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Critics' Top Movies of 2012

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S

symphonask

Member
Thought it would be interesting to look at some film critics top movies of 2012. Which ones, if any, mirror your own opinion or come closest?

Roger Ebert - Chicago Sun-Times

1. Argo
2. Life of Pi
3. Lincoln
4. End of Watch
5. Arbitrage
6. Flight
7. The Sessions
8. Beasts of the Southern Wild
9. Oslo
10. A Simple Life
Click to expand...

Richard Roeper

1. Zero Dark Thirty
2. Argo
3. The Grey
4. Life of Pi
5. The Dark Knight Rises
6. Django Unchained
7. Flight
8. The Sessions
9. Lincoln
10. Prometheus
Click to expand...

A.O. Scott - New York Times

1. Amour
2. Lincoln
3. Beasts of Southern Wild
4. Footnote
5. The Master
6. Zero Dark Thirty
7. Django Unchained
8. Goodbye First Love
9. Neighboring Sounds
10. The Grey
Click to expand...

Mark Kermode - BBC

Joint 1st: Berberian Sound Studio + A Royal Affair
3. Skyfall
4. Amour
5. The Dark Knight Rises
6. Even the Rain (2012 UK Release)
7. Life of Pi
8. Martha Marcy May Marlene (2012 UK Release)
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild
10. The Raid
11. Holy Motors
12. You've Been Trumped
Click to expand...

Todd McCarthy - The Hollywood Reporter

1. Amour
2. The Gatekeepers
3. Beasts of the Southern Wild
4. Once Upon a Time In Anatolia
5. Zero Dark Thirty
6. The Master
7. Skyfall
8. Footnote
9. Django Unchained
10. The Dark Knight Rises
Click to expand...

Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

1. The Master
2. Zero Dark Thirty
3. Beasts of the Southern Wild
4. Lincoln
5. Argo
6. Silver Linings Playbook
7. Les Miserables
8. Life of Pi
9. Moonrise Kingdom
10. The Dark Knight Rises
Click to expand...

This is only a brief list of critics - so if you feel I need to update the list with any other names, feel free to post them.

Edit: Some more

Michael Phillips - Chicago Tribune

1. Zero Dark Thirty
2. Lincoln
3. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
4. The Master
5. Amour
6. Chico and Rita
7. The Color Wheel
8. Searching for Sugar Man
9. Flight
10. Moonrise Kingdom
Click to expand...

Kenneth Turan - LA Times

1. Amour
2. Argo
3. The Dark Knight Rises
4. Footnote
5. 'The Gatekeepers' and 'The Law In These Parts'
6. Lincoln
7. Rust and Bone
8. Silver Linings Playbook
9. Sundance Dramas ("Middle of Nowhere," "Robot & Frank," and "Safety Not Guaranteed"
10. Zero Dark Thirty
11. The Deep Blue Sea
Click to expand...

Glenn Kenny - MSN Movies

1. The Master
2. The Turin Horse
3. Zero Dark Thirty
4. Moonrise Kingdom
5. The Kid With a Bike
6. Cosmopolis
7. Lincoln
8. Looper
9. Holy Motors
10. Tabu
Click to expand...

Dana Stevens - Slate

(in no order)
-Amour
-How to Survive a Plague
-Lincoln
-The Master
-Once Upon a Time in a Anatolia
-The Queen of Versailles
-Silver Linings Playbook
-Take This Waltz
-The Turin Horse
-Zero Dark Thirty
Click to expand...

Drew McWeeny - Hitfix

1. Holy Motors
2. Django Unchained
3. The Act of Killing
4. Cloud Atlas
5. Zero Dark Thirty
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
7. Silver Linings Playbook
8. Looper
9. Moonrise Kingdom
10. This Is 40
Click to expand...

Devin Faraci - Badass Digest

1. Zero Dark Thirty
2. Django Unchained
3. Lincoln
4. Cabin in the Woods
5. Beasts of the Southern Wild
6. Cloud Atlas
7. The Master
8. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
9. Holy Motors
10. Moonrise Kingdom
Click to expand...
 
E

Eidan

Member
I'm surprised how ignored Moonrise Kingdom is this award season. It seemed like a universally loved film.
 
B

Bobby Roberts

Banned
Eidan said:
I'm surprised how ignored Moonrise Kingdom is this award season. It seemed like a universally loved film.
Click to expand...

I personally thought it was lower-tier Anderson (although he still has yet to actually make a film approaching "Bad" for me) and it definitely doesn't seem to have the sticking power movies like Tenenbaums or Rushmore had - which is unfortunately, the level I think he needs to hit in order to be considered for awards. I still personally think Fantastic Mr. Fox is his best film. Love that thing to death.

Critics I'd like to see/hear from in this thread.

James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
Michael Phillips (Chicago Tribune)
Kenneth Turan (Los Angeles Times)
Glenn Kenny (MSN Movies)
Dana Stevens (Slate)
Drew McWeeny (HitFix)
Jeremy Smith (Aint It Cool)
Devin Faraci (BadAss Digest)

injurai said:
The fact that they chose to become critics makes these lists invalid.
Click to expand...

You're a critic. The difference between you and them is you're giving it away for free for 250 people, 10 of which might remember it outside of the 10 minutes they spend on the thread you're posting in.
 
S

symphonask

Member
FatboyRoberts said:
Critics I'd like to see/hear from in this thread.

James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
Michael Phillips (Chicago Tribune)
Kenneth Turan (Los Angeles Times)
Glenn Kenny (MSN Movies)
Dana Stevens (Slate)
Drew McWeeny (HitFix)
Jeremy Smith (Aint It Cool)
Devin Faraci (BadAss Digest)
Click to expand...

Cool. I'll try and update the list with some of these.
 
C

crazy monkey

Banned
dark knight rises and skyfall both are not worthy of top 10. there are far more deserving movies. they are summer blockbuster catering to fan boy of the respective series mostly.
 
C

Clay Davis

Member
Eggman said:
Is The Life of Pi that good?
Click to expand...

visually stunning, excellent use of 3d. in terms of story and acting, it's pretty poor. the main actor is terrible throughout. didn't like him single bit. the tiger had more charisma in my opinion and more acting range.

I do think it's worth watching in cinema though, especially in 3d. it's really impressive visually. can't be stated enough.
 
D

Daft_Cat

Member
Surprised to see TDKR making so many lists. I'm not sure it deserves it, but the fanboy in me is happy it all turned out ok.
 
C

Clay Davis

Member
Eidan said:
I think the Raid is technically a 2011 film.
Click to expand...

this is why I hate staggered releases. it's one my favourites movies of this year. cinema experience with friends was unparalleled. dredd came close, but the raid was one of those rare moments when everyone is in the right mood and that makes the movie so much better.
 
T

Triple Oceans

Member
Eidan said:
I think the Raid is technically a 2011 film.
Click to expand...

You're right. I enjoyed The Raid for what is was (a REALLY good martial arts movie) but its like they didn't even try to have a good story, believable characters or even decent dialogue. But because all the fight scenes were top notch, the movie was fun to watch.
 
E

Eidan

Member
Triple Oceans said:
You're right. I enjoyed The Raid for what is was (a REALLY good martial arts movie) but its like they didn't even try to have a good story, believable characters or even decent dialogue. But because all the fight scenes were top notch, the movie was fun to watch.
Click to expand...

The story served its purpose: to set up great action sequences. One of the things I appreciate is how simple it is.
 
M

meltingparappa

Member
Eggman said:
Is The Life of Pi that good?
Click to expand...
Life of Li is absolutely gorgeous, and by far Ang Lee's most sumptuously directed film.

The ending is CRAZY divisive though. If you fall on the positive side of that fence, it makes a good movie even better (if not, it's still a good movie minus the ending).
 
Z

Zia

Member
Glenn Kenny - MSN Movies

1. The Master
2. The Turin Horse
3. Zero Dark Thirty
4. Moonrise Kingdom
5. The Kid With a Bike
6. Cosmopolis
7. Lincoln
8. Looper
9. Holy Motors
10. Tabu
Click to expand...

The only list that matches up with mine, whatsoever. Which is nice, because Kenny is the only decent critic in that list.
 
C

Charles Foster Kane

Rosebud
Meh. Ebert & Roeper (Prometheus?), I am disappoint.

It's their opinion (critics in general) I guess, so there's not much to argue. I can't take serious any list with TDKR, it was too underwhelming for me.

All in all, I can't really discuss on many of them because I still have a lot to see.

Some of the lists seem interesting.
 
B

Bobby Roberts

Banned
I don't know if a lot of critics actually saw Dredd - I don't think it got many pre-release screenings. However, I do know that the overwhelming majority of critics (at least those who take their paycheck seriously) go out of their way to catch up on almost EVERYTHING before they have to write their year-end articles - so if they didn't get a shot at it pre-release, they should at least have gotten a screener from the studio, or hit a beer theater/downloaded it/rented it before the article was written.

I do know that quite a few people who DID see it, immediately compared it to The Raid, and so it might have become an issue where if your top 10 only has room for one, you put The Raid on the list.
 
I

injurai

Banned
FatboyRoberts said:
You're a critic. The difference between you and them is you're giving it away for free for 250 people, 10 of which might remember it outside of the 10 minutes they spend on the thread you're posting in.
Click to expand...

Critic vs critic though. There is a difference between giving a personal your personal opinion as you experience things and develop taste versus looking for flaws and making comparisons that only warp an individuals expectations of what a movie should or could be.

It's fine discussing movies and criticizing them, but the entire movie journalism and critic world is extremely skewed. As it also is for every other entertainment medium.
 
E

Eidan

Member
Charles Foster Kane said:
Meh. Ebert & Roeper (Prometheus?), I am disappoint. It's their opinion I guess, so there's not much to argue. I can't take serious any list with TDKR, it was too underwhelming for me.

All in all, I can't really discuss on many of them because I still have a lot to see.

Some of the lists seem interesting.
Click to expand...

Ebert & Roeper are no longer a tag team.
 
B

Bobby Roberts

Banned
injurai said:
There is a difference between giving your personal opinion as you experience things and develop taste versus looking for flaws and making comparisons that only warp an individuals expectations of what a movie should or could be.
Click to expand...

You're doing the same thing. Do you honestly think a film critic's tastes aren't CONTINUALLY developing? I mean - they're still people. They continue to learn things as they go on. How is it that your perception of flaws and relaying of negative opinions doesn't ALSO warp expectations for the 200 some-odd people who lay eyes on your forum post? You seem to see film criticism as inherently destructive, even as you willingly, for free, engage in the same practice. The only difference, according to your post, is that they're smart 'n' shit and you're just learning out loud. I don't buy it.

It's fine discussing movies and criticizing them, but the entire movie journalism and critic world is extremely skewed. As it also is for every other entertainment medium.
Click to expand...

Now THAT I can't argue against. It's a weird subculture indeed.
 
M

MaritalWheat

Member
Argo?! It was absolutely nothing special. I enjoyed it but come on...it did nothing but do a rote dramatization of a tense but ultimately uneventful story.
 
I

_Isaac

Member
Do you guys watch movies alone? I can't convince my friends to watch 75% of those movies with me. They were putting up a fight against Django Unchained for today.
 
E

Eidan

Member
_Isaac said:
Do you guys watch movies alone? I can't convince my friends to watch 75% of those movies with me. They were putting up a fight against Django Unchained for today.
Click to expand...

Do it all the time. Movie going stopped being a social activity for me when I was old enough to go to bars.
 
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