282 films. Dig deep in the haystack to find every film that met eligibility rules to qualify for this year’s Best Picture Oscar. Interesting to scan through the vast range of titles. The exceptional gems virtually jump out to catch our eye while the less fortunate barely register. We’ve already seen several high-profile Top Ten lists published. Today we’re asking you, Awards Daily readers, to rank your own ten favorite movies of 2012. We’ll select one of your lists at random to win the new Tarantino bluray box set.
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Two hundred eighty-two feature films are eligible for the 2012 Academy Awards®, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today.
To be eligible for 85th Academy Awards consideration, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, December 31, and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days.
Under Academy rules, a feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format.
Feature films that receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for Academy Awards in any category. The “Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 85th Academy Awards” is available at
http://www.oscars.org/awards/academyawards/rules/reminderlist.html.The 85th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Thursday, January 10, 2013, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2012 will be presented on Sunday, February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre™ at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
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My top 10:
1. Amour
2. Oslo, August 31st
3. Holy Motors
4. The Master
5. Moonrise Kingdom
6. The Hunt
7. Argo
8. Searching for Sugar Man
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild
10. Barbara
Haven’t seen: Lincoln, ZD30, SLP etc.
1. Moonrise Kingdom
2. The Deep Blue Sea
3. Oslo, August 31st
4. Lincoln
5. The Comedy
6. Extraterrestrial
7. The Day He Arrives
8. The Master
9. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
10. Jiro Dreams of Sushi
My Top Ten (so far):
1. Silver Linings Playbook
2. Argo
3. Moonrise Kingdom
4. The Sessions
5. Life of Pi
6. Lincoln
7. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
8. Your Sister’s Sister
9. The Dark Knight Rises
10. Sleepwalk With Me
Top 10 Favorite Movies of 2012 (so far):
1. Skyfall
2. Ted
3. Marley
4. Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
5. The Expendables 2
6. Take This Waltz
7. The Raid: Redemption
8. The Five-Year Engagement
9. Marvel’s The Avengers
10. 21 Jump Street
1) Looper
2) Moonrise Kingdom
3) Beasts of the Southern Wild
4) Lincoln
5) The Dark Knight Rises
6) Alps
7) Searching for Sugarman
8) Silver Linings Playbook
9) Skyfall
10) The Avengers
1. The Sessions
2. Looper
3. Beasts of The Southern Wild
4. Argo
5. Moonrise Kingdom
6. Holy Motors
7. Life of Pi
8. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
9. Silver Linings Playbook
10. Les Miserables
Honarable mentions
Chronicle
Your sisters Sister
Cabin in the woods
Argo
The extra 5 on last post are moving I have not seen yet
Lincoln
Take this waltz
The sessions
Perks of being a wallflower
Mafic Mike
Jeff who lives at home
The Master
Best exotic marigold hotel
End of watch
Still need to see
Les miserables
Amour
Impossible
Compliance
Zero dark 30
Django Unchained
I have not seen Beasts of the Southern Wild, Moonrise Kingdom, Silver Linings Playbook, Zero Dark Thirty, Les Miserables or Django Unchained so this list could change a bit in the last 2 weeks of 2012 but, as of now,
1. The Avengers – Joss Whedon did a fantastic job to do what no director has successfully done until now, put multiple heroes in a film together and have it work. The proper time was given to all characters and everyone had their moments. Another Marvel film carried by Robert Downey Jr. but Tom Hiddelston is terrific as Loki. The film was funny and a blast action wise. The best Marvel film I’ve ever seen.
2. The Hobbit – I didn’t expect alot because of the so-so reviews but my expectations were exceeded. I didn’t love it as much as LOTR (my second favorite film as a trilogy) but I thought it was a good beginning to this trilogy and I can kind of see a plan from Jackson forming for this story. Andy Serkis is a complete scene stealer in this.
3. Skyfall – This is a bond film that I truly love. I really thought Casino Royale was great. Quantam of Solace wasn’t good in my opinion but this was a great comeback. Judi Dench is Oscar worthy in my opinion. I thought she was wonderful. I think Bardem was very good and did everything he could with his role. Craig is great as usual and this is one of my absolute favorite Bonds.
4. Prometheus – This is one of the most polarizing films of the year. It’s easy to see what side I’m on. I really hope they do make a sequel to this that would completely connect this with Alien because I think Scott has something here. I was so happy to see him return to sci-fi and this is one of the best sci-fi films I’ve seen. There are a few scenes in this film that had me jaw dropped. The performances are great from Idris Elba to Noomi Rapace and especially Michael Fassbender.
5. Seven Psychopaths – I was a huge fan of Martin McDonaugh’s first film, In Bruges, and he reunites with Colin Farrell for another very funny dark comedy. Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell are both hilarious and I think this was one of the most overlooked films of the year just like In Bruges was in 2008.
6. Argo – Ben Affleck is a better director than he ever was as an actor. I believe that is now safe to say. While this is my least favorite film of his, it is still a fantastic film. Gripping true story and my sister had read the short story on it and even said “even though I knew what would happen, I was still shaking”. That’s how you make a great film. John Goodman and Alan Arkin are terrific in their supporting roles but my favorite in the film is Bryan Cranston.
7. Looper – Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, and Emily Blunt are all terrific in this film which is a very original work with a fantastic screenplay from Rian Johnson. I had some small story problems with the ending of the film, but the ride is so great it doesn’t hurt it all that much.
8. The Dark Knight Rises – The Dark Knight is one of my 10 favorite films of all-time. This installment just does not stack up as far as I’m concerned. I still think it’s very good and I like it alot but I feel it is the worst of the trilogy due to a mediocre performance by Marion Cotillard and some weak battles between Batman and Bane. I had an issue with the romance relationship between Talia and Bruce. I also had an issue introducing John Blake as “Robin”. However, that doesn’t change the fact that I did enjoy myself due to Christian Bale’s best performance in the trilogy to date, Tom Hardy being very entertaining as Bane and, most of all, Anne Hathaway doing an incredible job as Catwoman/Selina Kyle.
9. The Hunger Games – It’s no secret to anyone that knows me that I’m in love with Jennifer Lawrence and she is absolutely brilliant in this movie. I can’t wait to see Silver Linings Playbook. However, this is a largely entertaining film and I had a wonderful time watching this. Woody Harrellson is fun in this too.
10. Killing Them Softly – A film that most audience members did not enjoy, I really liked it alot. The first 40 minutes were ridiculously fantastic and I thought it had a shot at being in my top 5. It fizzled a bit in the middle as James Gandolfini went on about a stripper and his wife (2 characters we never see or grow any attachment to). However the ending is one of the best of the year as far as I’m concerned and I love Brad Pitt’s performance and his exchanges with Richard Jenkins.
Still a lot for me to see but…
1. The Master
2. Life of Pi
3. Lincoln
4. Looper
5.Killer Joe
6. Moonrise Kingdom
7. Argo
8. The Dark Knight Rises
9. Detachment
10. Beasts of the Southern Wild
1. Moonrise Kingdom
2. Life of Pi
3. The Avengers
4.The Hunger Games
5. Footnote
6. Cabin in the Woods
7. Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
8. 21 Jumpstreet
9. The Grey
10. Lincoln
Seeing as the Oscar season has not really started in Europe yet, this is what it is:
1. Amour
2. Life of Pi
3. Argo
4. Oslo, August 31st
5. Moonrise Kingdom
6. The Dark Knight Rises
7. Holy Motors
8. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
9. North Sea Texas
10. Where Do We Go Now?
Honourable mentions (in alphabetical order):
The Deep Blue Sea, The Impossible, Looper, Silver Linings Playbook, Skyfall.
From the Great White North (Toronto, Canada) here is my top 10 films (seen as of Dec 17th 2012). I will say that I often rank a movie based on how it makes me feel emotionally. For some reason my indicator of whether a film has passed the “Ben-Test” is whether or not it illicits an emotional response from me (good or bad). So here it goes:
10. Cabin in the Woods
9. Lincoln
8. Dark Knight Rises
7. 21 Jump Street
6. Moonrise Kingdom
5. Skyfall
4. Flight
3. Argo
2. Silver Lining Playbook
1. Zero Dark Thirty
Worst Movies of the Year:
Magic Mike, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, One for the Money (yes, I saw it *hangs head in shame* I’m a Katherine Heigl sucker. I always think “maybe it’ll be great this time” and then its a massive fail)
1. looper
2. The Dark Knight Rises
3. Skyfall
4. Moonrise Kingdom
5. Argo
6. Beasts of the Southern Wild
7. Lincoln
8. The Hobbit
9. Life of Pi
10. Prometheus
Yet to see the Master, Zero Dark Thirty, Les Mis, Amour, and Django Unchained.
1. Lincoln
2. Silver Linings Playbook
3. The Master
4. Looper
5. Moonrise Kingdom
6. Flight
7. 21 Jump Street
8. Cloud Atlas
9. The Dark Knight Rises
10. Argo
1. Moonrise Kingdom
2. Looper
3. Take This Waltz
4. Frankenweenie
5. Argo
6. Skyfall
7. The Master
8. The Avengers
9. The Dark Knight Rises
10. Dark Shadows
Skyfall
Argo
Lincoln
Looper
Moonrise Kingdom
The Avengers
The Dark Knight Rises
Beasts of the southern wild
Prometheus
Life of Pi
1. Lincoln
2. Argo
3. Life of Pi
4. Moonrise Kingdom
5. Silver Linings Playbook
6. Beasts of the Southern Wild
7. The Dark Knight Rises
8. Brave
9. The Master
10. Flight
I missed A TON of movies so far (aka most of the oscar contenders this year), but I will be picking up the slack during the holidays. But so far, here’s my Top 10 :
1. The Master
2. Moonrise Kingdom
3. Argo
4. Paranorman
5. Safety Not Guaranteed
6. Frankenweenie
7. Killer Joe
8. Seven Psychopats
9. Sleepwalk with Me
10. 21 Jump Street
1. Beasts of the Southern Wild
2. Looper
3. Killer Joe
4. The Master
5. Skyfall
6. Brave
7. Moonrise Kingdom
8. The Cabin in the Woods
9. Cosmopolis
10. Compliance
1. Cloud Atlas
2. Argo
3. The Imposter
4. The Master
5. The Grey
6. Amour
7. Beasts of the Southern Wild
8. Cabin in the Woods
9. Arbitrage
10. Moonrise Kingdom
Based on what I’ve seen and what I expect it to be
1. Django Unchained
2. Les Miserables
3. Argo
4. Life of Pi
5. Zero Dark Thirty
6. The Sessions
7. Flight
8. Beasts of the Southern Wild
9. The Master
10. Lincoln
Here is my list based on what I’ve seen and what I expect the list to be after I see them all:
1. Lincoln
2. Zero Dark Thirty
3. Les Miserables (I love the hell of this musical, whatever it’s weaknesses!)
4. The Master
5. Django Unchained
6. Beasts of the Southern Wild
7. The Dark Knight Rises
8. Argo
9. The Sessions
10. The Avengers
Now, I’m picking from what I have seen only, as I assume or hope everyone has.
1. Moonrise Kingdom
2. Prometheus (save your LOLs)
3. Killer Joe
4. Frankenweenie
5. Cabin in the Woods
6. Magic Mike
7. Skyfall
8. Looper
9. Chronicle
10.Dark Knight Rises
It’s tough to leave out The Hunger Games….I’d been so excited for it, but it just underwhelmed me and I had to go with TDKR in the 10 slot, even though it did not do the things for me that it did for most people.
I have a real feeling my top 10 will make the shortlist for AMPAS Best Picture nominations:
1. Holy Motors
2. Zero Dark Thirty
3. Les Miserables
4. The Sessions
5. Argo
6. Silver Linings Playbook
7. Moonrise Kingdom
8. Life of Pi
9. Lincoln
10. Skyfall
Thank you so much for this opportunity! Here is my 2012 Top Ten in Movies:
Moonrise Kingdom
Lincoln
Robot & Frank
Arbitrage
Flight
Silver Linings Playbook
The Dark Knight Rises
Wreck-It Ralph
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Looper
Still haven’t seen: Zero Dark Thirty, Django Unchained, Silver Linings Playbook, Les Miserables, or The Master however…
1. Skyfall
2. The Dark Knight Rises
3. Argo
4. Lincoln
5. Moonrise Kingdom
6. Safety Not Guaranteed
7. Looper
8. The Raid
9. Cloud Atlas
10.Cosmopolis
10. Skyfall
9. Magic Mike
8. Silver Linings PLaybook
7. Zero Dark Thirty
6. Les MIserables
5. Pitch Perfect
4. Lincoln
3. The Master
2. Argo
1. Holy Motors
Top 10 for now (have yet to see Djago Unchained, Zero Dark Thirty, Les Mis)
1) Moonrise Kingdom
2) The Master
3) Holy Motors
4) Amour
5) Beasts of the Southern Wild
6) Looper
7) La Tableau (The Painting)
8) Rust and Bone
9) The Loneliest Planet
10)Cosmopolis
But, if it has to be from the 282:
1. Holy Motors
2. The Master
3. Savages
4. The Grey
5. Life of Pi
6. Lola Versus
7. The Raid
8. Cloud Atlas
9. Moonrise Kingdom
10. The Dark Knight Rises
1. Holy Motors
2. The Master
3. Berberian Sound Studio
4. The Queen of Versailles
5. Savages
6. Four
7. The Grey
8. Life of Pi
9. Lola Versus
10. The Raid
Out of almost 60 films seen (with ZDT, Les Miz, and Django left to see)-
1. Rust & Bone
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
3. Argo
4. Beasts of the Southern Wild
5. The Loneliest Planet
6. Cloud Atlas
7. The Master
8. A Royal Affair
9. Pitch Perfect
10. Lincoln
Honorable Mention to “No,” which is not a 2012 theatrical release but is fantastic.
1. Smashed
2. Lincoln
3. Holy Motors
4. Beasts of the Southern Wild
5. The Master
6. Silver Linings Playbook
7. Argo
8. Life of Pi
9. Anna Kerenina
10. Moonrise Kingdom
1. The Master
2. Moonrise Kingdom
3. Silver Linings Playbook
4. Django Unchained
5. Lincoln
6. Magic Mike
7. Looper
8. Beasts of the Southern Wild
9. Cloud Atlas
10. Skyfall
Argo
Holy Motors
Lincon
Importer
Compliance
Amour
Beasts of Southern Wild
Keep the Lights On
Butter
Rust and Bones
The Master
Moonrise Kingdom
Lincoln
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Silver Linings Playbook
Looper
Holy Motors
Argo
Marley
Amour
1. Cloud Atlas
2. Lincoln
3. Moonrise Kingdom
4. Looper
5. Life of Pi
6. Argo
7. Beasts of the Southern Wild
8. The Master
9. The Cabin in the Woods
10. 21 Jump Street
Haven’t seen enough, but here goes:
1. Cosmopolis
2. Looper
3. The Grey
4. Wreck-It Ralph
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower
6. The Intouchables
7. Beasts of the Southern Wild
8. Brave
9. Argo
10. Pitch Perfect
Also, Cosmopolis isn’t on the big Academy list! Not that it had hope, but…weird.