I'm kind of amazed that no one has said 'you have to watch Looper,' yet, so i'll say it: you have to watch Looper. It's the smartest time travel movie I've ever seen.
I stepped out of my proverbial comfort zone and saw Holy Motors[1] at a film festival on the recommendation of a more film-literate friend.<p>I knew going into it that it tenuously had a plot (more of a theme) and that it would be extremely bizarre.<p>I haven't seen any David Lynch, but I hear it's quite similar. Holy Motors thoroughly entertained me, and I wasn't really upset at the lack of coherence. If anyone's looking for something a little out there, I can't recommend it enough.<p>[1]: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Motors" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Motors</a>
I suppose it says something that Argo and Moonrise Kingdom are the only movies that I can remember really liking in 2012. Flight was also memorable, if you're into character dramas. I've also heard really good things about Searching for Sugar Man, but I didn't get a chance to see it in theaters.<p>Avengers was solid entertainment, but I wouldn't make a special trip to see it. Most of the other big releases with nerd draw were disappointments: Lincoln was overhyped Oscar-bait, Brave was forgettable, and the last Dark Knight movie was just bad (below average for summer movies, which is a low bar).
This one in from 2003 , but I watched it this year: Memories of a Murder <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/memories-of-murder/" rel="nofollow">http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/memories-of-murder/</a>. It's about the first recorded serial killer from Korea.
There is also 2 amazing documentary: Into Eternity <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoyKe-HxmFk" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoyKe-HxmFk</a> and Nostalgia for the Light <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok7f4MLL-Hk" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok7f4MLL-Hk</a>
My favorites this year were Looper, Chronicle and The Amazing Spider-man.<p>I also <i>really</i> liked Prometheus when it came out, and I feel vindicated that after initially being panned, its ratings (rotten tomatoes) continually went up and leveled out at about 72% for both critics and users.<p>The blockbusters let me down, with the exception of Avengers (which I though was fantastic) The Dark Night Rises, Skyfall, The Bourne Legacy, and MIB III were average.<p>End Of Watch. Dredd. Argo all come highly recommended by friends and well reviewed on rotten tomatoes, but I did not get to see them this year.<p>Going to see Django tonight.
Sorry this is such a long list, but I watch a lot of films.<p><i>"Martha Marcy May Marlene"</i> - a gentle exploration of someone broken after living with a cult<p><i>"Never Let Me Go"</i> - A film you can push a lot of meaning into if you want to. I love the acting of Carey Mulligan<p><i>"Shame"</i> - Michael Fassbender is amazing in this, as is Carey Mulligan<p><i>"Catfish"</i> - an amazing documentary about people who lie on the Internet, but a gentle and kind version, not the obvious "OMG THESE PEOPLE ARE NUTTERS".<p><i>"End of Watch"</i> - 'found footage' style police thing. I really liked it for not forcing a traditional plot and pacing on the audience.<p><i>"Margin Call"</i> - financial collapse and amorality. Not many films show business in any kind of sensible way. While this movie probably doesn't it avoids most of the cliches other films make.<p><i>"Beasts of the Southern Wild"</i> - I'm disappointed this missed out on awards.<p><i>"Take This Waltz"</i> - Seth Rogan playing straight might be scary, but he's pretty good as the husband who's wife falls out of love with him. Sarah Silverman makes a surprisingly good appearance (I guess her bit at the end of the film makes it worth it). Directed by Sarah Polley who is, IMO, amazing.
American Reunion is good fan service if you grew up with the series.<p>The Hobbit is a technical marvel in HFR (everyone who says otherwise is wrong).<p>Life Of Pi is another technical marvel—possibly the best visuals I have ever seen.<p>Side by Side is an informative documentary about the rise of digital filmmaking and its cultural and technical effects (positive and negative), with polarizing opinions from tons of Hollywood folks big and small.<p>To Rome With Love was this year's Woody Allen entry, if that's your thing.<p>The Master is a shallow and empty script, but has two great performances and looks great projected in 70mm.<p>Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is a downright pleasant movie that no one saw, wherein Ewan McGregor shows that he can do a convincing Scottish accent.<p>Lockout was a no-holds-barred "dumb action flick" that was surprisingly fun, mostly because of Guy Pearce's performance.
This year seems to be the year of really really brilliant cinematography.<p>Skyfall was breathtakingly beautiful in terms of cinematography. It had a solid story too, unlike Prometheus, which while beautiful, falls short on story.<p>The Dark Knight Rises concludes the series very well. It was well shot, and barring a few continuity issues, it was by all means a very good movie.<p>Argo was fine as a story, also very well made and I liked it.<p>One surprise this year which I absolutely loved was Pitch Perfect. My partner had dragged me into an early viewing of the movie, and I didn't know much about it. So yeah, good surprise.<p>As for the rest, meh. I mean Spiderman and Avengers were fun, but it is not as memorable as the ones I mentioned above. So was Looper
Here[1] is the list of the highest grossing movies in 2012 thanks to Wikipedia. Among those top ten, the only one I saw was Dark Knight Rises and while it wowed me when I watched it, it is just about meh in hind sight.<p>Prometheus[2] was confusing as [redacted] but if you like the alien franchise[3], you should watch this one as well.<p>[1]: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_in_film" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_in_film</a><p>[2]: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus_(film)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus_(film)</a><p>[3]: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(franchise)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(franchise)</a>
I just watched "Les Miserables" and I thought it was great.<p>I'm usually mostly a Sci-fi and action adventure fan, and I didn't have high expectations, but it was one of the best movies I've seen this year. I think it deserves to win several Academy Awards.
The two you need to watch:<p>- Get the Gringo<p>- Grabbers<p>The rest:<p>- Cloud Atlas was...interesting.<p>- Pitch Perfect was the absolute worst, but hilarious. In a similar vein: For a Good Time, Call.<p>- Argo and Beast of the Southern Wild are overhyped in my opinion.<p>- Life of Pi was great (make sure to read the book at some point).<p>- End of Watch was better than advertised.<p>- Dark Knight Rises was a solid conclusion to the series.<p>- Ted was funny, but doesn't work so well on repeat views.<p>- Other movies you should watch: The new Total Recall. Safety Not Guaranteed. Lawless. The Amazing Spiderman (awesome series reboot)
Moonrise Kingdom was the best. The Hobbit was great.<p>Looper was good, but the ending wasn't logically consistent I think.<p>Since no one has mentioned it, I would recommend Dredd. It was a good movie going experience. Don't know it would make good viewing outside a cinema, though.<p>Cloud Atlas was interesting, but not as insightful as it was made out to be.
I have to mention We Are Legion, a documentary about Anonymous.<p>Website<p><a href="http://wearelegionthedocumentary.com/" rel="nofollow">http://wearelegionthedocumentary.com/</a><p>Watch on Youtube<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_541KmGxGs" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_541KmGxGs</a>
I can think of 4 movies I saw this year so far that I enjoyed:<p>1. The Dark Knight Rises<p>2. The Amazing Spiderman<p>3. Bourne Legacy<p>4. Brave<p>However, I did catch a few hidden gems I had never before seen or heard of on Netflix Instant. My absolute favorites are "Morning Glory", "The Answer Man", and "Beware the Gonzo".
The Dark Night Rises and Skyfall are the two standout movies of the year. I haven't seen The Hobbit yet, but I presume that this would also make the year's short list.
"Ruby Sparks"
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1839492/" rel="nofollow">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1839492/</a><p>worth mentioning "The Campaign" and "Paranorman"
Barfi! <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2082197/" rel="nofollow">http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2082197/</a><p>Indian movie with a minor twist. Great movie.
My favorite movies of the year:<p>1. Moonrise Kingdom<p>2. Beasts of the Southern Wild<p>3. Argo<p>4. Life of Pi<p>5. Amour (Only NY and LA for now)<p>6. Monsieur Lazhar
My favourites, not in order:<p>Cabin in the Woods<p>Looper<p>The Hobbit<p>House at the End of the Street<p>Can't remember much else really. Also seen Twilight but I'd only really recommend that as a date movie.
These are some of the movies that I watched and liked in 2012:<p>The Grey<p>Prometheus<p>The Avengers<p>The Dark Knight Rises<p>Skyfall<p>The Hobbit<p>And these are some of the good ones I would like to watch:<p>Argo<p>Lincoln<p>Looper<p>Life of Pi<p>Zero Dark Thirty