1. The Dark Knight Rises (Christopher Nolan) - Some found it disappointing and a lot of critics love to nit pick at the things wrong with this film. It couldn't possibly have lived up to The Dark Knight. But it was an amazing, emotional and exciting conclusion to my favorite trilogy of all-time. I remember how bittersweet the feeling was leaving the theater from the midnight showing knowing that I would never see a new Nolan Batman movie. But I love TDKR and will never get tired of watching it.
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky) - The performances were top notch and I think it translated incredibly well from the book. We've all had to deal with high school and its complexities. I'm sure all of us saw one trait or another in one of the characters that we can relate to. It is a very unique story and brings out several different emotions in the audience.
3. Skyfall (Sam Mendes) - Cinematically I thought this was the best film of the year. Daniel Craig solidified himself as my favorite Bond with this addition to the franchise. Bardem was quite possibly the creepiest and most charismatic villain on the big screen since Ledger's Joker. I find myself holding back from watching this movie often in hopes that I don't get tired of it, if that's even possible.
4. Silver Linings Playbook (David O. Russell) - In Russell's last two films the Academy has awarded three different actors for their performances, and that's not a coincidence. I recently saw 'Three Kings' for the first time and Russell is fantastic at character development. SLP was one of the few films that had 100% of my attention from the very beginning until the credits rolled. Proud that my buddy Blaine's little sister got an Oscar for her phenomenal performance. I've also raved about Bradley Cooper since his role in 'Wedding Crashers' so I'm glad to see he's finally getting recognized for his acting abilities.
5. The Avengers (Joss Whedon) - I don't think I really need any justification of why this movie is so high on my list. It seems like we all loved it and for good reason. The build up by Marvel and the studios to make this film were done so well and efficiently that it seemed almost impossible to bring all of these iconic characters together in one film. But Whedon did it and his final product made a little money (if you hadn't heard). I even contemplated not buying this on blu ray just because the sheer scale of the film could not fully be appreciated on my home entertainment system. But I figured, what the hell, I will still love it on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 25th, 100th viewing!
6. Django Unchained (Quentin Tarantino) - I would probably list this as QT's third best film behind 'Pulp Fiction' & 'Inglourious Basterds'. If there are any directors that are better storytellers through a camera lens than Tarantino, it's a short list. He also is extremely gifted when it comes to putting together the right cast. Foxx was perfect the role and I'm glad Will Smith turned it down. Waltz & Tarantino seem to be quite the team lately too. Django did just enough to get me to the line of being uncomfortable when watching it in the theater without actually crossing the boundary. I appreciate movies that can bring that kind of emotion out of me.
7. The Cabin in the Woods (Drew Goddard) - Definitely one of the most original horror films in recent years. What a genius way to point out all of the horror cliches together and make a mockery out of them. SPOILER ALERT: It's good seeing the world end for once.
8. Argo (Ben Affleck) - Affleck has solidified himself as a director who I will see any film his name is tied to. The last 30 minutes of Argo might have been the most emotionally exhausting half hour of the entire year. Though exaggerated for dramatic purposes, the film still tells a great story and recognizes a true American Hero.
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild (Benh Zeitlin) - Beasts had some of the saddest and happiest moments in film in all of 2012. Telling this tragic story through the eyes of a child losing her father can be difficult. But Zeitlin nailed the imagination and imagery that a child uses. Great film with a really great score.
10. Wreck-It Ralph (Rich Moore) - The best animated film of the year by far. For anyone who's ever spent more than 30 minutes in an arcade as a child this film hits home.
11. Lawless (John Hillcoat) - Tom Hardy + Jessica Chastain x a depression era shoot em up = fucking awesome. Never thought I'd use Shia LaBeouf in the same sentence as "gritty" but he really showed some range in a role that didn't have him screaming "OPTIMUS!".
12. Killer Joe (William Friedkin) - It was refreshing seeing McConaughey outside of a romcom shirtless for no reason. He was dark and creepy giving us easily his best performance since 'A Time to Kill'. One of the more underrated and unknown films of the year.
13. Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow) - Yeah, maybe it was 'The Hurt Locker' part 2 but it had an intense ending and it's a story that we Americans really wanted to see. Bigelow is one of the most patient directors currently working and Chastain was both cold and warm in a really fantastic performance.
14. 21 Jump Street (Phil Lord, Chris Miller) - I expected nothing from this film based on the trailers. I remember hearing people say it was laugh out loud funny so I did a blind buy. Jonah Hill nails his funny and sarcastic style. Channing Tatum emerged as a damn good comedic actor as well. This is comedy with a ton of rewatchability for me. Glad they're doing a sequel.
15. Prometheus (Ridley Scott) - There was a lot of hype for this, especially with some amazing trailers. A lot of people didn't like Prometheus just for the fact that they didn't understand it. I thought as a prequel it worked very well and from a philosophical perspective was complex and truthful.
16. Life of Pi (Ang Lee) - I really missed the boat (get it?) on seeing this one on the big screen. My one issue was that certain dialogue early in the film built my expectations up too high. Other than that I was a really great story and cinematically beautiful.
17. The Amazing Spider-Man (Marc Webb) - As much as I really enjoy the first two installments by Raimi and his comic book style movies, TASM was IMO a better origin story. The film had its faults for sure. And if you're the type of critic that gets frustrated when exactly logic isn't used than you probably hated this. I ignored some of the faults because they were not that big of a deal and really enjoyed this new direction in the Spider-Man series.
18. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (Lorene Scafaria) - The world is ending and Steve Carell finally finds true love. Poor bastard. This could have been another run-of-the-mill indie com but instead the actors and their performances gave us a much better movie that deserves high praise.
19. Sinister (Scott Derrickson) - Damn, what a creepy movie. The realness of the super 8's that were shown and their graphic nature was a nice touch in a horror genre that has recently stooped to relying simply on the over use of gore. I'd like to see one sequel but certainly not a franchise that would run a very eerie villain into the ground.
20. Looper (Rian Johnson) - People seemed to like this movie a lot more than me. I loved its originality but I was extremely distracted by the CGI of Gordon-Levitt's face. The kid, who really looks like a young Orson Welles, might have given the best performance in the film. And that's saying something considering JGL, Emily Blunt and Bruce Willis were all costars.
New York Rangers
Punisher nice!