Top 20 Movies of 2012

Here is my "Top 20 Movies of 2012" list. This list is as of the date this entry was posted and has probably changed if you are reading this much later. I didn't get out to the movies as much this year as I have in the last couple due to helping take care of my beautiful little girl, Coral. However, I think I've seen enough of the major players to make a decent list. 2012 was better than I thought it was going to be, especially towards the end of the year. As always, this is only my opinion. If you don't like my list, go do your own.

#20 Bully - This is a movie that everyone needs to see. While its crafting was not perfect, its message is. This is one of the few things that if everyone in the world watched it, it could be a better place. Read my full review here.

#19 Cloud Atlas - This is probably the most controversial choice on my list, but I don't care. Yes, I liked Cloud Atlas! Sue me. The consistent themes in all six storylines are really cool to follow. Tom Hanks is really fun to watch in this. My favorite storyline had to be the futuristic one with Neo Seoul and the clones. The Wachowski siblings might have been too ambitious for most, but to me, they brought excitement. Read my full review here.

#18 The Dark Knight Rises - Just because The Dark Knight Rises is so far down on my list doesn't mean that I didn't like it. In fact, I enjoyed it very much, but it doesn't even come close to touching the instant masterpiece that was The Dark Knight. Still, TDKR gave us Bane and his oh-so-fun voice to replicate. Here are some things I wish he had said in the film. Read my full review here.

#17 Prometheus - I liked Prometheus more than most people. I think when Ridley Scott makes a sci-fi film, it just clicks for me. With all of the plot holes that Prometheus has, the visuals make up for it for me. It also has my favorite scene from any film this year. I'm talking about the "extraction scene." That was intense! Read my full review here.

#16 Argo - Argo is a movie within a movie, but also a thrilling escape story based on actual events. Ben Affleck has proven that he's not just a one-trick pony and can make multiple films that are not only intriguing, but incredibly entertaining, too. Argo is not a film I could watch too many times though, so that's why it's a bit lower on my list than it may be for others. Read my full review here.

#15 Seven Psychopaths - Here's another movie about a movie, but this one is a little more fun and interesting. I love the great all-star cast in this movie, especially Christopher Walken's character. Martin McDonagh is a fabulous director and his sense of humor is only match by his brother. Read my full review here.

#14 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - I found The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel to be such a pleasant movie. I've seen it a few times now this year and it always finds a way to put a smile on my face. Whether it be Maggie Smith's character's offensive quotes or all of the things that aren't quite right with the hotel, it makes me laugh. I also haven't spoken to a single person who has seen it and didn't enjoy it. Read my full review here.

#13 Django Unchained - Quentin Tarantino has always made films that entertain me, so I knew I would like Django Unchained. I was consistently pleased with many parts of the film. QT has these moments of pure brilliance where you see things that no other director has done before. I did have issue with Jamie Foxx and the way he played Django, but other than that, this is another good Tarantino film. Read my full review here.

#12 Safety Not Guaranteed - When it comes to indie films, Safety Not Guaranteed was one of the better ones. Derek Connolly won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at Sundance for this script, which is top-notch. It also has a very much talked about ending that I think most won't see coming. Read my full review here.

#11 Life of Pi - Life of Pi really surprised me with its spiritual ponderings. I've enjoyed participating in and listening to the in-depth conversations that have followed this movie. Not only that, but it looks gorgeous. Many assumed that it was not possible to turn this novel into a movie, but Ang Lee succeeded on nearly every level. Read my full review here.

#10 Wreck-It Ralph - I had a feeling that Wreck-It Ralph would make my top ten and it barely did so! Disney was really brave (no pun intended) to make this movie a major feature. It combines two of my favorite things, video games and movies. But more than that, it has a wonderful story to tell. One about figuring out who you really are and using your flaws and faults to your advantage. Read my full review here.

#9 Beasts of the Southern Wild - This is the little movie that could. It's a story about loss and how we all have our different ways of dealing with it. Beasts snagged the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, as well as the Golden Space Needle Award at SIFF, the Audience Award at L.A. Film Festival, and four other important awards at Cannes. It has brilliant acting by the then-five-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis and its cinematography quality is certainly up there. It's amazing how a little movie like this can get cinéma vérité so right, and yet a big movie like The Hunger Games fails at this completely. Read my full review here.

#8 The Master - I love Paul Thomas Anderson movies. The man is a flippin' genius. The Master is such an original story and the performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman are my favorites of the year. The Master is a love story at heart. Read my full review here.

#7 Amour - I've been anticipating watching Amour ever since Michael Haneke became just the seventh person to have two films win the Palme d'Or at Cannes. Amour is different from his previous The White Ribbon in almost every way. Where The White Ribbon focuses a lot on cinematography and dialogue, Amour is filmed in a very straightforward fashion. Often times scenes are played out in full as long takes, even when there's nothing happening on screen. Haneke is one of the best directors right now and Amour should see more awards coming its way soon. Read my full review here.

#6 Moonrise Kingdom - This is my current favorite Wes Anderson film. That is until I watch another one, then that will become my new favorite. Anderson has not made a bad movie. I love all his work. He has his quirks and he is not falling away from any of those and that's fine. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, you know? Read my full review here.

#5 Looper - I had been anticipating Rian Johnson's time travel actioner for years. It certainly lived up to expectations as it rounds out the top five of the year for me. I like Joss Whedon's work, but he's missing a strong sense of storytelling that I believe Johnson has over him. Johnson's work seems more refined, but maybe not as accessible. Looper can be as complicated or as simple as you want it to be, and so therefore it is his most accessible movie yet. This is the guy who should have directed the very standard and mediocre The Avengers. Read my full review here.

#4 Silver Linings Playbook - Silver Linings Playbook is my new favorite David O. Russell movie. He captured the dysfunction of this family and their disorders with such realism. Of course, that's what he's pretty much known for, but this seemed more personal. Perhaps it's because it's the first time he's directed a script written by himself since 2004's I Heart Huckabees. Along with some of the best performances of the year by Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Robert De Niro, this movie has a great sense of humor. Read my full review here.

#3 Jiro Dreams of Sushi - It must be my love for Japan and Japanese culture that's the reason I love this documentary so much. Because I hate sushi. Yes, this movie is about sushi, but even more than that, it's about being the best something. Even when you are the best, how do you improve upon your work. Jiro has taught me so much about doing what I love. On top of that, there is some breathtaking cinematography combined with great Philip Glass music. Read my full review here.

#2 The Cabin in the Woods - If you were to tell me that a horror film would be in my top three movies of 2012 at the beginning of the year, I would not have believed you. If you told me that Joss Whedon co-wrote and produced it, I might have believed you a little more. Yet, here we with The Cabin in the Woods being my second favorite film of the entire year. What makes it so great? It's that this film goes to a place in the horror genre that you've never been before. With elements of sci-fi involved, Cabin has an incredibly capturing storyline. You know something is different with this from the very beginning, but you have no idea where it's going to lead. But this film is even more than that. There's a message about present horror films, and specifically with how most movies are going towards the torture porn approach. Read my full review here.

Honorable Mention Paperman - I don't count short films in my top movies list because it wouldn't be fair. However, Paperman deserves to be mentioned here because it was my favorite thing entertainment-wise to come out of 2012. Everything about it was perfect. I loved the music and the unique animation. It's amazing how other movies this year try to tell a story in about three hours, but Paperman can captivate me completely in just 7 minutes. It reminds me so much of Pixar's Up with the no-dialogue montage near the beginning with Carl and Ellie growing old together. I mentioned Paperman on my video podcast, so check that out for more. Read more of what I had to say about it at the bottom of my full review for Wreck-It Ralph.

Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for...





#1 - Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure - Sike!

#1 The Perks of Being a Wallflower - When I saw the trailer for Perks, I could instantly tell that I was going to love it. It takes place in my glory days, the '90s. It features a shy young male, like I was. And it has kick-ass music, like "Asleep" by The Smiths and "Teenage Riot" by Sonic Youth. But there is plenty of unfamiliarity to go along with these things that I love, and that's why this movie is my favorite of the year. It takes you down a path that you totally don't expect. I also love that the movie is directed by the author of the book, which allows for as much authenticity as possible. Other folks might like Perks, but not love it like I do. Read my full review here.

Movies I didn't see that received good reviews: Lincoln, Anna Karenina, End of Watch, Arbitrage, The Sessions, Oslo, August 31, A Simple Life, Holy Motors, Dredd, A Late Quartet, Zero Dark Thirty.

Past lists:
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005