2012 was the year of the bow. Seemingly every hero, both male and female, had a mastery of slinging arrows into their targets. However, the prevailing theme among the best of the movies was the exploration of meta. They either attacked, lampooned, or celebrated the tropes of film or of the place in the "world" of their characters. On the other hand, other films wanted harsh realism, featuring people who need to fight and survive through nature's elements, world politics, or even the life of a city. There was also the major case against bullying, highlighted greatly through American news stories and a hyped-up documentary, but was also addressed in a few spectacular films, often displayed as a vicious cycle of humanity that needs to be expunged from the genetic code.
Superheroes saved the day, audiences became enamored by the history surrounding of the American Civil War, children had to persevere often by themselves, and a popular spy got to stay current again. Humor came from a foulmouthed teddy bear, a posse with bad head-wear, and a couple stricken with mental disorders. An American sweetheart got to be spicy and sour, a reigning sexy man ruled in all of the biggest roles of his career, a fan-friendly nerd icon got to step up into the big leagues, and the nation found comfort in the multiple critically and/or commercially acclaimed films of Channing Tatum.
These are the films I have deemed the best of 2012. Though I put them in list format, I was equally entertained and moved by these films.
Now comes the usual disclaimer that sadly everyone forgets to remember: This list is of my own opinion, not the general public nor the Internet consensus. If I didn't see the film at all or in its entirety, than it isn't counted.
TOP TEN BEST FILMS
1. Wreck-It Ralph
The best films are the ones where you want to enter and live in their worlds, exploring all of the nooks and crannies. This film was that for myself, where all of the video game characters of a still thriving arcade meet up after hours at the strongest circuit protector ever made. A rich and well served cast, strong themes about social placement, and some of the best damn puns ever pulled off. Having a little Toy Story element in it also didn't hurt.
2. The Avengers
This was film history in the making. The long-term strategy of making a series of comic book films, all leading up to one where the creative staff got to run wild, the actors each get their moment to shine, all before a breathtaking climatic finale. Genius.
3. The Cabin in the Woods
Joss Whedon got to celebrate early before his work in The Avengers. This long-delayed film opened up to rapturous applause, breaking down in a humorous though dark light why horror films are crafted and why innocent blood must be spilled. The ending "purge" never lets up for the viewer.
4. Django Unchained
Three hours never went up so fast. Each act had a fun beginning, middle, and end soaked in copious bloody gore and hilarious gags. Revenge never tasted so sweet recently. Another Tarantino masterpiece.
5. ParaNorman
A stop-motion animated version of The Crucible and 80's splatters, this movie haunts the viewer with the scary sights of school bullying and crowd mentality. If not those, the last confrontation with give you permanent goosebumps for awhile.
6. Argo
Another notch higher in the directing career of Ben Affleck. This was simply put a well crafted Hollywood thriller. It may look and feel basic but the film expertly recreates the 70's milieu, deliver strong punches to the Hollywood business, and features some of the best nail-biting sequences.
7. The Impossible
Probably the most unbearable film of the year, especially for anyone with a child. Based on a true story, this epic film recounts the struggles and despair suffered by a vacating family, as they try to reconnect with each other after a deadly tsunami in 2004. Bring the tissues because this somber film is sure to keep everyone in tears.
8. Zero Dark Thirty
Kathryn Bigelow re-teams with screenwriter Mark Boal to bring another story about American modern warfare, this time focusing on the long search for Osama Bin Laden. Well acted and featuring many unnerving and suspense-filled scenes, the film ends with a magnificent third act, as the Navy Seals Team Six are sent off to the Bin Laden's compound.
9. Holy Motors
This confounding but stellar feature from the French radical director Leos Carax absurdly spins a story from a series of "assignments" for the actor Denis Lavant. Lavant, as a peculiar individual named Oscar, travels around Paris in a limo, stopping at set locations to become a female begger, a destructive leprechaun who eats the hair of Eva Mendes, a motion-capture actor, a hitman, and much more. A metaphor for the transition of real film to digital, this odd duckling is brilliantly insane.
10. The Hunger Games
A perfect case of a film adaptation being far better than its original book. Certainly my most controversial pick, I feel the film moves past its shaky camera problems to tell both a disturbingly quiet sci-fi tale and a satire on reality television and young adult audience expectations.
THE NEXT TEN
11. Beasts of the Southern Wild
This was a story of a little girl who lived with her father in a place called "The Bathtub". A fantasy analogy of a Katrina-stricken Louisiana, this crowd-pleasing eccentric Sundance indie was sold thanks to its imaginative Malick-like cinematography and blissful performances from untrained actors.
12. Chronicle
The best film to incorporate the found footage style, not to mention advance it through the use of "telekinesis", this tale of teenagers who gain, use and abuse their new super-abilities often showcases the tragic modern lifestyle of universal technology and the joyous camaraderie between an adventurous few.
13. Silver Linings Playbook
Manic and unnervingly good, this offbeat dramedy is graced by the fantastic performances of Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence as two people who seek to overcome their romantic and life problems and find a new beginning.
14. Rise of the Guardians
Outfitted with an amazing plethora of production design and a nice message about the power of belief, this animated film of mythical characters teaming up to tackle the children's fear of the Boogeyman is a joyous delight.
15. 21 Jump Street
Uproariously funny, this movie is a very refreshing take on how to remake a television show. It is gleamingly frisky when fiddling with the traditional and modern settings of both high school life and the cliches of action films.
16. End of Watch
David Ayer finally moves beyond the limitations of forever being the writer of Training Day. Playing with the conventions of found footage and thankfully featuring LAPD officers that are not corrupt for once, the film is held greatly together by the fine chemistry of Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña.
17. The Secret World of Arrietty
Balanced well between melancholy and wonderment, this Studio Ghibli movie finds marvel in the simplest things for its small characters.
18. Detention
This is an assault on 90's nostalgia. Featuring a girl who's so-called life is avoiding a serial killer, a jock who mutates into a different spider-man, and a time-traveling, body swapping airhead, this movie is one of a strange kind.
19. The Grey
This harsh action flick, featuring a too close for comfort Liam Neeson as a grieving widow, is fueled by gruesome violence, jolting surprises, and its purgatory-like tone of a pack of manly crash survivors battling against wolves and frostbite.
20. V/H/S
An interesting and accomplished fusion between found footage films and horror anthologies. Though a couple of the segments are flawed, the others are very inventive and a delight, particularly David Bruckner's "Amateur Night" and Radio Silence's "10/31/98".
Next Up: The Worst Performances of 2012
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