I will start with the film I felt to be disappointing, not that great and just awful. I'll start with a seasonal film that I did not think would be done. There are many Christmas films, a few New Year's films but rarely is there one about Easter. This one is called Hop. Despite it starring the entertaining James Marsden, it's light hearted feel to it would only entertain toddlers. To be fair some of the jokes were fine, but overall it just did not work. Other mentions are, The Smurfs which was ok but was never going to be great, Your Highness that despite having the gorgeous Natalie Portman it was just silly, Green Lantern the source material just seemed like it would never mix well on the big screen, Immortals that was just boring, Sucker Punch that was just nonsense despite the amazing special effects, I Am Number Four an unoriginal yet usually successful plot which managed to bore me, Johnny English Reborn which was pretty uneventful but still had some glimpses of classic Rowan Atkinson comedy, Transformers: Dark Of The Moon which is the first Transformers film that I saw to be the beginning of the Michael Bay meltdown, Cars 2 which despite being pretty solid could well be Pixar's weakest feature, Paul which I did enjoy but for it having Simon Pegg and Nick Frost at the helm, it did not feel anywhere near as clever as there other material and finally Kung Fu Panda 2 which is as entertaining and beautifully presented as the first one but just did not feel that same exhilaration as its predecessor.
Some films that mainly got negative reviews that I did not feel were not as bad as originally thought were: Battle Los Angeles which I thought was fairly enjoyable but I can see why people hate it, Scream 4 which I felt to be better than 3 and parts of 2, it felt like a decent reboot but definitely could not touch the amazing original, The Hangover Part II which I enjoyed as much as the first despite it virtually being the same which was its downfall with most of its viewers and Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides which I thought was great. I do not get why people had it tough to keep up with the several sub-plots.It made sense to me from the first viewing and made the franchise even great in my opinion.
Every year spring out a few nice surprises which come out of left field. Some of the films that I felt were a surprising were: Attack The Block which is a charming British comedy with a great screenplay, Killer Joe that more or less confirmed the rejuvenation of Matthew McConaughey's career, A Monster In Paris which was a delightful animated film that was not Pixar or Dreamworks, Bol, which is a terrific and powerful drama from Pakistan which could grow for years to come, Captain America: The First Avenger which everyone thought would be mindless filler before The Avengers, but there was actually something that made it stand out and be as good as the rest, Goon which I thought was a surprisingly funny tribute to enforcers in the ice hockey world, Bridesmaids that despite it feeling not as good as it was billed to be I still felt it to be one of the better recent rom-coms, Horrible Bosses which had an enjoyable plot and good solid comedy, Thor which like Captain America managed to be more then just filler, it has its own beating-heart, The Adjustment Bureau which was basically light Inception but still very enjoyable to watch, Fast & Furious 5 that even with the loss of the actual street racing element still managed to entertain, Limitless which was a lot of fun to watch with an interesting idea behind it and finally 50/50 which was a touching drama with some unexpectedly top performances.
The major awards nominated some pretty impressive films. But here are some which missed out on the top 10: War Horse where we Steven Spielberg continuing to create terrific family films and with this one, it can easily become watchable every Christmas, The Iron Lady which I felt to be totally over-rated with a surprisingly odd story-line, The Tree Of Life which I felt to be ambitious, beautiful, but generally weird, Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 which was an action-packed ending to the franchise which has only recently left my top 10 of this year, Rango which was a lot better than expected and would happily watch again, Drive which I enjoyed a lot including Ryan Gosling's top performance, The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo which almost made my top 10 and I felt it to be a very good re-make with great performances, My Week With Marilyn which I really enjoyed especially by the performances by Michelle Williams and Kenneth Branagh and A Separation which I felt was very good, but not as good as others make it, but one of the better foreign language films.
Successes that almost made my top 10 were: The Inbetweeners Movie which I felt was just a long episode of the series which was a relief as some others loses its touch it had with its TV series. Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol, which I really enjoyed but I do not think had that same magic that the third one had. The Muppets that I enjoyed and felt was a terrific reboot of the franchise which I did not think would happen. Shame which was a very interesting project by director Steve McQueen with great performances by Michael Fassbender and the always brilliant Carey Mulligan. Project Nim which was a touching film documentary that was very fascinating and highly emotional. Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes which was surprisingly good reboot of the franchise that was in desperate of re-make. The Raid which is a brilliant Indonesian martial arts action epic that its levels of action were quite unbeatable in 2011. Undefeated, this is a fascinating sports film documentary that really gets you knowing some fascinating characters that go on an epic journey. From Up On Poppy Hill, which is another feature from Studio Ghibli that I felt was quite charming and emotional despite it not being a fantasy based film. The Kid With A Bike, a powerful and raw coming-of-age French drama that this is very similar to something Ken Loach would usually make. Midnight In Paris, the Woody Allen film that I have found love for and want to watch again and again. It has an interesting idea and it made for an enjoyable viewing experience and has many top performances.
Now, this is where it got difficult for me. I had ten films to fit into seven spots. It started as one order, then a different one, and so on. So regrettably missing out are the following three:
The Help, a tough viewing drama on a time period that was really important in America.
It is overflowing with amazing performances from Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard and Jessica Chastain to name a few.
Most of the story is highly emotional but there are some surprising amount of laughs involved in this terrific story.
Super 8, directed by J.J Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg, this sci-fi adventure really takes you back to the 80's and 90's when films like this were being released every year.
Abrams is becoming one of my favorite directors at the moment, and this homage to Spielbergs sci-fi classics is a great modern blockbuster that made me have hope that films like this are still being made.
Tinker Sailor Soldier Spy. I remember the hype around it and could see why.
It's direction, script and having the best British actors of our time made for a chilling, slow-burning spy thriller.
Some people may lose patience for its slow tempo, but it really gives you time to understand the characters and the emotions involved in this gripping story.
I have slightly changed this every so often since 2011. So for now, here are the 10:
It sees two estranged brothers began a collision path when they compete in a tournament.
The action is brutal and this is a sports film that makes you really want to achieve something after watching this.
An absolutely gripping drama with a disturbing final act. It also has an incredible performance by Tilda Swinton.
8) Source Code - After the success of 'Moon', director Duncan Jones gets to do another smart ideas driven sci-fi. But this time, it is more of an action thriller, compared to a slow-paced space movie.
It stars Jake Gyllenhaal who plays a man living out the last eight minutes of his life over and over again, to help prevent a crime.
But all is not what it seems.
The film's simplicity is wonderfully misleading. With a terrific script and perfect character development, we have a wonderfully moving drama that really makes you think.
It sees an owner of baseball team Oakland Athletics totally change the way of forming a winning team in a sport that is over a century old.
It has that brilliant mix of dazzling visuals, top performances and an interesting story that will easily please non-fans of Baseball.
After a few poor or substandard sequels, the X-Men franchise has been given the perfect kick up the backside and is now back on track.
Great fast-paced action with memorable performances by James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence.
Can now feel excited about its next installment.
It is an unreal directorial debut by J.C Chandor. With a stellar cast, it has a chilling tone and the confined sets would make this a great stage play. It gives us a fascinating portrayal of the early stages of our recent financial crisis.
The tough-viewing story and strong performances of Olivia Coleman and Peter Mullan just blew me away and left me speechless.
Even though it's only 92 mins, the content is non-stop and would easily give Shane Meadows a run for his money in terms of powerful scenes.
Some people may be put off by it being near silent and in black and white. But if you love film, then you need to see this.
It's a great story set during one of the most important times in film history
Directed by Martin Scorsese, this fun family adventure was the perfect present for Scorsese's daughter.
It is charming, wonderful and great for anyone who wants to go on an epic journey. This films really shows where dreams are made.
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