Movie Retrospect’s Films of 2012

The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey - Movie Poster

In recent years, I’ve been producing a list of all the films I’ve seen, that were released during that calendar year and then compiling MY Top 10 for the year. It’s normally a very personal list that I only share with my friends, but this is the first year I have been running the Movie Retrospect site, so before I give my list of 2012, I’ll just recap my Top 3 Films of 2011 – which was controversial in some respects as my top 2 were both documentaries.

My Top 3 Films of 2011

TT3D: Closer to the Edge - Film Poster
TT3D: Closer to the Edge

1. TT3D: Closer to the Edge
2. Senna
3. Rise of the Planet of the Apes

2012 – My Year in Films

Every time I watch a movie or documentary film, I add it to a list called “Watched in 2012” in my IMDB account.  It only takes a second and I can even do it on my smartphone as I walk out of the cinema, so it’s no effort at all to keep track of all the films I’ve watched during the year.

According to my Watched List, I’ve managed to squeeze in 91 films in 2012 (thanks mainly to my Love Film subscription) – not all of them released this year – in fact, it turns out I’ve only managed to see 21 films this year that were actually released in the UK in 2012.

Below is my complete list of films with my ratings in reverse order – It’s been a particularly strong year in the Top 10, and as a result, even though I thought The Hobbit was an excellent film, amazingly it didn’t make my Top 10 – I can’t really believe it myself… Keep on reading to see my Top Ten of 2012: –

21st – 11th Place Films of 2012

21. I Superbiker: The Showdown – 4/10
20. Man on a Ledge – 5/10
19. Total Recall – 5/10 (see my full Total Recall review here)
18. This Means War – 5/10
17. The Hunger Games – 5/10
16. American Reunion – 6/10
15. The Expendables 2 – 6/10
14. 21 Jump Street – 6/10
13. Jack Reacher – 7/10
12. Brave (3D) – 7/10
11. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – 8/10 (see Mike’s micro review)

See the The Movie Retrospect’s Top 10 Films of 2012 after the jump…


My Top 10 Films of 2012

Here it is in reverse order MY Top 10 – It won’t necessarily be the same as yours, but if you want to leave your top 10 in the comments below, be my guest.

10. The Dark Knight Rises – 8/10

The Dark Knight Rises - Movie Poster
The Dark Knight Rises

I know a lot of people went crazy for this film, and it was very good – hence it made it to my Top 10, but for me, it just wasn’t quite able to score any higher than a very low 8 out of 10. It was never going to beat The Dark Knight, it was ever so slightly too long, I didn’t really like Bane’s voice that much and at times the dialogue was difficult to hear and in the end it wasn’t really a surprising enough film.  Don’t get me wrong, I had a blast watching The Dark Knight Rises and that’s why it’s here in my Top 10 at the expense of The Hobbit which I also really enjoyed.

Check out Mike’s Micro Review of The Dark Knight Rises here – It’s fair to say he loved it even more than I did.

9. The Amazing Spider-Man 3D – 8/10

The Amazing Spider-Man - Movie Poster
The Amazing Spider-Man

I must admit, ever since my childhood, I have always had more bias towards Spider-Man than any other superhero, which helped The Amazing Spider-Man sneak into my Top 10 – only slightly above The Dark Knight Rises.  As a huge fan, I did have some minor problems with this film and I really don’t think it was as good as the previous Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire instalments.

Peter Parker seemed to get to grips with his new abilities far too quickly for my liking this time and Gwen Stacy was pretty much in love with him right from the start, he was a bit too cool for Peter Parker I felt, but I let it all slide because at the end of the day, we don’t need to see the exact same film we saw in 2002 – this was still a great cinema experience.

8. Indie Game: The Movie – 8/10

Indie Game: The Movie - Poster
Indie Game: The Movie

I do enjoy a quality documentary film and this is my highest rated one this year. Again, I am probably a bit biased, being the type of person who plays the occasional video game, and I have played all of the games featured in this film… I would even go as far as to say that Fez is my game of 2012.

I managed to pick this film up on digital download as part of a Humble Bundle deal, but it was also in the Steam Sale over the Christmas holiday, so I only watched this in the last 2 days of 2012.

It follows the developers of a couple of Indie Games to be released on Xbox Live Arcade and shows the pressure and stress they put themselves through.  At times you have to wonder if it’s all worth it, but having played the games and seen how successful they were on release, it was clear that all the blood, sweat and tears paid off.  I highly recommend this film, even to non-gamers.

7. Silver Linings Playbook – 8/10

Silver Linings Playbook - movie poster
Silver Linings Playbook

This was definitely flying under my radar, I went to see this at my local independent cinema – The Carlton in Westgate-on-Sea for a mere £2.50.  I didn’t know much about the film going in and was completely sucked in and mesmerised by the performances of both Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence (who I think is always brilliant).  This was a perfect Saturday afternoon film with a feel-good factor. I love this sort of stuff… What’s not to like?

Important note: Not to be confused with a rom-com (as the poster suggests).

6. The Descendants – 8/10

George Clooney in The Descendants
George Clooney in The Descendants

This is going right back to the start of the year now and it was a close run thing for 6th place between this and Silver Linings Playbook, in all honesty there is probably nothing in it. George Clooney puts in another quality, but low-key and understated performance much like we’ve come to expect from of him these days. Just like Silver Linings, this film really sucks you in thanks to it’s believable relationships. Its sad, its happy and its sort of feel-good – sort of. I really liked this.

5. The Avengers 3D – 8/10

The Avengers Movie Poster
The Avengers (as it should have been called in the UK)

Or The Avengers Assemble as it was sadly known to us here in the UK.  Anyone who likes a comic book movie will have a riot of a time with this film.  This is exactly the sort of thing that big 3D cinema experiences were made for.  There’s no too ways about it, this was a fantastic night out in the cinema, sharing the experience with a packed house. The movie is silly, it’s loud, and it’s seriously fun. Those moments where the whole cinema burst out laughing just cannot be re-created in the home.  Seeing The Hulk in action is worth the price of admission alone and Hulk Vs. Thor is what Aliens Vs. Predator should have been – AWESOME!

4. Skyfall – 8/10

Daniel Craig in Skyfall - Movie Poster
Daniel Craig in Skyfall

Bond is back and it’s about bloody time.  Far better than the previous Quantum of Solace and somewhere up there with the first Daniel Craig instalment – Casino Royale.  I probably don’t need to say too much about Skyfall as everyone in the World has surely seen it by now; but if you haven’t – WTF??? Sort your lives out already and go see it.

3. Prometheus – 9/10

Prometheus Movie Poster
Ridley Scott’s Prometheus

This may be a controversial entry in my Top 3 as I know there are a lot of Prometheus haters out there but this is my list and if you don’t like it, then go and make your own list 😉

I won’t lie, I am a bit of a Sci-Fi geek and in particular have been a massive fan of the Alien franchise since before I was old enough to watch any of them in the 80’s.  For me, Prometheus was able to scratch my itch for Space Sci-Fi this year and be part of the Alien universe at the same time; it’s just what I wanted.

I know it has some problems, but a lot of people have complained about things that I don’t really think are problems at all.  I think it’s great when a film can generate a reaction from it’s audience, it means it must have struck a nerve.  If a film can cause debate or leave its audience asking questions long after they have seen it I think that is a good thing.  I hate watching films that I forget all about two days later – what was the point of that?  Give me a bit of Sci-Fi any day and leave me with some thoughts and questions to mull over for the next few years while I wait for the next instalment… I’m all for it, and looking forward to the next one.

2. The Artist – 9/10

The Artist Movie Poster
The Artist

This one goes right back to the start of the year and still makes my top 2.  The Artist was fully deserving of all the praise it received back at the start of the year and no doubt about it – a worthy winner of the Best Picture Oscar.  The film is just smashing, its a pleasure to watch and I haven’t seen anything like it before and that’s why it’s makes my top 2.  In fact, if I wasn’t such a Sci-Fi fanatic, it would have been my number 1…

1. Looper – 9/10

Looper Movie Poster
Looper with Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt

The Sci-Fi geek in me got it’s way this year by putting Looper as my Top Film of 2012.  I love a bit of time travel in my movies and this one did it in it’s own way.  I just thought this was brilliant.  You can read my full review of Looper here.

About the Author: Chris Russell has a passion for movies and loves to share that passion here on Movie Retrospect where readers can join the discussion in the comments below or directly to Chris though his Google+ profile. If you enjoyed this post, please follow @MovieRetrospect on Twitter.

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6 Comments

  1. Fantastic list Chris, I've made a note to watch 'indie game' and a couple of others I'd missed.
    I see 'I, Superbiker' made it to #21 – I was with you for that one! It could have been so good, being that it was 'live' across certain cinemas in the UK, but was let down by bad quality picture and sound!
    Such a missed opportunity, probably didn't help that TT3D was out before (and was excellent).
    Oh BTW I didn't like the new spiderman. Sorry 😀

  2. The trouble with I, Superbiker was that it was sold to be the next TT3D, which as we all know was amazing… But I, Superbiker turned out to be no more than a standard Season Review DVD, but played in the cinema with some theoretically cool bonus interviews. It was fine for what it was, but ONLY for fans of the sport and not really worthy of a cinema experience.

    As for Spider-Man… I appreciate why you wouldn't like it. The Spidey fanboy in me probably gave it a free pass into my top 10. In reality, I wish it had been better really, but I'm really looking forward to the next one. But I think everyone will agree that it's probably a couple of years too soon for a reboot.

  3. Yes, thats exactly what I, superbiker was! a season review stretched to fit a cinema screen.
    Don't get me wrong, I like spidey too – but not the third tobey maguire or the reboot. Yes, and even a couple of years is optimistic! Wouldn't have mattered if it was good though 😀 – IMHO!
    And you know batman will be rebooted next year…
    Oh, finally googled fez and watched some footage – love the retro look and killer sound effects! You tried it? Sorry to go off topic….

  4. Fez is an amazing game. The retro look, the 8bit sounds and maybe best of all the soundtrack.
    It's a mind bending game that you can really chill out too. Completely stress free, which is a rarity in games.
    Can't believe it was all made by just one guy… You really see the stress he went through in the film.
    At first the game seems simple, but once you get into it, it really opens out and pretty much blows your mind… There is way more too it than you even realise even when you're half way through the game you realise you have barely scratched the surface of possibility within the game.
    Pure genius.

  5. BTW @Andrew Morgan – regarding the film Indie Game: The Movie – You can still pick it up on digital download from http://www.humblebundle.com – Pay what you like… You can donate what you pay to charity too.
    Plus you would get a few indie games with it too.
    I would recommend you pay at least $1 (about 63pence) in order to get the Steam download codes too.
    I watched it in 1080P in Steam on my PC with a HDMI cable plugged into my TV 🙂
    DO IT!

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