2022 was another great year at the movies and I cannot wait to recap it here. If you read my top ten you saw how many great filmmakers we had make movies this year, and how many great movies there were. So to do these awards was not easy, but still is always the most fun I have all year. So, I hope you all enjoy!
Male Rising Star of the Year – Cooper Raiff
To me it was pretty clear with his first feature SHITHOUSE that this guy had something as a Director and an Actor. Well, his second movie CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH did not disappoint either, and he is now officially on Auteur watch. We are always looking for the next great writer, director, actor, and he might be here already. I might even say his first couple movies have Woody Allen vibes (as an artist) which is a huge compliment considering Allen’s movies are considered classics. I am very interested in whatever he is doing moving forward.
*Others Considered
– Tenoch Huerta (WAKANDA FOREVER)
*Former Winners
2021 – Cooper Hoffman
2020 – Nnamdi Asomugha
2019 – Winston Duke
Female Rising Star of the Year – Mia Goth
This is a no brainer considering the two movies she was in this year. First it was X, a great horror movie that had Goth playing someone her age and then an old lady named Pearl. It was quite the performance, but it did not prepare me for what was to come later in the year. Ti West released a prequel to X called PEARL that obviously gave us Pearl’s backstory. Goth is stunning in this movie and gives a 7 minute monologue that should be an Oscar clip. She has a very, very bright future ahead of her.
*Others Considered
– Maya Hawke (DO REVENGE, STRANGER THINGS)
– Amber Midthunder (PREY)
– Rachel Sennott (BODIES BODIES BODIES)
*Former Winners
2021 – Thomasin McKenzie
2020 – Anya Taylor Joy
2019 – Florence Pugh
The 4th Annual Tony Perkis Award for Villain who may have had a point – Joey King as The Prince in BULLET TRAIN
A little about the award…Ben Stiller’s character Tony Perkis from the iconic film Heavyweights, in my opinion had a point in being mean to those kids. They were at FAT CAMP to lose weight and they were sneaking snacks in and just complaining all the time. Sure his methods were harsh (“Lunch has been cancelled due to lack of hustle, deal with it”) but he had the right intentions for the kids.
At the end of Bullet Train it is revealed the entire time Joey Kings The Prince character was taking revenge against her asshole father Michael Shannon. Now who among us has not wanted to take over a bullet train filled with assassins just to get back at their dad? I thought her performance was actually great as well, while still making some very solid points.
*Others Considered
– Namor (WAKANDA FOREVER)
– Gorr (THOR: LOVE AND THUNDER)
– Flying Alien (NOPE)
*Former Winners
2021 – Cate Blanchett (NIGHTMARE ALLEY)
2020 – Hugh Jackman (BAD EDUCATION)
2019 – Lupita Nyong’o (US)
The 4th Annual Comeback Player of the Year – Ke Huy Quan
We legit had not seen a movie from this guy since like the 80’s. He has talked about how he so desperately wanted to be acting but was never given the chance after TEMPLE OF DOOM and THE GOONIES. He showed up in EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE and blew the doors off the theater. He is probably going to win the Oscar for his role and who is going to complain about that? I also know people are going to say where is Brendan Fraser, and clearly if you have been following along this was not the first year of his comeback.
*Others considered
– Ashton Kutcher (VENGEANCE)
*Former Winners
2021 – Kirsten Dunst
2020 – Joseph Gordon Levitt
2019 – Shia Labeouf
The First Annual crazy man of the year award – Tom Cruise
For this!
And this!
And who could forget this!
The 2nd Annual Stan Lee Award for Cameo of the Year – Brad Pitt in LOST CITY/Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum in BULLET TRAIN
A little about the award…Stan Lee cameo’d in every Marvel movie for a few seconds in a hilarious way. So we are finding someone who is famous and finds a way to show up somewhere in a movie in a fun way.
I truly do not know how this happened but these people all ended up basically doing a home/home with these two movies. Brad Pitt showed up for an incredible scene in THE LOST CITY, and Sandy B and Channing Tatum returned the favor showing up in BULLET TRAIN. It was so shocking both times you cannot help but just smile.
*Others Considered
– Ben Affleck (CLERKS III)
– Stephen Sondheim/Angela Lansbury (GLASS ONION)
– All the cameos in DOCTOR STRANGE 2
*Former Winners
2021 – Chris Evans (DON’T LOOK UP/FREE GUY)
The 3rd Annual Jon Favreau CHEF Award for best looking food in a movie – All the food in TURNING RED
A little about the award…in the movie Chef Jon Favreau makes the most incredible looking food throughout the movie. However, everyone remembers the incredible grilled cheese. So I wanted to award the food that popped off the screen and made me want 4D technology.
There’s a great article discussing how they did this scene, but it was an easy move for Pixar. Bring in the award winning team from BAO and let them cook (pun intended). Up the colors on everything to make it look like an incredible commercial and let the audience drool. That beautiful green lettuce, those fluffy, chunky dumplings, and those delectable Chinese Pancakes. Sure, it is animated but it absolutely looks stunning.
*Others Considered
– Filet Mignon Waffle (CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN)
*Former Winners
2021 – Mac and Cheese (MALCOLM & MARIE)
2020 – Bacon, Egg, and Cheese (BIRDS OF PREY)
The 3rd annual Viola Davis Award for movie that made me cry the most – SHE SAID
A little about the award..Viola Davis is the G.O.A.T. movie crier, simple as that.
We almost saw Viola win her own award here with THE WOMAN KING, but after I saw SHE SAID I was a puddle. The movie of course is about the journalists who exposed Harvey Weinstein and his horrific abuses. After hearing all the stories and learning about how hard getting this story out was, my emotions just poured over. This is a very powerful film.
*Others Considered
– EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE
*Former Winners
2021 – BLUE BAYOU
2020 – CLOUDS
2019 – BRIAN BANKS
The 4th Annual Kevin Garnett Award for most Out of Left Field Performance in a movie – Juancho Hernangomez in HUSTLE
A little about the award…if you read the 2019 Juicy’s this award was named for Kevin Garnett because of his incredible performance in UNCUT GEMS.
As a massive Nuggets fan, I always have had a soft spot for Juancho, and of course if you have ever spoken to me you know of my love for Adam Sandler. So to see him grab another Basketball player and get this kind of performance out of him is just fantastic. The two of them have effortless chemistry and Juancho feels like a real actor the entire time. The movie hinges on his performance and he knocks it out of the park.
*Others Considered
– Shawn Mendes as a singing Crocodile
*Former Winners
2021 – Alana Haim (LICORICE PIZZA)
2020 – Maria Bakalova (BORAT 2)
2019 – Kevin Garnett (UNCUT GEMS)
Female MVP of the Year – Zoe Kravitz
There are of course an incredible number of great performances this year. But, considering her activity I have to go with Zoe Kravitz. She was in THE BATMAN, FANTASTIC BEASTS 3, and KIMI all this year. Showing that she can do franchises and lead a Steven Soderbergh movie is no easy feat, and she did it with ease. I have always been such a huge fan of hers and seeing that it is finally happening for her really is great. I hope she propels herself to a huge 2023 because of this.
*Others considered
– Michelle Yeoh (EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE, MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU, PAWS OF FURY: THE LEGEND OF HANK, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL)
– Viola Davis (THE WOMAN KING, BLACK ADAM)
– Keke Palmer (ALICE, NOPE, LIGHTYEAR)
– Mia Goth
*Former Winners
2021 – Jodie Comer
2020 – Amanda Seyfried
2019 – Scarlett Johansson
Male MVP of the Year – Brad Pitt
I really did want this to be Colin Farrell after playing The Penguin, Ron Howard’s 13 LIVES and BANSHEES, but the king is still the king after another great year. He was in BABYLON, BULLET TRAIN, and THE LOST CITY and found a way to steal every scene he was in. There is always talk about the loss of “Movie Stars” and he is the reason why. Someone who can just show up on the screen and completely light it on fire just by standing there. Not many people can do that and Brad Pitt has simply mastered it. I will take whatever we can get from him at this point because he is still throwing major heat. He also was a producer for BLONDE, SHE SAID, and FATHER OF THE BRIDE so he is a very busy man.
*Others Considered
– Tom Cruise (TOP GUN: MAVERICK)
– Colin Farrell (THE BATMAN, BANSHEES OF INISHERIN)
– Jordan Peele (NOPE, WENDELL & WILD)
*Former Winners
2021 – Andrew Garfield
2020 – Chadwick Boseman
2019 – Adam Driver
I cut the Pound for Pound lists this year, because there are just so many great Actors out there it is not fair to really pick just 10 men and women. Other than that I say this every year, but I truly, truly appreciate every single person who reads anything on this website. I am just a guy who loves movies and I try to bring that to everyone who will listen. Thank you again and I hope to see everyone at the movies in 2023.
*You can find my 2022 Movie Rankings here.
*You can find all of my Movie Ratings here.
*You can follow my Letterboxd account here.
The Musings of Apple Juice 