The Best Movies of 2012 — The Year in Review

Liam Neeson had one of the most interesting career revivals in recent memory, starring in action movies into his old age. While on the surface, the premise of “Liam Neeson fights wolves” would seem to belong in the same category as something like Taken, the film transcends typical action labels. The Grey features a philosophy ruminating on the heartless nature of, well, nature. 

After a plane crash, a group of oil workers must survive in the barren Alaskan wilderness while a pack of wolves hunts them down. It’s man versus nature at its very finest, featuring superb cinematography work from Masanobu Takayanagi. Writer and director Joe Carnahan knows precisely what impact he wants to leave on the audience, and he delivers it in spades.

Bernie is based on an insane true story of the nicest man in a rural Texas town who’s charged with the murder of an affluent widow. The only problem is that everyone in the town loves Bernie so much, attorneys have to move the trial. This is just a sampling of the craziness you can expect out of Bernie. First and foremost, the film is a character study; Jack Black delivers a surprisingly intimate portrayal of Bernie, where even after he commits a heinous act, you can’t help but feel for him. 

Make no mistake, it’s still a comedy, but the humor comes from the seemingly low-key reactions out of the townspeople when talking of the titular character. The film isn’t afraid to tackle some real questions about law enforcement and consequences for one’s actions. There’s just a smidge of irony here, and it’s enough to make this small film feel big.

Taking old properties from the 80s and 90s was nothing new in the 2010s. However, while others just feel like studios wanting to use I.P., 21 Jump Street feels like something the directors genuinely wanted to make. It deviates far, far from the source material to deliver a timely, fourth-wall-breaking comedy that manages to poke fun at remakes, reboots, and action movies all in one. 

GOOD MOVIES TO WATCH 2012

15. Django Unchained

Django Unchained makes for an interesting companion piece to Inglourious Basterds. Whereas the latter Quentin Tarantino takes on nazism, in the former, he takes on American slavery. Both films feature A+ dialogue from Tarantino, but the performances, particularly from Christoph Waltz, Jamie Foxx, and Leonardo DiCaprio elevate the writing to provide some of the finest performances of the year. 

What can I say? I have a soft spot for brilliantly executed action films. 2012 was a turning point for the superhero genre with The Dark Knight Rises bringing an end to Batman’s reign and The Avengers ushering in a new type of lighthearted flair. A Spider-Man movie also came out that year, but we don’t talk about that. Between all this, you have Dredd, one of the most rewatchable action films to come out of the last decade.

MOST POPULAR MOVIES 2012

12. Zero Dark Thirty

LIST OF THE BEST MOVIES OF 2012

11. Killing Them Softly

In the aftermath of Infinity War and Endgame, the original Marvel’s The Avengers feels almost quaint. Six superheroes join forces to stop Loki from bringing an alien invasion to Earth. As we’ve learned from Justice League and Netflix’s The Defenders, team-ups are not slam dunks, and they’re pretty difficult to pull off. Each character needs adequate development without getting lost in the grand spectacle. Fortunately, Joss Whedon gives every character their due (minus Hawkeye, but he’d get his due later). The Avengers is popcorn entertainment at its finest,

POPULAR MOVIES 2012

9. The Cabin in the Woods

Meta-humor in the horror genre is nothing new. It’s been around since before Scream. However, no other movie has done it quite as well as The Cabin in the Woods. The “cabin” part of the film plays out fairly straight. The real innovation comes in how we get most of our character development from the engineers watching the characters’ every move, making sure they meet their grisly fates to appease ancient gods. 

The film has a lot to say about the current state of the horror genre. The engineers are disappointed when the college students are taken out by zombies… yet again. They want diversity, just like the audience wants to see something different, too. But in the end, the film makes it clear that all anyone really wants is to see an utter bloodbath and to give in to our cynical nature. 

On the surface, The Loneliest Planet has a simple story. A couple engaged to be married go on a backpacking trek in Georgia. A monumental event comes between the couple, and they struggle throughout the rest of the journey to reconcile. What’s remarkable is that the characters don’t spend a lot of time talking about that singular moment. Their silences speak volumes, and the audience is forced to discern how they feel about one another up until the very end. 

Themes like masculinity, betrayal, and forgiveness come to the forefront, but what’s striking most of all is the way the landscape throughout the journey is filmed. While the characters are dwarfed by mountains and vast stretches of trails, their emotions still come out, and the tension between the couple remains palpable along the way.

RANKING THE TOP MOVIES 2012

5. Silver Linings Playbook

Romantic comedies are a dying breed, and Silver Linings Playbook excels precisely because it’s a rom-com in the clothing of a serious drama. Two people with mental illness partake in a dance competition, with Bradley Cooper’s Pat working to make things work with his ex-wife. It could have descended into condescending or outright offensive territory, but it expertly handles its mental illness themes with care, never allowing the characters to become cliches of their conditions. 

Jennifer Lawrence is the true star of the picture here. Tiffany could have been another manic pixie dream girl, but Jennifer makes her come alive and feel real. Her flaws are real as is her acceptance that a part of her will always be a little sloppy.

LIST OF BEST FILMS OF 2012

4. Beasts of the Southern Wild

Beasts of the Southern Wild feels like a transcendent hallucination at times. Set against the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina, the film follows a young girl, but rather than focus on disaster, our attention is on the coming-of-age story of a young girl trying to keep her family intact. 

Benh Zeitlin draws heavy influence from Terrence Malick in the way he frames and structures his movie. However, the shots never feel boisterous. It’s all in the service of getting an audience to empathize with different types of characters they have seen before. It’s a breath of fresh air, introducing the world to exciting new talents.

Stop motion animation is an arduous task, so all the love to Laika for continuously pushing the boundaries of the medium. The studio has had numerous hits over the years, but none have hit emotionally quite like ParaNorman. Norman can talk to the dead, and it’s up to him to save his town from an evil curse. 

While there are visual delights and funny gags for kids, the film has a thematic resonance squarely targeted at adults. In the movie, the townspeople unfairly hated and killed a young girl they believed in witchcraft. This is mirrored in the presence as the current townspeople want to destroy the zombies. The film shows how adults can be the biggest bullies of all and terrify others. It will leave you with plenty to chew on after, but in the meantime, you can enjoy gorgeous animation that’s coming in harder supply.

BEST FILMS OF 2012, RANKED

2. Moonrise Kingdom

Moonrise Kingdom is a joy to watch. Two 12-year olds fall in love and run away, on the lam from parents and authorities trying to bring them back home. It has all of the stylistic flourishes you want out of a Wes Anderson film, and yet, it stands apart from other movies in his filmography. Namely, there’s a sweetness there as he tells a story of lost innocence.

There are many ways to read the theme. It could be a film about sexual awakening. It could be a film about the existential desire to flee society. The film functions as a different allegory for everybody, but the one thing that remains consistent across the board is how it is a visual treat you’ll want to watch again and again.