1. Moonrise Kingdom, dir. Wes Anderson
A beautiful film about young love, shot with cinematic zooms and glorious imagery of the forested island of New Penzance in New England. The two leads are magnetic and the direction is artistic. A film that you will undoubtedly remember with fondness.
2. Zero Dark Thirty, dir. Kathryn Bigelow
An intense, entertaining and spectacularly made film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Kathryn Bigelow deserved the Best Director award, let alone a nomination. Chastain's performance was powerful and the story was fully enthralling and memorable.
3. Silver Linings Playbook, dir. David O. Russell
A warm, sharp romantic comedy about a man and woman with mental illness who fall in love. Jennifer Lawrence's performance is flawless and the whole cast rises to the quality of the magnificent screenplay. A rare rom-com of quality, one that you can watch many times.
4. Safety Not Guaranteed, dir. Colin Trevorrow
A spectacular indie, quirky adventure type. The comedy is deadpan and hilarious, but what else would you expect from Aubrey Plaza? The screenplay is poignant the actors are wonderful. The story leaves some surprises until the end and the whole thing is really just a short, sweet adventure.
5. Beasts of the Southern Wild, dir. Benh Zeitlin
Quvenzhane Wallis' film debut, a magnificent and imaginative film set in an area cut off from the world where there is no currency and people are forced to make their own shelters and living. But Hushpuppy is never worried about shelter, but rather adventures. A wild adventure that wallows in creativity.
6. life of Pi, dir. Ang Lee
Life of Pi is a beautifully shot piece of adventure cinema. It's visually stunning while never sacrificing the narrative for visuals. The story remains strong and intact from the transition from novel to screen and the acting is first class, as are the special effects. A thrilling experience.
7. Django Unchained, dir. Quentin Tarantino
Another brilliant history film from Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained is insanely entertaining at 2 hours 45 minutes and pays a sweet homage to films like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The dialogue is consistently smart, but I wouldn't expect any less from Tarantino, and everything shapes up to being a wonderfully good time.
8. Les Miserables, dir. Tom Hooper
A beautiful piece of art with a phenomenal cast. The music is meaningful and emotion-provoking and the direction is strong. The whole film is a spectacular adaption of the novel. Wonderful!
9. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, dir. Stephen Chbosky
A spectacular teen movie, one that will certainly be remembered. There's the necessary teen angst, melancholy, innocence, and struggles with relationships. Chbosky remembers what it's like to be a teen and creates a movie that just about matches up to the quality level of the source material, the source material Chbosky wrote.
10. Argo, dir. Ben Affleck
A sharply written film that finds a strong narrative in a piece of America's history that many people forgot about. The ensemble cast is strong and the whole piece is riveting, entertaining, and covers an important event in U.S. history.
Honorable Mentions: BERNIE, DIR. RICHARD LINKLATER -- HITCHCOCK, DIR. SACHA GERVASI -- LOOPER, DIR. RIAN JOHNSON -- RUBY SPARKS, DIR. JONATHAN DAYTON and VALERIE FARIS -- SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD, DIR. LORENE SCAFARIA