20. The Bourne Legacy: This is an action-packed, thrilling movie. The performances are satisfactory, the action scenes are brutal and well-executed, the plot is complex, and the characters interesting. The cinematography is pretty impressive, and Jeremy Renner is proving himself quite the action star.
19. Men in Black 3: This is a damn good movie. Although a little late for a new film in this franchise, it's still a hell of a lot of fun. The plot is simple but entertaining, the jokes are pretty good, the performances satisfying, the special effects are great, the action scenes are fast-paced and fun, the ending a bit touching, and Josh Brolin gives a surprisingly good performance as young Agent Kay.
18. Brave: Although the story isn't on the big scale we usually see from Pixar, the protaganist (Pixar's first female as the main character) is great, the voice-acting is fantastic, the visuals and animation are remarkable, the comedy works, and some of the action is pretty thrilling. The music is also something I must give them props for. If you look past it's minor flaws, it's a great animated movie, guaranteed to be a classic, even if it's not as good as classic Pixar, it sure beats last year's Cars 2.
17. Flight: One of Robert Zemeckis' most touching and inspiring films, Flight is remarkable. Denzel Washington gives one of his most poignot and powerful performances as an alcoholic pilot who's life is falling to pieces. The film is like an emotional roller coaster, and constantly tricks you into thinking it's going to be a happy ending, then goes back into a depressing mess, then tricks you into thinking everything's going to be alright after all, and keeps spiralling out of control, until the final act where Washington has one of his best movie moments.
16. (Tie) Frankenweenie and Hotel Transylvania: I gave these both their own #16 spot for a reason. They both have fantastic animation and visuals, some great voice acting, and interesting messages, and are great Halloween movies. Granted, Transylvania will often stoop down and have goofy and stupid moments, and will become too sappy at moments, where Frankenweenie's jokes are funnier and the emotional moments feel a little more genuine. But both get props for their spectacular animation and being better than most other family movies out there, although I feel bad that people are so ignorant they refused to see Frankenweenie just because it was in black and white.
15. Cloud Atlas: This film blends sci-fi, comedy, horror, action, and romance together perfectly. This is the best Wachwoski film since The Matrix. The film is an epic journey through time, and the visuals are range from grimy to beautiful. It should be seen by anyone as it has something for everyone. The way they connect all the stories is clever, the way the actors are able to play several different characters is fantastic, and the music is great.
14. Moonrise Kingdom: I didn't like this film at first, but it's grown on me. It's quirky, funny, and heartfelt. The characters are funny, and the charming atmosphere helps you get past the odd way everyone acts. The music is great, the cinematography fantastic, and the plot strange but, in a way, sweet.
13. Life of Pi: This film has humor and drama, blending perfectly. The film is epic, heartwarming, and really takes you on a journey. The film brings in questions about life, death, spirituality, and shows us the bond between two unlikely friends and survivors: a Bengal tiger and a young Indian boy.
12. (Tie) Ted and Savages: I gave both these completely different films their own spot because I've grown on these films, which I originally disliked. The first is a hilarious, crude, bet somewhat heartfelt buddy comedy about a talking teddy bear and his best friend John. They take some cheap shots, but overall the film is very funny and makes you laugh at something every time you see it. The latter is a brutal, gruesome, unrelenting look at drug cartels. Although it is a bit pretentious at times, the complex plot and characters, and the brutal violence save this film from a lower spot on the list. The cinematography is also something to be admired.
11. Wreck-It Ralph: This is not as good as some stuff Pixar has done, and sometimes the little girl character can be a bit annoying, but this heartfelt film delivers everything that you want in an animated film: good characters, some good humor, and great visuals. The video game references are funny, but don't alienate viewers who aren't familiar with gaming. The ending is also very sweet, and this proves Disney can make a decent animated film without Pixar.
10. (Tie) Magic Mike and The Master: The first is a funny, and bittersweet dramady with some great writing, good acting, and some interesting characters. The second is a disturbing drama with fantastic performances, great writing, and some beautiful cinematography.
9. Dredd: A thrilling, gruesome comic book movie. The brutal, bloody violence is great, and the slow-motion scenes are fantastic. The opening car chase is exhilirating. The character of Dredd is a total bad-ass, and the villain is disturbing and creepy. The action scenes are executed perfectly, and the ending is pretty epic. How this film didn't become a smash hit I'll never know, hopefully, there's a bigger budget sequel.
8. Argo: A great drama. Ben Affleck is a good actor, but he shines as a director. The final sequence is so thrilling I almost crushed my popcorn bag from squeezing it in anticipation. The film has some great acting, and some extremely exhilirating sequences. The film, surprisingly, is very close to the true accounts of what happened, and the make-up jobs on the people to replicate the real-life hostages is incredible, because in the credits there's a side-by-side comparison of real life and the film. This just shows how great Affleck can be behind the camera.
7. The Hobbit, An Unexpected Journey: In this film, the directors have a more deliberate pace, and once more show off how beautiful the landscape of New Zealand is. The characters are great, the action is thrilling, the score is epic, the special effects are spectacular, and the mythology is more deeply explored.
6. Looper: This film goes up in the rankings of films like Moon, Pandorum, and District 9. Smart, fresh sci-fi films that take old concepts and make them cool again. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, and Emily Blunt all give great performances, the violent action sequences are fantastic, the plot is complex, the premise is fresh and cool, and the ending is bittersweet. If you look past the usual time travel inconsistencies and paradoxes, this is a mind-blowing and entertaining thrill ride you won't soon forget.
5. (Tie) The Cabin in the Woods and Sinister: The first is a funny-creepy movie that's smart, self-aware, and entertaining as all hell. The fun-to-watch, gory finale is the greatest tribute to horror ever made. The characters are likeable and funny, the writing is fantastic, and the ending is just great. The second is a slow-building, mysterious, truly scary movie that builds up until the finale, which, while a little predictable, is still as creepy and entertaining. The villain is terrifying, the main character is flawed but likeable, and the plot and premise are frightening, and this film will haunt your dreams for many nights to come.
4. Seven Psychopaths: A quirky, eccentric, violent, funny, and smart film with great characters, brutal violence, funny and clever writing, and a great ending. It balances hilarity with violence perfectly, and the villain played by Woody Harrelson is hilarious and over-the-top. Sam Rockwell, Colin Farrell, and Christopher Walken also give great comedic performances as well.
3.5(extra!). Chronicle: With some great action, special effects, witty dialogue, good humour, good use of the found footage format, great performances, and a fantastic final act, this film is well worth the admission price, and the price for the Blu-ray.
3. (Tie) The Dark Knight Rises and Marvel's The Avengers: Both are the ultimate comic book films, on opposite spectrums. The first is dark and brooding film, with great writing, incredible performances, engrossing drama, well-choreographed fight scenes, cool villains, fantastic dialogue, and exhilirating action. The other has the exhilirating action, cool villains, fantastic dialogue, great writing, and incredible performances as well. It also has great special effects and some great humor as well. Overall, they both deserve a #3 spot for being the epic superhero films that audiences deserved.
2.5. Lincoln: This is an amazing film. The performances, music, lighting, camerawork, dialogue, and acting are all phenomenal. I think Daniel-Day Lewis is one of the best actors working today, and the Academy should just give him the Best Actor Oscar right now. The film is just fantastic all-around, and is overall just great. Anyone who saw this film and says otherwise is just an idiot. This is an inspiring, miraculous look at what Lincoln accomplished during his presidency. It's astounding.
2. Skyfall: The best cinematography of the year. With some great action, well-written dialogue, fantastic performances, subtle humour, and fantastic camerawork, this is well worth the wait. One of the best Bond films. It combines the classic Bond formula with the gritty realism that fits the Craig Bond so well. With a catchy and epic theme song by Adele, a creepy villain, Bond girls, Bond's signatures Aston Martin, and lots of violent action, Skyfall proves that Craig's reputation as Bond was not ruined by Quantum of Solace.
(Drum roll)
1. Django Unchained: One of Tarantino's best. This is even better than Inglorious Basterds, which I loved. The lead performances are amazing. I don't say that lightly. Jamie Foxx is at his best in years. Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Samuel L. Jackson steal every scene their in, and when all three are in a scene together, it's incredible. It also has some gut-wrenching moments that show just how awful slavery was, and Tarantino then allows the main character of Django to act out every slave's fantasy: brutally exact revenge upon slavers and their partners. The gruesome violence and humor blend so well together. This is a fun, hilarious, violent, action-packed movie that should win Oscar just for sheer awesomeness. In fact, if you don't like this movie, you don't know what good is. You are officially uncool and have no taste. This is a film that takes elements of comedies, spaghetti westerns, revenge fantasies and slave dramas and blends them together beautifully. Undoubtetly the best film all year.
Runner-ups: 21 Jump Street, The Campaign, Red Lights, Project X, Killer Joe, End of Watch, Jack Reacher, This Is 40, Les Miserables (which almost made it in, just barely), The Pirates!, Prometheus, Gangster Squad (was supposed to be released in September, so it counts as a runner-up), and that's it. Yeah, Man with the Iron Fists, and Killing Them Softly were never even remotely gonna make it on this list.
(Editorial note, January 23, 2013: ParaNorman should take the spot of Frankenweenie/Hotel Transylvania, see that review for reasons.)
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