2012 in Review

I am working on finishing up my reviews of Les Miserables and Django Unchained so look out for those soon. I felt like writing something a bit more fun and in honor of the new year it felt like this needed to be written. Over the course of 2012 I saw 38 new films in theaters, 2 movie marathons and several of the films I saw multiple times. So after several hundred dollars worth of movie theater tickets and food what where my favorite and least favorite films? Read below to find out.......

MY TOP 5 Surprise Films-

5. Ted- It was a fun late night comedy that I expected to be terrible. 
4. Dredd- Expected something similar to this years Totall Recall and instead got a fun Action/Sci-fi film.
3. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter- Not a great film but was so over the top it was fun!
2. Premium Rush-I had no expectations going in and came out realizing how awesome Michael Shannon is.
1. The Grey- Borderline Top 10 film for me, one of the best survival movies in a long time!

MY TOP 5 Overrated Films-

5. The Avengers- I really liked this film and its in my top 10 but as with any big film, it was over hyped.
4. 21 Jump Street- It was a fun late night comedy but I didn't love it as much as most people.
3. The Amazing Spiderman- I hated this movie because of it just being such a generic comic book film.
2. The Dark Knight Rises- A fun film but it lacks the depth of the previous films, just a fun summer movie. 
1. Lincoln- I feel like people like it because they are told to rather than actually having an original thought about it.


MY BOTTOM 5 Films-

5. The Amazing Spiderman- Very generic and poorly filmed and written, a very disappointing movie.
4. Total Recall- Has nice production value but lacks any of the fun of the original film.
3. Man with the Iron Fists- One of the least coherent movies I have ever seen.
2. Lockout- Could have been fun but bad CGI and a PG-13 rating killed it.
1. Red Dawn- I love the original film and on the surface it is similar but lacks heart and film making skill.


MY TOP 10 Favorite Films-

10. Skyfall-

Arguably one of my most anticipated films of the year. It lived up to those expectations and probably would have been much higher on the list if not for a very strong crop of films this year.










9. Prometheus-

Like Skyfall, this was a film that I had high expectations for. While it may be a fairly flawed film as far as the story is concerned it was probably one of the most beautifully filmed movies of the year. I enjoyed it so much I saw it 3 times in theaters and have watched it about that many times on blu-ray as well.







8. The Artist-

I realize this was a part of last years Oscars but it was still out in theaters at the beginning of 2012 which is when I finally got to see this masterpiece. This was a   fun, well acted, well shot tribute to classic Hollywood.









7. The Avengers-

  The biggest, loudest and arguably the most fun movie of the year. I came into this skeptical and came out blown away. As far as Comic Book films go this was definitely my favorite of the year!









6. Moonrise Kingdom-

This was finally the year that I really got into Wes Anderson. Before this came out I watched all of his previous films and really got into his style of film making. So obviously when I saw Moonrise Kingdom I loved it because this is arguably his best film to date.








5. Safety Not Guranteed-

 This was definitely one of those movies that caught me by surprise and has at times been my favorite movie of the year but I think it has settled in at 5. A fun quirky comedy that has a bit of sci-fi and other genres mixed in. Probably the best movie that no one has heard of, this year.








4. The Raid: Redemption-

 This is tied with Expendables 2 for most Bad Ass movie of the year. One of the most impressive Martial Arts films in a while. While it may have a fairly thin plot, it works enough to make this one of the best films of the year.









3. Argo-

Ben Affleck continues his ascent to the upper echelon of directors in Hollywood. This film will likely garner numerous Oscar nominations and will be battling Zero Dark Thirty for best picture.









2. Looper-

Until last week this was number one on my list and for good reason. Rian Johnson has put himself on the map and will definitely be a director I am watching now. Not only a great sci-fi movie but a great movie in general!









1. Django Unchained-

My first thought after walking out of the theater was that this was my new #1 film of the year. Tarantino has created another classic film that is deserving of more awards than it will likely receive.








-Chris "Da Franchize" Hart