Tonight at midnight brings us 2012 and with it, a chance to look back at the year that was as well as reflect on the year ahead. With that in mind, I compiled a list of our favorite movies, games, and tech of 2012. The lists are ranked in no particular order but the movies reflect the ones that we enjoyed the most, and no, I did not include the high brow art films, as we will be getting enough of those during the upcoming award season, I included the mass market films that clicked for us.
Movies
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
David Fincher’s bold and dark adaptation of the Stieg Larsson book had a star-making performance by Rooney Mara in the title role. The film was a masterfully shot and paced thriller that stayed true to the source material and did not dishonor the Swedish language version that preceded it.
“Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows”
Jude Law and Robert Downer Jr. had great chemistry and timing in their second outing as Watson and Holmes and deftly combined action and humor in a sharply paced and very enjoyable film.
Jared Harris was a great Moriarity and Noomi Rapace showed that she is a star on the rise.
“The Muppets”
Jason Segel wrote and helped produce the iconic and beloved characters return to the screen in grand style. Mixing music and laughs, Kermit, Miss Piggy, Fozzie, and the gang blazed a triumphant return to the screen in a film that appealed as much to the adults who were raised on their show as the kids who discovered the magic of the Muppets for the first time.
“Contagion”
Steven Soderbergh crafted a chilling look at the devastation brought on by a mysterious virus which is unleashed upon the world. An all-star cast and captivating story made the film a chilling thriller that could not be forgotten.
“The Source Code”
Director Duncan Jones follows up “Moon” with a stylish techno thriller about a soldier played by Jake Gyllenhaal who is sent back in time again and again to solve the mystery of a deadly training bombing. The film cleverly combines Science fiction with drama, action, and a touch of romance to make a winning film.
“War Horse”
Steven Spielberg’s visually stunning, and emotional look at a horse named Jeremy and his exploits during World War I. The movie is an unforgettable journey that will tug at the heartstrings without being overly sentimental.
Spielberg is at the top of his game for this and do not be surprised if the film gets some Oscar nods.
“We Bought a Zoo”
Matt Damon leads a great cast in this true story about a man who wanted to change his life and in doing so inherits and saves a zoo and it’s animals.
Inspiring and touching this film came out of nowhere to click with us and made the list.
“Fast Five”
Usually by the time a movie series enters the fifth chapter it has run out of gas and fresh ideas. Not so for this series as Justin Lin has crafted the best of the bunch. The Rock, Paul Walker, and Vin Diesel mixed action, driving, and amazing stunts to show that there is plenty of mileage left in the series.
Video Games
We prefer to play the games on Nvidia based cards from EVGA.
The GTX 560 Ti with 448 cores is a very great and affordable choice for high end graphics and Direct X 11 capability. Playing Skyrim on full settings is worth the price alone.
If you want the top of the line, then we suggest The GTX 580 Classified by EVGA which offers cutting edge
Direct X 11 graphics and performance to power the
best of today’s games and tomorrows hits. The GTX
580 can power up to three displays and powered by an
NVidia chipset and 1280 MB 320-bit GDDR5 memory
will render eye popping graphics and performance on
all your games. www.evga.com
Star Wars: The Old Republic
The Star Wars MMORPG we have been waiting for. Epic in scale, and allows you to play as either good, bad, or in between. Epic cut scenes, vast and exotic locales, tons of customizations make this one that is going to be around for a long time.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Yes I know that it is more of the same at first glance and that the solo play campaign was a bit short. That being said, the game was an epic thrill ride and took the games signature multiplayer action to a new level with new gameplay modes such as Kill Confirmed and Team Defender.
People love to bash the popular series but one billion in sales in 16 days and millions of people playing online show this game delivers.
RAGE
While I found the solo play campaign to be a bit to short, and ended to abruptly for me, the mix of first person shooter and role playing game won me over. Powered by the ID Tech 5 engine, the ability to craft your weapons, trade, race for money, and deal tons of mayhem in the post apocalypse setting won me over.
The online vehicle combat and in game modes were some of the fastest action anywhere to date.
“The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim”
Epic hardly does justice to this game which comes as close to being the perfect RPG ever created. The vast landscape, stunning, graphics, and tons of options make this a game that players will become caught up in again and again.
Batman: Arkham City
While Arkham Asylum set the standard for superhero games, this one took it even further. Larger, darker, and more dynamic than the previous game, this is the ultimate Batman experience.
Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
This PS 3 exclusive delivers a great mix of action and adventure and this time out brings in multiplayer and 3D. The winning formula is an action fans dream and makes this a must own.
Portal 2
Our pick for game of the year took what made the original so epic and took it to a new level. As if the puzzles and stories were not enough, the addition of multiplayer made this an addictive game that we could not stop playing.
