Last December I took inspiration from Mr. Tapley and listed some of the notable achievements in music and television for 2011. And, of course, some year-end movie “awards.” Let’s try this one more time for 2012, shall we?
You can review my top 10 films of 2012 here. And, for year-end picks from the rest of HitFix’s editorial team, click on the related tabs within this post.
Best Picture: “The Impossible” (Runner-up: “Zero Dark Thirty”)
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, “Zero Dark Thirty” (Runner-up: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski “Cloud Atlas”)
Best Actor: Denis Lavant, “Holy Motors” (Runner-up: Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”)
Best Actress: Marion Cotillard, “Rust and Bone” (Runner-up: Naomi Watts, “The Impossible”)
Best Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, “The Master” (Runner-up: Javier Bardem, “Skyfall”)
Best Supporting Actress: Anne Hathaway, “Les Miserables” (Runner-up: Nicole Kidman, “The Paperboy”)
Best Screenplay: “Argo,” Chris Terrio (Runner-up: Stephen Chbosky, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”)
Best Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer, “Anna Karenina” (Runner-up: Arthur Max, Sonja Klaus, “Prometheus”)
Best Cinematography: Roger Deakins, “Skyfall” (Runner-up: Seamus McGarvey, “Anna Karenina”)
Best Costume Design: Jacqueline Durran, “Anna Karenina” (Runner-up: Colleen Atwood, “Snow White and the Huntsman”)
Best Film Editing: Alexander Berner, Claus Whlisch, “Cloud Atlas” (Runner-up: Elena Ruiz, Bernat Vilapana, “The Impossible”)
Best Makeup: “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” (Runner-up: “Cloud Atlas”)
Best Music (Original Score): Dario Marianelli, “Anna Karenina” (Runner-up: Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek, Tom Tykwer, “Cloud Atlas”)
Best Music (Original Song): “Skyfall,” Adele, “Skyfall”
Best Visual Effects: “Prometheus” (Runner-up: “Life of Pi”)
Best Animated Film: “Wreck-it Ralph”
Most Underrated Film of the Year: “The Impossible”
More: Wait 10 years. You’ll see.
Most Overrated Film of the Year: “Lincoln”
More: It’s a good film, but the hype is ludicrous. Wait 10 years. You’ll see.
Breakthrough Performance (Male): Ezra Miller, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”
Breakthrough Performance (Female): Alicia Vikander, “A Royal Affair”
Best Performance in a Bad Film: Helen Mirren, “Hitchcock”
Worst Performance in a Good Film: Russell Crowe, “Les Miserables”
Best Hero: Iron Man/Tony Stark, “The Avengers”
Best Villain: Silva, “Skyfall”
Best Poster: “The Sound of My Voice” (teaser) (Runner-up: “Looper”)
Best Trailer (for a trailer released in 2012, not necessarily a film released in 2012): “Prometheus” – Full Trailer (Runner-up: “Skyfall” teaser trailer)
More: Tough one. “Prometheus” teaser was pretty great and the genesis of the full preview, but it was released at the end of Dec. 2011. The final preview is still an improvement on what was originally shown to moviegoers though. On its own it’s a great trailer, hands down.
Most Surprising Film of the Year: “The Cabin in the Woods”
More: It lived up to all the years of hype.
Most Disappointing Film of the Year: “Amazing Spider-Man” (Runner-up: “Hyde Park on Hudson”)
Most Ambitious Film of the Year: “Holy Motors” (Runner-up: “Cloud Atlas”)
Most Intriguing Failure: “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World”
More: When it stops being “safe” it completely loses all its creative momentum.
Best Action Sequence: Final battle in “The Avengers”
Entertainer of the Year: Channing Tatum
Five Worst Films I Saw This Year And Never Want To Sit Through Again (in no particular order): “People Like Us,” “Alex Cross,” “Hyde Park on Hudson,” “Lay the Favorite,” “Tyler Perry’s Good Deeds”
More: I purposely avoided a lot of movies I’d heard bad things or had a feeling about so in many ways I was lucky.
Top 10 Films of the Year (in order): “The Impossible,” “Zero Dark Thirty,” “Holy Motors,” “Cloud Atlas,” “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” “Keep the Lights On,” “Argo,” “Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present,” “Moonrise Kingdom” and “Skyfall”
Best Comedy: “Pitch Perfect” (Runner up: “Safety Not Guaranteed”)
Best Superhero Movie: “The Dark Knight Rises” (Runner-up: “The Avengers”)
More: I’m actually more of a Marvel fan than DC, but Nolan’s “Rises” is a much more sophisticated level of filmmaking.
And now, some “Best of” picks outside the movie world. You’re about to find out more about me than you’ve ever wanted to know. Beware.
Best Awards Show: The 2012 Grammy Awards
Best TV Show – Drama – Cable: “Game of Thrones” (Runner-up: “Homeland”)
Best TV Show – Drama – Network: “The Good Wife”
Best TV Show – Comedy – Cable: “Key and Peele” (Runner-up: “Girls.” It’s really a drama in my book, but Fienberg says I will incur reader wrath if I include it there.)
Best TV Show – Comedy – Network: “30 Rock”
More: Please don’t go.
Best Late Night Talk or Variety Show: “The Daily Show”
Guilty Reality TV Pleasure: “The Real Housewives of New Jersey”
More: They are even more crazy than the Atlanta ladies. I’d never want to meet Teresa in a
Guilty Reality TV Competition Pleasure: “Project Runway”
Song of the Year: “Call Me Maybe,” Carly Rae Jepsen (Runner-up: “Gangham Style” by PSY)
Best Club Track: “Titanium” by David Guetta ft. Sia
More: Some of us knew this when it was first release in August of 2011, but there rest of the world fount out after a slow burn in 2012.
Best Remix: “Spectrum” (David Guetta & Avicii vs. Florence and the Machine)
Most played songs in 2012 via iTunes:
“Call Me Maybe” by Carly Rae Jepsen
“Spectrum” by Florence and the Machine
“Timebomb” by Kylie Minogue
“No Light,No Light” by Florence and the Machine
“Your Body” by Christina Aguilera
“Girls Gone Wild” by Madonna
“Triumphant (PulseClub Remix) by Mariah Carey
“I’m Addicted” by Madonna
“Skyfall” by Adele
“Don’t Stop the Party” by Pitbull (featuring TJ)
“Move in the Right Direction” by Gossip
“Die Young” by Ke$ha
“Naked” (MK Remix) by Dev and Enrique Iglesias
“Your Loft My Acid” (Fearless Trans-House Mix) by Death in Vegas
“Turn Me On” by Human Nature
“Let There Be Love” by Christina Aguilera
“All That Matters” (The Beautiful Life) by Ke$ha
What were some of your 2012 favorites?