So, we are finally in the mythical year of 2012, the year where the ancient Mayan what’s-his-name God is going to come down and rain terror on humanity.  But, before that unfortunate and possibly untrue event occurs, we’ve got some great movies to look forward to.  Before we journey into the movie world of 2012, I’d like to go back over 2011 one more time, and count down my 5 favorite movies of the year.  Warning:  These five movies may not be the best five movies of the year, and you may not agree with me, but this is just one guy’s opinion.

#5: X-men First Class

While I didn’t review this movie for the paper (It came out over the summer), it was my absolute favorite superhero movie of the year (Thor and Captain America were just OK, and Green Lantern was terrible).  By far the best X-men movie yet, it was action-packed and intense, but also fun and creative.  It showed the back-story of two superhero icons, Professor X and Magneto, which had not been yet delved by any other movie.  With a great cast, including new stars Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence and veteran Kevin Bacon; this movie was a ton of fun.  I recommend it to any superhero fan.

#4: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Now, you may be wondering (If you read my review for this) why it’s on my list if I gave it a good but not great rating.  Well, as I said in that review, I’m a HUGE Harry Potter fan, and this movie is my favorite adaptation from the book. Suspenseful and dramatic, it took a very good book and turned it into a very good movie.  If you want more in depth analysis of the movie, read my review of it on my page.

#3: Hugo

THIS is what more kid’s movies should be like.  Most kid’s movies today are either poorly animated or poorly written, just to be there to stop small children from making noise for a good 90 minutes.  This movie, however, is the best children’s movie I’ve seen in a long time.  It’s got amazing atmosphere, great characters, and a gripping story.  It’s not just loud noises and bad jokes, it’s an adventure the whole family can enjoy, and that is worth seeing.

#2: Contagion

Another movie I didn’t review for this paper, Contagion was an insanely smart, sophisticated, and gripping thriller about an epidemic that threatens to kill millions of people.  This movie is one of the best edited I’ve ever seen, and moves seamlessly from the troubles of one regular man (Matt Damon) to a man trying to cure the world (Laurence Fishburne) to someone trying to cause chaos (Jude Law).  Seamless and excellent.

#1: Super 8

Now, I’m not a fan of monster movies.  I’ve never found them smart or thought-provoking, they’re usually just there to watch a poorly CGI’d alien or whatever tear up some morons.  Not with this movie.  Though the movie centers on kids making movies, it treats you like a smart person.  It actually keeps you roped in with its great story, believable but fun characters, and great suspense.  The acting by Joel Courtney and Elle Fanning is some of the best of the year.  I loved this movie, and recommend it to any Stephan Spielberg fan.