Revisiting 2012, Part 1
It's time for my annual lists!
This was a fantastic year for movies, the best since at least 2009, and I saw over 70 current ones so it was really hard to decide on my favorites this time. Let's start first with a few honorary mentions:
Favorite new face:
Génesis Rodríguez was in three mediocre movies this year and I liked her in all of them. Apparently people even find her attractive:
Favorite director:
Steven Soderbergh gave us the very cool actioner Haywire and the stripper drama Magic Mike. Together with last year's epidemic thriller Contagion that's an impressively diverse trilogy of great movies for a broad audience.
Most undeserving flop:
John Carter is not perfect, but it's still a lot of fun, people! It's basically one of those semi-classic adventure movies we all used to watch as kids on rainy Sunday afternoons. And shirtless Taylor Kitsch never disappoints.
Favorite 2011 movie that just came too late to Germany for last year's list:
I don't even like horses, but somehow horse-related entertainment always works for me. This gorgeous, old-fashioned epic would definitely have replaced Tucker & Dale vs. Evil on my list last year.
Most promising 2012 movies that took too long to come here so I couldn't evaluate them:
Lincoln. The Master. Silver Linings Playbook. The First Time. Life of Pi. The Loneliest Planet. Smashed.
Most misleading marketing:
Bachelorette's poster, trailer and terrible German title promised a fun post-Bridesmaids romp, but instead it's a bitter, cynical look at my generation.
Favorite ending:
Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World
Favorite movie that I probably will never watch again:
Seriously, it's a lot better than you'd expect, but so depressing. It's just about death and coming to terms with your mortality.
I don't get it, it's like Tree of Life all over again:
Pretty much every critic in the world loved Holy Motors while I couldn't connect with it at all. Same goes for Beasts of the Southern Wild.
Worst movies I've seen this year:
The Bourne Legacy. Pitch Perfect. Prometheus. This Means War. All strong contenders. But the one I hated the most was Snow White and the Huntsman.
And now...
My 15 favorite movies of the year.
15.
"You're worried about the Ayatollah? Try the WGA."
14.
"It will get better. Everything will be alright. Except it won't, you know."
13.
Newscaster: "A story so bizarre it's hard to believe it's true."
12.
"Oh, you don't wanna know what I have to do for twenties."
11.
"I like to ride. Fixed gear. No brakes. Can't stop. Don't want to, either."
10.
"Puny god."
09.
"An army of nightmares, huh? Let's get this party started."
08.
"The 90's are history, and so am I."
07.
"I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me."
06.
"It's important before I tell you this portion of the story to remind you that you're on my side."
05.
"I can fly!"
04.
"What is an ocean but a multitude a drops?"
03.
"There's nothing wrong with being scared, Norman, so long as you don't let it change who you are."
02.
"Welcome to the island of misfit toys."
...and finally:
01.
"We're in love. We just want to be together. What's wrong with that?"
If you missed it, here's my list for 2011.
This was a fantastic year for movies, the best since at least 2009, and I saw over 70 current ones so it was really hard to decide on my favorites this time. Let's start first with a few honorary mentions:
Favorite new face:
Génesis Rodríguez was in three mediocre movies this year and I liked her in all of them. Apparently people even find her attractive:
Favorite director:
Steven Soderbergh gave us the very cool actioner Haywire and the stripper drama Magic Mike. Together with last year's epidemic thriller Contagion that's an impressively diverse trilogy of great movies for a broad audience.
Most undeserving flop:
John Carter is not perfect, but it's still a lot of fun, people! It's basically one of those semi-classic adventure movies we all used to watch as kids on rainy Sunday afternoons. And shirtless Taylor Kitsch never disappoints.
Favorite 2011 movie that just came too late to Germany for last year's list:
I don't even like horses, but somehow horse-related entertainment always works for me. This gorgeous, old-fashioned epic would definitely have replaced Tucker & Dale vs. Evil on my list last year.
Most promising 2012 movies that took too long to come here so I couldn't evaluate them:
Lincoln. The Master. Silver Linings Playbook. The First Time. Life of Pi. The Loneliest Planet. Smashed.
Most misleading marketing:
Bachelorette's poster, trailer and terrible German title promised a fun post-Bridesmaids romp, but instead it's a bitter, cynical look at my generation.
Favorite ending:
Seeking A Friend For The End Of The World
Favorite movie that I probably will never watch again:
Seriously, it's a lot better than you'd expect, but so depressing. It's just about death and coming to terms with your mortality.
I don't get it, it's like Tree of Life all over again:
Pretty much every critic in the world loved Holy Motors while I couldn't connect with it at all. Same goes for Beasts of the Southern Wild.
Worst movies I've seen this year:
The Bourne Legacy. Pitch Perfect. Prometheus. This Means War. All strong contenders. But the one I hated the most was Snow White and the Huntsman.
And now...
My 15 favorite movies of the year.
15.
"You're worried about the Ayatollah? Try the WGA."
14.
"It will get better. Everything will be alright. Except it won't, you know."
13.
Newscaster: "A story so bizarre it's hard to believe it's true."
12.
"Oh, you don't wanna know what I have to do for twenties."
11.
"I like to ride. Fixed gear. No brakes. Can't stop. Don't want to, either."
10.
"Puny god."
09.
"An army of nightmares, huh? Let's get this party started."
08.
"The 90's are history, and so am I."
07.
"I'm bad, and that's good. I will never be good, and that's not bad. There's no one I'd rather be than me."
06.
"It's important before I tell you this portion of the story to remind you that you're on my side."
05.
"I can fly!"
04.
"What is an ocean but a multitude a drops?"
03.
"There's nothing wrong with being scared, Norman, so long as you don't let it change who you are."
02.
"Welcome to the island of misfit toys."
...and finally:
01.
"We're in love. We just want to be together. What's wrong with that?"
If you missed it, here's my list for 2011.