming : December 16, 2021
• Cast : Truc Anh , Amee , Salim
• Director : Victor Vu
• Studio : Netflix
• Genre : Horror
• Run time : 127 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : June 20, 2023

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Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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• DVD & Streaming

The Guardian

• Action/Adventure , Drama

Content Caution

In Theaters

• Kevin Costner as Ben Randall; Ashton Kutcher as Jake Fischer; Melissa Sagemiller as Emily Thomas; Clancy Brown as Capt. William Hadley; Sela Ward as Helen Randall

Home Release Date

• Andrew Davis

Distributor

• Disney/Buena Vista

Movie Review

Senior Chief Ben Randall is way past the prime of his stellar career as a U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmer. The missions are no longer smooth sailing for the highly decorated daredevil. And even his personal life is becoming waterlogged as his wife packs up and moves out. But when a stormy high seas rescue goes wrong—destroying the helicopter, killing his crew and leaving his best friend dying in his arms—the world finally comes crashing in on the weather-beaten man.

His captain strongly suggests that he take a break and teach as an “A” School rescue swimmer instructor. Randall reluctantly agrees.

As his trainees struggle to stay afloat, one recruit rises to the top. Jake Fischer is a former swimming champion with a lot of attitude and a troubled past. Randall recognizes a bit of himself in the young man and eventually takes him under his wing. With time and exhausting work, the team begins to gel. However, as the recruits find their way, Randall worries that he might not find his way back to the job he so desperately loves.

Positive Elements

The Guardian is all about brave men and women who are willing to risk their lives in order to save others’. Randall’s wisdom, humility, tough love and servant leadership are outstanding. He doesn’t demand respect; he earns it. For example, after icing down a pool to give the newbies a crash course in hypothermia, he freezes right along with them. No sacrifice is too great. He’s a real pro and a father figure to Fischer, and in time turns the young man into a strong leader.

Randall and Fischer are both shown rescuing people in the most harrowing of conditions. One scene has Randall jumping into gigantic crashing waves—battling a furious storm that has already sunk a ship and claimed a half-dozen lives—in the hopes of saving one nearly-frozen boy. In another, Fischer refuses to leave a trapped man below deck in a sinking ship.

The story is told of the senior chief saving 20 people from a doomed medical transport. With the last man, the helicopter winch jams and Randall, dangling from the line, has to hold the man with one hand all the way back to base. He tells him, “I won’t let go,” which becomes Randall’s credo (and Fischer’s) for all future rescues. [ Spoiler Warning ] At the end of the film, Fischer and Randall are in a similar situation, swinging from a fraying winch cable. Fischer tells him, “I won’t let go.” Randall deliberately loosens his glove and drops 80 feet into the churning sea in order to save the younger man.

The movie also speaks of teamwork and unswerving dedication. Randall tells his recruits that the only way “we work is as a team,” and that in the face of impossible odds while rescuing others, “You have to find a way to be that miracle.” Fischer keeps pressing Randall for a number (meaning the number of people he’s rescued); finally Randall says, “22.” Fischer shows surprise that it’s that low, but Randall continues, “That’s the number I lost. The only number I kept track of.”

Spiritual Elements

No film in recent memory has reflected the noble self-sacrifice described in John 15:13 as well as The Guardian . “You get to save lives,” Randall preaches, “And there is no greater calling in the world than that.” Another trainer says, “When the Holy Lord Himself reaches down from heaven with winds that rip houses off the ground, we go out.” (Incidentally, “Acts of God” get several mentions.) In a perilous moment a helicopter crewman says sincerely, “God help you.”

Sexual Content

Fischer dares his friends to pick out the hottest girl in the bar and bets them that he can take her home. And even though the girl (Emily) is reluctant to get involved (“Every 18 weeks a new bunch of you guys are looking to score with the local talent”), she is eventually swayed by his charm.

They find themselves hopping into bed pretty early on, despite (or is it because of?) Fischer’s teasing: “You’re gonna have to stop undressing me with your eyes. ‘Cause there’s no way you’re getting me into bed.” Emily makes it clear that she’s OK with a physically intimate relationship as long as they avoid commitment and all meaningful conversation. “You want casual,” Fischer replies. “I’m a guy. I can do casual.” (He can’t, of course, but the deeds have already been done by the time he figures that out.)

Those deeds involve us seeing her in a robe and him bare-chested in her bed—afterwards. Later, they’re in bed again, fawning over each other and diving under the covers for more. (Their banter includes a few mild sexual innuendoes and double entendres.)

Emily wears low-cut tops. A very muscular recruit strips off his shirt for the camera. After a freezing cold training exercise, the recruits are all shown naked in a hot shower. (The camera doesn’t dip below their waists.) An older female friend of Randall’s says that the only reason she can look back with fondness on her life is that she “drank, smoked and screwed” her way through it. A snide, gay-themed jab is thrown out after we witness Fischer teaching another recruit how to break a panicked swimmer’s death grip. Another one is flung at a man who tries to stand up for someone.

Violent Content

The rescue scenes often get intense as the lives of everyone involved are constantly threatened. Ships burn, explode and sink. The Coast Guard helicopter crashes, burns and sinks. In an agonizing sequence, it then drags a boy to his death because he’s inside the rescue basket which is still attached to the winch. A man is shown with a horribly burned face. Dead bodies are seen floating on the water.

Struggling to survive in rough water, a man almost drowns his wife in his panic and Randall must punch him and knock him out in order to save them. During a training exercise, a recruit does much the same thing to a trainer in order to break his stranglehold. There’s a discussion of an accident that killed a car full of young men.

When Navy sailors contemptuously pour a beer over Fischer’s head, a bar fight erupts. Fischer and a buddy are later shown bruised and bloodied in a jail cell. Instead of disciplining Fischer, Randall takes him back to the bar for payback. (Mitigating circumstances include the fact that Randall had been trying to unearth Fischer’s buried sense of teamwork and camaraderie—and the brawl was spawned by his sticking up for a friend and for the Coast Guard.) Still, the scene shows Randall hitting a man and then slamming his head several times into the top of the bar. Elsewhere, Fischer has to be separated from another recruit when their pushing and shoving nearly turns to blows.

Crude or Profane Language

Four or five s-words. One f-word. Milder profanities (including “a–,” “h—” and “d–n”) pop up at least a dozen times. There are two misuses of Jesus’ name. And God’s name is combined with “d–n” on several occasions.

Drug and Alcohol Content

The recruits and trainers are shown in numerous bar, party and casual scenes drinking beer and hard alcohol. It’s implied that Randall downs whiskey along with his prescription pain medication.

Other Negative Elements

Randall and his wife are going through a difficult time in their marriage. That’s not a negative element; that happens to almost everybody at some point. But they choose to solve their problems by separating and signing divorce papers—even though it’s obvious that they still care for each other.

The Guardian is a nicely acted, well directed, bits-and-pieces blend of a number of movies we’ve seen before ( Top Gun, The Perfect Storm and An Officer and a Gentleman among them). So there’s no new revelations in watch a grizzled pro teach cocky upstarts the ropes. That not to say the rescues at sea aren’t cool—even if the boats all look like they’re pivoting mechanically amid CGI waves and overactive dump tanks.

Chest-thumping hoo-rah moments, partially undressed romance, a smattering of foul language and a beer-tipping bar brawl mean this is a genuine, Grade A formula action pic. It also means families will be forced to gasp for air more than few times if they choose to watch it.

And that’s too bad. Because The Guardian also embraces something we haven’t seen in a while. It’s a movie about sacrifice. And not just the sacrifice Peter Parker makes when he dons his Spider-Man costume, either. This is a film that gives a face to the real people out there who put others first. Someone who’s willing to die to save another. It’s a film that gives a face to and pays tribute to the very real men and women who live and die by the motto “So Others May Live.”

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’: What to Know

After its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, we can answer your many questions, though some details still puzzle us.

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By Kyle Buchanan

Reporting from Cannes, France

“Megalopolis,” the first film from the director Francis Ford Coppola in 13 years, premiered Thursday at the Cannes Film Festival. Self-financed by Coppola, the $120 million passion project has earned headlines about a reportedly chaotic shoot, allegations of misconduct and questions about the film’s commercial prospects.

But what exactly are we dealing with here? Now that I’ve seen “Megalopolis,” let me try to answer the questions you might be asking.

What is “Megalopolis” about?

Any attempt to sum up “Megalopolis” will impose more narrative onto this movie than it actually contains, but here goes. Adam Driver plays Cesar Catalina, a visionary architect who dares to ask: What if a major city looked like an Iris Van Herpen dress? Like so many great men in movies, he is Haunted by Visions of a Dead Wife, but still finds himself falling for Julia (Nathalie Emmanuel), the daughter of Franklyn Cicero (Giancarlo Esposito), mayor of the city that is sometimes called New Rome but that resembles New York.

Cicero, who despises Catalina for his reckless idealism, is one of many characters trying to bring the architect to heel. Other rivals include Clodio (Shia LaBeouf), a party boy turned politician, and Wow Platinum (Aubrey Plaza), a financial reporter determined to bed or plot against every powerful man in her orbit.

Wait, her name is Wow Platinum?

Yes, you read that correctly.

What exactly is the tone of this movie?

Despite the big budget, huge sets and scenes soaked in special effects, “Megalopolis” finds Coppola in the same experimental-filmmaker mode he employed for his two most recent movies, the indies “Tetro” (2009) and “Twixt” (2011). Few scenes are shot or edited in a conventional manner: Coppola employs split screen, projection techniques and artsy montage at will, and the pacing of any given sequence can change on a whim.

Sometimes, that anything-could-happen approach is beguiling: Midway through the Cannes press screening, a spotlight shone on a man in the front of the theater who asked questions that Driver’s Caesar would answer onscreen. At other times, though, it feels like the filmmaker is just throwing things at the wall and hoping that something will stick.

Is it true the film doesn’t have a path to theaters yet?

Coppola has been unable to find a studio buyer for the movie and it’s clear why: “Megalopolis” is likely to confuse and divide mainstream audiences. No two actors in this movie are on the same page about how to perform it, and the result is a mishmash of acting styles and big, misbegotten choices that had some journalists at the festival giggling in disbelief. The dialogue is either bluntly declarative or totally impenetrable, and Coppola often interrupts the action with shots of featured extras so prolonged that you can tell with certainty that you’re looking at one of the filmmaker’s relatives.

Though Coppola hopes to secure a wide release for “Megalopolis” that includes IMAX theaters, the film will pose a challenge for any distributor.

What controversies surround “Megalopolis”?

A report in The Guardian this week detailed what anonymous sources described as a chaotic “Megalopolis” shoot. They also alleged that Coppola tried to kiss some of the female extras featured in a nightclub scene. Asked about those accusations, executive co-producer Darren Demetre told The Hollywood Reporter that he was unaware of any harassment complaints made during the production, but acknowledged that Coppola “walked around the set to establish the spirit of the scene by giving kind hugs and kisses on the cheek to the cast and background players.”

Coppola himself has not addressed the accusations, though he’s expected to be asked about them at the film’s Cannes news conference on Friday. It may be notable that in “Megalopolis,” the protagonist is briefly embroiled in his own sex scandal: Catalina is caught in bed with a 16-year-old pop star, but he’s vindicated in the public eye when it turns out she’s actually 23 and lying about her age.

Could the movie become an awards player?

Well, the production design is pretty impressive. And there certainly are a lot of special effects.

Coppola is a five-time Oscar winner and I’m sure he will win admirers in the academy simply for financing the film himself and taking such a big swing. But it’s hard to imagine “Megalopolis” penetrating any of the major categories.

Sorry, I’m still stuck on this: Wow Platinum?

You and me both, reader.

Kyle Buchanan is a pop culture reporter and also serves as The Projectionist , the awards season columnist for The Times. More about Kyle Buchanan

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The Guardian Reviews

By imploding into self-satire, the film manages some inadvertent humor. And that's not nothing.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | May 9, 2023

The more fictitious a scare it accumulates, the more laughter it grants. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Nov 2, 2022

Although the budget clearly isn't sizable, it's enough to design a couple of amusing scenes of violence and morbidly funny tree-creature effects.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Sep 14, 2020

The Guardian is a deeply strange picture with a history as tortured as the perverted limbs of the fabricated tree itself...

Full Review | Jan 8, 2018

As far as flying nannies go, Jenny Seagrove's isn't half as intimidating as Julie Andrews' Mary Poppins.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Jan 23, 2016

Admittedly, it doesn't seem like one that Friedkin put his heart and soul into, but it still has some of his touches, and it's too interesting to write off completely.

Full Review | Oct 3, 2008

A dumb horror film that's down there with Deal of the Century as one of Friedkin's worst efforts.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Oct 6, 2005

Friedkin here seems strangely determined to squander his talent; lots of wasted opportunities.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/5 | Aug 12, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 19, 2005

Full Review | Original Score: 0/5 | Jun 6, 2003

Absolutely hysterical. Unfortunately, it's supposed to be scary

Full Review | Original Score: 0/5 | Aug 26, 2002

Of the many threats to modern man documented in horror films -- the slashers, the haunters, the body snatchers -- the most innocent would seem to be the druids.

Full Review | Original Score: 1/4 | Jan 1, 2000

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A young girl who goes through a difficult experience begins to see everyone's imaginary friends who have been left behind as their real-life friends have grown up. A young girl who goes through a difficult experience begins to see everyone's imaginary friends who have been left behind as their real-life friends have grown up. A young girl who goes through a difficult experience begins to see everyone's imaginary friends who have been left behind as their real-life friends have grown up.

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John Krasinski Shares the Imagination Behind 'IF'

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Cal : What if I told you imaginary friends are real? And when they're kids grow up, they're forgotten.

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‘guardians of the galaxy vol. 3’ review: james gunn’s overstuffed but satisfying trilogy capper.

The interstellar gang is back in the third installment of the hugely popular Marvel franchise starring Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista and Zoe Saldaña.

By Frank Scheck

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Cinematic superheroes have been going through a rough patch lately. Already this year, both Shazam and Ant-Man proved a bit at sea in their latest adventures. So it comes as a relief to report the trilogy-capping Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. achieves what it sets out to do, which is provide a stirring and audience-pleasing finale for a franchise that has proven to be one of Marvel ’s biggest and most unlikely success stories. Well, at least until the next iteration of the Guardians comes along.

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Marvel's 'silk: spider society' dead at amazon, 'supergirl' movie lands june 2026 release in theaters, guardians of the galaxy vol. 3.

Not long afterward, Quill is reunited with Gamora. Of course, she’s an alternate version, since the Gamora he loved was killed by that pesky Thanos in one of those Avengers movies. The new, younger Gamora has little use for Quill, which doesn’t exactly improve his mood as he vainly struggles, like a depressed high school student, to remind her of what they once had.

He doesn’t have much time for moping, however, as the Guardians must rally themselves to save their beloved Rocket ( Bradley Cooper ), who’s at death’s door. This leads to flashbacks involving the fan-beloved raccoon’s backstory and his relationship with the film’s villain, the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji, using his Shakespearean acting background to excellent imposing effect), who wants to create a new, higher evolved master race. As with most Marvel villains, he doesn’t really think he’s bad, merely misunderstood.

Nonetheless, this edition largely succeeds like the other ones, thanks to the chemistry of the main ensemble, who have grown into their characters with relaxed ease. The interplay among them is frequently delightful, especially between the mind-controlling Mantis (Pom Klementieff) and the big doofus Drax ( Dave Bautista ), who come across like alien versions of Laurel and Hardy. Karen Gillan ’s Nebula is more acerbic than ever, and Vin Diesel ’s Groot has grown up to be a much bigger tree, although his vocabulary hasn’t improved very much. And Kraglin, played by Sean Gunn (the director’s brother), well, he’s still there.

Among the many antagonists on hand is Adam Warlock, the artificial being created to destroy the Guardians, who clearly has mommy issues with the villainess Ayesha (Elizabeth Debicki, who looks even more striking in gold face paint). Will Poulter plays the role with an enjoyable mixture of physical menace and baby-like befuddlement, but he ultimately fails to make a lasting impression.

It’s but one of many comic moments that have become a particular trademark of the Guardians series, some of which are so stupidly silly that you feel like a kid laughing at them. I’m still chuckling at the ridiculous exchange among the Guardians over which buttons to press on their spacesuits to properly communicate with each other, with Quill’s confusion resulting in everyone overhearing his pathetic attempt to win back Gamora. (Don’t you hate when that happens?)

The film’s wildly imaginative visuals are another plus, with the proceedings feeling so bizarrely trippy at times it’s as if Gunn is aiming to create a midnight cult classic rather than a blockbuster superhero film. His distinctively anarchic style is on full display here, which makes you wonder how he’s going to tone it down when he tackles such iconic characters less suitable for irreverent humor as Superman.

The action sequences are also stunners, especially an epic climactic battle accompanied by the propulsive Beastie Boys classic “No Sleep Till Brooklyn,” a typical example of the filmmaker’s uncanny knack for providing fantastic playlists. This one is no exception, straying from the first two installments’ nostalgic ‘70s-era soundtracks to encompass several decades worth of terrific cuts and featuring artists including Alice Cooper, Spacehog, The Flaming Lips, The The and The Replacements. It’s no wonder the Guardians love to dance.

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