Top 10 Movies 2012 - Best Movies of 2012

Top 10 Best Movies of 2012

We're nearing the end of 2012 and everyone wants to know what the top 10 movies of 2012 were. Here's a list of the 2012 best movies.

Some of these movies are follow on's from other popular movies, but there are a few new ones in here. These movies cover every genre from animation, comedy, drama, family fun, romance and even horror.

Most of these movies are also available now on DVD or Blu-ray and would make excellent gifts for loved ones!

To show you why these were the top 10 movies 2012 check out the trailers below.

Release Date: 20th January 2012

Genre: Thriller/Action

Directed By: Steven Soderbergh

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Gina Carano, Michael Fassbender, Michael Douglas and Antonio Banderas

Mallory Kane is a freelance covert operative that is hired by various government bodies, indirectly, to clean up messes they do not wish to be asociated with. Kane is sent on a mission to act as eye candy when she is doubled crossed and is almost killed in the process. She realizes that the people she has trusted have betrayed her and she has no idea why.

Mallory must put the pieces together, race to protect her family, while avoiding an international manhunt.

Expect an assassin/spy/action style of film along the lines of The Bourne Identity as Mallory stalks her betrayers and enacts her revenge.

Release Date: 20th January 2012

Genre: Horror/Action/Fantasy

Directed By: Mans Marlind and Bjorn Stein

Starring: Kate Beckinsale, Michael Ealy and India Eisley

When Kate Beckinsale originally donned her skin tight leather outfits, she blew people away with her portrayal of a Vampire "Death Dealer". Audiences loved the movie, the effects and the storyline. This led to further editions in the Underworld series and some of these have been more successful than others.

Underworld 4 - Awakening is aired in cinema's worldwide in early 2012 and from the trailer below it looks to be returning to what made the first Underworld so popular. Kate Beckinsale reprised her role as the "Death Dealer" Selene.

She was captured and has been trapped by humans for the past 12 years and has just managed to escape, but she finds the world has changed in that time.

The hunters are now the hunted. Humans hunt Vampires and Lycans and are looking for the Hybrid. Selene must protect the Hybrid child at all costs. The Hybrid child may be the key to winning the war. Of course, it does beg the question of where is Michael? Is the Hybrid child Selene's?

This was one of the most anticipated movies of the year. The story has a way of drawing the audience in and you soon forget that it's a fantasy world and it feels almost real. This will be the first time that an Underworld movie is available to watch in 3D. This added dramatically to the action sequences.

Release Date: 9th March 2012

Genre: Sci-fi/Action/Adventure

Directed By: Andrew Stanton

Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Lynn Collins, Willem DaFoe and Samantha Morton

John Carter of Mars is a popular book series written almost 100 years ago and has a cult following. It's about a man named John Carter who mysteriously finds himself on Mars at times. Other times he's on Earth.

The John Carter movie follows the same premise and he finds himself facing aliens. What's truly amazing about this film are the backdrops and the landscapes. It's filmed very much in the style of the Star Wars films and is clearly a movie with a large budget.

John Carter is part sci-fi, romance, adventure, action, fantasy etc. Although it was a popular book it failed to perform as expected at the box-office. However, I have added it to my list as I feel the critics were perhaps a bit harsh on the movie. I really quite enjoyed it.

Release Date: 23rd March 2012

Genre: Sci-fi/Action/Drama

Directed By: Gary Ross

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth

Although it would appear there is no-one of note starring in this movie then you would be mistaken. Although the lead actors are all teens/younger actors there is an older pedigree, just below the surface. You'll spot Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci and Donald Sutherland all making appearances in The Hunger Games. Also keep a look out for Lenny Kravitz.

The Hunger Games is set in the future where the world has suffered from natural disasters such as drought, famime, wars and wild fires. North America ceases to exist and is now called Panem. Panem is split into 12 districs plus the Capitol.

In order to keep order and peace in Panem, a yearly lottery is held to pick a young man and girl from each district. This is no ordinary lottery and no-one wants to win the lottery. However, when Primrose is chosen to represent her district, her 16 year old sister Katniss volunteers to take her place.

Katniss is forced to participate in the televised games that everyone on Panem is forced to watch. The 24 youths chosen in the lottery must eliminate their competition, while the world watches on. There can be only 1 survivor. Of course, the game is rigged so it's highly unlikely Katniss will win.

There's something about this movie that actually reminds me of The Running Man. This movie was a big hit at the cinema and the second movie is due to air next year. There will be three movies in the series.

Release Date: 1st of June 2012

Genre: Adventure/Action/Drama

Directed By: Rupert Sanders

Starring: Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron and Chris Hemsworth

The classic Snow White fairytale with a modern day twist. Audiences flocked to this movie, not only because of the cast, but also because of recent TV shows such as Once Upon a Time and Grimm.

Charlize Theron plays the Evil Queen who decides to kill Snow White. Why's that you might ask, when she has never met Snow White?

Well because her Magic Mirror told her if she eats Snow White's heart she will remain young forever. The Evil Queen sends The Huntsman out to kill Snow White and bring back her heart. The Huntsman changes his mind and decides to help Snow White kill the Evil Queen.

The movie looks great and Charlize Theron does a great job of being the Evil Queen. Check out the action below.

Release Date: 8th June 2012

Genre: Horror/Sci-fi/Action

Directed By: Ridley Scott

Starring: Charlize Theron, Guy Pearce, Patrick Wilson and Noomi Rapace

Prometheus has to be on this list of top 10 movies of 2012. When audiences think of Ridley Scott they invariably think of Alien, and everything that comes with it. Scott is a genuis in the way he brings horror to the big screen with the use of suspense and drama. You know the monster is coming and yet you still get scared outta your seat when the big reveal comes.

After watching the movie it's not really clear if this is a prequel or a follow on from the Alien movies. It really doesn't matter as the stories are almost completely separate and it's not necessary to know the nitty gritty that's gone on before to enjoy Prometheus.
If you are a huge Alien fan, you'll be able to figure it out based on the dates provided in the movie.

The whole movie is about humanity trying to figure out where we come from. Were we created by God? Were we an evolutionary accident? Did someone create us and then abandon us? These are questions that people contemplate the world over and there are no concrete answers.

Prometheus hits the nail on the head by examing cave drawing located in different parts of the world that all show the same star pattern. What if this is a road map to the creators of humanity. A team of scientists, a spaceship crew and other people with their own agenda's go on a mission to find out.

However, the answers they find could lead to the end of humanity. Also there's an Artificial Lifeform in this movie, as we've seen in other Alien movies. Will this robot betray the crew as they have been known to do in the past?

It's not clear yet if this is a follow on from Alien or a Prequel to the Alien series. Either way, does it really matter? Expect to see a journey to another planet to try to figure out the origins of humans on Earth. However, things are never as simple as that and what the adventurers find could end up destroying mankind.

I loved this movie and I can't wait to see the next installment in the series.

Check out the trailer below to get some flashes of suspense and horror, typical Ridley Scott style.

Release Date: 20th July 2012

Genre: Drama/Action/Superhero

Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Anne Hathaway, Gary Oldman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Tom Hardy.

Christopher Nolan has brought some of his favourite actors, Tom Hardy and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, from his highly successful Inception movie to work on Batman 3 - The Dark Knight Rises.

This is another installment in the Batman series of movies. Christian Bale continues to play his role as Batman in Gotham City. The movie picks up 8 years after The Dark Knight. A new terrorst leader comes to Gotham called Bane. Gotham has gotten lax and the people at the top are envied and are seen to be greedy. Batman must come out of the shadows if Gotham is to be saved.

Batman has a huge following. After the incredible acting of the sadly deceased Heath Ledger, it's continued popularity has continued to reach new heights. There is talk of this being the last Batman movie, so don't miss the end of the tale.

Release Date: 22nd June 2012

Genre: Animation/Action/Adventure

Directed By: Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman

Starring: Emma Thompson, Kelly McDonald, Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters and Billy Connolly

Brave was most anticipated Disney/Pixar project of 2012 and it lives up to the hype.

Follow the adventures of a Scottish Princess as she tries to forge her own path. Watch as she fights against the shackles placed upon her as a Princess and does her utmost to obtain her freedom. However, her actions have consequences and shes must make amends before it is too late. If this sounds like Braveheart.....

Princes Merida is unlike other any Disney Princess. She's strong and independent. She doesn't want to get married to any of the boys who turn up to make a claim for her hand. I can't really blame her. None of them were breathtaking and most of them looked dumb or geeky.

She makes a deal with a witch to try and convinve her mother that she doesn't need to get married. However, this quickly backfires and results in a bear and thre little cute cubs.

Merida must make amends or face the destruction of everything she holds dear.

Release Date: 16th November 2012

Genre: Fantasy/Drama.Adventure

Directed By: Bill Condon

Starring: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart, Taylor Lautner, Dakota Fanning and Michael Sheen

The much anticipated and looked forward to movie franchise of the year has to go to Twilight - Breaking Dawn Part 2. Much like the Harry Potter series of movies, a large number of people will be sorry to hear this is the last we'll probably see of Edward and Bella. Others are grateful it's finally almost over. Regardless of which camp you fall into, Twlight Breaking Dawn is movie that appeals to a large audience and has been very successful in the past.

The Twilight Saga has been very true to the books and the final movie in the series promises to continue that theme. Bella and Edward have the baby and the Volturi hear about it. It is agaisnt Vampire Law to turn a child into a Vampire, as they can not properly defend themselves. The Volturi come to make war on the Cullens.

Watch as the the story concludes and all the lose threads are stitched up into Twilight - Breaking Dawn Part 2.

Release Date: 14th December 2012

Genre: Fantasy/Adventure

Directed By: Peter Jackson

Starring: Martin Freeman, Ian McKellen, Kate Blanchett, Elijah Wood, Andy Serkis, Steven Fry, Hugo Weaving, Orland Bloom and Christopher Lee

Last but not least, The Hobbit promises to be a great film, as Peter Jackson is at the helm once again. He did a wonderful job with The Lord of the Rings and has been trying to get The Hobbit underway for a number of years. The Hobbit has to be one the best movies of 2012.

The Hobbit is a prequel to The Lord of The Rings and is the story of Bilbo Baggins, Froddo Baggins uncle. The story is of how a simple Hobbit is whisked away on an adventure with Gandalf the Wizard and a number of dwarves.

Watch as Bilbo must face many hardships and comes face to face with Golim. Learn how he is able to obtain the ring and where the story all began.

Along the way, we'll meet new characters and also some of the characters we are familiar with from Lord of the Rings. Look out for familiar faces amongst the elves, after all they live for hundreds of years.

No doubt Peter Jackson will bring The Hobbit to life as well as he did Lord of The Rings and this will be another amazing movie we will all want to watch again and again.

This series has now been split into 3 separate movies. I have added the Hobbit to the lit, as although it hasn't aired yet, it is anticipated to be a huge blockbuster with audiences wanting a repeat of the epic scenes from the Lord of the Rings.