My Top Ten Movies of 2012

10. Moonrise Kingdom (2012) – A little too cute in some sections but ultimately awesome if for only the moment when Bill Murray Tackles the tent.

9. Avengers (2012) – A bit like a funny roller coaster ride. I hate Thor in the comics but Chris Hemsworth does an amazing job of making an impossibly invincible hero likable.

8. Cloud Atlas (2012) – Hackneyed in parts, beautiful in others, perhaps the strongest feature is the score, manipulating emotion from its viewers in an extremely enjoyable way. Tom Hanks and Halle Berry are kind of really bad.

7. The Interrupters (2012) – A hard as brick documentary about a group that breaks up gangs and fights and street violence by being badder and tougher than the bullies.

6. The Cabin in the Woods (2012) – A rich observation and lampoon on the tropes of horror movies without being a spoof. It’s cool and funny and scary.

5. Argo (2012) – Tense, thrilling and entertaining.

4. The Master (2012) – They say a ‘great’ movie has at least three great scenes and no bad scenes. You’ve got the interview, the jail cell, and Jocquin Phoenix pacing back and forth being taught a lesson. You’ve got the salt flats motorcycle race and the wrestling match on the front lawn. You’ve got Phoenix running through the fields and jumping onto the boat. There are a ton of great scenes in The Master, and though as a whole the picture didn’t leave me with much to think about, the performances and double binds that Anderson sets up make for an unforgettable viewing experience.

3. Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) – A fully realized fantasy world that exists at least in part in real life, the ‘bathtub,’ of the film plunged me into the world and life of Hushpuppy, my favourite character of the year. She sort of comes of age in a movie that looks a bit like a mushroom trip. I knew coming in that the movie was a kind of fable and enjoyed it more than the people I saw it with. I suppose sometimes spoilers can be important.

2. Looper (2012) – One of the best sci-fi films of the decade. A modern Blade Runner. Am I getting ahead of myself? Perhaps. But I don’t think so.

1. The Vice Guide to Karachi (2012) – I love seeing things I’ve never seen before and I love real humanity, scraped-up and selfish and loving all at the same time. Vice’s web miniseries on ‘the most dangerous city in the world’ has these factors in spades. The tale of the city unfolds in five parts, each featuring a new denizen of Pakistan’s fastest growing city. Somehow Suroosh Alvi gets access and interviews with politicians who haven’t been seen in the city in years, chiefs of police and even target killers. You can feel how scared the interviewer is riding in the back seat next to a hit man wearing a motorcycle mask to obscure his identity, his gun between his legs. Chilling.