2012 in Film: A Year in Review

2012 was a very strong year for film. Picking a year-end top 10 hasn't been this hard in a long time. After my long and tumultuous 2011 film experiment to see just about everything released (Which I still haven't finished, although I am on the home stretch), It was nice to go back to primarily watching only films I was interesting in seeing. What made 2012 interesting was is a lot of films surprised the hell of me (End of Watch, The Raid: Redemption, Chronicle, The Cabin in the Woods) and ended up finishing in the top-tier of my list. Of course there was also my personal highly-anticipated fare that delivered the goods (Django Unchained, The Dark Knight Rises, The Avengers, The Expendables 2) as well as some unfortunate disappointments (The Hobbit, Taken 2, Casa De Mi Padre.) Overall, I really couldn't be happier with how 2012 turned out and I can only hope that 2013 has similar success. Here is my list of every 2012 film I saw from worst to best with star ratings.

66.Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (1.5/5)

65.John Carter (1.5/5)

64.Haywire (1.5/5)

63.Taken 2 (1.5/5)

62.Jeff, Who Lives At Home (2/5)

61.The Bourne Legacy (2.5/5)

60.Snow White and the Huntsman (2.5/5)

59.This Means War (2.5/5)

58.The Raven (2.5/5)

57.The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2.5/5)

56.Wreck-It Ralph (2.5/5)

55.The Amazing Spider-Man (2.5/5)

54.Casa De Mi Padre (2.5/5)

53.Act of Valor (3/5)

52.Wrath of the Titans (3/5)

51.Lockout (3/5)

50.Hit and Run (3/5)

49.Safe (3.5/5)

48.Premium Rush (3.5/5)

47.The Grey (3.5/5)

46.The Hunger Games (3.5/5)

45.Here Comes the Boom (3.5/5)

44.God Bless America (3.5/5)

43.Prometheus (3.5/5)

42.Safety Not Guaranteed (3.5/5)

41.Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (3.5/5)

40.Red Dawn (3.5/5)

39.Underworld: Awakening (3.5/5)

38.Red Tails (3.5/5)

37.Man on a Ledge (3.5/5)

36.The Watch (3.5/5)

35.Trouble with the Curve (3.5/5)

34.The Five-Year Engagement (3.5/5)

33.Project X (4/5)

32.Piranha 3DD (4/5)

31.Savages (4/5)

30.Sleepwalk with Me (4/5)

29.Wanderlust (4/5)

28.Goon (4/5)

27.Dredd (4/5)

26.Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie (4/5)

25.That's My Boy (4/5)

24.Flight (4/5)

23.Detachment (4/5)

22.Contraband (4/5)

21.The Campaign (4/5)

20.Men in Black III (4/5)

19.Skyfall (4/5)

18.Argo (4/5)

17.The Cabin in the Woods (4/5)

16.Lawless (4/5)

15.Safe House (4/5)

14.This is 40 (4/5)

13.Chronicle (4/5)

12.Looper (4/5)

11.The Dictator (4/5)

10.American Reunion (4/5)

9.The Raid: Redemption (4.5/5)

8.End of Watch (4.5/5)

7.The Avengers (4.5/5)

6.Ted (4.5/5)

5.The Expendables 2 (4.5/5)

4.Silver Linings Playbook (4.5/5)

3.21 Jump Street (4.5/5)

2.The Dark Knight Rises (4.5/5)

1.Django Unchained (5/5)

Still want/need to see:

Get the Gringo

Brave

Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

Iron Sky

Killer Joe

Total Recall

Celeste and Jesse Forever

For A Good Time Call....

The Words

Seven Psychopaths

The Perks of Being A Wallflower

3, 2,1 Frankie Go Boom!

Sinister

The Man with the Iron Fists

Killing Them Softly

Deadfall

Jack Reacher

Zero Dark Thirty

I also thought it would be fun to do another list on top of my year-end recap. Every avid moviegoer wishes they could control the winner of the Oscars, so If I controlled the Oscars for this year here's who win based on the films I've seen this year.

Best Picture: Django Unchained

Best Actor: Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook

Best Actress: Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook

Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, Argo

Best Supporting Actress: Kelly Riley, Flight

Best Director: Quentin Tarintino, Django Unchained

Best Original Screenplay: Django Unchained

Best Adapted Screenplay: Silver Linings Playbook

Best Cinematography: Django Unchained

Best Visual Effects: Snow White and the Huntsman