TOP TEN MOVIES OF 2012

Unlike many of my colleagues, I found 2012 a thin year for quality American movies (this was decidedly not the case with foreign films, which I will list separately). But the December glut of releases more than made up for a lackluster year overall, accounting for six of my top ten. Here are my favorite movies of the year, in order, and the six directors I would have nominated for an Oscar (with apologies to Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master," which I inexcusably missed):

1. ZERO DARK THIRTY* - Kathryn Bigelow

2. LINCOLN - Steven Spielberg

3. ARGO - Ben Affleck

4. DJANGO UNCHAINED - Quentin Tarantino

5. MOONRISE KINGDOM - Wes Anderson

6. SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK - David O. Russell

7. LES MISERABLES

8. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD

9. BERNIE - yes, a comedy!

10. THE IMPOSSIBLE 

Honorable Mention:

The Deep Blue Sea - Rachel Weisz deserves that fifth Oscar slot for Best Actress

The Dark Knight Rises

Skyfall

Searching for Sugarman - documentaries do not usually make the cut, but this one is an exception

Saw & enjoyed:

Flight

Hitchcock (overlooking the many liberties it took with the truth)

Lawless*

Looper

* continuing a tradition from last year, these movies starred the lovely Jessica Chastain

TOP TEN MOVIES of 2011

I have finally seen all the 2011 releases I care to see, and up until last Sunday I was worried that I wouldn't have enough films to make an even ten. I wouldn't characterize 2011 as a BAD year for movies, more of a year of hits and misses, with the real gems ever-harder to find in the crowded movie marketplace.

Happily, the one discernible theme in the movies released at the end of the year is: "Movies Rediscover Their Past." That theme produced two wonderful films (see below), and Steven Spielberg's "War Horse" -- a Disney-esque throwback that positively wallowed in one-dimensionality.

This year your response to the titles below might be a collective "Huh?" (more so than usual!). I plan to link many of these films to a more expansive review. With that in mind, here are TEN BEST MOVIES of the YEAR:

1. THE ARTIST
2. The Mill and the Cross
3. Hugo
4. Midnight in Paris
5. The Descendants
6. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (UK)
7. Martha Marcy May Marlene
8. Meek's Cutoff
9. Tree of Life*
10. Weekend (UK) 

Honorable mention (alpha order)
The Adventures of Tin Tin
Contagion
The Debt*
Mission Impossible 4 ("Ghost Protocol")
Moneyball
Take Shelter*

"Saw & enjoyed" (a category reserved for good/not great movies):
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Help*
My Week With Marilyn
Puss in Boots
Texas Killing Fields*

And one suggestion for a new category for the Oscars: BEST OPENING CREDIT SEQUENCE:
This year produced two clear favorites:
RUNNER-UP: Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (oily!)
WINNER: Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (excellent!)

* these five films all featured the lovely Jessica Chastain. And they all made the cut! Go figure...