Still from “It’s Such a Beautiful Day.”
It took me quite some time to catch up on all the films of 2012. It was a big year, especially for fanboys. Right from Tarantino’s use of music to Speilberg’s classic Hollywood narrative, to Tom Hooper’s overdone wide angle shots, we got everything in 2012. It’s easy to miss the real gems in such a year. I tried my best to watch everything in order to come up with a solid recommendation list. As usual the smaller films were the real winners.
Like last year, I’ve made a mashup of my 10 favourite international films of 2012 and edited it to my most awaited film of 2013, Terrence Malick’s To The Wonder (Note: Movie names appear in alphabetical order)
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In alphabetical order, here are five masterful films as runners up to the final top 10:
- Bernie by Richard Linklater
- Cloud Atlas by Tom Tykwer, Andy and Lana Wachowski
- Footnote by Joseph Cedar
- Moonrise Kingdom by Wes Anderson
- Snowtown by Justin Kurzel
Most enjoyable film of the year: The Cabin in the Woods
Fanboy disappointment: This is 40
Most underrated film of the year: The Giant Mechanical Man
Favourite comedy film of the year: The Five-Year Engagement
Favourite date movie of the year: Silver Linings Playbook
Most unexpected performances of 2012: Jack Black in Bernie and Matthew McConaughey in every film of his from 2012!
Best compilation of songs in a film: Django Unchained
& Not Fade Away
Best use of a song in a film: R.L Burnside’s “Let My Baby Ride” in Holy Motors (Special Mention: “Slow Boat to China” in The Master)
Best animated film of the year: It’s Such a Beautiful Day
Best Visual Effects: Chicken with Plums
(Special Mention: Beyond the Black Rainbow)
Best Production Design: The Master
(Special Mention: Moonrise Kingdom)
Best Original Song: “Ancora Qui“ Django Unchained
(Special Mention: “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” Not Fade Away)
Best Original Score: The Master (Special Mention: Bests of the Southern Wild and Cloud Atlas)
Best Cinematography: Once Upon A Time In Anatolia (Special Mention: The Master and Killing Them Softly)
Best Editing: Cloud Atlas
(Special Mention: Amour)
Best Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master
Best Supporting Actress: Ann Dowd in Compliance
Best Actor: Joaquin Phoenix in The Master (Special Mention: Daniel Henshall in Snowtown)
Best Actress: Jessica Chastain in Zero Dark Thirty
Honorable Mentions: Alps, Rampart, The Sessions, Compliance, Skyfall, God Bless America, This Must Be The Place, Seven Psychopaths, The Girl, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Death of a Superhero, Tabu, The Raid: Redemption, Django Unchained, The Dark Knight Rises, Safety Not Guaranteed, Rust and Bone, Zero Dark Thirty, The Intouchables, Beyond the Black Rainbow, Wreck-It Ralph, Your Sister’s Sister, Last Ride, The Do-Deca Pentathlon, Take This Waltz, Argo, The Deep Blue Sea, The Avengers, Magic Mike, Life of Pi, The Dictator, 21 Jump Street, Ruby Sparks, Nameless Gangster, Sleepwalk With Me, Forgiveness of Blood, Frankenweenie and Hitchcock.