I would like to briefly remind you that this is just a simple opinion piece that I'm quickly throwing together. I promise you you won't agree with my list, and that's ok. Enough blabbing, let's do this thing!
10. The Secret World of Arrietty
If you're not familiar with this particular movie let me get you up to speed. Arrietty is a re imagining of the classic Borrowers story written by Mary Norton. This rendition is brought to us by the Japanese animation studio, Studio Ghibli (My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away) and was distributed by Disney. The story is heart warming and the animation is breath taking. I kinda have a thing for animation, as you will notice from this list. If you haven't seen Arrietty I would highly recommend checking it out.
9. The Amazing Spider-Man
Spider-Man has always been my favorite super hero but to be honest, I was pretty worried about this movie when the trailers came out. Luckily, I was worrying for nothing. Amazing Spider-Man is a reboot of the Spidey series going back to Parker's highschool days. The film features one of my all time favorite Spidey villains, the Lizard who I always felt sympathy for. The movie also features Emma Stone and that is always a good thing. This movie really showcased what Peter Parker is all about, a relate-able kid who is a smart ass with a heart of gold.
8. Prometheus
This is one I may get some arguments from but I don't care, this film blew me away. Prometheus is an Alien prequel that answers some questions and raises some as well. The sets were incredibly detailed and the acting from Fassbender was top notch. I may be a little biased since I love the Alien films but I found the whole movie to be as fascinating as it was thrilling. The final scene in the movie also shows the origin of the Xenomorphs which was probably the best part of the film for me.
7. Looper
Time travel hasn't been invented yet but in about 31 years it will be. Looper revolves around special assassins that deal in eliminating targets sent back to the past from the future. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of these special assassins known as a Looper, he is tasked one day with "closing his loop", meaning he has to kill his future self (Bruce Willis). This sci-fi action movie feels kinda noir inspired and keeps you glued for the entire film. If you missed this one when it was in theaters it just came out on DVD this week, you should make sure you don't miss it again.
6. Moonrise Kingdom
5. Dark Knight Rises
BATMAN. CATWOMAN. CATWOMAN'S BUTT. This movie has it all! I will say though that I really preferred the Dark Knight but this was still a fantastic conclusion to the Nolan Batman trilogy. Bane is the star of the show in this one, it's been nearly half a year since the movie came out and I'm still hearing (bad) Bane impressions. If you like Batman, see this. If you don't like Batman, see this.
4. Cabin In The Woods
Here is another one people are gonna gripe about, and I really don't understand why. This movie was pure brilliance! It took the horror genre and flipped it upside down on it's face and kicked it square in the dick. If you haven't seen Cabin yet then you probably think it's something that it isn't. It's really hard to explain why I love this movie so much without giving away sooooo much. The film parodies the horror genre and reinvents it all at the same time. I also really appreciated the way it ended, it's such a unique movie. Go watch this 16 times, right now.
3. The Avengers
Do I really need to say that much about this? It's Joss Whedon putting together some of the world's favorite super heroes. Also, I'm sure you've already seen it multiple times and love it just as much as I do. Here's hoping Avengers 2 is just as good!
2. Django Unchained
This one just came out so it may be so high on my list due to being fresh in my mind, or it could be because it's Quentin Tarentino being a brilliant crazy bastard. Django focuses on a bounty hunter rescuing a slave named Django to help him find a bounty in return he promises to help Django find his wife. What follows is what can only be described as uniquely Tarentino. A gritty, bloody, dialogue driven revenge and rescue film. Acting is brilliant, scenery and cinematography is gorgeous, soundtrack is fitting and adds to the scenes better than I've seen in years. I really can't recommend this movie enough, in fact there's only one other movie from this year that I would recommend more....
1. ParaNorman
Typically my favorite animated film of the year is put out through either Pixar or Studio Ghibli, this year was different. ParaNorman tells the story of a kid that doesn't fit in too well and is at odds with his family all because he can see and speak with the dead. The film is a stop motion and some of the best I've ever seen. The character design is unparalleled, the score is emotional and fitting, the dialogue is witty and well ... the whole movie makes me want to curl up in a ball and happy cry. Norman is the main character, his crazy uncle (voiced by John Goodman) passes away and tasks Norman with protecting the entire town from a curse, but Norman isn't sure he knows how to. This movie does a lot that I've never seen a children's movie do before, and in the best possible way. I think ParaNorman made it to the top spot on my list mostly because I felt like I related to Norman a lot. ParaNorman in many ways is a movie about an introverted kid for introverts. Even if you're more extroverted, this movie is one you shouldn't pass up.
Honorable Mentions
The Raid: Redemption: Foreign action movie that drop kicks your brain. I loved this movie so hard.
Brave: Pixar's latest. Very beautiful film that seemed Princess Mononoke influenced to me.
Wreck-It Ralph: This just barely missed making my list. This is a heart warming animated movie about being yourself and also video games.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey: Back to Middle-Earth! Action packed and gorgeous but I still don't think they should have made it into a trilogy. Even with the Silmarillion they are making things up, should have just been two movies.
