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Making an ordered list of movies at the end of the year is a lot like playing a poker cash game. One’s perspective on particular movies relative to others ebbs and flows throughout the year depending on a slew of reasons that are both fair and unfair, and the only thing that really matters is where things stand when it’s all over. For example: I saw The Sessions twice. The first time I really liked it, and the second time I liked the performances more than the movie. I don’t know if it would have made this top ten list if I’d only watched it once, but it certainly would have been strongly considered. As it stands, it barely made the honorable mentions.
The following ten movies are the ones that have really stuck with me. They’re the ones that have gotten better with months or weeks of age and have separated themselves from the pack. Some of them will definitely be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards and others will not even be considered. Some of them you’ll probably agree with, and some of them will probably make you laugh and doubt my credibility. That’s okay. I’ve worked and reworked these ten movies over and over again, and at least for the moment, I think this is the best possible reflection of my own taste in what 2012 had to offer at the theater.

10) Life Of Pi
I’m not normally a huge fan of movies that cut back and forth between a character telling a story in the present and footage of the story itself in the past, but director Ang Lee’s Life Of Pi really gets all it can out of the format. Irrfan Khan’s adult Pi Patel has such a fascinating way with words and phrases that he’s actually a nice contrast to the visual marvel of the larger story. And oh what a visual marvel it is. From the animalistic and scary chaos of the sinking ship to the prolonged stand-off between young Pi and the Tiger, every single effect looks brilliant and every single camera angle is chosen with expert care.
Life Of Pi is one of the best-crafted movies of the year. How Lee was able to make a story largely about the tediousness of trying to survive at sea riveting is beyond me, but his well-balanced, engaging film is a testament to his own decision-making and the wonder of Yann Martel’s beloved book.
The following ten movies are the ones that have really stuck with me. They’re the ones that have gotten better with months or weeks of age and have separated themselves from the pack. Some of them will definitely be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards and others will not even be considered. Some of them you’ll probably agree with, and some of them will probably make you laugh and doubt my credibility. That’s okay. I’ve worked and reworked these ten movies over and over again, and at least for the moment, I think this is the best possible reflection of my own taste in what 2012 had to offer at the theater.

Life Of Pi is one of the best-crafted movies of the year. How Lee was able to make a story largely about the tediousness of trying to survive at sea riveting is beyond me, but his well-balanced, engaging film is a testament to his own decision-making and the wonder of Yann Martel’s beloved book.

So many details about 21 Jump Street are just right. From one-strapping the backpack to the rules of coolness being rewritten in just a few short years, 21 Jump Street has a really astute eye, and at times, it’s willing to call itself out for, on paper, being a somewhat formulaic retread. Luckily for audiences, it’s actually so much more.

Bakery owner Dwight Henry reportedly went into his audition alongside the already cast Quvenzhane Wallis with a giant box of sweets in order to win her affection. Whatever he did worked because the chemistry between the two is a thing of beauty. Even as tensions strain, the water rises and it all starts draining to hell, they never stop being a believable son and daughter, and the way they fight, make-up and never stop loving in their own ways is about as human as the Bathtub gets.

With great performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels and newcomer Pierce Gagnon, Looper is able to present a fascinating web of conflicting perspectives and intentions without turning any one person into the “bad guy”. It’s a well-written, well-shot and clever movie, and Cid Harrington’s meltdown with Jesse remains the most fucked-up and awesome moment I saw at the movies all year.

The best comedies don’t rely on a single character to generate laughs, and Pitch Perfect is a true ensemble. Rebel Wilson’s Fat Amy and Adam DeVine’s Bumper Allen may lead the charge, but they’re buoyed by some great work from Elizabeth Banks, John Michael Higgins and leads Brittany Snow, Anna Kendrick and Anna Camp. Pitch Perfect gets college. It gets a capella competitions, and it gets exactly where the joke is in any given scene.

Admittedly, Lincoln is about fifteen minutes too long and has a few moments that don’t exactly work, but as a whole, it’s a moving, well-constructed masterpiece interested in the details and specifics of an extremely important moment in the history of the United States. Honest Abe might not be the legend we grew up with here, but in a way, he’s even better.

Javier Bardem’s Raoul Silva is one of the greatest Bond villains we’ve ever gotten, and the casting of Naomi Harris as Eve was a masterstroke by director Sam Mendes who pretty much crushed his duties here en route to a worldwide gross that has almost topped $1,000,000,000. Skyfall is damn near perfect, and James Bond is still the coolest franchise character ever created.

We’ll probably never know exactly how real the depiction of what happened is, but in Kathryn Bigelow’s capable hands, it feels honest and genuine. From a cinematic perspective, it probably doesn’t matter either. What we’re given is compelling, fascinating and even strangely ordered in its own way. I’m not sure many other directors could have done that with this subject matter, and considering how great Zero Dark Thirty is, I’m glad we didn’t watch anyone else try.

Their climactic dance scene is among the best moments the year in film had to offer, and their relationship, in all its eccentricities, might well be the single best connection. Plus, I think I speak for almost everyone when I say it’s nice to see Chris Tucker working more. He hasn’t been in the game a whole lot over the past decade, but his warmth and smooth conversation have been missed.

Of every movie on this list, Argo is the only one in which I wouldn’t change a single thing. It’s just right exactly the way it is. Other films may have shuffled up and down and off this list entirely at various points during the year, but after seeing Argo, I placed the film first on my list and it never wavered. It’s the best I saw in 2012, and I’ll be crossing my fingers for it on Oscar night. Well played, Affleck. Matt Damon is arguably now your sidekick rather than the other way around.
The Next 10 Movies On My List: Magic Mike, Flight, Perks Of Being A Wallflower, Five-Year-Engagement, Paranorman, The Avengers, Wreck It Ralph, Jack Reacher, Les Mis, The Sessions.