James Berardinelli's (ReelViews) Top 10.

Honorable mentions:
The Avengers
End of Watch
Ruby Sparks
Moonrise Kingdom

10 (tie): The Dark Knight Rises
             Les Miserables
9: Argo
8: Skyfall
7: Silver Linings Playbook
6: Django Unchained
5: Amour
4: A Separation (A 2011 holdover)
3: Lincoln
2: Zero Dark Thirty
1: Looper

You can read his thoughts on each film here.

The Avengers (2012): A Marvel (B+)

I can rest in peace now. I don't have to live with stating The Hunger Games is the best of 2012.

A lot of this film reminded me of Akira Kurosawa's masterful Ran. In that film, the Lord Hidetora says alone a man is weak, but together is strong. This is the definition of the Avengers, Earth's mightiest heroes.

I have to praise Joss Whedon's script, chock-full of pop culture and one liners. In a scene, Tony Stark/Iron Man calls Thor Point Break. If you know the backstory, Thor does look like Patrick Swayze.
In another scene, the savvy Stark calls Hawkeye 'Legolas'. Captain America gets his chops in, telling Hulk at the end to 'SMASH'!

The buzz from Cannes.

So I've been doing my homework on the best and most important of the year's festivals: Cannes.

Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom opened the festival today, to critical acclaim. Will it win the Palme d'Or? I highly doubt it, but as an opener, it has excelled. Praise (That I've read,) states excellent child acting. Cannot wait to see this at the end of May/Early June.

Keep your eyes peeled on a new Masterpieces Classics,  a rant about The Artist, and a review of the movie of the year (so far), Joss Whedon's The Avengers.