Ranking my films of 2012

A return to form for Anderson with numerous memorable characters an amazing visual style and a heartfelt story. Gets a bit weird in places but it hits a sweet spot cinema rarely hits.

The plot is rather thin but The Raid ranks up there with the great pure action thrillers of all time. The martial arts are impressive the fights, both one on one and group on one are insane. See it if you can, it is worth it.

The style hearkens back to those 70s cop films in a pretty fantastic fashion. Some misplaced humor and a lack of depth are its only slight drawbacks.

This is a historical biopic done right. It is able to find both the humor and greatness in its titular character and the acting performances in it are all quite fine. There might be some slight over characterizations but at least he's not hunting vampires.

This is a great, imaginative modern take on the woefully underrepresented sci-fi genre. Plus, it has JGL in it and he's awesome.

The beginning is a little slow and I think Jessica Chastain doesn't quite live up to the hype but the finale is some of the most gripping film making you'll see this year or any other. All that torture stuff is overblown as well.

If you are looking for Resident Evil (the video game) with giant wolves you'll likely be disappointed. It's not particularly frightening and the wolves look quite silly when attacking. If you take it as a philosophical survival odyssey filled with breathtaking scenery and grizzled poetry you might be satisfied.

Absolutely wondrous animation makes up for a meandering and unconnected story.

Doesn't escape the Tarantino playbook, features a lot of seemingly dropped but still referenced plot points but it is still mostly fun to see Tarantino's take on a Western.

An great, humanistic, uplifting documentary. If they didn't make some bizarre, unsubstantiated claims about the titular artist's impact on the protests against apartheid it'd be even better.

It is a solid end to the franchise that sometimes loses its way in a over complicated, overly allegorical plot.

Pay no attention to that Bond behind the curtain!

A very nice, thorough examination of the anti-AIDS movements of the late 80s. The first hand information presented in all the interviews is great but I felt I was lead down lots of false paths by the scattered timeline.

Chronicle reinvigorates the found footage genre. Its very specific characterizations make its outcome rather predictable if you know anything about superhero mythology but it still tells a great visual story with surprising flair. And the ending, while completely ridiculous, is totally smash bang. That being said it can't quite escape its genre pitfalls (apparently every random person has a sweet HD camera setup and the timing/framing skills of Janusz Kaminski) to become extraordinary.

A visual feast for the eyes but that was surely expected with the pedigree of Pixar. What Brave has going for it beyond its visuals is a great heroine and solid humor. The writing can be a bit clunky at times but overall this is solidly in the top half of Pixar films.

Not a bad restart of the franchise. Smartly handles the awkward exposition inherent to origin stories and provides some good visually grounded flair. It does have some out of place music cues and the villain here doesn't really have the impact of Raimi's villains, but that's all that really holds it back.

Surprising in its generic superhero film approach and in its unexpected humor. Really drags through certain parts but the slam bang finale goes a long way to earning my forgiveness.

The first parts of Prometheus are a master class in movie design and tension building. The rest are a lesson in your reach exceeding your grasp.

Not as funny as I had hoped, but funnier in a different way then I expected. Tatum is even funny.

I don't know if its to the movie's credit but few documentaries make you feel like you need to take a hot shower afterwards like this one.

A very zen look at the art of sushi and the pressure of filling gigantic shoes. Jiro is the sushi king; his son the highly pressured heir to the throne. This documentary provides a day in the life look at how they get things done. The documentary makes the food look delectable but I didn't find the story of Jiro and his family particularly engaging. Most of the interest comes in watching them tirelessly prepare perfection.

Nice little action flick that just happens to be a total rip-off of a much better action flick (The Raid) that is a much better film as well. Still, Dredd is, at least, visually satisfying.

Not quite my cup of tea.

An old school horror film absolutely soaked in atmosphere and creepiness. The story and mythology, however, can't quite keep up with the style and the ending, while a good idea, leaves something to be desired. Still, it looks and feels amazing.

I enjoyed the characters in the film but the plot is essentially them all wandering around aimlessly then magically solving all of life's problems through love and happiness.

There are some nice sequences of JGL riding through NYC but overall this film celebrates quite possibly one of the most annoying sub-cultures out there. Also, why the hell can't he use brakes?

Many of the individual elements of John Carter are amazing. The sets and visual effects are spectacular and Taylor Kitsch isn't a complete failure. However, the movie is so wrapped up in its obtuse, obscure, confusing mythology that it rarely makes a lick of sense. Characters randomly appear and disappear in the story and, even after two hours, it is very hard to say why they are on screen or what they are accomplishing. Big budget action flicks should not need comprehensive cliff notes to make sense but John Carter desperately needs just that.

Carano, doesn't work unless she's choking people. The plot is overly convoluted and silly and it genuinely seems like Soderbergh is just messing around through most of it.