Tuesday, January 1, 2013

My Top 50 Films of 2012

  Another year done. Another list of favorite movies. I usually do top 30 but this year and for now on ill be doing my top 50. I feel I see enough movies each year to warrant that. Plus I do what I want. So there. Ill list my top 11-50 with just a listing and maybe comment here and there. For my top 10 ill go a little more in depth with why it belongs on my top 10. Also... I know some foreign movies were released in their homeland NOT in 2012. Im going by when I first had access to see them..which was this year. Meaning they were not given a real U.S. release till this year. So no nitpicking dates. Theres also a number of movies I just havent gotten the chance to see yet that I meant to. Like Chained and Skyfall for example. Some movies that were released this year I got to see last year and ended up on that list, such as The Loved Ones. So thats why you wont find that on this list. Though it was in my top 10 for 2011. Anyways... So here we go: 


50. 

OUTRAGE





49. 

REVENGE: A LOVE STORY 


*Brutal revenge thriller in which a group of police officers rape a mentally retarded girl while her boyfriend is forced to watch. Years later he takes his revenge on the cops and their families. 



48. 

KILL LIST 





47. 

DETENTION





46. 

THE SLEEPER





45.

COSMOPOLIS





44. 

THE HUNGER GAMES 





43. 

LOCKOUT






42. 

SAVAGES 





41. 

BERNIE


*Excellent little black comedy from Richard Linklater based on a true story. Jack Black was great in this and im glad he was nominated for a Golden Globe for it. 




40.

CHERNOBYL DIARIES


*This one got crapped on quite a bit but I really enjoyed it. A lot of it has to do with the setting. I also loved that the threat is never actually seen aside from quick flashes and out of the corner of your eye. 




39. 

EDDIE THE SLEEPWALKING CANNIBAL


*This was shown as part of a 24 hour movie marathon in Chicago and it was shown at about 3am. I was sure id sleep right through it. I started watching it and I ended up staying awake the whole time and I loved it.  Cant wait for this to get some kind of official release so others can see it. 




38. 

GRAVE ENCOUNTERS 2





37. 

END OF WATCH






36. 

JACK REACHER





35.

SNOWTOWN MURDERS


*Extremely dark and bleak film about "Australia's worst serial killer".  Very raw and depressing and I guarantee you will need to take a shower after seeing it. 




34.

CHRONICLE






33. 

EVIDENCE


*Found footage flick that starts off rather ordinary and then explodes into Holy Shit, Thats Awesome territory. 




32. 

CITADEL





31. 

THE YELLOW SEA


*Holy shit is this movie intense. Has some of the most heart-pounding chases and fights...most of which involve many axes and blunt objects doing a lot of damage. 




30. 

THE EXPENDABLES 2





29. 

AMERICAN REUNION





28. 

THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY






27.

21 JUMP STREET






26. 

GOON


*This one was a huge surprise. Im not the biggest fan of sports films but this one was entertaining as hell. Its hilarious and has tons of heart. They are supposedly making a sequel and I cant wait for it. 





25. 

GOD BLESS AMERICA


*Bobcat Goldthwait is now 2 for 2 with great movies. World's Greatest Dad made my list a couple years ago and now his follow up makes this list. This movie is pretty much what goes on in most of our heads throughout the day when dealing with the assholes that surround us. 




24. 

TED






23.

BEDEVILLED 


*Another bleak as hell Revenge flick. Highly recommended. This one is on netflix right now. 





22. 

REC 3






21. 

THE BAY






20. 

HITCHCOCK






19.

THE AVENGERS






18.

JOHN CARTER


*This movie bombed hard at the box office and got some hate..which I really just dont understand. Much like Tron: Legacy I just purely enjoyed the hell out of it. Its a great adventure film with great characters. Most importantly, its just old fashioned FUN. 





17. 

THE RAID: REDEMPTION






16. 

THE DIVIDE





15. 

THE COLLECTION





14. 

SINISTER






13. 

CABIN IN THE WOODS





12.

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES






11. 

THE GREY



*What a great movie this was. I really regret not seeing this in theaters and waiting so long. This is so much more than "Liam Neeson punching wolves". Definitely a movie I will re-visit for years to come. 



and now here we are, my top 10 films of 2012. 







10. 

THE INNKEEPERS 


*I started out as not much of a Ti West fan. I thought The Roost was just...alright. Trigger Man I just absolutely hated. Then came House of the Devil. A great slow burn tribute to 70s horror. Loved it. Now we have The Innkeepers. Another slow burn movie that just works. The main thing that makes it work for me are the characters. The ghosts and all the spooky stuff is pretty much secondary to me because of how much I love Sara Paxton in this movie. Probably my favorite movie character this year. Pat Healy was great in it too and I loved all their scenes together. This was just a fun little spook ride. 




9. 

LOOPER


* This is another movie im bummed I missed in theaters. I just finally saw it last night on bluray and it just floored me. I loved every minute of it and has kept me thinking about it since watching it. I loved seeing Noah Segan from DEADGIRL have a big role in this. This was just great sci-fi through and through. 




8. 

THE DEAD


*The Dead is easily the best zombie film that has come along in years. This is no-nonsense and makes zombies scary again. Theres barely any dialogue in the movie and it keeps you on your toes. The zombies are creepy as hell and the setting is great for an epic zombie tale. It might not be for the impatient zombie fan as its definitely a slow paced film. For those of you looking for a return to the slow creepy zombies of Romero's Night of the Living Dead, you might want to give this a watch. A sequel is on its way. 




7. 

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN



* This movie evoked so many emotions in me. Its the story of a mother of a child who performs a mass killing at his high school. It follows what her life is like now as the mother of this killer. It also flashes back to show when he was growing up to show that something was not right all along. Are some people just born evil or are they created? 




6. 

DJANGO UNCHAINED


*While I dont put this as one of my favorite Tarantino movies, theres no denying how awesome this movie is. As expected. I havent seen a Tarantino movie I disliked yet. This is also the one of the most violent movies to come along in a long time. The shootouts are almost Dead Alive level bloody. There are tons of great cameos by Tarantino regulars and the music is great. Christoph Waltz steals the movie in my opinion. 




5.  

PROMETHEUS


*Going into 2012, Prometheus was definitely my most anticipated movie of the year. As a huge fan of the ALIEN films I just couldnt wait. I soaked in every bit of info that was released and every little tease that Ridley Scott let loose. I saw it at midnight when it was released in 3-D on Imax. I figured this was a movie made for a screen as big as Imax. Since it sits in my top 20 of the year, you obviously know I loved the movie. I know a lot of people hated it and I guess I can understand where they get those feelings. There was so much hype for the movie... I mean Ridley RETURNING to the Alien films. It was announced pretty early that this would have very little actual ALIEN related stuff in it. Meaning no Xenomorphs and what not. So I had put my expectations in check. As a huge Alien fan would I have loved just another Xenomorph related movie? Of course. Thats not what Ridley wanted to do so you gotta go with his vision. I loved his vision and enjoyed every minute of the movie and I cant wait to see where he takes us in the sequels. 




4. 

TAKE SHELTER



*To steal a quote from the poster, this movie blew me away. The movie caught my attention from its great trailer and the fact that im a huge Michael Shannon fan. Its about a man who begins seeing visions that the world's end may be coming. His mother is a schizophrenic so has he been passed on that trait, or is what he's seeing for real? He becomes obsessed with building a bomb shelter to protect his family who has to struggle with his obsession and the toll it takes on their lives. The movie keeps you on the edge of your seat with his nightmare-ish visions and wondering how it will end. Will the end come...or will he be proven to be insane. Check the movie out and find out! Its a great one. 




3. 

DREDD


* I was looking forward to this movie based on the trailer. Looked like it could be a fun "shut your brain off" type action movie. Similar to Lockout this year, I knew it could  be fun but I wasnt expecting any exceptional. Then a few weeks before release, reviews started coming in. Instead of your typical negative reviews that big dumb action movies seem to get, it was getting GLOWING reviews. Reviews saying it could sit next to action movies like Robocop and Total Recall. Thats high praise. My expections were raised AND met. I havent enjoyed an action film of this type in a long time. Its fun...its fucking brutal as hell..and beautiful. Beautiful might seem like a weird work for this movie but the violence and slo-mo and the 3D (which i normally hate) were just beyond awesome in this. While im actually one of the few who digs the Stallone Judge Dredd movie, Karl Urban IS Dredd. The music in this was awesome as well and at times had an almost Carpenter feel in some scenes. I found my foot kind of tapping to the music as the movie went along. For action fans looking for something akin to the great action movies of the 80s, this one is for you. 






Here was my dilemma this year. I just couldnt pick what my number 1 movie of the year was. It was between 2 movies and I just cant find a flaw with either of them. They are perfect in my book and everything I look for in a movie with my tastes. So for my first year ever im declaring a TIE. I just cant pick one over the other. So talking up the Number 1 and 2 spot in no particular order are: 




2, 1: 

KILLER JOE        and         EXCISION




 In 2007, the great William Friedkin released a movie called BUG. When I saw BUG I instantly fell in love with it. For some reason it seemed like I was the only one. I saw it numerous times in the theater and then many more on dvd *ahem...can we get a bluray please?*. It was my favorite movie of the year. Now here we are 5 years later and Friedkin is back with another movie based on a play by Tracy Letts who did the play BUG was based on. Once again....they hit perfection. This is a dark, twisted, dirty, sleazy movie and I love every minute of it. I forgot to say HILARIOUS too. There is one scene involving Thomas Haden Church and Gina Gershon and a piece of thread...that left me laughing in the theater for a good 5 minutes straight. All the performances are great. Say what you want about Matthew McConaughey but he hits it out of the park in this. Gina Gershon also give a FEARLESS performance here. I really like where Friedkin is at in his career right now and I cant wait to see whats next. 






 I knew from the first time I saw the trailer for it, itd be a movie made for me. The only drawback I saw was that I wasnt a fan of Annalynne McCord. All I had seen of her was tons of pictures of her in Gossip rags and sites. Her in bikinis and portraying the typical party lifestyle in California. Ive never seen 90210 so I didnt know her acting skills, just that she reminded me of another Paris Hilton type. Well this goes to show you not to judge a book by it's cover. She throws away every bit of her image and dives headfirst in a role that makes her completely vanish. The fact that she was brave enough to do this movie gives her major points and makes me respect her. Another revelation is Traci Lords. She is completely awesome as the mother. Easily the best thing shes ever done and acted in. Ill always be a fan of outcast-type movies and this one goes right up there for me with movies like MAY and DONNIE DARKO. I just love it. Its beautiful, its dark, its hilarious, and...not to spoil anything but it leaves you feeling like you were just hit with a sledgehammer. Great movie and I cant wait to see what comes next for all the people involved with it. 




So theres my top 50 films of 2012. If you are wondering what I thought the worst film was, I declare GREYSTONE PARK as my worst film of 2012. 

































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