Top films of 2012

I usually watch around 100 movies a year and 2012 was no exception. I watched a lot of movies and even though there were a few I didn't get to see (Argo, The Master, Zero Dark Thirty), I still think I came up with a pretty good top 10. Sure, some of these films would be laughed at by the academy, but I don't go to the movies for prestige, I go for excitement!! If you haven't seen any of these films I would highly suggest finding them

1. Looper - Rian Johnson's sci-fi/action adventure masterpiece blew me away in theaters, which is why it sets atop my list.

2. Cabin in the Woods - The best horror film in years pokes fun at the rules and offers horror fans a blood soaked finale. Fucking merman!! 

3. Django Unchained - Quentin Tarantino pulls out all the stops with this homage to spaghetti westerns and blaxploitation films. Although Christoph Waltz got the Oscar nomination, Samuel L. Jackson is the nastiest character in the film and should have been recognized. 

4. Moonrise Kingdom - Wes Anderson returns with another Wes Anderson film and as usual, I loved it.  Great cast, great locations, great music... now if you'll excuse me I'm gonna find a tree to chop down. 

5. The Grey - People have offered mixed reactions to The Grey, but I left eh theater with my blown at the amazing film I just experienced. The loud ferocious crash of the plane, the ice cold wind whipping through the air and the haunting howls of the wolves following our stranded travelers had me wrapped up in the film. And that ending was fantastic!!! 

6. Sound of My Voice - I fell head over heels with Brit Marling with the quite sci-fi film "Another Earth," but I heard the second film she debuted at Sundance the same year, "Sound Of My Voice," was better. The rumors were right, "Sound of My Voice" is a tale of two investigative film makers who infiltrate a cult in the valley and discover there leader, Maggie (Marling), claims to be form the future. 

7. Lawless - Forget the Batman villain Bane, if you really want to see Tom Hardy be a bad ass in a movie this year, check out "Lawless." The story of three brothers in the bootlegging business comes to life thanks to the outstanding cast and the direction of John Hillcoat. 

8. Goon - Who knew "Goon" would be this good? A down on his luck bouncer (Seann William Scott) is recruited to be the bruiser on a low level hockey team. But when his fighting skills bring him popularity, he joins a minor league division where he must trade blows with an iconic Goon (Liev Schreiber) who isn't to fond of the up-and-comer. 

9. Killer Joe - The film has the craziest scene I'm watched in years and you'll never look at KFC or Gina Gershon the same way ever again. 

10. Safety Not Guaranteed - A small independent film about a group of reporters who follow a story about a man who claims to have been to the future and is placing want ads for a travel companion on his next journey.