Since I haven’t watched all the “it” movies that 2012 has to offer yet, this list is once again tentative and will be subject to updates. Movies that I have yet to see include but are not restricted to Django Unchained, The Master, Les Miserables and Zero Dark Thirty.

I can’t say 2012 has been a brilliant year for movies but there were some releases that stood above others for me. So without further ado, this is the preliminary list of the movies that I enjoyed the most over the past 12 months.

When a review is available, it will be linked through the title.

13 – Beasts of the Southern Wild

This odd, peculiar and strange movie is bolstered by an absolutely stunning performance by six year old newcomer Quvenzhane Wallis as a little girl who’s fighting for her father and her forgotten community.

12 – Anna Karenina

This take on Tolstoy’s most famous novel turned out to be very polarizing. But I was one to enjoy it. Despite a few hiccups in the storytelling, this adaptation turned out to be quite interesting.

11 – Wreck-It-Ralph

The best animated feature oscar is not going for this movie. But make no mistake, Wreck-It-Ralph is where animation magic and heart lie.

10 – Moonrise Kingdom





Wes Anderson’s new offering is a refreshing take on a boy’s first love. It is a charming movie with a great musical score to accompany it. You can’t but feel happy as you finish watching Moonrise Kingdom.

9 – Life of Pi

Ang Lee’s tale of an Indian boy lost in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengali Tiger is a marvel to look at. But that’s not what the movie is all about. This story about survival despite all odds cannot but take you in.

8 – Intouchables

It’s no wonder this French movie quickly became one of the biggest movies in the history of French cinema. The real story of two men who become friends despite their drastically different backgrounds and their entirely different cultural and social classes is a joy to see.

7 – The Hunger Games

This post-apocalyptic movie captured the book’s essence: the portrayal of the characters’ anguish, their fight for their own lives and their ordeal under a ruthless tyranny.

6 – Skyfall

The best James Bond movie in years. Skyfall gives 007 a much needed aspect of humanity and helps make our favorite spy much more relatable.

5 – Argo

Ben Affleck’s new movie of a stranger-than-fiction real story is absolutely mesmerizing. It did a great job at showcasing the morbid atmosphere that the American hostages were in and managed to turn their ordeal into top-rate drama that will keep you at the edge of your seat.

4 – The Perks of Being a Wallflower

This coming of age movie is enchanting and absolutely heartfelt. It is about the joy of acceptance and the fear of rejection – all in the mind of a fifteen year old struggling with his freshman year of high school.

3 – Lincoln

This take on the last few months of the United States’ 16th president is absolutely brilliant. Be it from the top-rate acting performances to the highly engaging story, Lincoln is an absolute must-see.

2 – Silver Linings Playbook

Jennifer Lawrence gives the year’s best acting performance opposite a highly surprising Bradley Cooper in a movie about mental illness that goes beyond that and eventually becomes a movie about our inherent human need for others who can understand us.

1 – Amour

Michael Haneke’s movie of old age is riveting. It is breath-taking, captivating and absolutely chilling.