The Top 10 Films of 2012

There are films that speak to us in a moment...when 2 or more hours of someone else's vision can somehow personify everything that we might be feeling at that exact juncture of our lives...sometimes speaking to everything that has happened to us leading up to that moment.

For as long as I can remember I have loved movies. I remember going to fancy dinners with my parents when I was 8 or so years old quoting "The Empire Strikes Back" to anyone who would listen. When I was about 13 years old I discovered the Academy Awards. There is the infamous (known by my faithful readers) contest that I won in the Memphis Commercial Appeal from 1990 when I correctly predicted both Daniel Day Lewis and Brenda Fricker to win their Oscars. That's when I discovered competition.

I started a top 10 list around 2002 or 2003 and would encourage my friends to reply all with their picks. I would do this the day before/of the Oscars along with my picks of who would/should win. Then I started this website and was able to post my top 10 here. And now, in theory, I can get the list out by the end of the year.

For brief moments I wonder how my top 10 will measure up to others and their criticisms. I also wonder about my legacy and what these lists will say about me. I can only hope that they show who I am as a film lover...as an actor...as a fan of cinema. And most importantly a human being who listens to what speaks.

Here are my top 10 films of 2012.

1. Zero Dark Thirty

Kathryn Bigelow has made an even better film than "The Hurt Locker" and the best film of 2012. When it comes to my master directors (Tarantino, Lynch, Scorsese, Kubrick) there is a clear style. And ZDT belongs to Bigelow...and she belongs in that list. That being said "Zero Dark Thirty" stands alone in its own way. Like some of the best documentaries, there was a subject and a story to be told. And unlike almost any narrative feature, the true story changed, and so did the film, infusing an urgency and brilliance that might not have been possible otherwise. The pacing of the film is entirely unique. There is much action to be had, but we feel, as does Maya (the determined yet wearied agent hanging belligerently to a lead that eventually pans out) every relentless setback. What makes the film and the performance brilliant is the fact that the mission at hand is more important than the losses. We all know how the film ends, but the scene at the compound, though packed with excitement has a realism and simplicity to it that delivers beyond expectation.

2. Perks of Being a Wallflower

"Perks of Being a Wallflower" is a book that I somehow missed. Published the year I graduated college, could have been a story that bookended with "Dead Poets Society" which I belatedly saw in 1994, the year I graduated high school. I am glad for two things. First, that I didn't discover the story until seeing the film, and secondly, that I read the book after seeing it. While still able to relate to the story in so many ways, I'm glad that I can reflect on it instead of "live" inside the character of Charlie. Well...to be honest, I was Charlie with a dash of Patrick and Sam. Or another combination of the ingredients. In an unusual case, we were actually lucky to have the film directed by the author Stephen Chbosky. There have been many coming of age stories over time, but few acted as well by its leading characters, especially Logan Lerman. It is a beautiful piece of nostalgia for me, told in the best possible way.

3. Django Unchained

Tarantino does it again. "Django Unchained" is a little different than previous Tarantino films. At least that's how I felt the first hour and change. But then things kick into high gear when Leonardo DiCaprio's Candie faces off against Christoph Waltz's Dr. King Schultz. From that moment to the end, it is a usual Tarantino blood bath. OK...scratch that. What truly makes a Tarantino film isn't the blood, right? It is the use of music and the poetry...and the music is brilliant from the start and the poetry...although there are no long metaphoric scenes about "King Kong" or cheeseburgers, every word that comes out of Waltz's mouth is like music. OK...so...the reality is...this. Django is full on Tarantino, which also means it is unique...with all the above mentioned ingredients...and the one I forgot to mention. Heart. An exploding heart, but a heart nonetheless.

4. Les Miserables

Upon my first viewing of "Les Miserables" I was completely subjected to my predisposition. I have seen the show at least four times. I have read the book. At the time I first saw it I was starring in a musical. Yes...I was destined to like it. And I did. The moment the music began I almost cried. So much has been said about the film, but I will keep it simple here. And instead of trying to pigeon hold the non "Les Mis" lover into liking the movie, I will speak as...well...myself. As a musical theatre performer...but one who puts acting first, it was revolutionary to see what I strive to do on stage on film. My two loves combined. The long takes and the close ups allowed the actor to truly have a through line that wasn't determined in the studio. But in the moment. As my fellow writer Rick Hamilton said in his review: "take a moment and think of what this year’s Lincoln or Zero Dark Thirty would have been like if after a couple weeks of rehearsal they had recorded all the dialogue in advance and then had the actors lip-sync their lines—it’s hardly conceivable. For a (now mostly) sung through work, that’s the exact equivalent of what Les Misérables would have been like. It’s monumental for a film musical and it’s a risk that paid off tremendously."

5. On the Road

I have had a wonderful journey with "On the Road." I had the pleasure of having dinner with the cast, drinks with the stars...needless to say, what happens at the Top of the Standard stays at the Top of the Standard. In all seriousness though...I had to think long and hard about how I truly felt about the film, seeing it 3 times surrounded by all the exciting experiences. The film did drop from number one to number five. But I am extremely proud to be one of the only people to put it on my top 10 list. I've been talking about this movie for so long, but haven't really said much about it here on the blog. And it is still difficult for me to put my love for the film into words. I related to Sal/Kerouac as many young men have before me. And there have been Dean's in my life. And you will need to give me some bennys and coffee to get anymore out of me.

6. The Master

While I was watching “The Master” I was somehow able to let go of pretty much everything I had previously heard about the movie…which is quite surprising. Mostly because I was fascinated with how Paul Thomas Anderson was able to draw me into the Cause…question the Cause…and then wonder…what’s so wrong with it if it makes people happy. There was a serious connection for me in the story of “The Master.” I’ve never been a theologian or interested in Scientology at all which led me, while watching the film to question why I was feeling so connected.

I realized the “processing” reminded me of warm ups in some of my advanced acting class. When your teacher takes you through an exercise and you recall (not necessarily a past life) a point in your life and the experiences you feel remembering said event are supposed to allow you to reach an almost stillness necessary to “act.” Or not act, I guess.

7. Life of Pi

When I first saw "Life of Pi" I was having a big debate with myself trying to understand why people (mostly myself) feel the way they do about the movies they love. This is what I came up with. I honestly think this questioning began at the “Life of Pi” screening. After it was over I was reading tweets and listening around me at the variety of reasons everyone loved the movie. It varied from the visuals to its explorations of mortality and spirituality. For me it was the idea of things coming into your life when you need them to…only to have them leave when the need over even if the want still lingers. Those thoughts have stayed with me. As has the film.

8. Beasts of the Southern Wild

In the words of Benh Zeitlan, "Beasts of the Southern Wild" is a story of a little girl named Hushpuppy who lives in a town called the Bathtub that's been cut off from the world by a giant water protection system wall, written off the map...and a series of practical and mythological catastrophes that beset her town all while Hushpuppy is trying and learning to survive.

Although the parallels are obvious we never hear the words New Orleans, Ninth Ward or Katrina at any point during the film, and until the final act or so of the film we don't even leave the world of the Bathtub. Like another film I loved, "Where the Wild Things Are," "Beasts" seamlessly blends fantasy with reality to the point that everything seems real, unfolding like a beautiful symphony. This blurring is most superb in an incredible scene when Hushpuppy and a team of young girls venture out toward the light, seeking the mothers they have lost. Is it real? Who do they actually find? Who knows? No matter what though, we are grounded by the performance of Wallis. It is so hard to understand how such a young actor can be so available to her emotions with cameras and crews around. It is not manipulation, by a maturity beyond her years. A maturity she shares with Hushpuppy.

9. Silver Linings Playbook

"Silver Linings Playbook's" journey has been an interesting one. After the raucous reaction at the Toronto International Film Festival I declared that my gut was leaning toward an SLP win for Best Picture. And after a quick blogoshpere backlash I thought for a moment that it still could. That time has passed and its Oscar chances probably will end with deserved nominations for its leads. Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Jackie Weaver are so wonderful. Based completely in realism. Stripped away, naked and raw. It breaks my actor heart to hear people say that De Niro doesn't have a "big enough moment" to win or that Weaver doesn't have enough to do to get nominated. She, especially deserves a nomination. She listens. She is pained. And she loves her son. It is a mesmerizing feat of acting (and parenting) restraint. I love the film and hope it will eventually find an audience.

10. The Dark Knight Rises

Finally, a Christopher Nolan film makes my top 10 list. And wouldn't you know it, it is the one everyone forgot. For me "The Dark Knight Rises" is the best of the bunch. Perhaps I am a sucker for endings. Maybe I just can't get enough of Marion Cotillard and Anne Hathaway. Perhaps I am as guilty as the Academy and I'm actually honoring all three films because with "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight" added to "TDKR" there is an undeniably brilliant trilogy from concept to execution. And I will admit that I'm a bit gullible, but I never saw the twists and turns coming. And they were amazing.

I hope you enjoy the list. It shifted many times. I was certain "On the Road" would be my number one film for quite some time. Until I saw "ZDT" and "Django." And after second viewings of "Les Miserables" and "Perks" it fell. Also falling off, barely were "Lopper," "Magic Mike," "Pitch Perfect" and the film that will probably win Best Picture, "Lincoln." Below are a few honorable mentions, in alphabetical order. I can't rank them any further. Included is "A Separation" which I saw after posting last year. Perhaps "Cloud Atlas" or a number of foreign films and docs will make my honorable mention list next year having missed them due to time.

Honorable Mentions (in alphabetical order)

Amour

Anna Karenina

Bachelorette

Bully
The Hunger Games

Cabin in the Woods

Central Park Five

Lincoln

Looper

Magic Mike

Moonrise Kingdom

Paranorman

Pitch Perfect

Prometheus

A Separation

The Sessions