2012 Movies

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The Films of 2012

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The Year in Review

2012 was a great year for films. There were so many that I wanted to give the top spot to. I had intended to chose the one that made me laugh the most (the muppets). It's funny that the two funniest films were the muppets and Ted. I guess real live people just aren't funny any more. Anyway, although the muppets hit Australia in 2012 it was actually released in 2011 so instead, the award goes to the Hunger Games.

My Top Picks

  1. The Hunger Games: Great. Not what I was expecting at all. Much, much better. I was expecting this to be half twilight and half Battle Royale. Turned out completely different to my expectations and much better. I wish I'd seen it at the cinemas now.

  2. The Muppets: Yes, It really was that good. The muppets have demonstrated that it's still possible to make a great comedy and musical without pandering to the kiddies and without all the crassness that the post Shrek "kiddie movies for adults" come bundled with.

  3. Prometheus: It had a lot of hype and was very good. I thought it would knock the muppets off but not quite. Unlike most people, I wasn't expecting an action film so I wasn't surprised when one wasn't delivered. Some interesting concepts but it never reached the heights of the first two alien films.

  4. Skyfall: This was the first Daniel Craig Bond film that I've really liked and it would have been much higher on the list in any other year. Unfortunately 2012 had a lot of great films. The Adele song was probably the highlight.

  5. The Dark Knight Rises: It certainly lived up to the hype and IMHO, was much better than the Avengers. It would have been better if I'd had any clue about what Bane was saying. Update: Miles better on Blu-ray with the subtitles turned on.

  6. Chronicle: I'm so over those "found footage" films, but somehow Chronicle was different.

  7. Argo: Finally saw this in 2014. Wow, very impressive.Easily the best "totally serious" film of the year. It deserved the acclaim that it got.

  8. Life of Pi: Funny and very pretty too.

  9. Rise of the Guardians: Unexpectedly good. Great to see a kids film move away from the traditional interpretation of Santa.

  10. The Avengers: It's the biggest box office film this year but I didn't get as much joy out of it as the muppets.

Notable Mentions ("Surprise" Films)

  1. The Muppets: Wow. This was so unexpectedly good. I can't remember the last time I laughed so hard at the movies.

  2. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island: This was so much better than it had any right to be, thanks to the comic relief

  3. The War Horse: It was good considering I probably wouldn't have gone to see it without prompting.

  4. Wreck-It Ralph: Very good, hit a bit of a nerve with me.

  5. The Lorax: This movie is only in this list because of the cute bear.

  6. Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, The: I'd forgotten the twist ending to the book, so the film was actually fairly refreshing for me.

  7. Mirror Mirror: I got told that this was terrible, so I waited three years to watch it. It wasn't brilliant but it was far better than expected. Very colourful

The Biggest Disappointments

  1. Raid, The (aka The Raid Redemption): So highly praised and yet, so ordinary.

  2. Wrath of the Titans: Wow. I thought that the only direction left after the terrible remake of Clash of the Titans was Up. How wrong I was.

  3. Total Recall: This was absolute rubbish. Even if they'd copied the Arnie original scene by scene it would have been better than the trash they served up here. It's one of the best demonstrations of why Hollywood has it so wrong these days.

  4. John Carter: I don't remember a lot of this film seeing as I fell asleep but from what I can remember, it was going nowhere fast.

  5. Brave: Not a bad film at all, just less lively by Pixar standards.

All the films I've seen at the Cinemas in 2012

  1. War Horse, The

  2. Muppets, The

  3. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 3D

  4. Dr. Seuss' The Lorax

  5. Pirates! Band of Misfits, The

  6. Avengers, The

  7. Five-Year Engagement, The

  8. Prometheus

  9. Dark Knight Rises, The

  10. Total Recall

  11. Ted

  12. Taken 2

  13. Skyfall

  14. Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The

Films from 2012 I've seen on the "small screen"

  1. Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter

  2. Amazing Spider-Man, The

  3. American Reunion

  4. Battleship

  5. Big Wedding, The

  6. Bourne Legacy, The

  7. Brave

  8. Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, The

  9. Cabin in the Woods, The

  10. Chronicle

  11. Cold Light of Day, The

  12. Contraband

  13. Devil Inside, The

  14. Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days

  15. Dictator, The

  16. Django Unchained

  17. Dredd

  18. Expendables 2, The

  19. Finding Nemo 3D

  20. Frankenweenie

  21. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance

  22. Grey, The

  23. Haywire

  24. Hunger Games, The

  25. Ice Age: Continental Drift

  26. John Carter

  27. Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

  28. Les Misérables

  29. Life of Pi

  30. Lockout

  31. Looper

  32. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted

  33. Man on a Ledge

  34. Men in Black 3

  35. Mirror Mirror

  36. ParaNorman

  37. Raven, The

  38. Resident Evil: Retribution

  39. Rise of the Guardians

  40. Scary Movie 5

  41. Silver Linings Playbook, The

  42. Snow White & the Huntsman

  43. Titanic 3D

  44. Underworld: Awakening

  45. Woman in Black, The

  46. Wrath of the Titans

  47. Wreck-It Ralph

What's Left to See from 2012

The boldfaced titles are the ones I'm most interested in;

Those with an asterisk * are ones I've acquired but not watched yet.

  1. 21 Jump Street

  2. 7500

  3. Act of Valor*

  4. Apparition, The*

  5. Beauty and the Beast 3D

  6. Being Flynn

  7. Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The

  8. Big Miracle

  9. Bully Project, The

  10. Butter

  11. Casa de mi Padre

  12. Chimpanzee

  13. Damsels in Distress

  14. Dark Shadows*

  15. Darling Companion*

  16. Deep Blue Sea, The

  17. Dog Fight

  18. Fun Size

  19. Gone

  20. Good Deeds

  21. Great Hope Springs

  22. Halloween 3D

  23. Here Comes the Boom*

  24. House at the End of the Street*

  25. Hunter Killer

  26. I Hate You, Dad

  27. Jeff Who Lives at Home*

  28. Joyful Noise

  29. Lucky One, The

  30. Magic Mike*

  31. Marriage Counselor, The

  32. Moonrise Kingdom

  33. Movie 43

  34. My Mother's Curse

  35. Neighborhood Watch

  36. Odd Life of Timothy Green, The*

  37. Of Men and Mavericks

  38. One for the Money

  39. Outrun

  40. Parental Guidance

  41. Playing the Field

  42. Possession, The*

  43. Premium Rush

  44. Project X*

  45. Red Dawn

  46. Red Tails*

  47. Rock of Ages

  48. Safe

  49. Safe House*

  50. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

  51. Savages

  52. Secret World of Arrietty, The*

  53. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World

  54. Silent House

  55. Sinister*

  56. Sparkle

  57. Step Up 4

  58. Think Like a Man

  59. This Is Forty

  60. This Means War

  61. Thousand Words, A

  62. Three Stooges, The*

  63. To The Arctic 3D

  64. Undefeated

  65. Vow, The

  66. W.E.

  67. Wanderlust

  68. Wettest County, The

  69. What to Expect When You're Expecting

  70. Won't Back Down