Filmoria Top 10 Films of 2012

It’s that time of the year where we look back at all the great movies that have give us so much enjoyment.  Some blockbusters left us unimpressed. Some art films dazzled us. It’s been a great year for film in general. So, join us as we celebrate Filmoria’s Top 10 films of 2012.

Filmoria Top 10 Film’s of 2012

10. End of Watch

The best cop movie ever made is widely regarded as The French Connection. So, when the director of The French Connection, William Friedkin, cites David Ayers’ End of Watch as one of the best cop movies ever made, you have to stand up and pay attention.

End of Watch was easily one of the sleeper hits of the year, seemingly coming from nowhere and dazzling thousands in their droves. The shaky-hand reality camera style works beautifully with the documentation of two cop’s lives, fantastically played by Michael Pena and Jake Gyllenhaal. End of Watch is one of the most thrilling, gripping films of the year.

Read our End of Watch Movie Review 

9. Rust and Bone

Jacques Audiard is no stranger to acclaim. The director has been on a critical-praise high since his BAFTA winning hit De battre mon coeur s’est arrêté (The Beat That My Heart Skipped), following up with another BAFTA winning movie, the excellent Une Prophet (A Prophet), and now the director will most probably be going for 3 in a row with his latest Rust and Bone. A romance of the most uncoventional kind and an utterly enthralling one to watch. Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts give rivetting performances as two people brought together under the strangest of circumstances. However, this is Audiard’s triumph and arguably his best film yet.

Read our Rust and Bone Review 

8. Amour

A deserved winner of this year’s Cannes Palme D’or, Michael Haneke’s Amour is a powerful, emotional, hard-hitting movie which tackles the subject of a stroke victim with affection, truth and tenderness. Emmanuelle Riva gives one of the stand-out performances of the year, one that should earn her an Oscar nod.

Read our Amour  Review 

7. Looper

Joseph Gordon-Levitt reunited with Brick director Rian Johnson for this futuristic sci-fi assassination thriller which sees Bruce Willis sent back in time to be hunted by a younger version of himself. Gordon-Levitt does his best Willis impression, helped along by heavy make up and a touch of CGI wizardry to make the actor barely recognisable. Johnson’s script is original and bursting with tense action and a story that left audiences on the edge of their seat.

Read our Looper Review

6. The Cabin in the Woods

Joss Whedon does it again with The Cabin in the Woods, tweaking a genre which was rife with obvious tell-tale signs with new twists that surprised even the most avid horror aficionados. Cabin in the Woods is an endearing homage to certain horror films of yesteryear, perhaps not as scary as we hoped, but fresh and incredibly funny.

Read our The Cabin in the Woods Review

5. The Raid – Redemption

Without a doubt the most kick-ass film of 2012, Gareth Evans The Raid came from nowhere and took the martial arts world by storm. Incredibly tight choreographed scenes are complemented by the phenomenal skills of breakout star Iko Uwais, and all sandwiched together by the very competent direction of Gareth Evans. This is action as it should be and at its finest.

Read our The Raid – Redemption Review

4. The Dark Knight Rises

Christopher Nolan concludes his Batman saga with The Dark Knight Rises, a story of epic proportions that left audiences dazzled. Wally Pfister’s stunning cinematography is wonderful to behold in the 60 minutes plus of IMAX footage used to film the movie. Anne Hathaway surprised everyone with her multifaceted performance as Selina Kyle. And, while the jury is still out on Bane’s voice, Tom Hardy’s ability to command the scene using his physical presence alone is worthy of applause. Bruce Wayne’s story fiitingly ends here, but with movies as good as this audiences are simply left wanting more Bats.

Read our The Dark Knight Rises Review

3. Skyfall

Bond is back and bigger than ever before. Skyfall has become the highest grossing UK film of all time, taking over £98 Million at the UK box office alone ($978,000,000 Worldwide). Sam Mendes excellently directs the sharp story, written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan, which sees a more vulnerable and real incarnation of 007 than we’ve ever seen before. Javier Bardem’s turn as Silva will cement his place at the top of all-time best Bond villains. You don’t have to listen very hard to hear Bond fans, old and new, around the world as they chant “more Bond! More Bond! MORE BOND!

Read our Skyfall Review

2. The Avengers / Avengers Assemble

The Avengers (or Avengers Assemble) has been a long-time coming. First alluded to back in 2008 with the post-credit appearance of Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, Marvel fans have been waiting for the moment that Earth’s Mightiest would join together for the biggest on-screen superhero collaboration of all-time. The best news is that not only did it not disappoint (which so many of these hyped movies do) director Joss Whedon surpassed our expectations delivering 2012′s biggest blockbuster.

Read our Avengers Review

1. Argo

And at number 1, Ben Affleck continues his successful and acclaimed directing career with Argo, the true story of the CIA’s operation to extract American diplomats from a revolution in Iran using a fake science fiction movie as its cover. Although we already know the ending (this is a true story, after all), Affleck manages to present a film so thrilling that it had audiences gripping their seats with an unparelled tension. Not only that, we got the biggest movie catch phrase of the year. Ready? 1, 2, 3, “Arrr – GO – F**k yourself!

Read our Argo Review

Filmoria Writers Individual Top 10 Film’s of 2012

The Filmoria Top 10 is calculated from the individual Top 10′s from each Filmoria writer. Here’s each writer’s individual Top 10.

Richard Lennox – Editor

1. The Master
2. Rust and Bone
3. Moonrise Kingdom
4. Amour
5. Silver Linings Playbook
6. Argo
7. The Dark Knight Rises
8. End of Watch
9. Cosmopolis
10. Looper

Hillary Butler – Sub Editor

1. Argo
2. The Hunt
3. Cloud Atlas
4. Take This Waltz
5. The Perks of Being A Wallflower
6. Avengers Assemble
7. Friends With Kids
8. Compliance
9. Chronicle
10. The Sessions

Steve Willingham – Sub Editor

1. Chronicle
2. Argo
3. The Cabin in the Woods
4. Skyfall
5. Avengers Assemble
6. John Carter
7. Ruby Sparks
8. Headhunters
9. The Amazing Spider-Man
10. Dredd

Amanda Keats – Sub Editor

1. Argo
2. Life of Pi
3. Les Miserables
4. The Cabin in the Woods
5. The Hunger Games
6. The Raid Redemption
7. Rust and Bone
8. Avengers Assemble
9. Skyfall
10. Pitch Perfect

Chris Haydon – Reviewer

1. Rust and Bone
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
3. Amour
4. Silver Linings Playbook
5. Argo
6. The Master
7. The Dark Knight Rises
8. Skyfall
9. Safety Not Guaranteed
10. End of Watch

James Thompson - Contributor

1. Rust and Bone
2. The Raid Redemption
3. End of Watch
4. Silver Linings Playbook
5. Argo
6. Skyfall
7. The Dark Knight Rises
8. The Hunger Games
9. Looper
10. Ruby Sparks

Grace Duffy - Contributor

1. The Dark Knight Rises
2. Avengers Assemble
3. The Raid Redemption
4. Argo
5. Skyfall
6. Shadow Dancer
7. Grabbers
8. The Cabin in the Woods
9. End of Watch
10. The Hunt

Jonathan Deacon - Contributor

1. Amour
2. The Raid Redemption
3. End of Watch
4. Sightseers
5. Skyfall
6. Shame
7. Headhunters
8. The Hunt
9. Berberian Sound System
10. The Cabin in the Woods

Lesley Coffin - Contributor

1. Seven Psychopaths
2. Quartet
3. Argo
4. The Master
5. The Perks of Being A Wallflower
6. Goon
7. Klown
8. You’ve Been Trumped
9. Take This Waltz
10. Any Day Now

Jessy Williams - Contributor

1. Looper
2. Avengers Assemble
3. Argo
4. Frankenweenie
5. The Cabin in the Woods
6. Anna Karenina
7. Detachment
8. The Grey
9. End of Watch
10. Take This Waltz

Becca Andrews - Contributor

1. The Dark Knight Rises
2. Skyfall
3. Avengers Assemble
4. The Hobbit An Unexpected Journey
5. The Amazing Spider-Man
6. The Hunger Games
7. Great Expectations
8. The Perks of Being A Wallflower
9. Chronicle
10. Anna Karenina

Paul Dronet - Contributor

1. The Cabin in the Woods
2. Avengers Assemble
3. Looper
4. Argo
5. Paranorman
6. Chronicle
7. Wreck-it Ralph
8. The Raid Redemption
9. The Grey
10. Skyfall

Wayne Callaghan - Contributor

1. Skyfall
2. The Raid Redemption
3. Chronicle
4. Avengers Assemble
5. The Dark Knight Rises
6. Argo
7. 21 Jump Street
8. Dredd
9. The Cabin in the Woods
10. Ted

Peter Turner - Contributor

1. The Dark Knight Rises
2. The Hunt
3. End of Watch
4. The Cabin in the Woods
5. Argo
6. Life of Pi
7. Skyfall
8. Untouchable
9. Michael
10. King of Devil’s Island

Max Covill - Contributor

1. Life of Pi
2. Silver Linings Playbook
3. Moonrise Kingdom
4. Avengers Assemble
5. Skyfall
6. Cloud Atlas
7. Argo
8. Lincoln
9. Looper
10. Safety Not Guaranteed

Philip Bayles - Contributor

1. Searching for Sugarman
2. Beasts of the Southern Wild
3. Amour
4. Looper
5. The Cabin in the Woods
6. Avengers Assemble
7. The Master
8. Holy Motors
9. Iron Sky
10. Skyfall