1.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
An explosion of joy and visceral cinematic beauty, Beasts of the Southern Wild is, in my opinion, the most original and emotionally powerful cinematic experience of the year. Zeitlin brings an incredible innocence and Quvenzhané Wallis delivers one of the most enchanting performances I've ever seen. Everything's fresh in Beasts, everything is unique, everything proves creativity is far more important than money.
2.
Silver Linings Playbook
An explosion of sensitive direction, charming performances and feel-good energy, Silver Linings Playbook, more than one of the best crowd-pleasers in years, it is a movie that touched me deeply. David O. Russell proves no one directs a family comedy/drama better than him (well, we can always add Woody Allen to the discussion) and the final result is outstanding. Plus, Cooper shows the world he's more than just "the guy from The Hangover", Lawrence is simply delicious outside her "drama princess mode" and De Niro reminds us why he's considered one of the best actors alive.
3.
Tabu
European cinema at its best, Miguel Gome's Tabu simply amazes me with its sadness and nostalgia. Never a Portuguese movie was so remarkable and this one is an European masterpiece (I still don't know how it ended without any European Film Award nomination)... Even better than last year's Mysteries of Lisbon, Tabu is a black&white beauty about the past that shows us there's a future for foreign-language cinema.
4.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
A heartfelt adaptation of one of the most sincere and beautiful novels about the high-school experience, The Perks of Being a Wallflower could have been an easy flop, but it surprised me a lot by being one of the best movies of the year by far. A story of friendship with a lot of sweet moments, it features some amazing acting performances from Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller and Emma Watson (proving she can be more than just Hermione Granger). The movie has its rare and small flaws, but Perks ends being unperfect cinematic perfection. It makes you feel "infinite"...
5.
The Intouchables
Honest, memorable, funny and touching. The Intouchables handles a tricky subject in a way that may be "too light" and "too feel good" for some less optimistic minds, but no matter what, it is one of the most beautiful stories of friendship in years. I cried and I laughed a lot and if we consider that the main intention of a movie is to connect with the audience, so... mission accomplished, since The Intouchables hits all the right notes as one of the most emotionally satisfying movies of the year (mostly thanks to Omar Sy and François Cluzet's beautiful performances).
6.
Zero Dark Thirty
Breathtaking filmmaking, Kathryn Bigelow's latest just intrigued me and made me just sit, watch and breed like no other movie this year. More than being about a "man hunt", Zero is a story about blood, suffering and the price of some untold choices. Chastain shines and Bigelow estabilishes herself as more than just "the director of The Hurt Locker". It is one of the movies of the year with some scenes which play between your horror and pitty, without being incredibly intelectually challenging.
7.
Looper
Maybe the most intelligent movie of the year, Looper may have the brain of a writting master behind, but it also has the courage of a director and sensible acting from the actors. It's not a "popcorn movie": in fact, it makes you not having time for popcorn, but it is one of the most entertaining and thrilling pieces of cinema of the new decade, by far. Rian Johnson works this movie's intriguing paradoxes and moral questions and presents a complex, unique, trully brilliant science-fiction movie.
8.
Django Unchained
9.
Life of Pi
Bloody, violent, extremely funny and delivering action scenes full os style, Django Unchained is a spaghetti western under the form of another Tarantino masterpiece. Christoph Waltz just steals the whole show, while it's clear that DiCaprio, Foxx and (specially) Samuel L. Jackson have great fun playing their roles, which, combined with some "just awesome" lines and a "little" violence make one of the greatest movies of the year. Django is simply cool.
9.
Life of Pi
Visually arresting and emotionally ressonating, I never had big hopes on Ang Lee's latest, but when I saw it my eyes ended amazed. Nothing can top my "Avatar experience", but Life of Pi comes close and it's build over a stronger and more interesting plot than James Cameron masterpiece nº 2 (nº 1 is Titanic). Visual effects are incredible: in fact, I keep asking myself if Richard Parker was real or not... damn! Life of Pi is Ang Lee's most spetacular movie he has ever made (even more impressive than Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), being a truly must-see.
10.
Hitchcock
One of the most underrated movies of 2012, Hitchcock is a "a lot of fun with a heart in the right place". Balancing drama and comedy, Sasha Gervasi more than honours "The Master of Suspense" like it was expected, he honours his wife, Alma Reville. Hopkins and Mirren are at the top of the game, while James D'Arcy transforms into Anthony Perkins and Scarlett Johansson shows an irresistible sparking sweetness and intelligence. And the filming of Psycho scenes... simply delicious! The movie may lack some insight, but it has a great energy, an interesting plot and really fine acting performances.
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