The Best Films Of 2012: 21 Runners-Up (#30-#11) - Part 8
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The Best Films Of 2012: 21 Runner-Ups (#30-#11)

Today, I aim to rectify that by expanding my Top 10 picks out to 30 (or 31, given that I cheated and included a tie), counting down the best runners-up from the number 30 slot all the way down to number 11. Even with so many more films represented here, there were still plenty of tough omissions, good and great films like Argo, Holy Motors, The Hunger Games, Arbitrage, Celeste and Jesse Forever, and even animated fare like Frankenweenie and Rise of the Guardians. If this countdown continued forever, those and other excellent films would be represented, but the festivities had to end somewhere, and I am more than happy with these 30 films representing my favorite cinematic memories of 2012.
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Jonathan R. Lack
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Published: Dec 17, 2012 03:00 pm

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11. Zero Dark Thirty 

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The absolute toughest omission from my main top ten list, Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty ultimately missed the countdown by just a hair, as I ultimately felt that the more character-centric dramas I chose for the final list personally resonated with me on a greater level. But that should not take anything away from this film’s incredible power. As I said when I reviewed the film, this is as smart, confident, and accomplished a piece of drama as I saw all year, a tremendous feat of journalistic storytelling illustrated with spectacular craft and an awe-inspiring lead performance by the incomparable Jessica Chastain. Zero Dark Thirty is unquestionably one of the best films of 2012 – that it missed out on the main Top 10 list speaks only to the sheer number of great movies released this year. On its own, this is as close to perfect as filmmaking gets.

Zero Dark Thirty arrives in theatres in very limited release December 19th, and will expand nationwide January 11th.

Continue the countdown with my Top 10 Films of 2012.

What films did you enjoy most in 2012? Would any of these movies rank among your personal best? What films did you love that were not included? Sound off in the comments and help us reminisce on a wonderful year at the movie theatre!

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Image of Jonathan R. Lack
Jonathan R. Lack
With ten years of experience writing about movies and television, including an ongoing weekly column in The Denver Post's YourHub section, Jonathan R. Lack is a passionate voice in the field of film criticism. Writing is his favorite hobby, closely followed by watching movies and TV (which makes this his ideal gig), and is working on his first film-focused book.
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