Top 10 Films of 2012

Click on each title for my review of that film.

1) Zero Dark Thirty (dir. Kathryn Bigelow)

2) The Master (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)

3) Django Unchained (dir. Quentin Tarantino)

4) Moonrise Kingdom (dir. Wes Anderson)

5) Lincoln (dir. Steven Spielberg)

6) The Grey ¹ (dir. Joe Carnhan)

7) Argo (dir. Ben Affleck)

8) Celeste and Jesse Forever (dir. Lee Toland Krieger)

9) Looper (dir. Rian Johnson)

10) The Perks of Being a Wallflower ² (dir. Stephen Chbosky)

¹ Director Joe Carnahan constructs a purely visceral man versus nature/himself story deceivingly wrapped in a plane crash, survival thriller. Liam Neeson keeps getting better with age as Carnahan strips everything down everything around him to the bare essentials while still maintaining a vibrant, lush, snowy Alaskan setting with a handful of character actors. The Grey is a darkly visceral film about lost souls, redemption, and facing your own humanity amongst a pack of wolves.

² Stephen Chbosky's adaptation of his own 1990s coming of age novel is just the right amount of earnest and engaging. The Perks of Being a Wallflower encapsulates a touching, intriguing portrayal of teenage life well without any of the usual irony or cynicism. The teenage cast of actors creates a fun, cinematic adventure, full of music, emotions, and self-discovery amidst the gloomy blues of Pittsburgh.

You can read all my film reviews here.

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