Another year has gone by and with the end of the year comes a look back on the great, decent and awful movies of 2012. This year I saw 50 movies and went to a movie theater to see a movie 54 times. Here are my least favorite and favorite movies of 2012 starting at the bottom. Now this does not necessarily mean that the best movies will all be at the top. My favorite movies will be at the top of the list and will not be based on the quality of the film itself.

50. The Devil Inside

This was the first movie I saw last year and it was easily the worst. The trailer creeped me out, but the movie was ridiculous. The ending simply made matters worse when they said the devil was alive and kicking and told the audience to visit a website to find out more about this demon spirit. Huh?

49. Project X

I could go on and on about this movie so I’ll try to keep it short. The idea of this movie and message it sends is sickening. It follows the lives of three kids who aren’t cool. They decide that they could only be cool if they throw a huge party. Everyone who comes to this party does really stupid things. In the end, the party ends up destroying a city block, which for reason makes these kids cool. The parents of the main character aren’t even mad at him and the father is legitimately proud of him. Also, the main character ends up with the girl that he wronged at the party.

So let’s recap: In order to be cool, you have to break the law, disobey your parents and act like a complete idiot. What a great message to send to kids.

48. Prometheus

In all honesty, I didn’t want to see this movie. I hated the trailer, but my friends wanted to see it. This movie was a prequel that didn’t shed much light on the Alien franchise. It only provided more questions. That’s not the point of a prequel. It’s a pointless film with a weak plot and people who only know how to run in straight line. That’s just awful.

47. Lockout

This movie should have gone straight to DVD. I really liked Guy Pearce in the movie but other than that the movie was just awful. Any other year, I would have put this movie at the bottom. It probably was the worst quality movie of the year.

46. Safe

I don’t know why we saw this. It’s just a Jason Statham movie. Nothing has changed yet they keep coming out with them. The next one is Parker. STAY AWAY

45. Haywire

This movie got great reviews, which tricked my friends and I into seeing it. It was terrible and extremely boring. I don’t know what the critics saw.

44. The Woman in Black

I don’t think this movie was particularly bad. Daniel Radcliffe did a great job as the main character and I think he’ll be able to distance himself from the Harry Potter franchise. However, this movie deals with killing children and that just disturbs me.

43. Chronicle

I liked this movie until the kids stopped using the power to have fun. It held true to the first person camera until the end when they decided to use every available camera in the area. I don’t like the main character as an actor. The movie didn’t work for me.

42. Battleship

This movie was terrible, but it was sort of entertaining. Rihanna didn’t need to be in the film. It was an absolute bust and added to Taylor Kitsch’s rough year at the box office.

41. That’s My Boy

This was funny, but in the end it still didn’t match the Adam Sandler comedies of old that we all know and love.

40. The Raven

I found the premise to this movie intriguing. However when you have a movie that stars John Cusack as Edgar Allen Poe, things aren’t going to work out and they didn’t.

39. Taken 2

This was arguably the most disappointing movie of the year. It failed on every level that the first one succeeded. Even Liam Neeson couldn’t save this one.

38. The Cabin in the Woods

A lot of people really enjoyed this movie, because it wasn’t really a horror movie. It was actually a parody on horror movies, and people loved the deeper meaning of it. I didn’t.

37. The Wrath of the Titans

Clash of the Titans was an entertaining movie, but had no need for a sequel. However, Wrath of the Titans was made and people overseas enjoyed it. In America, it grossed half of what the first one did.

36. Total Recall

The Good: Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biel starred in it.

The Bad: Everything else

35. American Reunion

I laughed but in the end American Reunion is a comedy that is well past its prime.

34. Red Dawn

I enjoyed this, but the idea of a nation taking over the United States is a little farfetched. Also, there was no quality to this film. If Chris Hemsworth and Josh Hutcherson weren’t in this film, it wouldn’t have come close to the $44 million that it made at the box office. Finally, Josh Peck is an awful actor.

33. Resident Evil: Retribution

It was a Resident Evil movie. It had lots of shooting, killing and communist zombies? It tried the “Bring all the characters back from all the movies” tactic that sequels seem to be into these days. It makes you wonder if Michelle Rodriguez will ever actually die in a movie. Look out Avatar 2! Rodriguez may have survived a helicopter explosion! I somewhat enjoyed it, but I think enough is enough. Stick to the video games and please don’t make a sequel.

32. John Carter

His power is that he can jump really high and far. He can do this because the gravitational pull isn’t as strong on Mars as it is on Earth. It’s a decent movie but if I want to see a Star Wars type movie, I’ll watch Star Wars. This was another rough movie for Taylor Kitsch at the box office as John Carter grossed just $73 million domestically versus a $250 million budget. Thankfully for John Carter, the foreign gross picked up the slack.

31. Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

I enjoy movies that take history and fictionally bend it. Naturally, I really wanted to see this. It was awful and involved Abraham Lincoln fighting a vampire in the middle of a stampede of horses. Abraham Lincoln had a horse throw at him, which was just laughable. It was definitely a disappointment, but I didn’t expect much.

30. Underworld Awakening

This movie entertained me, but again it’s past its prime. However, the ending left it open for yet another film. All I have to say is it better have Kate Beckinsale in it. Rise of the Lycans was the biggest mistake in the franchise.

29. Contraband

It’s a typical Mark Wahlberg movie. Not his best, but it was entertaining. Also, Kate Beckinsale starred in it.

28. The Campaign

The Campaign was much more enjoyable than I thought, and it was the first movie I went to where nobody else was in the theater except my friends and I. It was a timely comedy with Will Ferrell so you really can’t go wrong.

27. Safe House

Denzel Washington is awesome and I really like Ryan Reynolds as an actor. This is the first role that I’ve seen Reynolds play where he didn’t think he was better than everybody else. It wasn’t great, but the star power of the two actors won out in the end.

26. Snow White and the Huntsman

Kristen Stewart did a fantastic job as Snow White, which is odd because she used a British accent and she’s ordinarily Stewart is an awful actress when she uses her actual voice. It was visually striking at times and surprisingly a solid movie that ran a little long.

25. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II

This movie was so bad, much like the others, but the ending saved it. It threw the audience for a loop. I was on the edge of my seat for the first time in this saga and in absolute shocked me. I also enjoyed the extended credits where they acknowledged every character as well as the song that went with it.

24. The Bourne Legacy

I have to say this was the most disappointing movie of the year with Taken 2 right behind it. I love the Bourne trilogy, but this movie didn’t do it justice. It had nothing to do with the acting because Jeremy Renner, Rachel Weisz and Edward Norton were great. The writing was boring and the plot was labored.

23. Premium Rush

Terrible movie, but really cool. I love Joseph Gordon Levitt and the bike riding brought me back to when I was a kid.

22. Men in Black III

It’s a franchise that is probably past its time, but it still had a few laughs and an unexpected emotional ending. I will watch anything with Will Smith and Josh Brolin nailed his role as a young K.

21. End of Watch

End of Watch was a shockingly good movie. Jake Gyllenhaal acted well and Michael Pena is a solid all-around actor. It was funny, tense and emotional all at the same time. It was a great, raw movie.

20. The Grey

Liam Neeson plays the leading role in a solid film. It’s a realistic representation of humans versus wolves in the middle of nowhere. I enjoyed it, but it’s a depressing.

19. Brave

This film will win the Oscar for best animated film and it deserves it. The animation is great and you have to love the girl’s hair. It shows the transformation of a girl and her mother in an emotional, adorable and humorous way.

18. Flight

I didn’t know what to expect from this movie because the trailer was misleading. It was much deeper than I originally thought. I think it deserves an Oscar nomination for best picture and I was happy to see Denzel Washington nominated for best actor for his great performance.

17. 21 Jump Street

Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill proved to be a solid combo in this surprisingly funny film. They showed the trailer for this movie for six months straight and I thought it would suffer from “over-trailered disease.” It didn’t because the trailer cleverly made the first five minutes of the movie the trailer and didn’t give away all the funny parts.

16. Jack Reacher

I like Tom Cruise as an actor, and he didn’t disappoint. It was an entertaining mystery, and Cruise was at his best with entertaining action.

15. Looper

I didn’t expect much from this movie but when you put Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a movie alongside Bruce Willis, I’ll be there to watch it. It exceeded expectations and succeeded based on its originality. Nowadays, you have to give people credit for trying something new…well at least in this instance you do.

14. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Again I had low expectations for this film, because I didn’t enjoy Lord of the Rings as much as everyone else did. Maybe that’s why I liked this one. Martin Freeman did a great job playing Bilbo Baggins. It was a solid film, but I don’t understand how they plan to make three movies out of one book.

13. The Amazing Spider-Man

This was pretty much the exact same movie as the first one, but much better with Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone in the leading roles. Willem Dafoe as a the Green Goblin was a better villain than the Lizard, but other than that The Amazing Spider-Man beats the original Spider-Man in every way.

12. Argo

Ben Affleck put together his third great film in a row as a director. It’s been nominated for best picture and Alan Arkin also earned a nomination for best supporting actor. Although it was a solid film, I don’t think it beats out The Town or Gone Baby Gone. Gone Baby Gone remains his best work.

11. Wreck-It Ralph

I thought this was the most enjoyable animated film of the year that I saw. John C. Reilly is a good actor and an even better voice actor. It was clever, visually cool and funny. It also had a huge attention to detail that would be appreciated by those who play video games.

10. The Expendables 2

This movie was so entertaining and everything we’ve come to expect from an Expendables movie. If you’re a guy, you will love this movie. I can’t understate the entertainment value of this movie. The quality of the film doesn’t matter.

9. DJango Unchained

It’s not as good as Inglourious Basterds, but it’s a solid Quentin Tarantino movie that has a similar feel. Leonardo DiCaprio and Christoph Waltz did a fantastic job in supporting roles. If you liked Inglourious Basterds, you will like this movie.

8. Ted

Ted is easily the funniest movie of the year. Anything that involves Seth McFarland has a good chance of of being hilarious. Ted himself is an adorable teddy bear. Mark Wahlberg has proven himself as a solid comedic actor will his role in this movie and The Other Guys.

7. Zero Dark Thirty

Obviously, Zero Dark Thirty was a great film. Jessica Chastain deserves an Oscar for best actress. You don’t often see a strong female character truly carry a film, and she was able to do it. Kathryn Bigelow knew what she was doing after directing the Oscar winner, The Hurt Locker. She directed a much more entertaining movie with Zero Dark Thirty.

6. Lincoln

This should be the movie that takes home the most Oscar wins. Daniel Day Lewis put together a spectacular performance as Abraham Lincoln. The performance that I enjoyed more and was happy to see that the Academy did not ignore was Tommy Lee Jones. I love history so I really enjoyed this movie.

5. Silver Linings Playbook

This was the surprise of the year. I didn’t think this movie would even be on the radar, and now it has a myriad of Oscar nominations. It was led by the strong acting of Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. I have never enjoyed a romantic comedy more than this.

4. The Hunger Games

This was a faithful adaptation to the book. I wasn’t sure if the setting would translate well into a movie, but they nailed it. Jennifer Lawrence is the strong female lead this trilogy needed. Woody Harrelson is also the perfect Haymitch. I can’t wait to see Catching Fire, my favorite of the series, I’m happy to see that it has been set of very well with the first film.

3. Skyfall

The third installment in Daniel Craig’s tenure as James Bond was a hit around the world, grossing more $1 billion worldwide, and for good reason. Skyfall went back to the roots of James Bond, establishing Moneypenny, Q and a new M. Don’t forget the Aston Martin. Daniel Craig is still easily the best Bond.

2. The Avengers

This in the movie everyone was waiting for and it was everything we had hoped. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye and Black Widow all in the same movie. Let’s not forget Samuel L. Jackson. It was incredibly entertaining. There’s not really much more I can about it. The Avengers is a movie everybody can enjoy, which is why it is the third highest grossing movie of all-time. So what could possibly beat that?

1. The Dark Knight Rises

Christopher Nolan brought the Dark Knight back to life in the third and final Batman movie in the trilogy. How could you make a movie that matches up to the success and acclaim of The Dark Knight? Just ask Christopher Nolan because he created a movie that sits on the same level as The Dark Knight and even surpasses it in certain aspects. Hans Zimmer’s score was again fantastic and Tom Hardy nailed his role as the main villain, Bane. He built his body to the point where he was just massive and was great in a difficult acting role, playing a masked man. Hardy led a crew of excellent casting choices including Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Marion Cotillard.

It’s a great story and an all-around spectacular movie. I went to see this three times in the theater, more than any other film this year. It was definitely the movie I enjoyed the most in 2012 based on the quality and entertainment value. I’ll miss the Christopher Nolan Batman movies.

In Conclusion

Overall, 2012 had a solid slate of movies. At times it felt as though 2012 was a disappointment as a whole, but looking back 2012 had a lot of quality to go along with its entertainment value.

I wish I saw 7 Psychopaths and Life of Pi, but overall I think I saw every movie I wanted to see in 2012 and even some surprisingly good films.

Oscars

My Oscar predictions will be released some time before Feb. 24. They will be mostly the main categories.