2012: Top Ten Best & Worst

[Uncle Sam]

After Earth looks interesting enough that I might look forward to it if it weren't from the man who presented me with the squealing abortion that was The Last Airbender.

And it's Damon "You want answers? HERE ARE YOUR ANSWERS! *places erect penis on desk*" Lindelof who won't be returning to Prometheus. Thank Christ.

Onward and downward to my bottom films of 2012. I said I'd be bacl. In descending order:

10. Brave:
Oh, Pixar. Oh, Pixar! I'd come to terms with the fact that not every film you were going to make wasn't going to be a stone cold classic, but you at least always had a novel premise. Your first female protagonist deserved a film in which something fucking happened, you know?

9. The Imposter:
I feel bad for disparaging what's actually an interesting film in places, and it's got some good ideas. Not really sure how it got so far down the list. Maybe it was a good year for film after all.

8. The Amazing Spider-Man:
As someone who worships at the altair of Raimi, this made my head spin round and I fucked myself with a crucifix. Fuck you, Peter Parker. A) You're too cool. B) You're a cunt.

7. Searching for Sugar Man:
Searching for a reason to give a shit. They never find one.

6. The Dark Knight Rises:
Tom Hardy's bobblehead/Sean Connery impersonation was the best bit about the film. Nolan phoned it in and phoned it in hard. The ******ed pygmy sibling to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

5. Marley:
You'd think Bob Marley was quite an interesting guy. You'd think.

4. John Carter:
Better than the marketing department at Disney made out, but I think that speaks to how dire the marketing was more than anything else. "Look, it's a movie about a bloke called John Carter!" they said. Incredibly, it didn't make back its $500,000,000 budget.

3. Chronicle:
There's something wrong with Andrew? Yeah, no shit. The OC meets found footage films in an unstoppable boring shit alliance.

2. The Hunger Games:
Inoffensive tween shite. Indecipherable action scenes.

1. War Horse:
I like Michael Morpurgo. I like Steven Spielberg. The two together is just too much twee. Too much.

Honourable mentions (for best film, not for worst): Life of Pi, The Master, Ted, Dredd, Seven Psychopaths. Oh, and Jaws and Lawrence of Arabia. You should get round to watching those if you haven't.

 

[Da Solo]

After Earth looks interesting enough that I might look forward to it if it weren't from the man who presented me with the squealing abortion that was The Last Airbender.

That is literally the 1st thing I thought once I saw the trailer. It's got me kinda conflicted too, cause I've never really seen a bad Will Smith movie (Don't mention Wild Wild West to me, refused to see that shit), but then again I've never seen a good M. Night Shyamalan movie. Should be interesting, especially with the lurking variable that is the bootleg Riley Freeman, I mean Jaden Smith, in it

 

[Mitch Henessey]

2012 is coming to a close, so let's list our picks for the top ten best movies and the ten worst movies!

10 Best​

1. The Cabin In The Woods-It’s a total mind-fuck from beginning to end, and the puzzling story is loaded with shocking curveballs.

2. Lincoln- Daniel Day Lewis might be the front-runner to win the Oscar for Best Actor, and deservedly so. And on top of that, I wouldn't mind a nomination for Tommy Lee Jones in the Best Supporting Actor category.

3. Django Unchained- Probably won't live up to the hype for most people, but it's still an enjoyable treat for Tarantino fans.

4. The Dark Knight Rises- It's starting to grow on me since I bought it on DVD.

5. Prometheus- Plenty of awe-inspiring visuals, and Scott did a wonderful job of providing a haunting, bleak atmosphere, filled with terror, tension, and wonder.

6. End Of Watch- Needs an Oscar nomination for something.

7. Dredd 3D- It's better than Stallone's Dredd.

8. Chronicle- Easily the best found-footage film in 2012.

9. The Master- Joaquin Phoenix’s remarkable ability to display a wide range of emotions is mesmerizing.

10. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower-A nice heartfelt drama with a superb young cast.

Update:

1. Argo- Phenomenal. Ben delivers one of the most memorable pulse-pounding finales I've ever seen, and he deserves a nomination in the Best Director category. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised to see a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Alan Arkin.

2. The Cabin In The Woods-It’s a total mind-fuck from beginning to end, and the puzzling story is loaded with shocking curveballs.

3. Lincoln- Daniel Day Lewis might be the front-runner to win the Oscar for Best Actor, and deservedly so. And on top of that, I wouldn't mind a nomination for Tommy Lee Jones in the Best Supporting Actor category.

4. Django Unchained- Probably won't live up to the hype for most people, but it's still an enjoyable treat for Tarantino fans.

5. The Dark Knight Rises- It's starting to grow on me since I bought it on DVD.

6. Prometheus- Plenty of awe-inspiring visuals, and Scott did a wonderful job of providing a haunting, bleak atmosphere, filled with terror, tension, and wonder.

7. Cloud Atlas- As the numerous storylines established themselves, I almost fell asleep, but Cloud Atlas is still a very good film. Captivating, emotional, thrilling, and spectacular, Cloud Atlas provides a grandiose and thought-provoking experience.

8. End Of Watch-Needs an Oscar nomination for something.

9. Flight- Denzel will probably receive an Oscar nomination, but Robert Zemeckis' directing for this film is just incredible.

10. Les Miserables- The runtime for Cloud Atlas didn't bother me too much, but the runtime for Les Miserables is exhausting. I'm not familiar with the musical, but Les Miserables the film just kept going on and on and on, and at times, I was waiting for it to be over. Although, the talented cast deserves recognition, especially Anne Hathaway.

Well, I think I watched every Oscar worthy film for 2012. I watched Life Of Pi this week. It's a visual wonderland, and the 3D effects are amazing, but the story was too shallow for my taste.

I also watched Wreck It Ralph today. It should be the front-runner for the Best Animation Film Oscar, but I didn't see anything impressive in this film. Ralph just feels like a run-of-the-mill Disney production, and as I expected, I couldn't follow most of the video game references, and I didn't recognize most of the characters. I could identify the obvious ones (Sonic, Dr. Robotnik, the Street Fighter characters, etc.), and I think Kano is the guy, who ripped out the zombie's heart in the beginning, but that's about it.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Finally saw everything I needed to see. Here are my top ten films for 2012 (if you have any particular questions about why I chose a certain film, ask me and I'll answer):

1) Amour: As if you thought this choice would be any different. I don't need to explain myself here; Michael Haneke's a film god and that's all that really needs to be said.

2) Rust and Bone: Great French drama directed by Jacques Audiard and starring two of Europe's hottest action commodities. If you don't know about Matthias Schoenaerts, then you need to see the best film from last year, Bullhead. No bullshit, jeffue, this guy's the greatest actor to come out of Europe since Vince Cassel.

3) Silver Linings Playbook: The greatest romcom ever made and one of personal favorite movies of all time.

4) The Queen of Versailles: A riches-to-rags cautionary tale and the greatest film that will ever be made relating to the Great Recession. The best part of all? It's a documentary.

5) Argo: Tense and very well-made political thriller. I give Ben Affleck much props for becoming the next Clint Eastwood.

6) Looper: I'm so pissed this didn't get a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Anyway, this film gets my vote for "Best Movie Whose Trailer Made It Look Really Underwhelming."

7) Prometheus: My god this film had one of the worst screenplays of all time but I'll be damned if it wasn't one of the most gorgeous films I've ever seen. Now if only Hollywood could get screenwriters whose talents matched those of the likes of Ridley Scott and Michael Fassbender.

8) Moonrise Kingdom: I remember back in the day when, after seeing The Royal Tenenbaums, I thought Wes Anderson was going to be one of America's greatest filmmakers for years to come. Thankfully he comes back to form in this film.

9) Life of Pi: The deep emotional impact that the book Life of Pi had on me will never allow me to fully appreciate its film adaptation. However, I'm giving said adaptation a spot on my list because no other director besides Ang Lee could have made such a valiant effort to bring something so unadaptable to the big screen (maybe Robert Zemeckis could have done it based off of Castaway, but I digress).

10) The Master: I hated There Will Be Blood, but PT Anderson proved to me with this film that he can make something good that doesn't revolve around vapid assholes in the San Fernando Valley...good on him.

My much more enjoyable top 10 Overrated Films of 2012 will be coming shortly.

 

[dukes07]

I am not sure if I can go in order here but these are my top ten in some sort of order:

1. Django Unchained: Just loved this movie.
2. Dark Knight Rises: I get some of the criticism but overall enjoyed the shit out of it.
3. Hobbit: I am a big LotR fan and this movie delivered.
4. Avengers: Not a big superhero buff but this movie delivered.
5. Raid: The Redemption: Easily one of the best action films to come in quite some time. Fucking amazing.
6. Looper: I love sci-fi like this.
7.Prometheus: Again I understand some of the hate this got due to some questionable writing and plotholes but damned if I care. Loved it.
8. Dredd: Similar to Raid but still solid. 100 minutes of shit blowing up. Awesome.
9. Expendables 2: Again, I get to shut my brain off.
10. Lincoln/Argo: Sure we know the story but damned if it wasn't a good one.

Honorable Mentions:

Total Recall: I liked the reboot. I didn't compare it to the original so enjoyed it. Besides the original does not really hold up, Arnie trying to spit game is quite frightening. It also needed to be twenty minutes longer.

Skyfall

Silver Linings

For more mindless nonsense:

Snow White: For some reason liked it.
Lockout
Safe
Sinister
Vampire Hunter
Cabin in the Woods

Need to see: Zero Dark Thirty and Cloud Atlas.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

6) Looper: I'm so pissed this didn't get a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Anyway, this film gets my vote for "Best Movie Whose Trailer Made It Look Really Underwhelming."

Still haven't seen this, so I'm wondering If Looper is really worth watching. I have faith in Joesph Gordon-Levitt as a leading man, but I'm worried about Bruce Willis.

Also, I have a strong feeling Lincoln will find a spot on your top ten most overrated films in 2012.....

 

[Uncle Sam]

It's funny you mention Bullhead, tdigle - I saw a trailer for it, saw a release date for February 1st 2013 and then, all of a sudden, nothing happened. It disappeared off the map. No idea what became of it. Maybe it's still coming out on Friday but God knows where I'll see it.

Rust & Bone is one of the films which I regret not seeing this year, so I'll probably be picking that up on Blu-ray when it comes out. Every day I had the opportunity to go see it, I found that I wasn't in "the mood." I'd be a terrible girlfriend.

Amour wasn't my movie of the year - or in my top ten, come to think of it - but I can certainly understand why it would be someone's. Oddly enough, despite the film being entirely candid, and reminding me of scenes in my own life, it only really hit me a few hours after I left the cinema. Maybe I needed sad piano music or something, though I'm yet to find a film which will actually make me cry.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

Top 10 Most Overrated Films of 2012

1) Beast of the Southern Wild: An average film that could be considered, at best, slightly above-average given how much it was made for. While I would usually be baffled at how a film like this could get so many Oscar nominations, I have to remind myself that AMPAS always gives love to a Sundance favorite each year in an attempt to delude themselves into thinking that the American indie scene is still relevant.

2) Zero Dark Thirty: Yeah, it's a decent film, but this film's acclaim primarily derives from how topical and emotionally charged it is. Furthermore, the uproar over Kathryn Bigelow not getting an Oscar nomination for this film is laughable. Before The Hurt Locker, Bigelow was making mediocre action/horror films for about 20 years, and no she's an auteur? I don't think so...you take away Mark Boal and she's just as shit as she used to be.

3) The Perks of Being A Wallflower: This is kind of a weird one for me. I loved this book and I thought the magic would translate to the screen since Steven Chbosky, the book's author, would be directing. Well, we're all wrong sometimes.

4) Django Unchained: Quentin Tarantino gets lazier by the year. I could have written this film by locking myself in a room for 15 days while listening to Death Row records, watching old Franco Nero movies and The Boondocks, and trying to remember what I learned about slavery in my 11th grade American history class.

5) The Hunger Games: This movie just flat-out sucked. I would factor in how faithful this adaptation was to the book but, in doing this, I'd run the risk of wasting a few more hours of life.

6) End of Watch: Before some of you crucify me for this pick, remember that this is about what I find to be the most overrated films of the year. End of Watch was a very good film. That being said, it is NOT an award-worthy film; there were too many continuity issues/structural flaws. Could End of Watch been something exceptional? Probably, but let's call it what it is: a good popcorn flick that touches on some gritty subject matter.

Since I can't think of anymore films that I found overrated, let's go into the four worst films of the year:

1) This Is 40: With this film and his unleashing of Lena Dunham on our poor souls, Judd Apatow now officially sucks.

2) Paranormal Activity 4: Horrible, horrible film that hopefully serves as a bookend to one of the most deceitful and awfully-made horror franchises of all time. Since they've swindled me four times, whoever made the trailers for these films should be given lifetime employment by some business-savvy studio.

3) Total Recall: Colin Farrell sucks and so did this remake.

4) The Watch: I saw this film for Richard Ayoade's American debut. I was disappointed to find out that I'd both wasted my money and even a comedic genius Ayoade can't counteract the shittiness that is Jonah Hill, Vince Vaughn, and Ben Stiller.

 

[Uncle Sam]

1) Beast of the Southern Wild: An average film that could be considered, at best, slightly above-average given how much it was made for. While I would usually be baffled at how a film like this could get so many Oscar nominations, I have to remind myself that AMPAS always gives love to a Sundance favorite each year in an attempt to delude themselves into thinking that the American indie scene is still relevant.

What was with the anti-FEMA message in this film? People who give care and aid to tragedy-stricken areas are suddenly some lifestyle-destroying, invading force? Maybe I'm being too political for my own good.

2) Zero Dark Thirty: Yeah, it's a decent film, but this film's acclaim primarily derives from how topical and emotionally charged it is. Furthermore, the uproar over Kathryn Bigelow not getting an Oscar nomination for this film is laughable. Before The Hurt Locker, Bigelow was making mediocre action/horror films for about 20 years, and no she's an auteur? I don't think so...you take away Mark Boal and she's just as shit as she used to be.

For my money, this is actually better than The Hurt Locker. At least the final act, save the last two minutes, is a better use of Bigelow's macho action movie roots. I get your point though.

5) The Hunger Games: This movie just flat-out sucked. I would factor in how faithful this adaptation was to the book but, in doing this, I'd run the risk of wasting a few more hours of life.

"The best sci-fi film since The Matrix."

Yeah, alright. Sure.

6) End of Watch: Before some of you crucify me for this pick, remember that this is about what I find to be the most overrated films of the year. End of Watch was a very good film. That being said, it is NOT an award-worthy film; there were too many continuity issues/structural flaws. Could End of Watch been something exceptional? Probably, but let's call it what it is: a good popcorn flick that touches on some gritty subject matter.

It's not an award-worthy film, but nor did it really win any awards, did it? Maybe Most Curious Use of a Handheld Camera. End of Watch occupies the same territory for me as David Ayer's other great film, Fast and Furious (i.e. The Fast and the Furious). It doesn't have pretensions and it knows what it is. For my money, nobody in Hollywood writes a better bromance - or performs one, come to think of it.

And I hate the term "popcorn flick" simply because it's most often used as an excuse/synonym for a bad movie, which End of Watch isn't.

 

[JaceyCarter]

2012 is coming to a close, so let's list our picks for the top ten best movies and the ten worst movies!

10 Best​

1. The Cabin In The Woods-It’s a total mind-fuck from beginning to end, and the puzzling story is loaded with shocking curveballs.

2. Lincoln- Daniel Day Lewis might be the front-runner to win the Oscar for Best Actor, and deservedly so. And on top of that, I wouldn't mind a nomination for Tommy Lee Jones in the Best Supporting Actor category.

3. Django Unchained- Probably won't live up to the hype for most people, but it's still an enjoyable treat for Tarantino fans.

4. The Dark Knight Rises- It's starting to grow on me since I bought it on DVD.

5. Prometheus- Plenty of awe-inspiring visuals, and Scott did a wonderful job of providing a haunting, bleak atmosphere, filled with terror, tension, and wonder.

6. End Of Watch- Needs an Oscar nomination for something.

7. Dredd 3D- It's better than Stallone's Dredd.

8. Chronicle- Easily the best found-footage film in 2012.

9. The Master- Joaquin Phoenix’s remarkable ability to display a wide range of emotions is mesmerizing.

10. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower-A nice heartfelt drama with a superb young cast.

10 Worst​

1. Project X- No story, no plot, no structure and no character development. It's just a shit-fest from beginning to end, and a lame excuse to show naked women on the big screen.

2. ATM- One of the dumbest films I've ever seen in my entire life

3. Gone- I love Amanda Seyfried, but Gone is horribly boring, and the twist at the end is so lame.

4. Resident Evil: Retribution- I still can't believe this franchise made it to five films.

5. House At The End Of The Street- It fails to live up to the very low standards of generic mainstream horror films.

6. This Means War- Tom Hardy and Chris Pine are spies, who use their resources to capture Reese Witherspoon's heart. Just think about that for a second.

7. Chernobyl Diaries- Starts out with some promise, but eventually it devolves into a boring "WE HAVE TO CONSONANTLY RUN FROM THE BAD GUYS!" snoozer.

8. The Five-Year Engagement- I watched this for a second time a few weeks ago, and my God I can't believe I gave this film a positive score.

9. Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance-It's Nicholas Cage in another Ghost Rider film, that's enough.

10. Wrath Of The Titans- I finally saw this last week, and I thought about writing a review on it, but I didn't want to waste the time. Sam Worthington is a TERRIBLE actor. He's the worst action drone in Hollywood, and Wrath Of The Titans makes Man On A Ledge look like a work of art.

I fully agree with you..There are lot of best & worst movies released in last year & your list are so matched with mine movie list....but End Of Watch is mine all time favorite movie ever..