1. "Lincoln"(2012)
What more needs to be said about the peerless talent and incredible immersion of the now-three time Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis? From the first moment he appears onscreen as our beloved 16th President, we're completely sold and the other four gentlemen nominated in the Best Actor category in 2012 needn't have bothered showing up. I almost hate to predictably heap more praise on a guy whose received plenty of it, but he's THAT good. It would be unfair to call this a one-man show, however with Tommy Lee Jones and Sally Field doing typically strong work. DDL giving the performance of the decade(so far) also obscured the fact that Steven Spielberg was making another historical labor of love. This is one of the fabled director's most subdued efforts behind the camera, which works in the film's favor- any dramatic flourishes on his part would have been unnecessary. "Lincoln" is sure to be added to high-school cirriculums across the country any day now.
2. "Zero Dark Thirty"(2012)
Three years after "The Hurt Locker", director Kathryn Bigelow was back in the Oscar hunt with another topical triumph that placed her right at the forefront of working Hollywood filmmakers. Regardless of where you stand on the torture debate, this is still a riveting two-and-a-half hours dedicated to the nation's decade-long search for the whereabouts of the infamous architect of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Osama Bin Laden. Jessica Chastain may not be a household name(yet), but she's quietly building a reputation as one of the finest actresses of this generation. Her steely CIA operative and reluctant participant in the extreme duress applied to Islamic detainees led to the Navy Seals descending upon Al-Qauda's leader in 2011.
3. "Django Unchained"(2012)
Maverick writer-director Quentin Tarantino, cinema's enfant terrible since 1992, rides again in this brilliant blood-splattered, politically-incorrect instant classic. Like "Inglorious Basterds", one of the darkest, ugliest chapters in human history is more entertaining than it has any right to be, in the hands of the spaghetti-Western-loving QT. Is it any wonder why virtually every actor in Hollywood falls over themselves to inhabit one of his inimitable characters? Christoph Waltz became a two-time Best Supporting Actor for his eloquent bounty hunter Dr. King Schultz, Leonardo DiCaprio deliciously dirties up his image as vile slave-owner Calvin Candie, and Sam Jackson reminds us that he's a real actor as his equally repugnant house slave Stephens. Jamie Foxx's titular title character could only be mentioned last when this many notable performers come to play in typical Tarantino fashion(is that Jonah Hill AND Don Johnson?). The 'D' is silent.
I hate to be such a populist, but this Marvel quintet is about as much fun as you can have with your clothes on(hey, thanks for coming, Hawkeye). Joss Whedon's super-group instantly joined another very select group- the list of highest grossing movies EVER("Avatar", "Star Wars", "Titanic"). Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man changed the business in his red-and-gold CGI suit, and he's aided by crowd-pleasing cohorts Thor(Chris Hemsworth) and Captain America(Chris Evans). But Mark Ruffalo's Hulk was more incredible than Eric Bana and Edward Norton put together, and is the earth-shattering show-stealer. When they're not fighting each other, they're fighting Tom Hiddleston's loathsome Loki. The eye-popping, FX-laden third act firmly established the MCU as the number-one destination for summer escapism.
6. "Flight"(2012)
Robert Zemeckis ended his eight-year affair with motion capture technology and made a welcome return to 'grown-up' material in this sobering drama. Few in the industry are as skilled in the technical aspects of filmmaking as Bob Z, and that's why it rarely gets mentioned that he's also an actor's director. Denzel Washington gives his best performance in years as alcoholic pilot Whip Whitaker whose activities outside of work are called into serious question after a plane crash leaves six people dead in a crash sequence that rivals "Cast Away". What follows is a tough story about addiction and the destructive, often-unseen after-effects make a strong argument in favor of clean living.
7. "Argo"(2012)
Ben Affleck's resurrection as one of Hollywood's premier talents has to go down as one of the most pleasant surprises in recent memory. After "Gone Baby Gone" and "The Town" forced the tabloids to find a new target, a refocused Ben followed in the footsteps of esteemed actor-directors like Eastwood, Redford, Costner and Gibson as the creator of 2012's Best Picture winner. His CIA operative Tony Mendez ingeniously led the rescue of six U.S. diplomats during the Iranian hostage crisis of 1979-1981 under the guise of filming a sci-fi movie. In addition to the critical lovefest this humorous history lesson inspired, "Argo" was also a big box office hit. John Goodman, Bryan Cranston and Alan Arkin costar.
8. "Silver Linings Playbook"(2012)
Writer-director David O. Russell's stock soared as he assembled a sparkling cast to tackle the hot button issue of mental illness in this refreshingly unconventional romantic comedy. Bradley Cooper's believable portrayal of bipolar disorder was a huge step toward respectability in between "Hangover" sequels, while Robert De Niro came out of his decade-long creative coma as his sports-obsessed father, which is cause alone for celebration. But the real story here is Jennifer Lawrence. The star of "The Hunger Games" steals the film and this reviewer's heart as neurotic widow/dance contestant Tiffany and collected the Best Actress Oscar at the tender age of 22. She's the second-youngest winner ever(behind Marlee Matlin). The sky was truly the limit for Tinsel-town's brightest young starlet.
9. "Life of Pi"(2012)
Ang Lee astonishes with the year's most breathtaking visual effect, no small feat with so much comic book carnage crowding the multiplex. The whimsical tale(based on an award-winning '01 novel) of a sixteen-year old Indian boy that survives a shipwreck(his family does not) with a Bengal tiger as his only companion on a lifeboat adrift in the Pacific Ocean shouldn't have worked so wondrously. Pi and 'Richard Parker' were an unlikely smash critically and commercially, and Lee sailed off with his second Best Director Oscar(the first was for "Brokeback Mountain"). This is a special motion picture.
10. "Sessions"(2012)
This indie triumph never found a large audience, and I'd like to change that. I could have used a sex surrogate at some point in my life, and I'm not even paralyzed. Such outwardly bleak material traditionally has a tough time with ticket-buyers, but the plight of poet Mark O'Brien(John Hawkes) is quietly affecting, unless you're into drowning puppies in your spare time. Please spare some of yours to fit in a session with Helen Hunt, because she's as good here as she was in her Best Actress Oscar-winning role in 1997's "As Good As It Gets".
