All 5 August Movies I Saw Ranked

Sean Chandler’s August 2022 Movie Rankings

Sean Chandler looks back at the five August 2022 releases he watched, ranking them from least to most enjoyable. He notes that it was a fairly quiet month for movies, and that several films were entertaining, if not exactly groundbreaking.

5. Samaritan

Sean had been looking forward to this Sylvester Stallone superhero movie for years, thanks to its intriguing independent-comic premise and the director’s work on Overlord. He liked the gritty city and the conflict over whether Samaritan was truly a hero, but felt the movie squandered those ideas by turning them into a predictable mystery instead of exploring its characters. The result felt underdeveloped and more like a streaming-series pilot than a cinematic superhero film.

4. Bullet Train

This star-packed, violent crime comedy has plenty of charm, especially from Brad Pitt and the two brothers whose chemistry steals scenes. Sean compared its stylish, tangled storytelling to a modern Guy Ritchie movie, but thought it tried too hard to be clever. His favorite example was the film pausing to give an origin story for a bottle of water. It was funny, but also a sign that the movie’s quirky energy sometimes goes overboard.

3. Secret Headquarters

Sean found this family adventure about kids discovering their dad’s superhero hideout familiar but enjoyable. Its “kids uncover their parents’ secret” setup has been done before, but the superhero twist and workable jokes made it solid family entertainment. He also noticed that the young lead played younger Ryan Reynolds in The Adam Project, and that another cast member is Reese Witherspoon’s niece.

2. Beast

Idris Elba and his daughters face a deadly lion in this straightforward survival thriller. Sean liked the immersive camera work, which often made him feel close to the characters’ frightening situation, and said the movie delivered the intended edge-of-your-seat thrills. The main drawback was the familiar parade of characters making obviously bad decisions—like splitting up or getting out of the car—along with a few hard-to-follow moments in the climax.

1. Prey

Sean’s clear favorite was this Predator prequel. Its historical setting, different characters, and less advanced weapons give the franchise a fresh feel rather than simply repeating the original. He especially liked that the heroine studies how the Predator operates and uses that knowledge to survive, echoing how Dutch outsmarted the creature in the first film.

Sean called Prey a strong model for reviving older sci-fi action franchises: bring a clever new angle instead of trying to make every installment bigger and more expensive.

Personality Appearing

Sean Chandler (host)