Time to switch gears and go from utter rage to fanboy gushing. These are the movies I absolutely loved watching this year.
First some honorable mentions. The first would have to be Wreck-It Ralph. I don't know why I didn't go see it. It is something right up my alley. A movie all about celebrating video games. I grew up in the '80s and '90s. Games like Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros., and Sonic The Hedgehog were a big part of my childhood. I have no idea why I just never saw it.
Another movie I'm just kicking myself I didn't see in theaters was End of Watch. It's the kind of found footage movie that works well. It makes everything look just a little more gritty and puts you into the action along with two cops trying to survive the night. I've heard great things about it.
And here is my list of the best movies of 2012.
10) THE DARK KNIGHT RISES: While I wouldn't call it my favorite of even the new Batman movies, I'm such a fan of Christopher Nolan's work it deserves to be mentioned. I think this movie could've been helped with a little more creative editing and some creative re-writes, but still it was just about everything we came to expect from the Christopher Nolan Batman movies. Bane was an awesome bad guy and it wrapped up the trilogy in a satisfying way. It left us wanting more. That's the best thing I can say about a movie franchise.
9) AVENGERS: The more I look over my list of favorite movies, the more I expose myself as a total nerd. But this one does deserve some kind of honors. Like Batman, this was a much anticipated movie and it didn't disappoint. The writing was solid, the action was great, and all the characters acted per the way they were established in all the other movies that led up to it. It's not a movie that really stands out, but it's a movie that worked the basics and did so beautifully. A simplistic success. Believe me. That's rare in movies these days.
8) THE EXPENDABLES 2: I think what I liked most about this was the ability to learn from previous mistakes. The first Expendables movie was just too many characters competing for screen time, nothing was really established as far as character motivations, and it just wasn't a root for the good guy type of movie it should've been. Here they dial back on the number of action stars, they give some nice cameos to guys like Chuck Norris, and they managed to tell a simple story and get us to care what happens to the team. Plus, it was a lot of fun.
7) THE HOBBIT: This is a bit lower on the list than I normally would've thought really because it's the start of an epic adventure. There were a lot of slow parts and it really took it's time to flesh out some important characters. Those are all things a movie must do. It just took way too long to do it. The movie did it's job. We laid the ground work and it left us wanting to see what happens next. That's all we can really ask.
6) THE HUNGER GAMES: This is what I mean by an intelligent, creative, and fun action movie. It didn't go into enough detail to help me understand the sociopolitical atmosphere, but I feel like I understood enough for the context of the games. And much like The Hobbit it laid the groundwork for the next couple movies and left me wanting more.
5) ARGO: This movie was just wonderful. An absolute success in production design and storytelling. It did get cliche there towards the end to artificially build up the suspense, but it is such a great ride. The characters are witty and the danger they faced was very real. It treated the subject matter with the utmost respect. It will no doubtedly win some awards and they are well deserved.
4) LINCOLN: One of the most dramatic times in American history, one of the greatest presidents in American history, and directed by Stephen Spielberg. How can this possibly go wrong? What was really great about it was the new spin upon the character of Abraham Lincoln. In most movies, we see Lincoln as this solemn character with the weight of the world on his shoulders. He's always talking with this raspy voice and weary tone. This Lincoln is soft spoken and often tells stories and jokes. I've never seen that side of Lincoln in a movie before and it was very refreshing.
3) SKYFALL: What can I say? I'm a sucker for James Bond. This was the kind of Bond movie I've been wanting to see from Daniel Craig for some time. The earlier ones starring Daniel Craig felt more like a Bourne movie rather than a Bond movie. This one on the other hand was classic Bond. The one to really steal the show was Javier Bardem as our Bond villian. He was so menacing, intelligent, and straight up creepy. He was a great foil for the world's greatest super spy.
2) DJANGO UNCHAINED: I had all but had this one written to be an honorable mention. Then I went to see it in the theater and I'm so happy I did. Terantino is a brilliant filmmaker. I've yet to see anyone blend humor and savagry the way he does. The performances by Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, and Leo DiCaprio was just inspired. I laughed through the whole movie, I was also made to feel very uncomfortable, and then they break out the guns and we're back to having all kinds of fun. If you haven't seen it yet, it's definately a must see for any Quentin Terantino fan.
1) SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS: This is a movie that barely broke even at the box office. I'll admit I didn't think much of the story and I only went to see it because I'm such a huge fan of Christopher Walken. And boy did I find a diamond in the rough. It's not only a very funny movie, but it's one with a surprisingly high level of heart. There were times I legitamately wanted to cry. It was funny, it was beautiful. It was savage, and it was heart warming. And not many people went to see it. I have January 29th circled on my calendar for when this movie hits DVD.
And that about does it for this year. I thank all my readers and friends who help support this website and encourage me as I go forward.
Onward Moviegoers!
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