# Movies of 2012



## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I generally see a lot of movies.  I write about them for Examiner.com and have been a reviewer of movies for years.  This year, however, with my marriage and the holidays right on top of each other - I feel like I missed so many movies I hear getting great Oscar buzz.

So, I have not seen "Argo" or "Silver Linings Playbook" or "The Sessions" or "Les Miserables."

So, from all of that my favorite movies of 2012 were:

Looper
Skyfall
The Dark Knight Rises
The Avengers

I couldn't come up with a 5th one...  Those are the ones I really enjoyed and remember now that the year is ending.  I saw more, but those are my top 4.  I guess I could put The Amazing Spider-Man up there, but so many fan boys hated it - but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

So, what are your top films for the year?  I'd love to hear them and then add them to my watch list for cable/Netflix/Red Box.


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## JimJ (Mar 3, 2009)

1. Les Mis
2. Lincoln
3. Django Unchained
4. Looper
5. The Avengers

The top 3 are pretty much interchangeable. Loved all 3 of them. Very incomplete list though, still a lot of stuff I need to see. I live in an area that doesn't get the limited release stuff until a few months after they premiere in the big cities, if ever. Plus, there are ones that I just missed like Argo and Skyfall. Skyfall still has one show time at a theater near me, so I may still try to get to that.


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## Carol (was Dara) (Feb 19, 2011)

Ever since we had kids, we don't get to see as many movies as we used to. It's too hard to get a babysitter. So I only saw a few movies in theatres this year:

The Hobbit
The Avengers
Snow White and the Huntsman
Brave (took the kids)

I loved Hobbit, liked Avengers, and didn't have strong feelings about the rest.


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## Hadou (Jun 1, 2011)

The Devil Inside - Was terrible.  Not even good in a "that's so crappy that it's fun" way.  Felt bad about getting dragged to that one.
The Grey - Good, but was disappointed by the way the trailers made the movie look.  The trailers gave me the impression that we were going to see Liam Neeson throat-chopping wolves for an hour and a half.
Chronicle - Was pretty fun.
The Lorax - I fell asleep, but my kid loved it.  So, that's all that matters I guess.
Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie - I'm in the minority in that I enjoy Tim and Eric's stuff.  And, as such, I enjoyed this movie.  It's not one that I'd recommend to pretty much anyone, though.  Unless you're a fan of their "comedy" style, avoid.
The Hunger Games - The missus read all the books and then pulled me along to see the movie.  I liked it.  It was a fun watch.  The drive home wasn't fun as all I heard was "THIS didn't happen in the books...they NEEDED to have *this* in the movie..."  
Cabin in the Woods - Loved it.  
Bad-A** (not sure about swear filters here, so I'll just play it safe) - It's amazing how they can take a short youtube clip of "Epic Beard Man" punching out some dude on a bus and stretch it out into a full length movie.  I saw this on Netflix one night and it was a pretty funny little action movie.  
The Avengers - Tanfastic.  I had SO much fun with this one.  My boy loved it too.  
Battleship - Ugh.  Why?
Chernobyl Diaries - I like these found-footage types.  And, this was so-so.  If you can catch it for cheap, and you're a fan of that type of movie, it could be enjoyable.
Prometheus - I absolutely loved this one.  
Brave - Once again, one of those movies that looked TOTALLY different with the previews/trailers.  Wasn't bad, though.  Just nothing overly great.
Abraham Lincoln vs Zombies - Asylum crap-fest that was so bad it was great.  Bill Oberst played a pretty good Lincoln.  "EMANCIPATE THIS!" *Slice*
Dark Knight Rises - I had more fun with The Avengers, but I think TDKR was the better movie.
Expendables 2 - Incredible.  
Resident Evil: Retribution - I'm a huge nerd for the game series, so I only see these movies out of morbid curiosity.  God, what a pile.
V/H/S - A nice anthology of found-footage scary movie things.  I really liked this and wish there were more anthology type movies like it.
Grave Encounters 2 - I love the first movie; it had some legitimately creepy moments in it.  The sequel?  Pass.
Wreck It Ralph - Fun fun fun.

I don't watch a lot of movies.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Wow, that is quite a list.  But what are your favorites?  Mostly interested in the good stuff.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

And I am wishing I had The Dark Knight Rises on DVD to watch again tonight!


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

The Hunger Games
The Avengers

Those are my top 2. I only saw a few others this year (Hobbit, Lorax, & Dark Knight Rises). I liked parts of Dark Knight and The Hobbit was pretty good (didn't care for the 3D though). I think we went to see The Avengers 4 times, we liked it so much. 

We're actually going to see the Hobbit again on Monday in 2D. My oldest daughter hasn't seen it yet. We also want to see Les Mis, but that won't be this year.


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## kindlequeen (Sep 3, 2010)

The BEST movie I saw this year, hands down was Safety Not Guaranteed.  DH and I found it on Vudu and we both enjoyed it.  I haven't seen a movie so clever and well written in a very long time (well, ok, no original films).

Safety Not Guaranteed was about a guy who puts out an ad to find a companion to travel back in time with him, a news reporter goes to do a story on him, and I can't tell you the rest but it's got Aubrey Plaza from Parks and Rec and she's darling.

Others I REALLY enjoyed:
For A Good Time Call - two girls start a s*x line, not as raunchy as it could have been but a good film, DH laughed!
MIB 3- better than 2
Dark Knight Rises - I only liked this one, parts were confusing but I'm looking forward to Robin!!!!!
The Hunger Games - feels like forever ago but it was fantastic, DH who didn't read the books cried when a certain adorable character died (shhhh, don't tell him I let that secret out!  )
Spiderman - the new one with Emma Stone, not too bad
The Avengers - despite what this list looks like, I'm not the biggest fan of superhero movies but this one was good


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Interesting list there "queen."  I have not even heard of Safety Not Guaranteed.  I also quite enjoyed The Amazing Spider-Man.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

Best movies I saw were :
Argo
The Hunger Games
Lincoln

If I lived in NY or LA, I'd be adding Zero Dark Thirty to that list, I'm sure, but it doesn't open nationally for a few more weeks.


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## gdae23 (Apr 30, 2009)

Well, I'm definite about my top 3, in this order:

1. Lincoln
2. The Hobbit
3. Moonrise Kingdom

Three very different types of movies!

Other films I liked a lot this year, in no particular order:
- Ruby Sparks
- The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
- Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

Balaspa, I think these movies are very different from the types of movies you listed (none of which I have seen). So I won't go so far as to say I'd recommend them, only that I liked them myself. For you or anyone who wants something a bit different, Moonrise Kingdom is the quirkiest of the lot. 

I'll also mention Beasts of the Southern Wild. I actually didn't like this movie much myself, except for the incredible acting by the young girl in the film, but I know it got many top critical reviews, so it's probably just my taste. I didn't hate it, just couldn't get into the story.
Lots of viewers loved it though, so you may want to consider it.


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## kindlequeen (Sep 3, 2010)

I want to scream that everyone should go find Safety Not Guaranteed right now, but I do know that I have odd taste.

I forgot about Moonrise Kingdom!  That movie was so good, much better than I expected from the trailer.  I have been wanting to see Beasts of the Southern Wild but I'm a bit worried the real movie wont live up to the trailer which is quite captivating.

Looper becomes available in about an hour to rent on Vudu, my DH and I are counting down the minutes but I haven't seen anyone on here mentioning it.

And.... I just saw the pre-theatrical release for John Dies in the End (also available on Vudu) which I wouldn't have normally chosen to watch but the book has been highly enjoyed by several readers on here.  It was a bit odd and cheesy.  The trailer for the movie is so disjointed I didn't know what to expect, my DH refused to watch the trailer after about 10 seconds because he said it looked good.  I'm not sure it was worth $12 but I like Paul Giamatti and I would recommend it to people who like cheesy horror/sci-fi a la Army of Darkness (but this is lacking Bruce Campbell's awesomeness).


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## Keith Blenman (May 31, 2009)

I'm not sure I can pin this down to an exact order, but out of everything new I saw this year, I'd gauge them something like this:

1. Looper
2. Cabin in the Woods
3. The Hobbit
4. Avengers
5. Moonrise Kingdom
6. Django Unchained
7. Skyfall
8. Sleepwalk With Me
9. Chronicle
10. Dark Knight Rises
11. Amazing Spider-Man
12. Prometheus


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I haven't seen Django or Sleepwalk with Me (although I love Mike Birbiglia).  I also did not see Chronicle.

And I forgot about Skyfall!  I loved that....

Damn...


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## N. Gemini Sasson (Jul 5, 2010)

1. Life of Pi
2. Men in Black 3
3. Hunger Games
4. The Hobbit
5. Brave

(Actually, just watched Brave on DVD last night with my daughter for New Year's. I need to get out more. Still need to go see Les Mis.)


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## Guest (Jan 1, 2013)

I have two clear favourites, but I didn't get to the cinema much:
Avengers Assemble
Dark Knight Rises

I still have to see The Hobbit and Les Mis, which are on my to do list.


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## Geemont (Nov 18, 2008)

I don't watch a lot of movie, but I feel like I watch too many.  Nothing I saw last year deserved more than 3 out of 5 stars.


1. Due Date, Comedy, DVD, 2 stars.  Stupid, stupid, stupid; a few laughs here and there saved it from being a 1 star.
2. The Iron Lady, Drama, Theater, 2 stars.  Good acting, but too sappy at the end.
3. Moneyball, Drama, DVD. 3 stars.  It was OK.
4. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Drama\Comedy, Theater, 2 stars. Good acting, but too sappy at the end.  Maybe it's a trend.
5. No Impact Man, Documentary, DVD, 3 stars.  Good information, a worthy topic, but poor quality film making brought it down a notch.
6. Argo, Drama, Theater, 3 stars.  This could have been a really good movie, but the invented "escape" scene at the end put me off.  
7. Brave, Children's, DVD, 3 stars.  Great animation, but a sappy ending (again).  And I'm not a kid.
8. 2016: Obama's America, Documentary, DVD, 1 stars.  Sweeping generalizations and lowball polemics.


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## Kristine McKinley (Aug 26, 2012)

I tend to watch more movies than I should and since we don't have kids yet we were able to go see a lot in theaters. So my favorite movies of the year in no particular order:

The Raid: Redemption
Django Unchained
The Avengers
The Hobbit
The Dark Knight Rises
The Expendables 2
Skyfall
Cloud Atlas- this was amazing
Lockout

I saw a lot more but those were by far my favorite. It was a very violent year.


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## Keith Blenman (May 31, 2009)

How did I forget _Cloud Atlas_?! I actually met David Mitchell (author of the novel) a couple of days after I saw the film. Really nice guy. If you haven't read any of his fiction, you're definitely missing out.

Hmm. I also forgot to include _Men in Black 3_ on my list. Actually, I'm okay with that.


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## N. Gemini Sasson (Jul 5, 2010)

N. Gemini Sasson said:


> 1. Life of Pi
> 2. Men in Black 3
> 3. Hunger Games
> 4. The Hobbit
> 5. Brave


Les Miserables. Favorite movie of the year. Now I remember why I fell in love with the book so many years ago.


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## BenEBrewer (Nov 5, 2012)

*WORST: *
*Hunger games* - don't understand the hype - dumbed down 'Battle Royale' for the Twilight generation. 
*Skyfall *- could there be a worse actor for James Bond - Daniel Craig, for me, has ruined the Bond franchise!

*BEST:*
*Dark Knight Rises* - even if it was simply another Batman film, it had plenty of great action and a good ending.
*Arietty* - came to the UK in 2012 - wonderful Studio Ghibli animation based on the Borrowers - Ah, the little people!


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

See, now I have to disagree there Ben.  I went into Hunger Games having not read the book and certain I was going to hate it - and I came away loving it and went out and read the books.  Any movie that can get me to do that, has to be on my best of list.

And I love Daniel Craig.  Best Bond ever, as far as I am concerned.  I loved Skyfall.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

In fact, I wish there was a new Bond film due out in 2013...with Craig!


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

I keep seeing people rave about this film Beasts of the Southern Wild and nearly watched it on OnDemand last night.  Has anyone else seen it? Is it as good as critics and Hollywood types are saying?


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## JimJ (Mar 3, 2009)

balaspa said:


> I keep seeing people rave about this film Beasts of the Southern Wild and nearly watched it on OnDemand last night. Has anyone else seen it? Is it as good as critics and Hollywood types are saying?


It's good, if a bit overrated. The young girl who plays the main character is really great. It's worth a watch I'd say.


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## geniebeanie (Apr 23, 2009)

The best were Lincoln,Hunger Games,The Hobbit,Life Of Pi and Iron Lady.

The worst were Dark Shadows, Skyfall, The Dark Knight(too violent for me,I walked out),and Men In Black it is silly and so overdone.


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## JimC1946 (Aug 6, 2009)

I loved _The Hobbit_, and I really enjoyed _Les Misérables_.


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

Skyfall, The Avengers, and Django Unchained. Loved them all.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Les Miserables seems to be a movie that completely divides people.  Some love it, but others just absolutely hate it.  I mean, REALLY hate it.


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## JimJ (Mar 3, 2009)

balaspa said:


> Les Miserables seems to be a movie that completely divides people. Some love it, but others just absolutely hate it. I mean, REALLY hate it.


Musicals tend to do that. Some people simply can't stand them. Not to mention that Les Mis is almost entirely "sung-through". meaning that there is very little spoken dialogue, which even some fans of more traditional musicals don't like. And I'm sure there are plenty of people who enjoy musicals who didn't like it for one reason or another, it's far from perfect. I loved it though. It was my first time seeing any version of the story and I was totally drawn in. I even loved Russell Crowe, who most point to as the weak link of the movie. His Javert was my favorite character. If there's a weak link, I feel it is the love story (or love triangle) in the second half of the movie. Eddie Redmayne and Samantha Barks are great and Amanda Seyfried is decent, but the whole "love at first sight" thing had me rolling my eyes a bit. But, once I suspended my disbelief on that, it was fine. I've seen it twice now and will probably see it at least once more before it leaves theaters.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Well, I have seen the stage version of Les Miz many times and I have always been a big fan.  It came to the stage at the time of big musicals like Phantom, as well.  I always liked Les Miz over Phantom.


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## JimJ (Mar 3, 2009)

Just watched The Sessions. Very good movie. Hawkes and Hunt both deserve all the praise they've been getting. I hope to hear both of their names called tomorrow morning.


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## JB Rowley (Jan 29, 2012)

1: A Royal Affair

2: The Sapphires

3: The Very Best Exotic Marigold Hotel


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## Carrie Rubin (Nov 19, 2012)

JB Rowley said:


> 3: The Very Best Exotic Marigold Hotel


That was a great movie, wasn't it? So entertaining and fresh.


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## JimJ (Mar 3, 2009)

Watched Amour and The Impossible tonight. Both very good. The best actress category is packed with amazing performances. Naomi Watts (The Impossible) and Emmanuelle Riva (Amour) were both astounding. The girl from Beasts of the Southern Wild, whose name I'm not even going to attempt to spell, was great too. Still have yet to see Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty or Jennifer Lawrence in Silver Linings Playbook. Of the 3 performances I've seen, I think I liked Riva the best.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

And, of course, none of my favorites got nominations and I have seen NONE of the movies nominated for Best Picture.


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## JB Rowley (Jan 29, 2012)

Carrie Rubin said:


> That was a great movie, wasn't it? So entertaining and fresh.


Yes and the same could be said of _The Sapphires _which had the added bonus of spectacular music.


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## J H Bogran (Jul 19, 2011)

balaspa said:


> So, I have not seen "Argo" or "Silver Linings Playbook" or "The Sessions" or "Les Miserables."


I don't think many people have watch those. For instance, Argo and Les Miserables are late 2012 releases.

Now, my top movies:

Skyfall
Taken 2 (I still liked the first one best, but I can't resist Master Jedi Qui-Gon Jinn kicking some butt.)
Rise of the Guardians (I took my 9.y.o. for cover). 
John Carter
Prometheus

I enjoyed The Dark Knight Rises, but I didn't love it.

Then there a bunch of runner-ups: Gone, The Avengers, Hunger Games.


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

My favorite movie in recent memory is "Les Miserables." I love movies, and see quite a few, but "Les Mis" was superb.


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## tristanlindsay (Feb 4, 2011)

Actually an unsung movie this year was Jack Reacher. It's surprisingly good and its mostly due to the well written screenplay! I was not a huge fan of the series going in. I had only read one Jack Reacher book (The Killing Floor) and wasn't too impressed. But this is actually a well crafted mystery film and Reacher himself is a very interesting character. Meaning he doesn't really do what you expect a movie hero to do. The action is well placed and doesn't feel shoe-horned in either.

After that i second The Avengers and the Hobbit though Wreck it Ralph was also good. As were Lockdown and The Bourne Legacy (another surprise).


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## MayoSoda (Jan 12, 2013)

Django Unchained was great. Still have to see Life of Pi.


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## balaspa (Dec 27, 2009)

Actually, Argo has done quite well and been at the top of the box office at least once.  In fact, it's been out of the main theaters here for a while now.  And Les Miz has been out for a little while, although it did come out late. 

In fact, Les Miz seems to be one of the more controversial movies of 2012.  Not because of what is in the movie, but because of how sharply divided people are over the movie.  For every person that says they loved it, there is another person who hated it with a passion.


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