The 20 Best Films of 2012.

by tom314 | created - 01 Aug 2012 | updated - 14 Mar 2013 | Public
 Refine See titles to watch instantly, titles you haven't rated, etc
  • Instant Watch Options
  • Genres
  • Movies or TV
  • IMDb Rating
  • In Theaters
  • Release Year
  • Keywords



IMDb user rating (average) to
Number of votes to »




Reset
Release year or range to »




































































































1. The Master (2012)

R | 138 min | Drama, History

86 Metascore

A Naval veteran arrives home from war unsettled and uncertain of his future - until he is tantalized by the Cause and its charismatic leader.

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, Jesse Plemons

Votes: 186,259 | Gross: $16.38M

2. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

PG-13 | 164 min | Action, Drama, Thriller

78 Metascore

Eight years after the Joker's reign of chaos, Batman is coerced out of exile with the assistance of the mysterious Selina Kyle in order to defend Gotham City from the vicious guerrilla terrorist Bane.

Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman

Votes: 1,828,238 | Gross: $448.14M

3. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)

PG-13 | 169 min | Adventure, Fantasy

58 Metascore

A reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of dwarves to reclaim their mountain home, and the gold within it from the dragon Smaug.

Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Andy Serkis

Votes: 873,315 | Gross: $303.00M

4. Amour (2012)

PG-13 | 127 min | Drama

95 Metascore

Georges and Anne are an octogenarian couple. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, also a musician, lives in Britain with her family. One day, Anne has a stroke, and the couple's bond of love is severely tested.

Director: Michael Haneke | Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert, Alexandre Tharaud

Votes: 105,712 | Gross: $6.74M

5. Looper (2012)

R | 119 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

84 Metascore

In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent into the past, where a hired gun awaits - someone like Joe - who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by sending back Joe's future self for assassination.

Director: Rian Johnson | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano

Votes: 603,102 | Gross: $66.49M

6. Life of Pi (2012)

PG | 127 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

79 Metascore

A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor: a fearsome Bengal tiger.

Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Adil Hussain, Tabu

Votes: 667,038 | Gross: $124.99M

7. Lincoln (2012)

PG-13 | 150 min | Biography, Drama, History

87 Metascore

As the Civil War rages on, U.S President Abraham Lincoln struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on his decision to emancipate the slaves.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, David Strathairn, Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Votes: 272,718 | Gross: $182.21M

8. Skyfall (2012)

PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

81 Metascore

James Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. When MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.

Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Judi Dench

Votes: 731,282 | Gross: $304.36M

9. Django Unchained (2012)

R | 165 min | Comedy, Drama, Western

81 Metascore

With the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.

Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington

Votes: 1,696,075 | Gross: $162.81M

10. Holy Motors (2012)

Not Rated | 115 min | Drama, Fantasy

84 Metascore

A man boards a limousine to be driven to his day's work: nine mysterious "appointments."

Director: Leos Carax | Stars: Denis Lavant, Edith Scob, Eva Mendes, Kylie Minogue

Votes: 48,927

11. The Raid: Redemption (2011)

R | 101 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

73 Metascore

A S.W.A.T. team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.

Director: Gareth Evans | Stars: Iko Uwais, Ananda George, Ray Sahetapy, Donny Alamsyah

Votes: 217,132 | Gross: $4.11M

12. The Avengers (2012)

PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Sci-Fi

69 Metascore

Earth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are going to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.

Director: Joss Whedon | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner

Votes: 1,459,777 | Gross: $623.28M

13. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)

PG-13 | 93 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

86 Metascore

Faced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.

Director: Benh Zeitlin | Stars: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly, Lowell Landes

Votes: 85,080 | Gross: $12.80M

14. Zero Dark Thirty (2012)

R | 157 min | Drama, History, Thriller

95 Metascore

A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.

Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Mark Strong

Votes: 318,994 | Gross: $95.72M

15. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

PG-13 | 94 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

84 Metascore

Two 12-year-olds, who live on an island, fall in love with each other and elope into the wilderness. While people set out on a search mission, a violent storm approaching them catches their attention.

Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray

Votes: 366,808 | Gross: $45.51M

16. Sightseers (2012)

Not Rated | 88 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime

69 Metascore

Chris wants to show girlfriend Tina his world, but events soon conspire against the couple and their dream caravan holiday takes a very wrong turn.

Director: Ben Wheatley | Stars: Alice Lowe, Kenneth Hadley, Steve Oram, Eileen Davies

Votes: 30,274 | Gross: $0.04M

17. Argo (2012)

R | 120 min | Biography, Drama, History

86 Metascore

Acting under the cover of a Hollywood producer scouting a location for a science fiction film, a CIA agent launches a dangerous operation to rescue six Americans in Tehran during the U.S. hostage crisis in Iran in 1979.

Director: Ben Affleck | Stars: Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Alan Arkin

Votes: 639,271 | Gross: $136.03M

18. Lawless (2012)

R | 116 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

58 Metascore

Set in Depression-era Franklin County, Virginia, a trio of bootlegging brothers are threatened by a new special deputy and other authorities angling for a cut of their profits.

Director: John Hillcoat | Stars: Tom Hardy, Shia LaBeouf, Guy Pearce, Jason Clarke

Votes: 253,528 | Gross: $37.40M

19. Rust and Bone (2012)

R | 120 min | Drama, Romance

73 Metascore

Put in charge of his young son, Alain leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Alain's bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.

Director: Jacques Audiard | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts, Armand Verdure, Céline Sallette

Votes: 70,317 | Gross: $2.06M

20. Seven Psychopaths (2012)

R | 110 min | Comedy, Crime

66 Metascore

A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.

Director: Martin McDonagh | Stars: Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken

Votes: 274,006 | Gross: $15.02M



Recently Viewed