THE BEST MOVIES OF 2012
11. Lincoln
Steven
Spielberg’s biopic on Abraham Lincoln is a monument of stately, comfortable
filmmaking from one of the masters of the business. Everything about this is
well-made, polished to a professional sheen that does justice to this great man
and really brings him to life on screen for the first time ever. This is a long
movie, but it’s incredibly lavish and detailed, with that classic Spielbergian
charm that shows he is still the master of thoughtful, uplifting cinema. Daniel
Day Lewis is fantastic as Lincoln and the story, about the passage of the 13th
amendment, is carried with maturity. The portrayal of Mary Todd Lincoln is also
very much worth noting.
10. ParaNorman
Children’s’
movies might get a bad rap, but that’s slowly changing with movies like UP,
Ratatouille, How to Train Your Dragon and now ParaNorman. The story is pretty
basic, just a tale about a kid who can see ghosts who gets called to save the
town from a witch, but basic is the way to go sometimes, and ParaNorman is
great because it has well written characters who play off each other quite
nicely, stunning visuals (though this is the norm for movies today) and subtle,
flowing messages that can resonate with children as well as adults. A clever,
deft and energized romp that should not be missed.
9. Dredd
Great action
movies are almost as hard to come by as great horror movies these days. Dredd
is a great action movie, in the style of Die Hard and Terminator if they were
done up in a 2010s style. I’ve never read any of the comics about Judge Dredd,
but this movie explodes with huge action scenes, delicious gore and a
rocket-speed pace that doesn’t let up. It’s got a cool setting, cool villains
and doesn’t pull any punches. This movie is like a metal-plated fist to your
gut.
8. Killer Joe
This is the
most irreverent movie of the year with how outrageous and indecent it is, and
Matthew McConaughey delivers as the titular character with one of my favorite
performances all year – he is possessed with a manic, quick-witted furor that
almost carries the whole movie on its own, if not for standout performances
from Emile Hirsch and Thomas Haden Church, too. This is a bloody good time of a
movie that speeds through its runtime like a coked up Hell’s Angel with an
attitude problem, unraveling a story of betrayal and greed without any sugar
coating. Killer Joe revels in its unholiness and I love it for that very lack
of restraint.
7. V/H/S
The best
horror movie of the year, and an almost revolutionary experience compared to
the sad sacks at attempts the last few years have given us. V/H/S’s strength
lies in absolutely genius scares and inventive storytelling. It’s a found
footage film that actually uses that to its advantage with some creative framing
– a family vacation tape and a webcam chat log – and, here’s a shocker – no
obvious jump scares! Yes, instead we get brilliant storytelling that unravels
itself in short, sweet bursts of sheer gleeful evil and mayhem; stories that
set up their atmospheres and settings quick and then deliver a hell of a
punchline with great end twists and fascinatingly gruesome concepts. This is
seriously awesome, and horror devotees who love the genre for its imagination
will find much to love here.
6. Wreck-It
Ralph
A sheer joy
to behold, Wreck-It Ralph is the best children’s movie I’ve seen in a long
time, hearkening back to the kind of grace and power that 2009’s UP possessed in
spades. The key to making a great kids’ film is making sure you tell a great
story first and then make it kid-friendly second. And Wreck-It Ralph is good at
that because it has hugely memorable characters, a great setting – seriously,
arcade games! That’s so cool I’d give it a good rating even if the movie was
lame. And a tight, fast-paced, electrically charged plot that never stops moving
and is constantly inventive and clever. There are laughs to be had, there are
emotive moments and there are fist-pumping action and car chase scenes.
Wreck-It Ralph is a treasure of a film.
5. The Avengers
Joss Whedon
is one of the best storytellers of our generation, weaving Shakespearean drama
with modern sci-fi intrigue, explosive action and even some wry comedy here and
there. The Avengers is his new big-screen blockbuster, the big movie that every
superhero fan was waiting for, and it’s pretty much the summer blockbuster to
end all summer blockbusters. Huge, sweeping action scenes are really only icing
on the cake of the characters themselves, who are acted brilliantly and written
brilliantly, with Whedon’s strong writing tying together a series of films
dating back five years. Important for how conceptually brilliant it is, but
also incredibly entertaining, and one of the more satisfying movies of the
year. A mighty thunderbolt of a film, down from the heavens.
4. The Amazing
Spider-Man
I love
Spider-Man and have since I was really young, and this was a revolution for me
because it proved we could have a really, really good Spider-Man movie. Not
that the Raimi stuff was bad, but Marc Webb’s reboot is just so much better in
every way. Everything about this is just grade-A stuff and flows like a charm.
This is really Andrew Garfield’s movie as he proves he is a dynamite actor,
with a ton of range and bursting emotional power, too. Emma Stone as well
delivers maybe my favorite performance of hers yet. The action kicks ass and
the story has emotional power and can resonate with audiences today just as
well as the original comic book could back in the 60s, with the updates made
and the clever, snappy directing. This is a smooth, well put together film that
I will never tire of watching.
3. The Hunger
Games
This was a
real surprise for me, because I thought the first book of the series was good,
not great – I really didn’t expect much from this movie. I mean, how many times
has a YA book series actually produced something meaningful to cinema? Well,
this is my mea culpa – The Hunger Games is a big, sweeping and epic hammer of a
film that completely washes over you in waves with how much is going on,
submerging the audience in the world entirely. You will feel every chaotic
action scene rattle in your bones and the world the movie creates will seem as
real as your own every day life, and twice as terrifying. First rate acting
from Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson only adds to the vitality and
strength this movie has in spades. Truly a story more meant to be seen than
read, The Hunger Games is one of the best movies of the year.
2. Chronicle
I knew
nothing about this movie when I went into the theater, and it floored me. A
powerful, individual tale of three young men in the suburbs who come across a
mysterious rock in the ground that gives them superpowers – only for one of
them, with an unstable family life, to start losing his mind and using the
power for criminal means. The three lead actors are all really great and sell
their characters superbly – I fully believed they were who they said they were.
The story is a very compelling take on troubled teenagers and the sci-fi twist
makes this probably the most original film I saw all year. For its depiction of
the unfortunate marginalized kids who just can’t get anywhere even despite
their efforts, Chronicle is a powerful film that you shouldn’t miss. Essential.
1. Moonrise
Kingdom
I never expected to love a Wes Anderson film, but here it is anyway – Moonrise Kingdom.
This is just a lovely movie, with charm, grace and power, as well as a wry,
fine-tuned dry sense of humor. There’s so much going on here that it’s too much
to comprehend on one viewing alone, but at its core this is a love story, and
one of the best love stories, in any medium, I have witnessed in a long time.
The thing is that Moonrise Kingdom is not just a love story about two kids
getting together, but about family in general – about the ties that bind us
together and the fissures that break us apart, and about solace found in unexpected
places. With a powerful story told by first rate actors all around, this is
funny and romantic and everything in between all at once, integrating
everything into a melting pot so well that you stop picking apart the different
aspects and just accept it as it is: a force to be reckoned with. And for all
the estranged and the lonely out there, this is a light in the dark.
Magisterial, unforgettable and powerful.
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