Top Movies

Ticket to Paradise
Ticket to Paradise came out October 21, 2022 in theaters and on streaming services. This movie stars former co-actors Julia Roberts, who plays Georgia Cotton, and George Clooney, who plays David Cotton, Georgia Cotton’s ex- husband. They have been co-parenting their daughter, Lily Cotton, played by Kaitlyn Dever and when she graduates college, Lily and her friend go on a trip to Bali, Indonesia. When she’s in Bali, she meets Gede, played by Maxime Bouttier, and tells her parents she is going to marry him. Her parents race over to Bali to stop their daughter from marrying a seaweed farmer that she just met. The parents do everything to sabotage the Indonesian wedding; however, it ultimately brings the parents closer together. This movie was great, seeing the connection between the two main characters as they bond to stop their daughter. The chemistry was great as everyone in the audience is rooting for the Roberts’ and Clooney’s characters to get back together. This would have to be first on my list because it was a traditional romantic-comedy. Ol Parker, director of the movie, brings the friendship back to life on the screen between Julia Roberts and George Clooney, who previously starred in many movies together. The Bali scenery in the movie definitely grabbed my attention and made the audience feel like they were in Bali experiencing the conflict themselves.

Elvis
From seeing him in “Zoey 101” and the “Carrie Diaries, “Austin Butler is just the actor for “Elvis.” Elvis came to theaters on June 24 and is now on streaming services. The cast includes Austin Butler playing Elvis, Tom Hanks as Tom Parker, Dacre Montgomery as Steve Binder, Olivia DeJonge as Priscilla Presley, and Luke Bracey as Jerry Schilling. The movie dives into his life before he became famous and his rise to fame. This movie follows the journey of discovering who Elvis Presley really is and the relationships he had with his manager and girlfriends. Overall, I think this movie was great and Austin Butler plays his part very well. The singing,the recreation of iconic moments and the performances all perfectly encapsulate this iconic film.

Top Gun: Maverick
In 1986, “Top Gun” made its first appearance on the big screen. In 2022, the sequel “Top Gun: Maverick” was released on May 27 and is now on streaming services. Keeping the iconic cast the same, Tom Cruise played Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, Val Kilmer played Tom “Iceman,” and Kelly McGillis played Charlotte Blackwood. However, the new movie included new additions to their cast such as Miles Teller as Bradley Bradshaw, Glen Powell as Jake “Hangman,” Jennifer Connelly as Penny Benjamin, Jon Hamm as Cyclone, and Monica Barbaro as Phoenix. This movie explores Maverick confronting his identity with his past. Also, he trains many top gun graduates in order to conquer a dangerous assignment. Overall, this movie was incredible and Tom Cruise plays an outstanding role again.

Glass Onion
It’s no surprise that Daniel Craig would appear in yet another murder-mystery cinematic masterpiece. “Glass Onion” came out to theaters on September 10, 2022 and to Netflix on December 24, 2022. Glass Onion is the sequel to the 2019 murder mystery, “Knives Out.” This movie stars Daniel Craig as his traditional character, Benoit Blanc, Kate Hudson as Birdie Jay, Edward Norton as Miles Bron, Kathryn Hahn as Claire Debella, Janelle Monae as Helen Brand, Madelyn Cline as Whiskey, Dave Bautisa as Duke, and lastly, Leslie Odom Jr. as Lionel Toussaint. Miles Bron invites his gang to solve his own murder mystery on his private Greek island. However, when things get out of hand and other things are revealed, Benoit Blanc, Craig’s character, is the one to solve it. I thought this movie was good, however it did not live up to my expectations after watching “Knives Out.” “Knives Out” included one-on-one scenes with each individual in the house and made you understand who committed the murder better. “Glass Onion” took too long to get into and was very quick. Although the cast was amazing, this is a four for me.

Smile
The movie Smile came out on September 30 in theaters and is now on streaming services. The cast includes Sosie Bacon as Rose Cotter, Caitlin Stasey as Laura Weaver, Kyle Gallner as Joel, Jessie T. Usher as Trevor, Rob Morgan as Robert Talley, and Gillian Zinser as Holly Cotter. This movie is about Dr. Rose Cotter experiencing frightening things happening to only her from a patient that she saw. This movie explores the terror that has taken over her life. and she has to make questionable decisions to escape the weird experience she is seeing. This movie definitely gets you out of your seat as there are many jumpscares. However, it was very long and took awhile to get into it. As someone who doesn’t like horror movies, this was not for me.