Not sure what to watch on those rainy Sundays? Or those late Wednesday nights? Here are my awards for excellence in film and television for the second quarter (April-June) of 2022!
Circuit Artwork
If we hand out awards for sports, why not movies & television? With the second quarter of 2022 in the books, it’s time to look back at the best movies, shows & performances of the last three months! (Important to note that these are my favorites, not what I think are necessarily the best; that’s what my Oscars posts are for).
*Disclaimer: Because there were sooo many films this quarter (I caught 19 of them!) I'm officially changing the number of nominations moving forward; for films & tv, the number of noms in each category will be half or half rounded up if there is an odd number… So this quarter, the film categories will have 10 nominations and the tv categories will have 4.
*Double Disclaimer: Obviously I couldn’t watch every movie and show, so if you don’t see your favorite from the 2nd quarter here I do apologize. Here are the lists of films & shows from the 2nd quarter of 2022 that I watched and therefore eligible for award consideration:
Films:
Ambulance
Cha Cha Real Smooth
Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Elvis
Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore
Father Stu
Firestarter
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
Jurassic World: Dominion
Lightyear
Morbius
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Spider Head
The Bad Guys
The Black Phone
The Extraordinary Weight of Massive Talent
The Northman
Top Gun: Maverick
Shows:
Moon Knight season 1 (Disney+)
Ms. Marvel season 1 (Disney+)
Obi-Wan Kenobi season 1 (Disney+)
Ozark season 4 part 2 (Netflix)
**Stranger Things season 4 (Netflix)
The Boys season 3 (Amazon Prime)
The Offer season 1 (Paramount+)
** Technically, the second part of Stranger Things releases in the third quarter, but given it’s on July 1st and you know I’ll be watching that in one night, I’m including it in the second quarter.
Now to the film awards! (Each category has ten nominees, winners in bold)
Favorite Film
Cha Cha Real Smooth
Chip ‘N Dale: Rescue Rangers
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Elvis
Jurassic World: Dominion
Lightyear
Spiderhead
The Black Phone
The Extraordinary Weight of Massive Talent
Top Gun: Maverick
Not only is Top Gun: Maverick my favorite film of the quarter, but it’s my second favorite movie of all-time. From the breathtaking flight sequences, to the heartbreaking Maverick/Rooster scenes, to dog-fight football on a beach, this movie is the quintessential blockbuster that really means something. I defy anyone to watch Maverick and not fall in love with movies.
Favorite Performance By A Lead Actor in Film
Austin Butler as Elvis Presley (Elvis)
Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange (Multiverse of Madness)
Chris Evans as Buzz Lightyear (Lightyear)
Cooper Raiff as Andrew (Cha Cha Real Smooth)
Daryl McCormack as Leo Grande (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande)
Ethan Hawke as The Grabber (The Black Phone)
John Mulaney as Chip (Rescue Rangers)
Mark Whalberg as Father Stuart (Father Stu)
Nicholas Cage as Nicholas Cage (Massive Talent)
Tom Cruise as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Top Gun: Maverick)
Tom Cruise is gonna Cruise, right? I think he’s one of the four genuine movie stars on Earth right now, joining The Rock, Will Ferrell & Will Smith. Those are the four names that make people go to the movies more so than the names of their movies. But as great as Cruise is, Austin Butler does something truly special in Elvis. He looks like Elvis, he sounds like Elvis, and most importantly, he moves like Elvis. Maverick is one of my favorite characters ever, but I can’t deny what Butler did this quarter.
Favorite Performance By A Lead Actress in Film
Adria Arjona as Martine Bancroft (Morbius)
Anya Taylor-Joy as Olga (The Northman)
Dakota Johnson as Domino (Cha Cha Real Smooth)
Elizabeth Olson as Wanda Maximoff (Multiverse of Madness)
Emma Thompson as Nancy Stokes (Good Luck to You, Leo Grande)
Jennifer Connely as Penny Benjamin (Top Gun: Maverick)
Jurnee Smollett as Lizzy (Spiderhead)
Eiza Gonzalez as EMT Cam Thompson (Ambulance)
Keke Palmer as Izzy Hawthorne (Lightyear)
Madeleine McGraw as Gwen Shaw (The Black Phone)
Multiverse of Madness may not have been quite as great as I had hoped, but I’ll be damned if Olson didn’t give a truly brilliant performance. She delivered a haunting, sexy, terrifying, powerful performance as the Scarlet Witch, one that I think could land her an Oscar nomination (if the Academy gets over itself).
Favorite Performance By A Supporting Actor in Film
Chris Hemsworth as Steve Abnesti (Spiderhead)
Glen Powell as Jake “Hangman” Seres (Top Gun: Maverick)
Jake Gyllenhaal as Danny Sharp (Ambulance)
Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcolm (Jurassic World: Dominion)
Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik (Sonic 2)
Mads Mikkelsen as Gellert Grindelwald (Secrets of Dumbledore)
Miles Teller as Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw (Top Gun: Maverick)
Pedro Pascal as Javi Guitterez (Massive Talent)
Peter Sohn as Sox (Lightyear)
Tom Hanks as Colonel Parker (Elvis)
Did I mention already how much I loved Top Gun: Maverick? As great as Cruise, Conneley, Barbaro and Powell are in the film, Miles Teller steals the movie. I am counting the days until we get Top Gun: Rooster, which is really the best compliment I could give. From him playing the piano just like his old man, to finally learning to not think and just do, Teller creates a fantastic character that should land him an Oscar nomination (again, if the Academy can get over itself).
Favorite Performance By A Supporting Actress in Film
Awkwafina as Ms. Tarantula (The Bad Guys)
Isabella Sermon as Maisie Lockwood (Jurassic World: Dominion)
Laura Dern as Ellis Sattler (Jurassic World: Dominion)
Lily Mo Sheen as Addy Henson (Massive Talent)
Monica Barbaro as Natasha “Phoenix” Trace (Top Gun: Maverick)
Nicole Kidman as Queen Gudrun (The Northman)
Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer (Multiverse of Madness)
Uzo Aduba as Alisha Hawthorne (Lightyear)
Vanessa Burghardt as Lola (Cha Cha Real Smooth)
Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez (Multiverse of Madness)
This was definitely the most wide-open race on the film side. Kidman might have won had she been in more of The Northman. McAdams and Gomez were both good in Multiverse of Madness, not great. Ultimately it came down to Barbaro vs. Sermon, and I went with Sermon for two reasons; First, I have already given Maverick two awards (out of 4), so I wanted to diversify this a tad bit. Second, Sermon had maybe my favorite moment in the entire Jurassic franchise when she put her hand up and connected with Beta. I know a lot of people thought that moment was stupid and annoying that anyone can just control a dinosaur with their hand up, but I loved it.
Movie Studio of the 2nd Quarter
Universal!
Paramount put up a phenomenal fight with Top Gun: Maverick and Sonic 2, but I had to recognize how many films Universal pumped out the past three months. They had Jurassic World: Dominion, The Bad Guys, The Black Phone & Ambulance (they also made Firestarter, which was literally the only film that I didn’t give a nomination to, so that doesn’t really count). I decided that 4 in the top 14 and 2 of the top 6 of the box office beat 2 in the top 4, and Paramount won the first quarter, so congrats Universal!
Film Scoreboard: Nominations (Wins)
Top Gun: Maverick- 6 (2)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness- 5 (1)
Lightyear- 5
Jurassic World: Dominion- 4 (1)
Cha Cha Real Smooth- 4
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent- 4
Elvis- 3 (1)
Spiderhead- 3
The Black Phone- 3
Ambulance- 2
Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers- 2
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande- 2
The Northman- 2
Fantastic Beasts and the Secrets of Dumbledore- 1
Father Stu- 1
Morbius- 1
Sonic the Hedgehog 2- 1
The Bad Guys- 1
Now to the television awards! (Each category has four nominees, winners in bold)
Favorite Show
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Ozark Season 4 Part 2
Stranger Things Season 4 Volume 1
The Offer
Much like Maverick in the film category, Stranger Things ran away with my favorite show. This was a loaded quarter for the small screen, but many of the most anticipated shows fell a little flat for me. Stranger Things delivered on every level with maybe its best season yet. An incredible story with some incredible acting performances, this was an easy choice.
Favorite Performance By A Lead Actor in Television
Anthony Starr as Homelander (The Boys)
Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi (Obi-Wan Kenobi)
Miles Teller as Al Ruddy (The Offer)
Oscar Isaac as Marc Spector/Steven Grant/Moonknight (Moon Knight)
While the show hasn’t quite lived up to the hype, Ewan McGregor is doing God’s work in this show. It’s so great to see Obi-Wan back in action, and that fight with Vader…. Oh man! Oscar Isaac and Miles Teller are probably delivering better performances, but what McGregor is doing is truly special, so he gets the win.
Favorite Performance By A Lead Actress in Television
Iman Vellani as Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel)
Juno Temple as Bettye McCartt (The Offer)
Laura Linney as Wendy Byrde (Ozark)
Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven (Stranger Things)
It could only be you, Laura Linney! This has been an incredibly weak field, so she didn’t really have any competition. But even if there were other great lead actress performances, Linney would still take this home. Wendy Byrde is one of the most iconic, unhinged characters in all of television and her final act did not disappoint.
Favorite Performance By A Supporting Actor in Television
Ethan Hawke as Arthur Harrow (Moon Knight)
Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair (Stranger Things)
Joe Keery as Steve Harrington (Stranger Things)
Matthew Goode as Bob Evans (The Offer)
In all honesty I could have listed four actors from Stranger Things and felt good about that decision, but I chose to mix it up a tad. While I adore Gaten Matarazzo and Joe Keery, and Dustin & Steve are my two favorite characters on the show, Caleb McLaughlin outshines them in this season. To see how he has developed as an actor over 4 seasons has been really nice to watch, and his scenes with Max absolutely steal the show.
Favorite Performance By A Supporting Actress in Television
Julie Garner as Ruth Langmore (Ozark)
Maya Hawke as Robin Buckley (Stranger Things)
Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield (Stranger Things)
Vivien Lyra Blair as Leia Organa (Obi-Wan Kenobi)
Stranger Things keeps on rolling! Sadie Sink was the MVP of season 4 in my opinion, and the Max’s Song sequence is my favorite sequence in the history of the show. She’s giving such an authentic, emotional, hilarious portrayal of Max this season and made me fear for her life more than once. This was my favorite acting performance on television this quarter, regardless of category.
Streamer of the 2nd Quarter
Netflix!
Disney+ really fumbled this one away. Two MCU shows AND Obi-Wan Kenobi in a single quarter, and you didn’t win? I would have said that was impossible 3 months ago, but here we are. Stranger Things and Ozark were both better than anything Disney+ put out this quarter, so Netflix gets the win. If only they could trade this award for some stock options…
Television Scoreboard: Nominations (Wins)
Stranger Things- 6 (3)
The Offer- 4
Obi-Wan Kenobi- 3 (1)
Ozark- 3 (1)
Moon Knight- 2
Ms. Marvel- 1
The Boys- 1
There you have it! The Film & Television Awards for the 2nd Quarter of 2022! Make sure to check back in at the end of September to check out who will take home some hardware for the 3rd quarter!