Best of 2012

After the dismal returns of 2011, 2012 sprung to the challenge and gave us some of the best movies in years. Here's my Top 10 of 2012 list!

10. The Hunger Games


What could have been a stupid book adaptation of Twilight proportions was given a bit of dignity thanks to its director and lead actress. Gary Ross, who at the time hadn’t directed a movie since 2003’s Seabiscuit, was a pretty unconventional choice for director but he apparently had a love for the book and wanted to bring it to the screen any way he could. Jennifer Lawrence, once a sitcom co-star with Bill Engvall turned Oscar-nominee (Winter’s Bone), had once tried out for Bella in Twilight. Thankfully, that fell through and she was able to take up the strong character of Katniss Everdeen in this film. Sure, the film did eventually get its Twilight-esque following due to the “dreamy” romance between Katniss and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), but at least it’s a romance of quality and not fantasy. Woody Harrelson and Elizabeth Banks turn in memorable performances (although her makeup is wild and his wig is questionable).

9. The Amazing Spider-Man


Reactions to a Spider-Man reboot after the fan-based failure of Spider-Man 3 and the death of Spider-Man 4 were pretty horrendous. However, I can honestly say that it was much better than I imagined it would be, though completely telling the origin story was completely unnecessary. Though it pains me to say, Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone look great together… which makes sense because they’re now a couple in real life – sigh. Martin Sheen and Sally Field are an interesting pairing for Uncle Ben and Aunt May. It’s certainly not easy following Cliff Robertson’s performance from Spider-Man and the film doesn’t try to upstage him (by not using the famous “With great power comes great responsibility”). Where I have problems with the film is in the characterization of Curt Connors/The Lizard, the plot points shown in the trailers that weren’t in the film and the non-nerdy Peter Parker. Still, it got all the niceties out of the way, and in 2014, we should get a sequel that can go anywhere (Jamie Foxx as Electro? Interesting…).

8. Katy Perry: Part of Me 3D


This documentary proves without a doubt that Katy Perry is the hardest-working woman in music today. With every concert, she goes out and gives it her all. Her rise to stardom is compelling, especially with her Pentecostal Christian upbringing. I appreciate that the film didn’t vilify all of Christianity but only the extremists. It’s a tragedy that Russell Brand was so cruel to her by ending their marriage due to his selfish ends; a mistake *I* certainly wouldn’t make, were I to be so lucky.

7. Argo


Ben Affleck has made the successful transition from your normal, everyday leading man to a more-than-competent director. His films aren’t blockbusters, but they make their money back and more so. He tells this impossible-to-believe-but-it-really-happened story about how the CIA and Hollywood teamed up in a secret operation to rescue six hostages held captive in Iran. The film deftly changes from thriller to comedy fairly well, though most of the humor arises from the supporting cast set in Hollywood – Alan Arkin and John Goodman.

6. Django Unchained


Though Quentin Tarantino is a filmmaker from the South, he’s never made a film IN the South. Not until now. This outrageous story of a kindly German bounty hunter and his new former slave protégé is hand-crafted by a master of movies all the way through. Taking homage from Django and other “spaghetti Westerns”, Tarantino has made what he calls, “a Southern”. There's a scene-stealer in each act: Christoph Waltz (Act I), Leonardo DiCaprio (Act II) and Samuel L. Jackson (Act III). DiCaprio's Calvin Candie is the definition of wicked and its so very clear he's finally allowing himself to have some fun with a role. It's funny, bloody, and cool - just like a Tarantino film should be.

5. Wreck-It Ralph


I can't blame a film for not being what I wanted it to be rather than what it is. While I would argue that the marketing was somewhat deceptive, it still doesn't change the content of the film. And by and by, Wreck-It Ralph is a good movie. I just feel there was enough potential in the story to have it be great and not get weighed down by Vanellope Von Schweetz essentially taking precedence over the title character of the story. The actors give great performances, in particular, John C. Reilly. It seems he was very dedicated to this movie, helping the filmmakers craft the story (culminating in a separate credit under "additional story material"). It's great that Disney Animation decided to do something different, that had nothing to do with Disney princesses (OR SO I THOUGHT) but they took a look at the world of video games and had some fun with it. Now if only Nintendo would let Disney make some animated movies off of their characters...

4. John Carter


Never have I seen a recent movie so badly beaten down by the Hollywood press machine. I mean, this was a WAR between Disney, Andrew Stanton and the crew against Nikki Finke and Deadline Hollywood. Trailer music was criticized, Stanton's ability to direct a live-action film was questioned, Disney's *dependence* on Pixar and John Lasseter was mocked. Yet, against all odds, John Carter was released and... bombed miserably. But then, something incredible happened. An underground swell of affection for the film led to John Carter Blu-Rays flying off the shelves in certain regions of the States. Facebook groups were dedicated to getting the cast and crew of the film “Back to Barsoom”. All over a science-fiction film with talented actors, great performance capture, practical sets and an amazing 100-year-old story to tell.

3. Cloud Atlas


It’s certainly an unusual storytelling experiment, but as Cloud Atlas urges you to “extend your patience for just a moment”, you’ll be rewarded with an immensely entertaining experience. The multiple genres are exercised very well – romance, drama, comedy, sci-fi and mystery/thriller. The cast bring all of themselves to their multiple characters and the makeup is dazzling. The Wachowskis and Tykwer took a chance on telling six parts of an unusual story and it's awe-inspiring in its epic scale and imagination.

2. The Dark Knight Rises


Though it seemed impossible to top the previous film, Christopher Nolan has brought an incredible curtain down on his Dark Knight trilogy. I've very rarely had chills sitting in a theater, but the ending to this film had me on pins and needles. This is what Christopher Nolan does best: he reins in audiences who are going in thinking one thing about a movie, but then turns them on a dime and manages to deliver a breathtaking surprise. I literally cannot wait to see what he does next.

1. Marvel’s The Avengers


What a surprise, huh? Going through this list, I could not find one that entertained me more than The Avengers. It's a thrilling superhero ride from start to finish and delivers exactly what we superhero movie fans want: all our favorite superheroes all together in one film. In that way, it's miraculous. No other film has put together heroes established in other films from different studios. Ever. Warner Bros. is now trying to repeat the meteoric success of Avengers with Justice League instead of doing separate films, introducing each hero. Arguably, this could also be in response to the failure of Green Lantern. I don't have much good feelings about that, because Warners does not have anyone with them who will take care of DC's characters the way Joss Whedon is with Disney/Marvel. That was genius of them to hire him on to not only oversee the stories of Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe but also to develop a TV show, "Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D." (one that will presumably have more than one season). In all, Avengers is a honest and true love letter to the Marvel Comics characters co-created by the master Stan Lee. Who could ask for better than that?

Honorable Mentions
Haywire
Lincoln
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Prometheus