This is it. My 'Top Ten' for 2012.

Okay, y'all, this is it. The real real. The thing that, at least for the time being, has me mattering on a cosmic level. I hope you find something of value here. I'm not afraid of ties, when they're called for. If you're bothered by ties, well, that's your hierarchy and your problem.


01) CLOUD ATLAS (TYKWER/WACHOWSKI/WACHOWSKI)
       HOLY MOTORS (CARAX)

02) LINCOLN (SPIELBERG)

      ZERO DARK THIRTY (BIGELOW)

03) COSMOPOLIS (CRONENBERG)

04) FOOTNOTE (CEDAR)

      THE MASTER (ANDERSON)

05) BEYOND THE BLACK RAINBOW (COSMATOS)

06) THE CABIN IN THE WOODS (GODDARD)

07) DJANGO UNCHAINED (TARANTINO)

      THE PAPERBOY (DANIELS)

08) TABU (GOMES)

09) CHRONICLE (TRANK)

      THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER (CHBOSKY)

10) PROMETHEUS (SCOTT)

Honorable Mention: Bad 25, Barbara, Detention, Frankenweenie, Goon, Haywire, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, ParaNorman, Pina, The Tall Man, Ted, Wreck-It Ralph

Best in Film: 2012. The Awards.

BEST ANIMATED FILM: ParaNorman

BEST 3D:

(Native) Prometheus

(Conversion) Monsters, Inc.

BEST ORIGINAL SONG: "Who Were We," from Holy Motors

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Darius WOLSKI, Prometheus

BEST EDITING: Cloud Atlas

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Prometheus

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE: Broadcast, Berberian Sound Studio

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS: Prometheus

BEST DOCUMENTARY: Pina 3D

BEST FIRST FILM: Beyond The Black Rainbow

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Tom TYKWER/Andy WACHOWSKI/Lana WACHOWSKI,

Cloud Atlas

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Drew GODDARD/Joss WHEDON, The Cabin in The Woods

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Macy GRAY, The Paperboy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Scoot McNAIRY, Argo/Killing Them Softly

BEST ACTRESS: Nina HOSS, Barbara

BEST ACTOR: Joaquin PHOENIX, The Master

BEST DIRECTOR: Kathryn BIGELOW, Zero Dark Thirty

SPECIAL AWARDS AS FOLLOWS:

To Matthew McCONAUGHEY for his exceptional body of work this year. Bernie, Killer Joe, Magic Mike, and The Paperboy. Four exceptional performances in four different tales of the South.

To The Awakening, for being the best film I saw this year that apparently nobody else has seen.

To Jessica BIEL in The Tall Man, because she's staggering in it and I never would have expected such a thing.

To Tyler ABRIZZI in ParaNorman, for being the best fat kid performance since Brett Kelly in Bad Santa, who is the Bjork of fat kid actors, which makes Bad Santa the Dancer in the Dark of fat kid movies.

SPECIAL FUCK YOU AWARDS AS FOLLOWS:

To the Village Voice 2012 poll for calling Cloud Atlas the worst film of the year.

To the AV Club 2012 poll for calling The Paperboy the worst film of the year.