2012 was a great year for movies. Everybody, from Wes Anderson to Ben Affleck to Steven Spielberg, were in top form. Frankly, there’s no real science behind why this year was particularly good for movies, but a recurring element was taking risks. More often than not, it worked out beautifully, bringing unique ideas and wonderfully different approaches to many of this years best movies.
And now, the Top 25 2012 Movies.
25. “The Amazing Spider-Man”: It should have been a joke, a lesson in how Hollywood keeps milking it’s most successful properties to the brink of desperation. On the contrary, this take on the legendary Marvel Comics hero became a wonderful surprise, tackling the wall-crawler with a surprisingly successful tone and a dynamite cast. One of the biggest surprises of 2012, this film truly lived up to it’s name.
24. “The Pirates! Band of Misfits”: Aardman, the makers of “Wallace and Gromit “and “Chicken Run” continue their streak of fantastic films with this delightful comedy. With its sense of humor unique among animated movies and it’s claymation animation dazzling to behold, “The Pirates!” is a laugh riot and easily one of this years most underrated flicks.
23. “Prometheus”: Many were disappointed by this sci-fi flick, with it’s high stakes questions and ideas. My reaction? Awestruck, especially by its visual splendor and wonderfully designed sets. Sure, the script might have some problems, but the film, similar to “Avatar” and “District 9”, harkens back to the glorious days of sci-fi, when it could entertain, frighten and make you think. On all three counts, Prometheus is a rousing success.
22. “Chronicle”: There was no other film like it in 2012, something that took the superhero genre and flipped it on it’s head. The best part? It did so, not with grotesque humor, but with wonderfully created characters and the best implementation of the found footage technique I’ve ever seen. Both heartbreaking and spellbinding, this modern day greek tragedy is one of the most unique portrayals of super heroes ever put on screen.
21. “ParaNorman”: “The Goonies” would be proud of the animated treasure, that combines gorgeous animation with a well made, and surprisingly terrifying, script that will leave audiences young and old amazed. Different from anything else released last year, ParaNorman is a thrilling reminder of what not just good animated films can accomplish, but what good horrors films can be.
Stay tuned for the next part of the Top 2012 movies: movies 20-16 will be posted tomorrow.
