Movies That Rock 2012

by rhian_mc2 | created - 12 Nov 2012 | updated - 18 Jan 2013 | Public

The best films of 2012 according to me.

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1. Albert Nobbs (2011)

R | 113 min | Drama, Romance

57 Metascore

Albert Nobbs struggles to survive in late 19th-century Ireland, where women aren't encouraged to be independent. Posing as a man so she can work as a butler in Dublin's most elegant hotel, Albert meets a handsome painter and looks to escape the lie she has been living.

Director: Rodrigo García | Stars: Glenn Close, Mia Wasikowska, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Antonia Campbell-Hughes

Votes: 25,585 | Gross: $3.01M

2. We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

R | 112 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

68 Metascore

Kevin's mother struggles to love her strange child despite the increasingly dangerous things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined.

Director: Lynne Ramsay | Stars: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell

Votes: 167,699 | Gross: $1.74M

3. The Hunger Games (2012)

PG-13 | 142 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

68 Metascore

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: 1,003,422 | Gross: $408.01M

4. This Means War (2012)

PG-13 | 103 min | Action, Comedy, Romance

31 Metascore

C.I.A. operatives wage an epic battle on each other when they discover they are dating the same woman.

Director: McG | Stars: Reese Witherspoon, Chris Pine, Tom Hardy, Til Schweiger

Votes: 194,212 | Gross: $54.76M

5. 21 Jump Street (2012)

R | 109 min | Action, Comedy, Crime

69 Metascore

A pair of underachieving cops are sent back to a local high school to blend in and bring down a synthetic drug ring.

Directors: Phil Lord, Christopher Miller | Stars: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Brie Larson

Votes: 598,314 | Gross: $138.45M

6. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

PG-13 | 164 min | Action, Drama, Thriller

78 Metascore

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: 1,826,625 | Gross: $448.14M

7. Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Biography

57 Metascore

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: 302,358 | Gross: $155.33M

8. Ruby Sparks (2012)

R | 104 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

67 Metascore

A novelist struggling with writer's block finds romance in a most unusual way: by creating a female character he thinks will love him, then willing her into existence.

Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris | Stars: Paul Dano, Zoe Kazan, Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas

Votes: 105,425 | Gross: $2.54M

9. Contraband (2012)

R | 109 min | Action, Adventure, Crime

51 Metascore

To protect his brother-in-law from a drug lord, a former smuggler heads to Panama to score millions of dollars in counterfeit bills.

Director: Baltasar Kormákur | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Giovanni Ribisi, Kate Beckinsale, Robert Wahlberg

Votes: 126,312 | Gross: $66.53M

10. Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012)

R | 101 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

59 Metascore

As an asteroid nears Earth, a man finds himself alone after his wife leaves in a panic. He decides to take a road trip to reunite with his high school sweetheart. Accompanying him is a neighbor who inadvertently puts a wrench in his plan.

Director: Lorene Scafaria | Stars: Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Melanie Lynskey, Patton Oswalt

Votes: 118,762 | Gross: $6.62M

11. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012)

PG | 93 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

60 Metascore

The Madagascar animals join a struggling European circus to get back to New York, but find themselves being pursued by a psychotic animal-control officer.

Directors: Eric Darnell, Tom McGrath, Conrad Vernon | Stars: Ben Stiller, Jada Pinkett Smith, Chris Rock, David Schwimmer

Votes: 197,888 | Gross: $216.39M

12. Brave (2012)

PG | 93 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

69 Metascore

Determined to make her own path in life, Princess Merida defies a custom that brings chaos to her kingdom. Granted one wish, Merida must rely on her bravery and her archery skills to undo a beastly curse.

Directors: Mark Andrews, Brenda Chapman, Steve Purcell | Stars: Kelly Macdonald, Billy Connolly, Emma Thompson, Julie Walters

Votes: 442,101 | Gross: $237.28M

13. Magic Mike (2012)

R | 110 min | Comedy, Drama, Music

72 Metascore

A male stripper teaches a younger performer how to party, pick up women, and make easy money.

Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Channing Tatum, Alex Pettyfer, Olivia Munn, Matthew McConaughey

Votes: 147,169 | Gross: $113.72M

14. Carnage (2011)

R | 80 min | Comedy, Drama

61 Metascore

Two pairs of parents hold a cordial meeting after their sons are involved in a fight, though as their time together progresses, increasingly childish behavior throws the discussion into chaos.

Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz, John C. Reilly

Votes: 132,998 | Gross: $2.55M

15. The Raven (I) (2012)

R | 110 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller

44 Metascore

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: 88,286 | Gross: $16.01M

16. Prometheus (I) (2012)

R | 124 min | Adventure, Mystery, Sci-Fi

64 Metascore

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: 644,009 | Gross: $126.48M

17. Big Miracle (2012)

PG | 107 min | Biography, Drama, Romance

61 Metascore

In small-town Alaska, a news reporter recruits his Greenpeace-volunteer ex-girlfriend on a campaign to save a family of gray whales trapped by rapidly-forming ice in the Arctic Circle.

Director: Ken Kwapis | Stars: Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, John Pingayak, Ahmaogak Sweeney

Votes: 20,511 | Gross: $20.11M

18. Artificial Paradises (2012)

96 min | Drama

Two girlfriends visit a big Brazilian beach festival and decide to just let go. They enjoy the music, booze, drugs and on one steamy afternoon even each other. They also meet a young man and things can't be better. Can this paradise last?

Director: Marcos Prado | Stars: Nathalia Dill, Luca Bianchi, Lívia de Bueno, Bernardo Barreto

Votes: 3,671

19. Chronicle (2012)

PG-13 | 84 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

69 Metascore

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: 264,399 | Gross: $64.58M

20. Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)

R | 95 min | Action, Horror, Sci-Fi

39 Metascore

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: 150,100 | Gross: $42.35M

21. Lockout (2012)

PG-13 | 95 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

48 Metascore

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: 100,933 | Gross: $14.33M

22. [REC] 3: Genesis (2012)

R | 80 min | Comedy, Horror, Thriller

45 Metascore

A couple's wedding day turns horrific as some of the guests start showing signs of a strange illness.

Director: Paco Plaza | Stars: Leticia Dolera, Diego Martín, Ismael Martínez, Àlex Monner

Votes: 38,111 | Gross: $0.01M

23. The Help (2011)

PG-13 | 146 min | Drama

62 Metascore

An aspiring author during the civil rights movement of the 1960s decides to write a book detailing the African American maids' point of view on the white families for which they work, and the hardships they go through on a daily basis.

Director: Tate Taylor | Stars: Viola Davis, Emma Stone, Octavia Spencer, Bryce Dallas Howard

Votes: 492,651 | Gross: $169.71M

24. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012)

PG-13 | 115 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

52 Metascore

After the birth of Renesmee/Nessie, the Cullens gather other vampire clans in order to protect the child from a false allegation that puts the family in front of the Volturi.

Director: Bill Condon | Stars: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Peter Facinelli

Votes: 262,821 | Gross: $292.30M

25. Underworld: Awakening (2012)

R | 88 min | Action, Fantasy, Thriller

39 Metascore

When human forces discover the existence of the Vampire and Lycan clans, a war to eradicate both species commences. The vampire warrior Selene leads the battle against humankind.

Directors: Måns Mårlind, Björn Stein | Stars: Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy, India Eisley, Stephen Rea

Votes: 161,187 | Gross: $62.32M

26. The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

PG-13 | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

66 Metascore

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: 702,065 | Gross: $262.03M

27. The Avengers (2012)

PG-13 | 143 min | Action, Sci-Fi

69 Metascore

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: 1,459,012 | Gross: $623.28M

28. Dark Shadows (2012)

PG-13 | 113 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Horror

55 Metascore

An imprisoned vampire, Barnabas Collins, is set free and returns to his ancestral home, where his dysfunctional descendants are in need of his protection.

Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, Helena Bonham Carter

Votes: 280,434 | Gross: $79.73M

29. Battleship (2012)

PG-13 | 131 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi

41 Metascore

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: 257,307 | Gross: $65.42M

30. The Vow (2012)

PG-13 | 104 min | Drama, Romance

43 Metascore

A car accident puts Paige in a coma, and when she wakes up with severe memory loss, her husband Leo works to win her heart again.

Director: Michael Sucsy | Stars: Rachel McAdams, Channing Tatum, Sam Neill, Jessica Lange

Votes: 204,892 | Gross: $125.01M

31. Mirror Mirror (I) (2012)

PG | 106 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

46 Metascore

An evil queen steals control of a kingdom and an exiled princess enlists the help of seven resourceful rebels to win back her birthright.

Director: Tarsem Singh | Stars: Lily Collins, Julia Roberts, Armie Hammer, Nathan Lane

Votes: 91,060 | Gross: $64.94M

32. The Cold Light of Day (2012)

PG-13 | 93 min | Action, Thriller

22 Metascore

After his family is kidnapped during their sailing trip in Spain, a young Wall Street trader is confronted by the people responsible: intelligence agents looking to recover a mysterious briefcase.

Director: Mabrouk El Mechri | Stars: Henry Cavill, Bruce Willis, Sigourney Weaver, Verónica Echegui

Votes: 39,369 | Gross: $3.75M

33. The Devil Inside (2012)

R | 83 min | Horror

18 Metascore

In Italy, a woman becomes involved in a series of unauthorized exorcisms during her mission to discover what happened to her mother, who allegedly murdered three people during her own exorcism.

Director: William Brent Bell | Stars: Fernanda Andrade, Simon Quarterman, Evan Helmuth, Ionut Grama

Votes: 37,500 | Gross: $53.26M

34. The Apparition (2012)

PG-13 | 82 min | Horror, Thriller

18 Metascore

A couple is haunted by a supernatural presence that is unleashed during a college experiment.

Director: Todd Lincoln | Stars: Ashley Greene, Sebastian Stan, Tom Felton, Julianna Guill

Votes: 20,633 | Gross: $4.93M

35. On the Road (2012)

R | 124 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance

56 Metascore

Young writer Sal Paradise has his life shaken by the arrival of free-spirited Dean Moriarty and his girl, Marylou. As they travel across the country, they encounter a mix of people who each impact their journey indelibly.

Director: Walter Salles | Stars: Sam Riley, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Amy Adams

Votes: 43,293 | Gross: $0.72M

36. The Cabin in the Woods (2011)

R | 95 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller

72 Metascore

Five college friends head out to a remote cabin for a getaway, but things don't go as planned when they start getting killed. They soon discover that there is more to the cabin than it seems.

Director: Drew Goddard | Stars: Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Fran Kranz

Votes: 450,543 | Gross: $42.07M

37. Bachelorette (2012)

R | 87 min | Comedy, Romance

53 Metascore

Three friends are asked to be bridesmaids at a wedding of a woman they used to ridicule back in high school.

Director: Leslye Headland | Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Isla Fisher, Lizzy Caplan, James Marsden

Votes: 48,848 | Gross: $0.45M

38. The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

PG-13 | 103 min | Drama

67 Metascore

Charlie, a 15-year-old introvert, enters high school and is nervous about his new life. When he befriends his seniors, he learns to cope with his friend's suicide and his tumultuous past.

Director: Stephen Chbosky | Stars: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Paul Rudd

Votes: 547,818 | Gross: $17.74M

39. House at the End of the Street (2012)

PG-13 | 101 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller

31 Metascore

After moving with her mother to a small town, a teenager finds that an accident happened in the house at the end of the street. Things get more complicated when she befriends a boy. A double murder is not an accident.

Director: Mark Tonderai | Stars: Jennifer Lawrence, Elisabeth Shue, Max Thieriot, Gil Bellows

Votes: 81,306 | Gross: $31.61M

40. Pitch Perfect (2012)

PG-13 | 112 min | Comedy, Music, Romance

66 Metascore

Beca, a freshman at Barden University, is cajoled into joining The Bellas, her school's all-girls singing group. Injecting some much needed energy into their repertoire, The Bellas take on their male rivals in a campus competition.

Director: Jason Moore | Stars: Anna Kendrick, Brittany Snow, Rebel Wilson, Anna Camp

Votes: 330,627 | Gross: $65.00M

41. Silver Linings Playbook (2012)

R | 122 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

81 Metascore

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: 742,592 | Gross: $132.09M

42. The Intouchables (2011)

R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama

57 Metascore

After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.

Directors: Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano | Stars: François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot

Votes: 928,988 | Gross: $13.18M



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