Brian's Favorite Films of 2012

As my work hours increased this year, my movie-watching hours have decreased. Thus I was way behind as the year drew to a close. In the past couple months, I've done a lot of catching up and have pleasantly discovered that 2012 was an extremely strong year in movies. It's largely due to solid showings by genre pictures. For instance, the biggest moneymakers were also quality movies; The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hobbit, Skyfall, etc. I also loved the stock of animated movies as well. If the five nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars (Brave, Frankenweenie, Paranorman, The Pirates! Band of Misfits, Wreck-it Ralph) also made up the Best Picture list, I would have been fine with that. This year also has good Sci Fi, great action and even a horror gem that is one of the standouts of the year.
I usually give a top 10 with several honorable mentions. I couldn't find a cutoff this year, so I'm going with 20 movies and I will rank all of them. This is risky because, as listing goes, I might disagree with it tomorrow, but for now this is where I stand.

20. Prometheus

A dark and eerie prequel to the dark and eerie Alien. Because we know what follows decades after this story, every scene feels so big and important.

19. The Avengers

This would have been the highest grossing movie of the year regardless of quality, but Director Joss Whedon made it a good one, as well as a popular one.

18. Silver Linings Playbook

Everything about this movie screams chick flick until you discover it's razor sharp dialogue, deeply real characters and brutally honest story.

17. Lincoln

Two-and-a-half hours of pure conversation shouldn't be this easy to watch. Daniel Day-Lewis is perfect as usual.

16. Argo

Using a bad Sci Fi script and some governmental intelligence, Ben Affleck attempts to free hostages from Iran by saying they're the crew of a film called Argo. What's not to like?

15. The Impossible

Maybe the most appropriately titled movie and one of the most exhilarating experiences in the theater this year. It centers on one family during the tsunami that hit Indian Ocean countries in 2005.

14. The Bourne Legacy

Jeremy Renner, one of the best actors in the business, follows in Matt Damon's footsteps as Aaron Cross, another trained killer who is suddenly the one being hunted.

13. The Pirates! Band of Misfits

Hands down the funniest movie of the year and a total delight from start to finish. And it's from the makers of Wallace and Gromit so you know you're in good hands.

12. The Cabin in the Woods

One of the handful of films 2012 should be remembered for. It starts out as a formulaic horror movie then turns into the most unpredictable and often surreal movies of the year. The makers, including Joss Whedon again, lovingly make fun of the genre then go on to make an awesome horror movie.

11. Zero Dark Thirty

The hunt for Bin Laden is laid out in gripping, pulse pounding fashion. One of the best sequences of the year is the Navy Seal raid on the house in question. Those guys are bad asses.

10. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

I never expected to like this as much as I did. Bilbo (Martin Freeman) is the title character, but the dwarfs steal the show. They're basically a group of vikings that bring Bilbo along for a journey to take back their stolen mountain home which is now the den of the dragon Smaug. There are some excellent sequences on mountain sides and in the goblin tunnels. The most memorable, and important, scene is Bilbo's creepy encounter with Gollum. In that meeting, Bilbo gains a piec ofe jewelry you may have heard about.

9. Skyfall

Bardem. Javier Bardem. Daniel Craig has really found a groove as the sixth man to play James Bond, but Bardem's turn as the vile and flamboyant villain Silva. Kickstarted by the incredible opening credits with Adele's booming voice providing the soundtrack, Skyfall is one of the best Bond films yet. It might lack the elaborate story line present in most Bond films, but the simplistic nature of the story allows the characters to have more strength and life. M (Judi Dench once again) is forced to relocate MI6 once it comes under attack. Bond's loyalty to M is tested as we get to know more about James' back story than ever before.

8. Wreck-it Ralph

While this is a Disney film, it is not a Pixar film though it certainly feels like one. Ralph (voice of John C. Reilly) is the bad guy in an old video game called Fix-it Felix Jr. The game is part of a popular arcade, even if the game isn't popular anymore. Ralph begins contemplating his endless routine of being feared and lonely and ventures into another game, through the power cords, where he hopes to win a medal and some much needed respect from the other characters in his game. He ends up in another game called Sugar Rush and becomes friends with Vanellope (Sarah Silverman) who is a glitch and as much of an outcast as Ralph. From there the story unfolds in entertaining, and unexpected, fashion. It really feels like a Pixar world much more than Pixar's actual film this year called Brave.

7. The Dark Knight Rises

The last leg of one of the strongest trilogies ever, is completely different than the others, but still has the epic feel and the extremely memorable villain. Bane (Tom Hardy) is given plenty of screen time and deservedly so. The opening sequence is amazing, much like The Dark Knight's opening. In this one, Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) has been out of the public eye for a while and is reluctantly brought back in when Bane starts terrorizing Gotham, including a scene in a football stadium. Batman, who has also become somewhat of a public villain, returns to ward off Bane. Anna Hathaway is perfectly cast as Catwoman and Joseph Gordon Levitt plays a police officer named Blake who has always felt a connection to Batman. One of my favorite actors, Marion Cotillard plays Miranda though there's more to her than we originally think. It's a tremendous heart-pounding ride with an absolutely mind-blowing finish. Christopher Nolan has really given us Batman movies to be proud of.

6. Flight

Obviously partially inspired by Sully Sullenberger's crash landing in the Hudson River, this movie's opening scene has a faulty plane attempt to crash and kill everyone on board if not for the heroic skills of pilot Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington). The sequence is an absolute thrill to watch on a big screen. What's more amazing though is that before the flight we witness Whip consuming booze and drugs in alarming amounts. Even though we know that's not what caused the plane to malfunction, we also know people won't see it that way if it gets released that he wasn't in a sober state of mind. While he gets good help and support from a small group of people, we are still forced to painfully watch him stupidly continue his binge drinking and drugging. Near the end of the movie, the story is walking a needle-thin tightrope of what's right and what's wrong to the point that as a viewer I didn't know how I wanted it to end. Robert Zemeckis and company end up giving us as ballsy and bold an ending you'll see. And I believe the right one, though it's certainly been argued otherwise.

5. Moonrise Kingdom

I like Wes Anderson, though I've never been in love with any of his movies until recently. I think his two best movies are 2010's Fantastic Mr. Fox and this year's Moonrise Kingdom, which are his last two pictures. Suzy (Kara Hayward) and Sam (Jared Gilman), a pair of preteens, fall in love and decide to run away together. They escape their New England town which causes a massive search party including town police, Sam's scout troop and the children's families. You'll get your fair share of dry humor, which is usual for Anderson and also a good amount of beautiful visuals. The film's style is extremely appealing and will wrap you in right away. Hayward and Gilman are fantastic together and are joined by a monstrous cast including Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton, Edward Norton, Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand, Jason Schwartzman and Bob Balaban as the omniscient narrator. A pure, joyful experience.

4. Paranorman

Man, do I love this movie. Norman appears to be a normal kid except for the fact that he sees, and speaks to, ghosts. This fact has circulated through the town and school thus he's a total outcast and widely considered to be a freak. Even his family questions his sanity when he continually talks to his grandmother who has been dead for some time. He ends up finding out that his town is on the verge of destruction because of a centuries-old curse his "crazy" uncle discovered. Because he can communicate with the dead, Norman is actually the town's only hope. He forms a reluctant team of his sister, his new friend Neil and a hunky, jock type his sister has a crush on. Anybody who has ever felt left out can relate to Norman who knows he's not crazy, but can't prove it. But then he gets an opportunity to be a hero and we know he won't buckle under the pressure. A dark delight that kind of floated under the radar all year.

3. Django Unchained

One of Quentin Tarantino's best qualities is his ability to make a movie for no one but himself. He's not trying to please anybody in particular. He's not aiming for a certain demographic. He's simply making a movie he wants to see which ends up being quite appealing to millions. Django (Jamie Foxx) is a slave turned Clint Eastwood-style gunslinger. He's a man of few words, but gets it done with his gun. Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz) frees Django and does most of the talking for him. He vows to help Django free his wife Broomhilda (the beautiful Kerry Washington) from evil plantation owner Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). It's got the usual fast pace and electric dialogue that fill all of Tarantino's movies and even a laugh-out loud moment when a bunch of KKK types have a conversation about the bags they're wearing over their heads. People were falling out of their seats in the theater I was in. Don Johnson makes an appearance which makes me wonder how he hasn't appeared in a Tarantino film yet since he fits perfectly. A great cast anchored mostly by Waltz and DiCaprio is also helped tremendously by Tarantino regular Samuel L. Jackson who gives one of the best performances of his career. I think he should have been nominated along with Waltz. He plays a heavy part in what is one of the most satisfying endings I can remember.

2. Life of Pi

The most beautiful movie of the year bar none. Ang Lee creates brilliant visuals and shots of epic proportion. Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma) earned his nickname by writing hundreds of digits of pi on a blackboard one day in class. He studies religion after religion taking his favorite qualities from each. He's been around animals his whole life because his father is a zoo keeper. His family is forced to move the zoo to Canada, so they pack up the animals Noah's Ark style onto a huge freight ship and embark across the Pacific Ocean. A monster storm causes the ship to sink. Pi, an orangutan, a zebra, a hyena and a bengal tiger are the only survivors. All five of them end up on a lifeboat. Eventually it's just Pi and the tiger who begin to battle for space on the boat. Pi uses his craftiness to build a small raft that's tied to the boat so he doesn't have to stay in the boat with the tiger. It becomes an epic tale of survival as Pi and the tiger, funnily named Richard Parker, experience the best and worst nature has to offer. This is definitely a movie you must see on the big screen. It's still out now, so rush out and see it. You won't be disappointed.

1. Searching for Sugar Man

Wow. That's all I can say really. I can't describe how much this movie affected me. And, honestly, I don't want to say too much because I knew very little about it and I think that was a good thing. I'll still attempt to describe it without revealing it's magic. It's a documentary about a folk rock artist from the early 70s called Rodriguez. He was critically acclaimed, but barely sold any albums in America. But somehow he was huge in South Africa. A couple of South African guys who are huge fans of his music try to track down any information they have on him since he was a total mystery. That's where I'll stop. I know you're probably thinking I didn't give you much to go on, but that's honestly as much as I knew going in and it paid off. The story unfolds in such amazing fashion, I think it's better not to know anything. Do me a favor and go out and watch it. Fortunately, it's both on DVD and playing at select theaters right now.

So that's that. Stay tuned this week for my Movie Achievement Awards and my Oscar Predictions both of which I hope to get out by the end of the week.