Films of 2012

31. Shaft
This was just utterly boring.  An awful film.  Avoid.

30. Coriolanus
If tried and tried, but I just don't like Shakespeare.  I thought the plot of this was average to poor, and I can't stand the whole Shakespearian-language-in-a-modern-setting thing they keep doing.

29. The Lord of the Rings
No, not the new one.  The 1978 animated one.  Really very poor.  Laughable in fact.  Thank God for Peter Jackson.

28. Alien: Resurrection
Ludicrous.  Didn't even make sense.  Some cool action, and Sigourney Weaver, were the only positives.

27. Dante's Peak
Similar to above but slightly less ludicrous and without Sigourney Weaver.

26. 12 Monkeys
I've seen it twice and I couldn't tell you what it's about.  Very forgettable, except for Brad Pitt's brilliant performance - the only thing that saves the film.

25. American Psycho
Christian Bale is superb as always and the film is strangely gripping, but in the end it's not much more than a load of rubbish.

24. Source Code
A brilliant idea which falls apart when it runs into logic.  Not an awful film but far from satisfactory.  Some good ideas, but in the end, I felt cheated of an actual storyline.

23. Drive
I quite liked the first half, mainly because of Carey Mulligan.  The second half kind of fell apart, and not even a bit of Carey Mulligan could hold it together.  Half of a reasonable film.

22. Nativity 2
A few hilarious scenes that had me laughing out loud, but the ridiculous plot means that this is not a good film.  Entertaining, but not quality.

21. The Wolfman
This was ok.  Not particularly good, not particularly bad, just ok.

20. Spartacus
Long, but I don't mind that.  Some pretty dramatic stuff.  Just not that inspiring or gripping in the end.  It's like the Tesco Value version of Gladiator.

19. Juno
A good, fun, lighthearted film.  I enjoyed watching this, though I probably wouldn't bother watching it again.

18. The Recruit
This was a reasonable film.  Some very gripping moments.  But ultimately, it's a spy film, and I don't really like spy films.

17. Phantom of the Opera
This was reasonable.  Really good music, nicely done.

16. Life of Pi
Great effects, though that's not unusual these days.  I really liked large chunks of it, but it had a lame ending. and not a great start.

15. Looper
Some excellent moments, and they really tries hard to make it a sensible film.  It was great to watch, but met the obstacle that every time-travel film meets: its doesn't make any sense.

14. What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
This would be a lot lower if it weren't for Leonardo DiCaprio.  He is amazing in this.  Other than him, it's not that special, but his performance is outstanding.

13. Contagion
I missed this in the cinema so was happy to see it on DVD.  It's exciting and gripping.  A good film.

12. The Wrestler
This was very good, very watchable, but had a disappointing ending.

11. Phone Booth
What a brilliant idea, and really well done.  Very exciting, and Colin Farrell is excellent.

10. An Education
This is a decent film.  But Carey Mulligan is, as always, brilliant.  She makes this film.

7=. Brave
Pixar never really fail do they?  Good plot, great animation, watchable, funny.

7=. Alien
Some amazing scenes and great acting.  Completely gripping.  Limited by poor effects, but that's about it.

7=. Alien 3
More like Aliens than Alien, but not quite as good as Aliens and about as good as Alien.

6.  Aliens
Bigger, more exciting, more impressive than Alien.  And therefore slightly better.

4=. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Quality.  In pretty much every respect.  A really, really good film.  David Fincher is definitely one of my favourite directors.

4=. Holes
Wow.  Quite simple, and quite a small film, but really good.  Very deep and thought provoking, and also very entertaining.

2=. The Hunger Games
Great plot, great action, great characters - a great film.

2=. The Dark Knight Rises
There was a lot of pressure on this film, but it delivered.  All round excellence.  Review here.

1.  The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
No, it's not LOTR.  So far, it's certainly not as good as LOTR.  But it still does almost everything better than almost any other film.  If most films are on Earth, and LOTR is on another planet, then this still is one of the films that is on the moon.  Review here.