27) Amour
Good, but not an Oscar nominee in my opinion. The two leads were both great in this slow-moving film.
26) Wreck-it-Ralph
8-bit nostalgia and Jon C. Reilly. Too much time spent in the sugarland racing game, not enough time in Ralph's world.
25) Avengers
Highest-grossing movie of all time is bloated and 20 minutes too long, but there are plenty of solid one-liners, action and star power. (Shout out to Marvel for releasing solo films and then teaming 'em up. Brilliant marketing.)
24) Arbitrage
Richard Gere is slick and sleazy as a hedge fund runner who bobs and weaves around scandal.
23) The Hunger Games
A very good book to movie translation is casted almost perfectly, and Jennifer Lawrence is every bit as good as advertised.
22) Life of Pi
I got a little tired of it after a while, to be honest with you. But it sure was pretty. Wow.
21) 21 Jumpstreet
Tatum and Hill are a surprisingly effective as cops posing as high schoolers, and the reboot never stops being funny.
20) The Five-Year Engagement
A sweet, funny, and very realistic and relatable look at the sacrifices we make to keep our relationships together. Jason Segel and Emily Blunt are both great, as are Allison Brie and Chris Platt as the inlaws.
19) The Dark Knight Rises
A drop-off from the last one, but still a Christopher Nolan Batman film. Good action sequences and good character additions.
18) Lincoln
Can't go wrong with Spielberg, Toni Kushner and Janusz Kaminski paired up with DDL and Tommy Lee Jones.
17) Les Miserables
Being unfamiliar with the music, I was impressed, especially with the fact they sung it live. Great performances all around, especially Jackman and Hathaway.
16) Shut Up and Play the Hits
The story documenting the end of LCD Soundsystem was poignant and moving, and a hell of a lot of fun.
15) Searching For Sugar Man
An amazing true story about a recording artist touted as the next Bob Dylan who gets famous in South Africa and doesn't even know it. See it.
14) Bernie
Based on a true story about a Texas funeral worker who kills his much older companion. Jack Black and Shirley McClaine are outstanding.
13) Your Sister's Sister
Touching, moving and oftentimes hilarious, YSS puts a rather complicated love triangle together between Mark Duplass, his best friend, played by Emily Blunt, and her lesbian sister, played by Rosemary DeWitt.
12) The Hobbit
Didn't notice the high frame rate; didn't care. Thought it was a blast and Martin Freeman was a killer younger Bilbo.
10) King Curling (tie)
Funniest movie of the year is a Dodgeball style story from Norway about a curling champion recently released from a mental institution and teamed back up with his old squad to raise money for his coach's hospital bills. Hysterical throughout.
10) Looper (tie)
Rian Johnson and Joseph Gordon Levitt teamed up first for Brick and are back together about an assassin tasked with killing his future self (Bruce Willis). It's a wonderful, well-executed thriller.
9) Flight
In a year crowded with terrific performances, Denzel's is as good as it gets as an alcoholic pilot under scrutiny following a crash. The crash sequence itself was just brilliant.
8) Brooklyn Castle
A documentary about a world-class chess team right out of the Brooklyn ghetto is the feel-good story of the year.
7) Zero Dark Thirty
Kathryn Bigelow's sweeping epic is intense, long, and often stressful. Jessica Chastain is great as a guarded, emotionless woman with focus and confidence to take down the world's biggest criminal.
6) Argo
Affleck continues to grow as a director, taking a touchy subject and making it Hollywood magic. The pacing and the action is masterful.
5) Django Unchained
An absolute bloodbath revenge piece amidst an amazing Tarantino script. It's ridiculous and at times unbearable, but so damn good and so damn satisfying.
4) Beasts of the Southern Wild
I know Quevazhane Wallis won't win tonight, but she should. For a 7-year old to carry a movie on her shoulders is remarkable. It is a strange, confusing, and beautiful story told in a strange and beautiful place.
3) Moonrise Kingdom
This fantastic coming-of-age tale proves once and for all that Mr. Anderson, with his bizarre dialogue, symmetrical shots, and elaborate set pieces, is the finest auteur in the business.
2) Silver Linings Playbook
Formulaic? Sure. Doesn't matter--Cooper, Lawrence, DeNiro and Weaver are incredible, and the story is believable, crazy, funny, and heartfelt.
1) The Master
This, to me, was the most complete film of the year in terms of acting, story, music, and feel. As the lost degenerate Freddie Quell, Joaquin Phoenix gives the best and most complicated performance of the year, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman matches him blow for blow as the charismatic cult-leader Lancaster Dodd. Like Moonrise Kingdom, it restores our faith in film as an artform.
Thanks for reading. Feel free to comment, argue, rage, etc. Here's to next year!
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