The Best Films of 2012.

After all is said and done, I don't know if 2012 was a great year for movies. People keep telling me it was and yet as I look over everything I watched, there is much more in the middling-to-good category than the great one. This year's Oscar frontrunners exemplify that. Hardly a bad film among them (although one or two are close) but very few films to get passionate about.

Updating the blog kind of fizzled out for me over the second half of the year, but I saw no less films than I normally do. Overall, between theaters, DVDs and the persistent glory of Netflix, I saw about 80~ films compared to last year's 90. Hardly a quiet year, but as I compiled this list, there were few films I felt absolutely rushing to write about.

But it wasn't a bad year. And this list, filled with films I nonetheless do feel passionate about, showcases that fact. It actually ended up being semi-difficult to whittle it down to merely ten (with five runners-up because you can never have too many). List making is fun, but ultimately useless, especially looking back. Sometimes it has its purposes - my last two #1's, Drive and Black Swan, still remain films I love - but things sometimes get murkier. Last year, The Artist made my #5, and in the time since I have hardly felt compelled to go back and rewatch it even once. While my Top 5 here seem the most solid and filled with films I feel will only increase in stature with time, that caveat tells you all you need to know. And so, with that, enjoy.

RUNNERS-UP

DJANGO UNCHAINED

 There seem to be two minds surrounding this movie: those who were initially disappointed and slowly became more disenchanted as time went on, and those who were pleasantly surprised and seemed to grow more enamored as it went on. While many of my friends are the former, my enjoyment of Tarantino's latest has only increased since I've seen it. Yes, it's desperately in need of some reining in, a third-act revamp and some editing, but it's also a potent vision with such unexpectedly thought-provoking character schemes that I've only grown to admire it more.

LOOPER

 The sci-fi surprise of the year isn't that surprising. Rian Johnson has proven himself a formidable growing talent and Looper only furthers that trajectory. As murky as its logic can get, the film dares to go into surprisingly emotional territory and boasts some incredible visuals and affecting performances behind a clever concept that never outstays its welcome.

THE MASTER

 It speaks to something that I could be relatively disappointed with Paul Thomas Anderson's latest and still have it make this list. While The Master lacks the passionate pull and thematic resonance of Anderon's best films, there's something about it that still sticks with you. Maybe its the stunning images or the performance at its center (also beguilingly off-putting and admirable at the same time), but whatever it is, its working even when it isn't.

THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES

 I don't know what it is about this film. I've watched it multiple times and something about it has such a fascinating draw. It's sprawling, discouraging, fascinating and sometimes annoying, just like the family at its center. And yet its also a strangely enticing examination of a facet of the world we live in. No documentary in 2012 pulled the punches this one did.

PARANORMAN / FRANKENWEENIE

You hate ties. I hate ties. But after endless debate, I couldn't decide on anything else. 2012 was a quietly great year for animation and no two films showcased it more than this pair of stop-motion animated children's horror delights. One in striking black and white, the other in color, both films lived up to the pedigree of the artists behind them and left audiences with smartly entertaining and surprisingly moving fare for children and parents.

THE TOP TEN

10. ARGO

Plain and simple: it's just a fantastically made film. Many have said its Ben Affleck's breakout (they must not have seen Gone Baby Gone) but more importantly its the coming together of a fantastic team of artists to craft a compellingly rich story that never falters in its tightly wound execution. We all knew how the story ended, and yet, the film's last act was merciless in its dramatic tension in a way so few were in 2012. That's just great filmmaking.

09. SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED

On any other day, this film could move halfway up this list. It's such a sweetly affecting little film and one that I'm almost certain will grow with time. There's almost nothing wrong with it: every performance is top notch, the smart premise is cleverly constructed, it packs an emotional punch. I've only just made this list and I'm already second guessing the placement on this one.

08. SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK

People put down Silver Linings Playbook because of how readily it plays by the rules. That's precisely why I love it. There's a formula to the film, but what's most amazing is how the film adapts that style, makes no effort to subvert it, but rather gleefully plays along and provides a burst of energy to a familiar tale. There are at least four fantastic performances in the film, each operating on its own plane and on a different one than the script itself, but in its chaotic glory, Silver Linings comes together to form an irresistible whole.

07. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

I feel like I've spent a lifetime debating this movie. Its detractors aren't wrong, Beasts isn't a perfect film and there are some important questions about its execution. But there's something undeniable about it. It has such an irresistible energy and so many moments of beauty that I was putty in its hands. This movie unabashedly tugs at your heartstrings, and not everyone goes with it, but I certainly did.

06. TAKE THIS WALTZ

I saw this movie over the summer and really enjoyed it. Then I watched it again. "Whoa," I thought, "I really like this movie." That pretty perfectly describes its power. You don't realize how easily the film wins you over. You don't anticipate your emotional involvement until suddenly it grabs you. You don't even realize how naturally stunning it is until you pause on a moment and see just how simply but pervasively moving it all is.

05. THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

My fourteen-year-old self would tell you this was his favorite book. My eighteen-year-old self would probably tell you he was over it. But now, just under twenty-two, I've rediscovered a whole new appreciation for this coming-of-age high school tale. Putting it on the screen with a cast of fantastic players has given it a whole new life. So few films ever reach this level of harmony: a moving tale that feels lived-in and familiar without cloying or pulling at the heartstrings. But one that also sends you through an emotional journey in two hours that feels both universal and incredibly personal.

04. MOONRISE KINGDOM

Frankly, young love is such a dumb thing to write a movie about. So rarely does it ever feel anything but precious and trite. Thank god, then, for Wes Anderson. Moonrise Kingdom, in all its willing eccentricity and genuine feeling, takes the romantic tropes of its tale and makes them feel fresh. Every frame of the movie seems considered and every moment is irresistible. If any movie from 2012 could find itself in frequent rotation, it's this one.

03. AMOUR

Its so hard to talk about loving a movie that so effortlessly crushes you. But its also with that undeniable power that Amour will probably stay with me for years after my first viewing. Michael Haneke is a master of taking difficult subject matter and forcing us to confront it. But here, he takes his most difficult topic yet (our own mortality) and gives it his most human touch. It's overly sentimental to think everyone should watch a film, but if ever that adage applied, it might be here.

02. HOLY MOTORS

Its difficult to put into words just whats so great about Holy Motors because, well, Holy Motors is hard to put into words. Its absurd and strange and alive and filled with emotion at every turn and the ways in which it grips the audience with its hypnotizing vision are endless. In two hours, Leos Carax takes us on a carnival ride through his strangest visions of human life as displayed through the movies. The best compliment you can give the film is that by the time you leave you'll be thinking like he does.

01. ZERO DARK THIRTY

Kathryn Bigelow had a long way to go up from The Hurt Locker. First female director to win the Oscar, a Best Picture trophy, and a surefire future war film classic. When she decided to tackle the search for Bin Laden, it seemed ambitious. How could she ever top herself? How could any film ever do that immense journey justice? And how could any filmmaker begin to unpack all of the complex details and moral ambiguities the story entailed?

We were wrong to underestimate her. Only five minutes after walking out of the film, I understood that. Bigelow's film takes a strong script, a dedicated lead performance from Jessica Chastain, and her distinct visual style and creates one of the most unforgettable cinematic journeys of the year. No film could ever completely encompass the ten years of work it took to capture the most wanted man in the world. But in 150 minutes, Bigelow creates an inescapable and unrelenting glimpse at how it all went down, that leaves you shaken and contemplative. In its last few moments, Zero Dark Thirty does more to provoke thought about the current state of American safety than any politician could honestly attempt. It's a towering accomplishment.

Well, that's that. Since there's no limit to these kinds of things, here are some more films that I really enjoyed this year and would certainly be worth your time:

Anna Karenina

Arbitrage

Bachelorette

Bernie

Chronicle

Compliance

Cosmopolis

Damsels in Distress

The Deep Blue Sea

The Grey

Hello I Must Be Going

How to Survive a Plague

The Invisible War

Killing Them Softly

Miss Bala

Once Upon A Time In Anatolia

Oslo, August 31st

The Paperboy

Polisse

Skyfall

Sound of My Voice

Your Sister's Sister

And, since I don't typically seek out films I don't hear good things about, I can't really produce a "Worst Of" list. Yet, there were plenty of films this year that, for whatever reason, didn't live up to expectations or just plain made me angry. They're not necessarily the worst because there's no way I'm sitting through dreck like Battleship and Insert Adam Sandler Movie Here, but they deserve some negativity. So, in the spirit of fairness, I'll call them my "Least of 2012."

01. The Intouchables

02. Project X

03. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

04. To Rome With Love

05. Hitchcock