4. Old Joe Murders A Child - Looper
Looper stands as my favourite film of 2012, a staggering science fiction odyssey that depicts time travel in a completely unique way, topped by fantastic performances from the entire cast. Perhaps most surprising for his contribution was Bruce Willis, who delivered his best performance in years as the future Joe, the older version of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's character. When he runs into the past to evade being killed, he decides that he must kill the Rainmaker, the person ultimately responsible for his wife's death, and so he attempts to locate this mysterious character as a child. However, he's only managed to whittle it down to three children, and upon going to take care of the first, we as an audience aren't convinced that he's going to go through with it. However, he does, much to our surprise and shock, making for one of the ballsiest and best-crafted scenes of 2012. It's Willis' superb performance that nails it; his anguished expression after he shoots the child is thoroughly convincing and supremely affecting.