Yeesh. Is it over yet? 2012's movie season, I mean. In this Age of Weak Movies (TV is where it's at for great storytelling nowadays), 2012 stands out for pure lameness. There was one four-star movie all year, and there were more disappointments ("Prometheus", "The Dark Knight Rises", "Skyfall", "Django Unchained") and flat-out badness (good effort, Taylor Kitsch) this year than any other in recent memory.
Looking back, it was tough to come up with five candidates for an end-of-year list, but the selections below stand-out as beacons of hope in a cinematic wasteland.
Argo 
Ben Affleck has quietly become a great filmmaker. It's that simple. And, like George Clooney, he is making the kind of movies Hollywood used to make - before CGI and 3D reigned. The kind of movies that would have made it necessary for there to be ten Best Picture nominees. "Argo" is an old-school spy thriller with a brisk pace, great performances, mercifully, a pitch-perfect sense of humor. The Best Director Oscar snub only makes me love it more.
Lincoln 
I admit to being apprehensive at first about Steven Spielberg's Lincoln biopic. First of all, it's Steven Spielberg's Lincoln biopic and, as such, it had the potential for the iconic director to fall back on his penchant for tear-jerking and swelling strings (anyone see "War Horse"?). Secondly, it's not a Lincoln biopic, it's really about the passing of the 13th amendment and it focuses on the inner machinations of government in the late 1800s. And it's two-and-a-half hours long. But then there's Tony Kushner's award-worthy script, which plays like a Civil War-era episode of "The West Wing" and actually makes governmental process thrilling. And of course, there's the performance by Daniel Day-Lewis that leaves you believing you actually watched the former president in action. Finally, it's Steven Spielberg's Lincoln biopic - in the best possible way.
Beasts of the Southern Wild
Benh Zeitlin's story of a six-year-old girl living on the other side of the Louisiana levees, is part metaphor, part coming of age story, part metaphysical hooey. But it's also a unique and unforgettable film featuring an equally unique and unforgettable performance by Quvenzhané Wallis.
The Sessions 
Forget about Ben Affleck's snub, how did The Academy pass up nominating John Hawkes? His subtle, funny and affecting performance as Mark O'Brien, a man confined to an iron lung who hires a sex therapist (an equally impressive Helen Hunt) to help him lose his virginity, is the kind of transformation that Oscar usually loves. I mean, Daniel Day-Lewis would still win, but Hawkes - always an unrated actor - should have been nominated.
The Avengers
There I said it. Okay, it's not a "great film", and yes, this was a remarkably weak year for Hollywood. But years from now when you think back on great superhero movies, Joss Whedon's magnum opus will bubble to the top of the list. There were so many ways an Avengers movie could have gone wrong, but watching Mr. Whedon - the master of the ensemble cast - juggle a dozen characters, an unwieldy plot and state-of-the-art special effects is nearly as thrilling as the film itself. And when, some Sunday afternoon, you're flipping through channels and see "The Avengers" is on, you'll watch it. And that's more than I can say for most movies this year.
