Back in 2011, before the world ended (I’m sticking with those clever, clever Mayans. The world ended we’ve just been too busy to realise it.), I started a list of my favourite films of the year. I wrote it in a sort of Bill Simmons-y manner with pseudo awards and small paragraphs explaining my choices but, I never actually finished it. I eventually posted it on here halfway through the year with a promise (not really a promise) of having a better attempt at it at the end of 2012.

And here we are.

This is a list of 10 films I saw in 2012 that left an impression on me and compelled me to write about them. These aren’t really reviews as such, more just brief explanations on why the film left an impression on me. In fact, the heading in bold just before each paragraph is probably more of a reviews of the film than what follows. Clearly there were a lot of (potentially) great films released in 2012 that I haven’t seen just yet  but just as crucially (at least I think so) there were a lot of more likely than not terrible films released in 2012 that I managed to avoid.

Finally, before I move on from this introduction, my least favourite movie of 2012: The Hunger Games. I found this incredibly hard to watch. Far too many characters that I just couldn’t invest in making stupid decisions and horrible pacing where the parts with nothing happening are stretched out for much too long and the potentially exciting scenes are rushed through. I haven’t read the books and I suspect that they should probably shoulder some of the blame but, really? These types of movies make me depressed about the future of cinema.

The one the couldn’t possibly live up to expectations but pretty much did

The Dark Knight Rises

Okay, so if you think about it too long the plot is full of holes but, the fact that you want to think about a comic book film that deeply just goes to show how far we have elevated Christopher Nolan’s trilogy. This is a franchise about a rich orphan who dresses up as a bat in order to fight crime and yet we can’t help but take it seriously, not because it takes itself seriously (admit it, it does) but because the script and the story is full of real world relatability (ironically, not a real word). The performances were suitably intense and uniformly excellent,  including Anne Hathaway who I though was great. She also looked great. Tom Hardy would have been a shoe-in for best Batman villain ever had Heath Ledger not taken it to a whole other level in the last film and the old-time trio of Freeman, Oldman and Caine bringing real gravitas to their roles. Caine in particular had a few stand out moments. Overall, I’d have to say it it didn’t (read: couldn’t) live up it’s predecessor but came as close as possible to doing so and fittingly capped what must now be considered one of the best trilogies of all time

The one that was just a ridiculous amount of fun

The Avengers

The other massive comic book adaptation of the year (sorry Spiderman, guess you’re not the draw you used to be) was tonally speaking, a 100% departure from TDKR.  I think the difference between these first two films goes to show that you can’t really just classify something a comic book film any more. Despite not particularly loving the lead-up films (Captain America, Thor, Iron Man 2), I was pretty confident that I was going to enjoy The Avengers and that was almost entirley down to the involvement of one Joss Whedon. I’ve been a pretty massive fan of Whedon since Buffy the Vampire Slayer (the television show, not the movie) and I just knew that he was going to bring that certain something to this group effort that was missing in each individual heroes’ adventure. I appreciate a good action sequence and this film, whilst not the most amazing effort in that regard, more than delivered. The characters were, not exactly well developed, but you cared about them more than in previous films and the interplay between them was as believable as you can get in this sort of film. The thing that really set this film apart though was the humour; it was hilariously funny and not in the corny way you’d expect from a superhero film. Again, this is down to Whedon’s borderline genius when it comes to one-liners and witty retorts. Go back and watch his earlier work and you can see exactly where it came from. Or, just check out the next film, also co-scripted by the man.

The bat-shit crazy and also kind of clever one

The Cabin in the Woods

I think I’d read too much about this film before I saw it and thus my appreciation for it’s originality and smarts was somewhat diluted. I didn’t immediately walk away from the film with a huge grin plastered across my face and the feeling that I was part of some big inside joke, which was what I was somewhat expecting. Nonetheless, you should see this movie ASAP. After The Avengers it was the most fun film of the year and, even if you don’t like horror, there is so much to appreciate. I don’t want to write too much about this one because the little surprises and twists on the genre are all part of what makes it great viewing but I will say that the way they de-construct the clichés usually associated with this type of movie, as well as the characters within it, is most enjoyable. On top of this, the first three people on the screen are Bradley Whitford, Richard Jenkins and Amy Acker; how can you go wrong with that?

The one that perhaps we should have seen coming

Argo

Gone Baby Gone was a  thriller that benefited from solid source material and quality central performances from the director’s younger brother Casey and, in particular, Oscar nominated Amy Ryan. Ben Affleck nailed the mood and his film had a really good sense of place. The Town also featured an Oscar nominated turn, this time from Jeremy Renner, and was a step-up in terms of directorial challenges with some really good action sequences and an affecting romantic side-plot. Still, there was still the question of whether or not Affleck was riding a wave of good fortune that couldn’t possibly last. Argo put this question to rest. At this stage I would call it my favourite film of the year. Once again Affleck chose wisely in his collaborators but I am now confident that he has been bringing as much to the table, if not more, than anyone else. The screenplay, based on fact had the whole ‘truth is stranger than fiction’ thing going for it but this can be both a good thing and a bad thing. In the wrong hands this could have gone terribly wrong. Fortunately for us it ended in the right hands and what we ended up with was an incredible gripping rollercoaster ride which is at times unbearably tense and at others laugh out loud funny. In fact, after the amazing pre-credits set-up, the first act rivals The Avengers for funniest big movie of the year.It probably won’t win many, if any, of the awards it is up for but, for me at least, it was the most complete viewing experience I’ve had in 2012 and puts Ben Affleck (I can’t believe I’m writing this) right up there with the best directors working today.

The one that might end up being my favourite film of the year (but isn’t right now)

Moonrise Kingdom

I was super excited about seeing this film because (a) Wes Anderson is one of my favourite directors and (b) Wes Anderson is one of my favourite directors. There have been a fair few complaints about him in recent years: his films are production-designed to within an inch of their life, he is all style know substance, he is a hipster film-maker making hipster films for hipsters etc. In spite of these complaints I have stuck with him and his hilariously (though not always laugh-out-loud so) dysfunctional pseudo-family dramadys. I enjoyed Moonrise Kingdom  little less than previous Anderson films although at this stage I’m not entirely sure why. It was funny and adorable and beautiful and endearing but it seemed to lack a certain spark. Either that or I just didn’t enjoy the gags as much as I normally. The story was cute and the performances were what you’d expect in a Wes Anderson film. My favourite parts of the film however were the production design – Anderson doing on full on period for once – and the soundtrack. Again, what you’d expect in a Wes Anderson film but top-notch still.

The one that I feel like an arsehole for not enjoying more

Beasts of the Southern Wild

First off, yes I can see why so many people fell in love with this film. It is quite charming and the Hushpuppy character is both ridiculously adorable and yet so much more than that. I would not begrudge the actress an Oscar nomination. I enjoyed just about everything about this film, most specifically the tone, the cinematography and the performances. For me though it was missing something, I’m just not sure what. it was affecting without being horribly depressing and you couldn’t help but be entranced by the young Hushpuppy. I thought the paper thin plot might have been the issue however thinking back on it, that didn’t take anything away from the experience either. So, there we are, Yes this was a pretty remarkable film and I highly recommend it, I just can’t claim it as my favourite.

The really quite good sci-fi film that upset many time travel aficionados

Looper

The thing with Looper was, a lot of people who watch too many time travel movies and/or spend too much time thinking about time travel, criticised the film because it chose to take a non-traditional approach to the subject. I didn’t mind this, in fact this choice was responsible for one of the cooler sequences of the year. The things I like most about this were mostly in the first half of the film: the subtle hint at a future not too dissimilar to the present, Joseph-Gordon Levitt being all Bruce Willis-y. Bruce Wills being all Bruce Willis-y, the aforementioned cool (yet actually quite disturbing) sequence and just the general tone of the film. The second half took a bit of an unexpected turn and featured some things that I didn’t get into quite as much but still worked. Overall I’d say that maybe it wasn’t quite the some of it’s parts but would be hard pressed to tell you why. I think this is another one that I might appreciate more on a second viewing.

The one that was impressive in many ways but…

Prometheus

I saw Prometheus at the cinema twice in 2012; once on a regular cinema screen and once at Imax. It was the only film I saw at the cinema twice in 2012 and the first film I saw at the cinema twice (on it’s initial release) since the third Lord of the Rings film. My initial reaction to that first screening was ‘wait, what?’ I really did struggle to comprehend what I had just seen, not because it was too complicated or I couldn’t follow the plot but because it really didn’t make a lot of sense in so many ways. You talk about plot holes in TDKR but you absolutely went along for the ride with that film and even managed to forgive most of them. With Prometheus the plot-holes and generally stupid character behaviour really took you out of the very impressive world that the film-makers had done so well to create. On the second viewing, the Imax one, I came away much more satisfied because I already expected the ridiculous moments and was able to take in the things the film did exceptionally well: production design, some intense set-pieces and a charismatically creepy turn from Michael Fassbender. Also, I don’t care what it says on the tin, this was an Alien sequel.

The one with the girl I fell a little bit in love with

Ruby Sparks

I don’t have a whole lot to say about this one. It was charming and entertaining although not as charming and entertaining as it was aiming for. I usually like Paul Dano but in this one he was just a little bit too Paul Dano for me. It felt a little bit familiar, similar in tone to your Garden States and (500) Days of Summers but with a different high-concept starting point. The impression I left this film with was that Paul Dano’s character was at best a complete arsehole and at worst a dangerous sociopath. I’m not sure this is what the film-makers were going for just like I’m not sure the character actually changes at all in the end, robbing us of that feel-good ‘look what he has learned’ feeling. On the other hand, Zoe Kazan is beautiful and has the ‘manic pixie dream girl’ thing down pat. The fact that she also authored the screenplay gives her and, by extension, this film bonus points.

The one that I thought I was better than but turns out I’m not

Ted

I avoided Ted until it came out on DVD because I thought I was too grown up for it’s crass humour. I’d grown bored of Fanily Guy and so thought I would have no interest in seeing a big screen adaptation where the talking baby is replaced by a talking teddy bear. I was wrong. Ted was as consistently funny as any broad comedy of recent years. Even more impressive though was the relationship between Mark Wahlberg and the bear. I thought it was warm and believable and elevated the film above the gimmicky concept. The plot was ridiculous and Giovanni Ribisi and his son were a distraction the film didn’t need (well it did kind of) but the crass humour I thought I would hate was spot on and it had heart. Of course I also have to point out that the CG bear was probably the most impressive CG creation so far (sorry Andy Serkis) and the Wahlberg on Ted hotel room fight worked brilliantly.

The ones I should have seen but haven’t as yet

Amour, Skyfall, Silver Linings Playbook, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Master, Zero Dark Thirty, Holy Motors, Killer Joe, The Imposter, Les Miserables.