Best movies of 2012?!

[BarackTheVote]

Well, the year's almost up and with the release of The Hobbit, we're pretty much through with the big releases (besides Django Unchained, which I'm sure is going to be fantastic, and Les Mis, which I am extremely skeptical of even though I love the material). But, I can't wait til those come out! And I doubt my top list will shift too much, anyway.

Anyway, on to the list!

1) "The Perks of Being a Wallflower"--beautiful and heart-wrenching, all of the young actors did an amazing job in this 90's period piece. The cinematography, the score, the pacing--all very dream-like and yet grounded somehow... big kudos to director/writer Stephen Chbosky (who also wrote the book); this was his first major motion picture and I hope to see more by him. I cannot recommend this movie highly enough.

2) "In Time"--A very... timely piece (hahaha), a dystopian sci-fi that takes place in a world where time is the currency and the poor literally live day to day while the rich live forever. Its noir aesthetic is great, and it's shot beautifully. Not just my favorite sci-fi of the year, but one of my favorite of all time. Justin Timberlake continues to impress.

3) "Looper"--I love Ryan Johnson. "Brick" is a masterpiece of modern indie cinema, so seeing him reunited with Joseph Gordon Levitt was a real treat. Complex story line that doesn't spoon-feed, and again, I'm a sucker for the noir aesthetic and this has that in spades. "Looper" actually reminds me a little of early Christopher Nolan, actually, and really one-upped Nolan's offering this year (which was something having to do with a guy dressing like a Bat?)

Those are my hands-down top three, rest of the list, is kind of jumbled, so I'll just denote by genre:

Comedy) "Ted"--Love Seth McFarlane's sense of humor, and it's never been in finer form than in this movie. It's a film about a freaking walking talking teddy bear, and yet it still manages to tug at your heart-strings (haha?) while it makes you laugh your ass off. OMG, the part when they meet Sam Jones is priceless!

Action) "The Avengers"--yeah, Marvel has been preparing for this for over five years, and man, did it pay off! To really appreciate it, you need to watch the other Marvel movies, but even if you haven't, I think the action set-pieces will more than satisfy. This is the super-power brawl comic book nerds have been dreaming of for... ever. And it's great to see Joss Whedon finally get the reigns of a big budget movie (hopefully, he can use his clout to stop the Twilight rip-off Buffy remake that's being shopped around).

"Premium Rush"--JGL is a man on fire. He picks the right scripts, he's got tons of talent, and he's really come into his own. "Premium Rush" is basically an aim and fire movie--not a lot of plot or character development, but damn if it isn't a ride (I apologize for all the stupid puns, it's late). The stunts in this film are f*ckin' mind-blowing, and there's a stinger where you see just how raw and dangerous this movie was for the on-screen talent. Michael Shannon is a bad-ass. Javier Bardem can eat his heart out. Also, the Tarantino-like construction of the plot perfectly doles out the information to keep the suspense high.

Animated) "Wreck-It-Ralph"--damn this movie was good. I mean... I kind of got choked up watching it, and that doesn't happen to me a lot. Well-animated, pretty, action-packed, heart-felt, and words can not describe how cool it is to see Bowser, Dr. Eggman, and Zangi all sitting in a room together just shooting the shit. Vanellope is freaking adorable, and, you know what, it had a fantastic twist ending that actually took me by surprise.

Special shout-out to "Game of Thrones" for setting the bar for fantasy, not just on TV but movies, too. And also, here's a hollah to the best season of "Dexter" yet.

SO! What were your top films of ought-twelve?

[Ron Obvious]

1. Biggest letdown of the year.

We don't watch that many movies, but, as happens rarely, there were two I highly anticipated this year: Tailor, Soldier, Tinker, Spy & Prometheus.

The former was quite good, the latter I watched just a few weeks ago and I could only stand 20 minutes of it. What an absolute piece of garbage! Exceptionally vile swill! As an Alien fan, I still am actually - in all seriousness - quite angry about it.

Not what you were asking for, sorry. I just had to get that off my chest.

Might see the Hobbit next year some time.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

4. OK- I've been wanting to ask someone about this

What was your objection to Prometheus?

I had heard it wasn't that good and didn't see it until the DVD came out, but I was pleasantly surprised. I my book it's better than Alien Resurrection & Alien 3 (the theatrical release anyway- Director's cut is a vast improvement) and beats all the AVP movies hands down. I'm not saying there was nothing wrong with it, but I at least thought it was good.

[Ron Obvious]

11. Prometheus...

I had been warned about Prometheus as well, and was perfectly willing to check my brain at the door before watching, but I just found my annoyance level ever-rising until I couldn't take it any more.

I don't think it was the scientific ridiculousness of the Erik Von Däniken-inspired premise, or the laughable notion that a few rough splotches on an old cave-drawing could be interpreted as a useful starmap. Apparently the stars never changed position in 35,000 years.

No, my real objection was to the characters. What an unlikeable, thoroughly moronic lot they were. None of their behaviour or motivations made any sense. A scientist who says, "that's what I choose to believe". Others who take off their helmets when they determine the atmosphere appears to be breathable (Hello, what about contamination, you morons?), or who run in dread at the sight of a long-dead alien but who nevertheless poke a stick at a live alien Cobra-like critter while laughing uproariously a few minutes later. Then there was no thorough analysis of surface conditions and weather prior to landing the craft. No, here's a good spot, let's put this puppy down. Oh, there were far too many problems to list them all here; I'm only scratching the surface.

And these were supposedly the top people in their respective fields?!

I just developed a deeply visceral, complete and utter loathing for the characters early on that only increased as the movie progressed. I've enjoyed dumb, implausible movies in the past, but I don't ever recall this feeling of utter fury and hatred at a mere movie before. It actually still puzzles me.

I didn't think Alien 3 or Res. were really all that bad, although inferior to the first two by an order of magnitude of course. I've never seen the AVP movies yet, though I thought the original Predator was quite good.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

13. AVP

Don't bother. Each of them is two hours of your life you won't get back. If you had objections to the plausibility of Prometheus that actually resulted in rage, these movies will likely send you on a killing spree. BAD! BAD! BAD! I was sure AVP had killed both franchises.

I didn't hate Alien 3 or Resurrection, but didn't like them all that much either. If you haven't seen the director's cut of Alien 3, (available only in the Quadrilogy box set) it's worth checking out. About an extra 20-30 minutes of footage (plus an alternate scene or two) makes it a hundred times better than the theatrical release. You'll have to make allowances for a couple of shots that were picked up off the cutting room floor and look a little rough, but otherwise it's the version they should have released in the first place.

[BarackTheVote]

15. Your review

is pretty much what I heard when Prometheus first came out, and what convinced me not to waste my $$$ seeing it in theaters. If it comes to Netflix Instant, I might see it if I'm really bored some night.

I loved Alien 3. It's my favorite movie of the franchise. Heresy, I know, but I was never a big fan of the Alien series, and David Fincher is just a damn good filmmaker.

[LeftOfSelf-Centered]

14. To be fair...

I also thought Prometheus was the third best movie in the franchise.

But then hitting myself in the head with a hammer is better than Alien3. Still pissed about that one.
Resurrection is inoffensive, although it really falls apart at the end.
AvP1 I didn't see, and AvP2 was a bad joke.

One of the basic problems of Prometheus was that Ridley seemed to care more about the aesthetic and "pacing" of the movie than about the plot. So that punched a bunch of extra holes that, at the very least, were avoidable into the story. It might not have saved the movie, but at least made it more palatable. Also the original design for the mutated Fifield was much better, don't know why they ended up going with Zombie!Fifield instead, and the squid-thing had nowhere near the creepiness factor it needed.

I read Jon Spaihts' original script; it would have been a perfectly decent Alien movie, way better than Alien3 or Resurrection, but also kinda been-there-done-that (also I've heard that it would have been too expensive). I thought it was a good decision to go in a different direction, but the movie really needed a more solid monster/threat than the black goo that does everything and it's opposite.

That said I did enjoy Prometheus, and I'll certainly be watching Prometheus 2. Hopefully somebody will be able to deliver a more solid script...

Hold on, when did this turn into a rant??

[sarge43]

2. Surprised you didn't include Lincoln

A beautiful film. Agree about The Avengers. That's how to do an action flick.

[siligut]

6. The Avengers, best beat down ever.

Puny god

[sarge43]

10. I like this one

Breathtaking anger management issues.

[BarackTheVote]

16. Priceless!

[BarackTheVote]

9. Don't get me wrong

I did like Lincoln all right, but it wasn't one of my favorites. Call me a hipster, but I think Spielberg is overrated; I feel like he's emotionally manipulative (not quite as bad as Peter Jackson, but still heavy-handed), and I don't like the cinematography of Janusz Kaminski (it's not bad, just average). I will give Lincoln this, though, Daniel Day-Lewis deserves the best actor Oscar, without a doubt. Don't get me wrong, there was lots and lots to like, it just felt like it was missing some of the intangibles.

The Hobbit and The Dark Knight Rises, I'd place around Lincoln; both have their goods and their bads, both are uneven, but entertaining, and I'd recommend both. But The Hobbit feels like a novelty, the first ten minutes pissed me off and it took me a long time to get back into the movie, and I'm still iffy about the changes they made to the book, but I want to withhold final judgment until after I've read "The Unfinished Tales." The Dark Knight Rises... I didn't hate it as much as some people, and damn, Anne Hathaway was BORN to play Selina Kyle... but it was a definite step down from The Dark Knight; I think Nolan bit off more than he could really chew, and lost focus. Again, I liked it, but it's not one of my favorites.

[sarge43]

12. I agree Spielberg is often overrated

This time I think he put aside sentiment and tried to tell a story as truthfully as possible. I especially appreciated the attention to detail, such as casting a Native American as Grant's Seneca aid-de-camp, Col Ely Parker. The scene where Tad learns of his father's death I thought Spielberg was working out his daddy issues yet again, but after checking that's exactly how it happened.

The opening scene was right on. That's for the most part was the Civil War -- bloody, muddy, brutal and face to face. No walking across a pristine landscape, doing a double back flip to indicate a wound.

[davidpdx]

3. I would appreciate anyone who adds their thoughts

I'm outside of the US and miss most of the movies. It kind of sucks and I'm always open to new idea or even TV series suggestions.

[WhoIsNumberNone]

5. I only saw three movies this year

Batman
Prometheus
James Bond

Can't say I was disappointed with any of them.

[geardaddy]

7. Here are mine:

in no particular order...

Lincoln
Two Days in New York
Moonrise Kingdom
Ruby Sparks
Wanderlust

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

8. Argo was great too

Lincoln - A+
Ted - I like that kind of humor and I love that movie
The Avengers - very good
SkyFall - A+
The Hobbit - A+ (and an extra + for the technology - 48 frames/sec, CGI, etc.)