2012 rankings
by mackenac | created - 22 Feb 2013 | updated - 22 May 2017 | PublicCategorizing the motion pictures released in 2012 that I've viewed thus far...
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1. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
PG-13 | 164 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
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: 1,826,274 | Gross: $448.14M
C'mon.
2. Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
R | 157 min | Drama, History, Thriller
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: 318,812 | Gross: $95.72M
Chronicling “history’s greatest manhunt,” the ten-year span between the tragedies of September 11th, 2001 and SEAL Team Six’s May 2nd, 2011 raid on al-Qaeda mastermind, Osama bin Laden’s, compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, Kathryn Bigelow’s two and a half hour CIA odyssey is the most beautiful, compelling, ingenious and well crafted film that I’ve ever viewed theatrically. From haunting start to cathartic finish, the cogs in Bigelow’s masterful machine – Mark Boal’s sterling screenplay, lead actress Jessica Chastain’s tenacity, the supporting cast’s nuanced performances and composer Alexandre Desplat’s evocative yet elegantly understated score - shift in perfect unison. Chastain utterly commands as “Maya,” a CIA officer whose unprofessional obsession with a potential lead regarding bin Laden’s most trusted courier, Abu Ahmed, which ultimately leads to the terrorist’s elimination. Bigelow handles this ambitious story without a single frill; “Maya” isn’t some girl-power, “we can do it” heroine, but a determined patriot who, yes, is also female. Terrorists’ heads don’t erupt in fountains of blood upon being routed, rather, their corpses fall to the ground before being double- and triple-tapped. Most importantly, the highly controversial topic of detainee torture is neither condoned nor condemned, but merely presented. Beyond Chastain, Mark Strong, Reda Kateb, Joel Edgerton and Chris Pratt round out a phenomenal cabal of performances while Jason Clarke astonishes as a powerhouse actor who I can’t wait to see more of. Although it’s a relative dark horse, “Zero Dark Thirty” deserves the 85th Academy Award for Best Picture well beyond any of its fellow nominees.
3. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver
Votes: 742,502 | Gross: $132.09M
Filmmaker David O’ Russell’s film, which depicts the romantic saga of a bipolar former teacher and a recently-widowed recovering sex addict, transcends precise labeling as either a “drama,” a “comedy,” or a hybrid “dramedy.” Rather, it should be regarded for its sharp, sometimes uproarious writing, its bevy of great performances wherein Bradley Cooper oozes chemistry with each of his many co-stars, and the year’s single best soundtrack. The film is perhaps most impressive for its ambitious and furthermore tactful-without-stepping-on-eggshells presentation of numerous characters whom suffer from mental health disorders.
4. Cloud Atlas (2012)
R | 172 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.
Directors: Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | Stars: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving
Votes: 374,295 | Gross: $27.11M
An odyssey through the ages wherein a small circus of actors bend the limitations of race, age, and even gender to depict the evolution and degeneration of positive and negative souls throughout an interconnected history. “Cloud Atlas” is a confusing film. It isn’t the type of film that I can offer a general, blanket suggestion that you all view it. Indeed, it clocks in at nearly three hours and would be a colossal waste of time for some. However, with a collection of amazing performances from Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, and especially Tom Hanks, I’d say it’s an adventure well worth the 171 minute risk. Truth be told, I do have some major complaints with this film (they’re, however, far too convoluted to be explored here), which restrict this from one of the top three spots where it belongs and, had the directorial team of the Wachowskis and Tom Tykwer handled the film more sensibly, it could have easily fit.
5. Argo (2012)
R | 120 min | Biography, Drama, History
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: 638,907 | Gross: $136.03M
The first of two absolutely great movies belonging to the oddly specific subgenre “based on the true story of covert American operations within the Middle East” to be released this year. The near-unanimous acclaim for “Argo” would suggest that the film’s director/ star, Ben Affleck, is finally getting the respect he deserves as a filmmaker. The film exploits Hollywood’s unsavory side to bring some much-needed levity to what is perhaps the most tense film I’ve ever viewed outside of the horror genre. Veteran actors John Goodman and Alan Arkin balance out a cast of faces new to the silver screen including up and comer Scoot McNairy and television’s perennially astonishing Bryan Cranston.
6. Lincoln (2012)
PG-13 | 150 min | Biography, Drama, History
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: 272,536 | Gross: $182.21M
Many have already scoffed when I’ve told them that I’d not only be including “Project X,” last spring’s found footage house-party popcorn flick, on my list of the year’s best films, but that I’d be “lumping it in” with “Lincoln,” the Spielberg-helmed frontrunner for Academy recognition as Best Picture. However, I stand by my choice. The films display shared strengths – their writing – and weaknesses – their closing, post-finale minutes. “Project X” is easily the most genuine-sounding depiction of teenager-speak out there, maintaining constant humor yet sounding continuously unscripted. “Lincoln” sounds like a hybrid of C-SPAN and “Nick Cannon’s YoMomma,” wherein members of the 1865 House of Representatives trade exemplary biting jabs while Daniel Day-Lewis’s titular president bends the English language to his will, maintaining utmost charm as he manipulates his fellow politicians. Unfortunately, both films take serious missteps in their final three scenes, which depict extraneous material that undermines the films’ ultimate goals (the recognition “Project X”’s protagonist receives after the film presents such a savvy and thoroughly unexpected social commentary on the everything-is-disposable mindset of Generation Y; the heroicizing of President Lincoln after the whole film has strived to present the man behind the legend). Each film, of course, has its unique strengths as well, such as “Project X”’s phenomenal soundtrack and Tommy Lee Jones’ commanding performance as Thaddeus Stevens in “Lincoln.”
7. Project X (2012)
R | 88 min | Comedy
Three high-school seniors throw a birthday party to make a name for themselves. As the night progresses, things spiral out of control as word of the party spreads.
Director: Nima Nourizadeh | Stars: Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper, Jonathan Daniel Brown, Dax Flame
Votes: 233,238 | Gross: $54.73M
Many have already scoffed when I’ve told them that I’d not only be including “Project X,” last spring’s found footage house-party popcorn flick, on my list of the year’s best films, but that I’d be “lumping it in” with “Lincoln,” the Spielberg-helmed frontrunner for Academy recognition as Best Picture. However, I stand by my choice. The films display shared strengths – their writing – and weaknesses – their closing, post-finale minutes. “Project X” is easily the most genuine-sounding depiction of teenager-speak out there, maintaining constant humor yet sounding continuously unscripted. “Lincoln” sounds like a hybrid of C-SPAN and “Nick Cannon’s YoMomma,” wherein members of the 1865 House of Representatives trade exemplary biting jabs while Daniel Day-Lewis’s titular president bends the English language to his will, maintaining utmost charm as he manipulates his fellow politicians. Unfortunately, both films take serious missteps in their final three scenes, which depict extraneous material that undermines the films’ ultimate goals (the recognition “Project X”’s protagonist receives after the film presents such a savvy and thoroughly unexpected social commentary on the everything-is-disposable mindset of Generation Y; the heroicizing of President Lincoln after the whole film has strived to present the man behind the legend). Each film, of course, has its unique strengths as well, such as “Project X”’s phenomenal soundtrack and Tommy Lee Jones’ commanding performance as Thaddeus Stevens in “Lincoln.”
8. The Avengers (2012)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Sci-Fi
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: 1,458,806 | Gross: $623.28M
Two of 2008’s best and brightest, “Iron Man” and “The Dark Knight,” served to redefine the popular conception of “the superhero movie” and showed that the genre wasn’t going anywhere, only evolving. While Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” trilogy has actively distanced itself from many comic book trappings, “Iron Man” and subsequent Marvel offerings have sought to integrate the grand comic book tradition of shared continuity into the cinematic realm. These flicks have congealed to form a pedestal upon which “The Avengers” now proudly sits. It’s the pinnacle of an experiment reaching beyond half a decade, successfully establishing a shared continuity between films. However, not only does “The Avengers” succeed in this test, but it does so with flying colors thanks to the fabulous direction of character-juggling mastermind Joss Whedon, and a cast of actors who appear to feel more comfortable within their roles than any previous on-screen superheroes.
9. Django Unchained (2012)
R | 165 min | Drama, Western
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: 1,693,798 | Gross: $162.81M
Manic auteur Quentin Tarantino’s bloodsoaked turn on a classic Spaghetti Western feels right at home within this writer-director’s filmography, even if it does abandon many of the familiar touchstones of Tarantino’s traditional faire. The film falls behind “Kill Bill Vol. 1” as QT’s most violent offering, largely as it complements each new sharply-penned dialogue sequence with explosive action interludes. The hateful speech of Leonardo DiCaprio’s “monsieur” Calvin Candie or Samuel L. Jackson’s Stephen is as painful to hear as the depictions of unrestrained brutality endured by Southern slaves are to watch. Tarantino doesn’t pull a punch in crafting a motion picture that made me feel disgusted within my own Caucasian skin while Jamie Foxx and Sam Jackson both turn in revelatory performances.
10. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
PG-13 | 93 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
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: 85,050 | Gross: $12.80M
A superbly envisioned fable which impresses its message of perseverance upon those (myself included) perhaps too disassociated to benefit from it. From its jubilant, luminous opening sequence in which viewers are introduced to The Bathtub – a fanciful, folksy Eden which exists just beyond the borderline of modernity – and its indomitably spirited residents, Hushpuppy (six-year-old Quvenzhané Wallis) and Wink (Dwight Henry [the year’s most overlooked performance]), to its triumphant finale, the film is an uplifting, aesthetic joy throughout.
11. Skyfall (2012)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
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: 730,853 | Gross: $304.36M
12. Life of Pi (2012)
PG | 127 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
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: 666,587 | Gross: $124.99M
13. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
PG-13 | 94 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
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: 366,668 | Gross: $45.51M
14. Seven Psychopaths (2012)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Crime
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: 273,824 | Gross: $15.02M
15. 21 Jump Street (2012)
R | 109 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A pair of underachieving cops are sent back to a local high school to blend in and bring down a synthetic drug ring.
Directors: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller | Stars: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Brie Larson
Votes: 598,220 | Gross: $138.45M
16. This Is 40 (2012)
R | 134 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Pete and Debbie are both about to turn 40, their kids hate each other, both of their businesses are failing, they're on the verge of losing their house, and their relationship is threatening to fall apart.
Director: Judd Apatow | Stars: Paul Rudd, Leslie Mann, Maude Apatow, Iris Apatow
Votes: 150,384 | Gross: $67.54M
17. Les Misérables (2012)
PG-13 | 158 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives forever.
Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried
Votes: 345,928 | Gross: $148.81M
18. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)
R | 101 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
As an asteroid nears Earth, a man finds himself alone after his wife leaves in a panic. He decides to take a road trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart. Accompanying him is a neighbor who inadvertently puts a wrench in his plan.
Director: Lorene Scafaria | Stars: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Melanie Lynskey, Patton Oswalt
Votes: 118,747 | Gross: $6.62M
19. Rust and Bone (2012)
R | 120 min | Drama, Romance
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: 70,279 | Gross: $2.06M
20. Ted (2012)
R | 106 min | Comedy
John Bennett, a man whose childhood wish of bringing his teddy bear to life came true, now must decide between keeping the relationship with the bear, Ted or his girlfriend, Lori.
Director: Seth MacFarlane | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Joel McHale
Votes: 656,975 | Gross: $218.82M
21. Dredd (2012)
R | 95 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.
Director: Pete Travis | Stars: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey, Rachel Wood
Votes: 294,186 | Gross: $13.41M
22. Parental Guidance (2012)
PG | 105 min | Comedy, Family
Artie and Diane Decker agree to look after their three grandchildren when their type-A helicopter parents need to go out of town for work. Problems arise when their 21st-century behavior collides with Artie and Diane's old-school methods.
Director: Andy Fickman | Stars: Billy Crystal, Bette Midler, Marisa Tomei, Tom Everett Scott
Votes: 26,782 | Gross: $77.27M
23. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012)
PG-13 | 169 min | Adventure, Fantasy
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: 872,676 | Gross: $303.00M
24. Contraband (2012)
R | 109 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
To protect his brother-in-law from a drug lord, a former smuggler heads to Panama to score millions of dollars in counterfeit bills.
Director: Baltasar Kormákur | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Giovanni Ribisi, Kate Beckinsale, Robert Wahlberg
Votes: 126,302 | Gross: $66.53M
25. Prometheus (I) (2012)
R | 124 min | Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Following clues to the origin of mankind, a team finds a structure on a distant moon, but they soon realize they are not alone.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron
Votes: 643,923 | Gross: $126.48M
26. The Hunger Games (2012)
PG-13 | 142 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci
Votes: 1,003,229 | Gross: $408.01M
27. Wreck-It Ralph (2012)
PG | 101 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
A video game villain wants to be a hero and sets out to fulfill his dream, but his quest brings havoc to the whole arcade where he lives.
Director: Rich Moore | Stars: John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Sarah Silverman
Votes: 458,192 | Gross: $189.42M
28. Lawless (2012)
R | 116 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
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: 253,376 | Gross: $37.40M
29. Jack Reacher (2012)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller
A homicide investigator digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper responsible for a mass shooting.
Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog
Votes: 364,913 | Gross: $80.07M
30. The Woman in Black (2012)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror
A young solicitor travels to a remote village where he discovers that the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.
Director: James Watkins | Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciarán Hinds, Emma Shorey
Votes: 192,580 | Gross: $54.33M
31. The Expendables 2 (2012)
R | 103 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Mr. Church reunites the Expendables for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of their men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat.
Director: Simon West | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Liam Hemsworth, Randy Couture, Jean-Claude Van Damme
Votes: 322,211 | Gross: $85.02M
32. Pitch Perfect (2012)
PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school's all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition.
Director: Jason Moore | Stars: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp
Votes: 330,570 | Gross: $65.00M
33. Looper (2012)
R | 119 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
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: 602,772 | Gross: $66.49M
34. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
PG-13 | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
After Peter Parker is bitten by a genetically altered spider, he gains newfound, spider-like powers and ventures out to save the city from the machinations of a mysterious reptilian foe.
Director: Marc Webb | Stars: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Irrfan Khan
Votes: 701,936 | Gross: $262.03M
35. The Watch (I) (2012)
R | 102 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi
Four men who form a neighborhood watch group as a way to get out of their day-to-day family routines find themselves defending the Earth from an alien invasion.
Director: Akiva Schaffer | Stars: Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, Billy Crudup
Votes: 133,007 | Gross: $35.35M
36. Paranormal Activity 4 (2012)
R | 88 min | Horror, Mystery
It has been five years since the disappearance of Katie and Hunter, and a suburban family witness strange events in their neighborhood when a woman and a mysterious child move in.
Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman | Stars: Stephen Dunham, Katie Featherston, Matt Shively, Brendon Eggertsen
Votes: 70,244 | Gross: $53.92M
37. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)
R | 86 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Three magazine employees head out on an assignment to interview a guy who placed a classified advertisement seeking a companion for time travel.
Director: Colin Trevorrow | Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Duplass, Jake Johnson, Karan Soni
Votes: 130,834 | Gross: $4.01M
38. Killing Them Softly (2012)
R | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Jackie Cogan is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.
Director: Andrew Dominik | Stars: Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, Richard Jenkins, Scoot McNairy
Votes: 153,088 | Gross: $15.03M
39. Chronicle (2012)
PG-13 | 84 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Three high school friends gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery underground. Soon they find their lives spinning out of control and their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides.
Director: Josh Trank | Stars: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly
Votes: 264,365 | Gross: $64.58M
40. Sinister (I) (2012)
R | 110 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A controversial true-crime writer finds a box of Super 8 home movies in his new home, revealing that the murder case he is currently researching could be the work of an unknown serial killer whose legacy dates back to the 1960s.
Director: Scott Derrickson | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ransone, Fred Thompson
Votes: 279,995 | Gross: $48.09M
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