Andrew's Top Ten Films of 2012! (And Sarah's Bottom Five!)

Andrew: Hello readers! First off, Happy New Year! Secondly, ymight remember that at two separate points last year we posted articles called Sarah & Andrew’s Top Ten Lists for 2012 So Far. We posted our first at the start of July and we posted our second at the start of October (so the halfway point and three-quarters point of the year). Now that 2012 has come and gone, it’s time to reveal our final lists that includes films that we saw in the final quarter of 2012! In those last three months we saw 17 new releases in the theatre, including a bunch of Oscar contenders.

So here’s the deal – just like the last two times, we have criteria for our lists: the films included have to be films we’ve actually seen and reviewed, and they had to be films that were released in theatres for public consumption in the United States during the 2012 calendar year. This means that a movie like Zero Dark Thirty, which doesn’t get a wide release in the USA until January 11^th, would qualify because it’s been playing in cities like New York for a couple of weeks. Again, these are from among all the movies we've seen and reviewed this year, so if a movie isn't on this list, it's possible we just didn't get around to seeing it.

And one last thing: because I personally found that each of our last two Top Ten Lists were a little lengthy, we’re splitting them up into two different posts. And at the bottom of each post will be the other’s BOTTOM five of the year (the post headline kinda gave that away though, didn’t it?). So check out my personal Top Ten List for 2012 and Sarah’s Bottom Five of 2012 after the jump!

Sarah & Andrew's Top Ten Lists for 2012 So Far! (October Update)

Andrew: Hello readers! So 2012 is juuuuust over three-quarters of the way over and so Sarah and I thought it would be a perfect time for us to update our individual Top Ten lists of the year! As you may recall from our Top Ten list we made at the beginning of July that covered the first half of the year (which you can find HERE), we had some similarities between our two lists but also some noticeable differences. Well this time we’ve seen 27 movies since that first list and so there are some notable names added to our new lists that have caused others to fall out.

Again, the only criteria for our lists are: they have to be films we've actually seen and reviewed and they had to be films that were first released in theatres for public consumption in the United States in the year 2012. So with that said, check out our respective lists and let us know what you think!

SARAH'S TOP TEN LIST OF 2012 (SO FAR!)

1.) The Avengers: This is still (in my opinion) the best movie of the year. It was just so fun and was everything a superhero movie should have been. The action paired with a phenomenal cast shot this movie to #1 for many weeks in a row. This was such a fun movie to go to and it fed into the other Marvel movies so seamlessly. (Read our 5/5 review)

2.) The Dark Knight Rises: The final installment in Nolan's Batman series was epic and left us wanting more! I loved Bane, even though I could have stood to have seen a little more of him. This movie makes me really wish that in two years we would be seeing a fourth Batman movie starring Bale! Alas, it is not to be… (Read Sarah's 4.5/5 review)

3.) Prometheus: This just still goes back to my love of the Alien movies and getting a little more of that back-story was exciting! While it was not exactly a "prequel" it was still so cool and had a great cast that really brought the world that Sigourney Weaver’s Ripley would later inhabit to life. (Read our 4.5/5 review)

Our Preview of This Week's New Releases (for Friday, October 5th)

Andrew: Hello readers! It's time again for a preview of this week's new theatrical releases! This week we don't have a large number of wide releases with only Taken 2, the sequel to the 2008 surprise hit action film Taken, and Tim Burton's new animated movie, Frankenweenie, which is coming out in time for Halloween.

There are some limited release films coming out as well such as Butter, The Paperboy and V/H/S but none of those are hitting our neck of the woods. That said, another limited release film that is increasing to more screens this weekend in The Perks of Being a Wallflower and you can read our five-clapboard review of that right here.

So Sarah, with only a couple of films to talk about, let's get down to it and talk intimately about Taken 2. Directed by Olivier Megaton, who directed last year’s fun Zoe Saldana action flick Columbiana and the third entry in the Jason Statham Transporter series, Taken 2 sees the return of Liam Neeson to the role of ex-CIA operative Bryan Mills.

If anyone's been living under a rock the last few years, in the original film Mills' daughter, Kim (Maggie Grace), is kidnapped while on vacation in Paris by an Albanian sex trade ring and Mills goes on a rampage through Paris to get here back. In a word, it's awesome.

Sarah, all I'm looking for with this sequel is that it's just a badass. I'm expecting a pretty similar story but if the action is on par with the original, I'll be a happy man. It's written by Luc Besson, the somewhat legendary French filmmaker/writer who wrote the first one, so hopefully it'll be good.

The Perk of Directing Your Own Novel's Movie - Casting Your Own Characters: Our Review of "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" (2012)

Directed By: Stephen Chbosky 

Starring: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd

Rating: PG-13 on appeal for mature thematic material, drug and alcohol use, sexual content including references, and a fight – all involving teens

Run Time: 1 hour, 43 minutes

Synopsis: Based on the novel of the same name, Charlie (Lerman) is a teenager just starting high school who is trying to cope with the suicide of his best friend and his own mental problems. When he struggles to find new friends in school, a pair of seniors (Watson and Miller) take him under their wings and introduce him to their group of friends.

REVIEW

Andrew: Hello readers! Last night Sarah and I were able to catch a free screening of the new film adaptation of the hit novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower, directed by Stephen Chbosky, who also wrote the novel that came out in 1999. It stars Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief) as Charlie, a freshman just starting high school who narrates his story through writing letters to a nameless friend; Ezra Miller (We Need To Talk About Kevin) as Patrick, a gay senior who befriends Charlie; and Emma Watson in her second post-Harry Potter role as Sam, Patrick’s best friend and step-sister who also takes Charlie under her wing.

So Sarah, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of our best friend’s absolute favorite book and was very excited about this coming out, and in turn continually told us we would like the book. We didn’t get a chance to read the book before we saw this (sorry Eileen!), but now that we’ve seen the film adaptation, what did you think?

Sarah: I really, really liked it! I did not know that the author of the book was also the director of the movie, so now that I know that I feel more confident that this is the best adaptation from book to screen that you could get.

I absolutely loved this movie. I thought it had such heart but at the same time had a sort of dark undertone that I think will surprise the audience a bit.

A: Especially if they’re unfamiliar with the source material.

S: Yes, especially if they’re unfamiliar with the story. I thought it was going to go in one direction and it ended going in another one, which pleasantly surprised me because I’m not often surprised by movies anymore.

What did you think?