It’s getting close to that time of the year when we’re flooded with Top 10, Best 10, Worst 10 and all sorts of other lists featuring people’s selections of this year’s films. I’m getting a jump on it by offering a look at ALL the movies I’ve watched this year (as well as a few still to see) and ranking them in various categories ranging from The Best to Good to Awful. I’ll update as the list of films in the “Still to Watch” category get seen. For now, this is what I’ve come up with…
*Updated categorized films denoted with asterisk.
Updated 1/15/13: New year, but finishing off the last bit of films that I didn’t get around to watching last year. Added another movie to my Best Films list and a few get shuffled into the Pretty Good and Just OK sections. Next update will be the final one to this list as I sort out the last 10 films.
Updated 12/31: Before we slip into the new year, one last update for 2012. Welcome Silver Linings to the Best Films category while a few others get shuffled in the Pretty Good and Just OK areas. And then there’s Jack Reacher.
Updated 12/26: Two movies crack the Best Films category and a couple of Pretty Good films. Of course, the Just OKs and Not Very Good movies end up as the majority though. Bummer. But at least none of them made the Awful section. 26 movies still to watch, most of them on home video in January & February 2013.
Updated 12/7: Seven more movies sorted. Going to dive into some award contenders this upcoming week. Best Films could change a bit.
Updated 11/27: Eight more movies sorted out. None in the Best Films list, but Piranha 3DD lands where I expected it would.
Updated 11/12: Five more films get sorted out, including Skyfall, Lincoln and Silent House. Also added Pirates! which I had left off during the initial construction of this list and added *shudder* October Baby.
Updated 11/2: Not a good week for 2012 movies. Although one managed to surprise me.
Updated 10/26: One film joins the Best Films category, two in the Awful and a couple in the Just OK and Pretty Good files.
最高映画 – The films so good, they have me naming the category in my second tongue. BTW, that kanji says “Saikou Eiga” meaning The Best Films.
Alicia Vikander and Mads Mikkelsen in A ROYAL AFFAIR.
A Royal Affair
The Raid: Redemption
Killer Joe
Undefeated
The Avengers
Skyfall
Seven Psychopaths
Moonrise Kingdom
Looper
The Master
21 Jump Street
Safety Not Guaranteed
Django Unchained
Zero Dark Thirty
Silver Linings Playbook
* Ruroni Kenshin
The Pretty Good – All in all I enjoyed these films. There’s a few guilty pleasures in here as well.
Emma Watson, Logan Lerman and Ezra Miller in THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Chronicle
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Beauty and the Beast 3D
Underworld: Awakening
The Secret World of Arrietty
Act of Valor
Goon
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope
The Cabin in the Woods
Marley
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter
Trishna
The Dark Knight Rises
Raiders of the Lost Ark: IMAX
Finding Nemo 3D
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Argo
Rust and Bone
Think Like a Man
The Invisible War
The Pirates! Band of Misfits
Key of Life
Wanderlust
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Hysteria
Girl in Progress
* The Sessions
The Just OK’s – Meh, saw these films once and don’t really need to or want to see them again. They weren’t bad, but they weren’t great either. Just, as the title says, OK.
Michael Fassbender and Gina Carano in HAYWIRE.
Haywire
Miss Bala
The Grey
The Vow
Titanic 3D
Casa de Mi Padre
The Hunger Games
Men in Black III
Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted
Brave
The Amazing Spider-Man
Ice Age: Continental Drift
The Expendables 2
Lawless
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate
Anna Karenina
Wreck-It Ralph
Lola Versus
Cloud Atlas
Jeff Who Lives At Home
Bernie
Lincoln
Silent House
Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away 3D
Seeking a Friend for the End of the World
Dearest
Rock of Ages
Thermae Romae
Aku no Kyoten (Lessons of Evil)
Craigslist Joe
Sadako 3D (Ring 3)
Life of Pi
Les Miserables
Chico & Rita
The Deep Blue Sea
Mansome
Chimpanzee
The Woman in Black
* Ruby Sparks
* Tai Chi Zero
The Not Very Good – Getting into the forgettable movie category here. Either these movies lacked something (a decent story, characters, etc.) or my expectations were too high.
Kate Beckinsale in TOTAL RECALL.
Total Recall
Norwegian Wood
Contraband
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island
Safe House
American Reunion
Lockout
To Rome With Love
The Bourne Legacy
Arbitrage
The Man with the Iron Fists
Safe
Turn Me On, Dammit!
The Lorax
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen
The Island President
Jack Reacher
This is 40
The Awful – It takes a truly unpleasant movie to wind up in this category. I don’t expect a lot of films to fall this low, but unfortunately, some will.
Kristen Stewart in SNOW WHITE AND THE HUNTSMAN.
Snow White and the Huntsman
Let the Bullets Fly
The Five Year Engagement
Man on a Ledge
Gone
October Baby
Piranha 3DD
Still To Watch: (These are on my way via DVD/discount theaters and will be sorted into the above categories after I finish watching them)
Frankenweenie
The Intouchables
Ted
Pitch Perfect
Searching for Sugar Man
Nitro Circus
Robot and Frank
Compliance
Girl Model
End of Watch
Dredd
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