Top 10 Lists by the Critics

[magjournal]

So I thought I'd compile some of the top ten lists I've run across. Of course these are the best films of 2012.

Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun Times)

01.Argo
02.Life of Pi
03.Lincoln
04.End of Watch
05.Arbitrage
06.Flight
07. The Sessions
08.Beasts of the Southern Wild
09.Oslo, August 31
10.A Simple Life

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2012...s_of_2012.html

Mark Kermode (BBC Radio 5 Live)

01.Berberian Sound Studio
A Royal Affair
02.Skyfall
03.Amour
04.The Dark Knight Rises
05.Even the Rain
06.Life of Pi
07.Martha Marcy May Marlene
08.Beasts of the Southern Wild
09.The Raid: Redemption
10.Holy Motors
11.You've Been Trumped

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01phg3v

A.O. Scott (New York Times)

01.Amour
02.Lincoln
03.Beasts of the Southern Wild
04.Footnote
05.The Master
06.Zero Dark Thirty
07.Django Unchained
08.Goodbye, First Love
09.Neighboring Sounds
10.The Grey

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/mo...anted=all&_r=0

Christy Lemire (Associated Press)

01.Argo
02.Beasts of the Southern Wild
03.Skyfall
04.Holy Motors
05.Zero Dark Thirty
06.The Master
07.The Imposter
08. Moonrise Kingdom
09.Oslo, August 31
10.This is Not a Film

http://www.news-journalonline.com/ar...-films-of-2012

Ty Burr (The Boston Globe)

01.Beasts of the Southern Wild
02.Amour
03.Zero Dark Thirty
04.Moonrise Kingdom
05.Holy Motors
06.Lincoln
07.Argo
08.Django Unchained
09.This is Not a Film
10. Oslo, August 31

http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movi...B5J/story.html

Kenneth Turan(Los Angeles Times)

01.Amour
02.Argo
03.The Dark Knight Rises
04.Footnote
05.The Gatekeepers
The Law in These Parts
06.Lincoln
07.Rust and Bone
08.Silver Linings Playbook
09.Middle of Nowhere
Robot and Frank
Safety Not Guaranteed
10.Zero Dark Thirty
11.The Deep Blue Sea

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment...8.photogallery

Jeremy Jahns

01.The Dark Knight Rises
02.Looper
03.The Avengers
04.Django Unchained
05.Skyfall
06.Argo
07.The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
08.Lincoln
09.The Cabin in the Woods
10.Wreck-It Ralph

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5lXcd87zYk

Chris Stuckmann

01.The Dark Knight Rises
02.Skyfall
03.Silver Linings Playbook
04.Django Unchained
05.The Avengers
06.Seven Psychopaths
07.Looper
08.Argo
09.Lincoln
10.The Perks of Being a Wallflower

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkTHbMugMMQ

Mark Ellis (Schmoes Know)

01.The Avengers
02.Zero Dark Thirty
03.Lincoln
04.Silver Linings Playbook
05.Argo
06.Looper
07.The Perks of Being a Wallflower
08.Wreck-It Ralph
09.The Amazing Spider-Man
10.The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itPlg-9Yfjk

Kristian Harloff (Schmoes Know)

01.Zero Dark Thirty
02. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
03.Django Unchained
04.The Dark Knight Rises
05.The Avengers
06.Looper
07.Wreck-It Ralph
08.Arbitrage
09.Les Misérables
10.Dredd

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itPlg-9Yfjk

Meg McCarthy (Movieclips)

01.Silver Linings Playbook
02.Life of Pi
03.The Avengers
04.The Dark Knight Rises
05.The Cabin in the Woods
06.Zero Dark Thirty
07.Looper
08.The Perks of Being a Wallflower
09.Argo
10.Ted

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O1-u4vyKQc

Dustin Putman

01.Cloud Atlas
02.Prometheus
03. The Cabin in the Woods
04.Chronicle
05.Entrance
06.Take This Waltz
07.Django Unchained
08.Jeff, Who Lives At Home
09.Sinister
10.ParaNorman

http://www.dustinputman.com/essays_2012bestworst.htm

Jake Hamilton (Jake's Takes)

01.Django Unchained
02.Cloud Atlas
03.The Dark Knight Rises
04.Argo
05.Zero Dark Thirty
06.Looper
07.Life of Pi
08.Seven Psychopaths
09.Les Misérables
10.The Cabin in the Woods

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfdQLDGkobw

Mack Rawden (Cinema Blend)

01.Argo
02.Silver Linings Playbook
03.Zero Dark Thirty
04.Skyfall
05.Lincoln
06.Pitch Perfect
07.Looper
08.Beasts of the Southern Wild
09.21 Jump Street
10.Life of Pi

http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Top-1...ist-34827.html

JimmyO (JoBlo)

01.Argo
02.Lincoln
03.Zero Dark Thirty
04.Skyfall
05.Les Misérables
06. Silver Linings Playbook
07.The Perks of Being a Wallflower
08.The Avengers
09.Bernie
10.The Sound of Noise

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/list...of-2012-jimmyo

Chris Bumbray (JoBlo)

01.Django Unchained
02.Skyfall
03.The Dark Knight Rises
04.Argo
05.Killing Them Softly
06.Zero Dark Thirty
07.The Perks of Being a Wallflower
08.The Master
09.Silver Linings Playbook
10.Rust and Bone

http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/list...ovies--bumbray

John Fallon (JoBlo / Arrow in the Head)

01.The Dark Knight Rises
02.Prometheus
03.Sinister
04.Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning
05.Dredd
06.The Grey
07.Kill List
08.The Raid: Redemption
09.The Cabin in the Woods
10.Lovely Molly

http://www.joblo.com/arrow/top10.php?year=2012

Eric Walkuski (JoBlo / Arrow in the Head)

01.Looper
02.Sinister
03.The Imposter
04. The Cabin in the Woods
05.The Dark Knight Rises
06.Killer Joe
07.The Raid: Redemption
08.Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning
09.Prometheus
10.The Grey

http://www.joblo.com/horror-movies/n...-films-of-2012

Adam Chitwood (Collider)

01.Moonrise Kingdom
02.Looper
03.The Perks of Being a Wallflower
04.Django Unchained
05.Skyfall
06.Life of Pi
07.The Cabin in the Woods
08.Lincoln
09.Magic Mike
10.Bernie

http://collider.com/top-10-films-of-2012/220348/

Dave Trumbore (Collider)

01.The Avengers
02.Looper
03.Django Unchained
04. Cloud Atlas
05.Life of Pi
06.The Amazing Spider-Man
07.Chronicle
08.The Grey
09.The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
10.The Cabin in the Woods

http://collider.com/top-10-films-2012/220183/

Mick LaSalle (San Francisco Chronicle)

01.Lincoln
02.Django Unchained
03.Zero Dark Thirty
04.The Deep Blue Sea
05.The Waiting Room
06.The Details
07.2 Days in New York
08.Farewell, My Queen
09.Argo
10.28 Hotel Rooms

http://www.timesunion.com/entertainm...#photo-3887153

MTV News Staff

01.The Dark Knight Rises
02.The Perks of Being a Wallflower
03.Looper
04.Zero Dark Thirty
05. The Avengers
06.Skyfall
07.The Cabin in the Woods
08.Silver Linings Playbook
09.The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
10.The Hunger Games

http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/169...ies-2012.jhtml

Feel free to add more that I don't have already and I'll update this list with anything else I find.

[Gordon]

Mag, aren't you editor-in-chief of a film criticism site? You should include yourself.

[magjournal]

Originally Posted by Gordon

Mag, aren't you editor-in-chief of a film criticism site? You should include yourself.

Haha, I love you man. Yeah, it's my own site, but barely anyone reads it and I only have one occasional contributor. It's like being president of a nation of one. Plus I'm waiting for Zero Dark Thirty to come out before I submit my final list onto my site.

[Matchbox225]

I'm looking forward to Armond White's Top Ten and Better Than Lists. They're always good for some laughs.

[magjournal]

Originally Posted by Matchbox225

I'm looking forward to Armond White's Top Ten and Better Than Lists. They're always good for some laughs.

I like him. No way in hell he's serious in his reviews. I think he's just doing a brilliant satire on film criticism.

[SS-Block]

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, reviewed by most western critics in 2012, and probably the best film I saw in 2012, is unfortunately absent from all lists.

[Gordon]

Originally Posted by magjournal

Haha, I love you man. Yeah, it's my own site, but barely anyone reads it and I only have one occasional contributor. It's like being president of a nation of one. Plus I'm waiting for Zero Dark Thirty to come out before I submit my final list onto my site.

Ebert has to start somewhere.

[magjournal]

Originally Posted by SS-Block

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, reviewed by most western critics in 2012, and probably the best film I saw in 2012, is unfortunately absent from all lists.

There are quite a few excellent films unfortunately missing from some lists. Coriolanus is one good example. I'm glad Oslo, August 31st got some recognition though. That's #1 on my list.

Originally Posted by Gordon

Ebert has to start somewhere.

This is true. Appreciate it broski.

[Hucksta G]

I think most critics may be counting Coriolanus and Once Upon a Time in Anatolia as 2011.

As for my two cents, wasn't a fan of Coriolanus

[DaMovieMan]

magjournal, be glad that at least you have such a public fan on these boards That's a bigger start than I have heh.

I'm also waiting for Zero Dark to make my top ten, and Once Upon a Time in Anatolia was on my top ten list last year (as was Martha Marcy May Marlene...) This thing with releases and which movie belongs to which year always gets to me. I thought Oslo, August 31st was last year's as well

Coriolanus was definitely 2011, because Redgrave was robbed of a Supporting Actress nom and it was countned among the hundred roles Chastain had in 2011.

[Matchbox225]

Originally Posted by DaMovieMan

Coriolanus was definitely 2011, because Redgrave was robbed of a Supporting Actress nom and it was countned among the hundred roles Chastain had in 2011.

This.

Redgrave continues to deliver exceptional performances and continues to be overlooked while Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, and Maggie Smith can be nominated so easily for much minor work.

I checked the release dates for the movie and although the critics saw it in 2011 at the festivals, it's first limited release was January 20, so it counts as a 2012 release for most people.

That's how I decide which year to put a film under in my top tens. I don't go by festival dates. If a movie doesn't have an official release date after the festivals, then I would just use the year next to the title.

[magjournal]

Richard Roeper finally released his top ten list:

01 Zero Dark Thirty
02 Argo
03 The Grey
04 Life of Pi
05 The Dark Knight Rises
06 Django Unchained
07 Flight
08 The Sessions
09 Prometheus
10 Lincoln

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGbyauyyDSs

[DaMovieMan]

Man, it's hard for me to take a top 10 list too seriously if it has Prometheus in it.

Other than that, I love that The Grey is getting so much love from critics and I think I like Christine Lemire's top ten most of all so far.

[Lazy Boy]

Walter Chaw (a.k.a. the only film critic that matters )

1. Holy Motors
2. Oslo, August 31st
3. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
4. The Loneliest Planet
5. The Master
6. Django Unchained
7. Wuthering Heights
8. Haywire
9. Cosmopolis
10. The Turin Horse
11. Killing Them Softly
12. Beyond the Black Rainbow
13. The Deep Blue Sea
14. The Kid With a Bike
15. The Snowtown Murders
16. Alps
17. Magic Mike
18. Harakiri: Death of a Samurai
19. The Dark Knight Rises
20. Intruders

He's been my favorite critic all the way back to his review of King Kong where the excitement he felt was comparable to when he saw Raiders of the Lost Ark. He has his biases and he can really tear a film to pieces, but he's very astute and grills the films he sees as practicing racism.

[DaMovieMan]

Originally Posted by Lazy Boy

Walter Chaw (a.k.a. the only film critic that matters )

1. Holy Motors
......

I was like "the only one that matters??"

Then I saw his number one pick.

And now, I see.

[viceus]

* Wrong thread. Silly me.

[Matchbox225]

BAFTA's foreign film category is better too, I think. Headhunters is really good. One of my favorites of the year.

[MightyCelestial]

Originally Posted by Lazy Boy

Walter Chaw (a.k.a. the only film critic that matters )

1. Holy Motors
2. Oslo, August 31st
3. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
4. The Loneliest Planet
5. The Master
6. Django Unchained
7. Wuthering Heights
8. Haywire
9. Cosmopolis
10. The Turin Horse
11. Killing Them Softly
12. Beyond the Black Rainbow
13. The Deep Blue Sea
14. The Kid With a Bike
15. The Snowtown Murders
16. Alps
17. Magic Mike
18. Harakiri: Death of a Samurai
19. The Dark Knight Rises
20. Intruders

I've really been meaning to seek out this flick.

[gabriel1980]

I love how Universal Soldier is in a top 10 of the year list!

[Matchbox225]

It's a little late, but here is Armond White's Better-than list for 2012.

http://cityarts.info/2013/01/09/better-than-list-2012/

Unforgivable > Zero Dark Thirty
Andre Techine tested political correctness against the difficulty of family/social life. It was the most sophisticated and morally challenging film of the year. Its essential politics exposed Kathryn Bigelow’s non-committal and unexceptional genre movie, a “mission accomplished” delusion. Techine showed how “family” and forgiveness are unfinished missions.

The Deep Blue Sea > The Loneliest Planet
Terence Davies’ gay sensitivity to sex roles (and memorable performances by Tom Hiddleston and Simon Russell Beale) bested Julia Loktev’s juvenile view of female infidelity and male weakness.

Sacrifice > The Master
Chen Kaige finds the roots of culture in patriarchal responsibility; P.T. Anderson loses culture’s meaning in anti-religious hysteria and high-art folly. Chen also featured superior acting by competing father figures You Ge and Xuegi Wang.

Holy Motors > Cosmopolis
Leos Carax’s dreamy limousine kineticism shamed Cronenberg’s oft-entrancing limousine stage drama. Carax parked and bloomed. Cronenberg parked then harangued.

Les Miserables > Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Tom Hopper and cast preserved the power of pop opera, while Nuri Bilge Ceylan cynically, tediously observed man’s inhumanity to audiences.

Dark Horse > The Turin Horse
Todd Solondz’s modern soap opera steadily, comically bored into our self-deceptions, while Bela Tarr’s highbrow jape steadily bored us.

The Lady > Lincoln
Luc Besson’s bio-pic examined Aung San Suu Kyi’s marital and political commitment, while Spielberg’s unholy marriage to Tony Kushner pushed the cult of personality. Aphorisms vs. Propaganda.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Taken 2 > Zero Dark Thirty
Neveldine-Taylor and Olivier Megaton revealed the post-9/11 zeitgeist in genre tropes, while Bigelow reduced the zeitgeist to an enigmatic comic strip, a “mission accomplished” delusion.

A Thousand Words > Argo
Brian Robbins and Eddie Murphy dared the most personal Hollywood critique since Clifford Odets’ The Big Knife; Ben Affleck trivialized Hollywood accountability.

Damsels in Distress > Compliance
Whit Stillman showed affection for female independence, while a po-faced indie’s misogyny masqueraded as class critique in the year’s worst film.

Moonrise Kingdom > Beasts of the Southern Wild
Wes Anderson’s fable of childhood innocence lifted the curse of racist liberal condescension preferred by Benh Zeitlin’s obnoxious, way-late Hurricane Katrina fantasy.

The Skinny > Django Unchained
Patrik Ian-Polk’s gay comedy expanded and enhanced black American life, while Quentin Tarantino treated blacks, whites and the history of slavery to comic violence.

Americano > Amour
Mathieu Demy sourced his family heritage (our cinema heritage), while Michael Haneke celebrated the end of life (and cinema). Joy vs. pessimism.

Detention > The Life of Pi
Joseph Kahn dared trace modern moral confusion to its pop culture source, while Ang Lee offered banal 3D philosophizing.

Chronicle > 21 Jump Street
Josh Trank’s existential teen flick achieved beauty, deeper than the adolescent nonsense of a TV-franchise movie that was the year’s second-worst film.

This is a step down from his list last year, but he still delivers the goods with some of them. He doesn't mention Silver Linings, so I guess that means he liked it.

[ilovemovies]

Ghost Rider 2 and Taken 2 better than Zero Dark Thirty?!!!

A Thousand Words better than Argo?!!!!!!!

On the other hand, I do agree with him that Chronicle is better than 21 Jump Street (although I like both films a lot).


Still what a weird list. I mean, hey I don't mind a guy like Armond White. I know he gets a lot of shit because it seems like he's always purposefully contradictory to everyone else, but I honestly don't mind that. The reason why I find this list weird is how he compares some movies to others. What is his method of choosing which film to compare with one another. I mean, seriously, comparing A Thousand Words to Argo? Oooooooooookay!

[Matchbox225]

Originally Posted by ilovemovies

Ghost Rider 2 and Taken 2 better than Zero Dark Thirty?!!!

A Thousand Words better than Argo?!!!!!!!

On the other hand, I do agree with him that Chronicle is better than 21 Jump Street (although I like both films a lot).


Still what a weird list. I mean, hey I don't mind a guy like Armond White. I know he gets a lot of shit because it seems like he's always purposefully contradictory to everyone else, but I honestly don't mind that. The reason why I find this list weird is how he compares some movies to others. What is his method of choosing which film to compare with one another. I mean, seriously, comparing A Thousand Words to Argo? Oooooooooookay!

As much as Argo is being overrated right now, saying it's inferior to the last Eddie Murphy bomb is cruel.

But what do we expect, it's Armond White, and it's why we love him, or hate him.

I did look for his Top Ten list, but couldn't find one, so I guess he didn't do one, unless this list serves as his top ten also.

[Tkeyjw]

Originally Posted by Matchbox225

I did look for his Top Ten list, but couldn't find one, so I guess he didn't do one, unless this list serves as his top ten also.

His "better than" lists have served as his top 10 lists for the past few years. He makes it a point to mention his favorite movies of the year as compared to some that he felt got more praise than they deserved. So it's kind of a best-of list and most overrated list combined into one.

Interesting to see that he didn't like Lincoln, considering he has pretty much always been crazy about Spielberg. I'm pretty sure this is the first Spielberg movie in like 20 years to not make his top 10 list, let alone be liked by him.

He likes to get a rise out of people, but I often think people take their dismissal of him too far. He does have good taste sometimes (check out the top 10 list he submitted to Sight & Sound last year; it's totally respectable and not really contrarian at all). In fact, I think it's only when he takes swipes against audiences rather than the movies themselves that he becomes worthy of the vitriol he seems to receive. Being one of the few people who didn't like Toy Story 3 was one thing, but saying that the movie was "for non-thinking children," as he put it, was just going too far. His problem isn't necessarily his taste, it's that he often resorts to purposefully and needlessly antagonizing people.

But still, consider that he counts The Deep Blue Sea, Moonrise Kingdom, and Holy Motors among his favorite films of 2012, and I think it would be selling him short to imply that he has no business being a critic.