2012 Films, Ranked.

10/10

This is the kind of film that brings the whole world together. It's the greatest achievement in film since Avatar, and has a lot more heart and humor. The 3D is up there with the best, the likes of Hugo and Avatar. The story is engaging and unique, and is what you make of it. The themes really rung true to me, which made it easier to love every second of Life of Pi. You might not understand why I hold his film very dear to me, enough to call it my favorite of the year, but it's more of a personal reason. I think this will be a huge hit worldwide, because it's a film that transports the viewer to a new world and has something anyone can relate to from any background or culture.

9/10

What an amazing story. I loved everything about this one. The acting is outstanding but not in your face; it feels real. There is tons of emotion added to a story that's also interesting and humorous. The lack of attention to detail is the only criticism I can make, but in terms of how much I loved this film, it's a serious reach. Silver Linings Playbook is easily one of the best films of the year.

9/10

Tarantino delivers again. I won't say much about this one, but it's probably the best Western from the last 5 or so years. There's never a dull moment and plenty of action & humor. Tarantino perfects the genres he loves and it's no different with Django Unchained. As with Inglorious Basterds, I loved it even more because I know the German language. Acting was superb in a non-showy way, it seems like everyone had fun and it shows. Soundtrack had perfect timing, and unlike Inglourious Basterds, it was all over the place and never stuck to one theme or genre. And I loved it.

Simply put, Django's a motherf#cking blast.

10/10

No, it's not a perfect movie, but I do believe it's the perfect ending to one of my favorite trilogies in film. It combines the nostalgic feel from Batman Begins and the realism of The Dark Knight to create something any true Batman fan should love. Saying it's "epic" is an understatement. At the end of the day, this is a story of Bruce Wayne. Great acting, great story, and amazing little homages to the comics/original TV shows. The character development really feels full-circle from Batman Begins to this film.

If you didn't like it the first time, watch it again. I liked it much more the second time around, and consistently loved it the third and fourth. I guess I was sort of disappointed it wasn't just a Batman vs Villain story like The Dark Knight was. This was a blessing in disguise, though, as this film is much more than that. It's more complex and the stakes are higher, and that's exactly how you end a trilogy. The films should get bigger and better. The Dark Knight Rises is an epic on a realistic scale, and that's something truly unique.

9/10

Filled with heart, humor, and charm to fill a whole room. A heart-warming story told with the breathtaking direction Wes Anderson is famous for. I haven't seen all of his films but this is my new favorite of his.

9/10

Simply one of the best, funniest and most enjoyable superhero films ever. This is probably the second best superhero movie I've ever seen.

8/10

An unforgettable story told with rich realism. Well-acted but never showy or in-your-face. It peaks towards the middle and sort of becomes tedious for the remaining half, but this a tear-jerker that most people will love. Breathtaking visuals and heartfelt story, it really puts you in the middle of a Tsunami.

8/10

Lawless isn't flawless, but it's a damn good time. It never takes itself too seriously like one might think based off the plot synopsis and the trailers. Sometimes the accents are a little weird but Guy Pearce gives an iconic villain performance and absolutely steals the show.

8/10

This is what cinema should be about. Making people talk, making people think, and opening an entire new world to the viewer to be transported into. It's essentially classic science fiction with horror elements.

While the film was a little bit slow to start, once things got going, damn did they get going. Loved it. From the acting, the story, and some scenes that were quiet memorable, I really enjoyed this one as a stand-alone film. With that said, this feels like a small portion of a bigger picture, so I'm looking forward to the inevitable sequels that will hopefully answer our burning questions.

8/10

This one really caught me by surprise considering how many people hated it. The political side felt a little misplaced at times, but the amazing dialogue, memorable scenes, outstanding acting, and unique direction made me forget about all of its imperfections. I really loved this one.

8/10

The film starts out with a brilliant, haunting plane crash scene then turns into an entertaining ride about addiction and how people react when someone they have to trust fails them, or in this story, fails them on a technicality. I loved the story and the run time felt about a half hour less than it was. Everyone here gives a memorable performance but it's a film where the story is most important, not the acting.

8/10

Is the storytelling as good as the LOTR trilogy? So far, no. But what it lacks in that, it makes up for with spectacular visuals (really spectacular.. as in some of the best I've ever personally seen), great action and a lot of fun. There are maybe 25 mins total of complete filler, that almost took me out of the entire experience, but I'm glad I stayed because this really is a great movie. Hopefully the remaining two movies surprise me as much as An Unexpected Journey did. It might not surprise in the way the LOTR trilogy did, but in terms of popcorn fantasy entertainment, Hobbit certainly delivers.

8/10

I love princess animations, so this might be sort of biased. Brave is an underrated, emotional Pixar film. Seems like people wanted to hate it from the get-go. This is actually one of my new favorite Pixar films. If you love the princess genre, and enjoyed Tangled, give Brave a chance.

7/10

It sort of suffers from a dull second act like Frankenweenie did, but this is probably the most unique and daring animation this year, and last year for that matter. Loved the characters, story, and the jokes push the PG rating to its' limit. With an emotional ending and amazing style, ParaNorman is a worthwhile follow-up to Coraline.

8/10

I found a couple of annoying inconsistencies here and there, but it's one hell of a ride that makes two hours feel like one hour and doesn't assume the audience is dumb, like most action films do these days.

8/10

Not a fan of MacFarlane's comedy at all, in fact I despise Family Guy, but he created one of the best, and most original comedy since The Hangover with this one. It has just the right amount of heart, raunch, and laughs. This one really took me by surprise.

7/10

Just an entertaining, wild ride. Oliver Stone is back with this pulpy tale.

7/10

Initially before viewing The Master, I thought it would be witty to say "PTA once again proves he is... the master... of filmmaking." I know it's wrong to have preconceived opinion on a film before seeing it, but come on, this is Paul Thomas Anderson (my favorite writer/director).

Well, unfortunately I think this is his weakest story since his first feature, Hard Eight. It's beautiful to look at. The overall cast gives the finest ensemble performance in years. The story had potential. Some scenes were extremely memorable, but for the first time in a PTA film, I left the theater feeling time was wasted. I didn't feel this story went anywhere. I thought at times it was too ambiguous. At the end it didn't come together for me like I thought it would. While it has all the making of a classic, for me it slightly misses the mark emotionally with a feeling of being purposeless. I immediately felt I wanted to see it again though, for certain scenes alone.

7/10

I've never read this story before, so I went into it with a fresh mind. Not a huge fan of musicals, more or less due to the fact that I've only seen a handful.

I didn't want to go into it as a follow up to Hooper's last film The King's Speech, because that's one of my favorite movies and there was no way this would top it. And it doesn't. I love how it's shot, which is very similar to how The King's Speech was shot also. It's personal and bleak and fits the title of the movie. I felt it peaked at around the first hour, then became a typical love story with a French Revolution backdrop. The songs were entertaining and surprisingly a good way of telling the story. The acting was all over the place, with Anne Hathaway stealing the show but unfortunately wasn't in much of the film. For me the story lacked the emotion. Carter & Cohen gave the perfect comedic touch and I absolutely LOVED Crowe's singing. It gave the film sort of an Opera touch to it.

Overall, I would say it's worth seeing for the brilliant first hour alone, and you may have a love/hate relationship with the remaining 100 mins.

7/10

What a ballsy movie. It is not for everyone, and I don't even know if it's for me, but it's probably the most unique film of 2012, with the most memorable ending that you won't forget for a good 20+ years. It's like Juno if it were a really messed up (in a good way) horror story.

7/10

I don't care what anyone says, Joaquin Phoenix & DDL have nothing on John Hawkes. His acting absolutely stole the show with what was a complete transformation into his character. The story is very simple yet heartwarming and entertaining.

7/10

Really entertaining cop drama. It's a little annoying how dramatic it sometimes is, and how there is no continuity with the film's camera work, but the story is exactly as good as you'd hope. The jokes are funny, the film feels real, and the ending is daring.

7/10

Promising first act, dull second act that felt a lot like filler than anything, and a brilliant, tense third act make up Argo. I can't recommend Argo enough in terms of dialogue, direction, and acting, but this one is a real slow burner in the sort of way that it feels like a good 20 minutes could have been removed, and it wouldn't have lost anything. Also I'd say a good 2/3 of the jokes you've heard in the trailers. But overall, Affleck proves once again why he's an top-tier director.

7/10

I've been a gamer all my life, so this film started out giving me orgasms. With one of the best openings in any recent animation (almost on the level of Pixar's UP opening), filled with gaming references, it's disappointing that the second act was a little boring and uninteresting. I'm not sure who decided to have most of the film take place in Candyland (that's what I'm calling it), but it's as if two different writers wrote the film and combined screenplays. First half 30 minutes for adult gamers who grew up on video games, and the second half for kiddie My Little Pony on the Nintendo DS gamers.

Still, go see it. It's totally worth it, and the emotional ending does make up for a somewhat lackluster middle.

7/10

Despite bad reviews, I still went out to see The Possession because of Raimi's producing credit. Yes it's full of cliches, but if you went into a PG-13 horror film called "The Possession" thinking it'll be some masterpiece of horror, I don't know what to tell you. What you do get is a sometimes funny, sometimes scary, sometimes original, well-acted modern horror flick. It's criminally underrated and I personally really enjoyed it.