With a light week at the box office this weekend, we wanted to give our critics here on the Banana Meter a chance to highlight some of the films that haven’t hit the Meter. We have a wide range of films selected by our team here to highlight the Overlooked Film Spotlight.
What is the Banana Meter scale, you ask?
When a film hits above 85% or higher from our critics, it means it hit Bonafide Bananas status.
When a film hits between 55-84% or higher from our critics, it means it hit Ripe status.
When the film hits under 55%, it means it hit Sour Status.
2022 Overlooked Film Spotlight
Here is what our Ripe Banana Critics are saying about the films:
Michael Thomas
Jujutsu Kaisen 0
Banana Meter Rating: 90%
Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is a phenomenal film that captures the spirit of the manga and delivers it in an accessible way for new audiences. It’s beautifully animated, both the English and Japanese voice actors are incredible, and the story is compelling. It’s one of the best animated movies of the year.
Shaurya Chawla
Scream (2022)
Banana Meter Rating: 80%
While missing the late Wes Craven’s signature flourishes at times, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett take over the Scream franchise with a (mostly) solid fifth chapter that somehow is still able to be as entertaining and thrilling in its own right, fusing in the legacy elements and characters with the newer ones effectively.
Tina Kakadelis
Crush
Banana Meter Rating: 80%
Crush is bright, breezy, and warm. It’s the sort of movie to save for a rainy day or to share at a sleepover with friends. A saccharine-sweet romantic comedy at its finest.
Ricky Valero
Windfall
Banana Meter Rating: 85%
We all yearn for original movies to be made and that’s precisely what Windfall is. I loved the script and the crazy attention to detail that writers Andrew Kevin Walker and Justin Lader had. They wrote a beautiful script that I think we should be talking more about this script than we are. The performances from the trio of Lily Collins, Jason Segel and Jesse Plemons elevate this film to another level. I highly recommend checking this one out.
Zach Smith
Something in the Dirt
Banana Meter Rating: 79%
Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson once again show off their remarkable filmmaking versatility with their latest and quite possibly strangest film yet. This sci-fi horror mockumentary fever dream digs itself deep into some never-ending, rapidly fragmenting rabbit holes filled with conspiracies, theories, supernatural phenomena, and worst of all, inescapable insanity.
Addison Wylie
Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America
Banana Meter Rating: 100%
Few documentaries have moved me like ‘Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America’ has. Emily and Sarah Kunstler, with the great benefit of lawyer Jeffery Robinson’s beautifully emotional approach to the material, have made a movie that not only solidifies itself as critically fundamental viewing for this topic, but it’s one of the best examinations of humanity I’ve ever seen.
Anthony Papetti
Fire of Love
Banana Meter Rating: 84%
A fiery documentary with incredible restored footage focusing on the unusuaal love between its two subjects. A reminder that we do not choose who we love but can learn to hold onto every moment we share with them.
Craig McKenzie
Catwoman: Hunted
Banana Meter Rating: 80%
A visually stunning and tightly constructed character driven experience that is bursting with personality
Edward Douglas
The Duke
Banana Meter Rating: 80%
Probably one of Michell’s stronger movies, so it’s even sadder that it’s also his final film.
Matthew Fox
Lucy and Desi
Banana Meter Rating: 78%
A good documentary informs and entertains in equal measure. This documentary, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and is now available to stream on Amazon Prime, does both. Amy Poehler uses interviews from the past and present to tell the story of Lucy and Desi, drawing you in and touching your heart. It’s miles better than the scripted film offered by Amazon for Awards season. Do yourself a favor and check it out.
Maxance Vincent
Memory
Banana Meter Rating: 30%
Liam Neeson has fully become Charles Bronson in his Cannon Group-era, starring in a slew of milquetoast and recycled action films. The most impressive part about a film titled “Memory” is how quickly you’ll forget it as soon as it ended.
Thomasena Farrar
Streetlight Harmonies
Banana Meter Rating: 90%
Highly entertaining and informative, Streetlight Harmonies outlines how diversity played a major role in the Doo Wop/R &B era – which became a musical launching pad for the Civil Rights movement, while ushering in the various musical sounds of the 60’s.
Ryan Cam
Kimi
Banana Meter Rating: 90%
Zoe Kravitz was great. There are many scenes of palpable tension. This movie will make you second guess buying an Amazon Echo. See this on HBO MAX.
Todd Pengelly
The Outfit
Banana Meter Rating: 76%
What seemed to begin as a run-of-the-mill noir knock-off quickly wooed me over, showing me it deserves to be in the same conversation as Guy Ritchie and Steven Soderbergh’s recent work. The Outfit isn’t merely a craft. It’s an art.
Trevor Matteson
After Yang
Banana Meter Rating: 90%
After Yang is a beautifully crafted film about what it means to be a human. Director Kogonoda tackles ideas of identity, memory, and love in beautifully tender ways with deliberate pacing that lulls you into love with the film by the time the credits roll.
Ripe Banana 