The 25 Best Films of 2022 (so far)

You might consider getting a smart tv. We recently upgraded our tv so we could get 4k streaming. (It is amazing how much difference this makes for older eyes. We also sprung for an OLED model, in which each pixel is its own light source. Compared to our 15 year old HD tv, the brightness, color control, and precise definition make a HUGE difference for me, with an assortment of older eye issues.) Most modern tv’s are “smart” tv’s; the search function will generally tell you where you can watch.

Even if you don’t have a smart tv, you can spend $30 and get a Roku box that will attach to the cable on your existing tv. The Roku search engine will give you options.

If I’m still having difficulty, I will also go to Letterboxd, which has many useful apps including a “where to watch” box on the left side of the screen, right under the picture of the cover/poster art for the movie on which you have searched. Letterboxd is also great for logging the films that you watch (and rating them, if you want), and for maintaining a watchlist of films you want to see. Just go to Letterboxd.com and set up a free account.

Beyond that, I’ve bought or rented movies from Amazon, Google, YouTube, and Bleeker Street. For a movie that I want to own, I’d rather buy directly from the distributor if I have that option. I’m into cutting out the middleman as much as possible.

There are probably many other options. If all else fails, just google on “where can I watch RRR” and see what turns up.

Hunting can be part of the fun. A couple of films that I was having trouble finding, I eventually found on Kanopy, which was established as a resource for schools, universities and libraries. Many U.S. libraries have subscriptions. Here in DC, I can watch up to six movies a month free via my library card; I just set up a membership, saved my card number into it, and I’m good to go. Kanopy is especially good for older and foreign films. Whether it has many new releases, I don’t know.

"We recently upgraded our tv so we could get 4k streaming. (It is amazing how much difference this makes for older eyes. We also sprung for an OLED model, in which each pixel is its own light source."

We upgraded our older 1080p high-def box TV to 4k 55" flat screen a couple years back (LG OLED). There is no comparison. The resolution is like looking through a window. Plus, they upscale everything, even old shows of the time broadcast in 480 resolution (4:3 aspect ratio).

As for 8k, I see no need for it unless projecting on a large screen or a huge display in your own dedicated large theater. 4k is great for the 55" to 70" display depending on your seating distance.

I've been promoting 4k for some time on this forum. The prices are dropping dramatically for those who thought they couldn't afford them. Why bother with the inconvenience, noise, hassle, crazy snack prices at theaters when you can have a better experience at home. With a decent inexpensive receiver and surround speakers, you have your own movie experience.

Agree on all points. The store had a couple of 8k models on display just to demonstrate the technology, but the sales guys were quick to emphasize that there is basically no 8k content on the market at this time. What we saw in the store was amazing but it was all specially made demo videos — again, just to demonstrate the technology. I asked how soon 8k might start to appear. Well, no one wants to bet against the rate of advance in such fields, but the sense of the people we talked to was that a bit of content would start to appear within five years but that it will be much longer before 8k content is common. 4k looks like the standard for the foreseeable future.

8k OLEDs are also ridiculously expensive now, but everyone expects prices to decline dramatically as production begins to scale up.

Forgot to ask if you have a powered speaker surround system rather than just a soundbar underneath the 4k. There are some good soundbars that use a technology to widen the perceived sound field.

Pros and cons of soundbars:
1. Inexpensive compared to a true surround system with 5.1. (left, center, right, rear right, rear left), plus a dedicated sub-woofer.
2. Easy set up.
3. Latest tech actually gives a quasi surround sound, but not from the back. You may want to hear the jets flying from the back to the front.

Pros and cons of 5.1 true surround sound.
1. Needs a dedicated receiver to power and balance the speakers front to back and side to side, plus center speaker (crucial). Unless you have a large room, any Pioneer, Sony, etc. with 70 watts per channel will be more than enough.
2. True surround sound once you get your system balanced according to your seating distance from the 4k.
3. Adjusting balance can be time consuming, but once done correctly, you will be sitting in a theater. I use an old Radio Shack sound meter when adjusting my surround. There other inexpensive meters.
4. Can be expensive depending on the receiver and speakers you want.
5. Wiring is more involved than a soundbar. If you're not familiar with the cabling in back, it can be daunting.

Any questions? I'm an audio/video hobbyist so I can probably answer most questions.

We went with the soundbar. The tv is in the basement in an older house. We have low ceilings and a steel I beam running the length of the room, right down the center, to complicate the wiring; the I beam is in a soffet and the ceiling is flush with the rafters. Basic 1917 rowhouse design. The wiring could be done but it would involve lots of holes. We discussed the surround sound and could always add it later, but I really didn’t want to deal with cutting a lot of holes and then patching and repainting. We had a standard HD flatscreen with no external speakers, so just the onboard sound. The upgrade is a 4k OLED with a high end soundbar, so we are basically blown away with the difference anyhow.

The easy way to do it would be to live with exposed wiring, but we redid the basement 15 years ago and made it nice. Don’t want to start running exposed wires now.

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