1. Zero Dark Thirty
This may be another controversial selection for some. Essentially I'm saying Zero Dark Thirty, a movie that won one Oscar, and was nominated for 3 others, is not rated highly enough. I'm standing by that. Two politically charged movies made it to the Oscars this year, nominated for Best Picture. The wrong film won. Argo is a traditional Hollywood movie, action packed, with humour, and a story that's based on truth but pumped up to make it accessible and friendly to everyone. It was a very good movie, but it was not the best movie of the year. I might be insulting in saying this, but Argo is a popcorn movie. Zero Dark Thirty is an important movie. When I found myself seeing Zero Dark Thirty earlier than anyone else I know, I felt compelled to promote people to see it. From the people I spoke to, I noticed a certain snobbery regarding the film. People assumed it was going to be full of All-American scenes of flag waving and a live action version of Team America. Nothing could be further from the truth, that frustrated me. In fact, I felt people were mixing up Argo with Zero Dark Thirty. Argo has all the flag waving, Argo has the one dimensional 'villains', Argo has the big booming action sequences, Argo has the American James Bond in it. Zero Dark Thirty is a challenging movie that essentially asks: What is the price of revenge? What is the nature of obsession (again, like Room 237) The film is the most realistic depiction of the modern nature of war (or what I think war is like) that I've ever seen. Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal don't pull any punches, they don't hold back in the quest for telling the story in a way that feels ultra realistic. The film never drags, it moves forward in an episodic nature that keeps the pace high. If The Hurt Locker never existed, I wonder would this film be overlooked as much as it has been this year. I could write all day about this movie, because to sit in the cinema and watch it consumed me. This film is the war picture of this generation. It's a masterpiece, and the best movie of 2012. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxC_JNz5Vbg