My Tops of 2012 - August

MOONRISE KINGDOM could only aspire to being good, not great. It had great cinematography by Robert Yeoman and the signature patterns of Wes Anderson, but the story of two kids in love, running off before a big storm, wasn't really compelling, not even with the idiosyncratic edits and off-ball performances.

BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD lived up to its Sundance hype. It isn't something new but feels absolutely fresh. It is a world that is magically inviting yet strange and dangerous.

THE EXPENDABLES 2 blew the first film out of the water. Rich in meta-humor and overdosing in violence, the action movie was always exciting and funny. Of course, when Arnold Schwarzenegger is not in frame.

TOTAL RECALL was such a deep dark abyss of boredom. It was like watching a bad cover band on open mic night, as Len Wiseman butchered every single favorite moment of Paul Verhoeven's take, all the while having nothing else to deliver. He couldn't even give his wife/frequent star Kate Beckinsale a steady direction.

LOCKOUT certainly was "Die Hard in space", but having none of that film's greatness. This was yet another mediocre output supervised by the once upon a time wunderkind, Luc Besson, and suffered from stupid characters, a hack-job script, and Maggie Grace constantly being threatened with rape, whether as her character or incognito.


Best Films of 2012


1. The Avengers

2. Chronicle

3. The Secret World of Arrietty

4. The Hunger Games

5. The Cabin in the Woods

6. 21 Jump Street

7. Beasts of the Southern Wild

8. The Grey


Worst Films of 2012


1. Project X

2. Dark Shadows

3. The FP

4. The Devil Inside

5. Rock of Ages

6. Total Recall