Top Ten and Bottom Five Movies of 2012

Dear the Internet,

Well, 2012 is over and, in retrospect, I saw a whole lot of movies. I'm not a critic that gets to go to free screenings of everything, so I can really only judge the year based on a handful of movies. Here, with a few stipulations, are my top ten favorite movies of 2012 and my five least favorite movies.



10. Beasts of the Southern Wild

9. The Dark Knight Rises

8. Life of Pi

7. Moonrise Kingdom

6. Looper

5. ParaNorman - I'm a sucker for animated movies in any form, but the craftsmanship in a well made stop motion  feature takes it to another level. ParaNorman had a very heart warming story and a dark sense of humor that endeared it to me.

4. Django Unchained - I've liked every Tarantino movie I've seen and Django Unchained is no exception. It's got a lot of his standard elements (super cool protagonist, revenge plot, solid sound track) but it's still very fresh.

3. The Avengers - Full disclosure, I read my fair share of comics growing up and I was a big fan of Buffy/Angel/Firefly, so when I heard that Whedon was doing The Avengers my expectations shot through the roof. Add on to that the five movies that all played a part in setting up the story ranged from excellent to better-than-the-Ang-Lee-version and you've got a recipe for a very disappointed nerd. I don't think I've ever seen a movie that so exactly met every desire I possibly could have had for it.

2. Wreck-It Ralph - It seems like since Disney acquired Pixar, Disney animated movies have gotten way better and Pixar has started to slip. Bolt and Tangled where both fantastic, so it only stands to reason that Wreck-It Ralph would be at least as good. It's just as heart warming and funny as the best Pixar efforts. Also, the short Paperman, is easily worth the price of admission alone.

1. The Cabin in the Woods - This is another movie that I was well aware of it's pedigree going into it. Drew Goddard had been involved in Buffy, Angel, as well as Lost and Joss Whedon also co-wrote the script. The Cabin in the Woods, like Buffy, is a solid commentary on a genre that, while funny, doesn't really mock it. I don't really want to say too much because I think it's a movie best seen with little knowledge of what you're getting into. It was a good year for movies, but this one deserves the #1 spot.

Yet to see but might have made the list: The Master, Zero Dark Thirty, The Raid, The Hobbit

Movies that where surprisingly good, but not good enough to make the list: Goon, John Carter, Pitch Perfect, Skyfall, Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Grey, Magic Mike, Haywire, 21 Jump Street

5. Wrath of the Titans - On a certain, guilty pleasure level, I enjoyed Wrath of the Titans, but on literally every other level it was terrible.

4. Rock of Ages - I'm not a big fan of musicals and I don't like hair metal, so I'm not even sure why I saw this. It's got a few funny moments, but it's weirdly long and those moments are few and far between.

3. Les Misérables - I've already caught some crap from people for hating this, but it's really not my thing. Aside from it being a musical, the direction is all over the place. Every solo is shot with the actor  just sitting in one place, singing to the camera while every group number is chopped to bits so you can't tell what's happening. After an hour and a half, I stopped paying attention to the singing, which, as it turns out, makes it super hard to follow. 

2. The Dictator - There are few things that are worse then a comedy that isn't funny. It never takes a break from making unfunny jokes about Islamic culture, American culture, and grocery co-ops long enough to make a point. There's humor in all of those things, but The Dictator never finds it. The best jokes are either in the trailer or in the blooper reel at the end.

1. Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 - I'm not quite sure where to start. First, there is a silly looking CG baby that easily could have been a real baby. Second, there are about 20 minutes of an awesome fight scene that actually has tension and consequences, but it is all undone and revealed to be a dream. Third, the movie ends with the heroes basically deciding to ignore the villains they have been setting up over the course of the series. Everybody just walks away. Fourth, a dog falls in love with that CG baby. On the plus side, this is the last Twilight movie.