Top 16: My Fave Movies for 2012

Well, for films, 2012 was a kickass year. This is the year where Nolan's Batman ended and Wheddon's Avengers begins. The Hunger Games also begin this year as with the journey of The Hobbit (which I have not seen yet, sadly, as I opted to skip it). We also have Skyfall and Bourne Legacy both continuing their respective runs while Spider-Man gets its (rather unnecessary) reboot. Gladly, these headliners hit their stride, whereas last year we have the Green Lantern failing miserably at the box office. I'm happy to report none of these big properties got a major BOO from the critics. That said, I think I best leave my movie report for a different post.

I noticed that for this year, lots of 2011 movies spilled into 2012 Philippine cinema showing dates. Movies like "The Muppets," "My Week with Marilyn," "The Descendants," "Hugo," and "Moneyball" only made it into Philippine theatres come March and some were on limited release. Since a lot of these movies were good, they are added in the list but are parenthesized so to separate clearly the "real 2012" movies.

As with usual, the runner-ups:

• Hugo (2011)
• The Descendants (2011)
• Hunger Games
• Bwakaw
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower
• Your Sister's Sister
• Rise of the Guardians
• The Cabin in the Woods
• Moonrise Kingdom
• Magic Mike
• Premium Rush
• Cloud Atlas
• Shame (2011)
• The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo (2011)

16. Frankenweenie

Directed by Tim Burton 

Stars Charlie Tahan, Frank Welker, Winona Ryder

The Offering: Victor's interest in science was put to good use when his pet dog Sparky got ran over during a school activity. Shot entirely in black-and-white, this stop-motion animation by Burton is an adaptation of Mary Shelley's popular Frankenstein.

Admission ticket: Burton may have failed with Dark Shadows but Frankenweenie is amazing. The adaptation of Frankenstein has a heart and visual style to spare and even being made to become child-friendly, Frankenweenie does not lose its humor, heart, and charm thanks largely to a very cute stop-motion model of Sparky who, even after death, is charming as it was even before it passed the sweing machine.

15. Prometheus 

Directed by Ridley Scott

Stars Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron

The Offering: A science research crew finds leads to our "creators," prompting a mission to start looking for them only to find out darker truths than what they set out for. Set years before the events of the first Alien movie, Prometheus acts as a quasi-sequel to the cult classic.

Admission Ticket: It's my addiction to the genre and to the Alien franchise that got it up here. Plus, I believe it's a really good film that you would like to check more after you've seen the movie because like the first Alien movie, there will be a thousand questions, and this prompting to curiosity is what made it good for me. Obviously Ridley Scott is playing the long game so let's hope he's not scamming us for our hard-earned money.

14. Dredd 3D

Directed by Pete Travis

Stars Karl Urban, Lena Heady, Olivia Thirlby 

The Offering: Karl Urban plays Judge Dredd in a world where the police is setup as the jury, judge, and executioner. He takes along Judge Anderson on what seems like a normal day until they're lockdown in a drug complex. Urban does not reveal his full face, not even once. And oh, Cersei Lannister is here, too!

Admission Ticket: Set up similarly to The Raid: Redemption, Dredd won me over by its tendency to be trippy and the effective battle of wills between Karl Urban's Dredd and Heady's Ma-Ma. There are no fist fights, but Dredd's tendency to make fun of itself and its dark humor it derives from its brutality makes it witty and well-adapted in its own right.

12. Holy Motors

Directed by Leos Carax

Stars Dennis Lavant, Edith Scob, Kylie Minogue

The Offering: Trippy as fuck, Holy Motors is about, uhm, about, eh, it's actually hard to describe what it's about that until the end of the film you'll be asking, "what the fuck did I just see?"

Admission Ticket: Simply by being trippy as fuck. Holy Motors is another triumph of French filmmaking and it managed to stir me and made me think for days, over and over about what the film is actually about, especially that very creepy scene with the cars that took me by surprise. I mean who paid Oscar for these appointments? What are the actors really? Does the Holy Motors company name relate them to uh, God? I need answers!!!

12. Six Degrees of Separation from Lilia Cuntapay

Directed by Antoinette Jadaone

Stars Lilia Cuntapay

The Offering: Mockumentary about a Philippine cinema extra Lilia Cuntapay receiving an award after 30 years of hardwork. Packs an unsuspected philosophical punch about recognition and self-fulfillment.

Admission Ticket: Jadaone's Cinema One Originals effort is one rife with heart. She did to Lilia Cuntapay what Letters of Iwo Jima did to the Japanese soldiers. She humanized a horror icon that haunted most of our childhood. The mockumentary format matched its quirky humor and Jadaone's tendency to show her lead in a comedic light.When humor is turned off, however, Cuntapay goes for the kill with her unique brand of philosophy, or her own brand of human drama that grips.

11. 21 Jump Street
Directed by Phil Lord, Chris Miller
Stars Channing Tatum, Jonah Hill, Ice Cube

The Offering: Two underachieving cops are entered into the 21 Jump Street program after failing to read the Miranda Rights to the person they're arresting. Just when you think a movie with Channing Tatum is bound to suck, 21 Jump Street proves you wrong.

Admission Ticket: Perhaps the funniest comedy movie this 2012, the bumbling duo Hill and Tatum hasn't been this funny or good in a long time. The jokes are perfectly timed for Jump Street and it can be credited to producing one of 2012's most profound movie quotes "Fuck you, science!" Tatum goes under the influence of the drug they are supposed to stop the spread. It's crazy and stupid fun, something you can watch over and over.

10. Pitch Perfect
Directed by Jason Moore
Stars Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Skylar Astin

The Offering: Bring it On meets Mean Girls meets Glee. Probably not the best way to describe Pitch Perfect. Anna Kendrick plays goth girl who wants to be a music producer but instead becomes an a capella girl that she did not think she'd become.

Admission Ticket: Rebel Wilson. Anyone who says otherwise will be slayed immediately. The numbers are just great and the secret lead Rebel Wilson is given enough opportunity to display her talent. The commentary exchanges between Gail and John are also laugh out loud offensive.There's also a fat heart somewhere in the movie and we are told that if we love each other enough, we will win an a capella contest.

9. Marvel's The Avengers
Directed by Joss Wheddon
Stars Robert Downey Jr, Jeremy Renner, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Evnas, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, and Samuel L. Jackson

The Offering: 4 years in the making, Marvel's Avengers is (Disney's) Marvel Studio's culmination in everything it learned about making a good superhero movie. 

Admission Ticket: There's just too many to mention here. The great CG for starters, the epic moments of The Avengers fending off the huge floating aliens, Thor teasing Iron Man about using mom's curtains for his cape, The Hulk cleaning the floor with Loki, Thor flooring Iron Man, Iron Man flooring Thor, Jeremy Renner being badass, Scarlett Johansson being flexible, you know where this is heading.

8. Skyfall
Directed by Sam Mendes
Stars a bunch of British people JK! Daniel Craig, Judi Dench, Javier Bardem

The Offering: James Bond gets and presumed dead, while he actually enjoys lounging around in some tropical island. Silva, a terrorist goes for M's neck, and pretty much wrecks England in the process, prompting Bond to go out of hiding.

Admission Ticket: Best Bond film ever! Seriously, this is the only Bond film I've seen other than Casino Royale. And since the internet is in agreement that Casino Royale was the best Bond film of all time, then my finding of Skyfall better than Casino Royale as the better Bond film supports my claim that this is the best Bond film ever. Seriously, crazy action plus a great villain in Bardem makes this Bond film one for remembering.

6. The Muppets (2011)
Directed by James Bobin
Stars Jason Segel, Amy Adams, The Muppets

The Offering: The Muppets! Lots of nice songs!

Admission Ticket: The easiest way to me is through my childhood, and watching The Muppets are one of my fondest childhood memories so when this came out, I went crazy. I had to see it. And did it floor me? Amazing job what Disney did to The Muppets after being off TV and theatre for decades. Everything should be bought by Disney! The Muppets has plenty of heart and warm familiarity that would bring back happy childhood memories and bring tears to you because you've missed them so much. I cried like a baby watching this.

6. Wreck-it Ralph
Directed by Rich Moore
Stars Kristen John O' Reilly, Sarah Silverman, lots of video game characters

The Offering: A video game villain is tired of not being appreciated in his job and so he travels to other arcade games to get himself a medal and be treated like the hero Fix-it Felix. The movie features a lot of video game characters and humors.

Admission Ticket: Rich in nostalgia and humor, Wreck-it Ralph is Disney's closest to becoming Disney Pixar. There hasn't been anything as joyful and nostalgic as Wreck-it Ralph (other than The Muppets) in recent memory, that's why it claims the 5th spot. And how cute was the Sugar Rush game and characters? For me, this is the best animated movie of 2012. Hands down.

4. The Artist (2011)
Directed by Michael Hazanavicius
Stars Jean Dujardin, Berenice Bejo, Uggie The Dog

The Offering: An experience more than a film, The Artist goes for the authentic old Hollywood silent movie feel, a ballsy move from director Hazanavicius that actually pays off. 

Admission Ticket: As I've written previously, The Artist is an experience more than a film. Its authentic Silent-movie era feel is ballsy, and the story was simple enough to digest without the need for Aspirin (ahem ahem Holy Motors). It's not mind-blowing, but it's heartwarming and feel-good that makes watching it worth your time with the treatment being worthy of its hype. Plus there's Uggie the Dog. Could've been my fave 2011 film have I seen it in 2011.

4. The Dark Knight Rises
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Stars Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Marion Cotillard

The Offering: Nolan's Batman trilogy ends with a Billion dollar bang. Bruce Wayne mourns and becomes a recluse after the death of his love. But a certain burglary leads Bruce Wayne to a man they call Bane who's out to destroy Gotham City.

Admission Ticket: Some will say that The Dark Knight Rises pales in comparison to 2008's The Dark Knight. But let's be fair, Bane is hardly as popular a villain as The Joker. Yet, he worked (though that accent, ugh! Feels like he's in a cooking show)! Plus that twist somewhere near the end and Nolan making us think that someone will be making a Nightwing movie even Gordon-Levitt couldn't even throw a punch without hurting himself.

2. My Week with Marilyn (2011)

Directed by Simon Curtis
Stars Michelle Williams, Kenneth Brannagh, Eddie Redmayne

The Offering: Based on unprovable incidents that happened during Clark's internship on the set of The Prince and the Showgirl, My Week with Marilyn shows a different Monroe to the audience. A captivating showcase for Williams who radiates in her Marilyn Monroe persona.

Admission Ticket: One of Williams' career best, and a look into the life of Marilyn Monroe behind the camera. Williams glows as she literally transfigures into the iconic Marilyn Monroe, being able to mimic Monroe's tiniest inflections and gestures, proving a powerful  camera presence. The movie itself spoke to me and touched me in a sense that it speaks of things that do not last but are good enough to be cherished, yours and could not ever be taken away.

2. Weekend (2011)

Directed by Andrew Haigh
Stars Chris New, Tom Cullen

The Offering: An encounter at a gay club between two men sparks one of the most introspective films I've ever seen. Weekend's foray into the idea of love, homosexual love, life, and leaving transcends its modest budget and chamberpiece setup, earning my respect and admiration.

Admission Ticket: It's not a gay movie. It's a movie about gay people discussing love in general and it sent me weeping for minutes after the film finished. Weekend has intensely moved me and I have definitely been recommending this movie particularly for people who are so disgusted by gay romance. The dialogue in this film is simple, revelatory, powerful. Just like the encounter it portrays, Weekend is one film whose message resonates a lifetime. Beautiful beautiful film.

1. Argo

Directed by Ben Affleck
Stars Ben Affleck, Bryan Cranston, Alan Arkin, John Goodman

The Offering: Based on the Canadian Caper that happened during a tumultuous time in Iran during the 80s, Argo sees Ben Affleck as CIA officer Tony Mendez trying to smuggle American diplomats out of Iran after the American embassy was taken over by the Iranian government.

Admission Ticket: Precision. Tension. Ah, Argo. Without any doubt, Argo is Affleck's best directorial effort to date. So much that it's scary for Affleck to be making a new movie because it may not equal Argo's masterclass in control and build up. It's one of the few movies that kept me literally on the edge of my seat. The actors, bar Affleck, are lovable: Cranston, Arkin, Goodman, and even the Iranian guards at the airport that speak Farsi. Affleck really needs to stop acting his films, though.

How about you? What's your favorite films of 2012