Top 10 Films of 2012

So I know 2013 is half over, but I've been really wanting to do a top 10 films of 2012 for some time, and never did. So I'm going to do it now. My biggest dilemma was trying to decide placement, because it was a really good year for movies! And some films I've seen 5+ times where others I've only seen once, I wanted to re-watch some before I did this but then it may never come out so I'm just going to start it and try to be as actuate as possible.

10.

John Carter

Based on the Classic Novel "A Princess of Mars" (should have stuck with that title imo) by Edgar Rice  Burroughs (which I still have to finish reading)

was considered the father of Sci-fi novels

and famous films today drew from its souces (Star Wars... Avatar).

So if people didn't know that they'd probably say that this film was unoriginal, when in reality it came first and in my opinion  is very original.

As for the film itself, it's probably one of the most underrated movies of the year. Don't get me wrong, it's not perfect and it's not as good as Star Wars or Avatar, but it is a solid Sci-Fi/Fantasy adventure in its own right. Starting off on Earth, John Carter- played by Taylor Kitsch, who if not perfect does a solid performance as the title character- is a war veteran of the civil war. He pretty much hates everything and everyone after losing his wife and child. He is arrested for assault and offered parole if he joins the army. He refuses and later manages to escape, and then he is transported to Mars by a strange medallion while seeking refuge in a cave. 

He encounters a strange alien race, called Tarks, green and ten feet tall, who "capture" him and sort of treat him as one of their hatchlings. The visual spectacular of this film is quite beautiful, and I was quite impressed with the CGI, which can so easily look fake; the Tarks look and seem real. One thing I liked about this movie was that it had nice character development of supporting characters, especially "Sola", a female Tark who takes John Carter under her wing- she's sad, funny and cute, and you can't help but care for her. He also befriends a giant bulldog/frog looking creature, which follows him everywhere and is just adorable. And then of course there the Princess of Mars herself, Dejah Thoris, played by the beautiful Lynn Collins who does a excellent job in her role as the kick-butt princess and is probably the best performance in the movie. The scope and feel of the film itself is very retro and feels like a Roman epic of the 1960s (only not nearly as boring) with the dessert setting and Romanesque dress and architecture. I was also impressed with the pace of the film, it set up nicely and was executed in a timely fashion. Not just a good film- a great film, and if you haven't seen it yet you should!

8/10