Taking On 2012: Top Films

We have, after a long road, finally arrived at the end of the year known as 2012 in the world of culture. With supporting actors, actresses, and lead performances all taken care of I really only have the best collective works of the year to go through now. Am I completely done with the year on a personal level? Probably not, but sometimes we all have to move on. The long road calls, and we all have to walk the path in to the future (note: I did not see The Future in 2011 or 2012, so it won't be on this list. I really dropped the ball there). Some of these titles have links, which you can click for my full reviews.

Taking On 2012: Top Films (Q3 Quarterly Review)

With Oscar season nearly in full effect this is kind of the last gasp of air for the early year darlings, and as such I'm glad to have the chance to do this list because some of the films that topped the first and second lists earlier this year are sure to fall as more foreign film and prestige pictures start releasing. Or that's the assumption. It's been a great year for songs and albums so far, but what about film? Let us take a quick look before Mr. Oscar starts shaking things up.

Taking On 2012: Top Films (Q2 Quarterly Review)

It's fairly easy to be critical of 2012 as a year in film thus far, I was earlier this year, mostly because many of the more exciting releases are so insanely back loaded that it seems like nothing has come out. And you know what? That's partially correct, but not entirely true. Sure in order to round out a complete list (mostly because so many foreign films I want to see haven't gotten releases in my neck of the woods yet) I needed to stretch some dates, but the end result I find to be fairly strong. Equally worthy of standing alongside the great year for songs and albums, at the very least.

Perhaps the most surprising development for 2012 in relation to the last few years is the presence of engaging comedies. There have been bad ones that were supposedly great while others that had every right to be terrible were surprisingly funny. It's been a long time since Superbad or Scott Pilgrim, and even if I've seen all the great comedy movies of the year (unlikely since Judd Apatow is holding off his latest for Christmas day) 2012 has been stronger than most years in recent memory. Yeah that's at the expense of drama, but the greats are yet to come.

So what did make the cut? Let us find out.

Remember When We Had Them All On The Run?

Moonrise Kingdom (Anderson, 2012)

I never went to summer camp. I don't know if that makes me an outlier to the quintessential American experience, but growing up I never spent a day of summer at a day camp. Looking back I'm not entirely sure what I missed, but the romantic notions that I have associated with what occurs at camp (thanks in no small part to Salute Your Shorts) have always left me wondering what would have changed if some of my summers were spent in this idealized wonderland of quasi-freedom. Now of course I'm sure no camp is anywhere close to how I imagine, but I think what draws me to it is the fictionalized allure of sorting out all the strange feelings of approaching maturity with boys and girls who were all on the precipice of adolescence. And it's this feeling, one that permeates throughout the whole of Wes Anderson's latest film Moonrise Kingdom, that makes my imaginary sanctuary a semi-tangible reality. This almost fairy tale that is underscored by so much painful reality, an escape that forces confrontation of truth.