Deciding on the "best" films of any particular year is never an easy task, especially depending on how seriously you take that task. On the final page of this list of my top ten films of 2012 I've included links to my previous top ten lists from the years 2003-2011 and while the majority of the films on those lists remain favorites of mine, it's quite evident how much more seriously I take this process from one year to the next, not to mention how many more films I actually see each year.
Going through the list of films I saw in 2012, I was pleased to see how much easier I found it to come up with movies I considered candidates for my top ten. Two thousand and eleven offered several good films, but I had a hard time making a list of ten I considered "great". This year, from numbers 1-10, I had no such dilemma and just as easy as it was to come up with a top ten, it was easy to come up with several more vying for a place among my favorites for the year.
I already listed my five favorite documentaries of the year (find that list here), where films such as Chasing Ice and The Queen of Versailles should certainly not be forgotten when it comes to making a list of the year's best. Fellow docs including Samsara, Side by Side, The Central Park Five and Spike Lee's Michael Jackson documentary Bad 25 are worth noting when discussing the year's crème de la crème.
Two heartfelt dramas that almost made my final list begins with the French phenomenon The Intouchables in which a wealthy quadriplegic (François Cluzet) decides to hire a young man from the projects (Omar Sy) to be his caretaker. The film is based on a true story and if you don't crack a smile and are attempting to hold back tears while watching it then I really don't know what to say.
Another film that left me floored by its performances was The Sessions, which holds something of a narrative kinship with The Intouchables as it too is based on a true story and stars John Hawkes as a man in an iron lung who begins working with a sex surrogate (Helen Hunt) in an effort to finally lose his virginity. Written and directed by Ben Lewin (whom I'd never heard of prior), the film is a wonder for its performances and its lovely screenplay. It's certainly one of the year's best.
Also falling short is Ben Affleck's Argo, further proof Affleck is a director whose future work is worth anticipating. Disney's animated Wreck-It Ralph shows the studio is finally learning. Tangled made my Top Ten of 2010 and two years later Disney Animation is showing Pixar isn't the only animated house worth keeping an eye on.
At the end of the year we find Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained making headlines for their so-called controversial nature, but one film I hope you don't forget due to controversial material that actually didn't bolster the overall box-office was Compliance, a creepy little small-town drama that had people shaking their heads thinking "That would never happen." Only problem... it did.
Two more films that deserve a little more attention, in my mind, include Sound of My Voice and Red Lights. Sound of My Voice ran into similar problems to that of Compliance in that the audience is never convinced people would do what the people in these movies do, while Red Lights ran into back-and-forth debates over its ending, which I found to be quite fascinating.
And when it comes to romantic comedies there is hardly ever anything worth noting come the end of any particular year, especially when it comes to a top ten. And while Think Like a Man didn't make my final list, to not mention it would be a major oversight as this is one of the best straight-up romantic comedies to come along in a long time. From the NBA All-Star Weekend to the box-office, this was a year Kevin Hart won't soon forget.
I could watch any one of those 14 films over again and yet, there are ten more I felt were better this year along with others that I, at the very least, respect on one level or another including Cloud Atlas, Sinister, Looper, The Master, Lawless, Cosmopolis, The Dark Knight Rises, Prometheus, Amour, The Avengers, Jeff, Who Lives at Home and Haywire. Even the B-level craziness of Premium Rush deserves a mention, if only for Michael Shannon's performance.
Finally, before I get to my top ten, I wanted to make special mention of Xavier Dolan's Laurence Anyways, which I saw at the Cannes Film Festival and absolutely loved. The story centers on Laurence Alia (Melvil Poupaud) and his struggles, along with those of his one-time fiancee (Suzanne Clement), after revealing he wants to live his life as a woman. It's an excellent film, and one to be on the lookout for in 2013. You can read my Cannes review right here.
And now, the drum roll has come to an end and it's time to reveal my list of the Top Ten Movies of 2012. My list is based on the films I not only enjoyed, but have every intention of watching again and will be recommending to others. As much as they could be called the films I consider to be the "best", they very well could simply be labeled my "favorite" and with that said, let's get started...
#10
Lincoln
Photo: DreamWorks Pictures
I watched Steven Spielberg's Lincoln a second time only hours before finalizing this list and while I still have a few of nitpicks as seen through a critical eye, the film itself remains one of my favorites of the year.
The obvious area of emphasis is the towering performance by Daniel Day-Lewis who truly makes you feel you've spent two hours and 29 minutes with the 16th President of the United States, but the performances all around are worthy of note, particularly those of supporting actors including Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader and I found a personal joy watching the wide-eyed terror of Walton Goggins.
As it stands now, my top 10 is:
1. Les Misérables
2. Django Unchained
3. Silver Linings Playbook
4. The Dark Knight Rises
5. Rust And Bone
6. Lincoln
7. Moonrise Kingdom
8. Holy Motors
9. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower
10. Safety Not Guaranteed
Here's my full list so far:
1. Les Misérables
2. Django Unchained
3. Silver Linings Playbook
4. The Dark Knight Rises
5. Rust And Bone
6. Lincoln
7. Moonrise Kingdom
8. Holy Motors
9. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower
10. Safety Not Guaranteed
11. Anna Karenina
12. Seven Psychopaths
13. Bullhead
14. The Cabin In The Woods
15. Your Sister’s Sister
16. End Of Watch
17. The Sessions
18. The Invisible War
19. The Raid: Redemption
20. Lawless
21. The Pirates! Band Of Misfits
22. Killing Them Softly
23. Compliance
24. A Royal Affair
25. Haywire
26. Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World
27. Undefeated
28. Bernie
29. Dollhouse
30. A Late Quartet
31. Deadfall
32. Iron Sky
33. God Bless America
34. Jeff, Who Lives At Home
35. The Amazing Spider-Man
36. Sound Of My Voice
37. The Grey
38. Monsieur Lazhar
39. Celeste And Jesse Forever
40. Looper
41. Cloud Atlas
42. The Five-Year Engagement
43. Take This Waltz
44. The Intouchables
45. Skyfall
46. Black Pond
47. The Conspiracy
48. The Do-Deca-Pentathalon
49. Jayne Mansfield’s Car
50. Antiviral
51. Sightseers
52. To Rome With Love
53. The Master
54. Rise Of The Guardians
55. Killer Joe
56. Sleepwalk With Me
57. Salmon Fishing In The Yemen
58. This Is Not A Film
59. It’s A Disaster
60. Jack Reacher
61. Shadow Dancer
62. Cockneys Vs. Zombies
63. Small Apartments
64. Combat Girls
65. Electrick Children
66. The Hunger Games
67. Pitch Perfect
68. Frankenweenie
69. The Deep Blue Sea
70. The Avengers
71. The Sapphires
72. The Dictator
73. Somebody Up There Likes Me
74. On The Road
75. The Secret World Of Arrietty
76. Casa de mi Padre
77. 21 Jump Street
78. Brave
79. Not Fade Away
80. John Carter
81. The Queen Of Versailles
82. The Hunter
83. American Mary
84. F--k Up
85. Argo
86. This Is 40
87. Prometheus
88. This Means War
89. John Dies At The End
90. Wreck-It Ralph
91. Hitchcock
92. Ruby Sparks
93. Bring Me The Head Of The Machine Gun Woman
94. Dom - A Russian Family
95. Magic Mike
96. Tower Block
97. Flight
98. Funeral Kings
99. Life Of Pi
100. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
101. ParaNorman
102. Premium Rush
103. Dredd
104. The Man With The Iron Fists
105. The Woman In Black
106. Men In Black III
107. Beasts Of The Southern Wild
108. The Kid With A Bike
109. Here Comes The Devil
110. Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance
111. Snow White And The Huntsman
112. The Aggression Scale
113. The Bourne Legacy
114. Safe House
115. Dark Shadows
116. Young Gun In Time
117. Sal
118. The ABCs Of Death
119. Cold Blooded
120. Mansome
121. The Expendables 2
122. Rock Of Ages
123. Nature Calls
124. The Warped Forest
125. Taken 2
126. Dead Sushi
127. Intruders
128. Doomsday Book
129. Hyde Park On Hudson
130. Francine
131. Cosmopolis
132. Wrath Of The Titans
133. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
134. The Comedy
135. Francophrenia (Or Don’t Kill Me, I Know Where The Baby Is)
136. Act Of Valor
137. The Lorax
138. Mirror Mirror
139. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2
140. Ted
Holy crap! You saw so many movies this year - haha.
Why so much hate for Ted?
Ted made me physically angry for how lazy it was.
I'd also place Ted near the bottom of my list, though I've probably only seen about 30 movies from this year. Frankly, the entire movie could have been condensed and presented as one solid 22-minute episode of Family Guy and I likely would have enjoyed it, but unfortunately McFarlane felt as though he needed to stretch it into an almost 2 hour feature film, and because of that (and the mostly unfunny humor at work) Ted suffers.
Nice list, Brad. Holding off on making my top ten until I see Django and Les Mis. I'm home with family right now and Mom wants to go see Guilt Trip instead...noooooo
Screw it, I'll update after watching Django and Les Mis as necessary. Was bored on train ride home, so here's my ranking of the 52 movies released in 2012 I've seen. Unfortunately I also did not see Perks of Being A Wallflower, Cloud Atlas, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Amour, Rust & Bone, The Intouchables, Lawless, or Jeff Who Lives At Home.
1. Dark Knight Rises, The
2. Silver Linings Playbook
3. End of Watch
4. Avengers, The
5. Zero Dark Thirty
6. Think Like A Man
7. Looper
8. Wreck-It Ralph
9. Lincoln
10. Skyfall
11. Ted
12. 21 Jump Street
13. American Reunion
14. Prometheus
15. Flight
16. Argo
17. Sinister
18. Sessions, The
19. That's My Boy
20. Project X
21. Magic Mike
22. Expendables 2, The
23. Collection, The
24. Compliance
25. Safe House
26. This Means War
27. Hunger Games, The
28. Arbitrage
29. Men in Black 3
30. Grey, The
31.Contraband
32. Master, The
33. Amazing Spider-Man (3D), The
34. Life of Pi
35. Cabin In The Woods, The
36. Hitchcock
37. Here Comes The Boom
38. Wanderlust
39. Man on a Ledge
40. Brave
41. Watch, The
42. Dictator, The
43. Moonrise Kingdom
44. Chronicle
45. Woman in Black
46. Piranha 3DD
47. Goon
48. Raid: Redemption, The
49. Killing Them Softly
50. Seven Psychopaths
51. Christmas Story 2, A
52. Thousand Words, A
Other movies I loved that I saw for the first time this year:
Million Dollar Baby
The Empire Strikes Back (entire original trilogy, but this was my favorite)
How To Train Your Dragon
Reservoir Dogs
LOTR: Return of the King
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
We Need To Talk About Kevin
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mystic River
Happy to see some love for Benjamin Button! I still need to see We Need To Talk About Kevin.
I still need to see a number of films (Moonrise Kingdom, Killing Them Softy, Django Unchained and Rust and Bone) before I form my list but it was great to read yours, Brad.
It was nice to see "end of Watch" get some serious recognition as I feel that will take a pretty high place on my own list.
Good list! I expected to see ZDT a little higher based on your review.
I still have 4-5 movies I want to see before I can think about making a top ten, but hopefully by early January I'll be at that point. (Django, ZDT, Les Mis, SLP, maybe Safety Not Guaranteed, maybe Killing Them Softly if I can somehow get a chance but I doubt it. . )
Although I will say, having just seen Les Mis, it's definitely one of the top of the year, and absolutely underrated by critics. I think it may be one of those movies that is so huge and epic that it is tremendous in a theatre, but loses its lustre on the small screen.
Interesting list Brad. Silver Linings did little for me, but the other nine are all really good picks and you articulated their strengths well.
My top 5.
5. Django Unchained (Tough since I saw it so recently)
4. Oslo August 31st
3. Magic Mike
2. Amour
1. Holy Motors
Having not yet seen Perks, Les Mis, Django, The Impossible, Rush & Bone and Zero Dark Thirty, for now I've got:
1. Silver Linings Playbook
2. Detachment
3. The Avengers
4. Arbitrage
5. Bernie
6. Moonrise Kingdom
7. 21 Jump Street
8. Argo
9. Flight
10. Lincoln
Enjoyed reading your list very much, Brad. Had many surprises that made it interesting to read, even if I didn't necessarily agree with all of them.
The big films I still have to see are Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook, and Les Miz, which I'm hoping to all see this week.
I know I've been complaining a lot about the fact that I consider this to be a poor year for movies. But, a trip into the city this past Sunday to see Zero Dark Thirty forced to shut up. I absolutely loved that film, and it is currently my favorite so far this year. I'll go further in-depth about that on the next "What I Watched" column.
I also really loved Amour, which will probably follow after ZDT on my year-end list. Otherwise, I do still need to see Moonrise Kingdom, The Master, and Killing Them Softly all for a second viewing to see if they have a spot in some sort of year-end recognition (though I doubt I will get around to the later two).
I was very surprised by Magic Mike when I saw that a few weeks ago, so maybe I'll give a shout out to that one as well.
I've got a huge list of films I still need to see from this year. Many of them are foreign language releases that were very limited here in the states (i.e. Alps, Holy Motors, The Intouchables, A Royal Affair, etc.), plus a few more notable films like Looper and Killer Joe. So, there's still time for me to find a few more films that I did like. I think that what I can say about this year is that many of the films I had high expectations for (TDKR, The Master, Cloud Atlas, etc.) left me disappointed.
By the way Criterion10; after seeing you speaking so highly of Gummo I finally decided to check it out last night. Excellent movie, thanks for the recommendation.
Very happy to hear this! It's totally bizarre, and definitely not for everyone, but I personally love it and am happy to hear that you did as well =)
Really great list Brad. I'd always assumed Silver Linings Playbook had that #1 spot from you, but its always fun when there are a few unsuspected entries and placements.
Anyway I have yet to see: Amour, Cloud Atlas, Django Unchained, End of Watch, Holy Motors, Les Mis, The Sessions, Rust and Bone, and Zero Dark Thirty. But here is my tentative Top 10.
1) Silver Linings Playbook
2) Moonrise Kingdom
3) The Dark Knight Rises
4) Life of Pi
5) Skyfall
6) Argo
7) Killing Them Softly
8) The Perks of Being a Wallflower
9) Looper
10) Magic Mike
I'm probably a month away from finishing my top ten still. I'll be seeing Django and Les Mis this weekend, but I'll have to wait at least a few weeks before Zero Dark Thirty and Amour are out in my area, and I would like to see On the Road even though the buzz is pretty mixed. I also need to catch up on a few I missed...Perks, Magic Mike, and a few others.
That being said, 2012 has been a very disappointing year for me overall. Maybe it's because my two most anticipated films of the year, The Dark Knight Rises and The Hobbit, turned out to be such disappointments. Or maybe it's because this wasn't a banner year for independent film like 2010 or 2007 to help offset the glut of studio projects. I'm hoping Djando and Les Mis at least help offset my disappointment with the year. For now though, I have a very solid top six...but below that I don't even know what other films I'd list. I keep a running list all year, but I can't even remember what order the rest of my list goes after these six. I emphasize that this is without seeing Django or Les Mis (and a few others); I'll probably come back here with my full top ten whenever I'm able to finish it.
6. Beasts of the Southern Wild
5. Moonrise Kingdom
4. Killing Them Softly
3. Argo
2. The Master
1. Looper
First off, it must be noted that my list contains only the films I have been able to watch in 2012. As I relocated to Mexico City in August, there have been quite a number of films I've wanted to see, but have yet to be released here. The most notable omissions being:
Lincoln, Rust & Bone, Killing them Softly, Amour, Django Unchained, The Life of Pi, End of Watch, Zero Dark Thirty, Silver Linings Playbook, Flight, Cloud Atlas,
The Master, The Sessions
Top Ten Films Released in Mexico (as of December 26) of 2012:
1. Moonrise Kingdom
2. Beasts of the Southern Wild
3. The Impossible
4. The Perks of Being a Flower
5. The Avengers
6. The Dark Knight Rises
7. Skyfall
8. Argo
9. Looper
10. Prometheus
Thems the facts
I haven't yet seen Life of Pi, Zero Dark Thirty, Django, Les Mis and Lincoln so the below list is likely to change.
Overall I think it's been a very good year for films...certainly much better than the awful 2011.
1. Looper
2. Moonrise Kingdom
3. Indie Game: The Movie
4. The Imposter
5. Skyfall
6. Argo
7. Arbitrage
8. Killer Joe
9. Prometheus
10. Ted
1. The Comedy
2. The Master
3. Holy Motors
4. The Grey
5. Berberian Sound Studio
6. Wuthering Heights
7. Magic Mike
8. Anna Karenina
9. Jack Reacher
10. Beyond the Black Rainbow
11. Goon
12. End of Watch
13. Seven Psychopaths
14. Haywire
15. Killer Joe
16. Cosmopolis
17. Lincoln
18. Django Unchained
19. Zero Dark Thirty
20. Prometheus
21. Safety Not Guaranteed
22. On the Road
23. Silver Linings Playbook
24. Killing Them Softly
25. The Paperboy
Notes:
I still need to see Tabu, The Impossible, The Deep Blue Sea, Premium Rush, Rust & Bone, Compliance and Oslo, August 31st, but the latter may count as a 2011 film in my book.
I don't count anything that I only saw at a film festival, and hasn't been given an international release date of any kind yet.
I consider Kill List, Once Upon A Time in Anatolia, and Margaret to be 2011, or they would all be Top 10 material.
Wake in Fright, Eden and After, and The Conformist were actually the best movies I saw this year, but they were obviously all released in the 70s, and I just saw a retrospective or film print of them.
Actually, replace Silver Linings Playbook with Beasts of the Southern Wild.
Love your top 3!
I appreciate it. That's my real list lol. After my top 3, any sort of order was impossible to determine.
Why Beyond The Black Rainbow?!? I can't for the life of me understand why ANYBODY would like that. It's complete filmmaking masturbation. I get that it's homage but the story is so packedand we learn absolutely nothing from the first hour. Then the ending...such a "slip" up.
I suppose it's just because I like weird ambiguous shit haha.
Really great list, Brad. I, unfortunately, did not see a whole lot of movies. I will (hopefully) be updating this list in a couple of months once I see some more movies that I have a strong feeling about. Now, without further ado, here is my (rough) top 10 of 2012.
10. Men in Black III
9. The Hunger Games
8. Wreck-it Ralph
7. Skyfall
6. The Avengers
5. Beasts of the Southern Wild
4. Lincoln
3. Life of Pi
2. The Dark Knight Rises
1. Moonrise Kingdom
Replacing MIB3 with Bernie. Just completely forgot about that film.
Cody horn's performance was unbelievably terrible, in my opinion, and I liked Magic Mike. I thought she had one of the stiffest, least organic sounding deliveries I know. I liked her in end of watch, though, so it's not all terrible.
Having yet to see Zero Dark Thirty, here is my top 10:
1. The Master
2. Django Unchained
3. Silver Linings Playbook
4. Killing Them Softly
5. Skyfall
6. Argo
7. Looper
8. End of Watch
9. Lincoln
10. Les Miserables
Honorable Mentions: Bernie, Flight, The Grey, Haywire, Prometheus, Room 237, Rust and Bone, Safety Not Guaranteed
I wanted to give the disclaimer, I'm in New York and have caught every significant release this year. So I feel fairly good about this top 10. I do it in alphabetical order and it is as follows,
Amour
Cloud Atlas
The Comedy
The Dark Knight Rises
Holy Motors
Killer Joe
Killing Them Softly
The Master
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty
----------------------------
Django Unchained
My list highlights my affinity for comedy so the uproarious "Django" is an unofficial 11.
I still haven't seen Zero Dark Thirty and Django, but by Top 10 of the year as of right now is:
1. Silver Linings Playbook
2. Wreck-it Ralph
3. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
4. The Dark Knight Rises
5. 21 Jump Street
6. The Hunger Games
7. Les Miserables
8. The Avengers
9. Lincoln
10. Skyfall
Magic mike was a terrible movie. The character of the sister's logic made no sense. Magic mike becomes good, and her brother becomes bad and she is happy with that? WHen throughout the whole movie she is trying to stop her brother form becoming Like Mike. Terrible writing. Mathew Mc was that movies saving grace.
I also found her acting atrocious; can't take a movie seriously if they cant get basics like acting down. No way worthy of a top 10 for me.
1. Zero Dark Thirty
2. Beasts of the Southern Wild
3. The Master
4. Amour
5. Les Miserables
6. Holy Motors
7. Moonrise Kingdom
8. The Grey
9. Silver Linings Playbook
10. Jeff, Who Lives at Home
Close, But No Cigar (in no particular order):
Your Sister’s Sister, Ted, Safety Not Guaranteed, The Dark Knight Rises, Argo, Quartet, Lincoln, Rust and Bone
While I didn't love Django as much as others, I respect and admire it and I'm pleased to see it at No.1. Also happy to see Magic Mike on your list. Too bad that The Master got left behind.
Films I need to see before compiling my "Best of" and "worst of" lists:
Zero Dark Thirty
The Sessions
Silver Linings Playbook
Les Mis
Lincoln
The Impossible
Life of Pi
Anna Karenina
P.S. I appreciate that Rust and Bone screen-capture.
AS didn't love Django? Dear lord 2012 was rough on you.
I took a beating.
I think people should just skip Life of Pi
I have absolutely no interest in Pi, but if a screener comes my way, I'll watch it.
I just got back from seeing Life of Pi a little while ago. It's alright, has some great moments in there but I found the overall story, especially in the second half, to be dull. It's worth seeing at least once, even if just to admire it on a technical level. But I don't think it's a great movie.
I happened to love Pi, but AS it does not strike me as a movie you would enjoy... However I remember you saying that you like to watch all the best pic noms so you might have to.
Yeah, probably will.
AS: "I didn't love Django as much as others"
Me: *falls off chair in shock*
It's Perks of Being Wallflower, all the way for me. I am yet to see, ZD30 which I am sure I'm gonna love but out of everything I have watched this year, Perks has to be my No.1.
A simple yet venerable coming of age love story that evokes tons of nostalgia.
I don't actually have a Top Ten as I look back over Box Office Mojo to track what I've watched this year. However as is always the case there remain many end of year films I will not see until 2013 and it could be months before I see them all (I would probably have put Young Adult on my 2011 Top Ten but I finally saw it only last week!) so the following is what I have particularly enjoyed most out of the films I saw this year.
In alphabetical order:
The Avengers - While like any major film it is flawed in places overall this remains the single most purely FUN cinema experience I had this year especially the very first time I watched it. While it suffers from a bit of bloat the characters in the witty script from Whedon are likeable and interact well. A great fun time.
The Dark Knight Rises - I am hesitating slightly at putting this in but I will give it the benefit of the doubt. I admire the overall ambition and technical achievement of the Nolan Trilogy however for me there's a huge feel of laziness in some of the plot twists and turns. I still do not believe Nolan put 100% into this and only came back to finish it for the fans.
Looper - I really did like this a lot and hope to revisit it soon.
Prometheus - Again, it is not perfect but like a few of Scott's films it gets smoother on multiple watches and really........isn't that better than something you just watch once and then forget all about. Plus it has some of the most beautiful visuals of the year.
Skyfall - Not as in love with this as some were but still well made and for me the best of the three Craig films so far.
The Snowtown Murders - I may be kinda cheating here as I think this was really 2011 but Box Office Mojo says it wasn't theatrically released in the US until 2012..........so........yeah. I much preferred this to Animal Kingdom and it's a chilling look at deprived suburban evil based on a real series of murders in the 90's in Australia.
Your Sister's Sister - A real pleasant gem I saw only a couple weeks ago but one which really impressed me thanks mainly to fine performances by the cast. Enjoyed it a lot.
I'm going to be well behind on indie and arthouse fare until well into next year though as I said above.
1.Looper
2.Argo
3.End Of Watch
4.Moonrise Kingdom
5.Skyfall
6.The Avengers
7.21 Jump Street
8.The Dark Knight Rises
9.Lincoln
10.Perks Of Being a Wallflower
Still plenty of movies I haven't seen yet, but I expect Skyfall, TDKR, and Argo to make my top ten with Argo being very close to #1.
I haven't seen many movies such as Skyfall, Lincoln, Life of Pi, Les Mis, Django, Zero Dark Thirty, so I'm going to wait until the ROS Awards to post my close to final best of 2012 list. This is what I have so far in terms of a top 10 list.
1. Silver Linings Playbook
2. Cloud Atlas
3. The Dark Knight Rises
4. The Master
5. V/H/S- Tied with 6
6. The Cabin in the Woods
It's going to change a lot in the next month so we'll see who gets left behind. 2012 has been a strange year thus far.
Nice list, happy to see "Perks of Being a Wallflower" on there! I still have a couple of films to check out before i can make a definitive Top 10 list, but we actually have quite a few films in common.
I've got some movies to see and some tweaking to do before I can commit to my final list, but I'm proud to say that based on my comment on Brad's ZD30 review, I guessed 9 out of 10 correct -- only one I missed was Rust and Bone, as I thought you would give The Sessions just a hair more love, Brad. Excellent list though!
1. Django Unchained
2. Skyfall
3. The Master
4. Zero Dark Thirty
5. Moonrise Kingdom
6. The Dark Knight Rises
7. Lincoln
8. Argo
9. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
10. Silver Linings Playbook
First off like Lenny, I want to make sure everyone knows I live in NYC. I thought 2012 was a pretty good year in film. A lot of solid films across the board from different genres.
Here we go.
1. Moonrise Kingdom
2. Django Unchained
3. The Master
4. Killing Them Softly
5. Zero Dark Thirty
6. Silver Linings Playbook
7. Holy Motors
8. Argo
9. 21 Jump Street
10. Wreck It Ralph
Special mention: Oslo August 31, TDKR, Looper, Jeff, who lives at home, Bacholorette, Rust and Bone, The Grey, The Intouchables
Okay boom
Awesome to see other NYC folks here. Which theatres are your favorites?
I don't know if I have a favorite but I tend to got to the east village cinema more than most.
Ah nice. Never been to that one actually. Most of the arthouse movies I catch at Angelika or BAM in Brooklyn, but the subway at Angelika is really annoying. Landmark Sunshine is nice too, but doesn't work for MoviePass.
1. Django Unchained
2. Silver Linings Playbook
3. Argo
4. Looper
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
6. Moonrise Kingdom
7. Prometheus
8. Magic Mike
9. End of Watch
10. Seven Psychopaths
Still haven't seen Zero Dark, Les Miss
1. The Master
2. Django Unchained
3. Silver Linings Playbook
4. Magic Mike
5. The Dark Knight Rises
6. 21 Jump Street
7. Cabin in the Woods
8. Skyfall
9. Argo
10. The Comedy
This list is technically incomplete, as I still have to see Silver Linings, Django and Zero Dark Thirty, but I think this should still be pretty accurate.
1. Les Miserables
2. Skyfall
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
4. Lincoln
5. Argo
6. Magic Mike
7. The Master
8. Moonrise Kingdom
9. The Dark Knight Rises
10. The Avengers
Honorable Mentions to The Comedy and Beasts of the Southern Wild
Brad, unless you've done extensive research and have inside knowledge of the workings of the CIA, how can you say that Zero Dark Thirty presented its subject "fairly and without an agenda"?
lol, oh boy...
Nice list. When I saw your A+ review of Django Unchained I had a feeling it would end up as your #1 of the year. There are still a few movies that I need to see, including Django Unchained and Les Miserables, so this will inevitably change but for right now my 'best of the year' list looks like this:
1. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
2. Lincoln
3. The Dark Knight Rises
4. The Grey
5. Silver Linings Playbook
6. Chico & Rita
7. Rust and Bone
I revisited both The Grey and The Dark Knight Rises for the first time since they were in theaters and found myself just as engrossed as I was before, despite whatever nitpicks/flaws can be found with them. My top 4 movies, in particular, were the closest I had to an 'experience' while watching a movie this year, each in their own ways. Not many movies come along like that, but when they do it's a great feeling. I'm optimistic about 2013's releases.
I believe Chico And Rita was nominated for an Oscar last year, so it's actually a 2011 film.
Yeah, it's actually a 2010 film, but it didn't get released in New York or LA until 2011 so it was eligible for last year's Oscars. But it didn't get a theatrical release in my area until April of this year, so that's why I counted it on my list for this year. I think Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune did the same thing this year when he included it in his list.
I see. Thanks for clarifying. It's actually a movie I've yet to see but it's up near the top of my Netflix queue.
So many films I haven't seen yet including: Lincoln, Django, Life of Pi, Les Miz, Silver Linings, Zero Dark Thirty, 7 Psychopaths, Amour.
Here's my current top 10 which I predict will change a lot when I get to see above films:
1. Argo
2. Beasts of the Southern Wild
3. Looper
4. Skyfall
5. Moonrise Kingdom
6. Killing Them Softly
7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
8. Rust and Bone
9. Avengers
10. Cloud Atlas
Have heard nothing but good things about Laurence Anyways, a cinema near me has it on the 4th of Jan so I'll definitely be checking it out then.
A nice and varied Top 10 there Brad, I'm glad Moonrise Kingdom is #2 (It's also my #2). Shame Intouchables couldn't slip in there but you can only fit in so many.
Still waiting for Django, Lincoln, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty and Rust + Bone over here. Will be a big January when we get most of them!
No Beasts of the Southern Wild?
Considering films like Lincoln, Wreck it-Ralph, Zero Dark Thirty, Django and Cloud Atlas don't come out until early next year in the UK, I can tell you this list won't be finalised until about Feb, but so far my top 12 (because I have a few tied for the 10th spot) goes:
1) Skyfall (I'm a big Bond fan)
2) The Master (still can't stop thinking about it, excited for a second viewing)
3) The Cabin in the Woods
4) Looper (another one I'm excited to watch again)
5) Seven Psychopaths (Big guilty pleasure of the year)
6) Argo
7) Beasts of the Southern Wild
8) The Avengers
9) The Raid
10 tied) Sightseers
10 tied) Moonrise Kingdom
10 tied) Killing Them Softly
Other films I would of been happy to list would be - Perks of Being a Wallflower, Dark Knight Rises and Silver Linings Playbook.
I still plan on checking films like Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, Killer Joe, Safety Not Guaranteed and ParaNorman, along with the ones I mentioned on top.
There are still a few movies I need to see before making my list -- i.e. Django Unchained, Zero Dark Thirty, Les Miserables, End of Watch, Rust and Bone, Amour, The Sessions, Killing Them Softly, and The Intouchables -- though I fear (and know) I won't get to all of them before I decide to officially put my list together. I have set a deadline for myself of January 15th, by which time I shall have my list completed, stamped, and sealed, so I will try to get to as many of these as I can by then.
Here is how my list stands as of today, having not seen any of the films mentioned above, and having not truly given thought to their order outside of the first few:
1. Silver Linings Playbook
2. Moonrise Kingdom
3. Argo
4. Wreck-It Ralph
5. Life of Pi
6. 21 Jump Street
7. Perks of Being a Wallflower
8. The Cabin in the Woods
9. Skyfall
10. Looper
Just got back from watching Silver Linings Playbook again, this time with my sister. I'll say this: Django Unchained, Zero Dark Thirty, or any of the other films I haven't yet seen are going to have a lot of work to do to unseat Silver Linings Playbook from its throne atop my list.
I loved this year for film. So many great ones. Unfortuantely it's hard to see a lot of movies that are in limited release considering I'm on in high school.
Here are the films that I want to see but have not gotten the chance:
Moonrise Kingdom
Lawless
Dredd
End of Watch
Lincoln
Silver Linings Playbook
Life of Pi
Zero Dark Thirty
Seven Psychopaths
And here are my top 12:
Honorable mentions:
Sinister
Ted
The Hobbit
12. Prometheus
11. The Grey
10. Chronicle
9. The Cabin in the Woods
8. The Raid
7. The Avengers
6. 21 Jump Street
5. Argo
4. Skyfall
3. Looper
2. The Dark Knight Rises
1. Django Unchained
With Django Unchained and Zero Dark Thirty left to see this year, here's my top films of the year:
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Dark Knight Rises
Lincoln
The Grey
The Hunger Games
Side by Side
Haywire/Magic Mike
Pitch Perfect
Return
Detachment
Special shout out goes to HBO's Game Change. If Julianne Moore were eligible, she'd sweep the Best Actress race by a landslide.
there are still a few movies i have to see such as perks of being a wallflower, smashed, les miserables, zero dark thirty, this is 40, the impossible, hitchcock, amour, rust and bone, and promised land, many of which stand a good chance of making my top 10 so this will prob get updated once ive seen all of those. for now my list stands
1. the dark knight rises
2. django unchained
3. the master
4. life of pi
5. the hobbit
6. the avengers
7. skyfall
8. wreck-it ralph
9. lincoln
10. seven psychopaths
honorable mentions include: moonrise kingdom, beasts of the southern wild, silver linings playbook, ted, the amazing spider-man, looper, end of watch, get the gringo, the sessions, argo, killing them softly, flight, could atlas, the cabin in the woods, 21 jump street, prometheus, secret world of arrietty, the hunger games, the raid: redemption. lawless, dredd, man with the iron fists, expendables 2, the hunter, john carter were pretty good as well. there were a few other decent movies that i wont mention here and few few others i have to see but am in no rush to see right now. over all, really great year for movies.
My Ten Best
1. Zero Dark Thirty
2. Argo
3. Silver Linings Playbook
4. Django Unchained
5. The Master
6. The Sessions
7. The Dark Knight Rises
8. Lincoln
9. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
10. Skyfall
Honorable mention: Moonrise Kingdom, The Deep Blue Sea, Life of Pi, End of Watch, Lawless, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Frankenweenie, Quartet
I'm very happy with 2012's selection of films, great variety and lots of new talents to keep an eye on. I still haven't watched many films I'm interested in checking out, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Lincoln and a ton of foreign films among them.
My Top 15
1. Take this Waltz
2. Chronicle
3. Frances Ha
4. The Kid with a Bike
5. Life of Pi
6. Looper
7. Moonrise Kingdom
8. Amour
9. The Dark Knight Rises
10. Elena
Honorable mentions: Skyfall, Rust and Bone, Safety Not Guaranteed, Cloud Atlas and Anna Karenina
That's an AWESOME lineup!
It's a great year for movies. BTW it's the first time in my life that 3 foreign movies make my top 10 so congratulation to the industry for making me see more and more great foreign movies by making them more available. There is two movies I haven't seen yet (Les Miz & Django) so my top 10 could change but there is no way I change my top 8.
1. Lincoln
1. Zero Dark Thirty
3. Rust & Bone
4. The Master
5. Amour
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
7. Life of Pie
8. Holy Motors
10. The Dark knight Rises
10. Skyfall
Honorable Mention: wreck-it ralph, Paranorman, Frankenweenie, Silver Linings Playbook, Anna Karenina, Hitchkock, Kon Tiki, The best exotic marigold Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, Argo, The Intouchables, The Hobbit, End of Watch, Savages, The Session, Trouble with the curve, Arbitrage, Compliance, Little White lies, Flight, Quartet, Haywire & Cloud Atlas.
Guilty pleasure of the year: LIAM NEESON in Taken 2, EVA GREEN in Dark Shadows, The Avengers.
Great 2011 movies seen in 2012: The Lady, Shame, The Artist, Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy.
Most disappointing/Overrated/Awful movies of the year: Hunger Games, Beasts of the southern wild, Dark Shadows, Ted, Lawless, The dictator, John Carter, MIB 3.
Love your list!
Guilty pleasure of the year: LIAM NEESON in Taken 2, EVA GREEN in Dark Shadows
LoL ! I totally agree on that. Two of my favorite characters of the year!
I love you for Green! Favorite villain of the year, along with Bardem, DiCaprio, Hardy and Willis (Looper).
Green is great in Dark Shadow! Best villain of the year!
My list (having not seen Django Unchained)
1. Argo
2. Lincoln
3. The Master
4. Silver Linings Playbook
5. The Dark Knight Rises
6. Killing Them Softly
7. Skyfall
8. Wreck-It Ralph
9. Chronicle
10. Looper
I've never been a huge Tarantino fan, so I'm not sure of Django will make the list.
Also, I haven't seen Zero Dark Thirty, but I'm confident it will be on my list somewhere.
11. John Carter
12. Life of Pi
13. The Avengers
14. The Cabin in the Woods
15. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
16. The Cabin in the Woods
17. Les Miserables
18. Beasts of the Southern Wild
19. Amour
20. Cloud Atlas
Also, bit late now, but Brad have you seen Cafe de Flore? I think it's just gotten a limited release in America. In my Top 5.
I need to see a whole bunch like Les Mis, Django, Zero Dark, Amour, Tabu, The Impossible, Rust + Bone and I think that's it. But as of now, this is it:
1: Holy Motors
2: The Dark Knight Rises
3: The Perks of Being A Wallflower
4: Silver Linings Playbook
5: Looper
6: Declaration Of War
7: Oslo, August 31st
8: End of Watch
9: The Turin Horse
10: This is 40
Honerable Mentions: These are movies thatI love and admire but in the end it's all about how rewatchable they are and whether I'd buy them. These sadly wouldn't make the ten in any given year I don't think.
The Sessions, Life of Pi, VHS, Not Fade Away, Lincoln, The Master, Killer Joe, Magic Mike, Prometheus, Cabin in the Woods, Chronicle
Though I do already own Prometheus so I'm breaking my own rules already... But now that I think about it, those bottom five feel fluid to me. Like I said before, such a strong year.
Seeing Django tomorrow so I'm hoping Tarantino does me right.
Some great lists here! While I am still waiting on Lincoln, Django, SLP, Rust + ZD30 here's my 10 for now of the 130 I've seen. 9+7 could be classified as 2011 but I think most of the world including US had to wait until 2012 to see it so it's on my 2012 list.
10. 21 Jump Street
9. Being Elmo: A Puppeteers Journey
8. Kon-Tiki
7. Undefeated
6. Intouchables
5. Pitch Perfect
4. Cafe de Flore
3. The Raid: Redemption
2. Moonrise Kingdom
1. The Dark Knight Rises
8.
1. Oslo, August 31
2. Moonrise Kingdom
3. The Imposter
4. Tabu
5. The Master
6. Beasts of the Southern Wild
7. Amour
8. Argo
9. Looper
10. Holy Motors
Since I'm bored at work with nothing better to do I tallied up the Top 10's for a RopeofSilicon Readers (+ Brad and Laremy) Consesus Best of List.
4 Points for 1st Place, 3 for 2nd, 2 for 3rd, and 1 for everything else in a top 10. If the list was submitted without being ranked all films got 1.5 points.
Results (so far):
1. Silver Linings Playbook
2. Moonrise Kingdom
3. The Dark Knight Rises
4. Django Unchained
5. The Master
6. Argo
7. Skyfall
8. Looper
9. Lincoln
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
11. Zero Dark Thirty
12. Holy Motors
13. The Avengers
14. Beasts of the Southern Wild
15. Les Miserables
16. Wreck-It Ralph
17. Magic Mike
18th (tie): Amour
18th (tie): Killing them Softly
18th (tie): Life of Pi
You sir, are a stand up guy!
I'm just doing the lord's work.
Updated Consensus List (up to prowler1976) - 46 Ballots menioning 88 unique films.
1. Silver Linings Playbook
2. Moonrise Kingdom
3. The Dark Knight Rises
4. Skyfall
5 (tie). Looper
5 (tie). The Master
7. Django Unchained
8. Argo
9. Lincoln
10. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
11. Beasts of the Southern Wild
12. Zero Dark Thirty
13. Holy Motors
14 (tie). Les Miserables
14 (tie). The Avengers
16. Wreck-It Ralph
17. Life of Pi
18 (tie). Amour
18 (tie). Killing them Softly
20 (tie). 21 Jump Street
20 (tie). End of Watch
22. Cloud Atlas
23. Magic Mike
24 (tie). Oslo, August 31
24 (tie). The Cabin in the Woods.
26 (tie). Prometheus
26 (tie). The Comedy
26 (tie). The Hunger Games
29. Rust and Bone
30 (tie). Chronicle
30 (tie). The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Great list! Thanks for doing all of this.
well, at least it's admitted outright.....the "love for Tarantino's work.." I think the top selection is a little off. Sure, it's an entertaining film, but one with flaws. Every film lover has an opinion I guess, even if it's to be disagreed with.
Where are Beasts of the Southern Wild ( a pure joy of cinematic creativity!) or The Master or Argo (a perfect balance of political drama, comedy, and suspense)???
I highly recommend you check out some foreign titles that deserve Top 10 status this year including The Kid With a Bike and Elles.
Oh, and almost forgot about Goodbye, First Love....excellent stuff!
anyone remember the excellent Sarah Polley feature, Take This Waltz? a very good film that hardly anyone saw.
Personal Top 10:
1. The Dark Knight Rises
2. The Hunger Games
3. Cloud Atlas
4. Lincoln
5. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
6. Skyfall
7. Prometheus
8. Dark Shadows
9. Django Unchained
10. The Master
Honorable Mentions:
-The Avengers
-Looper
-Les Misérables
-Argo
-Silver Linings Playbook
This is always a fun time of year as I love learning what everyone thought were the year's best movies.
Below is my list.
Keep in mind that I only consider movies for my list movies that I have seen on the big screen during 2012. These include things I saw at the Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF).
Some you won't see on the list as they not come to the big screen in my neck-of-the-woods. "Amour" and "Zero Dark Thirty" will not be in this list as don't play here until after the new year.
There are a couple of movies that I have yet to see but hope to before January 1st - those being "Rust and Bone" and "Django Unchained". I am sure at least one of these will change my list.
There are many films I did not get to see on the big screen this year that may have made my top ten:
"Beasts of the Southern Wild", "The Imposter", "The Queen of Versailles", "Chasing Ice", "Holy Motors", and "Stories We Tell" to name a few.
1. Moonrise Kingdom
2. Searching for Sugarman
3. Monsieur Lazhar
4. Lincoln
5. The Hunt
6. Key of Life (Japanese film seen at VIFF)
7. The Dark Knight Rises
8. Wreck-It Ralph
9. Cloud Atlas
10. Come As You Are (Belgian film seen at VIFF)
Honorable mentions, in no particular order: The Avengers, A Simple Life, Pina, Life of Pi, Skyfall, Looper, Argo, The Master, Intouchables, ParaNorman, Safety Not Guaranteed, Cabin in the Woods, Silver Lining Playbook, Side By Side, The Angel's Share, Teddy Bear, Prometheus, Pink Ribbons Inc, and Carnage.
Haven't seen your #6-9 along with 15 other oscar contenders, and unfortunately I wasn't a big fan of Magic Mike or Django Unchained (the latter was so-so, just sloppier than Tarantino's other outings). But hooray for different opinions!
Personal Top 10:
1. Beasts of the Southern Wild
2. Silver Linings Playbook
3. Moonrise Kingdom
4. Looper
5. Life of Pi
6. Frankenweenie
7. Prometheus
8. Wreck-it Ralph
9. The Master
10. Cabin in the Woods
11. Skyfall
12. The Raid: Redemption
13. Killer Joe
14. Lincoln
15. Kon Tiki
1 Beasts of the Southern Wild
2 Looper
3 The Intouchables
4 Holy Motors
5 Argo
6 Moonrise Kingdom
7 Les Miserables
8 The Master
9 Compliance
10 Wreck It Ralph
Have yet to see Django Unchained. Going to watch it this Friday. So, far:
1. Skyfall
2. Lincoln
3. Killing Them Softly
4. Looper
5. Life of Pi
6. The Dark Knight Rises
7. Lawless
8. 21 Jump Street
9. The Master
10. Cloud Atlas
Still have to see some movies, but atm, my top 10 is:
1. Perks of Being a Wallflower
2. Looper
3. Amour
4. Beasts of the Southern Wild
5. Jiro Dreams of Sushi
6. Elena
7. Moonrise Kingdom
8. Sister (L'enfant d'en haut)
9. End of Watch
10. Oslo 31 August
great year for movies first of all
1. Perks of being a Wallflower
2. Life of Pi
3. Silver Lining Playbook
4. Wreck it Ralph
5. 21 Jump Street
6. Dark Knight rises
7. End of Watch
8.Pitch Perfect
9. Looper
10. The Avengers
12. Argo
13. Brave
12.
Perks of Being a Wallflower is so vastly overrated, I mean put on some Smiths and act all EMO.
1. SkyFall (might be the best James Bond film ever)
2. Atlas Shrugged II
3. Obama's America
4. Occupy Unmaksed
5. Lincoln
6. Flight
7. Exotic Marigold Hotel
8. Salmon Fishing in Yemen
9. Dark Knight Rises
10. Les Miserables
Didn't see so many movies this year. Of what I did see
The Dark Knight Rises
The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn-part 2
Silver Linings Playbook
Moonrise Kingdom
Argo
Les Miserables
Wreck-it Ralph
Chronicle
Pitch Perfect
People Like Us
Havent seen Zero Dark Thirty or Les Miserables yet. Of the 108 films I've seen so far this year, these are my top 10:
1. Django Unchained
2. The Dark Knight Rises
3. Life of Pi
4. Perks of Being a Wallflower
5. Looper
6. Silver Linings Playbook
7. Flight
8. The Grey
9. Hitchcock
10. The Avengers
I just got back From Silver Linings Playbook, and I must say, if anything tops it I will be shocked. It's an excellent movie I can't wait to see again. Other than that, I still have a lot to see, but I'll briefly list my Top 6
1. Silver Linings Playbook
2. Moonrise Kingdom
3. The Queen Of Versailles
4. Looper
5. Safety Not Guarenteed
6. Skyfall
I've yet to see Django, Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Life Of Pi, Beasts Of The Southern Wild, Cabin In The Woods, Chronicle, and a few others that make my list.
Perks didnt do much for me. I can notice, respect and even admire that it was a good film, but the plot was pretty boring. It felt like the film kept begging me to feel sorry for the kid, and I always react in the opposite manner when films do that. I disliked its manipulative nature for the same reasons I disliked Extremely Loud, My Sisters Keeper and War Horse. I still enjoyed it more than the others though.
Glad to see End Of Watch get some love that was one of my favorites this year
1. Django Unchained
2. Silver Linings Playbook
3. End of Watch
4. Looper
5. Moonrise Kingdom
6. The Master
7. Skyfall
8. Lincoln
9. Argo
10. The Hobbit or The Dark Knight Rises
Haven't seen Zero Dark Thirty Yet so that may change my mind
I don't know if I could put together a top ten, but The Perks of Being A Wallflower is hands down my favorite film on the year.
All the years of waiting for the film to be made were completely worth it because the end product was so good.
10. Bullhead
9. Lincoln
8. Prometheus
7. Moonrise Kingdom
6. The Dark Knight Rises
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
4. Looper
3. End of Watch
2. Silver Linings Playbook
1. Django Unchained
For more info:
http://filmfestivaltraveler.com/film-a-arts/52-features/2405-top-10-films-of-2012
or
http://smartfilm.blogspot.com/2012/12/top-10-films-of-2012.html
I still av a lot to watch but may I say that perks,dark knight, silver lining are really amazing movies.
At the moment, my top 10 are
10. Rock Of Ages
9. Men In Black 3
8. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
7. The Dark Knight Rises
6. The Campaign
5. American Reunion
4. The Watch
3. 21 Jump Street
2. That's My Boy
1. Ted
Honourable Mentions:
The Amazing Spider-Man
Snow White And The Huntsman
Dark Shadows
The Avengers
The Hunger Games
The Twilight saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2
I live in San Francisco and saw 56 films (and counting) in 2012.
10. I Wish (Koreeda)
09. Silver Linings Playbook (O. Russell) - moved into my top 10 after a second viewing
08. Farewell, My Queen (Jacquot)
07. Life of Pi (Lee)
06. Zero Dark Thirty (Bigelow)
05. Samsara (Fricke)
04. Seven Psychopaths (McDonaugh)
03. Wuthering Heights (Arnold)
02. Beasts of the Southern Wild (Zeitlin) - Caught this one early on and was taken aback by it before the buzz really started. I wonder if it'll hold to a second viewing
01. Killing Them Softly (Dominik) - Severely flawed but technically daring in its visual and sound grammar and acted superbly
Having said that, none of these are 5 star films in my book. 2012 was solid but didn't have that special touch that a 2007 or 1999 had.
1. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower
2. The Impossible
3. Beasts Of The Southern Wild
4. Silver Linings Playbook
5. Argo
6. The Hunger Games
7. Life Of Pi
8. ParaNorman
9. Chronicle
10. Moonrise Kingdom
I have decided to rank all 50 movies I saw last year from best to worst.
1. Ted
2. Wanderlust
3. The Dictator
4. That's My Boy
5. 21 Jump Street
6. Hotel Transylvania
7. Looper
8. Goon
9. The Watch
10. American Reunion
11. The Campaign
12. Here Comes The Boom
13. The Dark Knight Rises
14. The Hobbit
15. Men In Black 3
16. Rock Of Ages
17. The Amazing Spider Man
18. The Avengers
19. Dark Shadows
20. The Posession
21. The Twilight Saga Breaking Dawn Part 2
22. Snow White And The Huntsman
23. The Hunger Games
24. Contraband
25. This Means War
26. The Lorax
27. Paranorman
28. Brave
29. The Odd Life Of Timothy Green
30. Paranormal Activity 4
31. Diary Of A Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
32. Battleship
33. John Carter
34. Chronicle
35. Safe House
36. Wrath Of The Titans
37. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
38. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
39. One For The Money
40. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
41. Big Miracle
42. Haywire
43. Prometheus
44. The Five Year Engagement
45. Act Of Valor
46. Total Recall
47. The Woman In Black
48. The Three Stooges
49. Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Veangeance
50. The Grey