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‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Named Best Picture of 2022 by National Board of Review - How to Stream the Award Winners

Could the year’s biggest blockbuster be the year’s best film? According to the National Board of Review, “Top Gun: Maverick” is the best movie of 2022. As we head into awards season, critics, journalists, actors, and filmmakers will start voting on prizes for the best films and performances. If you’re looking for a holiday binge session, it’s a good idea to add these movies to your queue.

National Board of Review 2022 Award Winners

  • Top Gun: Maverick

    May 24, 2022

    After more than 30 years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) finds himself training a detachment of TOP GUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen.

    This crowd-pleasing action flick dominated the box office for most of 2022. The cast includes Val Kilmer, Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, and Glen Powell.

    This movie was named Best Film with Claudio Miranda winning Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography.

  • The Fabelmans

    November 11, 2022

    Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.

    Steven Spielberg was named Best Director with Gabriel LaBelle winning Breakthrough Performance. Since this is a Universal film, it should arrive on Peacock in the next few months.

  • The Banshees of Inisherin

    October 20, 2022

    Colm and Pádraic are lifelong friends, or so Pádraic thought. When Colm suddenly freezes him out, the old drinking buddies find each other at odds. Starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, this crowd-pleaser features side-splitting comedy, moments of heartbreak, and an unforgettable rivalry.

    Martin McDonagh wrote and directed this film. The whole cast is great, including Kerry Condon as Pádraic’s sister and Barry Keoghan as the local nuisance.

    “The Banshees of Inisherin” won 3 Golden Globes: Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, Best Actor – Musical or Comedy (Farrell), and Best Screenplay. It was also selected as the best film of 2022 by RogerEbert.com.

    Colin Farrell wins for Best Actor with Brendan Gleeson named Best Supporting Actor. The film also won Best Original Screenplay for Martin McDonagh. As a Searchlight Picture, this film should end up on Hulu.

  • Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

    November 12, 2022

    World-famous detective Benoit Blanc heads to Greece to peel back the layers of a mystery surrounding a tech billionaire and his eclectic crew of friends.

    Janelle Monáe wins Best Supporting Actress for this crowd-pleaser.

  • All Quiet on the Western Front

    October 7, 2022

    Paul Baumer and his friends Albert and Muller, egged on by romantic dreams of heroism, voluntarily enlist in the German army. Full of excitement and patriotic fervour, the boys enthusiastically march into a war they believe in. But once on the Western Front, they discover the soul-destroying horror of World War I.

    This Netflix original wins Best Adapted Screenplay.

  • Till

    October 14, 2022

    The true story of Mamie Till Mobley’s relentless pursuit of justice for her 14 year old son, Emmett Till, who, in 1955, was lynched while visiting his cousins in Mississippi.

    Danielle Deadwyler wins Breakthrough Performance for her leading role. The film should stream first on Prime Video.

  • Aftersun

    October 21, 2022

    Sophie reflects on the shared joy and private melancholy of a holiday she took with her father twenty years earlier. Memories real and imagined fill the gaps between miniDV footage as she tries to reconcile the father she knew with the man she didn’t.

    Charlotte Wells wins for Best Directorial Debut.

  • Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

    June 24, 2022

    Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. But when a documentary filmmaker discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family.

    This movie wins Best Animated Feature.

  • Close

    November 1, 2022

    Thirteen-year-olds Léo and Rémi have always been close, but they drift apart after the intimacy of their relationship is questioned by schoolmates.

    The film from Belgium wins Best International Film.

  • Sr.

    September 2, 2022

    A portrait of the life and career of Robert Downey Sr. (1936-2021), the visionary and fearless US filmmaker — father of actor Robert Downey Jr. — who in the sixties and seventies laid the foundations for countercultural comedy.

    This is the NBR’s selection as Best Documentary.

  • Women Talking

    December 23, 2022

    A group of women in an isolated religious colony struggle to reconcile their faith with a series of sexual assaults committed by the colony’s men.

    This movie wins Best Ensemble.

National Board of Review Top Films (in alphabetical order)

  • Aftersun

    October 21, 2022
  • Avatar: The Way of Water

    December 14, 2022

    Set more than a decade after the events of the first film, learn the story of the Sully family (Jake, Neytiri, and their kids), the trouble that follows them, the lengths they go to keep each other safe, the battles they fight to stay alive, and the tragedies they endure.

    While you wait for this to arrive in theaters, refresh your memory with the original “Avatar” on Disney+.

  • The Banshees of Inisherin

    October 20, 2022
  • Everything Everywhere All at Once

    March 24, 2022

    An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save what’s important to her by connecting with the lives she could have led in other universes.

    This wild fusion of sci-fi and kung-fu is one of the most original films in years. It’s silly and sweet and moving and funny. Michelle Yeoh leads a stellar cast including Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, James Hong, and Jamie Lee Curtis.

    The movie dominated the 2023 Academy Awards, winning seven Oscars including Best Picture, Best Director (Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert), Best Actress (Yeoh), Best Supporting Actor (Quan), Best Supporting Actress (Curtis), and Best Original Screenplay.

  • The Fabelmans

    November 11, 2022
  • Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery

    November 12, 2022
  • RRR

    March 24, 2022

    A fictional history of two legendary revolutionaries’ journey away from home before they began fighting for their country in the 1920s.

  • Till

    October 14, 2022
  • The Woman King

    September 16, 2022

    The story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen, and General Nanisca as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life.

    “The Woman King” was also named Best Picture of 2022 by The African American Film Critics Association. The film will eventually stream on Netflix.

  • Women Talking

    December 23, 2022

Top 5 International Films (in alphabetical order)

  • All Quiet on the Western Front

    October 7, 2022
  • Argentina, 1985

    September 29, 2022

    In the 1980s, a team of lawyers takes on the heads of Argentina’s bloody military dictatorship in a battle against odds and a race against time.

    This film also won an NBR Freedom of Expression Award.

  • Decision to Leave

    June 29, 2022

    From a mountain peak in South Korea, a man plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed? When detective Hae-joon arrives on the scene, he begins to suspect the dead man’s wife Seo-rae. But as he digs deeper into the investigation, he finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire.

  • EO

    September 30, 2022

    The world is a mysterious place when seen through the eyes of an animal. EO, a grey donkey with melancholic eyes, meets good and bad people on his life’s path, experiences joy and pain, endures the wheel of fortune randomly turn his luck into disaster and his despair into unexpected bliss. But not even for a moment does he lose his innocence.

  • Saint Omer

    November 23, 2022

    A novelist attends the trial of a woman accused of killing her 15-month-old daughter by abandoning her to the rising tide on a beach in northern France. But as the trial continues, her own family history, doubts, and fears about motherhood are steadily dislodged as the life story of the accused is gradually revealed.

Top 5 Documentaries (in alphabetical order)

  • All the Beauty and the Bloodshed

    November 23, 2022

    The life of internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin is told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the overdose crisis.

    This film also won an NBR Freedom of Expression Award.

  • All That Breathes

    October 21, 2022

    Against the darkening backdrop of New Delhi’s apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protecting one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the black kite.

  • Descendant

    October 21, 2022

    History exists beyond what is written. The Africatown residents in Mobile, Alabama, have shared stories about their origins for generations. Their community was founded by enslaved ancestors who were transported in 1860 aboard the last known and illegal slave ship, Clotilda. Though the ship was intentionally destroyed upon arrival, its memory and legacy weren’t. Now, the long-awaited discovery of the Clotilda’s remains offers this community a tangible link to their ancestors and validation of a history so many tried to bury.

  • Turn Every Page - The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb

    December 30, 2022

    Delight in the fascinating, intersecting stories of the iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Caro and his editor of 50 years, the literary giant Robert Gottlieb, as they race to complete their life’s work.

  • Wildcat

    December 21, 2022

    Back from war in Afghanistan, a young British soldier struggling with depression and PTSD finds a second chance in the Amazon rainforest when he meets an American scientist, and together they foster an orphaned baby ocelot.

Top 10 Independent Films (in alphabetical order)

  • Armageddon Time

    October 28, 2022

    In 1980, Queens, New York, a young Jewish boy befriends a rebellious African-American classmate to the disapproval of his privileged family and begins to reckon with growing up in a world of inequality and prejudice.

  • Emily the Criminal

    August 12, 2022

    Desperate for income, Emily takes a shady gig buying goods with stolen credit cards supplied by a charismatic middleman named Youcef. Seduced by the quick cash and illicit thrills, they hatch a plan to take their business to the next level.

  • The Eternal Daughter

    December 2, 2022

    An artist and her elderly mother confront long-buried secrets when they return to a former family home, now a hotel haunted by its mysterious past.

  • Funny Pages

    August 26, 2022

    A teenage cartoonist rejects the comforts of his suburban life in a misguided quest for soul.

  • The Inspection

    November 18, 2022

    Ellis French is a young, gay Black man, rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. But even as he battles deep-seated prejudice and the grueling routines of basic training, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in this new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and forever change his life.

  • Living

    November 4, 2022

    London, 1953. Mr. Williams, a veteran civil servant, is an important cog within the city’s bureaucracy as it struggles to rebuild in the aftermath of World War II. Buried under paperwork at the office and lonely at home, his life has long felt empty and meaningless. Then a devastating medical diagnosis forces him to take stock, and to try and grasp some fulfilment before it passes permanently beyond reach.

  • A Love Song

    July 29, 2022

    Two childhood sweethearts, now both widowed, share a night by a lake in the mountains.

  • Nanny

    November 23, 2022

    Aisha, a Senegalese immigrant who takes a job as a nanny for a wealthy white family in New York City, finds herself consumed by unsettling visions and a growing rage.

  • The Wonder

    November 2, 2022

    Haunted by her past, a nurse travels from England to a remote Irish village in 1862 to investigate a young girl’s supposedly miraculous fast.

  • To Leslie

    October 7, 2022

    A West Texas single mother wins the lottery and squanders it just as fast, leaving behind a world of heartbreak. Years later, with her charm running out and nowhere to go, she fights to rebuild her life and find redemption.


Ben Bowman is the Content Director of The Streamable. He cut the cord in 2009. He roots for all Detroit sports and is a fan of Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Edgar Wright, Paul Thomas Anderson, Billy Wilder, Buster Keaton, and the Coen Brothers. Ben streams on an Apple TV.

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