Films of the Year 2012

With over a hundred cinema visits this year, I should be well qualified to nominate a top ten. But I've slept through over half of them. Of the ones that were stimulating enough to keep me conscious, here are the best.

=10. The Skin I Live In - Pedro Almodovar's horrific thriller

=10. Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows


9. The Avengers - rated highly for Joss Whedon's subversive humour alone


=8. Girl with a Dragon Tattoo - better than the book, and better than the Swedish adaption

=8. Goodbye First Love - a French story of lovesick youths

7. Hugo - the most effective 3D I've seen

6. Arbitrage - a rivetting thriller in the world of finance

5. The Dark Knight Rises - I had to see it twice

4. Ted - funniest film of the year, saw it twice

3. Cabin in the Woods - saw it twice to understand the complex story from Joss Whedon

2. Carnage - stunning adaption of a play about two couples meeting to talk about their sons who fought in a park. The couples end up fighting each other and eventually themselves as relationships unravel.


1. Moonrise Kingdom - Wes Anderson's masterpiece was so moving I saw it three times and would happily live in this film world forever