Here's a short summary of thoughts on all the movies of 2012 I watched (pretty much):
Life of Pi is one of the most visually stunning movies I have ever seen. And the story is one of those great ones, it drew me in right away with very little means before the really amazing visuals punched me in the head and made me wish the whole world looked like that, all the time. And the movie has a nice message as well, the way I interpreted it anyway. 8/10, bordering on a 9.
Django Unchained was awesome. The characters were fantastic, both due to the great script and the astonishing acting performances. DiCaprio's best role apart from What's Eating Gilbert Grape, if you can even compare those two roles. Also, Waltz shines again and Samuel L Jackson's character is greatly fascinating and well-written, not to mention well acted. Full of great Tarantinoey dialogue and a very Tarantinoey revenge plot with some buddy movie elements incorporated into it, I loved this one. Call me uncultured and fanboy but I really did. 9/10
Seven Psychopaths was another really entertaining movie. Well written with many hilarious moments, a lot of meta humor and most of all great, great characters. With a cast of Colin Farrell (teaming up with In Bruges director/writer Martin McDonagh again), Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson and coolest man that ever lived Tom Waits, this one kept me entertained throughout the entire thing. I can't guarantee you'll feel the same way, but either way it's worth watching. 9/10
Moonrise Kingdom is another one of those movies I get if others don't enjoy as much as I did (my girlfriend mostly thought it was weird and awkward). If you've seen Wes Anderson's other films, you know what you're getting into. Quirky, cutesy, tongue-in-cheek and just so very feel-good in a grey, yet hopeful way. The main characters are just so likably weird which is something I've been kind of missing in the last couple of Anderson's movies, and the ensemble is splendid (though just look at the cast list and you'd figure that). It's hard to describe why I enjoyed it as much as I did, but I recommend it to anyone who like Wes Anderson and that kind of indie comedies in general. 8/10
I saw Silver Linings Playbook and it was pretty good but very uneven... "tonally" (if that's a word). Jennifer Lawrence deserves the Oscar though, she was the bright spot. Bradley Cooper showed that he's a darn good actor as well and not just "the Hangover guy". Robert De Niro was better than he's been lately but I don't think he deserved to be nominated for an Oscar, to be honest. 7/10
Brave was disappointing. I would've wanted to see the original movie before they re-wrote it halfway through the animation process... Where basically it was supposed to be much darker in its tone, the "bad bear" would play a much bigger part and just basically not as many half-assed jokes that barely worked. Nice animation, however. And the story, though basically just bits and pieces from 10 other films, kept me watching throughout the whole thing. So it wasn't bad. 6/10
Wreck-It Ralph on the other hand was really funny, clever and just so entertaining to watch. Disney Animation studios have actually been delivering good movies more steadily than Pixar lately, with Princess and the Frog, Tangled and Wreck-It Ralph. For the stunning animation, the great characters and all-round hilarity it gets 8/10.
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter was fun. Much more fun than that other Lincoln movie seems... Honestly, Daniel Day-Lewis is the only thing that draws me to that one. I guess Americans will enjoy it more, but it's just a guess. Anyway, I had no expectations for this one and maybe that's why I enjoyed it so much. It feels sort of poorly paced and it's not anything spectacular when it comes to the script, but the style and the over-the-topness of it made it a fun watch for me. Just don't take it seriously, whatever you do. 7/10
Men In Black 3 was a lot better than I thought, and an actual worthy sequel to the first one, unlike MIIB... This one was funny, pretty clever, had some great characters and Josh Brolin is spot-on as a young Agent K. Still, even though it was entertaining I wouldn't say it's a must-watch. Watch it if you liked the first one! 7/10
Taken 2 was a major disappointment. That's all I have to say. 4/10 (for reference, the original is a solid 8/10 imo)
I don't have time to talk about The Hobbit now, since I have a lot to say about it. But I'd give it an 8/10.
The ones I plan to see still are Skyfall, Looper, Les Miserables, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Amour, Flight, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Frankenweenie, Cloud Atlas and possibly some other ones I'm forgetting. Argo, maybe. Lincoln, maybe.
Please tell me if there are any real must-see movies I've missed this year.