“5 Star” Movies of 2012

I have to admit, I find star rating systems quite arbitrary (in fact, I find scales of 1-10 or similar arbitrary, too) – I’m much better at using words to describe my enjoyment than numbers. So I usually rate my movies on a scale of ‘meh’ to ‘awesome!’ But the code I used for the Tumblr page keeping track of the films I watched in 2012 only had star ratings so I used them the best I could. And, so, here is my list of 5 star movies from 2012. The ratings were given on my feelings straight after viewing the film, leaving little room for reflection. I’d initially wanted to do a bit of reflection in this post but…it’s very hot here today and I want to get this done before we get too far into 2013, so here it is, anyway…

Brazil directed by Terry Gilliam, 1985

Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution, directed by Jean Luc Goddard, 1965

Fellini – Satyricon directed by Federico Fellini, 1969

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy directed by Tomas Alfredson, 2011

The Artist directed by Michel Hazavanicius, 2011

My Week With Marilyn directed by Simon Curtis, 2011

Earth Girls Are Easy directed by Julien Temple, 1988

In the Mood for Love directed by Wong Kar-wai, 2000

Smashing Time directed by Desmond Davis, 1967

Sex, Lies and Videotape directed by Steven Soderbergh, 1989

The Cabin in the Woods directed by Drew Goddard, 2011

Brave directed by Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman, 2012

Danger: Diabolik directed by Mario Bava, 1968

The Dark Knight Rises directed by Christopher Nolan, 2012

Cactus Flower directed by Gene Saks, 1969

Moonrise Kingdom directed by Wes Anderson, 2012

Skyfall directed by Sam Mendes, 2012

I think if I were rating these films now, they might change a little, just as some others I watched in 2012 would change. But I really like looking back and seeing how I felt at the time. If you want to know what else I watched in 2012 (and my initial ratings) you can find the list here.