2012 In Film - Best to Worst.

Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Written by: Mark Boal
Starring: Jessica Chastain, Jason Clarke, Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong, Jennifer Ehle
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Running time: 157 minutes


Plot: A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L. Team 6 in May 2011.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Sam Mendes
Written by: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade & John Logan
Starring: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Judi Dench, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Ralph Fiennes
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller
Running time: 143 minutes


Plot: Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her, bringing MI6 under attack.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Written by: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington, Samuel L. Jackson
Genre: Drama, Western
Running time: 165 minutes


Plot: With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Stephen Chbosky
Written by: Stephen Chbosky
Starring: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller
Genre: Drama, Romance
Running time: 102 minutes


Plot: An introvert freshman is taken under the wings of two seniors who welcome him to the real world.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: David O. Russell
Written by: David O. Russell
Starring: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Running time: 122 minutes


Plot: After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Ang Lee
Written by: David Magee
Starring: Suraj Sharma, Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Adil Hussain, Gerard Depardieu, Rafe Spall
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Running time: 127 minutes


Plot: A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor ... a fearsome Bengal tiger.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Michael Haneke
Written by: Michael Haneke
Starring: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert
Genre: Drama, Romance
Running time: 127 minutes


Plot: Georges and Anne are in their eighties. They are cultivated, retired music teachers. Their daughter, who is also a musician, lives abroad with her family. One day, Anne has an attack. The couple's bond of love is severely tested.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Nikolaj Arcel
Written by: Rasmus Heisterberg & Nikolaj Arcel
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Mads Mikkelsen, Mikkel Boe Folsgaard, Trine Dyrholm, David Dencik
Genre: Drama, History, Romance
Running time: 137 minutes


Plot: A young queen, who is married to an insane king, falls secretly in love with her physician - and together they start a revolution that changes a nation forever.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Joss Whedon
Written by: Joss Whedon
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson
Genre: Action, Science Fiction
Running time: 143 minutes


Plot: Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. brings together a team of super humans to form The Avengers to help save the Earth from Loki and his army.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Rich Moore
Written by: Phil Johnston & Jennifer Lee
Starring: John C. Reilly, Jack McBrayer, Jane Lynch, Sarah Silverman, Alan Tudyk
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Running time: 108 minutes


Plot: A video game villain wants to be a hero and sets out to fulfill his dream, but his quest brings havoc to the whole arcade where he lives.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Rian Johnson
Written by: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Jeff Bridges, Pierce Gagnon
Genre: Action, Crime, Science Fiction
Running time: 119 minutes


Plot: In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by transporting back Joe's future self.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Wes Anderson
Written by: Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola
Starring: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray, Frances McDormand
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Running time: 94 minutes


Plot: A pair of young lovers flee their New England town, which causes a local search party to fan out and find them.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Juan Antonio Bayona
Written by: Sergio G. Sánchez
Starring: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Samuel Joslin, Oaklee Pendergast
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Running time: 114 minutes


Plot: An account of a family caught, with tens of thousands of strangers, in the mayhem of one of the worst natural catastrophes of our time.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Benh Zeitlin
Written by: Lucy Alibar & Benh Zeitlin
Starring: Quvenzhané Wallis, Dwight Henry, Levy Easterly, Lowell Landes, Gina Montana
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Running time: 93 minutes


Plot: Faced with both her hot-tempered father's fading health and melting ice-caps that flood her ramshackle bayou community and unleash ancient aurochs, six-year-old Hushpuppy must learn the ways of courage and love.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Peter Jackson
Written by: Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Peter Jackson & Guillermo Del Toro
Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Richard Armitage, Ken Scott, Graham McTavish, Hugo Weaving
Genre: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Running time: 169 minutes


Plot: A younger and more reluctant Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, sets out on a "unexpected journey" to the Lonely Mountain with a spirited group of Dwarves to reclaim a their stolen mountain home from a dragon named Smaug.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Ben Affleck
Written by: Chris Terrio
Starring: Ben Affleck, Alan Arkin, John Goodman, Bryan Cranston, Victor Garber, Tate Donovan
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Running time: 120 minutes


Plot: A dramatization of the 1980 joint CIA-Canadian secret operation to extract six fugitive American diplomatic personnel out of revolutionary Iran.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Christopher Nolan
Written by: Jonathan Nolan & Christopher Nolan
Starring: Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Morgan Freeman
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Running time: 165 minutes


Plot: Eight years on, a new terrorist leader, Bane, overwhelms Gotham's finest, and the Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Tom Hooper
Written by: William Nicholson
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen
Genre: Drama, Musical, Romance
Running time: 157 minutes


Plot: In 19th-century France, Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after he breaks parole, agrees to care for factory worker Fantine's daughter, Cosette. The fateful decision changes their lives forever.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Written by: Tony Kushner
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Strathairn, Hal Holbrook, John Hawkes
Genre: Biography, Drama, History
Running time: 150 minutes


Plot: As the Civil War continues to rage, America's president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield and as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves.


FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Seth MacFarlane
Written by: Seth MacFarlane, Alec Sulkin & Wellesley Wild
Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Joel McHale, Giovanni Ribisi.
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Running time: 106 minutes


Plot: As the result of a childhood wish, John Bennett's teddy bear, Ted, came to life and has been by John's side ever since - a friendship that's tested when Lori, John's girlfriend of four years, wants more from their relationship.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Phil Lord & Chris Miller
Written by: Michael Bacall
Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Dave Franco
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
Running time: 109 minutes


Plot: A pair of underachieving cops are sent back to a local high school to blend in and bring down a synthetic drug ring.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: John Hillcoat
Written by: Nick Cave
Starring: Shia LaBeouf, Tom Hardy, Guy Pearce, Mia Wasikowska, Jessica Chastain, Gary Oldman
Genre: Crime, Drama
Running time: 116 minutes


Plot: Set in Depression-era Franklin County, Virginia, a bootlegging gang is threatened by a new deputy and other authorities who want a cut of their profits.

REVIEW COMING SOON..

Directed by: Gary Ross
Written by: Gary Ross, Suzanne Collins & Billy Ray
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Wes Bentley, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Running time: 142 minutes


Plot: Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games, a televised fight to the death in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to compete.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Joe Carnahan
Written by: Joe Carnahan & Ian Mackenzie Jeffers
Starring: Liam Neeson, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo, Dallas Roberts
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Running time: 117 minutes


Plot: After their plane crashes in Alaska, six oil workers are led by a skilled huntsman to survival, but a pack of merciless wolves haunts their every step.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Scott Derrickson
Written by: Scott Derrickson & C. Robert Cargill
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Juliet Rylance, James Ranson, Michael Hall D'Addario, Clare Foley, Vincent D'Onofrio
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Running time: 110 minutes


Plot: A true-crime writer finds a cache of 8mm "snuff" films that suggest the murder he is currently researching is the work of a serial killer whose career dates back to the 1960s.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath & Conrad Vernon
Written by: Eric Darnell & Noah Baumbach
Starring: Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer, Jada Pinkett Smith, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jessica Chastain, Bryan Cranston, Martin Short
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Running time: 93 minutes


Plot: Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman are still fighting to get home to their beloved Big Apple. Their journey takes them through Europe where they find the perfect cover: a traveling circus, which they reinvent - Madagascar style.

REVIEW COMING SOON..

Directed by: James Watkins
Written by: Jane Goldman
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Janet McTeer, Ciarán Hinds, Sophie Stuckey, Roger Allam
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller
Running time: 95 minutes


Plot: A young lawyer travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorned woman is terrorizing the locals.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Pete Travis
Written by: Alex Garland
Starring: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headley, Rakie Ayola
Genre: Action, Crime, Science Fiction
Running time: 95 minutes


Plot: In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Gareth Evans
Written by: Gareth Evans
Starring: Iko Uwais, Ananda George, Ray Sahetapy, Joe Taslim
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Running time: 101 minutes


Plot: A SWAT team becomes trapped in a tenement run by a ruthless mobster and his army of killers and thugs.

REVIEW COMING SOON..

Directed by: Ridley Scott
Written by: Jon Spaihts & Damon Lindelof
Starring: Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Logan Marshall-Green, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce
Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Science Fiction
Running time: 124 minutes


Plot: A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Chris Butler & Sam Fell
Written by: Chris Butler
Starring: Kodi-Smit McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Casey Affleck, Tucker Albrizzi
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Running time: 92 minutes


Plot: A misunderstood boy takes on ghosts, zombies and grown-ups to save his town from a centuries-old curse.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Rupert Sanders
Written by: Evan Daugherty, John Lee Hancock & Hossein Amini
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama
Running time: 127 minutes


Plot: In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Tim Burton
Written by: John August
Starring: Charlie Tahan, Catherine O'Hara, Martin Short, Winona Ryder, Martin Landau
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Horror
Running time: 87 minutes


Plot: Young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Drew Goddard
Written by: Joss Whedon & Drew Goddard
Starring: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz, Jesse Williams
Genre: Horror, Mystery, Thriller
Running time: 95 minutes


Plot: Five friends go for a break at a remote cabin in the woods, where they get more than they bargained for. Together, they must discover the truth behind the cabin in the woods.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg
Written by: Jon Hurwitz & Hayden Schlossberg
Starring: Jason Biggs, Alyson Hannigan, Chris Klein, Thomas Ian Nicholas, Tara Reid, Seann William Scott, Mena Suvari, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Eugene Levy
Genre: Comedy
Running time: 113 minutes


Plot: Jim, Michelle, Stifler, and their friends reunite in East Great Falls, Michigan for their high school reunion.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Marc Webb
Written by: James Vanderbilt, Alvin Sargent & Steve Kloves
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
Running time: 136 minutes


Plot: Peter Parker finds a clue that might help him understand why his parents disappeared when he was young. His path puts him on a collision course with Dr. Curt Connors, his father's former partner.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman & Steve Purcell
Written by: Mark Andrews, Steve Purcell, Brenda Chapman & Irene Mecchi
Starring: Kelly MacDonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters, Robbie Coltrane, Kevin McKidd
Genre: Animation, Action, Adventure
Running time: 93 minutes


Plot: Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Declan Lowney
Written by: David Walliams
Starring: Hugh Bonneville, Sheridan Smith, Nell Tiger Free, Johnny Vegas, David Walliams
Genre: Drama, Family
Running time: 60 minutes


Plot: Chloe is a lonely little girl with a mother more interested in entering right wing politics,father yearning for his old life as a rock guitarist and child prodigy younger sister. One day she meets Mr Stink,a malodorous tramp,and his clever dog the Duchess,and lets them live in the family's garden shed. Chloe becomes Mr Stink's best friend and,after he has refused to be part of the prime minister's homelessness campaign,she discovers his real identity and the sad events leading to his vagrancy. Mr Stink reunites Chloe's family but turns down their invitation to spend Christmas with them,though before moving on he thanks Chloe for giving him hope.

REVIEW COMING SOON..

Directed by: Peter Lord & Jeff Newitt
Written by: Gideon Defoe
Starring: Hugh Grant, Salma Hayek, Jeremy Piven, Martin Freeman, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Running time: 88 minutes


Plot: Pirate Captain sets out on a mission to defeat his rivals Black Bellamy and Cutlass Liz for the Pirate of the year Award. The quest takes Captain and his crew from the shores of Blood Island to the foggy streets of Victorian London.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Larry Charles
Written by: Sacha Baron Cohen, Alex Berg, David Mandel & Jeff Schaffer
Starring: Sacha Baron Cohen, Anna Faris, Ben Kingsley, SayJason Mantzoukas, John C. Reilly
Genre: Comedy
Running time: 83 minutes


Plot: The heroic story of a dictator who risks his life to ensure that democracy would never come to the country he so lovingly oppressed.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Woody Allen
Written by: Woody Allen
Starring: Woody Allen, Jesse Eisenberg, Roberto Benigni, Ellen Page, Judy Davis, Penélope Cruz
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Running time: 112 minutes


Plot: The lives of some visitors and residents of Rome and the romances, adventures and predicaments they get into.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Josh Trank
Written by: Max Landis
Starring: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly, Ashley Hinshaw
Genre: Drama, Science Fiction, Thriller
Running time: 84 minutes


Plot: Whilst attending a party, three high school friends gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery underground. Soon, though, they find their lives spinning out of control and their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Joe Wright
Written by: Tom Stoppard
Starring: Keira Knightley, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jude Law, Matthew Macfayden, Kelly MacDonald
Genre: Drama
Running time: 129 minutes


Plot: Set in late-19th-century Russia high-society, the aristocrat Anna Karenina enters into a life-changing affair with the affluent Count Vronsky.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Written by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams
Genre: Drama
Running time: 144 minutes


Plot: A Naval veteran arrives home from war unsettled and uncertain of his future - until he is tantalized by The Cause and its charismatic leader.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Sacha Gervasi
Written by: John J. McLaughlin
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Toni Collette, Jessica Biel, James D'Arcy, Michael Wincott
Genre: Biography, Drama
Running time: 98 minutes


Plot: A love story between influential filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock and wife Alma Reville during the filming of Psycho in 1959.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski
Written by: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski & Lana Wachowski
Starring: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D'Arcy, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Science Fiction
Running time: 171 minutes


Plot: An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Simon West
Written by: Richard Wenk & Sylvester Stallone
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Chuck Norris, Terry Crews, Randy Couture, Liam Hemsworth, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Bruce Willis, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Genre: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Running time: 103 minutes


Plot: Mr. Church reunites the Expendables for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of their men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Tony Gilroy
Written by: Tony Gilroy & Dan Gilroy
Starring: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Joan Allen, Albert Finney
Genre: Action, Adventure, Mystery
Running time: 135 minutes


Plot: An expansion of the universe from Robert Ludlum's novels, centered on a new hero whose stakes have been triggered by the events of the previous three films.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Steve Martino & Mike Thurmeier
Written by: Michael Berg & Jason Fuchs
Starring: Ray Romano, John Leguizamo, Denis Leary, Queen Latifah, Seann William Scott, Chris Peck
Genre: Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Running time: 88 minutes


Plot: Manny, Diego, and Sid embark upon another adventure after their continent is set adrift. Using an iceberg as a ship, they encounter sea creatures and battle pirates as they explore a new world.

FULL REVIEW HERE.

Directed by: Tim Burton
Written by: Seth Grahame-Smith
Starring: Johnny Depp, Michelle Peiffer, Chloe Grace Moretz, Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter, Jackie Earle Haley
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Running time: 113 minutes


Plot: An imprisoned vampire, Barnabas Collins, is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection.

FULL REVIEW HERE.