Overall,
I think 2012 was a pretty good year for movies.
As for the WORST 10 MOVIES OF 2012, I've decided to limit myself to one-sentence descriptions. While there may be a 2013 release atop my Top 10 of 2012, this is my list and I make the rules, so I can make them as inconsistent as I want. Thus, I'll spare a pair of upcoming horror movies I saw in Toronto and keep them in mind for next year's Worst Of list. Apologies in advance...
THE INSNEIDER'S WORST 10 MOVIES OF 2012
Sundance
set the tone, starting the year off strong with "Beasts of the Southern
Wild," "The Sessions," "Safety Not Guaranteed,"
"Compliance" and "The Imposter."
We
saw teenagers finally get the movies they deserve, with "Project X"
and "21 Jump Street" adding a memorable laugh track to the drama of
"Chronicle" and "The Perks of Being a Wallflower," not to
mention "Moonrise Kingdom," which featured the sweetest teenage
romance in years.
We
saw two Roberts -- De Niro and Zemeckis -- do the best work they've done in
years with "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Flight."
We
saw time-tested subjects such as mental illness ("Silver Linings
Playbook"), marriage ("This Is 40") and time travel
("Looper") explored in exciting new ways.
We
saw people survive shipwrecks ("Life of Pi"), plane crashes
("The Grey"), car accidents ("Frankenweenie"), natural
disasters ("The Impossible"), the justice system ("West of
Memphis") and perhaps most impressively, slavery ("Django
Unchained").
We
saw lots of sex including surrogate sex ("The Sessions"), phone sex
("For a Good Time, Call...), simulated sex ("Holy Motors"),
drunk sex ("The Master"), grandparent sex ("Hope Springs"),
best friend sex ("Savages"), Russian sex ("Anna
Karenina"), alien baby-making sex
("Prometheus"), finger-lickin' chicken sex ("Killer
Joe"), too much sex ("Thanks For Sharing"), Batman sex ("The
Dark Knight Really Rises"), Robert Pattinson limo
sex ("Cosmopolis") and Kristen Stewart car sex ("On the
Road"). Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?
I
really struggled with the order of this year's Top 10 list. I realize I'm
cheating a bit with my top choice, but it'd be boring if I moved it to 2013 and
became the millionth person to declare "Zero Dark Thirty" the best
movie of the year, which it probably is.
You
know the drill, this is my ever-evolving personal list of favorites, not a list
of "the best" of the year. It's certainly not set in stone, as an
earlier post points out 100 movies, including "Amour," that I failed
to see in 2012 and hope to catch up with soon. As much as I'd like to, it's
impossible to see everything because there are so many hours in a day and some
of those are reserved for HBO's "Girls." Yes, I'm drinking that
show's Kool-Aid, back off!
I
realize I'm rambling now, so without further ado... please enjoy my Top 10
Movies of 2012, with a bonus list of the Worst 10 Movies of 2012 just beneath
it. While comments and tweets are welcome, spare me actual hate mail. I never
open it...
THE
INSNEIDER'S TOP 10 MOVIES OF 2012
1.
THE PLACE BEYOND THE PINES - What can I say? I fell for Derek Cianfrance's
follow-up to "Blue Valentine" from its very first frames, a
tracking shot that perfectly sets the tone that follows. One of the finest
American films I've seen in years, this multi-generational crime drama is a
shot in the arm for a genre that has grown complacent. Courageous performances
anchor this heartbreaking story about desperate fathers and the sons who must
pay for their sins. Don't miss it come March!
2.
ZERO DARK THIRTY - An incredibly well-researched procedural as masterful a film
as that other tale of obsession, "Zodiac." Another brave piece of
filmmaking from the talented team of Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal. When
she's allowed to act human, Jessica Chastain is an absolute firecracker.
3.
THE IMPOSSIBLE - The movie I cried at the most this year. I called my family
after seeing it in Toronto. We watched it together over Thanksgiving and it was
equally devastating. Call it manipulative all you want, but I go to the movies
hoping to be manipulated, wanting to feel something. No 2012 film accomplished
that better.
4.
THE RAID - The year's best action movie, no contest, as well as the best
foreign film of the year. Amazing fight choreography set to a great score by
Linkin Park. Pure balls-to-the-wall adrenaline, I couldn't have asked
for more from this intense experience.
5.
THE SESSIONS - Director Ben Lewin deftly balances comedic and dramatic tones in
this heartbreaking true tale of poet Mark O'Brien. John Hawkes and Helen Hunt
deliver two of the year's best performances in this surprising crowdpleaser
that had me laughing and crying.
6.
MOONRISE KINGDOM - The best depiction of young love in years. Only Wes
Anderson could pull off the tone achieved here -- a sweetness that's sadly
missing from most American movies lately.
7.
SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK - This throwback to the madcap comedies of Preston
Sturgess was a star-crossed romance like no other, featuring two winning turns
from Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, giving the best female performance
of the year. Cooper shows off more range than he's ever had the chance and even
Robert De Niro is on his game. David O. Russell is one of the most unique and
necessary voices making movies today.
8.
THE GREY - More than just your average man vs. beast or man vs. nature tale,
this was a fairly profound survival story about man vs. himself. Some won't be
able to see it as anything more than 'Neeson With Wolves,' but there's more
going on here than meets the eye, which is why it has stuck with me since its
January premiere.
9.
COMPLIANCE - I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since I saw it
divide audiences at Sundance. Craig Zobel's thrilling docudrama balances such a
careful, natural tone, it's easy to see how this actually happened in real
life. A true conversation piece, impossible to forget.
10.
RUST AND BONE - Jacques Audiard's searing drama features two dynamite
performances from Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts in one of the
year's most unlikely but refreshing romances.
As for the WORST 10 MOVIES OF 2012, I've decided to limit myself to one-sentence descriptions. While there may be a 2013 release atop my Top 10 of 2012, this is my list and I make the rules, so I can make them as inconsistent as I want. Thus, I'll spare a pair of upcoming horror movies I saw in Toronto and keep them in mind for next year's Worst Of list. Apologies in advance...
THE INSNEIDER'S WORST 10 MOVIES OF 2012
10.
LAY THE FAVORITE - A disappointing effort all around, I have no clue how this
laugh-free "comedy" was directed by the same bloke behind "The
Queen."
9.
JOHN CARTER - Not since "Lost in Space" have I been so bored with an
expensive sci-fi epic.
8.
DAMSELS IN DISTRESS - Set in a completely unrecognizable world, this
pretentious dance craze just wasn't for me.
7.
THE DICTATOR - Funny for a few minutes before the joke got old and I wanted the
grating Admiral General Aladeen to sentence me to death.
6.
ON THE ROAD - A meandering movie that nearly had me on the road back home after
the first hour.
5.
COSMOPOLIS - A disappointing, aimless film of false profundity that seems to
resent its own audience.
4.
ATM - Another pointless contained thriller that wears out its welcome in a
hurry thanks to characters that are so unlikable, it's a wonder they don't put
the audience out of its misery and kill each other early on.
3.
SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN - The less said, the better. Let's move on...
2.
TAKEN 2 - A lazy sequel that repeated the same beats as the original,
wasting all the goodwill it earned.
1.
DETENTION - Ridiculous to the point of absurdity, this experimental stew of
hyperkinetic nonsense was more or less unwatchable despite the good intentions
of its director, who I enjoy following on Twitter.
