Listmania: My Top 20 Honorable Mention Movies of 2012

Rounding out Listmania is the movies that barely missed the cut. Movies that were great, but not enough to make my Top Ten (published here). The following is a list of great movies that I felt were too good to ignore, and essentially made 2012 one of the greatest, most ambitious years of modern cinema. These may not all be as great as say Holy Motors, but these are still well worth checking out, if just because there was a lot to be excited about. Also, make sure to tune back tomorrow when my ultimate 2012 list is released, in which I post a list of every movie that I have seen from this year.

11. Life of Pi - Ang Lee returns to cinema in a grand scale in a tale that challenges spirituality with the help of a shipwreck and a Serbian tiger named Richard Parker. The tale is a breathtaking journey into what cinema can be and hopefully will launch the career of the brilliantly casted Suraj Sharma, whose performance alongside a C.G.I. tiger is some of the best acting that I've seen this year.

12. Sleepwalk with Me - There wasn't a better comedic character study this year than Mike Birbiglia's directorial debut, which explores his growth as a comedian through romance and a sleep disorder. With an array of legends from the alternative comedy scene, the tale may be light on subject matter, but its heart more than makes up for it. Very few films compete in terms of how realism and career can be made into funny, embarrassing cinema. 

13. Smashed - If one performance gets overlooked for an Oscar this year, it is Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a recovering alcoholic. Her work in Smashed reflects the tragic, yet funny reality of waking up under a bridge and having to teach young children while hung over. With a great supporting cast that includes Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, and Aaron Paul, this is a simple drama that doesn't hide its themes and lets Winstead shine in ways that should be more noticed.

14. Oslo, August 31st - A film about a recovering junkie who attempts to get his life in order by living life positively. Sadly, things don't quite work out and his world view is shifted into contemplating whether or not to regress to his old ways. It is a brutally honest, bleak look into how sometimes hope may not be enough to get your life back on track. The film's balance of honesty and realism thrusts the story even further and makes this one of the more fascinating character studies of the year.

15. Safety Not Guaranteed - Mark Duplass and Aubrey Plaza lead this romantic comedy that explores what it means to be misfits wishing to change their past. It is often too understated, but always entertaining. With a great cast of comedians, this film may be a unconventional, but it will win you over, despite time travel being little more than a concept for most of the film.

16. The Raid: Redemption - While I am not an avid supporter of action films, I found myself finding a special place for this ridiculously busy film. The violent choreography was always engagingly intense and while there is an actual plot that sums up what "Redemption" is referencing, this is nothing more than a thrill ride meant to prove that action movies are often more fun when someone actually gets hurt.

17. This Is Not a Film - What happens when you are on house arrest and not allowed to make movies in Iran for 20 years? This Is Not a Film is the result that shows the process of creativity through a day in the life tale of an artist who formats his script out of tape on a carpet and showing clips from his movies to illustrate points. The results may just be what is necessary to how passion for movies can never really be silenced, even if you're not allowed to.

18. Premium Rush - Quite possibly the greatest guilty pleasure of 2012 is this Joseph Gordon-Levitt action comedy that sees him ride a bicycle across New York City. Along the way, he gets into a feud with the juicy and insane Michael Shannon. The results may not be the most complex and deep story, but what comes is a movie in which there are a lot of chases on bicycles. Now that is a pretty enjoyable, amazing film.

19. Looper - Rian Johnson returned to theaters with this complicated time travel story that hopefully finally puts Joseph Gordon Levitt into legitimate roles. The story is intricately woven and the results are immediately surprising. This film may not have nearly the same amount of energy or fun of Johnson's earlier work, but it definitely shows a director that needs to be doing a lot more bigger projects.

20. Goon - Seann William Scott has finally broken out of the American Pie mold and in this Jay Baruchel-penned comedy turns hockey into an aggressive, apologetic love letter to all things Canadian. With a brilliant performance by Allison Pill, it is hard to find a better sports comedy from this year and even hard to find a better hockey comedy from the past five years. Even if you don't care about the sport, it is one of the best comedies period.

21. Wreck-It Ralph - This film somehow made the list despite of my disinterest in video games. It is also the second best animated movie of the year due to the creativity that bleeds out of every corner. It is an addictive, fun tale that manages to be more than a thrill ride by shoehorning in commentary on deformities in some of the most clever ways imaginable. At very least, it is great to see something this original and fun in animation from Disney.

22. The Dark Knight Rises - A few summers ago, I pretty much lived at the cinema watching the Dark Knight. There was little doubt that this would be one of my most anticipated movies of the year. The results, while often a little too much, present an amazing thrill ride and an amazing cast that brings Christopher Nolan's version of the hero to amazing new heights and sends the hero out on a conflicting yet interesting ending that may never replace its predecessor, but will always be proof that Batman trilogies can be somewhat successful on execution.

23. God Bless America - I would be lying if I said that I didn't have dreams of eviscarating my enemies. Bobcat Goldthwait's tirade against his enemies is a devilishly fun, hypocritical tale that is sometimes too preachy, but does make for one amazing experience. It isn't quite World's Greatest Dad good, but it does keep my belief afloat that Goldthwait has an insane penchant for perverse storytelling, and the results here show an artist who cannot be tampered with. It may be at times a little uncomfortable, but it is still one of the more bizarre things that came out this year.

24. Argo - Ben Affleck officially proves himself as a director in this film that pays homage to the power of Hollywood in an entertaing way. However, where he really shines is in the opening minutes when an embassy is raided by protesters. Affleck proves that he is capable of balancing humor, menace, and great tension into one great cinematic experience that may not be all that ground breaking, but definitely establishes him as a director of promise.

25. Mirror Mirror - An odd, kitschy choice to put on the list, but one that I would be remissed to ignore. Tarsem Singh's take on Snow White is an entertaining film with a lot of beautiful set designs and costumes as well as plenty of slapstick and wit. With complicated undertones, this is pure bliss in terms of cinema. It may at times be too silly and geared at kids, but when even Julia Roberts turns in a tolerable performance, you know that you are in for a good time.

26. The Avengers - In an odd way, Joss Whedon has done the impossible by turning years of marketing into a successfully entertaining romp of a superhero film. There is plenty to take in during this film's two and a half hours, notably how it turns into a Firefly episode towards the middle. This is what superhero films should be applauded for, and I doubt that anything that will follow will even compare. In a way, this may be the last great Marvel movie we see, unless you really have faith in flogging a dead horse while it's rich.

27. Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry - A fascinating documentary about a great man who uses social media to make a difference in today's troubling society. Often funny, it is a look into how art can be misunderstood and how censorship should never keep you down. In many ways, it is a facinating look into this artist's life as well as just being a chance to know that someone this poetic and funny can be an activisit without being all that annoying.

28. Take This Waltz - Sarah Polley's film is an interesting one, as I wasn't initially drawn to it because of story, but because of her visual style. Polley uses montages, metaphors, and other imagery to tell a very honest and simple story in a tragic way that is often times fascinating. Michelle Williams is equally captivating and both Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman are surprisingly effective. This is a tale about romance that isn't so much ready to give you a happy ending as it is just an accurate one.

29. Alps - Being a fan of Dogtooth, I have been eagerly waiting the director's next film, which follows people who posed as deceased family members. It is a very bizarre, slow film that asks you to follow it into the crevices of deviance. Sometimes funny, but overall a fascinating look into what is essentially an unorthodox story that challenges the viewer to put aside expectations and just enjoy the proceedings.

30. Shut Up and Play the Hits - Not being a big LCD Soundsystem fan, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this film. However, it wasn't the concert footage that won me over, bu the interviews with Chuck Klosterman and James Murphy that practically state in a poetic way what the reality is of having complete control over your career. It is sometimes sad, but always interesting. If you like the music, this movie is twice as good and finally puts to rest the myth that Jesse Eisenberg and Michael Cera are the same person by proving that they were in the same room.