10. Wreck-It Ralph
Tired of being Donkey Kong to Fix-It Felix Jr.'s Mario, Ralph (John C. Reilly) leaves his game and sets off on a retro arcade-style adventure. Hyped up and hilarious, the best animated film of the year also has a big 500-point peach-sized heart. Who knew Sarah Silverman would be so darn lovable as glitchy kart racer Vanellope von Schweetz?
9. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
After a hard-to-get-into first act, a trip to Rivendell reminds us what we love about the Peter Jackson's vision of Middle-earth: Gollum! Gandalf the Grey! Spectacular orcs of all sizes! As Bilbo Baggins, Martin Freeman (Sherlock) wears hairy feet extremely well, and just wait until you see the fire-breathing first look at the dragon Smaug. Or the clash between two warring mountains. (You read that right.) By the end, all we wanted was to stay in our seats and watch Part 2.
8. 21 Jump Street
Channing Tatum had a good year, right? The sexiest man alive's best outing, though, was being paired with Jonah Hill and the '90s TV series that originally launched Johnny Depp's career. Funniest movie alive? Maybe this year.
7. Moonrise Kingdom
Wes Anderson's whimsical tale tells of a four-eyed shorty (Jared Gilman), his too tall gal (Kara Hayard) and their attempt to evade Scout troop master Edward Norton and plenty of other adults: Bruce Willis, Tilda Swinton and Bill Murray. As a sad sack policemen who can't find two kids on island that's only 6 miles wide, Willis delivers one of his most heartfelt performances. Love you so much, Moonrise Kingdom!
6. Les Miserables
A star-studded, sung-live lavish production of Victor Hugo's already-filmed-60-times-before masterpiece. The live singing allows for tight shots on the performers, which opens up the musical genre like never before. Hugh Jackman shows incredible vocal range as the man who steals bread for his family and then is hunted for decades by baritone Russell Crowe. And anyone that doesn't shed a tear over Anne Hathaway's rendition of "I Dreamed A Dream" is just out of sync. With your own heart.
5. Life of Pi
We heart Richard Parker. Ang Lee's 3-D extravaganza takes place (mostly) on a lifeboat and stars newcomer Suraj Sharma as Pi and Parker, the hungry Bengal tiger he's forced to live with while trying to survive a shipwreck. The 3-D is integral to the movie, not just a gimmick, and our proximity to a wild animal is key. A beautiful film about faith and spirituality. And tigers.
4. The Avengers
A huge hit and a great flick. Two Iron Man's, a Thor, a Captain America and an Incredible Hulk all led to this: the third highest domestic box office ever, with $623 million. Writer/director Joss Whedon's knack for clever dialogue and terrific ensemble chemistry put to epic use (Robert Downey Jr.'s Iron Man vs. Chris Hemsworth's Thor) in a super-sized tale that fired on all cylinders.
3. The Hunger Games
In a year filled with post-apocalyptic everything, Games outdid them all with a dystopian world that pits teens against each other in a fight to the death. Jennifer Lawrence became an instant pop culture icon as Katniss Everdeen, and showed us there's plenty of spirit, and love, and great fashion in even the darkest of futures.
2. Beasts of the Southern Wild
We experience a Katrina-like Louisiana flood through the eyes of perceptive 6-year-old Hushpuppy (amazing debut by Quvenzhané Wallis). Her friends and family are beyond poor, sometimes living on a raft made of automobile parts. Yet what resonates isn't class divide or politics. The story of a small community that looks out for each other gains emotional power with a unique outsider experience of modern America. Never a downer, alive with sequences that pack in joyous moment after joyous moment.
1. Skyfall
The year's best film reinvigorated a 50-year-old franchise, Dark Knight-style. Daniel Craig is at his best as a 007 who might be too old for all this spy stuff, and Judi Dench's M is definitely worth dying for. All that and a finale that did more than just give fans a proper origin story. After seeing all those villain hideouts over the years, including that of Javier Bardem's hypnotic Silva, it turns out that the most fiendish and creepy lair of them all belongs to James Bond.