2012 Must Watch
by theonemoviebuff | created - 19 Dec 2011 | updated - 05 Aug 2013 | PublicA list of must-watch movies of 2012
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1. Prometheus (I) (2012)
R | 124 min | Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Following clues to the origin of mankind, a team finds a structure on a distant moon, but they soon realize they are not alone.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Noomi Rapace, Logan Marshall-Green, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron
Votes: 643,603 | Gross: $126.48M
2. Battleship (2012)
PG-13 | 131 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A fleet of ships is forced to do battle with an armada of unknown origins in order to discover and thwart their destructive goals.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Alexander Skarsgård, Brooklyn Decker, Liam Neeson, Rihanna
Votes: 257,144 | Gross: $65.42M
3. The Avengers (2012)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Sci-Fi
Earth's mightiest heroes must come together and learn to fight as a team if they are going to stop the mischievous Loki and his alien army from enslaving humanity.
Director: Joss Whedon | Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner
Votes: 1,458,261 | Gross: $623.28M
4. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
PG-13 | 164 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
Eight years after the Joker's reign of chaos, Batman is coerced out of exile with the assistance of the mysterious Selina Kyle in order to defend Gotham City from the vicious guerrilla terrorist Bane.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman
Votes: 1,825,098 | Gross: $448.14M
5. Men in Black³ (2012)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Agent J travels in time to M.I.B.'s early days in 1969 to stop an alien from assassinating his friend Agent K and changing history.
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld | Stars: Will Smith, Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, Jemaine Clement
Votes: 386,655 | Gross: $179.02M
6. The Expendables 2 (2012)
R | 103 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
Mr. Church reunites the Expendables for what should be an easy paycheck, but when one of their men is murdered on the job, their quest for revenge puts them deep in enemy territory and up against an unexpected threat.
Director: Simon West | Stars: Sylvester Stallone, Liam Hemsworth, Randy Couture, Jean-Claude Van Damme
Votes: 322,090 | Gross: $85.02M
7. Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
R | 95 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Alice fights alongside a resistance movement to regain her freedom from an Umbrella Corporation testing facility.
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson | Stars: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Michelle Rodriguez, Aryana Engineer
Votes: 149,984 | Gross: $42.35M
8. Chronicle (2012)
PG-13 | 84 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
Three high school friends gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery underground. Soon they find their lives spinning out of control and their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides.
Director: Josh Trank | Stars: Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly
Votes: 264,254 | Gross: $64.58M
9. The Hunger Games (2012)
PG-13 | 142 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Katniss Everdeen voluntarily takes her younger sister's place in the Hunger Games: a televised competition in which two teenagers from each of the twelve Districts of Panem are chosen at random to fight to the death.
Director: Gary Ross | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Stanley Tucci
Votes: 1,002,626 | Gross: $408.01M
10. Total Recall (I) (2012)
PG-13 | 118 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A factory worker, Douglas Quaid, begins to suspect that he is a spy after visiting Rekall - a company that provides its clients with implanted fake memories of a life they would like to have led - goes wrong and he finds himself on the run.
Director: Len Wiseman | Stars: Colin Farrell, Bokeem Woodbine, Bryan Cranston, Kate Beckinsale
Votes: 266,187 | Gross: $58.88M
11. The Bourne Legacy (2012)
PG-13 | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
An expansion of the universe from Robert Ludlum's novels, centered on a new hero whose stakes have been triggered by the events of the previous three films.
Director: Tony Gilroy | Stars: Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Scott Glenn
Votes: 315,427 | Gross: $113.20M
12. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
PG-13 | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
After Peter Parker is bitten by a genetically altered spider, he gains newfound, spider-like powers and ventures out to save the city from the machinations of a mysterious reptilian foe.
Director: Marc Webb | Stars: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans, Irrfan Khan
Votes: 701,507 | Gross: $262.03M
13. The Raven (I) (2012)
R | 110 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
When a madman begins committing horrific murders inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's works, a young Baltimore detective joins forces with Poe to stop him from making his stories a reality.
Director: James McTeigue | Stars: John Cusack, Alice Eve, Luke Evans, Brendan Gleeson
Votes: 88,267 | Gross: $16.01M
14. Lockout (2012)
PG-13 | 95 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A man wrongly convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage against the U.S. is offered his freedom if he can rescue the President's daughter from an outer-space prison taken over by violent inmates.
Directors: James Mather, Steve Saint Leger | Stars: Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, Peter Stormare, Vincent Regan
Votes: 100,911 | Gross: $14.33M
15. Safe House (2012)
R | 115 min | Action, Thriller
A young CIA agent is tasked with looking after a fugitive in a safe house. But when the safe house is attacked, he finds himself on the run with his charge.
Director: Daniel Espinosa | Stars: Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Robert Patrick, Vera Farmiga
Votes: 235,393 | Gross: $126.37M
16. G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013)
PG-13 | 110 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The G.I. Joes are not only fighting their mortal enemy Cobra; they are forced to contend with threats from within the government that jeopardize their very existence.
Director: Jon M. Chu | Stars: Dwayne Johnson, Channing Tatum, Adrianne Palicki, Lee Byung-hun
Votes: 187,240 | Gross: $122.52M
17. Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)
PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
In a twist to the fairy tale, the Huntsman ordered to take Snow White into the woods to be killed winds up becoming her protector and mentor in a quest to vanquish the Evil Queen.
Director: Rupert Sanders | Stars: Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth, Charlize Theron, Sam Claflin
Votes: 302,215 | Gross: $155.33M
18. John Carter (2012)
PG-13 | 132 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Transported to Barsoom, a Civil War vet discovers a barren planet seemingly inhabited by 12-foot tall barbarians. Finding himself prisoner of these creatures, he escapes, only to encounter Woola and a princess in desperate need of a savior.
Director: Andrew Stanton | Stars: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem Dafoe, Samantha Morton
Votes: 286,000 | Gross: $73.08M
19. Dredd (2012)
R | 95 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.
Director: Pete Travis | Stars: Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby, Lena Headey, Rachel Wood
Votes: 293,993 | Gross: $13.41M
20. Looper (2012)
R | 119 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent into the past, where a hired gun awaits - someone like Joe - who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by sending back Joe's future self for assassination.
Director: Rian Johnson | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano
Votes: 602,527 | Gross: $66.49M
21. Skyfall (2012)
PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
James Bond's loyalty to M is tested when her past comes back to haunt her. When MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Daniel Craig, Javier Bardem, Naomie Harris, Judi Dench
Votes: 730,619 | Gross: $304.36M
22. Deadfall (2012)
R | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
Two siblings decide to fend for themselves in the wake of a botched casino heist and their unlikely reunion during another family's Thanksgiving celebration.
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky | Stars: Eric Bana, Olivia Wilde, Charlie Hunnam, Sissy Spacek
Votes: 41,030 | Gross: $0.07M
23. Cloud Atlas (2012)
R | 172 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.
Directors: Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | Stars: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving
Votes: 374,179 | Gross: $27.11M
24. Silent Hill: Revelation (2012)
R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
When her adoptive father disappears, Sharon Da Silva is drawn into a strange and terrifying alternate reality that holds answers to the horrific nightmares that have plagued her since childhood.
Director: M.J. Bassett | Stars: Adelaide Clemens, Kit Harington, Sean Bean, Carrie-Anne Moss
Votes: 66,663 | Gross: $17.53M
25. Arbitrage (2012)
R | 107 min | Drama, Thriller
A troubled hedge fund magnate desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help.
Director: Nicholas Jarecki | Stars: Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, Brit Marling, Tim Roth
Votes: 54,787 | Gross: $7.92M
26. Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
R | 157 min | Drama, History, Thriller
A chronicle of the decade-long hunt for al-Qaeda terrorist leader Osama bin Laden after the September 2001 attacks, and his death at the hands of the Navy S.E.A.L.s Team 6 in May 2011.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow | Stars: Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Chris Pratt, Mark Strong
Votes: 318,677 | Gross: $95.72M
27. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After a stint in a mental institution, former teacher Pat Solitano moves back in with his parents and tries to reconcile with his ex-wife. Things get more challenging when Pat meets Tiffany, a mysterious girl with problems of her own.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver
Votes: 742,167 | Gross: $132.09M
28. The Host (2013)
PG-13 | 125 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
When an unseen enemy threatens mankind by taking over their bodies and erasing their memories, Melanie Stryder risks everything to protect the people she cares about.
Director: Andrew Niccol | Stars: Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Jake Abel, Diane Kruger
Votes: 118,522 | Gross: $26.63M
29. Django Unchained (2012)
R | 165 min | Drama, Western
With the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington
Votes: 1,692,119 | Gross: $162.81M
30. Red Dawn (2012)
PG-13 | 93 min | Action, Drama, War
A group of teenagers look to save their town from an invasion of North Korean soldiers.
Director: Dan Bradley | Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Isabel Lucas, Josh Hutcherson, Josh Peck
Votes: 80,492 | Gross: $44.81M
31. The Impossible (2012)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, History, Thriller
The story of a tourist family in Thailand caught in the destruction and chaotic aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Director: J.A. Bayona | Stars: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor, Tom Holland, Oaklee Pendergast
Votes: 243,756 | Gross: $19.02M
32. Jack Reacher (2012)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Mystery, Thriller
A homicide investigator digs deeper into a case involving a trained military sniper responsible for a mass shooting.
Director: Christopher McQuarrie | Stars: Tom Cruise, Rosamund Pike, Richard Jenkins, Werner Herzog
Votes: 364,768 | Gross: $80.07M
33. The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012)
R | 130 min | Drama, Thriller
A young Pakistani man chasing corporate success on Wall Street finds himself embroiled in a conflict between his American Dream, a hostage crisis, and the enduring call of his family's homeland.
Director: Mira Nair | Stars: Riz Ahmed, Liev Schreiber, Kiefer Sutherland, Kate Hudson
Votes: 14,577 | Gross: $0.52M
34. Extracted (2012)
R | 89 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A scientist who has invented a technology to construct virtual realities from people's memories finds himself in a perilous situation, after he reluctantly allows it to be used for a purpose he never imagined.
Director: Nir Paniry | Stars: Sasha Roiz, Jenny Mollen, Dominic Bogart, Richard Riehle
Votes: 12,512
35. Spring Breakers (2012)
R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Four college girls hold up a restaurant in order to fund their spring break vacation. While partying, drinking, and taking drugs, they are arrested, only to be bailed out by a drug and arms dealer.
Director: Harmony Korine | Stars: Vanessa Hudgens, Selena Gomez, Ashley Benson, Rachel Korine
Votes: 148,659 | Gross: $14.12M
36. Erased (2012)
R | 100 min | Action, Thriller
An ex-CIA agent and his estranged daughter are forced on the run when his employers erase all records of his existence, and mark them both for termination as part of a wide-reaching international conspiracy.
Director: Philipp Stölzl | Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Nick Alachiotis, Liana Liberato, Olga Kurylenko
Votes: 32,653
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