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Best Movies of 2012!

One of my favorite things to do when the new year comes around is to read all of the "best of" list that get posted everywhere. I enjoy seeing what the highlights of year were or what were other people's favorite things from the past year. So this year I decided I was going to to start making some lists of my own. I thought about things like favorite moments of the year, to favorite new songs of the year. I wish I had time to sit down and write all these things down, but with all the busyness of  life, I probably won't be able to post all my lists, but I have resolved that I'm going to at least post a few of them. So today I am going to start with one of my favorite categories; my favorite movies of 2012! I haven't seen every movie that came out this year, so it could change, but for the most part I have seen most of the movies I was wanting to see this year. I made a bunch of random categories, and then I will finish with my top five favorite movies of the year.

Best Action Movie: Skyfall

Best James Bond movie ever! It had a great villain, great action sequences and most of all a great story. I really enjoyed seeing a little more of Bond's back story. Most Inspiring Movie: Life of Pi I went into this movie not really expecting too much. From what the synopsis said it seemed like it was just going be about a kid stuck on a boat with a tiger, but it is was much more than that, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. This film helped show that God is still very much a part of our everyday lives and that faith must be tried to be strengthened. Along with an amazing story this movie had the best 3D I've seen in a while, and I'm not usually the biggest fan of 3D.

Most Under appreciated Movie: John Carter This was one awesome sci-fi flick! Even my wife liked, and she usually isn't this biggest fan of sci-fi movies.  The advertising for this movie was really bad, which is one of the reasons it didn't do too well at the box office, but I absolutely loved it. It was action packed, funny, great character development, awesome special effects, and had a very cool story.

Biggest Surprise (movie I didn't think I would like): Jack Reacher This was one that really surprised me by how much I liked it. The trailer showed Tom Cruise beating up a bunch of bad guys looked like it was going to just be another typical action movie, but after the intense first 10 minutes I was hooked. The story was interesting and exciting, and Tom Cruise had great chemistry with all of his co-stars. The bad guys were a little cliche, but besides that this movie was pretty awesome!

Scariest Movie: The Women in Black

I've said before that it takes a lot for a movie to scare me, but this one really freaked me out! Taylor and I watched this with my brother Matt and his wife Natalie a few weeks before Halloween, and all four of us were truly disturbed and terrified as we watched it! I couldn't look into dark windows for a few days after watching this movie. Biggest Disappointment: Bourne Legacy

This movie, wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't that great either. I liked Jeremy Renner in it, but still not enough for the movie to be as good as the other Bourne movies. (Which besides the third one, I find to be a little overrated as well).

Best Animated movie: Rise of the Guardians

Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, the Sandman, and Jack Frost teaming up to fight the boogeyman, count me in! I really like animated movies, but with so many coming out now days, sometimes they become very cliche, but this was a really fun and original movie. It works as Christmas movie, a family movie, an action adventure movie, and a comedy. Another bonus, was that the Easter Bunny was voiced by Hugh Jackman, who actually talks in an Aussie accent! (I still haven't seen Wreck it Ralph yet, so this could change once I see that) Best Chick Flick: The Vow

Now that I am a married man, I get to see a lot of chick flicks. I'd be lying if I said that my wife forced me to watch these movies, so I'll admit that I like a good chick, every once in a while. A lot of people didn't like the Vow, but I really did. It seemed a lot different from most click flicks, and it wasn't as predictable as the others. I think what I liked most though was that it made stop and think about my own marriage and made me appreciate more my wife and all she does for me.

Best Drama: Les Miserables When the movie first started I didn't realize that they would be singing every single word, and it was kind of bugging me. But by the time Anne Hathaway's character came on I got use to it, and I was able to appreciate how amazing the acting in this movie is. Each actor seemed to poor everything they had into each role. Along with great acting, its really hard to find movies these days with such a great story that shows the importance of forgiveness, service, repentance, and love. They didn't hold back on showing the horrible and ugly things that happen in life, but they also showed the good that happens. Even if someone doesn't enjoy the singing I think its important for people to see this movie and to understand that for every bad thing in this world, there is also good all around us, and ultimately good will over come the bad. With some very deep themes this movie is full of great drama and acting.


Gandalf- The Hobbit. Best Ending: Dark Knight Rises Ending are one of the most important parts of every story. I feel that there are a lot of good ideas for a movie, but the endings are sometimes rushed or not given as much thought as the rest of the story. One thing I love about Christopher Nolan is that he comes up with his endings first and then works on the rest of the story. With the TDKR he was able to tie up all the loose ends and finally show Bruce Wayne move on from being Batman, and he did it in an exciting and suspenseful way.

Actor I think should get an Academy Award:
Hugh Jackman- Les Miserables

Or Daniel Day Lewis- Lincoln Actress I think should get an Academy Award:
Anne Hathaway- Les Miserable And now my top five favorite movie that came out in 2012!

5. The Hobbit
It may not have been as faithful to the book as some would have liked, but I still loved it because it brought me back to world of Middle Earth. It's a lot more lighthearted than the Lord of the Rings films, but it still has the same epic feel. It also has one of the best quotes! 4. Skyfall
This was more than just a great Bond film, but it was an amazing film all together. Entertaining from start to finish with tons of outstanding action sequences, great acting, and an exciting and moving story. 3. Life of Pi
After seeing this movie, Taylor and I decided that the first pet we have is going to named Richard Parker, after the tiger in this movie. With so many great examples of how a faith in God can shape our lives and help us endure our most grueling experiences of life, this is a movie that I look forward watching many times through out my life to remind me of the important messages it shares. Whether one believes in God or not this movie shows how important it is to believe in something, and how that belief can save us from defeat. 2. The Avengers
I've already blogged about this movie twice so I think everyone already knows how much I loved it, but if you missed them you can check them out here and here. 1. The Dark Knight Rises
Anyone who knows me well also already knows how much I love this movie, and are probably sick of me talking about it. Beside the fact that this is a Batman movie (which that alone makes it awesome) it also has so many other great things that make it my favorite movie. The cast is awesome, the music is chilling, the drama is emotional, the story is interesting, the action is top notch, and most of all it has a great message about how to overcome tragedies and hardships in our life. Its not only a great Batman movie, but its great film in general. I wrote a blog post about these Batman movies a few months ago, and this quote (from yours truly) summons up another reason I love this movie. "If there was one word that would describe why this film is my favorite of the series it would be satisfying. The first film left me wanting to see more. The second film left me unsure, and anxious to see what would happen, but this film left me satisfied. It wrapped up Bruce’s journey in a perfect way." Overall this was a very good year for movies. There are still a lot great movies that came out that didn't make my favorites, and there are a lot I still haven't seen, but these are the best of what I've seen so far. I look forward to another of great movies that will entertained, inspire, and expend my imagination even more!

So these are my favorites, what were some of yours???

Posted by Tommy Olsen at 10:10 AM